Re: Catherine "Kate" LIPPERT
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In reply to:
Re: Catherine "Kate" LIPPERT
Telva Elwell 5/01/10
I found her in the 1850 census for Meredosia:
Name: Catharine Lippard
Census place: Morgan county, part of, Morgan, Illinois
Age: 14 years
Estimated birth year: 1836
Birthplace: Illinois
Gender: Female
Film number: 442910
Digital GS number: 4191988
Image number: 00186
Reference number: 14
Dwelling: 1212
Household id: 1244
Collection: United States Census, 1850
She was listed in what I believe was a boarding house: no other family members were found.
I would tend to agree with you that the story of your people could explain her background.
It is believed that she may have had a sister, and we've even got some unidentified photos of someone who COULD be that sister, but so far I've had no luck in identifying her. It is also thought that (through oral history) that this sister may have married a man who was prominent in the NY social scene and a member of Mary Astor's OLD 400. I followed that lead until it ended, because I was never able to locate a list of these people that included (maiden) names of the female members.
Family oral history also stated that she was indeed of German descent, so again there are strong parallels in "your" folks and Catherine's history.
I certainly appreciate your efforts, and maybe we're looking at the same family. Clearly, more information is needed to confirm or deny it, however.
I worked on researching this mystery for quite a while and find it hard to accept that she simply "appeared" in that 1850 census without explanation. A young lady of 14 - alone in a boarding house - there MUST be a tragic story of some sort that caused her to be where she was.
The most inspiring part of this story however, is how and why she met and later married my GG Grandfather, John Marshall Anderson. Although this is conjecture on my part, I believe it to be true based upon the facts that I've uncovered.
This boarding house in Meredosia was situated next door to the home of Dr. William J. Wackerle. Dr. Wackerle's wife (Susan F. Anderson) was the older sister of John M. Anderson. Although I've no details on HOW it probably happened, suffice to say that - at some point - J.M. Anderson was visiting his sister's family when he happened to notice Catherine conveniently living next door. Perhaps Susan even helped matters along by introducing them?
Then mother nature ran her normal course, and then as is often said, the rest is history......
Making this research effort even more intriguing is the plethora of photographs I have to sort through. Of course, they're not marked - that would make it just too easy!
Another parallel with "your" folks and mine concerns the port of New Orleans. I did research Dr. Wackerle's past, and traced him back to Emmendingen, Baden Wurtemburg, Germany. He too came through New Orleans and finally settled in Meredosia, Morgan County. Although details of his life are quite sketchy, a photo of one of his sons: Charles was the key to unraveling this entire mystery. It was the ONLY photo I had in this group which was identified.
I've also got a photo of an Agnes Wahlgren. This photo is labled with her name, yet I've found nothing I can tie into Catherine's history.
W.F. Gerbing's photo is also in my possession and I did manage to dig up some census information on his family, but still don't know how he may be connected to Kate.
Lippert, Wackerle, Gerbing, and Wahlgren are fine German names and I know there is a connection amongst them. Perhaps with your help - both of us will know even more than we do today.
Again, I really appreciate your assistance and efforts.
Let's stay in touch and keep digging !
Sincerely,
~ Jeff
More Replies:
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Re: Catherine "Kate" LIPPERT
Telva Elwell 5/02/10