The Farabaughs Move West

See the Blog Post introducing this page here

ship manifest from the Pacific in 1854 with Michael, Gertrude, and Josephine

The “western branch” of the Farabaugh family are the descendants of Michael Fehrenbacher (1810-1897). Michael was born in Kappel am Rhein, Grand Duchy of Baden, Germany on August 26, 1810. He was the youngest of six children born to Johann George Fehrenbacher and Maria Katharina Motz. His mother died in 1812 and his father then remarried to Franziska Gänshirth and had nine more children. Michael was one of the five children of Johann George who immigrated to the United States and lived in Cambria County, Pennsylvania. Of the five, Michael is the only one who continued further west into Minnesota. Within a decade or so of his death, many of his children and grandchildren had moved into the Dakotas, Montana, Washington, California and even into Western Canada. As a result, information for this branch of the Farabaugh family is more scattered and difficult to locate and to pull together. We hope that this account can help to fill in some of those gaps.

Michael married Maria Anna Stumpp on May 8, 1837 in Kappel am Rhein. By this time they already had 2 children: Karl (who went by Charles in the U.S.), born Jan. 24, 1834, and Bernhard, born Aug. 15, 1835.  Michael and Maria went on to have 8 more children together; Theresia b. Oct. 11, 1837- d. April 6, 1839, Josephine b. Jul. 6, 1839, Anselm b. Apr. 18, 1841, Emma b. Jun. 19, 1843, Reinhard b. Mar. 12, 1845, Bertha Margret b. Feb. 26, 1847, Leonard b. Nov. 4, 1848, and Anna Maria b. Aug. 28, 1850.  

Maria Anna died Dec. 10, 1850 and her infant daughter Anna Maria died Feb. 11, 1851. Michael married a second time to Gertrud Hoog on Mar. 27, 1851. Gertrud had a son Karl Friedrich Hoog (who later went by Fred Farabaugh in the U.S.) who was born on Aug. 20, 1848. His christening record lists him as being the illegitimate son of Gertrud Hoog and does not list a father. The twins, August and Martin Fehrenbacher, were born on Nov. 12, 1851 to Michael and Gertrud. 

Michael and his family immigrated to the United States in 1854. They left La Havre, France aboard the Pacific and arrived in New York on Sept. 18. The ship’s manifest lists the following: Michael Fehrenbacher (44), Gertrude (34), Josephine (14), illegible (Anselm - 12), Emma (9), Reinhard (8), Bertha (5), Charles (4), Leonard (4), Martin (¾), Auguste (¾).  Missing from this list are Karl (Charles) and Bernard.  “B. Firnbach” arrived in New York on July 28, 1853 (aged 17 yrs) from Bremen aboard the Nelson, and this may have been our Bernard.  We can not find specific documentation of Charles’ immigration, but the 1900 United States Census states that he also immigrated in 1853.  The obituary of Michael’s sister Victoria Bechtel states that she came to the U.S. in 1853 with her two nephews Michael and Bernard Farabaugh.  Perhaps they meant Charles and Bernard.  In any case, It was Michael’s two eldest sons who led the way for the rest of their family.

After arriving in America, the new immigrants ceased going by “Fehrenbacher”, and we find the family members adopting a number of other variations.  Farabaugh seems to have been the one used most often in Pennsylvania, but different family members settled on other versions as they moved further west. For most family members we see several different spellings or variations used on different documents over time, and it is difficult to say which is the most authoritative one for that individual. “Farnbach”, “Farenbaugh”, “Fernbaugh” and “Farbaugh” are just some of the variations used, although there are many others that appeared in documents where the person recording the name may have invented a spelling based on how they were hearing the name pronounced.

Michael’s family settled in Cambria County, Pennsylvania where his four siblings and two sons were already living. On the 1860 census, Michael and Gertrude Farabaugh are listed with Bernard (24), Emily (17), Reinhart (15), Martha (14), Frederick (12), Leonard (11), and Martin (10). We assume that the “Martha” mentioned is actually Bertha. Both Charles and Josephine were already married by 1860 and were listed separately with their spouses. Anselm Farabaugh was also listed on his own. In 1860 he was a resident of a hotel in Ebensburg Borough of Cambria Co. and is listed as a 17 year old laborer from Baden.

August does not appear on the 1860 census, and it seems that he has died by this point. This census is also the last reference that we can find to Martin. It seems likely that neither of the twins lived to adulthood.

Bernard may have been listed twice in the 1960 census; in addition to Bernard listed with his parents, there is also a 22 year old “Bernard Farabaugh” listed in Conemaugh Borough of Cambria Co. as a border with John and Mary A. Sibert; both the record with his parents and the one with the Siberts list him as a carpenter from Baden.

Charles married Mary Matilda Hines on Sept. 2, 1856 in Carrolltown, Cambria, PA. In the 1860 census he was listed as a farm laborer with Mary and their two children, Albert J. Farabaugh (2), and Michael A. (Augustine) Farabaugh (3 months).

Josephine married John (Johannes) Reger (Rieger) on Feb. 15, 1859 at St. Benedict's in Carrolltown; the witnesses were Bernard Fehrenbacher and Catherine Fehrenbacher (perhaps Josephine’s cousin, daughter of Augustine Fehrenbacher). Banns were read on Jan. 30th, Feb. 6th, and 15th. John's parents were listed as Joseph Rieger, (deceased) and Ursula, of Wurtemberg. Like Josephine’s brothers, John Reger and a brother, Anton, had immigrated from Germany in 1853 and the rest of their family followed them to Pennsylvania. The 1860 census lists “John Riger” as a 28 year old farm laborer from Wurtemberg and Josephine as a 28 year old from Baden in Carroll Twp. of Cambria County. They are listed just two families down from Michael and Gertrude.  Church records from St. Benedict’s indicate that by 1860 they had already had a daughter Mary Anna Ursula Reger who was born and baptized Nov. 9, 1859 but died Nov. 23, 1859 and was buried Nov. 24, 1859 in St. Benedict Cemetery. (Information from Peggy Link Green).

Over the next few years, the Civil War had a major impact on the lives of all these families. Anselm was mustered into service as a private for Company G of the 10th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers on Apr. 22, 1861, and mustered out on Jul. 31, 1861. Bernard mustered in on Jun. 25, 1861 and died of typhoid fever while in service as a private in Company A of the 40th Regiment Pennsylvania Volunteers, 11th Regiment Pennsylvania Reserves on Apr. 6, 1862 in Alexandria, Va.  Charles enlisted on Nov. 2, 1862 in the 171st Infantry, Company E, and mustered out Aug. 7, 1863.  John Reger mustered in as a private in Company C, Regiment 209 Pennsylvania Infantry on Sept. 1, 1864 and mustered out May 31, 1865.

Meanwhile, their families continued to grow.  During the war years, Charles and Mary Farabaugh had two more sons, Joseph Charles Farabaugh on Jan. 24, 1862 and Charles Gallitzin Farabaugh on Jun. 6, 1863.  

John and Josephine Reger had three more children: Catherine Reger, born Nov. 24, 1860 and baptized Dec. 5, 1860; Joseph Anthony Reger born Aug. 18, 1862 and baptized Aug. 27, 1862; and Maria Bertha Reger (or Bertha Mary) born Jun. 8, 1864 and baptized Jun. 15, 1864.  

Emma married Antone Marx on Jul. 31, 1860 at St. Patrick's Church, Cameron Bottom, Pennsylvania. Their son Aloysius Marx was born in 1862 (his death certificate says his birth was in 1860, but that is an outlier) and their daughter Magdaline Marx was born in 1864.

When the Civil War ended, the family members began to disperse westward. Anselm may have been the first to leave Pennsylvania. It is unclear exactly when he left, but we know that he married Sybilla A. Fischer on Aug. 1, 1865 in Black Hawk County, Iowa. In the 1870 US census they were listed in Waterloo, Black Hawk County, IA as A.M. Fernbaugh, a 27 year old from Baden who works at the flour mill, and “Syvillen” Fernbaugh, a 26 year old from Prussia who is keeping house. They were living in the household of John and Eliza Beshas at the time.

John and Josephine Reger also seem to have left Pennsylvania in 1865, shortly after John was mustered out of military service. We know this because their daughter Ella Reger was born Dec. 25, 1865 in Mankato, Minnesota (according to her obituary).  Their son Rinehart Sebastien Reger was born on Jan. 20 of either 1867 or 1868 in Shieldsville, Rice County, MN (according to a biography in a Cass County, ND history book). A daughter, Philemina Reger was born Aug. 31, 1869 and died by 1870 (no documentation).  In the 1870 US Census, the Regers were listed in Rice county as the “Roger” family, but the other details clearly confirm that it is them: John is described as a 36 year old farmer born in Wurttemberg; Josephine, 30 years old and born in Baden, was keeping house; Catharine (10), Joseph (8), and Bertha (6) were all born in Pennsylvania and attending school; and Ella (4) and “Rinat” (2) were born in Minnesota. The household also included 70 year old Ocela Reger (presumably John’s mother Ursula Reger), a retired housekeeper born in Wurttemberg.

It wasn’t long before more of Josephine’s Farabaugh siblings moved out to Minnesota as well. Her sister Bertha married Michael Kiefer in 1867 in Nicktown, Cambria, PA, but by the 1870 census, Bertha and Michael were living in the hamlet of Beaver Falls, Renville County, MN.  He is listed as “Michael Kofer”, a 22 year old shoemaker from Hesse Darmstadt, and she was listed as “Burtha Kofer”, a 22 year old homemaker from Prussia. Their daughter Marie Anna Kiefer was listed as “Annie Kofer” who was born in Pennsylvania. Annie was baptised at St. Nicholas’ in Cambria County, PA on Jul. 27, 1868. According to Bertha’s obituary, she and Michael were married in 1868 and moved to Beaver Falls, MN one year later. Micheal received a land patent through cash entry in 1873 for the east half of the east quarter of section 18 in Birch Cooley township, just a few miles east of Beaver Falls. They are not listed in any censuses living at this location, but they probably farmed it while living in Beaver Falls. He was still listed as the owner of this property on the 1888 plat map of Birch Cooley township.

On the 1870 census, Josephine and Bertha’s brother Reinhart is also found in Renville County, MN.  He is listed as “Reinhart Fernbuck”, a 28 year old farmer from Baden who is living with the Canfield family in Birch Cooley township. It may be that Reinhart had come out to Renville County with his brother-in-law and sister. In 1871, Reinhart married Anna D. Koreis in New Ulm, Brown County, MN. On Aug. 15, 1872 “Rainhart Farnbach” was issued a patent for 40 acres of land in the NE¼ of the SE¼ of section 30 of township 113 of range 34 (Birch Cooley).  He acquired these 40 acres through cash entry, paid in full.

Leonard and Fred had also come to Minnesota by 1870. On that census they were listed together in a boarding house in Fond Du Lac, St. Louis County as 21-year-old “Leonard Franuebaugh” and 23-year-old “Fred Franuebaugh”, both of whom were laborers born in Baden. Before long, however, they joined their siblings in Renville County. According to his biography in The History of Renville County, Minnesota (1916),  “Leonard Farrenbach worked out on the farms until he was 25 years old; then he bought eighty acres in section 9, Birch Cooley township, in 1871, where he still lives.”  In Fred’s obituary, it states that “In 1871 he removed to Renville County, locating on a farm near Birch Cooley.”  On Aug. 4, 1873 Leonard married Mary Ann Poss, a young lady from back in Carroll Township, Cambria, PA, and on Jul. 4, 1876, Fred married her sister Catharine Poss.

By 1870, then, the members of the Michael Farabaugh family still living in Cambria County, PA were Michael and Gertrude, Charles and his family, and Emma and her family. In the 1870 United States Census, Michael is listed as “Michael Farabaugh,” a 58 year-old German farmer in Carroll Township with land worth $1200 and personal estate worth $225. He is living with 51 year-old “Catharine Farabaugh,” also from Germany, who keeps house.  We assume that Catharine is Gertrude (perhaps a middle name?).  

Charles is listed as “Charly Farabaugh,” a 35 year-old farmer from Baden with land worth $1000 and personal worth of $812.  He is living in Blacklick Township with his wife “Mary M” (34) and their children “Albert” (13), “Augustine” (Michael A? - 11), “Joseph” (9), “Charles” (6), “Sylvester Farabaugh” (5), “M” (Margaret Farabaugh - 1).  

On the same page of the 1870 census, we find Emma and her family. She is listed as 28 year old “Emily Marks” from Baden. She is “keeping house” with her husband, “Anthony Marks,” a 34 year old farmer from Bavaria with real estate worth $500 and a personal worth of $150. Their children listed were “Aloysius” (8), “Magdeline” (6), “Theresa Marx'' (3), and “Coony” (Konigunde Marx - 1).  

Michael and Gertrude were the next to leave Pennsylvania.  They seem to have moved out to Renville County, MN by about 1872 (in the 1895 Minnesota State Census Michael says that he has been in the state for 23 years).  In the 1875 Minnesota State Census, “Michael Fernbaugh,” age 64, and “Catharine Fernbaugh,” age 54, both born in Baden, are living in Beaver Falls, Renville County, MN.

Their daughter Bertha (27) was also living in Beaver Falls at that time with her husband Michael Kiefer (27) and children Mary (4), John Kiefer (4), and “Emma” (Mary Emma Kiefer - 2).

By this point, Reinhart, Leonard, and Fred were all living nearby in Birch Cooley township.  “Rinehart Fernbach” (27) and “Anna Fernbach” (22), both born in Germany, had two children, “Amy” (Anna M Fernbach - 3) and “Joseph” (Reinhart Joseph Fernbaugh - 1) - both born in Minnesota. They all appear to be living with the Fred and Christie Yaeger family.  

A few pages later, “Leonard Fernbach” (25), born in Germany, and “Mary Fernbach” (20), born in Pennsylvania, are living with their son “Michael Fernbach,” (Michael Farenbaugh - 1), born in Minnesota. 

Right next door is “Fred Fernbach” (26), born in Germany. Living with him are Andy Poss (10) and Lena Poss (15), both born in Pennsylvania, who were Leonard’s in-laws and Fred’s future in-laws. Just after Fred on the census is Patrick Poss (50), born in Ireland. Obviously he is somehow related to Andy, Lena, and Mary Anne, but we are not sure how.  A year later Fred would marry Mary’s sister Catharine Poss, but she does not seem to be on the 1875 census.

By 1875 John and Josephine Reger were also living in Renville County with their children.  They settled in Norfolk Township, just north of Birch Cooley. On the 1875 census, they are listed as “John Rager” (43) of Wurttemberg, “Josephene Rager” (35) of Baden, “Catharine Rager” (14) - PA, “Joseph Reger” (12) - PA, “Bartha Reger” (10) - PA, “Ellen Reger” (8) - MN, “Rinehart Rager” (6) - MN, “Josephine Reger” (4) - MN, “Mary P Rager” (Mary Rosianna Reger - 2) - MN, and “Johanna Reger” (0) - MN.  We do not know the exact time that they moved to Renville County, but we have a birth record for Josephine Reger from February of 1871 in New Ulm, Brown County, MN,  so they came sometime after that (probably around 1872 or 1873). Based on later plat maps, it appears that the Regers lived just north of the Birch Cooley/Norfolk Township line - and just a few miles north of the farms owned by Leonard and Fred Farabaugh.

Emma and Antone Marx had also departed from Pennsylvania by the mid 1870s, but they moved to Kansas rather than Minnesota. It is uncertain exactly when they arrived in Kansas. It might help if there were birth records for their children, but we have been unable to find such documents. They are almost certainly the “E Marse” (32) and “A Marse” (39) listed in the 1875 Kansas State Census near the Ellinwood Post Office, Township of Lakin, County of Barton with their children “A Marse” (13), “M Marse” (10), “T Marse” (Theresa Marx - 3), “C Marse” (7), “CC Marse” (Christina Marx - 6), and “R Marse” (Rosa Magdelina Marx - 1). 

Eventually, Charles and Mary Matilda’s family were the only ones left in Pennsylvania (aside from Charles’ numerous cousins). As of 1880, they were still living in Blacklick, Cambria, PA. Charles was listed on the federal census as a 47 year-old farmer and Matilda as 42 and keeping house. They were listed with 9 children, Augustine (19), Joseph (17), Charles (16), Maggie A. (11), John Farabaugh (9), Elizabeth Farabaugh (7), Mary (Mary Caroline Farabaugh - 5), William (William Celestine Farabaugh - 2), and Harry (Henry Albert Farabaugh - 0). The eldest of the children, Albert J. Farabaugh was already married to Martha Ann McNeil by 1880 and they had moved to Pine Township, Indiana County, PA. The child “Sylvester,” who had appeared in the 1870 census between Charles and Margaret, was not listed and had probably passed away. He is likely the “Son of Chas. & M. Farabaugh, Died Dec. 6, 1870, Aged 3 Years” who was buried in Saint Nicholas Cemetery, Nicktown, Cambria County, Pa. There were no other censuses for this family until 1900, by which time Charles and Matilda were living alone in Spangler Borough, Cambria, PA. All of their children appear to have stayed in Pennsylvania as well. Matilda died of a paralytic stroke on Nov. 21, 1904 in Spangler, PA. Charles died Nov. 28, 1909 in Spangler, PA.  Both of them are buried in St. Nicholas Church Cemetery in Nicktown.

Meanwhile, Anselm Farabaugh established himself in Waterloo, Black Hawk, Iowa.  He worked for a while as a miller and eventually purchased some property in town.  At the time of the 1880 census, he was listed as “Anselm Fernback,” a 39 year-old landlord of the Western Hotel, and his wife “Sibyl Fernback” was 38 and keeping house. They did not have any children. Anselm was a colorful character whose exploits were often documented in the local newspaper (The Courier in Black Hawk). Anthony Bentivegna gathered these stories into an extensive list on his Farabaugh Family database and profiled him in an entertaining blog post for “The Farabaughs of Cambria County” website. In any case, in 1882 Anselm divorced Sybilla and married Margaret “Maggie” Fernbach, a much younger woman recently divorced from her husband Jacob Fernbach (who does not seem to have been related to Anselm). Sybilla also remarried, to Edward Chapman. Anselm and Maggie adopted Charles Michael Fernbach, who was born in 1884. In 1891, according to reports in The Courier, Anselm fell from the platform at the door of the second story of his residence near the Western House, and was instantly killed, his skull being fractured and neck broken by the fall. He was only 50 years old. Maggie stayed on in Black Hawk for a few more years but eventually sold everything and moved to Genesee, New York. Maggie and Charles lived out the rest of their lives in New York State.

Through the late 1870s and early 1880s, Emma and Antone Marx lived 4½ miles northwest of Ellinwood, Kansas. On the 1880 census, “Anton” was a 46 year-old farmer born in Bavaria, and “Emma Marx”, his 36 year-old wife born in Baden, was keeping house. They had 7 children living with them: “Aloysius” (18), “Theresa” (13), “Kunigunde” (12), “Christina” (10), and “Rosa” (6) all born in Pennsylvania; Emma Marx (4) and Josephine Marx (5/12) were both born in Kansas. We can gather some more information about their family from the local paper, the Ellinwood Express. On Jun. 7, 1883 the Express reported a tragic event that befell the Marx family. Anton was working as a carpenter in the employ of the railroad company, leaving the farmwork to Emma. While she was cultivating corn her horse was startled and she was thrown under the shovels of the cultivator. Her injuries were extensive and on the 21st of June the Express reported that she had died on June 18th. Her death announcement mentioned that “she was the mother of fifteen children, seven of whom survived her.” Antone married Mary Frances Eppel in 1884 and moved to Texas. It was there that the eldest son, Aloysius “Al” Marx, stepped into the ring with John L Sullivan at the Opera House in Galveston. This launched a career in boxing and show business that makes for a great story. Al traveled extensively and lived in a number of different locations, but he eventually returned to Texas before his death. Some of the other Marxs stayed in Texas, but Theresa lived in Kansas and Emma made it all the way out to San Joaquin, California.

The rest of the Michael Farabaugh clan carried on in Minnesota, and for a few years in the 1870s, they were all in Renville County. This did not last long, however.

It was Reinhart who left Renville County first. According to the obituary of his wife Anna, they lived in Birch Cooley, Renville County for five years after their marriage in 1871, putting their departure at approximately 1876. They then spent five years in the West Newton Township of Nicollet County, MN. This is where they were for the 1880 federal census, which records “Rineht Farnbach,” a 36 year-old farmer born in Baden, his 28 year-old wife “Anna Farnbach,” born in Bohemia, and their 5 children, all born in Minnesota: Anna (8), Joseph (6), Mary Farnbach (4), John Farnbach (3), and Isabella (Sibylla Farnbach - 1). They then moved on to Sibley County, MN where they lived in Arlington for a couple of years before moving onto a farm in the Bismark Township, twelve miles southeast of Stewart, MN.  They were living in the Bismark township for the 1885 Minnesota State Census which recorded “Reinhard Farenbach,” (40) born in Baden, “Anna Farenbach,” (33) born in Bohemia, and their children Anna (13), Joseph (11), Mary T. (9), John (8), “Cybelle” (Sibella - 6), “Wilhelmine Farenbach” (Wilhelmina Farnbach - 4), “Peter Farenbach” (Peter Farnbach - 2), and “Razila Farenbach” (Rosa Celia Fernbach - 11 months), all born in Minnesota. Reinhart and Anna had three more children after this census: Charles Louis Fernbach in 1886, Emma Marie Ann Farnbach in 1889, and Katharine Fernbach in 1892. They spent the next few decades on the farm in Bismarck Township, Sibley County, MN.

Bertha and Mike Kiefer and family were the next to move on from Renville County. In 1880, they were still living in Beaver Falls in the residence of Wilhelm Oldenburg, a 65 year-old widowed shoemaker. Since Michael Kiefer was also a shoemaker, he may have been a partner with Mr. Oldenburg. The relationship listed on the census is difficult to read but seems to say “son-in-law”, but that does not fit any other information that we have about Michael. It may have just been a mistake on the part of the census taker because Michael’s actual in-laws, Michael and Gertrude Farabaugh (“Michal Farnbow” and “Gertud Farnbow”), were living right next door (immediately below the Kiefers on the census). On the 1880 census, the Kiefers were listed as “Keefer,'' and the family consisted of “Michal” (32), Bertha (33), Mary (12), John (9), “Mariana” (Mary Emma - 7), “Elizabeth Keefer” (Elizabeth A. Kiefer - 4), and “Michal” (Michael Anselm Kiefer - 2). According to Bertha’s obituary, the family moved to Sleepy Eye in 1882. There is no indication of the reason for the move, but we get some clues from snippets in the New Ulm Review. We find mention there of M. Kiefer of Sleepy Eye paying taxes of $10.36 in 1884, but we also see that Mr. Wilhelm Oldenburg was collecting $5 a month from the Brown County Poor Fund in 1883 and 1884, so it may be that the shoemaker business in Beaver Falls fell on hard times. Presumably prospects were better in Sleepy Eye. It may also have been that Bertha had a falling out with her father. In his will, dated Oct. 24, 1896, “Michael Farbaugh” leaves $100 each to most of his children but leaves Bertha only $1.00 and states “and if there is any left over, Bertha is not to have any share of it.” This may imply that the falling out had something to do with money. In any case, the Kiefers moved on to Sleepy Eye in about 1882, and lived there for the rest of their lives.

The situation for Leonard and Fred was also complicated, with both men being widowed during this time period. Leonard and his wife Mary Ann had 3 more children (in addition to Michael): Leonard Farenbaugh Jr. in 1875, Anna Emily Farenbaugh in 1877, and Ellen “Nellie” Farenbaugh in 1879. Mary Ann then died in 1879, leaving Leonard widowed with four children. On the 1880 census, they are listed as “Leonard Faurnbough“ 35 year-old widowed farmer born in Baden, and Michael (6), Leonard (5), Annie (3), and Ellen (1). Living with them are: Leonard’s brother, Fred, listed as “Frederick Faurnbough”  32 year-old farmer born in Baden; “Kate Faurnbough” 22 year-old sister-in-law, (Catherine Poss - Fred’s wife and sister of Mary Ann); 2 year-old niece, “Mary Faurnbough” (Mary Farenbaugh - daughter of Fred and Kate); “Elizabeth Pass” (27 year-old sister-in-law, at home); “Helena Pass” (probably the Lena mentioned in the 1875 MN state census - 19 year-old sister-in-law, school teacher); “Andrew Pass” (probably the Andy mentioned in the 1875 MN state census - 15 year-old brother-in-law, at school); “Kate Abth” (80 year-old widow born in Wurttemberg - listed as mother-in-law but probably Poss grandmother). 

By the time of the 1885 MN state census, the Poss siblings were gone, but the household was no less complex. This time Fred is mentioned first. He is listed as “Fred Frannburgh” (34) with “Kate” (27) and “Mary” (6). After them, but presumably in the same household (as there are no household numbers on this census) are “Lenord Frannburgh” (35), “Sopha Shaskey” (24 year-old female), “Luda Hanson” (23 year-old male), “Lenord Frannburgh” (9), “James M Tracy” (30 year-old male), “Emily Frannburgh”  (8 - probably Leonard’s daughter Anna E), “Mary M Tracy” (25), “Robert Tracy” (4), “George Tracy” (3), “Adolphn Tracy” (2), “John Tracy” (6 mo.), “Adolphn Tracy” (2). This census does not list relationships, so some guess work is involved, but we assumed that the non-”Frannburghs” are boarders or laborers. We have no idea why there are two Adolphn Tracys! Adding to the confusion is the fact that Leonard’s children, Leonard and Anna (Emily?) are not listed with him and that his other two children, Michael and Ellen, are missing from this record. We were eventually able to find them listed with Bertha and Michael Kiefer (see below).

In any case, the instability continued. Helena Farenbaugh was born to Fred and Kate in about 1885, and may have been named after Kate’s sister “Lena” who passed away in 1884. Just a few years later, on Aug. 27, 1887 “Kate” Catharine Farabaugh died, and she was interred next to her sisters Mary Ann Farabaugh and Magdalena (Lena) Poss in St. Patrick’s cemetery, Birch Cooley township. Fred was now widowed with two children and Leonard was widowed with four children. Their parents, Michael and Gertrude, were still living nearby in Beaver Falls and their sister Josephine Reger and her family were also still living just a few miles north of them in Norfolk Township, and we presume that these families would have helped to support them. Nevertheless, those must have been difficult years. 

Then, after so many years of living and working so closely with each other, and having married two sisters and grieving their deaths together, the two brothers' lives began to diverge. Fred remarried first to Franziska Hoehn on Oct. 16, 1888. They had a daughter, Franzietta Farenbaugh in Sept. 1889. They then moved to New Ulm, Brown County, MN in 1891 (according to Fred’s obituary) and Fred lived there until his death.

Leonard married Mary Agnes Ryan on Jan. 7, 1890. They end up having 9 children together: Bernard (1891), Margaret (1892), Mary (1895), Gertrude (1897), Michael (1899), Phillip (1900), Catharine (1902), and the twins: Bertha and Emma (1903). According to the History of Renville County (pg 507), Leonard and Mary stayed on the farm except for a ten year period between 1900 and 1910 when they lived in Morton. He would end up being the only one of the Farabaughs to stay in Renville County until his death.

Michael and Gertrude were still living in Beaver Falls for the 1885 Minnesota State Census and were listed as “M. Farenbaugh,” a 74 year-old born in Germany, and “Karthrud Farenbaugh,” a 64 year-old also born in Germany. The next document that mentions either of them is a record of death for “Gertrud Fehrubach” in the village of Sleepy Eye Lake on Jan. 15, 1893. We assume that she had gone to Sleepy Eye because Bertha was living there, but we do not know if Michael accompanied her. Two years later, Michael was living with Reinhart’s family in Bismarck Township, County of Sibley, MN. In the 1895 Minnesota State Census, “Michael Farnbach” is described as an 83 year-old farmer born in Baden who has only lived in Sibley county for one month. He didn’t stay there long. His will was composed in October of 1896 in Blacklick County, PA where he was apparently living with Charles and Matilda. He died there Mar. 16, 1897 and is buried at St. Nicholas Cemetery in Nicktown, PA. At the time of his death, he apparently still owned property in Beaver Falls and in Sleepy Eye, according to his will.

The last to leave the area, other than Leonard, were Josephine and John Reger. They continued residing at their farm in Norfolk Township, Renville County throughout the 1880s and into the 1890s. On the 1880 census, John Reger is a 47 year-old farmer born in Wurttemberg and Josephine Reger is his 36 year-old wife from Baden who is keeping house. They have nine children living with them: Katrina (19) and Bertha (16), both born in Pennsylvania; Ella (14), Rinehart (11), Josephine (10), Mary R (8), Johanna (6), Annie (Anna Reger - 4), Charles Reger (1/12) all of whom were born in Minnesota. John’s nephew, John Reger (24), son of his brother Anton, was living with them and working as a laborer. Joseph was 18 and was working on a farm in Elk River Township, County of Sherburne, MN. One daughter, Emma Reger, who was born in 1878, had passed away in 1880 prior to the census. There were more changes to come for the Reger family. A new daughter, Agnes Reger, was born in 1881, but little Charles passed away in 1882. In the 1885 Minnesota State Census, the Regers were listed as “Reeger” and the family members were: John (52), Josephine (45), “Ellen” (Ella - 20), Reinhart (17), Josephine (15), Mary (14), Johanna (10), Anna (8), and Agnes (3). Missing from this list are Katrina, Joseph, and Bertha who were all old enough to be on their own but who do not appear on the 1885 census. We do know that both Bertha and Joseph got married that year. They married a brother and sister, William and Catherine Duffey in a double wedding on Oct. 19 in Renville County. Katrina is more of a mystery; she disappears from the records at this point and we do not know if she married or died between 1880 and 1885. Ella was also presumed dead by 1885 on most online family trees until a few years ago. As a descendant of Ella Reger, I knew the rest of her story, but had to backtrack to connect her to her family in Renville. Perhaps someone will do the same for Katrina one day.

As the Reger children married, some of them began to move away with their spouses. In the 1895 state census, John and Josephine Reger were still on the family farm in Norfolk and “Annie Reger” (18) was the only one still living with them. Joseph Reger lived right next door with his wife Kate and their four children, and his youngest sister “Aggie” was living with them. Bertha and William Duffey and their four children were also living in Norfolk. Ella was listed nearby in Bird Island as “Ella Brown” (30) living with her daughter Agnes Brown (7) in the household of the Daniel Foley family. We have not found a marriage for Ella and a Mr Brown but Agnes is consistently listed in later documents as having been born in Seattle, Washington. Family oral history states that Mr. Brown died in a railroad accident shortly after Agnes’ birth. By 1895, Ella may have just recently returned to Renville County to be closer to her parents. Rinehart, Josephine, Mary, and Johanna had all married and moved away by this point.

Shortly after this census, however, there was a more dramatic exodus of the Regers from Renville County. By 1900 many of them had moved 180 miles north to the Mantrap Township of Hubbard County, MN. In the federal census for that year we find five of the Reger families living there in close proximity to each other. John Reger (68) and Josephine (60) are living with their daughter “Agness” (19). Rinehart “Regger” (40) and his wife Anna Reger (nee Kavanaugh - 30), lived just east of them with their children John P. Reger (5), Benedict Reger (4), Mary Reger (2), and Catharine G. Reger (5/12). William “Duffy” (40) and Bertha (35) lived just north of Rinehart’s farm with their children “Katie” (Katharine Duffey - 10), Charles Duffey (9), James Duffey (8), “Willie” (William A. Duffey - 6), Mary Duffey (3), and John Duffey (6/12). John and Josephine’s daughter Anna (25) and her husband Joseph Kavanaugh (26 - brother of Rinehart’s wife, Anna), and their children “Jane” (Jennie Agnes Kavanaugh - 2), and Jeremiah Kavanaugh (1) lived just just west of them. Ella had recently married Louis Sanders (49), and was living just north of the Kavanaughs as “Ellen Sanders” (34) with Louis and with her daughter Agnes Brown (13). John and Josephine and their children and their children’s families therefore made up 24 of the 69 inhabitants (about 35%) of Mantrap Township in 1900.

John and Josephine’s eldest son Joseph (38) was the only one to stay back in Renville County. In 1900, he and his wife Catharine (38) were still living in Norfolk Township with their children Mary Reger (says “18” but was actually born in 1886), James Reger (10), Alfred Reger (9), John Reger (7), Christina Reger (5), “Kate” (Catharine Reger - 3), and Joseph Reger (2). They had two more children, Gertrude Helen Reger, born later in 1900, and William Francis Reger, born in 1902. Joseph continued farming in Renville County for another couple of decades but moved to Minneapolis at some point in the 1920s. In 1930 he was listed as a watchman at a garbage plant in Minneapolis. Joseph died in Minneapolis in 1955.

We have no record of the precise reason why the other Regers left, but there are hints. A neighbor of theirs, J.H. Nixon later recalled that, “When the Panic of 1893 came, it hit many farmers in southern Minnesota and Iowa, who had small real estate loans on their farms. The loan company refused to renew them, but foreclosed, leaving the farmers only a small amount of money that their personal property would bring. Most of them had children and were forced to look for homesteads. They moved north in covered wagons. Many of them came to southeastern Hubbard County, arriving with very little money.” (J.H. Nixon quoted in the History of Nevis Public School). Perhaps this described the Regers as well. 

In any case, we do know that the Reger-related families all applied for land patents in Hubbard County under the homestead act. None of them had been able to do this for their land in Renville County. We also know that to obtain their land title, homesteaders had to pay a small filing fee, continuously reside on the land for 5 years and make improvements to it. We can then calculate back five years from when they received their patents to find out when they arrived.  Based on this, it appears that Ella was the first to arrive, because she received her land patent first, on Feb. 27, 1901. Surprisingly this means that, as a single mother with an 8 year-old daughter, Ella arrived to homestead the rugged bush-filled land in February of 1896 (at the latest) before any of her other relatives. The Kavanaughs probably came a year later in 1897, because Joseph received his land patent in 1902. Rinehart Reger seems to have come in 1898, and John and Josephine Reger and William and Bertha Duffey came in 1899. Louis Sanders, Ella’s husband, did not receive his land patent until 1905 and thus had probably not begun his claim until 1900, the year he married Ella.

In many ways, John and Josephine Reger followed the pattern laid down by Josephine’s father and step-mother, Michael and Gertrude Farabaugh. As an older couple, they left their eldest son to carry on their farm while moving on to homestead with many of their other adult children. And just like her stepmother, Josephine died well before her husband. On Feb. 1, 1901 The Journal in Sauk Rapids, MN reported that “Mrs. John Reger of Park Rapids underwent an operation for the removal of a cancer. She is 60 years old and is the mother of Mrs. Wm Welsh and DS Coles of this village.” (Mrs. William Welsh was Josephine’s daughter Mary and Mrs. Dennison Steele Coles was her daughter Josephine.) On Aug. 3 of that year, Josephine Reger died in Park Rapids, Hubbard County, MN and she was buried in the Straight River Township Cemetery in Park Rapids.

None of Josephine’s family would end up being laid to rest alongside her, as they all eventually left Hubbard County, much as the Farabaughs had moved on from Renville County. The Duffeys moved out to Washington State and eventually ended up in Teton, Montana. The Rinehart Reger family moved on to Cass County, North Dakota.  The Kavanaughs also spent time in North Dakota but eventually came back to Minnesota to live in Clearwater County. The youngest, Agnes, ended up living in Seattle, Washington, where she died as “Agnes London.” Ella and Louis Sanders stayed in Hubbard County the longest, but they eventually moved to Alberta, Canada in 1910 to support their daughter Agnes who was newly widowed. Even the Reger siblings who had not lived in Hubbard County tried their luck out West. Josephine and Dennison Coles ended up in Post Falls, Idaho and Mary and William Welsh moved to Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Johanna was married three times (Perusse, Davis, and Chamberlain) and lived in North Dakota, Montana, Missouri, and Kansas before ending up in Cleveland, Ohio. There is documentation of John Reger traveling to visit his far-flung children and living with them for extended periods of time in his later years. His appearance on the 1911 Canadian census in Whitla, Alberta was a key document that helped link Ella Sanders to the rest of the Reger family. John Reger died in Page, Cass County, North Dakota in 1922 at the age of 90. He had been living with Rinehart’s family at the time. We have heard that there is an obituary for John, and we would love to see it, but have been unable to locate a copy so far.

The last four surviving children of Michael Farabaugh died within a few years of each other between 1918 and 1920. Reinhart Fernbach was the first. Reinhart and Anna moved from their farm in Bismarck Township into Stewart in 1911, and Anna passed away there two years later. Reinhart continued living in Stewart with his daughter, Miss Katharine Fernbach, until his death in 1918. 

Some of Reinhart’s children stayed in Minnesota, but quite a few ventured west to North Dakota and beyond. Anna married Peter Klinkhammer and moved to Sargent County, ND. Son Joseph also lived in Sargent County, ND until after the death of his first wife, Josephine, but then moved on to Montana where he died in a coal mining accident. Mary married Theo Kujas and lived in Winthrop, Sibley County, MN. John L. also tried his hand at farming in North Dakota after marrying Jenny Reimer, but eventually moved back to Bird Island, Renville County, MN. Sibylla married Lewis Campbell in Cass County, ND but lived most of her life in Minneapolis and married a second time to William Manning.  Peter also lived in North Dakota where he married Grace Rumsey, but they moved to Denver, Colorado and eventually to Los Angeles, California. Rosa married Henry Habeck in Sibley County, MN and moved to North Dakota. She later married Fred Packard and moved to Idaho. Charles married Gladys Jordan, farmed in Sargent County, ND for many years and moved to Lisbon, Ransom County, ND in the 1930s. Emma married J. Carl Sherer and they lived in Middleville Township, Wright County, MN. Kate married George Schoenecker and lived in McLean County, ND.

Fred Fernbach was the next of Michael’s children to pass. After settling in New Ulm in 1891, Fred became the assistant overseer and later the overseer of the Catholic cemetery and sexton of The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. In 1915, Fred fell heavily and broke his hip while on his way to attend to duties at the convent.  His recovery was difficult, but he did return to his overseer job and apparently enjoyed good health until a few months before his death in April of 1919. At the time of his death, his daughters Sister Coelina and Sister Conradina lived in Chicago and his daughter Miss Lena Fernbach was employed at St. Francis hospital in Superior, Wisconsin. His wife Frances continued to live in New Ulm until her death in 1937.

Since Leonard and Fred were so closely linked for so much of their lives, it seems fitting that they died within a few years of each other. Leonard is mentioned in the newspaper as attending Fred’s funeral in 1919. Seventeen months later, on Sept. 27, 1920, Leonard died at St. Mary’s hospital in Minneapolis. His obituary notes that he had been in failing health for several years. At the time of his passing, nine of his thirteen children were still living: “Len” (Leonard) of Norfolk Twp, Renville, MN; “Annie” (Anna - Mrs. Timothy Ryan) of Olivia, Renville, MN; Ellen (widow of Julius Voerge) of Seattle, Washington; Margaret (Mrs. Joseph Brazil) of Birch Cooley, Renville, MN; Mary (Mrs. Dennis Stasson) of Birch Cooley; Gertrude (Mrs. Joseph Fessenmaier) of Morton, Renville, MN; Phillip of Morton; Catharine of Morton and Emma of Morton. Given that Leonard stayed in Renville county even after all of his siblings left, it is not a surprise that so many of his children stayed in the area as well. Mary died in 1930 in St. Paul, MN and the two are buried together in Saint John's Catholic Church Cemetery in Morton. Their daughter Catharine later married John A. DeWerd. They moved to Barnesville, Clay, MN and eventually Mesa, Arizona. Emma married Edmund Hermann and remained nearer to her Renville siblings, living just a little west of Morton in Redwood Falls, Redwood, MN.

By late 1920, Bertha was the last surviving member of the Michael Farabaugh family that had immigrated from Baden. She and husband Michael Kiefer had raised their five children in Sleepy Eye, where Michael owned a shoe store. Their names appeared occasionally in the New Ulm Review and the New Ulm Post (the German language paper), such as when they took their son Michael and some friends to The World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893. Their daughter Mary, who married Patrick Murphy in 1889, died of typhoid in 1893, and Mary’s young daughters “Mayme” (Mary Margaret) and Florence Murphy came to live with Kiefers and were raised by them. Their son John Kiefer married Anna Graff and stayed in Sleepy Eye, where he ran a barber shop. The youngest sibling, Dr. Michael Anselm Kiefer married Lucy Fury and they also lived in Sleepy Eye, where Dr. Kiefer had a medical practice. Elizabeth married John P. Graff in 1903 (probably the brother of her sister-in-law Anna) who was also a barber. In the 1911 Sleepy Eye City Directory, “Kiefer and Graff” barbers shared a building with Dr. Michael A Kiefer, physician. Elizabeth and John Graff later moved to Mankato where he became an implement dealer. Mary Emma Kiefer married Walter Whiting White, and they lived in several different locations from Oklahoma to California and back to Minnesota. On Oct. 26, 1917 the New Ulm Post printed an announcement of the Golden Anniversary of Michael and Bertha Kiefer with a short biographical writeup (in German). Less than a year later, Michael Kiefer Sr. died on Jul. 18, 1918 and his death record lists Dr. M.A. Kiefer as the attending physician. Between 1917 and 1920 Bertha lost her husband as well as her brothers Reinhart, Frederick, and Leonard. By the 1920 census, she was living in Duluth with her granddaughter Florence, who was now married to Lawrence Wheeler. According to her obituary, Bertha died while seated in a chair in Duluth in the home of her granddaughter. It seems that at the time of her death, the woman who had taken in her brother’s children and later her grandchildren when their mothers died, was being cared for by her own granddaughter.

Summary:

The family of Michael Farabaugh (Michael Fehrenbacher 1810-1897) are difficult to research after they departed from Cambria County, PA because they:

1. utilized many different variations of the surname

2. spread out so widely

3. moved to newly settled areas where record keeping was less consistent

That said, they left enough clues behind to piece together the story, if you know where to look. The broad strokes of the tale go something like this:

Michael’s first wife, Maria Anna Stumpp died Dec. 10, 1850. Their daughter 

• Theresia Fehrenbacher (1837 - 1839) died many years earlier, and 

• Anna Maria Fehrenbacher (Aug. 28, 1850 - Feb. 2, 1851) died not long after her mother.

This left Michael with eight children:

• Karl Fehrenbacher (1834–1909) who went by “Charles Farabaugh” in America.

• Bernhard Fehrenbacher (1835–1862)

• Josephine Fehrenbacher (1839–1901)

• Anselm Fehrenbacher (1841–1891)

• Emma Fehrenbacher (1843–1883)

• Reinhard Fehrenbacher (1845–1918)

• Bertha Fehrenbacher (1847–1920)

• Leonhard Fehrenbacher (1848–1920)

On Mar. 27, 1851 Michael married Gertrud Hoog (1819–1893).  She already had a son,

• Karl Friedrich Hoog (1848-1919) who was presumably adopted by Michael and went by “Fred Farnbach” (or some variation of that name) in America.

On Nov. 12, 1851 Gertrud gave birth to twins:

• August Fehrenbacher (1851 - ?)

• Martin Fehrenbacher (1851 - ?)

In 1853, the two eldest sons, Charles and Bernard, left for America with Michael’s half-sister Victoria Fehrenbacher (1832–1905). Michael already had a brother Augustin Fehrenbacher (1800-1874) who had come to the United States in 1833 and two half-brothers, Johann Georg Fehrenbacher (1818-1884) and Matthias Fehrenbacher (1821-1885) who joined him around 1846. All of these family members settled in Cambria County, Pennsylvania. Michael, Gertrud, and the rest of their children joined them in 1854. In Pennsylvania, Michael’s surname was usually recorded as Farabaugh like most of his family members.

Michael and Gertrud lived in the Carroll Township of Cambria County, PA until about 1872 when they followed several of their children to Renville County, Minnesota. They lived in Beaver Falls, Renville County, MN until sometime after 1885. Their name was variously recorded as “Fernbaugh,” “Farnbow,” “Fernback,” and “Farenbough” in documents from that time. In 1893, Gertud died in Sleepy Eye, Brown County, MN (where Bertha was living) and her name was recorded as “Gertrud Fehrubach.” In 1895 Michael was living with Reinhart and recorded as Michael Farnbach. He moved back to Pennsylvania soon after and lived with Charles. Michael died on Mar. 16, 1897 in Blacklick Township, Cambria County, Pa. He is buried in St. Nicholas Church Cemetery in Nicktown and his headstone is labeled “Michael Ferenbaugh.”

Karl “Charles” Fehrenbacher (1834–1909) married Mary Matilda Hines (1837–1904) in Carrolltown, Cambria, PA in 1856. After serving in the Civil War, Charles returned to farming in the Blacklick Township of Cambria County and he and Matilda raised twelve children there. In their later years, they moved into Spangler, Cambria Co. All of their children remained in Pennsylvania, and most stayed in Cambria Co. The documents for Charles are fairly consistent in recording his name as “Charles” or “Charly” “Farabaugh,” but his headstone in St. Nicholas Church Cemetery in Nicktown clearly reads “Charles Farbaugh.”

Bernhard Fehrenbacher (1835–1862) died of Typhoid Fever in Alexandria, Va while serving in the Civil War. He was known variously as “Bernard”, “Barnard” or “Barney”. His surname was generally recorded as “Farabaugh,” but his headstone in the Alexandria National Cemetery reads, “Barnard Farbaugh.”

Josephine Fehrenbacher (1839–1901) married John Reger (Johannes Rieger 1832–1922) in Carrolltown in 1858. They farmed for a time in Cambria County but moved to Minnesota in 1865, shortly after John completed his military service in the Civil War. They initially lived in Rice County and possibly in Brown County before settling in the Norfolk Township of Renville County in the early 1870s. They lived there until the late 1890s when they moved north to Hubbard County. Along the way, they had fourteen children, ten of whom survived into adulthood. Josephine died in 1901 and is buried in Straight River Township Cemetery in Park Rapids, Hubbard, MN. None of the Reger family stayed in Hubbard County, and they dispersed widely, living in North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Idaho, Washington, Ohio and even Alberta, Canada in addition to the few who stayed in Minnesota. John died in 1922 in Cass County, North Dakota, where he had been living with his son Rinehart Reger.

Anselm Fehrenbacher (1841–1891) also served in the Civil War and moved soon after to Waterloo, Iowa. That was where he married Sybilla Fisher in 1865. Anselm became a hotel owner in Waterloo and he was a colorful character who was mentioned often in the local newspaper. In 1882 he and Sybilla divorced and he married Margaret Nixon. They adopted a son, William. Anselm died in a fall in 1891. Margaret and William ended up moving back to New York State a few years after Anselm’s death. Anselm’s surname was variously recorded in Iowa as Fernbaugh, Fernback, Fernbach, and Fernbauch. In the newspaper, he was usually called “Fernbach,” including in his death announcement.

Emma Fehrenbacher (1843–1883) married Antonio Marx (1836–1902) in Cameron Bottom, PA in 1860, and they farmed in Cambria County for a while. They moved to Kansas in the early 1870s and farmed a few miles northwest of Ellinwood. Emma had fifteen children, seven of whom survived her. She died in 1883 of injuries resulting from a farm accident which occured while her husband was away working as a carpenter on the railroad. Antonio later remarried and moved to Texas. Some of the children stayed in Texas while one stayed in Kansas and one moved to California. The eldest, Al Marx, became a boxer and a showman who traveled widely.

Reinhard Fehrenbacher (1845–1918) moved to Renville County, MN in about 1869 and he married Anna Koreis (1852–1913) in 1871. They lived in Birch Cooley, Renville Co. for five years, West Newton, Nicolette Co. for five years, and in Arlington for two years before settling in Bismarck Township of Sibley Co. where they farmed for twenty eight years. Anna had eleven children, ten of whom survived her. Reinhart and Anna lived in Stewart, McLeod Co., MN in their later years. Anna died in 1913 and Reinhart followed in 1918. Both are buried in Saint Boniface Cemetery in Stewart. A few of their children stayed in Minnesota but most moved out to North Dakota, at least for a time.  In Minnesota, Reinhart’s surname was variously recorded as: Fernbuck, Farnbach, Fernbach, Feriebach, and Farenbach.  His headstone reads, “Fernbach” but his sons Peter and Joseph seem to have preferred Fernbaugh, and John (who moved back to Renville County later in life) went by Farenbaugh.

Bertha Fehrenbacher (1847–1920) married Michael Kiefer (1848–1918) in Carrolltown in 1868 and moved to Beaver Falls, Renville, MN a year later. They moved to Sleepy Eye, Brown, MN in 1882 and lived there until Michael’s death in 1918. Michael was a shoemaker and ran a shoe store in Sleepy Eye. They raised five children as well as two granddaughters who came to live with them when their mother, Anna, died in 1893. After Michael’s death, Bertha went to live in Duluth with one of those granddaughters and she died there in 1920. Bertha was buried in the Catholic cemetery in Sleepy Eye. Three of the four children who survived her stayed in Minnesota and one ended up in California, while one of the granddaughters she raised stayed in Minnesota and the other moved to California.

Leonhard Fehrenbacher (1848–1920) worked out on farms in Minnesota until he was able to purchase 80 acres of land in the Birch Cooley township of Renville County in 1871. He married Mary Ann Poss (1854–1879) in 1873, and they had four children before her death in December of 1879. Leonard married Mary Agnes Ryan (1863–1930) in 1890, and they had nine more children. Over time Leonard built up the farm in Birch Cooley to 400 acres, and he lived there until 1900 when he and Mary Ann moved into the village of Morton. In 1911 he moved back out to the Birch Cooley farm and lived there until his death in 1920. Mary Agnes died in 1930 in St. Paul, MN and was buried next to Leonard in St. John’s Catholic Cemetery in Morton. Most of Leonard’s children stayed in the Renville area for most of their lives. In Minnesota, Leonard’s surname was variously recorded as: Franuebaugh, Fernbach, Faurnbough, Frannburgh, Farnbaugh, Faranbauck, Farnbach, Fernbaugh and Farenbaugh. His headstone says Fernbaugh and so did his obituary and death records.

“Fred Fernbach'' (born Karl Friedrich Hoog - 1848-1919) also came to Birch Cooley in 1871 and farmed there for many years. He married Catharine Poss (1857–1887), sister to Leonard’s wife Mary Ann, in 1876. Fred and Catharine had two daughters prior to Catharine’s death in 1887. Fred married Franziska “Francis” Hoehn (1859-1937) in 1888, and they had one more daughter. In 1891 they moved to New Ulm where Fred came to work as the overseer of the Catholic cemetery / sexton of The Cathedral of the Holy Trinity. They both lived in New Ulm for the rest of their lives. Two of Fred’s daughters became nuns who were living in Chicago at the time of his death. The third daughter also remained unmarried and lived in Superior, Wisconsin. In Minnesota, Fred’s surname was variously recorded as: Franuebaugh, Fernbach, Faurnbough, Frannburgh, Fernbach, Fenbach, Farnbach, Faranbach, Farenback. We do not have a headstone, but his death record is Faranbach, his probate uses Farnbach, and his obituary says Fernbach!

It is important to note that the lives of Leonard and Fred were completely intertwined prior to 1890. They are almost the same age and are listed next to each other on every census between 1860 and 1885. Their first wives were sisters. After Leonard’s wife died, Fred and his family lived with Leonard and his children on the 1880 census. They were still living together in the 1885 census, but with Fred listed first. For a time in the late 1880s, both men were widowed with children. On the 1888 Birch Cooley plat map, their pieces of land are directly adjacent. It was only after both men had remarried that Fred moved to New Ulm, and they show up separately in census records from then on.

There is very little documentation for either August Fehrenbacher (1851 - ?) or Martin Fehrenbacher (1851 - ?). August is only listed on his birth record from Germany and the passenger list from the Pacific in 1854. We presume that he died sometime before the 1860 census. Martin was on those same documents, but also appeared in the 1860 census. By 1870, it is possible that he could have been out on his own, but we have found no documents that conclusively link any “Martin Farabaugh” to our Martin. We do note that neither of these boys were mentioned in the obituaries of any of their half-siblings, and therefore probably died before any of the others. We cannot find a death record, obituary, or headstone for either.

Dan and Lorry Vanden Dungen

Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

May 22, 2021