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Note: r, ul. Dluga 27, Rozlazino, 84-219 Poland, diocese of Peplin - the only Catholic church listed in that town today. The current church was constructed in 1864, but the parish existed previously (see Wikipedia).
I located the marriage of August Ritter and Maryanna Koss at the online website of the PTG Pomorskie Genealogical Society, the Pomeranian Genealogical Association: [http://www.ptg.gda.pl/]. They were married at Strzepcz village, gm. Line, pow. wejherowski, woj. Pomerania, at the Catholic church of St. Mary Magdalene, Pelplin diocese. This village is located just south southwest of the town of Luzino, Poland in the area of greater Gdansk and not far from Goreczyno, the town where the wife of August Ewald, Katerzyna Wisniewski, was born. The online Gallery also includes a picture the marriage record of August and Marianna Koss from the Registrar's office at Strzepcz/Strepsch. It lists August as being born in Nawitz/Nawcz and being resident there at his marriage, son of Wilhelm and Josephine (Muller) Ritter, also resident of Nawitz/Nawcz. Here is a translation of the marriage record from the Registrar at Strepsch:
01 Nov 1878, the worker, August Ritter, personally known to this civil registrar, of the catholic religion, born the 19 of May, 1857 in Nawitz, Kreis Lauenburg, current residence Nawitz.
Son of the deceased worker Wilhelm Ritter and Josephine (??) Retzke, widow of Ritter, maiden name Müller, living in Nawitz. (The mother of the groom has remarried after the death of Wilhelm Ritter)
AND
The worker (Arbeiter is male, Arbeiterin is female, the female noun is used here) Marianne Koss, personally known to this civil registrar, born 03 (??) May 1855 in Zemblauermühle, living in Leohain.
Daughter of the worker Franz Koss and his wife Marianne maiden name Boler (or maybe Bober??), living in Leohain.
The second page has to do with two witnesses (and they always seem to be male in this time frame), signatures and the civil registrar´s signature.
Two witnessed are:
The worker Franz Koss, personally known, age 67 (??) living in Leohain
The (cannot yet make out the word before ``knecht,´´ which means servant (groom). He was some sort of servant), personally know, age 37, living in Leohain.
At the bottom there are always the signatures of the groom and bride, along with both witnesses. The only one here who could read and write was the witness Franz Müller.
The place of civil registration was Miloschewo.
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Their first two children, Martha and Johann August were also baptized in Strzepcz/Strepsch village in 1879 and 1881. Several other children were baptized at nearby Dziecielec, also in Gmina Leczyce, Wejherowo, Pomorskie, Poland. At the death of daughter Martha in Feb 1882 the family was resident in Jezow, Kreis Lauenburg, Koslin, Pommern,Preussen. Jesow was a landed or feudal estate; Zinzelitz aka Dziecielec is where the Civil Registration office was located.
According to the St. Albertus Church (Detroit) records of the baptism of daughter Maria/Mary in September, 1894, August was born in Pommern (Pomerania), Germany. From the record of his second marriage at St. Elizabeth Church, Detroit, on August 27, 1908, we learn that he was the son of Guilielmo/Wilhem/William Ritter & Josephine Mueller (church records of this period generally "Latinized" most names). August's death certificate indicates his father's name was Ferdinand Ritter and his mother Minnie; this information was provided by a doctor at Eloise Hospital, but likely came from August's medical file there. August immigrated to the US with his first wife and family in 1888, according to the 1900 census.
In the book "Germans to America," Vol. 55, covering the period July, 1887 - April, 1888, edited by Ira A. Glazier and P. William Fiebig, Scholarly Press, Wilmington, DE, 1997, pg. 410 lists the arrival of an August Ritter, age 31, painter, and his wife Marie, age 32, and two children, August, age 3 and Elise, age 1. They arrived on the ship "America," 17 April 1888 from Bremen at the port of Baltimore, destined for Illinois. While I can't be certain, this is likely the same August: the year of immigration is consistent with that stated by August in the 1900 census as his year of immigration; his age is only off one year and that his wife was one year older is reflected in this record. The son August's age is off by only 1 year as well and the daughter Elise was likely Therese/Theresa (age off 2 years). She may also have been one of the children who died prior to 1900 (see below). This is confirmed by the following: Baltimore Passenger Lists, 1820-1948 (from Ancestry.com) Name: August Ritter Arrival Date: Apr 17 1888 Age: 31 Years 0 Months Years Estimated birth year: abt 1857 Gender: Male Race: German Port of Departure: Bremen, Germany Ship Name: America Port of Arrival: New York, New York Microfilm Roll Number: M255_44 Page: 2 They traveled on the Spardeck.
I have learned that the North German Lloyd Line in Bremen provided regular direct steamer service between Bremen & Baltimore every Wednesday, as well as service to NY every Sunday & Wednesday, and service to New Orleans & Galveston, TX monthly. The ship "America" was listed on the firm's advertisements. The fares to Baltimore in 1888 were 500 marks, first class and 300 marks for second class. Children up to age 12 paid half price, while infants up to one year were charged 9 marks. "Between decks" service was also available, but the price is not printed on the contract which I have (June, 1888). However, in that contract, the adults were charged 100 marks each, the children 50 marks; these were likely lower deck, non-cabin prices. The contract also indicates that lower deck passengers were provided "full and nutritious meals" included in the passage price, as well as fresh baked white bread daily. However, the passengers had to provide their own blankets, dishes and "wash sets;" straw mats were provided. The lower deck is described as being "almost 8 feet high" and divided into rooms for families; lighted through "the side window," and with good ventilation. Every passenger was allowed a 1/2 cubic meter free luggage space. Every piece was required to be "marked in oil paint" with full name of owner, destination and date of ship departure. Passengers were required to report to the company's accounting department in Bremen at least 48 hours prior to departure, presumably to pay the balance of the fare due.
Why the Ritter family chose to travel through the Port of Baltimore is explained below in the following from Ancestry.com: "Immigration waves through Baltimore reflected that of other eastern U.S. port cities, like Philadelphia, Boston, and New York. Irish famine immigrants began arriving in the late 1840s and continued to stream in during the ensuing decades. Even larger numbers of German immigrants were also arriving around this time. Other ethnic groups followed, although in smaller numbers. In 1867, immigration jumped when the North German Lloyd Steamship line entered an agreement with the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, allowing immigrants to purchase one ticket that would take them across the ocean to Baltimore and inland by train. [BNote: this is the line taken by the Ritters.] Ships laden with tobacco, lumber, and cotton goods from Baltimore´s textile industries arrived in Bremerhaven and returned with European immigrants and goods. That year more than 10,000 people passed through the port, more than doubling the 4,000 immigrants of the previous year.
"In 1868 immigrants began arriving at the new B&O piers at Locust Point. Immigration inspections required of steerage passengers were conducted on board the ships as they made their way into Chesapeake Bay. When they docked at the pier, immigrants could go directly to the B&O trains that would take them on the next leg of their journey. For those who had to wait for trains, the Immigration Station had contracted with Mrs. Augusta Koether who ran a large boarding house. She was paid $0.75 a day for each immigrant who stayed with her. According to Forgotten Doors: The Other Ports of Entry to the United States, her boarding house was a haven for immigrants for close to half a century."
It is possible that August and Mary immigrated with a related family, all possibly related to August's mother's Mueller family: Carolus (Charles) Mueller was godfather to August & Mary's son Joseph baptized June 6, 1892 at St. Albertus Church and Rosalia (Rose) Mueller was godmother in September, 1894 to another daughter of August & Mary, Maria (Mary) Ritter, also baptized at St. Albertus Church. Baptism sponsors for August's daughter Rosalia (Rose) on February 9, 1890 at St. Albertus Church, Detroit, were Rudolphus (Rudolph) & Rosalia (Rose) Mueller. These Mueller's may have been cousins of August's.
Wayne Co., MI death records list the deaths of 4 children of August and Mary, 2 under the name "Ritter" and 2 using the name "Rychter." This spelling variant of the surname should also be checked in future searches.
The 1900 census lists the possible cousins of August Ritter, Charles Mueller and his wife Rosa, living at 665 Erskine St., 9th ward, Detroit [the 9th ward is where August and Mary Ritter lived at 1900 as well]. Charles was born Nov. 1849 and Rosa July 1857, both in Germany. They'd been married 27 years and had had 8 children, 7 of whom were living. Charles was a day laborer and the children living in the home were August, Eddie, Joseph, John, Emma and Frank, all names recurring in the Ritter family.
The 1890 Detroit Directory lists 2 August Ritters - one, a laborer, living at 815 Dubois, the other a carpenter living at 40 Waterloo. The former is most likely the "correct" August Ritter. There were at least 25 other Ritters listed in that directory; it's not known if other related Ritters immigrated at the same time as Mary & August in 1888.
August Ritter first appears in the US census in 1900 as a 43 year old teamster, married, with 4 living children. The name was spelled "Ratter/Retter." They were living in a rented home at 815 Canfield, Detroit. He and wife Mary had been married for 23 years and had immigrated to the US from Poland/Germany in 1888. August could read, write and speak English, but his wife could do none of these. Their 2 eldest surviving children were born before immigration; son Frank was born in Detroit the year they immigrated. Mary and August had had 9 children before 1900, but only 4 were living at June, 1900. One of these deceased children was likely Martha, their first child, baptized in Strzepcz village, Pomerania in August, 1879.
I located the baptismal records of 2 children at St. Albertus Church in Detroit, Maria (Mary) and Joseph, both born in the 1890's in Detroit, but who did not survive to the 1900 census. The record of Maria's baptism indicates that August was born in Pomerania and his wife in "Sorussia occ.," likely a German-occupied area of Poland or Russia.
August, Sr. appears in the 1899 & 1901 Detroit Directories as a laborer living at 815 Dubois, Detroit. Also living at this address was August Ritter, Jr., a machine hand. The appearance of the son confirms that this is the correct August Ritter, the one living at the same address in the 1890 Directory. By the 1903 directory, both Augusts were living at 586 Canfield, Detroit; in 1905 they were at the same address, but August, Sr's. occupation was listed as "teamster" instead of laborer. 586 Canfield is the residence address of Mary Koss Ritter at her death 6 January 1907; the husband and son are both listed in the 1907 Detroit Directory as living at 267 Grandy, Detroit where they apparently moved after Mary's death.
August married a German-born widow the following year, 1908, Augusta (Chapp/Czapp) Mudloff who had several children from her first marriage. She and August were married at St. Elizabeth's Church, Detroit on 27 August 1908. The marriage record indicates his parents' names as William and Josephine. At the 1910 census, August and "Augusta" had her Mudloff children living with them, no Ritter children. Also living in the home were Anna Krausmann, 42, b. Germany, described as married and a sister-in-law of August Ritter. This was likely the sister of his 2nd wife or, perhaps, the wife of a brother of August's of whom we have no knowledge. Also living in the home were 17 year old Arthur M. Karaszewski and 15 year old John A. Karaszewski, both described as nephews of August. They, too may be related to Augusta Mudloff Ritter.
At the weddding of daughter Rose Ritter in Sept 1910, the record lists the bride's father as "Gust" and mother as "Rose."
At the time of the 1920 census August and Augusta were living at 188 Mitchell, Detroit with Augusta's sons Leander, 22, Arthur, 18 and Floyd Mudloff, 16. (This Leander was later best man at the wedding of Frank Ritter to Constance Ewald, Frank and Leander being step-brothers.) Next door was Augusta's daughter Augusta and her husband Fredrick Warstler. August's occupation was teamster at a varnish factory; perhaps this is how son Frank came to be employed later at Barry Brothers Paint Co. as a teamster.
In the 1909 Detroit Directory, August, Sr. was living at 188 Mitchell, a laborer; son August, Jr. was a teamster, boarding at 267 Grandy where he and his father had been living in 1907. The same addresses are shown in 1910 and, for August, Sr., 188 Mitchell remains his address through 1920-21. The street numbering system underwent a change in Detroit in 1920-21 and 188 Mitchell turned into 4118 Mitchell. The Mitchell address does not appear in subsequent directories and August does not appear again until the 1931-32 directory when he was living at 8734 Lumpkin in Hamtramck; this was the home of his daughter and son-in-law, Theresa and Joseph Papiesz. This address was given as his residence on his death certificate of 9 August 1934. Nothing is yet known about the death of his second wife, although she likely died between 1920 & 1930 when August appears as a widower in the 1930 census.
In the 1930 census I located 72 year old August "Retter," born in Germany, living in Hamtramck in the home of son-in-law Joseph Papiesz. He immigrated in 1888, was a widower.
August Ritter, Sr. was described by granddaughter Marion Ritter Houlihan as being a big man with reddish hair who walked with a cane in late life. According to his death certificate, August died at Eloise State Hospital, Nankin Township, now Westland, MI from chronic myocarditis and broncho-pneumonia 9 August 1934. He was 77 years old and had been a truck driver, confirming the occupation of "teamster" shown in previous records. His parents were listed as Ferdinand and Minnie Ritter, both born in Germany. He was buried in Detroit, cemetery unnamed, Joseph P. Miller, funeral director. He was a widower. He was born 8 May 1857, according to the death certificate, about a year different than the date obtained from other records. "At its peak, during the Great Depression, the 903-acre Eloise compound was one of the largest mental hospitals in the country, serving more than 10,000 patients. It had its own post office, livestock and tobacco field. Some residents were indigent, others suffered from tuberculosis. Across the street, more than 7,100 Eloise residents are buried in a potter's field with only numbers to mark their graves." [from Wayne Co., MI GenWeb site].
Mt. Olivet Cemetery records, Detroit, confirm August's burial in Section 33, lot #93. He was buried from Holy Name Church, L. Miller Funeral Home. I visited the cemetery in June, 1997 and obtained a copy of the lot map of #93, section 33. August is buried in grave #6 with no tombstone. There are 14 others buried in this lot which is marked with a large monument, in Polish: Tu Spoczywa, Urban Papiesza Familija," translated "Here Rests the Family of Urban Papiesza." Urban, who died in 1922, was the father-in-law of August's daughter Theresa and the apparent initial owner of the lot.
************************* Between 1815 and 1945 Pomerania ('Pommern') was a province in the former kingdom, later free state of Prussia. The head of the province of Pomerania was the so-called Oberpräsident ('super president'). He had his seat in the Pomeranian capital Stettin.
According to "German - American Names," the name Ritter initially meant trapper, then knight, and was used only by the gentry.
The family may have been Kashubs - Marion Houlihan remembers her Aunt Rose talking about the difference in dialect between the Ritters and the Ewalds. This impression is confirmed by Dorothy Reppke who recalls that the Ritters were Kashubs and spoke so differently that it was difficult to understand them.
At the 1891 wedding of Anna "Avalt" and Ignatz Webber, a female witness was an "Alajzy Ryhter." Is this another variation on Ritter? ___________________________________________________________
RESEARCH NOTES;
Alphonse Ewald, son of Jacob, once told me that he'd heard that the Ewald family might have been from Sweden at one time. From a Pomeranian Genealogy site, I learned that Swedish Pomerania was a Dominion under the Swedish Crown from the 17th to the 19th century, situated on the German Baltic Sea coast. Following the Polish War and the Thirty Years' War, Sweden held extensive control over the lands on the Southern Baltic Coast including Pomerania and parts of Silesia and Prussia. At the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, Sweden received Upper Pomerania, or Vorpommern, a strip of Lower Pomerania, or Hinterpommern, with the islands of Rügen, Usedom and Wollin. Also see the Wikipedia article "Swedish Pommerania."
Wondering if the same might apply to the Ritter family...the following text lists family names appearing in the Swedish Land Survey by Kreis[county]. See [http://www.charly.ping.de/bibliothek/schwmatrvp-namen.html#Anklam]: Schwedische Matrikel von Vorpommern. Familiennamen in Schwedisch Pommern 1692 bis 1698 (Dörfer) in der Veröffentlichung von Franz Schubert. Nach der Kreiseinteilung von 1935. Compiled by Klaus-Dieter Kreplin. The following Kreis (counties) included the surname Ritter n the late 17th century.
Kreis Anklam Kreis Grimmen Kreis Randow
Note: I located the baptism of August Joahnn Ritter at the website of the PTG Pomeranian Genealogical Association. He was likely baptized at the Catholic Church of St. Woiciech (Adalbert), Bishop and Marty
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