1929

Louisa Wilhelmina Basch Stuve was born November 8, 1860  and died August 29, 1929

Henry Basch

This is Henry Basch and his bride. They are relatives..but I am not sure how they fit in the family puzzle.  They were important enough to include in an old photo album..so they are important enough to mention here.

Uncle John Basch

The Uncle John that Grandma talks about on January 08, 1913 is more than likely Uncle John Basch.

Uncle John was Louisa Basche Stuves ( Tracie’s Mother) younger brother, born about 1876.  This photo is marked Uncle John  Basch and was found in the photo album.

Ferdinand and Louisa Basch

Ferdinand and Louisa were Louisa Basch Stuve’s parents which makes them our Tracie’s Grandparents.  That is how they are marked in the album..Grandpa Basch and Grandma Basch
                                                                               
Ferdinand Basch  was a Union Soldier who served for the State of Missouri.  He enlisted as a Sergeant and was part of Company F, 5th SM Cavalry Regiment Missouri.  See the link here.

Ferdinand  Basch
Born : October 14, 1838
Birthplace: Alsace, Lorraine France
Died: May 10 1879 at the age 40

Buried: California, Missouri

Married: December 6, 1860  ( might be an error..Louisa Wilhelmina Basch  was born in 1860 ??)

Louisa Wittland Basch
Born: October 4, 1844

Birthplace: Germany
Died: December 22, 1915

Place of death: Pottawattamie County, near Council Bluffs, Iowa

In the 1870 Census I found them in Silver Creek Township, Pottawattamie County,  Iowa.
Ferdinand  31  Germany ( error..his Civil War record says France)  Farmer
Louisa  25  Germany
Louisa 9  Missouri
Carrie 6  Iowa
Mary 4  Iowa
Fred 2/12 Iowa

In the 1880 Census I found them in Keg ( or Key) Creek  Pottawattamie, County Iowa   June 9 and 10 are the days of the census 1880.
Ferdinand is not listed..he died in May of 1879
Louisa 36  Germany  Managing Farm
Carrie is not listed..
Mary 12 born in Iowa as were the rest of the children.
Fred 10
Bertha 8
Horace 6
John 4
Annie 2
Stuve, Louisa 18 daughter living at home.

Further down the census record I found Stuve, Louis  26 Son in law working on Farm

Here are the back of their photographs.
                                                


I can only guess from the census records that after Louis and Louisa were married they stayed at the farm with her Widowed Mother Louisa to help her with the farm and the young children.

Census records are only guides..census takers would often talk to small children who would guess at answers.  Some census takers could not spell and some of the penmanship is horrible. 

Update from Cousin Ken ( Laura's Grandson)

I suspect that the fact he enlisted as a sergeant indicates that he was pretty well thought of in the community. They probably didn't have big $$ or he would have been an officer but a sergeant was responsible for other men and getting things done and that went to community doers and leaders.

 

Second, Alsace-Lorraine is a part of Europe that Germany and France have fought over forever and has changed hands many times. I think people that live there speak both languages and pretty much roll with whoever is currently running things. So not surprising that sometimes he turns up German and sometimes French.

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Info and photo from a relative:

Louisa Wittland Basch born October 4, 1844 in Germany.

She came to the USA in 1848 when she was four years old.

She was a very quiet, slow speaking woman.  She was never one to gossip.  Tracie remembers her Grandmother as always wearing a gathered skirt with pockets.  Being unable to attend Tracie and James X’s wedding, some time later, seeing Tracie, she reached into her skirt pocket and pulled out two $1.00 bills, and gave them to her for a belated wedding gift.

In her later years, she( Louisa Wittland Basch ) lived with her daughter  Anna.  In Anna’s house was a large kitchen, and off to one corner was Louisa’s rocking chair, and her mending, of which she did for all the relatives.  Anna’s husband John Young played the organ in church for 45 years.  That same church where Louisa’s grandchildren were all baptized.

 

Ferdinand Basch born October 14, 1838 in France

Ferdinand came to the USA from France at the age of 17.  He enlisted in the Union Army of the Civil War in Company 5 of the S M Cavalry.  He served under w. S. Rosecrans at Chickamauga, Tennessee, losing the battle, and also served under G. H. Thomas at Chattanooga, Tennessee against General Brag.  There are 6 or 7 bullet holes in the hat he is wearing ( see photo above).  He was wounded and lost his trigger finger during the battle.  The area where he fought was called “No Man’s Land”  Between North and South, they would steal horses from each other.  During his time in service, he would sneak back home to see his wife and child.  They would have to go to the basement/cellar only by candlelight, for fear of being seen by the enemy.  He served all four years.  Ferdinand has (as known) one brother Theodore 1842 to 1918 and One sister Carolyn Basch Schoening 1851 to 1935.  Ferdinand died at the age of 40 in 1879.

Louis and Louisa Stuve

Tracie’s parents were Louis Carl Stuve and Louisa Wilhelmina Basch Stuve.

Louis Carl Stuve
Born: February 21, 1854 in Jefferson County Missouri

Died: August 9, 1932 Park Rapids, Minnesota

Buried: Greenwood Cemetery Park Rapids Minnesota

Married: February 05, 1880 at Grandma Basch’s farm (Louisa Wittland Basch)

Louisa Wilhelmina Basch Stuve
Born: November 08, 1860  Mc Girk near California Junction, Missouri

Died August 29, 1929 in Walker, Minnesota

Buried: Greenwood Cemetery Park Rapids, Minnesota

This is another photo of them that appears in the album.  It is taped with masking tape into place above it in Tracie’s hand is written Mother and Father Stuve.

This is a very typical photo for right around 1900 give or take a few years.  They look 40 something to me.

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Info from a relative:

Louis and Louisa were born in the same log cabin near Jefferson City, Missouri.  Six years apart.  They didn’t met until a couple of years before they were married.  He came to work as a farm hand on the Basch farm.

Louisa was a very sweet gentle person, helping anyone she could.  Also, a very hard worker.

Louis was a very stern man. One would never question his decisions. He was a man that liked his booze. The only education he had, was confirmation classes at the church nearby.

After Louis and Louisa were married, they moved from Council Bluffs, Iowa to west of Logan Iowa.  Then they moved back to Council Bluffs and operated a section house (as it was called) for railroad workers.  Louisa did the cooking, and Louis sold the beer.  This was located by the railroad tracks.

From there they moved to south east of Logan and farmed until they came north to Minnesota.

They had their own mill for molasses.  They cooked it down and then sold molasses.  The process for cooking it, was to build the fire, stir and watch it continuously—so during the the times of fire watching all night, as it cooked, they would have parties.  This made the time go by faster, for such a tedious job.

Louisa’s brothers and sisters remained east of Council Bluffs, near the “Old Dutch Hollow” by the village of Dumpfres.  Each year there would be a “Mission Feast”  in the fall of the year.  Louis and Louisa and their children would try to go back for the festivities and  to see her family.

 

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Greenwood Cemetery Hubbard County, Park Rapids  Minnesota