Wilhelm Landau and Martha Elizabeth Moeller, Part 2

After a long break, here is Part 2:

Wilhelm (William) Landau was born on February 11, 1836, in Heyerode (Hessen) Germany to Johannes Landau and Anna Martha Denhardt.  [See previous post for map.]  William married Martha Elizabeth Moeller on July 16, 1861, in Lee County, Illinois.  He died there on February 5, 1893.

They arrived on the Sir Robert Peel at Castle Garden, New York City on May 8, 1861.  [See previous post for passenger list image.]  According to Bill Anderson’s book, William immigrated to Lee Co., Illinois, because he had relatives there.  This is correct:   His aunt Anna Christina Denhardt, her husband Christian Reinhart, and their six children were living in Lee County and enumerated in the 1860 census.  I found a passenger listing (on ancestry dot com) for what appears to be Christian Reinhart and family arriving in New York on the Meta on June 24, 1846.

William Landau was a farmhand for the first few years, and then in 1870 purchased 80 acres of Lee County land at $10.00 per acre.  The Portrait and Biographical Record of Lee County, Illinois (published in 1892) includes this sketch of the Landau farm (click on image to enlarge it):

The 1870 census lists William & Elizabeth Landau and children:  John, Christina, Catherine, Anna, and Henry, along with the 70 yr old Catherine "Merl" mentioned in the previous post. 

The family is also enumerated in the 1880 census along with younger children:  William, Elizabeth, Mary, and Christian.

According to Bill Anderson, William made his will in 1892 leaving land to the older sons and $2000 to each of the five daughters; and $2000 to son Christian who was only 14 at the time.    (Current inflation estimate translates to at least $50,000 each.)

William (photo below) was buried in Woodside Cemetery, Lee Center, Illinois.

DOCUMENTS:

• 1860 Federal census for Lee County, Illinois (Reinhart)
• 1870 Federal census for Lee County, Illinois (Landau) 
• 1880 Federal census for Lee County, Illinois (Landau)
• Illinois Public Domain Land Sales  (http://www.ilsos.gov/isa/landSalesSearch.do?purchaseNo=0445251 and http://www.ilsos.gov/isa/landSalesSearch.do?purchaseNo=0445252) 
• Reinarts on passenger list.  The Ship Meta, sailed from Bremen, arrived at NYC Jun 1846.  Ancestry has the record indexed with surname:  Rhardt
• [7/12/14 update]  50+ pages of probate records (including will) - older sons as stated above received land, but with mortgages attached.  In 1895, Henry paid $6400 to the estate for the land he was willed.

DOCUMENTS NEEDED:

• Will for William Landau