Johann Jacob and Maria (DePrez) Gegenheimer
Reprinted with permission received from Fred Gahimer
Johann Jacob and Maria (DePrez) Gegenheimer
Johann Jacob Gegenheimer, only son of Johann George Gegenheimer
and Margaretha Hartmen, was born on May 18, 1804 in Freckenfeld,
Rhein-Pfalz, Germany. His mother died soon after his birth, and
his father died in less than nine years. He attended school until
he was fourteen years old, after which he followed the occupations
of teaming and farming.
On March 11, 1827 in Kandel, Germany, he was married to Maria
Anne DePrez, daughter of Daniel and Maria Bossart DePrez; her
birth date being February 27, 1808. Both of Maria DePrez parents
were of French origin. According to family tradition, the DePrez's
were Huguenots who left France and fled to safety over the border
into the Rhein-Phalz where they settled in the village of Billigheim,
Germany, and never returned.
On April 17, 1833, these sturdy pioneers with their three children,
Anna Catherine (born Sep. 12, 1828), Michael (born Oct. 30, 1830),
and Eva (born in 1831), embarked at LeHav're, (a seaport on the
English Channel), turning their backs on the old world, and with
hopeful hearts, faced the long journey that would take them to
the new world about which they had heard such good reports.
Their's was a stormy voyage, lasting fifty-nine days. One man
on the ship, a tailor named Ferbei' Fritz, sat on his trunk and
sewed. During the stormy weather, the waves tossed the ship and
caused the trunk to slide back and forth across the deck, taking
the tailor with it.
When a day and a half from land, Eva, the youngest child, died.
The mother entreated the captain to allow them to bring the body
ashore for burial; to which he agreed if the sharks did not bother
the ship too much. They arrived in New Orleans on June 15, 1833,
and left little Eva's body to be buried there.
Leaving New Orleans, they came up the Mississippi and Ohio
Rivers to Cincinnati, Ohio, where they were met by their brother-in-law,
George Michael Haehl, Jr., whose wife was the former Eva Maria
DePrez, a sister of Anne Maria Gegenheimer. George Michael Haehl,
Jr., had come over to America in 1832, the year before, and he
and his father had a wagon shop in Cincinnati at the time. They
came overland by wagon to Rush County-and settled in Walker Township.
They bought eighty acres of land from William and Elizabeth Rader
for four hundred dollars on September 8, 1834, and on the next
day, they bought forty more acres from the government for $1.25
an acre. Both deeds were signed by Andrew Jackson, the President
at the time.
The forest was typically cleared over several years by cutting
and burning, filling the air with smoke. The roots and stumps
took years to eliminate, and plowing was a hard and frustrating
task. The earth was too fertile to plant wheat because it would
grow too tall and fall over, losing the grain. Thus, they could
plant only corn, and cornbread was their staple for many years,
along with wild game.
First they put out one and a half acres of corn, which the
squirrels ate. Sometimes the squirrels came in swarms. The settlers
killed the squirrels and at first threw them away, not knowing
they could be used for food. When they were used for food, usually
only the hams and back were eaten. They raised a few hogs on beechnuts
and acorns, then fed them corn as soon as they had better luck
growing it. They bought a team of horses and a wagon and killed
their hogs on the farm and hauled them to Cincinnati. This had
to be done in the winter, so the hog carcasses would be preserved
by freezing during the trip. It took three days to go and three
more to return. Some settlers combined their hog herds and drove
their hogs to Cincinnati much like the western cattle drives.
Instead of brands, the hogs were identified by ear marks. The
trip took two or three weeks, and had to be done in the winter
because that is the only time the packers worked. Also, the drives
had to be done when the ground was soft, because frozen ground
cut the hog's feet. They sold the hogs for $1.80 a hundred pounds.
Mother Gegenheimer would stay home with the children, and the
deer and wolves would come around the cabin and nearly frighten
them to death.
They became very discouraged, and would have gone back to Germany
if they would have had enough money to make the trip. But in time
the conditions got better, they got more land cleared, and they
bought seed wheat, and sowed it. They used reap hooks to garner
it, then on a windy day, would stand on a stump and let the wind
blow away the chaff, thus cleaning it fairly good. They worked
very hard clearing the land, building log houses, barns, and rail
fences, and prospered, and were able to give each of their children
a farm, besides the 120 acre farm on which they lived.
The Haehls and Gegenheimers were among the first from the Bavarian
district of Europe to come to Rush and Shelby Counties and form
a German colony. They spoke only the German language, and by 1836
felt the need for a church, and with other German families formed
the congregation called the Evangelical Protestant Zion Church,
and erected a 25' x 35' log church. The preaching was done in
German until 1911 and then changed to English for the benefit
of the younger generation.
Six children were born after their arrival in Rush County:
Jacob, 1835; John, 1838; Margaret, 1840; William, 1843; Daniel,
1846; and Mary, 1851.
Maria Gegenheimer died February 25, 1882 at the age of 73, and
Jacob on November 26, 1888 at 87.
Anna Catherine married John Haehl. Their one child died in
infancy. Anna died in 1902 at the age of 74.
Michael married Margaret Howell. They had nine children: William,
Henry, John, Charles, Margaret, Frank, Michael, Fred, and Mary.
Michael died in 1917 at the age of 86.
Jacob married Catherine Theobald. They had two children to
die in infancy, and seven who grew to maturity: Jacob, Caroline,
Margaret, Catherine, Mary, Louis, and Wilhelmina. Jacob died in
1916 at age 81.
John married Barbara Haug on March 26, 1860. They had six children:
Mary, John, Andrew, Jacob, Catharine, and Emma. John died in 1914
at the age of 75.
Margaret married Andrew Kuhn, and their children were: William,
Frederick, John, and George. A daughter, Caroline, died at age
three. Margaret died in 1922 at age 82.
William married Catherine Letherman. The four children born
to them were: Julius, George, August, and John William. Catherine
died when the youngest, John William, was an infant. He later
married Salome Hirtzel, and three children born to them were:
Adeline, Conrad, and Edward. Two other sons died in infancy. William
died in 1924 at age 81.
Daniel married Arkansas Hilligoss, and their three children
were: Elias Love, Nancy Trust, and Nellie Ivona. Arkansas died
in I888. Daniel later married Florence Phillips, and one son,
Ercell, was born to them. Daniel died in 1929 at age 83.
Mary married Charles Miller. Their children were: Emma, Charles,
Lenora, FIorence, and Leona. Mary died in 1922 at age 71. The
Shelbyville News; Saturday, September 28, 1996
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1835 LOG CABIN RESTORED
4-year effort revealed work of pioneer family
The concept of a dream home can be as varied as the families
doing the building and the living in them. For Thomas L. and Patricia
A. Lux, it has always been an 1835 log cabin; an original log
cabin, that is. When the Luxes bought the farm on which they reside
in 1974, they knew that at least part of the original cabin remained
because of the wider-than-usual windowsills and doorways. Pat
Lux said the cabin was underneath the weatherboarding exterior.
Years of expansions and modernizations had left the home just
south of Manilla at 4635S Rush County 925W looking like most others
in the neighborhood. But that wasn't what the Luxes' grown children
wanted.
"We always said we would tear away the weatherboarding
some day so we could expose the log cabin," Lux said. "Kyle
(one of the grown children) was over one day, and we just started
tearing off the weatherboard." That was in June 1991, and
it officially launched a unique renovation and restoration project
that took 4 1/2 years to complete. The finished product is a rustic
and fashionable farmhouse that preserves a piece of Rush County's
history and the quality of 1835 workmanship.
The Luxes also tore down a small log barn on their dairy farm
and moved the logs to the homesite where they were reset as an
addition to the house. Pat Lux said her "mud room" is
part of the new addition. That's where she has her washer and
dryer, along with some relics such as a 1907 Detroit Jewel gas
stove with porcelain handles and a for-looks-only Misty Oak brand
potbellied stove. Pat said a screened-in porch was added along
with two wooden porches and a long porch on the front of the house
The original logs - some of them about two feet thick and presumably
cut from woods on the farmland while it was being cleared - were
in remarkable condition, considering they had been part of the
house for 160 years. Lux said having weatherboarding over the
log cabin frame for many decades shielded the logs from the elements.
We haven't been able to find out when the weatherboarding was
put on," said Lux, but no one familiar with the house or
the location could remember the log cabin until the Luxes exposed
it and began the work project.
Lux said additions that she and her husband had made through the
years were renovated to blend into the log arrangement. Mud and
straw packed in between the logs to mortar them together had to
be removed and the logs brushed, washed and bleached before a
new mortar mix for chinking was applied between the logs. Then
a clear sealer was used to preserve the original log cabin. The
mortar had rotted away in some places, and there was evidence
of termites. Those spots were cut away. Poplar boards and barn
siding have been used to keep the rustic, rough-cut decor in the
home's add-on areas that were not part of the original log cabin.
Many of the furnishings are antique family heirlooms.
The Luxes continued to live in the house during the remodeling.
"It was a mess, but we lived in it for over four years. The
living room was the worst. When we tore away to the original logs,
they were black ... covered with soot. When the house was built,
the family had cooked in the living room," Lux said. The
renovation was a family affair. Pat Lux, 53, and hubby Tom, 52,
had help from their grown children. Pat Lux said son Jeff Lux,
an electrical engineer for Trane Co., of Rushville, was "sort
of like the family project engineer." Daughter Kim Lux and
sons Kyle Slaton and Matt Lux also spent many hours helping at
home. Kyle is employed by Gecom in Greensburg, while Matt is a
lineman for PSI Energy and Kim a worker at Shares, Inc., both
of Shelbyville.
The cabin home was built by Jacob Gegenheimer (now spelled
Gahimer). Gegenheimer was born in Freckfeld, Rheinpfol, Germany.
He married Maria Anne DePrez in 1827, and on April 17, 1833, the
couple and their three children set sail for America. It was a
long and demanding journey, lasting 59 days before the family
disembarked in New Orleans. Their youngest child, Eva, died less
than two days before the ship docked in America. According to
family records obtained by Pat Lux, the Gegenheimers then sailed
the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to Cincinnati, where a relative,
identified only as Maria's brother-in-law took them by wagon to
the area in Walker Township, Rush County.
The family bought 80 acres of land from the U. S. government
for $400 on Sept. 8, 1834. The next day, another 40 acres were
purchased for $1.25 an acre. Both deeds bear the signature of
the president of the United States, Andrew Jackson. The next spring,
the two- story log cabin was built. Now, 161 years later, the
Gegenheimers' home-building skills clearly have withstood the
test of time, with a little help from 1990s technology.
By JIM McKINNEY, Executive editor
Conrad Fredrick and Sallie (Gruell) Gahimer
Conrad lived on a farm west of Manilla on the old Rushville
Road in Union Township, Shelby County. It was originally owned
by his grandfather Christian Hirtzel, and he purchased it after
the death of his father, William Gahimer. He also purchased a
farm on State Road 44 on the west side of the Shelby-Rush Co.
line and south of the railroad. His son Carl rented it and later
inherited it upon Conrad's death. The Christian Hirtzel homestead
was adjacent to it on the east, with the Shelby-Rush County line
at the junction of the two.
Conrad married Sallie Gruell, daughter of William H. and Emma
Irene (Boyd) Gruell in Rush County on August 21, 1907. When they
were courting, Conrad used to dress up in his finest, and sit
in the back of the church where Sallie sang in the choir. They
would make eyes at each other, and Sallie would look at Conrad
and giggle. Conrad was called by the nickname of Coonie. They
had two children; Carl Fredrick, born July 8, 1908; and Edna Irene,
born March 31, 1912.
Sallie died on September 10, 1916 at the young age of 29 due
to peritonitis, rumored to be a result of her attempt to abort
a fetus because she did not want a third child. After Sallie's
death, Conrad obtained the help of a housekeeper, Charity Mahin,
known as Aunt Charity; a wonderful widow lady who helped raise
the children like a substitute mother.
Conrad farmed, first with horses, then with tractors. In the
early years, Conrad had a lot of equipment which other farmers
did not, and he used to harvest their crops for them for a fee.
However, he had no interest in expanding his land holdings, so
the more aggressive neighbors passed him by. For some years, until
about the 1940s, Conrad and his brother Edward operated two threshing
rigs, one of which had a huge steam engine which was so heavy
that when it went down the gravel roads, the steel wheels would
crush the gravel almost to dust.
Conrad was the guardian of a mentally retarded farm hand named
Ross, who, although slow, was a willing worker and a very nice
person. Conrad treated him very well, and put half of his earnings
into a savings account for his retirement, and gave him the other
half to live on. The man's sister was always nagging Conrad to
get her hands on all of his money, but Conrad resisted even to
the day of his death; as Conrad's grandson Fred saw her leaving
Conrad's house the day he shot himself.
Fred had stopped by on his bicycle to get Richard Evans, Edna's
son, to go to church to practice for a play, but he had already
left. Conrad was sitting on the sofa resting his head on his cane.
He apparently shot himself in the temple a few hours after that.
Edna found his body in the milk house when she returned home and
searched for him. His body was displayed in the casket in a front
room of his house, and had to be taken through a window because
the door was not wide enough. He was taken up to the Manilla Christian
Church for the funeral, and was buried in East Hill Cemetery in
Rushville.
Conrad never married after Sallie's death, and later, shortly
before his death, had fallen out of a hay mow and lamed himself.
These misfortunes probably contributed to his despondency later
in life, leading to his suicide.
Carl Fredrick and Mabel (Wagoner) Gahimer
Carl grew up on the farm which his father Conrad had purchased
from his father William's estate. He went to a one room schoolhouse
down the road. He had to go to school early each morning to light
the fire. His mischievous neighbor, Floyd Crim, one day teased
Carl as he was carrying wood for the fire, and Carl started chasing
him around the schoolhouse. Crim picked up a board with some cow
manure on it and smacked Carl in the face with it as he came around
a corner. When Carl caught Crim, he almost killed him.
Carl married Mabel Wagoner on August 24, 1929, and they lived
on the farm which Conrad had bought south of the railroad on State
Road 44.
Aug. 24, 1929
PRETTY WEDDING AT HOME OF PASTOR
Rush County Couple, Well Known in Community, Married at Indianapolis
The home of the Rev. Mr. And Mrs. Harry T. Bridewell, 413 West
40th Street, Indianapolis, was the scene of a very pretty wedding
in which the contracting parties were Mabel Wagoner, of Homer
and Carl Gahimer of Manilla. The ceremony was performed at two
o'clock by the Rev. Bridewell, who is pastor of the Christian
church at Manilla. The young couple was attended by Miss Edna
Gahimer, sister of the groom, who was maid of honor, and Mr. Basil
Wagoner, the brother of the bride, who was best man. The beautiful
ring ceremony was used.
Mr. and Mrs. Gahimer are widely known in their respective communities
and are highly respected. The bride is the daughter of Mr. and
Mrs. Claude Wagoner of Homer. She attended the Homer and Manilla
schools as did Mr. Gahimer. The groom is the son of Conrad Gahimer,
a prominent farmer, who lives one and a half miles southwest of
Manilla. Mr. and Mrs. Gahimer will be with the parents of the
bride for a few days while their lovely country home is being
furnished, after which they will take residence at that place
which is a mile south of Manilla.
Carl and Mabel had three children: Anna Mae, born July 6, 1930;
Martha Jean, March 21, 1932; and Frederick Hugh, August 27, 1933.
Carl farmed with his father for many years, and then supplemented
his income by going to work at Allison's in Indianapolis at the
start of World War II, and eventually retiring from there after
28 years. Horses were used in the early farming, a matched pair
of brown ones, and a huge white mare called Malt. Malt was too
big to be matched in a team, so she was used for all the single-horse
tasks such as putting hay up in the barn or working in the garden.
The son, Fred, usually rode her during these jobs. One time while
putting up hay, Carl got his hand caught between the rope and
pulley on the hay fork as it was being pulled up by Malt with
Fred astride her. He yelled STOP!!. Fred heard the cry, reined
in Malt, and started to back her up to slack the rope. Carl, thinking
Fred was too slow, yelled, "God dammit, I said stop!"
(Having one's hand being ground up in a pulley would tend to make
one somewhat impatient.) His hand was torn up pretty bad, especially
two fingers, but as usual, he wrapped them up and went back to
work.
There were no conveniences in the early years of raising the
family. All the water had to be carried into the house from a
hand pump in back of the house, and all heating and cooking was
done with wood stoves. All the wood was cut from the woods on
Conrad's farm with big cross-cut hand saws, and cut to proper
lengths for splitting by a huge buzz saw powered by a tractor
power-take-off and long belt. The wood was stored in a wood house
near the house, and was split with an ax as needed for use. An
outside privy was used except when someone was too sick, and then
a covered pot was kept in the bedroom. Corn, wheat, oats, chickens,
hogs, milk cows, and beef cattle were raised. The meat for the
table was butchered using huge black iron pots outside. The meat
was stored in the smoke house or canned. Milk for drinking was
chilled in the icebox, cooled with a block of ice delivered by
the iceman. The cream was skimmed off for churning into butter.
Any surplus was sold. Vegetables from the garden were canned and
stored in the warm house, a kind of half-cellar with hollow walls
about six inches thick filled with sawdust insulation, which was
also over the ceiling and in the thick, hollow door to insulate
there.. Potatoes were stored in a bin in the warm house. The big
windmill in the barnyard pumped water from the barnyard well to
the horse tank nearby for the stock. The hay was stored in the
huge log barn. Five to eight cows were milked morning and night.
Conrad and his brother Edward had a partnership in a threshing
business, and threshed for people over three counties. The threshing
season was always exciting because of the crowd of men and machines
assembled for the task, and the huge meals the women cooked each
day for the men. It was an unforgettable sight to see the threshing
parade of huge steam engine pulling the thresher followed by a
long line of horse-drawn wagons as they came down the road to
the farm. Once they got the engine set up to power the thresher
with a long wide belt, the men in wagons would load up with the
sheaves of grain which had been stacked in shocks by the binder
crew and proceed two- by-two on each side of the thresher intake
to fork the sheaves into the hungry jaws of the monster from both
sides at once, while a man on top guided the exhaust of beaten
straw to a stack of beautiful gold to provide bedding material
for the animals. On the last trip of the big threshing engine,
before it was replaced by a tractor and combine, Conrad let his
son Fred take the wheel of the monster engine. Because of the
slack of the chains going to each wheel, the steering had about
one turn of play, which wore young Fred out in a hurry, and he
was only too glad to turn it back over to Grandpa.
Electricity was wired into the farm about 1937, and water was
piped into a hand pump at a sink in the kitchen a short time later.
Running water and a bathroom did not come until about 1945. The
wood stoves gave way to coal, then coke, then oil.
Dec. 28, 1973
MR. GAHIMER DIES AT HOME
Carl Fredrick Gahimer, 65, R.R. 6, Shelbyville, died unexpectedly
today at 7 a.m. at his home. He had been in failing health one
month and seriously ill two weeks.
A lifelong resident of Union Township, Mr. Gahimer was employed
with Detroit Diesel Allison Division, General Motors Corp., Indianapolis,
retiring last summer. He was a member of the Manilla Christian
Church.
Mr. Gahimer was born July 8, 1908, in Union Township, the son
of Conrad and Sally (Gruell) Gahimer. On Aug. 24, 1929, he married
Mabel Deloris Wagoner, who survives.
Also surviving are three children, Mrs. Frederick (Anna Mae)
John, New Carlisle; Mrs. Jack (Martha Jean) Skillman, R.R. 6,
Shelbyville; and Frederick Hugh Gahimer, Indianapolis; and 11
grandchildren. A sister preceded in death.
Services will be Monday at 10:30 a.m. at Carmony Funeral Home,
Shelbyville, with the Rev. Terry Fulk officiating. Burial will
be in East Hill Cemetery, Rushville. Friends may call at the funeral
home after 2 p.m. Sunday.
