Week 16 Prompt: Out of Place
This week’s 52 Ancestors theme is “Out of Place.” The one family that comes to mind is my Rottman clan, that seemed to roam the country starting in 1870. Philip Rottman and Mary Eva Reeder (or Lasser) are second great-grandparents on my maternal side. They have been the most difficult to research (and continue to be so).
According to several records, this is their strange migration pattern:
1870 | Atlanta, Henry, Georgia | Birth of son John |
1871 | McDonough, Henry, Georgia | Birth of daughter Louise |
1873 | Louisville, Jefferson, Kentucky | Birth, baptism, and death of son Gottlieb Baptism of daughter Louise |
1874 | Missouri | Birth of daughter Anna |
Cir. 1874 | Iowa | Residence (from son John’s obit) |
1875 | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Birth of daughter Elizabeth |
1877 (Jul) | Franklin Twp., Linn, Iowa | Sells land to Ellison |
1877 (Aug) | Ivanhoe, Linn, Iowa | Birth of son Charles |
1877 (Aug) | Franklin Twp., Linn, Iowa | Ellison quit claim to land purchased above |
1879 (Jun) | Franklin Twp., Linn, Iowa | Purchases land from Carpenter |
1879 (Sept) | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | Birth of daughter Mabel |
1880 | Mount Vernon, Linn, Iowa | Residence (census) |
1882 | Mount Vernon, Linn, Iowa | Birth of son George |
1885 | Franklin Twp., Linn, Iowa | Residence (Iowa census) |
The first three events make some sense. I stumbled upon the baptism records for two previously unknown children, Louise and Gottlieb. In Louise’s record, it states her date and place of birth, giving some credence to son John being born in (or near) Atlanta in 1870.
I have not found any proof of the Missouri or Pennsylvania places of birth, other than what’s been stated in censuses and marriage records. The birth of Mabel in Philadelphia seems unlikely since the family was in Iowa by July 1877 (probably earlier, but the deed for the purchase of that land has not been found), but who knows. Philip and/or Eva are mentioned in Iowa newspaper articles beginning as early as 1881.
I have not found any likely family members in any of these places either. And their few known associates in Iowa don’t provide any clues either.
So the search continues…
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