Extended Family Histories
Mary Catherine Kircher
1825 - 1908 (~ 82 years)-
Name Mary Catherine Kircher Birth May 1825 Ireland Gender Female _UID 17F70AAC8CD640169E07F77878BEF26018DA Death 15 Apr 1908 Goodrick, ND [1] Burial 20 Apr 1908 St. Stephen's Cemetary, Block 2, lot 12, grave 2. Person ID I763 Gary and Connie Genealogy Last Modified 9 Mar 2009
Family Franz Joseph Leitheiser, b. 1819, Germany d. 11 Oct 1884, Bridgewater, SD (Age 65 years) Marriage 1843 Buffalo, NY _UID 0E1EAE172BB141E5BA7F6563414E097F0B9C Children 1. Marie Leitheiser, b. 1846, Buffalo, NY d. 31 Dec 1864, West Bend WI (Age 18 years) 2. Sophia Leitheiser, b. 10 May 1849, Buffalo, NY d. 14 Apr 1910 (Age 60 years) 3. Adam Leitheiser, b. 28 Nov 1851, Buffalo NY d. 2 Jan 1931, Provost, Alberta, Canada (Age 79 years) 4. Rosa Leitheiser, b. 1853, Buffalo NY d. 1912, Scotland, SD (Age 59 years) 5. John Leitheiser, b. 11 Mar 1855, West Bend, WI d. 1921, Bridgewater, SD (Age 65 years) 6. Henry Leitheiser, b. 8 Mar 1858, West Bend, WI d. 31 May 1924, Bridgewater, SD (Age 66 years) 7. Frank Leitheiser, b. 27 Jun 1860, West Bend, WI d. 20 Jun 1930, Bridgewater, SD (Age 69 years) 8. Martin Leitheiser, b. 27 Jun 1860, West Bend, WI d. 6 Nov 1912, Bridgewater, SD (Age 52 years) 9. William Leitheiser, b. 15 Oct 1862, West Bend, WI d. 8 Jul 1928, Bridgewater, SD (Age 65 years) 10. Charles Leitheiser, b. 11 Mar 1866, West Bend, WI d. 1929, Bridgewater, SD (Age 62 years) 11. Mary (Marie) Leitheiser, b. 30 Jun 1868, West Bend, WI d. 9 Jan 1950, Minneapolis, MN (Age 81 years) Family ID F148 Group Sheet | Family Chart Last Modified 7 Jul 2017
-
Event Map = Link to Google Earth
-
Photos Leitheiser Mary Catherine sons
Front row: Adam, Mary Catherine, John
Back row: Charles, Will, Frank, Martin, Henry
(Frank and Martin are twins)
-
Notes - Mary Catherine came to America by herself when she was 18 (1843).
Mary Catherine was an Irish child who was sent to Germany to be brought up in a good Catholic family, the Kirchers, during the English and Irish religious wars. She grew up as one of the Kircher family. She didn't know that she wasn't a biological daughter until the father died when she was 16. The father divided his property, and he shared with her as one of the family. However, she was so upset about this news that she ran away and worked away from home a couple of years.
She then bought a ticket to go to New York in a sailing vessel. Stormy weather blew them way south so that when they reached Americait was in New Orleans and not New York. The ship's company sent her overland to the state of New York. She found a job on a farm that made cheese. Somehow, the two immigrants (Franz and Mary Catherine) met, fell in love, and were married.
They lived in Buffalo, NY, where Sophie, Rosa, and Adam were born.
Mary Catherine wrote to her foster mother and told her she was marrieda nd living in America. Her mother answered and told her that her brothers had also gone to America and lived in Barton, WI. Franz and Mary Catherine decided to move there too.
After Franz died in 1884, she went to live in Scotland, SD where the two older daughters lived. She sold the hotel to Joe Heiberger of Bridgewater and rented her farm to Charley.
- Mary Catherine came to America by herself when she was 18 (1843).
-
Sources - [S4] Bridgewater Centennial Committee, Bridgewater Centennial Committee. Ester Shane Edited. Echoes of an, Era-Centennial Book. Bridgewater Tribune, June 1980. Page 38.
- [S4] Bridgewater Centennial Committee, Bridgewater Centennial Committee. Ester Shane Edited. Echoes of an, Era-Centennial Book. Bridgewater Tribune, June 1980. Page 38.