In the "History of Pike and Dubois Counties, Indiana" published by Goodspeed
and Brothers Co. 1885 it states that John Altmeyer was the son of Peter
Joseph Altmeyer and Margaret Hauser, natives of Germany. "Mr. Altmeyer, Sr. came
to this country in his youth and lived for several years in Allegheny
County, Pennsylvania. From there he moved to Dubois County, Indana and bought
eighty acres of land in Ferdinand Township".
This family will not show up in the Ellis Islands records because those
records do not start until 1892. Peter Altmeyer's death record from the St.
Ferdinand Cemetery says that he was born Mar. 19, 1810. My ggreat grandmother
was Susan Altmeyer, daughter of Peter, sister to John Altmeyer. She was born in
1838 in Pittsburgh. Peter's family does not show up on the Ferdinand Twp.
census until 1850, so we can only assume the following things:
Peter Altmeyer immigrated to America from Germany with his parents after
1810.
Peter, his wife and their family migrated from Pennsylvania to Ferdinand
Twp. after 1840.
I also read this week that Sister St. Theodore Guerin and five other Sisters
of Providence arrived in New York on Sept. 4, 1840 and traveled to
Pennsylvania. From there they traveled by train, stagecoach, and steamboat to Madison,
IN. Another steamboat took them to Evansville, IN and a stagecoach took them
the rest of the way to St. Mary-of-the-Woods. In 1842 she opened a school in
Jasper, IN, which is close to Ferdinand. Maybe this was a common
route...from New York to Pennsylvania to Indiana....or maybe it was a route the
Catholic community followed. Coincidence or not?
Faith