|
| |
|
Frederick Metz (1820-1910) emigrated from the village of Sundheim, west and south of Strasbourg, in present-day Baden-Wuerttemberg in Germany.
After arriving in New Orleans (along with a cohort of families from Sundheim: Walter, Sommer, Schaetterle, Rapp and Riebel), he first settled in St. Louis, but after two years, moved the family to Woodford County, then to Livingston County, Illinois. Thanks to the generosity of Derrick K. Babbs we are pleased to present the recently found obituariaries of our great-great-great-grandfather, Frederick Metz. These are from the records of the Apostolic Christian Church of Fairbury, Illinois, as recorded on http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~barrone/babbs/songfafo.htm: FRED METZ 1820 - 1910 Frederick Metz, one of the oldest residents of Pleasant Ridge township, passed away at the home of his son, Fred Metz, Jr., Tuesday evening, after an illness of about a week. Lagrippe and pneumonia were the cause of his death. His age at the time of his death was 89 years, 6 months and 7 days. Frederick Metz was born in Baden, Germany, August 15, 1820. He was united in marriage in that city to Miss Barbara Sommers in 1845, and in 1852 they came to America together, going first to St. Louis. They resided in that city two years and then moved to Morton, Tazewell County, where they lived until 1868, when they came to Livingston County and located on a farm in Pleasant Ridge Township, where the deceased resided almost continuously since that time. His wife passed away in 1903. Eleven children were born to them, nine of whom are living, Fred and John, of Pleasant Ridge, Mrs. Mary Zobrist, of Woodford County, Louise Wiermiller, Samuel and Louis, of Pleasant Ridge, Magdalena Hecker, of Eureka, Will and Amos, of Pleasant Ridge. The two children deceased, Barbara and Jacob. Surviving him are also 92 grandchildren and 74 great grandchildren. Mr. Metz was one of the best of citizens, respected and esteemed by all who knew him. Although in advanced years he retained all his faculties to the last and he always had a cheerful smile and pleasant word for everybody. He was a member of the German Apostolic Church and his life was that of a true Christian. He had a wide circle of acquaintances and his death will be sincerely mourned by all. The bereaved children and relatives have the sympathy of the people of this locality. The funeral services will be held at the German Apostolic Church in this city this Friday afternoon. The funeral of Frederick Metz which was held at the German Apostolic Church in this city last Friday afternoon was one of the most largely attended over held in this city. The church was packed with friends and relatives, many coming from a long distance to pay their last respects to the memory of the deceased. Almost a train load of friends came on the morning train from the west. Gridley, Meadows, Eureka, Roanoke, and other towns being represented. A special train conveyed them back in the evening. Rev. Trittenbach, of Hoboken, New Jersey, preached the funeral sermon and the remains were laid to rest in the Fairbury cemetery.
The Meenen Family Connection Four of Frederick's sons married four daughters of neighbor and fellow Apostolic Christian, Michael Meenen. Thus, Lena Meenen became Mrs. John Metz, her sister Margaret became Mrs. Louis Metz, sister Johanna became Mrs. William Metz and sister Mary became Mrs. Amos Metz. This would not be the only time 4 sisters married 4 brothers, but in the next generation, it was four Metz ladies who took the hands of four Clymer gentlemen. They are pictured on the Fredick Metz, Jr. page.
Religious Freedom The Metz family and their neighbors were victims of religious persecution. They were members of a splinter sect that believed, like the Mennonites, in Adult Baptism. In the 1840's, Baden was still under the control of a Duke who mandated that the state religion be a more orthodox form of Protestantism. The Metz family and some neighbors were arrested just because of the religion they followed. When Frederick's brother Johann (the village blacksmith) died, the family was denied from doing the traditional rites. The funeral was attended only by two policemen, one of which was smoking a cigar (a sign of disrespect). The attending state-installed minister wrote in the church records that Johann was not only a "traitor", but a "heretic". The family was oppressed in other ways and there is no doubt that this was the reason they moved to America in order to follow the religion of their choice.
|
|
This page was last updated on November 3, 2017
For questions related to the organization and content of this site, please contact the webmaster. |
