Ernst

From Germany, Casper Ernst came to Vermilion, Ohio.

Last modified 07/21/2005

Ernst

(I'm developing a separate page to outline the Ernst name in Germany as well as cousins to America.)

Caspar Ernst was b. ~1808 in Hessen Kassel, now Germany, and came to America in about 1830. He settled in Vermilion, OH in what is now Erie County and bought land in town from Joseph W. Pierce. He was married to Anna Kunigunde Wittich (referred to as Cornelia in local records and the census) in about 1837 by a justice of the peace. They had six daughters, five of whom were born in Vermilion (Elizabeth, the oldest, was born in nearby Brownhelm.) On March 18, 1846, Caspar appeared before the court and renounced his loyalty to William II of Hessen, and became a U.S. citizen.

There were problems, however (he appears to have been abusive) and on Monday, May 31, 1852 Anna and her counsel gathered witnesses and appeared before a judge. She was granted a divorce, and she got almost everything - the children, the land, the house, household goods... He got to keep his mechanical tools, personal clothing, a bed and bedstead. Family records state that Caspar died in 1850, but since county records indicate that his divorce (and a lawsuit to collect debts against him) occured in 1852, he must have survived at least a little longer.He is said to have died of typhoid fever, and was buried in a cemetery on the shores of Lake Erie that has since washed into the lake.

In 1853, the preacher John Strieter came to the area looking to round up Lutherans. He found a wife in Elizabeth, and they married 17 Jan 1854. In October of the same year, Anna took her 5 youngest daughters and moved to Newburg (near Cleveland) following John and Elizabeth. Rev. Strieter had been called to organize a congregation there, St. John's Lutheran (now Garfield Heights.)

In Newburgh, the Rev. Strieter could neither afford to support nor fit the whole family into the parsonage. So, Martha worked out and the three middle daughters (Sophia, Anna and Sarah) were farmed out to other pastors. All three were under the age of 11. Sophia "resembled her mother in stature, temperment and will power" and "would not put up with this farming-out proposition" and so she was allowed to stay home until her confirmation when she went to work for Rev. H. C. Schwan. The whole period was difficult for the whole family.

In Nov 1859, Rev. Streiter was called to be a missionary in Wisconsin, and so Anna and her daughters moved in together once again, now in Cleveland. They remained there through the Civil War. In 1867, Anna became very ill at the home of her daughter Anna. She recovered, but never fully. She lived for a time with daughter Mary and her husband Frederick Leutner, and spent summers with daughter Sophia (Franz) or daughter Anna (Rahe.) In the late winter of 1874 she became very ill again and after several weeks in bed died on 23 Mar 1875. The funeral was March 25th, and her body was first placed in a vault in the Erie Street Cemetery in downtown Cleveland (now across the street from Jacobs Field.) On 4 April 1875 she was buried at St. John's Lutheran cemetery and rests there today.

Casper brought the family name to America, but after he married Anna, he only had daughters. Those six "Ernst Girls" had quite a history and are well-documented and remembered by their descendants, but Caspar remains the only one in this line to live out his life with the surname Ernst

For now, the best stuff written about the Ernst surname in my family tree was written by Henry F. Rahe, grandson to Casper and Anna, and my great-great-grandfather. In 1942, he wrote A Sketch of the Parents of the Ernst Girls for his first cousin, also a grandson of the pair. It is a wonderful work, full of detail and stories. Please read it for the best view of this branch of the tree.

Children:

Elizabeth, b. 28 Aug 1838 Brownhelm, OH, m. John Streiter, d. 6 Dec 1924
Martha, b. 14 Feb 1843 Vermilion, OH, m. Henry Reichle, d. 21 Aug 1924
Sophia, b. 26 Jun 1844 Vermilion, OH, m. Fred Franz, d. 7 May 1925, buried St. John's, Garfield Hts. OH
Anna, b. 16 Oct 1845 Vermilion, OH, m. Henry Rahe, d. 30 Jun 1925, buried St. John's, Garfield Hts. OH
Sarah, b. 17 Dec 1846 Vermilion, OH, m. Adam Reiber, d. 7 Oct 1925, buried St. John's, Garfield Hts. OH
Mary, b. 3 Mar 1848 Vermilion, OH, m. Frederick Leutner, d. 18 Sep 1894
(note: 5 of the 6 sisters died within 13 months of each other. Weird.)