Henry Frederick Oesting was born in Bremen, Germany, an area in Northwestern Germany known as the Hanseatic Region. He emigrated to America with his parents from Bremen, Germany, arriving in New York on Aug 17, 1864, aboard the ship Stella, per immigration records in his father's name (Georg Heinrich Oesting, b.1825). His father was unemployed at the time of the 1880 US Census due to "Liver Complaint", and stated he was a widower. He was living in Boston, Suffolk County, Mass. at the time, and was a manufacturer, although, when he arrived in America, he stated he was a cigar maker. Sadly, that is the last I can find of him. Henry, however, had met Elizabeth Weber, who was herself a 1st generation American, having been born of German emigrants [from Bayern, Germany] in Indiana in 1851. They wed in 1871 and seven children were born of their union, five of whom lived to 1900 when the U.S. Census was taken. In 1880, they were living in Richmond, Wayne County, Indiana, where Henry, going by his middle name, Fred, was a tallow chandler[ a candle maker who spends @7 years learning the trade]. His wife, going by "Lissie", was already the mother of three children when the census was taken on June 15, 1880. When the next census was taken on June 2, 1900, the family had grown to five children living (she was the mother of seven, per the census) and moved to San Diego, California. Their children were:
Charles, b.Jan. 1874, Indiana, working as a Clerk at an Insurance Agency,
Annie, b.Oct. 1876, Indiana, working as a Bookkeeper,
Laura Helena, b.Dec. 1880, Indiana,
Harry (Harrison) F., b.Mar. 1891, California
Raymond, b.Jan. 1893, California
Henry, now using his legal name, was a Commission Merchant [A merchant who purchased items and sold them for a profit].
They were living in San Diego, California, and apparently had been in California at least since the birth of Harry in March of 1891. Both Raymond and Harry were in school in 1900. By 1910, Charles W. had married and divorced and was an Insurance Agent. He no longer lived at home but shared a place with a roommate who was a Cook by trade for a private family.
Laura had married Otto Willis Donnell in 1905 and the couple, with his daughter from a prior marriage, Hellen Patton, b.@1899, lived in Redlands, San Bernardino Co., California where her husband worked as a railway agent for the Santa Fe Railroad. Their only daughter, Bernice Elizabeth, was born in 1911; she would be their only child. [Read further down for more information regarding Laura, Otto and Bernice Donnell].
I didn't find a 1910 Census for their parents, but, by 1920, the couple had moved to Tulare in Tulare Co., CA. Henry was now 73 yrs. old and no longer employed, per the 1920 Census records. Elissa, as he affectionately referred to Elizabeth, was now 66 and they both lived with their younger son Harry (Harrison F.), who was now 28 yrs of age and married to Pearle A. (Cummins), who was 23. Harry was a Salesman of Wholesale Hay. His younger brother, Raymond, lived on the adjacent property, which was a farm, raising Hay (which I'm sure he sold to Harry). Their father, Henry, died in San Francisco, CA (per cemetery records) on Jan 25, 1926 at the age of 79 years and was interred at Tulare Cemetery in Tulare, Tulare County, CA. Their mother, Elizabeth "Elissa"(Weber) Oesting passed away on March 29th, 1930 and was buried originally under the name "Mrs. Unknown Henry Frederick Oesting" in the grave next to his. This was corrected when I found both records in the summer of 2011.
According to the 1930 Census, Harry Oesting and his wife, Pearle, had moved to Visalia in Tulare Co., where he was now a Hay and Grains broker. Per the 1940 Census, Harry and Pearle were living at 228 E. San Joaquin St., Tulare, and Harry was now a private Truck Broker. Raymond had married Lettie Oesting [b.1900] in 1927 and, in 1940, the two of them lived on Oesting Road in Tulare, where they had lived since 1935, on their own farm. There were no children at that time.
Their sister, Laura Helena Oesting, married Otto Willis Donnell, [b.1878, a native of Iowa] in 1905. The 1910 Census found the couple living in Redlands, San Bernardino Co., CA., where Otto was an agent for the Santa Fe Railroad. He listed a daughter, Hellen Patton, age 6, (b. in California), as living with them also. Hellen's mother was listed as a native Californian, so Laura was not her birth mother. Hellen was not listed in subsequent Censuses. In 1920, Otto and Laura had one child, a daughter they named Bernice E. Donnell, born on June 16, 1911 in Redlands, CA. They were living in Columbia, Muscogee County, Georgia, where Otto was working as a hotel manager. In 1930, Otto was working in Atlanta, Fulton Co., GA, as a hotel manager, according to the 1930 Census. He listed himself as married, although I did not find Laura on that census, or Bernice. In the 1940 Census, Laura, now 58, and Otto, now 61, were living at 9 Vaughn Apts., Gilmer, Greensboro, Guilford Co., North Carolina. They had lived there since 1935 and Otto was the secretary for the Hotel Association.
Their daughter, Bernice, married Thomas Warters [b.Nov 3, 1905 in Georgia]; they were living at 704 Yorkshire Rd. NE, Atlanta, Fulton Co., GA., in 1940 and had been there since 1935, per the 1940 U S Census. Also, Thomas was employed as an accountant for the "telephone industry". They later had two sons, Raymond and Thomas Donald Warters who are still living as of early 2015. Thomas Warters died in Oct. 1974 in Atlanta, Fulton Co., Georgia and was buried at Fairview Cemetery, LaGrange, Lenoir Co., North Carolina, with other family members. Bernice died in July, 1986 in Atlanta, GA. I did not know where she was buried until I was contacted by new Find A Grave member, Nicholas W., who advised me via the "edit" key that she is interred at Greenwood Cemetery in Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia. Sadly, she had died from colon cancer. [Thank you to Nicholas for finding her and advising me where she was laid to rest.]
Updated 26 Aug 2015