I’ve told you a lot about Lawrence Huber and his ancestors. You may recall that he had a brother named Franz Xavier who helped him farm in Adams County, Illinois from 1853 until Lawrence’s death in 1861. I knew this from Lawrence’s probate file.[1] I tried researching Franz Xavier for years, but did not make much progress. When I started, I did not know his approximate birth year. Once I found where the family was from in Germany, I discovered his birth date. Even then I was having problems finding him in the US.
On my recent trip to Germany I found the (very thick) probate file for Theresa Huber, the mother of Lawrence and Franz Xavier. She died in 1870 in Butschbach.[2] In it was a document explaining what happened to Franz Xavier. This information was allegedly taken from a letter written by Lawrence’s niece, Magdalena Doll.
Franx Xavier, according to this account, bought some land in “La Grench,” in the state of Missouri, about twelve miles from Quincy. He married in the summer of 1867 and in November 1867, he died. Now I know why I couldn’t find him in the 1870 US census!
It took me a quick second to realize his land was in La Grange, Lewis County, Missouri. He purchased sixty-two acres of land there in 1866.[3] On 22 August 1867, he married Christianna Zeller in Lewis County.[4] The marriage showed his name as Frank S. Hovert. That was not a name variant I had considered. He died shortly before 13 November 1867 when his estate was inventoried by Vincent Zeller.[5] No death records exist for Lewis County at this time. Vincent Zeller was probably Christianna’s father.
By 1870, Christianna had married Addison Jones. They lived in the household of Vincent Zeller. There were no apparent children born to Franz Xavier and Christianna.[6]
If not for the probate file I found in Germany, I might have never discovered Franz Xavier Huber in Lewis County. Sure, I might have found his information, but nothing to connect him to my Huber family. This probate demonstrates the flow of information between the two countries years after a person emigrated. It also shows how important research is on both sides of the ocean.
[1] Adams County, Illinois, probate case files, Lawrence Huber, 1861; Illinois Regional Archives Depository, Western Illinois University, Macomb, Illinois, microfilm 2/0059/01.
[2] Oberkirch, Oberkirch, Baden, Sterbe-Haupregister, 1870–1879, no. 42 (1870), Theresia Huber geb. Kuderer; Stadtarchiv Oberkirch.
[3] Lewis County, Missouri, Deeds 3:229–231, Henry Dasback and Lisetta to Frank H. Huber, 27 November 1866; image, FamilySearch, IGN 8489672, images 452–453.
[4] Lewis County, Missouri, Marriage Record 3, p. 124, Hovert-Zeller; image, FamilySearch, IGN 7515686, image 388.
[5] Lewis County, Missouri, Inventories, Appraisements and Sale Bills, Volume 1, pp. 208–209; image, FamilySearch, IGN 7630717, images 124–125.
[6] Marion County, Missouri, Marriage Record 4, p. 22, Jones-Zellers; image, FamilySearch, IGN 7514169, image 91. Also, 1870 US census, Lewis County, Missouri, population schedule, Township 60, Range 6 West, p. 648 (stamped), p. 5 (penned), dwelling 32, family 32, Vincent Zeller household.
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