1894 - 1954 (59 years)
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Name |
GÜNTHER, Bertha |
Born |
30 Apr 1894 |
Teodorow, Russian Poland [1] |
Gender |
Female |
Immigration |
01 Apr 1914 |
New York NY USA |
SS Kaiser Wilhelm II |
Naturalization |
20 May 1942 |
Ellendale, Dickey Co. ND USA |
certificate 5056828 |
Reference Number |
126 |
_UID |
1878ABBA0C82445C93C2908D78752A32DE2A |
Died |
16 Jan 1954 |
Chicago, Cook Co. IL USA |
Buried |
Stevensville, Berrien Co. MI USA |
Notes |
- Birth registration in Russian script on LDS film 2,092,164, no. 74, page 37. We also have a copy of Bertha's delayed birth registration dated 1903, written in both Polish and German, clearly showing her parents Karl and Auguste and the village Theodorow, near Stawischin. The 1903 birth certification, made when Bertha was 9 years old, was apparently done as an exit document. It is not known if she in fact left Russia at that time, or if so, where she spent the next 11 years before coming to America.
Eduard and Bertha arrived together in New York 1 April 1914 on the S.S. Kaiser Wilhelm II from Bremen; the vessel sailed on 24 March 1914. Both listed nearest relative in Europe as Julia Meier of Moorschutz, Germany and Carl Gunther of Moorschutz, Germany (Moorschutz is now Mrozcen, Poland). Both showed name and address of US contact as Josef Wehr (?), Alden NY, but that appears to be crossed out and the abbreviations Germ. Soc. (?) are overwritten. Both Edward and Bertha showed their birthplace as Moorschutz, Russia. An image of the entry manifest is available at www.ellisisland.org. Bertha, at the age of 20, was shown as a maid servant; she was 5'4" tall, with fair complexion, blonde hair, blue eyes, and no distinguishing marks. They were married at Ellis Island on 14 April on entry, apparently because Bertha was not yet of age and lacked a sponsor; marriage solved that problem.
Upon entry to the US at the age of 30, Eduard was 5'9" tall, with fair complexion, blond hair, and blue eyes; he had no distinguishing marks.Bertha was naturalized (certificate no. 5056828) on May 20, 1942 at Ellendale ND. They lived in Monango, Dickey County, ND at that time.
Twins (girl and boy) born in 1925 were miscarried. Bertha is remembered by her daughter Adeline as shoveling grain when she suddenly miscarried.
ASM's delayed certificate of birth shows her father Eduard's birthplace as Schadenez, Poland, and Bertha's birthplace as Stavishin (or Stawiszyn or Staweszyn), Poland. She believes Eduard's birthplace was actually Zabinnitz, Poland. Both Edward and Bertha were of German descent and among many Germans who had colonized Russian Poland in the 19th century. Hattie (Meyer) Fausak states that Stavishin was the place given on Bertha's birth certificate.
A certified copy of Eduard and Bertha's Certificate of Marriage Registration obtained by Hattie A. Fausak in 1986 shows names Meier and Gunther; apparently Meier changed to Meyer or Myers or Meyers when they moved to North Dakota. Eduard was naturalized on 24 May 1939 (certificate no 4490210) in Ellendale ND.
Eduard Meyer apparently added a terminal "s" to his name (Meyers) in North Dakota to distinguish himself from another Edward Meyer who lived nearby. His birthday may in fact have been 21 Feb 1884 (according to ASM).
Ed and Bertha Meyer moved to North Dakota in response to a newspaper advertisement seeking farmers. They spent over 20 years in Dickey County ND farming and ranching on rented land; when they moved away in 1942, they occupied the large Caldwell Ranch. In Oct 1942, with most of their children already in Chicago, Ed and Bertha moved off the farm. They had bought a flat in Chicago from Fred Wenzel (who later remarried the widowed Bertha), but never occupied the flat--Edward died in Michigan on Christmas Day 1942 before they completed the move.
Eduard's obituary in the St Joseph (Michigan) Herald Press notes that he was survived by two cousins; one was Gustave Kalke of Stevensville MI and the other was Ed Kalke of Paw Paw MI. Eduard's son William Meyer said in 1996 that he thought the Kalkes were second cousins to Eduard and didn't know the exact relationship. ASM said in 1996 that she distinctly remembered the Kalkes as bakers in Chicago, but also was unable to clarify the family relationship. One of the Kalkes stood up for Bertha Meyer at her second marriage to Fred Wenzel.
|
Person ID |
I126 |
Fausack |
Last Modified |
14 Dec 2013 |
Family 1 |
MEYER, Eduard, b. 13 or 25 Feb 1884, Schadenez, Poland , d. 25 Dec 1942, Baroda, Berrien Co. MI USA (Age 58 years) |
Married |
09 Apr 1914 |
Ellis Island, New York NY USA |
Children |
| 1. MEYER, Alfred, b. Sep 1915, Fullerton ND USA , d. 25 Mar 1916, Fullerton ND USA (Age ~ 0 years) |
| 2. MEYERS, Edmund Harold, b. 28 Oct 1916, Fullerton ND USA , d. 12 Aug 1930 (Age 13 years) |
| 3. MEYER, William Friedrich, b. 06 Jan 1918, Fullerton ND USA , d. 09 May 2005, Ellendale, Dickey Co. ND USA (Age 87 years) |
| 4. MEYER, Hattie Adele, b. 27 Feb 1919, Fullerton ND USA , d. 28 May 1995, Las Vegas, Clark Co. NV (Age 76 years) |
| 5. Living |
| 6. Living |
| 7. MEYER, Herbert Harold, b. 15 Oct 1924, Fullerton ND USA , d. 07 Jan 1998, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA (Age 73 years) |
| 8. MEYER, (Unnamed Twin Boy), b. 26 Aug 1925, Fullerton ND USA , d. 26 Aug 1925, Fullerton ND USA (Age 0 years) |
| 9. MEYER, (Unnamed Twin Girl), b. 26 Aug 1925, Fullerton ND USA , d. 26 Aug 1925, Fullerton ND USA (Age 0 years) |
| 10. MEYER, Freda Lorraine, b. 12 May 1933, Fullerton ND USA , d. 25 May 1933, Fullerton ND USA (Age 0 years) |
|
Last Modified |
7 Jun 2003 |
Family ID |
F43 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
Family 2 |
WENZEL, Ferdinand, b. 07 Apr 1893, Sergejewka, Volhynia, Ukraine , d. Yes, date unknown |
Married |
1943 |
Chicago, Cook Co. IL USA |
Last Modified |
14 Nov 2010 |
Family ID |
F129 |
Group Sheet | Family Chart |
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Photos |
 | Fausak, Ernest and Hattie nee Meyer; 1940; North Dakota L. to r. are Bertha nee Gunther Meyer, Hattie nee Meyer Fausak, Ernest Fausak, Herbert Meyer, and William F. Meyer. |
 | Meyer, Eduard and Bertha nee Günther, c1940
|
 | At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.
|
 | Meyer, Eduard and Bertha nee Günther, c1940
|
 | Meyer, Eduard, c 1942 Photo believed to have been taken in New Germany MN after Eduard and Bertha retired from farming and were in the process of moving from ND to MI. They were visiting the second man from the left, believed to be Rev. John Meyer (no known relation to Eduard), who had been the pastor of the Monango and Merricourt Lutheran churches in Dickey Co. ND, and who had moved to New Germnay MN in July 1942. Rev. Meyer traveled to Stevensville MI to preach the funeral sermon for Eduard Meyer in Dec 1942. |
 | At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.
|
 | Meyer, Eduard and Berths with son Herbert, 1940
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 | At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.
|
 | Wenzel, Ferdinand; 1948 ca with wife Gertha nee Günther Meyer. |
 | Meyer, Eduard; 1921 ca; with wife Bertha nee Gunther and children Edmund, William, and Hattie
|
 | Meyer, Edmund; 1930; death
|
Documents |
 | Meyer, Bertha (nee Günther), 1942, naturalization certificate
|
 | At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.
|
 | Günther, Bertha; 1894; birth Delayed record of birth, prepared in Posen in 1903. It is written in two columns, with Russian language in the left column and German in the right. |
 | Günther, Bertha; 1908; confirmation
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 | Meyer, Bertha, 1942, ID card
|
 | At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.
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 | Günther, Bertha; 1894; birth registration Russian language record shows parents Karl and Auguste nee Sperling Günther, and witnesses Wilhelm Leske and Karl Wierschke. No godparents are named. |
 | Meyer, Edward; 1922; Declaration of Intention
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 | At least one living or private individual is linked to this item - Details withheld.
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Sources |
- [S13] LDS, 2092164, p. 37, reg. 74 (Reliability: 3).
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