The River Running
"Immigrants: we get the job done" -- Lin-Manuel Miranda, Hamilton
Barbara Lind and Johannes Fuhrmann
Barbara Lind and Johannes Fuhrmann married in Freinsheim 30 Nov 1830.
Johannes is possibly the son of Catharina Heck and Johann Peter Fuhrmann born 17 Dec 1788 and christened 19 Dec 1788, but this would make him 42 at the time of what was, as far as I know, his first marriage.
Likewise Barbara may or may not be the Maria Barbara Lind who was the daughter of Anna Maria Gerber and Johannes Lind born 21 Apr 1784 and christened in Freinsheim 22 Apr 1784. However, would she really have married at 46 and then proceeded to bear five children over the next six years?
It seems more likely to me that both Barbara and Johannes were born during the records gap that began in October 1798. I would guess that they were born 1798-1812. One possibility is Johannes, the son of Catharina Bayer and Leonhard Fuhrmann born during the records gap. An 1828 legal notice describes him as still being a minor but as having a profession of his own. He was a Schlosser, a locksmith or metal worker.
As I said, they had five children:
At the time of the younger Johannes' birth, his parents were apparently already making plans to emigrate. The Amts- and Intelligenzblatt des Königlich Bayerischen Rheinkreises includes a legal notice published 03 Feb 1836. Johann Fuhrmann, Schlosser, of Freinsheim, was emigrating to North America with his family. Anyone with a claim on Johann and his family was asked to notify the relevant court within four weeks.
I know that Johannes and Barbara didn't emigrate in 1836 because an identical notice was published three years later on 01 May 1839. It appears in the Königlich bayerisches Amts- und Intelligenzblatt für die Pfalz. The delay might have been caused by the death of Johannes' brother Adam, who apparently died in the spring of 1836.
I also know that the Fuhrmann family did emigrate in 1839 or 1840 and that Johannes either died during the journey or shortly after arrival. The confirmation records of the St Marcus United Church of Christ in St Louis, Missouri, include the following entry for 1848: "Fuhrmann, Susanna; born 17 Aug. 1834 at Freinzheim, Rheinbaiern; dau. of the deceased Johannes Fuhrmann & Barbara Lind, now married to Hornecker." "Mrs Barbara Fuhrmann" married John Michael Hornecker in St Louis on 19 Dec 1840.
Susanna herself married Wendel Still in St Louis five years later on 01 Nov 1853. Wendel had been born in Bavaria in or about 1824 and had fought in the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). The US Census conducted in June 1860 found Susanna and Wendel living in the 1st Ward of St Louis with their daughter Lena, age 4 1/2. Wendel was working a beer driver.
Living next to Susanna and Wendel in the same building was a household headed by Barbara "Hornicker," a 50-year-old seamstress born in Bavaria. This is almost certainly Barbara Lind. Living with her were Mary Hornicker, age 18, born in Louisiana, and Catharina Hornicker, age 12, born in Missouri. I would guess that these were Barbara's daughters by her second marriage. The 1860 US Census didn't record marital status, so I don't know whether or not Barbara had been widowed again.
Unfortunately, I can find almost no records for either of these households after 1860. I know the Wendel fought in the Civil War, that he was deceased by 27 Mar 1886 and that Susanna was still alive by that date. It's the date on which she applied for a pension as his widow. But I don't know what happened to her after that, or what happened to her daughter, mother or half-sisters.
I don't have any reliable information as to what might have happened to Susanna's siblings Jacob, Catharina or Johannes. I do, however, have a hunch as to Leonhard. A man named Leonard Fuhrmann married Elizabeth Horn in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, on 08 Feb 1859. He was from Bavaria, she was from Hesse-Darmstadt. They spent the rest of their lives in New Orleans. According to the 1900 US Census, he was born in March 1832 - the same as month as Susanna's brother Leonhard - and immigrated in 1839. The couple had no children.
Leonard Fuhrmann in New Orleans was working as a drayman in 1860 and a domestic servant in 1870. He became a US citizen on 18 Oct 1870. He died 30 May 1908 and was buried the next day in the Cypress Grove Cemetery in New Orleans. His death certificate agrees that he was born in 1832. Elizabeth Horn Fuhrmann died 12 Oct 1915. I don't know where she's buried. Her death certificate says she was born in 1835, although the 1860 and 1870 census say she was born in 1832 and the 1900 census says March 1831.
It would be quite interesting if I could find any record at all from New Orleans that showed Leonard's place of birth or parents' names.