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Author: mtchjackson
Surnames: Eisberg, Iceberg, Hesse
Classification: queries
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Message Board Post:
Lydia Wilhelmine Eisberg / Iceberg (nee Hesse) was the first child of Wilhelm Hesse and
his second wife Henrietta Reimer.
Here is some background info on her parents. Note that Lydia and her husband George helped
care for Henrietta after her husband Wilhelm passed away.
Wilhelm (William) Hesse was born about 28 Nov 1835. Older records suggest it was 1835,
however earlier records indicate a discrepancy in the exact year. He was from either
Navendorf, Prussia or Gadensteds, Hanover before he came to the US. It is not known at
this time if he was born there or if this where he was living before he came to the US.
His parents are not known at this time.
He came to the US in 1859, but never applied for US citizenship. He has not been
positively identified on the 1860 Hamilton County, Ohio Census however, it is possible
that he was listed as William Hess, a 28-year-old barber. This unidentified William Hess
was listed with a family who in the later census records show John C. Hesse, a barber from
Prussia as the head of household.
He was enlisted in the Union Army on 27 May 1861 during the Civil War as a Private in the
9th Ohio Volunteer Infantry, Company E at Camp Dennison near Cincinnati, Hamilton Ohio.
His physical description from his military record was that he was a 23 years old barber,
height: 5'4 ½'', light complexion, blue eyes and sandy hair.
The 9th Ohio Volunteer Infantry left Camp Dennison in June 1861 for what would become West
Virginia. In November 1861, they were ordered to Kentucky. On their way there, they spent
Thanksgiving weekend at Cincinnati. It may have been at this time that William Hesse found
out that his fiancée, Fredericka "Riecke" Heinrichsmeier was pregnant.
William Hesse married Fredericka "Riecke" Heinrichsmeier on 31 Dec 1861 in
Cincinnati, Ohio. On his company's muster roll for the same day, his presence or
absence is not stated. The very next day, the 9th Ohio Volunteer Infantry left Lebanon,
Kentucky for Campbellsville, Kentucky.
Fredericka "Riecke" Heinrichsmeier was born about 1836 in Unterlowen, Minden,
Prussia. Together William and Fredericka had 6 children.
According to the Ohio Adjutant General and his service record, he was mustered as a
"deserter on 23 June 1863" in Truine, Tennessee. According to the 9th Ohio
Volunteer Infantry regimental history book, "We were the Ninth"; he is listed as
"missing after 23 June 1863."
We'll never know why he became missing, and did not return. One possibility is that he
became separated from his regiment due to bad weather during a march from Truine to
Tullahoma. The following is quoted from "We were the Ninth", page 130:
"On June 23, 1863, at last we broke camp at Truine. The brigade marched up
Murfreesboro Pike. Seventeen days of rain began."
Separated from his regiment in bad weather in enemy territory, he may not have been able
re-join his unit. The following is quoted from "We were the Ninth", page 125,
which may or may not apply:
"At this time the presidential proclamation on desertion {the proclamation of
amnesty, 10 March 1863} was posted. Any deserter who returned of his own free will would
not be punished, on the condition that he forfeits the pay for the time absent. Many
therefore came back at once, having reconsidered their truancy. It must also be said in
fairness that an earlier return, which many of them wanted, had been impossible because
they could not reach their regiments without a pass."
11 months after he became "missing" his second child was born in Cincinnati,
Ohio.
William and his family went to Trinity Lutheran Church on the east side of Race Street
between 15th and Liberty in Cincinnati, Ohio. This church was founded by Prussian
emigrants. It later became known as Concordia Lutheran Church.
The day after Fredericka died on 23 July 1878, William Hesse bought the 256 square foot
family cemetery lot for $25 at what is now known as the Vine Street Hill Cemetery in
Cincinnati, Ohio
On 3 Aug 1879 there was a newspaper announcement of a marriage permit being issued to
William Hesse married Henrietta Reimer The exact date they were married is unknown. She
was born about November 1848 in Prussia and came to the US in 1873. Together they had 6
children.
In 1880, the family was living on Greenwood Street. In 1890, the family was living at the
southeast corner of Imperial and Greenwood. (same address as his son Otto). In 1900, the
family was living on Greenwood Street. In 1910, him and his wife were living on Eden Ave.
Sometime between 1910 and 1912, they moved to Jefferson Avenue.
William Hesse's occupation was that of a barber before the Civil War and a huckster
after the war. He died 24 April 1912 of arterio sclerosis and or senility. His address at
the time of his death was 3249 Jefferson Avenue in Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio.
About 1927, after her husband died, Henrietta moved to Ripley County, IN, perhaps to live
with her oldest daughter and son in law, George and Lydia Eisberg. When she died on 27 May
1929, she was buried in the family cemetery lot with her husband in the Vine Street Hill
Cemetery in Cincinnati, Hamilton, OH
In 1950, the eastern half of the family cemetery lot was transferred to Jacob Keck, who
may have been William Hesse's grandson from his oldest daughter from his first wife.
The last lot owners listed for the Hesse-Keck lot are Mrs. Geo. Iceberg of Cross Plains,
Ripley, Indiana and Wm. Keck of Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio.
And here are some details on Lydia Wilhelmine Eisberg / Iceberg (nee Hesse):
Birth: Born: 21 Mar 1880; baptized 30 Mar 1880. Source: Concordia Lutheran Church Records,
Ohio, Hamilton, Cincinnati. (LDS microfilm # 1514042, Vol. 4, page 25.)
Confirmation: confirmed in 1894. Source: Concordia Lutheran Church Records, Ohio,
Hamilton, Cincinnati. (LDS microfilm # 1514042, Vol. 4, page 313.)
Marriage: George Eisberg (Friendship, Ind.) and Lydia Hesse were married on 2 Nov 1904.
Source: Concordia Lutheran Church Records, Ohio, Hamilton, Cincinnati. (LDS microfilm #
1514042, Vol. 4, page 448.)
Note: For more on the Eisberg / Iceberg family, also refer to Emmaus Lutheran Church
Records, Ohio, Hamilton, Cincinnati. (LDS microfilm # 1514042, Vol. 5) and St. Paul
Lutheran Church Records, Dewberry, Ripley, IN. (LDS microfilm # 1510509)
I have additional details about Lydia Wilhelmine Eisberg / Iceberg (nee Hesse) brothers
and sisters, but nothing more on the Eisberg / Iceberg family line. But by researching the
LDS microfilms I mentioned here will help.
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