s/o Carl (aka Charles) Gums Sr. & Wilhelmine Luetke.
On February 11, 1875, Carl Gums and youngest son, Ludwig Gums, arrive in the steerage section of the steamship "S.S. Hansa" from Bremen, Germany. Carl is fifty-six and Ludwig is seventeen. Their occupations were "shepherds." Charles Sr. is living with Fred and Bertha Gums in 1875, and Charles Sr., Charles Jr. and Louis are living together in 1880. Charles Sr. and Charles Jr. take their Oaths of Allegiance on the same day, March 6, 1876. He married Wilhelmine C. Kirschbaum on Oct 9, 1880 in Henderson, MN. Children included Emma Boelter (1881-1977), August (1884-1971), Ida Preuss (1886-1966), and Clara LaFee (1891-1981). After the death of Minnie, he married Ottilie Gruening on Jan 11, 1894 in Henderson, MN. They had a Baby Girl, who only lived four days in 1894. They also had another Baby Girl who only lived four days in 1895.
According to his Oath of Allegiance, Carl Gustav Gums Jr. arrived in the United States on August 8, 1872. Unlike his father and brothers, there is no record of his arrival in America in the records of the New York Port Authority or Castle Garden. Irma Brand, granddaughter of Carl Gums Jr., tells a story of his stowing away to join his family in America and jumping ship in New York harbor. Ollie Gums thought that both Carl Jr. and Fred had come over on the same ship. Since the passenger lists of Bremen were destroyed during the war, and the New York passenger lists do not list his arrival, this story could be true.
Carl (Charles) Gums Jr. married Wilhelmina "Minnie" Kirschbaum on October 9, 1880. A notice of the marriage appeared in the Sibley County Independent on Friday, October 15, 1880, stating, "Married - On Saturday evening, Oct. 9th. by Rev. J. O. Zwicker, Chas. Gumps and Wilhelmine Kirschbaum, both of this place." She was listed in cemetery records as Carolina Wilhelmina. Her tombstone says, "Mina C. Gums."
They had at least three children born in Jessenland, a township near Henderson; Emma Laura, born October 22, 1881, August Frederick, born March 17, 1884, and Ida Pauline, born July 29, 1886. Two more daughters were born to them in Arlington, Minnesota; Wilhelmina Louise "Minnie," born March 5, 1889, and Clara Emma, born March 18, 1891. A Karolina Emma Gums was baptized at the Trinity Lutheran Church at Gaylord in 1882. This may have been Emma L. Gums. Ida Pauline Gums was christened on June 17, 1888 at the Lutheran Church at New Rome. Her parents were living in Kelso.
Minnie, the mother of these children, died at the early age of thirty-three. On Friday, September 8, 1893, the Sibley County Independent was replete with articles about Wilhelmina's death. Under the column labeled Jessenland Items, it states, "Henry Kuncke attended the funeral of Mrs. Chas. Gums at Wood Lake Tuesday." Under the column labeled Personal & Social, it states, "Fred Gums and daughter attended the funeral of Mrs. Chas. Gums at Wood Lake Tuesday." The death notice says,
Sibley County Independent, September 8, 1893
Died.--Mrs. Chas. Gums, of Buffalo Lake, wife of Chas. Gums, formerly of this city, died at her home Sunday, Sep 3, 1893, of typhoid fever aged about 33 years. She was a loving mother and wife, and besides her husband and five children, leaves a large circle of friends to mourn her untimely departure. The funeral was held Tuesday and her remains laid to rest in the Lutheran cemetery at that place.
As Clara Emma was born in Arlington, Sibley County in 1891 and Minnie died in Posen Township, Yellow Medicine County in 1893, they must have moved there about 1892.
Charles wanted desperately to keep the family together, but different families took the youngsters in to live with them. He remarried in the hopes of bringing the family back together. He married Ottilie Gruening or Greening on January 11, 1894. He would have been about the age of thirty-three. This was recorded in the Sibley County Independent on Friday, January 19, 1894, "Married - Chas. Gums, of Grafton, and Miss Ottilge Gruenning [sic], of this city [Henderson], were married at the residence of Fred Gums Thursday, Jan 11, by Rev. Julius Klopsteg of the Lutheran Church. The newly married couple left Saturday for Grafton where the groom resides."
According to the 1900 census, Ottilie was born in December 1862 in Germany. Carl's children did not accept their stepmother very well. He had been cautioned against marrying her. According to the families of the children, she was the epitome of a wicked stepmother. They had to earn a living very young by doing housework, and were taken in by friends in the Wood Lake area of Posen Township One of these friends was named Timm. Irma (Pederson) Brand, granddaughter of Charles and Minnie, wrote, "[In June 1985] We returned to Posen township . . . for the funeral of a friend of my mother's . . . This lady was the oldest of the Timm girls - the Timm family took in a couple of the Gums girls to live with them after Grandma [Minnie Kirschbaum] Gums died (my mother included)." A letter from Irma on December 5, 1987 states, "[In October] When we visited Mrs. Clara Albrecht (nee Timm) in New Ulm she said that the neighbors around decided they should take 'the children in' so they could be given a Christian education rather than to have them go north [to Todd County] with their father."
A 1984 letter from Gerry Gronewold states, ". . . My mother seemed to recall that as early as age nine she was living with other people and was expected to help with housework and chores to ‘pay her own way'. Eventually they all seemed to attend the Lutheran school in Posen township, but only for about two or three years during which time they received their religious instruction and were confirmed. That also seemed to end their education . . ."
The 1900 census, Posen Township in Yellow Medicine County shows Ida and Emma Gums as servants to the Henry Markgraf and Henry Warnke families, respectively. Ida and Emma were the oldest, and probably stayed, while Minnie and Clara went up north with their father and brother, August.
The death certificate of Charles Gums in 1919 in Browerville, Minnesota says that he was widowed from Wilhelmina Kirschbaum and not Ottilie, however. Charles and Ottilie had two recorded children in Posen Township. Almost ten months after their marriage, they had an unnamed girl, born on October 5, 1894 in Posen Township, Yellow Medicine County, but died four days later. The June 18, 1895 state census found Charles and Ottilie farming in Echo, Underwood Township, Redwood, Minnesota with his children: Emma, August, Ida, Minnie, and Clara. Coincidentally, August Werner, Bertha's brother, and his family were living in Underwood Township, while Ferdinand Werner, another brother, and his family were living in Redwood Falls. Their second girl was also unnamed, born October 18, 1895 in Posen Township and also died four days later on October 22, 1895. In 1900 and 1910, they were living up north in Little Elk Township, Todd, Minnesota. Ottilie was institutionalized a little later for mental problems in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, where she died. After that, the family moved up north to the Randall, Browerville area in Little Elk Township of Todd County by covered wagon. They were caught in a terrible thunderstorm one night, and were given shelter by a kind-hearted farmer. Charles homesteaded and worked very, very hard taking the trees off the land to make a farm. They lived in a log house, which burned down while Charles and August were out in the field. The wind had blown the hot coals from Charles' pipe back into the house as he left it. A frame house was then built.
In a 1983 letter, Laverna states, ". . . And my mother Ida (Pauline) 7-29-1886 to 10-9-1966 spent her last year with us after dad passed away . . . My grandmother died at the age of 33 yrs. and the children very young. Seems my grandfather soon remarried but his second wife wasn't accepted very well by the children and they had to earn their own living very young and were taken in by friends in the Posen Township area (Wood Lake, Mn.). My mother and sisters did housework to earn a living and returned to that Posen area after they moved up north to Little Elk twp in the Randall, Browerville area. The stepmother must have had, or developed, mental problems and was taken to an asylum at Sandstone, where she died . . ."
Irma Brand told me that her grandfather (Charles) hunted for meat, and was a crack shot. One time, the stepmother, Ottilie, got mad at Charles and threw his gun down a well. Browerville neighbors thought that Charles was Polish, because they could understand him and he could understand them. Carl went off to North Dakota to help with the wheat harvest by hauling bundles and thrashing. This made Ottilie mad. It took three days to wash clothes; water had to be hauled from the swamp, the water had to be cut with lye, and then the wash had to be done. They couldn't always get to town for supplies and would run out. When they ran out of kerosene, they would use rags in lard for lamps.
Carl (Charles) Gustav Gums Jr. died on July 7, 1919 in Browerville, Minnesota. One death announcement read, "Mr. Gums, and old and respected citizen of Little Elk, died Monday morning, Jul 7th, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Fred Boelter, in Browerville. His death was caused from cancer. Mr. Gums leaves numerous relatives to mourn his departure". According to the will, August was to receive all his real and personal property, and was to distribute $100 to each of the daughters.
On February 11, 1875, Carl Gums and youngest son, Ludwig Gums, arrive in the steerage section of the steamship "S.S. Hansa" from Bremen, Germany. Carl is fifty-six and Ludwig is seventeen. Their occupations were "shepherds." Charles Sr. is living with Fred and Bertha Gums in 1875, and Charles Sr., Charles Jr. and Louis are living together in 1880. Charles Sr. and Charles Jr. take their Oaths of Allegiance on the same day, March 6, 1876. He married Wilhelmine C. Kirschbaum on Oct 9, 1880 in Henderson, MN. Children included Emma Boelter (1881-1977), August (1884-1971), Ida Preuss (1886-1966), and Clara LaFee (1891-1981). After the death of Minnie, he married Ottilie Gruening on Jan 11, 1894 in Henderson, MN. They had a Baby Girl, who only lived four days in 1894. They also had another Baby Girl who only lived four days in 1895.
According to his Oath of Allegiance, Carl Gustav Gums Jr. arrived in the United States on August 8, 1872. Unlike his father and brothers, there is no record of his arrival in America in the records of the New York Port Authority or Castle Garden. Irma Brand, granddaughter of Carl Gums Jr., tells a story of his stowing away to join his family in America and jumping ship in New York harbor. Ollie Gums thought that both Carl Jr. and Fred had come over on the same ship. Since the passenger lists of Bremen were destroyed during the war, and the New York passenger lists do not list his arrival, this story could be true.
Carl (Charles) Gums Jr. married Wilhelmina "Minnie" Kirschbaum on October 9, 1880. A notice of the marriage appeared in the Sibley County Independent on Friday, October 15, 1880, stating, "Married - On Saturday evening, Oct. 9th. by Rev. J. O. Zwicker, Chas. Gumps and Wilhelmine Kirschbaum, both of this place." She was listed in cemetery records as Carolina Wilhelmina. Her tombstone says, "Mina C. Gums."
They had at least three children born in Jessenland, a township near Henderson; Emma Laura, born October 22, 1881, August Frederick, born March 17, 1884, and Ida Pauline, born July 29, 1886. Two more daughters were born to them in Arlington, Minnesota; Wilhelmina Louise "Minnie," born March 5, 1889, and Clara Emma, born March 18, 1891. A Karolina Emma Gums was baptized at the Trinity Lutheran Church at Gaylord in 1882. This may have been Emma L. Gums. Ida Pauline Gums was christened on June 17, 1888 at the Lutheran Church at New Rome. Her parents were living in Kelso.
Minnie, the mother of these children, died at the early age of thirty-three. On Friday, September 8, 1893, the Sibley County Independent was replete with articles about Wilhelmina's death. Under the column labeled Jessenland Items, it states, "Henry Kuncke attended the funeral of Mrs. Chas. Gums at Wood Lake Tuesday." Under the column labeled Personal & Social, it states, "Fred Gums and daughter attended the funeral of Mrs. Chas. Gums at Wood Lake Tuesday." The death notice says,
Sibley County Independent, September 8, 1893
Died.--Mrs. Chas. Gums, of Buffalo Lake, wife of Chas. Gums, formerly of this city, died at her home Sunday, Sep 3, 1893, of typhoid fever aged about 33 years. She was a loving mother and wife, and besides her husband and five children, leaves a large circle of friends to mourn her untimely departure. The funeral was held Tuesday and her remains laid to rest in the Lutheran cemetery at that place.
As Clara Emma was born in Arlington, Sibley County in 1891 and Minnie died in Posen Township, Yellow Medicine County in 1893, they must have moved there about 1892.
Charles wanted desperately to keep the family together, but different families took the youngsters in to live with them. He remarried in the hopes of bringing the family back together. He married Ottilie Gruening or Greening on January 11, 1894. He would have been about the age of thirty-three. This was recorded in the Sibley County Independent on Friday, January 19, 1894, "Married - Chas. Gums, of Grafton, and Miss Ottilge Gruenning [sic], of this city [Henderson], were married at the residence of Fred Gums Thursday, Jan 11, by Rev. Julius Klopsteg of the Lutheran Church. The newly married couple left Saturday for Grafton where the groom resides."
According to the 1900 census, Ottilie was born in December 1862 in Germany. Carl's children did not accept their stepmother very well. He had been cautioned against marrying her. According to the families of the children, she was the epitome of a wicked stepmother. They had to earn a living very young by doing housework, and were taken in by friends in the Wood Lake area of Posen Township One of these friends was named Timm. Irma (Pederson) Brand, granddaughter of Charles and Minnie, wrote, "[In June 1985] We returned to Posen township . . . for the funeral of a friend of my mother's . . . This lady was the oldest of the Timm girls - the Timm family took in a couple of the Gums girls to live with them after Grandma [Minnie Kirschbaum] Gums died (my mother included)." A letter from Irma on December 5, 1987 states, "[In October] When we visited Mrs. Clara Albrecht (nee Timm) in New Ulm she said that the neighbors around decided they should take 'the children in' so they could be given a Christian education rather than to have them go north [to Todd County] with their father."
A 1984 letter from Gerry Gronewold states, ". . . My mother seemed to recall that as early as age nine she was living with other people and was expected to help with housework and chores to ‘pay her own way'. Eventually they all seemed to attend the Lutheran school in Posen township, but only for about two or three years during which time they received their religious instruction and were confirmed. That also seemed to end their education . . ."
The 1900 census, Posen Township in Yellow Medicine County shows Ida and Emma Gums as servants to the Henry Markgraf and Henry Warnke families, respectively. Ida and Emma were the oldest, and probably stayed, while Minnie and Clara went up north with their father and brother, August.
The death certificate of Charles Gums in 1919 in Browerville, Minnesota says that he was widowed from Wilhelmina Kirschbaum and not Ottilie, however. Charles and Ottilie had two recorded children in Posen Township. Almost ten months after their marriage, they had an unnamed girl, born on October 5, 1894 in Posen Township, Yellow Medicine County, but died four days later. The June 18, 1895 state census found Charles and Ottilie farming in Echo, Underwood Township, Redwood, Minnesota with his children: Emma, August, Ida, Minnie, and Clara. Coincidentally, August Werner, Bertha's brother, and his family were living in Underwood Township, while Ferdinand Werner, another brother, and his family were living in Redwood Falls. Their second girl was also unnamed, born October 18, 1895 in Posen Township and also died four days later on October 22, 1895. In 1900 and 1910, they were living up north in Little Elk Township, Todd, Minnesota. Ottilie was institutionalized a little later for mental problems in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, where she died. After that, the family moved up north to the Randall, Browerville area in Little Elk Township of Todd County by covered wagon. They were caught in a terrible thunderstorm one night, and were given shelter by a kind-hearted farmer. Charles homesteaded and worked very, very hard taking the trees off the land to make a farm. They lived in a log house, which burned down while Charles and August were out in the field. The wind had blown the hot coals from Charles' pipe back into the house as he left it. A frame house was then built.
In a 1983 letter, Laverna states, ". . . And my mother Ida (Pauline) 7-29-1886 to 10-9-1966 spent her last year with us after dad passed away . . . My grandmother died at the age of 33 yrs. and the children very young. Seems my grandfather soon remarried but his second wife wasn't accepted very well by the children and they had to earn their own living very young and were taken in by friends in the Posen Township area (Wood Lake, Mn.). My mother and sisters did housework to earn a living and returned to that Posen area after they moved up north to Little Elk twp in the Randall, Browerville area. The stepmother must have had, or developed, mental problems and was taken to an asylum at Sandstone, where she died . . ."
Irma Brand told me that her grandfather (Charles) hunted for meat, and was a crack shot. One time, the stepmother, Ottilie, got mad at Charles and threw his gun down a well. Browerville neighbors thought that Charles was Polish, because they could understand him and he could understand them. Carl went off to North Dakota to help with the wheat harvest by hauling bundles and thrashing. This made Ottilie mad. It took three days to wash clothes; water had to be hauled from the swamp, the water had to be cut with lye, and then the wash had to be done. They couldn't always get to town for supplies and would run out. When they ran out of kerosene, they would use rags in lard for lamps.
Carl (Charles) Gustav Gums Jr. died on July 7, 1919 in Browerville, Minnesota. One death announcement read, "Mr. Gums, and old and respected citizen of Little Elk, died Monday morning, Jul 7th, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Fred Boelter, in Browerville. His death was caused from cancer. Mr. Gums leaves numerous relatives to mourn his departure". According to the will, August was to receive all his real and personal property, and was to distribute $100 to each of the daughters.
s/o Carl (aka Charles) Gums Sr. & Wilhelmine Luetke.
On February 11, 1875, Carl Gums and youngest son, Ludwig Gums, arrive in the steerage section of the steamship "S.S. Hansa" from Bremen, Germany. Carl is fifty-six and Ludwig is seventeen. Their occupations were "shepherds." Charles Sr. is living with Fred and Bertha Gums in 1875, and Charles Sr., Charles Jr. and Louis are living together in 1880. Charles Sr. and Charles Jr. take their Oaths of Allegiance on the same day, March 6, 1876. He married Wilhelmine C. Kirschbaum on Oct 9, 1880 in Henderson, MN. Children included Emma Boelter (1881-1977), August (1884-1971), Ida Preuss (1886-1966), and Clara LaFee (1891-1981). After the death of Minnie, he married Ottilie Gruening on Jan 11, 1894 in Henderson, MN. They had a Baby Girl, who only lived four days in 1894. They also had another Baby Girl who only lived four days in 1895.
According to his Oath of Allegiance, Carl Gustav Gums Jr. arrived in the United States on August 8, 1872. Unlike his father and brothers, there is no record of his arrival in America in the records of the New York Port Authority or Castle Garden. Irma Brand, granddaughter of Carl Gums Jr., tells a story of his stowing away to join his family in America and jumping ship in New York harbor. Ollie Gums thought that both Carl Jr. and Fred had come over on the same ship. Since the passenger lists of Bremen were destroyed during the war, and the New York passenger lists do not list his arrival, this story could be true.
Carl (Charles) Gums Jr. married Wilhelmina "Minnie" Kirschbaum on October 9, 1880. A notice of the marriage appeared in the Sibley County Independent on Friday, October 15, 1880, stating, "Married - On Saturday evening, Oct. 9th. by Rev. J. O. Zwicker, Chas. Gumps and Wilhelmine Kirschbaum, both of this place." She was listed in cemetery records as Carolina Wilhelmina. Her tombstone says, "Mina C. Gums."
They had at least three children born in Jessenland, a township near Henderson; Emma Laura, born October 22, 1881, August Frederick, born March 17, 1884, and Ida Pauline, born July 29, 1886. Two more daughters were born to them in Arlington, Minnesota; Wilhelmina Louise "Minnie," born March 5, 1889, and Clara Emma, born March 18, 1891. A Karolina Emma Gums was baptized at the Trinity Lutheran Church at Gaylord in 1882. This may have been Emma L. Gums. Ida Pauline Gums was christened on June 17, 1888 at the Lutheran Church at New Rome. Her parents were living in Kelso.
Minnie, the mother of these children, died at the early age of thirty-three. On Friday, September 8, 1893, the Sibley County Independent was replete with articles about Wilhelmina's death. Under the column labeled Jessenland Items, it states, "Henry Kuncke attended the funeral of Mrs. Chas. Gums at Wood Lake Tuesday." Under the column labeled Personal & Social, it states, "Fred Gums and daughter attended the funeral of Mrs. Chas. Gums at Wood Lake Tuesday." The death notice says,
Sibley County Independent, September 8, 1893
Died.--Mrs. Chas. Gums, of Buffalo Lake, wife of Chas. Gums, formerly of this city, died at her home Sunday, Sep 3, 1893, of typhoid fever aged about 33 years. She was a loving mother and wife, and besides her husband and five children, leaves a large circle of friends to mourn her untimely departure. The funeral was held Tuesday and her remains laid to rest in the Lutheran cemetery at that place.
As Clara Emma was born in Arlington, Sibley County in 1891 and Minnie died in Posen Township, Yellow Medicine County in 1893, they must have moved there about 1892.
Charles wanted desperately to keep the family together, but different families took the youngsters in to live with them. He remarried in the hopes of bringing the family back together. He married Ottilie Gruening or Greening on January 11, 1894. He would have been about the age of thirty-three. This was recorded in the Sibley County Independent on Friday, January 19, 1894, "Married - Chas. Gums, of Grafton, and Miss Ottilge Gruenning [sic], of this city [Henderson], were married at the residence of Fred Gums Thursday, Jan 11, by Rev. Julius Klopsteg of the Lutheran Church. The newly married couple left Saturday for Grafton where the groom resides."
According to the 1900 census, Ottilie was born in December 1862 in Germany. Carl's children did not accept their stepmother very well. He had been cautioned against marrying her. According to the families of the children, she was the epitome of a wicked stepmother. They had to earn a living very young by doing housework, and were taken in by friends in the Wood Lake area of Posen Township One of these friends was named Timm. Irma (Pederson) Brand, granddaughter of Charles and Minnie, wrote, "[In June 1985] We returned to Posen township . . . for the funeral of a friend of my mother's . . . This lady was the oldest of the Timm girls - the Timm family took in a couple of the Gums girls to live with them after Grandma [Minnie Kirschbaum] Gums died (my mother included)." A letter from Irma on December 5, 1987 states, "[In October] When we visited Mrs. Clara Albrecht (nee Timm) in New Ulm she said that the neighbors around decided they should take 'the children in' so they could be given a Christian education rather than to have them go north [to Todd County] with their father."
A 1984 letter from Gerry Gronewold states, ". . . My mother seemed to recall that as early as age nine she was living with other people and was expected to help with housework and chores to ‘pay her own way'. Eventually they all seemed to attend the Lutheran school in Posen township, but only for about two or three years during which time they received their religious instruction and were confirmed. That also seemed to end their education . . ."
The 1900 census, Posen Township in Yellow Medicine County shows Ida and Emma Gums as servants to the Henry Markgraf and Henry Warnke families, respectively. Ida and Emma were the oldest, and probably stayed, while Minnie and Clara went up north with their father and brother, August.
The death certificate of Charles Gums in 1919 in Browerville, Minnesota says that he was widowed from Wilhelmina Kirschbaum and not Ottilie, however. Charles and Ottilie had two recorded children in Posen Township. Almost ten months after their marriage, they had an unnamed girl, born on October 5, 1894 in Posen Township, Yellow Medicine County, but died four days later. The June 18, 1895 state census found Charles and Ottilie farming in Echo, Underwood Township, Redwood, Minnesota with his children: Emma, August, Ida, Minnie, and Clara. Coincidentally, August Werner, Bertha's brother, and his family were living in Underwood Township, while Ferdinand Werner, another brother, and his family were living in Redwood Falls. Their second girl was also unnamed, born October 18, 1895 in Posen Township and also died four days later on October 22, 1895. In 1900 and 1910, they were living up north in Little Elk Township, Todd, Minnesota. Ottilie was institutionalized a little later for mental problems in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, where she died. After that, the family moved up north to the Randall, Browerville area in Little Elk Township of Todd County by covered wagon. They were caught in a terrible thunderstorm one night, and were given shelter by a kind-hearted farmer. Charles homesteaded and worked very, very hard taking the trees off the land to make a farm. They lived in a log house, which burned down while Charles and August were out in the field. The wind had blown the hot coals from Charles' pipe back into the house as he left it. A frame house was then built.
In a 1983 letter, Laverna states, ". . . And my mother Ida (Pauline) 7-29-1886 to 10-9-1966 spent her last year with us after dad passed away . . . My grandmother died at the age of 33 yrs. and the children very young. Seems my grandfather soon remarried but his second wife wasn't accepted very well by the children and they had to earn their own living very young and were taken in by friends in the Posen Township area (Wood Lake, Mn.). My mother and sisters did housework to earn a living and returned to that Posen area after they moved up north to Little Elk twp in the Randall, Browerville area. The stepmother must have had, or developed, mental problems and was taken to an asylum at Sandstone, where she died . . ."
Irma Brand told me that her grandfather (Charles) hunted for meat, and was a crack shot. One time, the stepmother, Ottilie, got mad at Charles and threw his gun down a well. Browerville neighbors thought that Charles was Polish, because they could understand him and he could understand them. Carl went off to North Dakota to help with the wheat harvest by hauling bundles and thrashing. This made Ottilie mad. It took three days to wash clothes; water had to be hauled from the swamp, the water had to be cut with lye, and then the wash had to be done. They couldn't always get to town for supplies and would run out. When they ran out of kerosene, they would use rags in lard for lamps.
Carl (Charles) Gustav Gums Jr. died on July 7, 1919 in Browerville, Minnesota. One death announcement read, "Mr. Gums, and old and respected citizen of Little Elk, died Monday morning, Jul 7th, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Fred Boelter, in Browerville. His death was caused from cancer. Mr. Gums leaves numerous relatives to mourn his departure". According to the will, August was to receive all his real and personal property, and was to distribute $100 to each of the daughters.
On February 11, 1875, Carl Gums and youngest son, Ludwig Gums, arrive in the steerage section of the steamship "S.S. Hansa" from Bremen, Germany. Carl is fifty-six and Ludwig is seventeen. Their occupations were "shepherds." Charles Sr. is living with Fred and Bertha Gums in 1875, and Charles Sr., Charles Jr. and Louis are living together in 1880. Charles Sr. and Charles Jr. take their Oaths of Allegiance on the same day, March 6, 1876. He married Wilhelmine C. Kirschbaum on Oct 9, 1880 in Henderson, MN. Children included Emma Boelter (1881-1977), August (1884-1971), Ida Preuss (1886-1966), and Clara LaFee (1891-1981). After the death of Minnie, he married Ottilie Gruening on Jan 11, 1894 in Henderson, MN. They had a Baby Girl, who only lived four days in 1894. They also had another Baby Girl who only lived four days in 1895.
According to his Oath of Allegiance, Carl Gustav Gums Jr. arrived in the United States on August 8, 1872. Unlike his father and brothers, there is no record of his arrival in America in the records of the New York Port Authority or Castle Garden. Irma Brand, granddaughter of Carl Gums Jr., tells a story of his stowing away to join his family in America and jumping ship in New York harbor. Ollie Gums thought that both Carl Jr. and Fred had come over on the same ship. Since the passenger lists of Bremen were destroyed during the war, and the New York passenger lists do not list his arrival, this story could be true.
Carl (Charles) Gums Jr. married Wilhelmina "Minnie" Kirschbaum on October 9, 1880. A notice of the marriage appeared in the Sibley County Independent on Friday, October 15, 1880, stating, "Married - On Saturday evening, Oct. 9th. by Rev. J. O. Zwicker, Chas. Gumps and Wilhelmine Kirschbaum, both of this place." She was listed in cemetery records as Carolina Wilhelmina. Her tombstone says, "Mina C. Gums."
They had at least three children born in Jessenland, a township near Henderson; Emma Laura, born October 22, 1881, August Frederick, born March 17, 1884, and Ida Pauline, born July 29, 1886. Two more daughters were born to them in Arlington, Minnesota; Wilhelmina Louise "Minnie," born March 5, 1889, and Clara Emma, born March 18, 1891. A Karolina Emma Gums was baptized at the Trinity Lutheran Church at Gaylord in 1882. This may have been Emma L. Gums. Ida Pauline Gums was christened on June 17, 1888 at the Lutheran Church at New Rome. Her parents were living in Kelso.
Minnie, the mother of these children, died at the early age of thirty-three. On Friday, September 8, 1893, the Sibley County Independent was replete with articles about Wilhelmina's death. Under the column labeled Jessenland Items, it states, "Henry Kuncke attended the funeral of Mrs. Chas. Gums at Wood Lake Tuesday." Under the column labeled Personal & Social, it states, "Fred Gums and daughter attended the funeral of Mrs. Chas. Gums at Wood Lake Tuesday." The death notice says,
Sibley County Independent, September 8, 1893
Died.--Mrs. Chas. Gums, of Buffalo Lake, wife of Chas. Gums, formerly of this city, died at her home Sunday, Sep 3, 1893, of typhoid fever aged about 33 years. She was a loving mother and wife, and besides her husband and five children, leaves a large circle of friends to mourn her untimely departure. The funeral was held Tuesday and her remains laid to rest in the Lutheran cemetery at that place.
As Clara Emma was born in Arlington, Sibley County in 1891 and Minnie died in Posen Township, Yellow Medicine County in 1893, they must have moved there about 1892.
Charles wanted desperately to keep the family together, but different families took the youngsters in to live with them. He remarried in the hopes of bringing the family back together. He married Ottilie Gruening or Greening on January 11, 1894. He would have been about the age of thirty-three. This was recorded in the Sibley County Independent on Friday, January 19, 1894, "Married - Chas. Gums, of Grafton, and Miss Ottilge Gruenning [sic], of this city [Henderson], were married at the residence of Fred Gums Thursday, Jan 11, by Rev. Julius Klopsteg of the Lutheran Church. The newly married couple left Saturday for Grafton where the groom resides."
According to the 1900 census, Ottilie was born in December 1862 in Germany. Carl's children did not accept their stepmother very well. He had been cautioned against marrying her. According to the families of the children, she was the epitome of a wicked stepmother. They had to earn a living very young by doing housework, and were taken in by friends in the Wood Lake area of Posen Township One of these friends was named Timm. Irma (Pederson) Brand, granddaughter of Charles and Minnie, wrote, "[In June 1985] We returned to Posen township . . . for the funeral of a friend of my mother's . . . This lady was the oldest of the Timm girls - the Timm family took in a couple of the Gums girls to live with them after Grandma [Minnie Kirschbaum] Gums died (my mother included)." A letter from Irma on December 5, 1987 states, "[In October] When we visited Mrs. Clara Albrecht (nee Timm) in New Ulm she said that the neighbors around decided they should take 'the children in' so they could be given a Christian education rather than to have them go north [to Todd County] with their father."
A 1984 letter from Gerry Gronewold states, ". . . My mother seemed to recall that as early as age nine she was living with other people and was expected to help with housework and chores to ‘pay her own way'. Eventually they all seemed to attend the Lutheran school in Posen township, but only for about two or three years during which time they received their religious instruction and were confirmed. That also seemed to end their education . . ."
The 1900 census, Posen Township in Yellow Medicine County shows Ida and Emma Gums as servants to the Henry Markgraf and Henry Warnke families, respectively. Ida and Emma were the oldest, and probably stayed, while Minnie and Clara went up north with their father and brother, August.
The death certificate of Charles Gums in 1919 in Browerville, Minnesota says that he was widowed from Wilhelmina Kirschbaum and not Ottilie, however. Charles and Ottilie had two recorded children in Posen Township. Almost ten months after their marriage, they had an unnamed girl, born on October 5, 1894 in Posen Township, Yellow Medicine County, but died four days later. The June 18, 1895 state census found Charles and Ottilie farming in Echo, Underwood Township, Redwood, Minnesota with his children: Emma, August, Ida, Minnie, and Clara. Coincidentally, August Werner, Bertha's brother, and his family were living in Underwood Township, while Ferdinand Werner, another brother, and his family were living in Redwood Falls. Their second girl was also unnamed, born October 18, 1895 in Posen Township and also died four days later on October 22, 1895. In 1900 and 1910, they were living up north in Little Elk Township, Todd, Minnesota. Ottilie was institutionalized a little later for mental problems in Fergus Falls, Minnesota, where she died. After that, the family moved up north to the Randall, Browerville area in Little Elk Township of Todd County by covered wagon. They were caught in a terrible thunderstorm one night, and were given shelter by a kind-hearted farmer. Charles homesteaded and worked very, very hard taking the trees off the land to make a farm. They lived in a log house, which burned down while Charles and August were out in the field. The wind had blown the hot coals from Charles' pipe back into the house as he left it. A frame house was then built.
In a 1983 letter, Laverna states, ". . . And my mother Ida (Pauline) 7-29-1886 to 10-9-1966 spent her last year with us after dad passed away . . . My grandmother died at the age of 33 yrs. and the children very young. Seems my grandfather soon remarried but his second wife wasn't accepted very well by the children and they had to earn their own living very young and were taken in by friends in the Posen Township area (Wood Lake, Mn.). My mother and sisters did housework to earn a living and returned to that Posen area after they moved up north to Little Elk twp in the Randall, Browerville area. The stepmother must have had, or developed, mental problems and was taken to an asylum at Sandstone, where she died . . ."
Irma Brand told me that her grandfather (Charles) hunted for meat, and was a crack shot. One time, the stepmother, Ottilie, got mad at Charles and threw his gun down a well. Browerville neighbors thought that Charles was Polish, because they could understand him and he could understand them. Carl went off to North Dakota to help with the wheat harvest by hauling bundles and thrashing. This made Ottilie mad. It took three days to wash clothes; water had to be hauled from the swamp, the water had to be cut with lye, and then the wash had to be done. They couldn't always get to town for supplies and would run out. When they ran out of kerosene, they would use rags in lard for lamps.
Carl (Charles) Gustav Gums Jr. died on July 7, 1919 in Browerville, Minnesota. One death announcement read, "Mr. Gums, and old and respected citizen of Little Elk, died Monday morning, Jul 7th, at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Fred Boelter, in Browerville. His death was caused from cancer. Mr. Gums leaves numerous relatives to mourn his departure". According to the will, August was to receive all his real and personal property, and was to distribute $100 to each of the daughters.
Family Members
Parents
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
Explore more
Sponsored by Ancestry
Advertisement
