My Great great Grandmother came to the United States from Bavaria sometime around 1853. She was about 12 when she arrived in New York with her widowed father and three brothers. I've been told that she passed the voyage by knitting long stockings and that other passengers were impressed by her dexterity for such a young girl. This past year I received a package of tablecloths and such from my Mom. Amongst the items in the package I found a pair of hand knitted stockings. From the other items with it I know these stockings are over one hundred years old, hmmmmm, could they be...
After living in the Grafton area for just a few years and eighteen years old, she meet and married Adam Gleitzmann also of Grafton, They married on November 27, 1859. They remained in Grafton for a short time before settling for good in Cedarburg. They enjoyed over sixty years of marriage and were blessed with nine children, seven of who survived to adulthood. Barbara and Adam were two of the oldest residents of Cedarburg. Her husband owned and ran the cooperage. The homestead still stands and is now a private home. Barbara was a friendly woman who would entertain people with her pioneer stories of traveling by oxen and Indians who passed through the village. When the first railroad was built in Cedarburg, Barbara boarded the employees. Then when her husband volunteered for service during the Civil War, Barbara showed what a strong woman she really was, while raising an infant son and her young brother, she not only boarded the employees of her husband's cooperage,but kept the business running and successful. She was remembered as a kindly and whole-souled women who was well respected by her peers and community. The only negative thing I have heard was a story from my Grandma. She told me a story of a feud between Barbara and one of her daughters. Grandma didn't have the complete story, just that one of the daughters got really mad at her mother and refused to talk to her until Barbara's death.
Barbara lived a long and interesting life and although I know a bit about her, I still have questions about her. The biggest questions I have are: Who was her mother? What was her life like in Bavaria? Why did her father feel the need to move his family to a new country? Did they have relatives in the Grafton area?
That is super cool! I bet those are probably a pair of stockings that she made. Each story we figure out just seems to lead to more questions. Good luck figuring it all out! I haven't done any ancestry stuff lately, I've got to get on the ball and get back to work!
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