Family Tree Maker's Genealogy Site: Genealogy Report: Descendants of Emil Henry Claussen

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Descendants of Emil Henry Claussen

Generation No. 1

1. EMIL HENRY¹ CLAUSSEN^1,^2,³ was born November 28, 1814 in Denmark, Probably Holstein Region, Now Part Of Germany ⁴, and died July 23, 1849 in Jordan's Prairie (Now Dix), Jefferson Co., IL^4,⁵. He married SARAH FRANCES "SALLIE" LINGO^6,^7,^8,⁹ July 28, 1835 in Bond Co, IL ¹⁰, daughter of JAMES LINGO and JANE THOMPSON. She was born February 19, 1817 in St. Charles Co., Missouri ^11,^12,^13,¹⁴, and died September 14, 1910 in At Home, 4 MI. From Stonington, Christian Co., IL ¹⁵.

Notes for EMIL HENRY CLAUSSEN:
Alt. Death
Fact 4
Emil Henry Claussen was born in Denmark in November of 1814 . So far, nothing of his early life or family of origin i s known. However there is a story passed down in the fami ly that a forefather served as a physician to the King of D enmark. Another family story is that Emil's father was a s ailor out of Sweden and Denmark. And still another is tha t the family lived on the coast and ran cargo boats.

In December of 1834, at age 20, Emil boarded the ship "Orio n" in Hamburg, Germany. It's ship passenger list states th at he came to Hamburg from Holstein, gives his age, and hi s occupation as farmer. There are no other Claussens accom panying him on this journey.

It is not known whether Holstein was his birth place, or si mply the most recent place he lived before boarding the shi p. It is most likely that he was born there. It is know n that Emil was born in Denmark, and there are many Clausse ns in Holstein, so it is likely this was his home. Holstei n is a region currently in Northern Germany, part of what i s now known as Schleswig-Holstein. This region was part o f Denmark until 1864, and much political upheaval took plac e in the region for years prior to Denmark turning the reg ion over to Germany, including the years in which Emil wa s growing up.

On Jan. 6, 1835, the "Orion" docked in New Orleans. Emil r emained there a short time, then traveled to Illinois, prob ably by steamboat or flatboat up the icey Mississippi River . I have wondered what drew him to Illinois, and it may ha ve been that he already had relatives residing there, as re cords show another household of Claussens from Denmark, nea r where he initially settled, which was near the Bond and M ontgomery County lines, close to Walshville.

In July of 1835, Emil married 18 year old Sarah Francis Lin go in Bond Co , Illinois, only about two weeks before her f ather's death. Sarah was the daughter of early pioneers wh o were living in the northwest corner of Bond County.

Emil may have taught school briefly in Bond County in 1835 . It is known that he did teach at the first school in Wal shville Township in the southwest corner of Montgomery Coun ty, Illinois, from 1835 until at least 1843, according to t he MONTGOMERY COUNTY HISTORY and the 1874 ATLAS OF MONTGOME RY COUNTY. The (1904) CHRISTIAN COUNTY PAST AND PRESENT st ates that Emil was well educated, a fine linguist, and taug ht 3 different languages. In those times the schools wer e subscription schools, and parents paid to send their sons . Girls were not encouraged to attend. Walshville Townshi p was known as the "church township", and was primarily set tled by German farmers. The first settlement was near Lak e Fork where, in 1834, William Cline set aside land on hi s farm for a cemetery, and built a log cabin to serve a s a Baptist Church and school house. This was the schoolhou se where Emil taught. Although the log cabin church/schoo l is no longer there, the Cline/Lemen cemetery remains to m ark the spot.

The Emil Claussen family is listed in the 1840 Montgomery C ounty census, near Walshville, next door to a 50-60 yr. ol d woman named Lucie Sophia Claussen with teenagers in her h ousehold. In 1841, Emil was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenan t with the 43rd Regiment of the Illinois militia. During t he eight or so years they remained in the Walshville area , Emil and Sarah had five sons, and buried one of them at f ive days old. Between 1843 and 1848, little is known of th e family, except that two more sons were born, one of who m lived only five months. They may have remained in Montgo mery County, or resided in Madison and then Christian Count ies. There is a family story that around this time Emil's f ather, a sailor, resided with Emil in his old age, and at h is death left a sea chest containing papers, including a po em about Copenhagen, that has survived to this day.

By April of 1849, when their youngest son was born, the fam ily is at Jordan's Prairie (now Dix), Jefferson County, Ill inois. According to THE JEFFERSON COUNTY HISTORY, 1810-196 2, Jordan's Prairie consisted at that time of a hotel, a s aloon, and less than fifty families. The Claussens were fa rming, although the land was not very rich. Perhaps Emil w as still teaching school as well. A terrible cholera epide mic was sweeping through the midwest in 1849, leaving few f amilies untouched. A medical reference book says this abou t cholera in 1849: "The disease had been brought to New Or leans in immigrant ships early in December, 1848, and i n a few weeks was carried to all the principal cities on th e Ohio and Mississippi Rivers." In July of 1849, Emil die d of cholera at the age of 34. There is no cemetery recor d for him in the county; like the other victims, he was pro bably buried out of necessity in a mass grave. He left hi s young wife with a farm to manage and six sons---ages 13 , 11, 8, 6, 4, 2, and 3 months. One can only try to imagin e how difficult the situation was for this family, and ho w Sarah, with a nursing babe in arms and few resources at h er disposal, was able to keep her family together and survi ve. A tragic but all too common end to the story of this y oung immigrant to America.
(Medical):Appears in photo to have light complexion, ligh t brown hair, light colored eyes.

More About EMIL HENRY CLAUSSEN:
Alt. Death: July 23, 1848 ¹⁶
Birth Date: November 02, 1814, Likely Birth; Alternate Is Nov. 28
Birthplace of Alex: April 1849, Living At Jordan's Prairie (Near Present Day Dix), Jefferson Co., IL
Birthplace of Gideon: April 1843, Living In Montgomery Co., IL
Cause of Death: Cholera
Cause of Death (Facts Pg): July 23, 1849, Died In Cholera Epidemic; Buried In Mass Grave; Jefferson Co., IL
Census: 1840, Living In Walshville Twsp. (Census)
Fact 4: Doctor/Farmer
Immigration: December 1834, Left Hamburg On The Orion At Age 20
Military: August 05, 1841, Commissioned 2ND Lt., 43Rd Regiment, IL Militia
Occupation: July 28, 1835, Married And Taught School In Bond Co., IL
Record Change: December 27, 2004
Resided: 1849, Dix, Rome Twsp, Jefferson Co, IL

Notes for SARAH FRANCES "SALLIE" LINGO:
Sarah was the second of 10 children of James and Jane (Thom pson) Lingo. The Lingos were early pioneers in Kentucky, Mi ssouri, and Illinois. Her grandfather, James Lingo of Vir ginia, died in the Revolutionary War. Her other grandfathe r, William Thompson of Flag Spring, Kentucky, served in th e War of 1812 and also served late in the Revolutionary Wa r when just a teenager. The ethnic background of the famil y is unclear, but they were most likely Scots.

Sarah was born near present day St. Louis, Missouri, in 181 7. Her family moved across the Mississippi River to live i n Madison County, Illinois when she was young, at a place c alled Looking Glass Prairie, where they remained until at l east 1830. late in her life She recalled for the PAST & PRE SENT OF CHRISTIAN COUNTY, ILLINOIS that when she was a gir l Looking Glass Prairie was a very dangerous place for sett lers, populated by native peoples and wolves.

Sarah married Emil Claussen, a newly arrived immigrant fro m Denmark, in Bond County in 1835. At that time, her famil y appears to have been living in an area settled primaril y by people of Irish extraction, near Old Ripley. Just 2 w eeks after her marriage, Sarah's father died at age 58, lea ving a small farm to his widow. A sale of many of their fa rm implements, animals, household goods, his medical books , tools, rifle, and even standing corn took place shortly a fter his death. Sarah helped to care for her younger sibli ngs after her father's death.

Sarah and Emil remained nearby for several years while Emi l taught school in Walshville Township, in neighboring Mont gomery County, and they began welcoming sons into their fam ily. This part of their lives is related in more detail i n Emil Claussen's story. Sarah's many brothers and sister s scattered throughout Central and Southern Illinois, and o ne brother eventually settled in Arkansas. Like Sarah, th e oldest brother remained near their mother, at least for a while, and she passed on in 1845.

Emil and Sarah were living at Jordan's Prairie, Jefferson C ounty, Illinois when Emil died suddenly in the cholera epid emic of 1849. Sarah, at age 32, was left a widow with si x sons, ages 13 down to 3 months, and a farm to manage. I t appears they were struggling farmers, so there were few r esources at her disposal. It is a testimony to her stron g pioneer spirit that she was able to survive and hold he r family together during the next few years. One may assum e that the older boys had to work very hard. The Jefferso n County census of 1850 shows that the entire family is sti ll together, and that her twenty year old sister, Melvina , is living with them. Her 16 year old sister Lucinda i s also in the area, as she married James Hampton in Jeffers on County that year, and remained to raise a family. Melvi na also married in Jefferson County in 1853, to Thomas Spen cer, but died just 3 years later.

Sarah married Ira Hewitt, ten years her senior and likel y a widower, in March of 1856 in Mt. Vernon, Illinois. The y were married by Zachariah Hampton a minister who was prob ably her sister Lucinda Evaline's father in law. A marriag e contract, very unusual for that day, was drawn up. The pu rpose of the contract was to make clear that Sarah's proper ty from her first marriage should go to her sons in case o f her death, rather than to her husband. This property inc ludes "one bay mare, one span of mules, one wagon, two yok e of cattle, four other cattle, and between forty and fift y head of stock hogs". Her signature on this contract cons ists of her "mark", witnessed by the clerk. Although thi s seems to indicate that she was unable to write her name , a letter exists that she apparently wrote to her granddau ghter when she was 89 years old.

Following her marriage to Ira, it appears they remained a t her farm at Jordan's Prairie, and her sons William, Jaspe r, Gideon, and Archibald (Alex) are living with them at th e time of the 1860 census, along with the daughter she an d Ira had in 1857, Melvinna Jane. Her oldest son, James, w as married by this time, and her son, Isaac, had left hom e as well. Stories passed down in the family relate that w hen the Civil War broke out, Jasper, Gideon, and Isaac lef t to find adventure out West. They had relatives in the Sou th and did not want to fight in the War. Whether they struc k out together or separately, they did each go West and cer tainly had adventures.

Ira and Sarah moved with the younger children to Christia n County, Illinois, in 1867. Ira died later that same year , on Christmas Day. Sarah remained in Christian County, nea r where her sons William, Jasper, and eventually Gideon mad e their homes. She appears as head of household in the Chr istian County census of 1870, near Grove City, with three o f her sons and her daughter at home. Sarah was a member o f the Old Stonington Baptist Church.

Her daughter Melvinna Jane married John H. Youckey in 1878 . Sadly, Melvinna died early in 1885, probably of childbir th complications, at age 27. Just 3 years later, Sarah's o ldest child, James, died in Jackson County, Illinois.

Sarah had attained the age of 93 at her death in 1910, at t he home she made with her son Gideon, a wealthy bachelor, n ear Stonington, Illinois. For that time, to live into one' s 90's was rare. In her amazing life, she had endured th e wilderness, hostilities of native people to the encroachi ng settlers, and wolf packs of her youth; the deaths of tw o infants; cholera epidemics; raising her young children al one for 7 years; the death of two husbands; and the death s of two adult children. And this is only the little we kn ow of her life now, so many years later. A lock of her gol d-white hair remains in the Alex Claussen family bible to t his day. Sarah is buried near her sons William and Gideon , several grandchildren, and next to her daughter Melvinn a and Melvinna's young daughter, in a lovely little countr y cemetery near Stonington. Her grave marker reads, "Faith ful to her trust, Ever unto death".
(Medical):Appears from photos to have dark, perhaps red hai r and a fair complexion, with med. dark eyes and freckles . Very pretty young woman.

More About SARAH FRANCES "SALLIE" LINGO:
Birth Date: Denmark (W. Sanders, Ngs)
Burial: September 1910, Buried At Old Stonington Cemetery, Christian Co., IL
Cause of Death: "of old age"
Daughter born: 1857, Daughter Melvinna Jane Born
Move: Bet. 1824 - 1830, When She Was 7, Sarah's Family Moved Across The River To Madison Co., IL
Record Change: December 27, 2004
Remarriage: 1856, Married Ira Hewitt, A Widower, Using A Marriage Contract
Residing: Bet. 1843 - 1849, May Have Lived In Montgomery, Bond, And/Or Madison Co., IL
Residing/widowed: 1849, Living On Farm In Jefferson Co. At Time Of Emil's Death.

Children of EMIL CLAUSSEN and SARAH LINGO are:

2.	i.	JAMES HENRY² CLAUSSEN, b. April 16, 1836, Probably Bond Or Montgomery County, Illinois; d. April 05, 1888, Swans Pond, Kinkaid Twsp, Jackson Co, IL.
3.	ii.	WILLIAM M. CLAUSSEN, b. March 10, 1838, Probably Bond Or Montgomery Co., IL; d. March 18, 1924, Owaneco, Christian Co., IL.
	iii.	NAPOLIAN L. CLAUSSEN¹⁶, b. September 19, 1839, Probably Montgomery Co., IL¹⁶; d. September 24, 1839, Probably Montgomery Co., IL ^17,¹⁸.

More About NAPOLIAN L. CLAUSSEN:
Record Change: December 27, 2004

4.	iv.	ISAAC NEWTON CLAUSSEN, b. December 01, 1840, Probably Christian Or Montgomery Co., IL; d. April 09, 1928, Armour, Douglas Co, South Dakota.
5.	v.	GIDEON B. CLAUSSEN, b. April 15, 1843, Montgomery Co., IL; d. April 29, 1917, Owaneco, Christian Co, IL.
	vi.	JOHN W. CLAUSSEN, b. March 17, 1845, Illinois¹⁸; d. August 04, 1845, Illinois ^19,²⁰.

More About JOHN W. CLAUSSEN:
Record Change: December 27, 2004

6.	vii.		JASPER FRANKLIN CLAUSSEN, b. October 12, 1846, Illinois; d. February 08, 1935, Moberly, Randolph Co, MO.
7.	viii.		ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER EMIL CLAUSSEN, b. April 21, 1849, Jordan's Prairie (Now Dix), Rome Twsp, Jefferson Co, IL; d. October 18, 1916, Athensville Township, Greene Co., IL.

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