Welcome to our BLUST Family Page!


George Blust

The saga of our Blust family line begins in America,
to the best of my knowledge, in Seneca County Ohio,
with our immigrant ancestor of George Blust.
It is unknown exactly when George came to America.
It is known he married Elisabeth Meyer in Schirrhein, France in April 1835
and they reportedly came to America "about" 1837,
and bought ground in 1838 in Seneca County.

This page has been viewed times since September 30, 2000.
This page was last updated on Dec. 28, 2004



This area is still under construction! Check back soon!
Be sure to check out the new photo page!

This page is dedicated to my BLUST ancestors,
especially Lawrence and Mildred (Schmidt) Blust, my Grandparents,
who helped me get started in my early years of genealogy research as a teenager.

I also wish to thank Mona Blust of Ohio, and Carol Blust of California for their contributions in my early years of research by postal mail, and of course, all my new found "internet cousins" over the last few years, who have all contributed to pieces of our puzzle. A very special Thanks also goes out to my Aunt Rose, who has been a tremendous help to me.

This site is intended to share in the findings of my research, from working backward to our ancestors, and to working forward, discovering the descendants, and where we all scattered. I hope to aid others in discovering our common Blust lineage.

Since our name is such a rarity, I also hope to help promote the research of the BLUST surname in general, as there are at least six distinctive lines of Blusts in the US, with at least three distinctive lines in Ohio. Most Blust lines seem to focus their origins to the Baden area of Germany in the 1700's. Most likely, although by no way proven, all of us Blust's are most likely descended from a common clan in this area.

Research

What does "Blust" mean?
According to SurnameWeb.org:

"Blust" is an old german word. It means the time when a flower is totally abloom.
Nice, isn't it? Much better than the "blustery" winter winds I thought of!

I am the List Manager for the BLUST Mailing List at Rootsweb. This mailing list is to promote and aid in the research of the BLUST family surname. This list has a small membership, but still growing. If you are researching the BLUST surname, please consider joining us! I recommend the BLUST-L.

At the end of this page, I have included a section of BLUST researchers.
If you would like to include your email link here, let me know

The Blust Search Page!
Are you looking for a Blust family? The Blust search page will be a collection of Blust families (or people!) that someone is researching or trying to find! I have collected this info from emails, message boards, and our mailing list.

If you would like your info (or email address) added here, please let me know!

Blust Family of Seneca Co., Ohio

The known origins of our Blust line begin in a small French village, Schirrhein, (aka Schirrheim) in the department of Bas-Rhin, better known today as Alsace (or German Elsass), located in north eastern France, along the Rhine River, bordering Germany, near Strasbourg. This region has been battled over, and gone back and forth between France and Germany several times. I will have to brush up on my history, as to exactly when, and what battle or war, but sometime in the 1700's the French were pushed out of this area by Germanic forces, and German settlers were brought in to occupy the area. It is my belief, but not proven, that after this was when the Blusts most likely came to Schirrhein from the Baden region of modern Germany.

The people of Schirrhein of the 1800's considered themselves French people, and tradition says they spoke both French and German. French was spoken in business matters and taught in schools, but German was the language spoken at home.

Our earliest known ancestors, are Ignace and Marie Anne (Amann/Aumann) Blust of Schirrhein.

Ignace's death certificate states he was 80 years old when he died Nov. 25, 1840 in Schirrhein. He was a farmer. This record indicates he was born in Schirrhein, with no date listed, but would put his birth at about 1760. His parent's names are unknown. He is also listed as husband of Marie Anne, so she was most likely living at his death.

George Blust was born April 16, 1806 to Ignace and Marie-Anne (Auman/Amann) Blust, in the canton of Bischwiller, Bas-Rhin, France. George reportedly was born in St. Chireim, in the canton of Bischwiller, however, St. Chireim has never been found on a map, and is most likely the church the family belonged to, and most likely baptized at, as many records then were kept by the churches.

George was the second oldest child of Ignace and Marie Blust. He is known to have an older sister, Sugarthe, and two younger brothers, Michel and Joseph.

By 1810 the family of Ignace and Marie-Anne Blust lived in Schirrhein, France, the next village just a few miles up the road north-east of Bischwiller. Their son, Michel Blust was born in Schirrhein, and the family settled here. Little else is known of the family in Schirrhein.

George Blust married Elisabeth Meyer, daughter of Jacques and Elisabeth (Staebler) Meyer on April 23, 1835, in Schirrhein. It is believed George and Elisabeth came to America in 1837, and he is reported to have purchased land in Seneca Co., Ohio in 1838.

George is also reported to have been a soldier in the French Foreign Legion in Algiers, another report has him as being a soldier for seven years. I have not seen these reports, or verified sources, more details to follow when availale.

Seneca County, Ohio had a large number of Alsatian immigrants from the village of Schirrhein. More information on this Alsatian settlement and the families in Seneca County can be found below in the Links area.

Many of George's descendents can be found throughout the United States today. A few family lines have been lost, however, we are slowly, but surely, linking George's descendants, and uncovering some of the "lost lines."
Descendants are known to live in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, Washington state, Arizona, and California.

George's First Family

George Blust married Elisabeth Meyer April 23, 1835, in Schirrhein. They had five known children, Anthony, Martinius, Maria, Ignatius, and Otto, all believed to be born in Seneca Co., Ohio. It is reported they may have had nine children. (See Martin).

Elizabeth appears in the 1850 census, but disappears after this. It is assumed that she died sometime in 1853 or 1854 shortly after Otto was born. (Does anyone know when, or where she is buried?)

Anthony Blust, 1841-1921, married Catherine Drerup, daughter of Bernard Anton "Anthony" Drerup and Mary Ann Blick, on April 12, 1864 in Noble Co., Indiana, most likely in the Avilla, Indiana area, where several of his brothers eventually settled. It is unclear to me as to when Anthony went to Noble Co, but he and his family returned to Ohio sometime between 1873 when daughter Anna was born in Indiana, and August 1878 when daughter Magdelena was born in Ohio. Five children each were born in Indiana and Ohio. A book (which I have not seen) has been written, "The Drerrup's of America" which reportedly lists many of Anthony and Catherine's descendants.

Martinius "Martin" Blust, 1844-1915, married Bernhadine Stoekle on December 10, 1868 in Noble Co., Indiana. A biography on Martin, although unclear where it came from, reports that he moved to Noble Co. when he was about 19 years old, which would be about 1863. He worked the carpentry business for a while, then began to manufacture bricks and erecting buildings. He continued this business, the "Blust Brick & Tile Factory" producing over 500,000 bricks per year. His bricks and tiles were known to be of superior quality. His bricks are known to be still standing today in buildings in Avilla. St. Mary's Catholic Church in Avilla is known to have been built with Blust bricks, and is located just a short distance behind where Martin's factory was located at the edge of town.

Martin & Bernhadine had five children, Mary E., Frances A, Emma and two that died in infancy. Daughter Mary died at age 21. Frances married "Charlie" Shoaff, and they moved to Fort Wayne, Indiana. It is unknown to me if they had any children. Nothing is known about daughter Emma, except she lived in Fort Wayne with her father in 1900 during the census.

The 1880 census lists an adopted son, Barney Doyle, age 13 as living with Martin's family, as well as brother, Joseph. Living next door is brother Isaac (Ignatius) and his family.

The biography of Martin (listed as "Allen Twp." so it must be a Noble Co history book) also mentions that Martin's father George had nine children by first marriage, and six children by second marriage. I have only been able to locate five children by first marriage, perhaps the other four died in infancy???

Maria Blust, was born 1846. Nothing else is known.

Ignatius Blust,born July 1848. Thanks to census records, I just recently discovered Ignatius' children. Ignatius married Mary Riegel on April 12, 1877 in Noble Co., Indiana. In 1880 Noble Co., Census (listed as "Isaac" Blust) BR>
In the 1900 Allen Co., Indiana census, Ignatius and Mary, and their family lived on Broadway Street in Fort Wayne, with 7 children, Louise, Charley, Aloyious, Frank, Edwin, Victoria, and Gertrude.

Otto Blust, born 1853, married Minnie, born 1857.
Nothing else is known.

George married Anna Winters on May 28, 1854 in Ohio, but this marriage was annulled.
No children are known to be of this marriage.

George's Second Family

George married for a third time in April 1858 to Magdeline (Hertzer) Apple. Magdeline is assumed to be a widow, as she had a daughter, Mary Apple who was three years old when they married. Mary was born in Ohio, Magdeline was born in Austria. (I would be interested in more information on the families of Magdeline and Mary Apple!)
It is unknown to me who "Mr. Apple" was. Recent research has shown there were several Apple families in the Seneca Co., area, if indeed this is where they were from.

Recent research has uncovered Magdelena's parents through her death certificate records.
Her father was Simon Hertzer, and mother was Catherina Blatz.
It is unknown at this time if they came to America or not.

George and Magdeline had six children together, (Helen, Beneranda, Joseph, John, Pius and Leo.) of which family my Blust family line descends, through Pius.
All children were most likely born in Senceca County.

Helen Blust, was first born of George & Magdelena Blust. She was born in 1859. It is thought that she moved to Chesaning, Michigan. Details are sketchy. Possibly had a daughter, Helen, who married Frank J. Bueche.

Joseph E. Blust, born 1862, and married Ida Wolfert July 30, 1890. They are known to have at least two children, Fred and George J. Blust, Sr.
George married Ida Jane Dermer on September 14, 1915 and they had two children, George Jr., and Patricia.
Little else is known about Joseph, except he appears to have died before 1900 census, as Ida is listed as widow.

Beneranda Blust,(1862-1930) was born in Ohio and died in Indiana. She married Charles Schlotterer (1857-1934) on May 3, 1881. They had eleven children: Rose, Urban (Johnnie), Karl, Flawrence, Fred, Godfrey, Emma, Josephine, Eda, Victor Hugo, and John.
Rose did not marry. Urban married Edith Sprague Good, and had at least one daughter, Berdena.
Karl married Lucille Samuelson, and they had nine children.
Flawrence married Traos McCurdy and they had six children.
Fred married Mary E. Biedrzycki, and they had five children.
Godfrey married Leah Harrigar, and they had six children.
Victor married Berdena Good, and they had three children.
Emma, Josephine, Eda and John died in infancy.

John Blust,(1865-1926) never married.

Pius Blust, (1866-1940) (aka Pierce) was born in Ohio, and died in Avilla, Noble Co., Indiana. He married Christina Flora Schucht (aka Flora Idella Schucht, aka Flora Sitta Schucht) Her given name appears differently in differnt legal documents. They had one child, Lawrence Leo Blust before Christina passed away at age 33. Lawrence married Mildred Schmidt, and they had four children.

Leo Blust,(1868-1934) married Mary Christine Weil (1869-1941). They had no children.

Mary Apple, (1855-1922) daughter of Magdelena Hertzer Apple Blust, and step-daughter of George Blust, married Louis Ueber. They had three children, Lawrence, Clara, and Karl. Lawrence died at age 25, not known to have married or children. Clara died at age 16. Karl never married or had children. Therefore, it is believed Mary & Louis had no grandchildren.

Mary most likely was raised as a daughter of George's, assuming her biological father died while she was very young. Mary was three years old when George and her mother, Magdelena, were married in 1858. Mary most likely also played a major role in raising her younger siblings. She would have been about 15 or 16 when George passed away in 1871, leaving Magdelena with 7 younger children to raise under the age of 16, three of whom were still under the age of five, Leo the youngest, not quite three years old. The older children (from the first family) were mostly married or on their own with Otto, the youngest being 17 years of age.

Most likely, the older siblings also played a major role in caring and providing for Magdelena and the children, as at some point, Magdelena and the children moved to Avilla, Indiana where several of the older brothers had settled and made a life for themselves. It is unclear when this move happened, as they still appear in the 1880 Seneca Co., Ohio census.



How and where did most of the family scatter?

It is known that several brothers and two sisters, Anthony, Martin, Ignatius, Pius, Leo, Beneranda and Mary Apple eventually moved to Avilla, in Noble County, Indiana, as well as Magdelena. Most settled here.

Anthony eventually returned to Ohio. Some descendants of Anthony Blust's son Henry are known to have settled in Washington state and California.
Ignatius moved to Fort Wayne (Allen County) Indiana, as eventually in later years did Martin.

Little is known of Maria or Otto, although Otto in 1880 lived next door to brother Anthony in Seneca Co.
Helen moved to Michigan, believed to be in the Chesaning area.
Joseph appears to have died by 1900, as wife Ida is listed a widow and head of household In Tiffin, Ohio.
John stayed in Seneca Co, never married, died in a tragic train accident at age 61.
It is unknown if everyone went together,to Indiana, or followed the others, one by one. It is very likely that some of them moved back and forth between Indiana and Ohio a few times.




I would enjoy hearing from other descendants of George Blust, and would be willing to add your information to our database!

The Blust saga continues! If you have information to add, please contact me!

Our Blust Family "Brickwalls"

Magdeline Hertzer Apple Blust Did she marry Mr. Apple before or after coming to the US? WHO was he? When did she come to the US, were her parents with her?
Ignace Blust of Schirrhein, France - WHO were his parents? Where were they from?
Maria and Helen Blust, who did they marry, where did they setttle?
Benjamin Blust appears in census records and family legal documents, seems to be George's grandson from the "first family." Whose son is he?

More specific information and notes on individuals will be found with personal data
in the Family Tree Database.
Be sure to check for updates!

Please sign/view our Blust Family Guestbook.

New ! Blust Photos
New ! Cemetery Photos

Links To Other BLUST Related Research sites:

If you know of a BLUST website, please let me know!

Each Link will open a new Window in your browser!


Alsatians in Seneca County by Vincent E. Falter, hosted by Schirrhein Connection
Blust Mailing List Promoting research of the Blust surname.
Blust Message Board at Ancestry.com
Blust Resources at Rootsweb
Blust at SurnameWeb
St. Stephen's School - Class Photo 1912 as displayed at Vincent E. Falter's website.
WorldConnect Database at Rootsweb.com
Check out the Family Links Page for Misc. Blust Links!

Location Specific Sites have been moved to the new State Links Page!

Pages to check include: Noble Co. Indiana, Seneca Co. Ohio, and Bischwiller and Schirrhein, in France.

BLUST Researchers:

Karl Blust ~ That's me! :o)
Pam Looking for descendants of George & Iva J. (Dermer) Blust.

E-Mail Links are voluntary! If you would like your email link posted on the "Blust Family Page" please let me know!

Thank You for visiting, and come back soon!

This page will be updated with new links and information periodically!


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