Johann Friederich Gramlich

     Johann Friederich Gramlich was born on 27 December 1812 in Jagsthausen, Württemberg.^2,3 He was the son of Johann Christoph Gramlich and Sophia Magdalena Gramlich.¹ He married Friederike Juliana Foit, daughter of Georg Friederich Foit and Maria Katharina Horlacher, on 9 May 1837 in Jagsthausen.^2,4 He died of "heart and stomach" disease on 29 December 1897 in Kenton, Hardin County, Ohio, at age 85.^5,6 He was buried on 31 December 1897 in Grove Cemetery, Kenton.⁶
     
     Johann Friederich Gramlich grew up in Jagsthausen a small town in the northern part of the Black Forest on the north side of the Jagst River. It was in the new (1805) sovereign kingdom of Württemberg (pronounced vürtm-brk') ruled by King Frederick I who was succeeded by his son, King William I in 1816. The old family house is on the river, and Johann used to sit on the porch and fish. The small house with three rooms and a porch was still occupied by members of the Gramlich family as late as 1957. It is near the bridge over the Jagst that was blown up during World War II.

     In Jagsthausen Johann was by trade a baker. He made an oven by piling rocks Dutch oven style. When the rocks were very hot, and at the right temperature, the bread was put in to bake. When the oven cooled, it was done.

     In February 1838 Johann Friederich Gramlich, his brother Georg Michael, unmarried sister Katharina Barbara and his father-in-law Friedrich Veit traveled to Neckarsulm a nearby town that was equivalent to a County Seat, and each applied to immigrate to North America. Obviously, they were applying for themselves and their families because the other family members are not listed among the applicants. Why Johann decided to leave his homeland at that particular time is not known. It can be speculated, however, that it was for opportunity and adventure. Friederike would deliver their first child, Carolina, the following month. The neighbors predicted that a big fish would eat her on the voyage to America.

     In May 1838, Johann, Fredericka, their baby daughter Carolina, Johann's brother Michael and his wife Johanna, Johann's sister Catharina, and Fredericka's parents and brother, Friederich, Catharina and Johann Feut, left their homes in Jagsthausen and traveled via the Rhine River to Bremen, Germany. (Note that this information is traditional in nature, and though the family did sail from Bremen, they could not have traveled there via the Rhine. Bremen is on the Weser River, a considerable distance northeast of the mouth of the Rhine). From there they took third class passage on the ship Everhard to America. They arrived sixty-three days later in Baltimore. (According to this information, and the known date of the ship's arrival in Baltimore, their departure from Bremen is calculated to have been 20 June 1838).

     The stated destination on the passenger list for each was Ohio, but how that location was chosen is not known. Johann had brought a wagon with him on the voyage, but he had no horses and little money. After working sixty days in the Baltimore harbor loading and unloading ships, he bought a team and some or all of the family began their journey westward. (There is no further information on Michael, Johanna and Catharina). They traveled to Wheeling, Virginia (now West Virginia), then via the National Highway to Columbus, Ohio, and from there to Hardin County, arriving in Cessna township in October. Johann and family settled on 160 acres, the northeast quarter of section 3 in Cessna township, about eight miles northwest of Kenton, and the Foits settled on an adjoining farm. However, it appears that the Foits didn't buy right away. Only John is found on the 1840 census, and in his household were three males and three females. The other two males are probably Friederich and Johann Foit, and all three are in the correct age range. The youngest female is surely Carolina, the older females are in age ranges too old to be Friederike and her mother, but that is surely just a mistake as it is certain that Friederike was a member of the household.

     John and Fredericka, as they are most commonly referred to American records, had eleven more children born on their farm in Cessna township. Of them, five sons died young, and except for the youngest, were buried in a field about midway between the Gramlich farm and the Foit house. Fredericka's parents were also buried there. Years later, a new owner plowed over the graves. Most of the children were given German names, but those who survived anglicized the spelling:

Carolina Magdalena became Caroline,
Christiana Catharina became Christeann,
Juliana Catharina became Julia Ann,
Maria Catharina became Mary Catharine,
Catharina Magdalena became Catharine.

     For at least twenty-five years, the family went by the surname Crumley. As the name is Gramlich on the passenger lists, it is possible the name change was the result of it being misspelled on a document, perhaps the deed to their land, in Hardin County. That is just a guess, but it seems unlikely they would have reclaimed their original surname if the change had been a deliberate choice. In any case, the first notice of the Crumley surname is on the 1840 census, and the last is on the marriage license of their daughter Christeann in December 1865. In November 1867, "Johann F. Gramlich" signed as a witness Francis Cordrey's pension application, but elsewhere in the document, someone spelled the surname "Grumley."

     When John retired from farming, he and Fredericka moved to Kenton where both died.^7,8,9