Ancestor Birthday - August 30 - Anna Louise Boehm - 1832 - 1901

Anna Louise Boehm was my German gt-grandmother. She was born 185 years ago, 30 Aug 1832. Her birth place was in Josephkowo, which was in Kreis Wirsitz, Posen Province of Prussia. This location is now in Poland. She was baptized at the Evangelical (Protestant) Church in the nearby larger town, Nakel. Her parents were Michael Boehm and Anna Rosina Leu. The church record noted that her parents were not married. She was confirmed at the same church on 11 Oct 1846. By that time her father was deceased.

She was married to Ludwig Falk on 24 Nov 1850, again at the same church. He was a widower with 3 young children. We know that she and Ludwig had at least 2 children before they immigrated to the United States in 1858. There may have been one or more who died young.

Anna, Ludwig and the 5 children: Rosalie, August, Wilhelmine, Charles and Caroline, traveled to Breman where they took the bark Wieland. They arrived at Baltimore, Maryland on 22 Jun 1858. I wonder how Anna felt during that ocean trip since she was pregnant at the time. Their next child, John, was born in December that year, after they had moved to Muscoda Township, Grant County, Wisconsin. They sold that property and moved east to the next county, near Avoca in Pulaski Township, Iowa County in 1865. By then they had 3 more children: Leonard, Henry and Conrad. After they had moved they had 6 more children: Albert, Elizabeth, Ida, Frederick William, Theodore and Julius (who was my grandfather.)

Both Anna and Ludwig were charter members of the St. John's Lutheran Church at Avoca when it was officially organized 1 Feb 1891. A number of Anna's children moved to Iowa and two of her children, Henry and Ida died before her. Ludwig died 31 Jan 1899 and she was living with Frederick William and his family when the 1900 census was taken. Anna died 27 Jul 1901 and was buried at the Avoca Cemetery.