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"