Dear Franklin County, Indiana, Researchers,
As you know from my many plaintive queries and email notes, I have
been
looking for Elizabeth Hannebaum for about 10 years. She was the eldest child
in her immigrant family that came to the U.S. in 1843.
With your help and many suggestions, I finally ordered a microfilm
of the church record book of St. Nicholas German Lutheran Church, and
there I found two solid records that helped me discover the whereabouts
of Elizabeth Hannebaum.
As you know, I had identified 17 Franklin County, Indiana, families
with an
Elizabeth of the approximate age and Prussian place of birth. And
there was also the possibility that she had died soon after arrival in the
U.S.
Wellll, she was hiding in plain sight. As you probably know, the
namesake
of Peppertown, Indiana, was August Pepper. He was a partner with John C.
Koerner in a merchantile business in Peppertown. I knew that his wife was
Eliza,
and it turns out that she was the very Clara Elizabeth Hannebaum that I was
looking
for. Her husband died in 1889, and in 1895 she moved to Brightwood, Indiana,
just above Indianapolis, to live with family. She died on July 4, 1900, and
her death
record is found in the Peppertown church book.
Please excuse my enthusiasm--but I'm so excited. Now I can go ahead
and publish my book, Hannebaum Families in America and Germany. This is a
non-profit book that I have been updating on my computer for ten years.
I wish you each wonderful success in your many family history
searches!
Larry Christensen
San Diego, CA