Histories Mysteries

When my Grandmother tragically passed away in 2018 at the ripe old age of 96, I, as the family archaeologist, was nominated as the keeper of the family history. I had known of some of the items that would be entrusted to my care, a letter from the 18th century written to a Ms Sarah Foster, some letters written by Richard Cornell during and after the Civil War, but I did not know the true depths of knowledge and tangible history that was being thrown in my direction.

One of the most pleasurable aspects of being an archaeologist, for me, is holding in my hands a part of history. Something that our ancestors held, made, wore. I swear the soft paper on my fingertips sends sensations straight to my core. This is probably one of the few many reasons I chose this profession. When I brought the envelopes and cases of materials to their new home, I really did not have the chance to peruse them. I knew I needed to get better protection, i.e. archival boxes and envelopes. So, it was all gently placed into a more protective plastic tote and left for quite some time. I’m a busy person and never made the time. The tote of knowledge and mystery lay lonely under my desk waiting for an eager researcher to open it once again.

While it tempted me, visible from my bed as I completed my lectures and grading, it stayed, collecting dust until my youngest brother sent me a text message, now having some free time of his own, started exploring our genealogy and asked me for my sign-in information for ancestry. And down the rabbit hole I went. All my other tasks were pushed into the chasm of forgotten things and we ventured through our past and our family together (virtually anyway). He is particularly interested in those members of our vast family who were in the military, as he feels a connection with them being enlisted himself. As he started sending me names of people he found interesting, I began to venture away from the computer towards that box, now screaming my name, to see what tidbits I could find for him there. We settled ourselves on a set of brothers that fought in the Civil War and between Google and my box came across a mystery. One of the brothers disappeared off the pages of history.

The Hundhausens

Thus, I introduce you to the Hundhausen brothers. Julius Hundhausen, specifically, is my ancestor, but was evidently rather close with his brothers. A rather prominent resident of Hermann, Missouri, there’s an abundance of information about him on the internet. The following provided from The History of Gasconade County, Missouri published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1888:

Julius Hundhausen, a vine grower of Hermann, was born near Cologne, Rhine Province, Prussia, Germany April 13, 1824, and is the son of John Fred Hundhausen, now deceased, also a native of Prussia, Germany. The father, with his four sons, Frederick, Robert, Julius and Hermann, came to the United States in 1840, and settled on a farm in Franklin County, Mo. He had studied theology, was a graduate of the University of Marburg, and had been an acting minister of the gospel sine July 30, 1813, evidenced by his first commission granted by Napoleon Bonaparte, still in possession of his son with other valuable relics. He afterward established the Lutheran Church at Hermann, Gasconade County, Mo., where he preached for a number of years, and died January 28th, 1874. His son Julius, now the only survivor of the family, originally emigrated in 1840, and stayed on the farm in Franklin County till the fall of 1845, when he went to St. Louis, but returned to Frankling County again in the spring of 1846. There he enlisted, together with his brother Robert, in the Mexican War, in Company E, First Missouri Cavalry, commanded by Col. Doniphan, and participated in the battles of Bracito and Sacramento, and the entire march of Doniphan’s regiment through Mexico down to the coast. In the year 1848 he came to Hermann, where he has since lived and is now cultivating the vine and has about four acres of vineyard. During his residence in Hermann he held the position of justice of the peace, presiding justice of the county court, notary public, and was a member of the board of trustees of the town of Hermann, as well as the school board for a number of years. In 1870 he was elected circuit clerk and recorder of deeds of Gasconade County, which position he held for eight years. He has studied law and was admitted to the bar several years before the late war. At the breaking out of the Rebellion he commanded a battalion of Home Guards, afterward was appointed lieutenant-colonel of the Fourth Missouri Volunteer Infantry, and served for about two years. He was then deputy provost-marshal till May, 1864, and superintended the draft in Osage and Maries Counties, Mo., after which he went with his brother, Robert, who had received the appointment of paymaster of volunteers, to New Orleans, and served as his clerk to the close of the war. October 22 1872, Miss Clara Holthaus, of Franklin County, became his wife, and to their union were born seven children, five now living: Frederick A., Robert J., Hermann H., Flora B. and Walter L. He is a respected citizen, and is well known throughout the county and State. The History of Gasconade County, Missouri published by Goodspeed Publishing Company in 1888

Why does this matter?

I am in possession of many of the papers from this family and from his father. I have a photocopy of the commission granted by Napoleon Bonaparte, and my mother and father were shown the original, but we are not aware who now has possession of this rare gem.

While exploring the plethora of information, I discovered that this gentleman apparently was an avid writer. I have scads of letters to his brother and a set of four journals filled with his tiny script, a diary written during 1864. But I get ahead of myself. Remember when I mentioned that one brother disappeared of the pages of history? The only little tidbit I can find on the internet after extensive research, is that there is a supposition that Hermann died from yellow fever in New Orleans. While a plausible theory, I looked into the yellow fever in New Orleans during 1864 and only 6 people died that year from Yellow Fever and his name is not among those 6. This research took some time to explore with my brother and we found nothing. That’s quite unusual, neither of us being able to discover anything. Needless to say, I came away from my computer late that final night completely and utterly dejected.

I had lunch with my mom a little later and explained what we had been trying to accomplish. This is her family line and she remembers some of what she was told by her parents (but not all). Family legend was that the three brothers all fought in the civil war; two for the union and one for the confederates or it could have been the other way around. She couldn’t quite remember which way that went in the stories. Hermann was never heard from again. You’ll find a story about a Hermann Hundhausen being involved in a murder online, but that was a Hermann that belonged to the next generation. The plot now thickens.

Thusly, I have decided to take a journey and document it here. I am going to decipher the journals and letters written by Julius Hundhausen and hopefully solve the family mystery and what ever happened to Hermann.

Each subsequent post will document my journey translating one entry and the pertinent details I have discovered in his words.

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