Wilhelm Landau and Martha Elizabeth Moeller, Part 1

Henry William Landau was the son of Wilhelm Landau and Martha Elizabeth Moeller (or Möller.)

Please keep in mind that in by-gone days people were often called by their middle names or variations of either names.  Martha Elizabeth Moeller was called “Lizzy” in Henry’s obituary and Elizabeth in the 1870 and 1880 census records.  “Martha” was probably a family name - although her name might have been "Margaretha" and then Americanized to "Martha."

Martha Elizabeth Moeller (or Miller or Möller or Muller) was born on March 31, 1838, in Rockensüß, Kur Hessen (Germany.)  She died March 25, 1890, in Lee County, IL.  Her birth date is derived from the death date minus her age on the gravestone:  51 years 11 months 25 days.  If you have a copy of Bill Anderson’s revised The Story of the Landau Family 1836-1981, on page 3 he noted that he’d heard that Martha Elizabeth was from “Rokensis”and Wilhelm was from "Heirode."  

Also on page 3, Bill Anderson related a story some of us had previously heard about how Wilhelm and Martha met….  “It seems that William, the young immigrant, was in Chicago and while on the street one day saw a team of runaway horses and caught and calmed them.  In the cart or wagon was a young lady, Martha Moeller, who could not control the team.  During the ruckus, she fell and was hurt.  William, concerned about her welfare, visited her in the hospital.  They became friends and later married.”

Lovely story, but doubtful. Here’s why I don’t believe it:

1. If Martha Elizabeth was from Rockensüß (or in English:  Rockensuess), then she was from the same area as Wilhelm Landau.  See map for Heyerode and Rockensüß.  (Note also the location of Diemerode.  I'll get back to that later.)

2. I strongly suspect that Martha Elizabeth was the “Möller, Margaretha” on the line directly below “Landau, Wilhm” in the list of passengers on the Sir Robert Peel which arrived at Castle Garden, New York City, on May 8, 1861.  Both passengers were headed for Illinois.  See ship’s list image (click on image to enlarge it.)

I have not pursued Martha Elizabeth’s ancestry any farther back.  However, I would start with a question raised by the 1870 US Census.  In the Landau household was a 70 year old female named “Merl, Catherine.”    Merl?  I suggest that to the enumerator Mr. Richardson’s ear Möller spoken with a German accent might have sounded like “Merl.”  So, who was Catherine Merl / Möller?  Perhaps Martha Elizabeth’s mother?

 

DOCUMENTS:

• Woodside Cemetery (Lee Co., IL) grave index, pg 16
• 1870 & 1880 Federal Census - Lee County, IL
• Map of Rockensuess area
• Ship’s List - Sir Robert Peel

DOCUMENTS NEEDED:

• Martha Elizabeth’s birth or baptismal record from Germany
• Martha Elizabeth’s death certificate from Lee County, IL
• Proof of Martha Elizabeth's parents
• Proof of Catherine “Merl” / “Möller"

The Passing of Henry and Katherine

After living in Cedar Rapids about ten years, Henry W. Landau moved back to Waterloo and lived with son, Carl, for the last year or so of his life.  Here are an obituary and a funeral notice from the Waterloo (IA) Courier:

Waterloo (IA) Courier - Friday, Nov 8, 1946:

"Henry W. Landau, 76, of 413 East First Street, died Friday [Nov 8] at 8 a.m. at the Allen Memorial Hospital of a heart ailment. Born Mar. 8, 1870 at Lee Center, IL, he was the son of William and Lizzy Landau. He was married July 11, 1894, at Lee Center to Catherine Koehler. An Iowa resident for the past 46 years, he lived in Cedar Rapids from 1925 to 1945. In 1945, he moved to Waterloo and had lived since then at the home of his son, Carl. Mr. Landau was a member of the Lee Center Lutheran church.

Surviving besides his [ex] wife and son, Carl, are: six sons, Jerome, Cedar Falls; Everett, 819 Hawthorne avenue; Clarence, 321 Williston avenue; Wilbert 1117 Longfellow avenue; John, Gilbertville, Ia.; and Frank, 309 Allen Street; two daughters, Mrs. Glenn Ladwig and Mrs. Everett Steege, Fredericksburg, IA.; 20 grandchildren and two great grandchildren. The body is at O'Keefe and Towne funeral home."

Waterloo (IA) Courier - Sunday, Nov 10, 1946:

"Funeral services for Henry W. Landau, 76, of 413 East First Street who died Friday of a heart ailment, will be Monday at 1:30 p.m. at O'Keefe and Towne funeral home. Burial will be at Rosehill cemetery, Fredericksburg, IA. Rev. U. E. Burroughs, pastor of First Baptist Church, Fredericksburg, will officiate." 

Three months later, Katherine Koehler Landau passed away.  She also spent her last days living with Carl and Marion.

Waterloo Daily Courier - Tuesday, Feb. 11, 1947: 

“Mrs. Katherine Landau Champlin, 69, of 413 East First Street, died Monday at 5:30 p.m. in St. Francis Hospital of hardening of the arteries and complications.

Funeral services will be conducted Thursday at 2:30 p.m. at the Peace Evangelical and Reformed church at Fredericksburg, IA., by Rev. P. Weltge, pastor.  A prayer service will precede at 12:30 p.m. here in O'Keefe & Towne funeral home.  Burial will be in the Rose Hill cemetery at Fredericksburg.

Born on Mar. 20, 1877 at Rotenburg, Germany, she was the daughter of Frederick and Margaret Koehler.  The family came to this country in 1890 and settled in Ashton, IL.  On July 11, 1894, she was married at Lee Center, IL., to Henry W. Landau.  They were divorced.  She was remarried on July 23, 1925, in Waterloo to Charles W. Champlin.  He died here June 28, 1935.  She was the member of the Fredericksburg church.

Nine children by the first marriage survive, including seven sons, Jerome, 2459 Iowa Street, Cedar Falls; Everett, 819 Hawthorne Avenue; Clarence, 321 Williston Avenue; Wilbert, 1139 Longfellow Avenue; John, Route 6; Carl, 413 East First Street; and Frank, 413 Allen Street; two daughters, Mrs. Vera Ladwig and Mrs. Mata Steege, both of Fredericksburg; 20 grandchildren, and 2 great grandchildren.”

DOCUMENTS:

• Waterloo Courier obits as noted above

DOCUMENTS NEEDED:

• Death certificates for both
• Birth or baptismal records for both