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August Gärtner was born in 1857 in Kiliansberg-Veitsteinbach, Kreis Fulda, Germany, the son of Andrew Gärtner & Margaretha Hosenfeld.
August grew up in the Gärtner family home, Kiliansberg 12 - the house name was "Jule." I found an old photo of this house in the Veitsteinbach 1050 anniversary book on page 209:
Roughly translated this says: (above the photo) The house Kiliansberg 10 was formerly Number
12, and the house name is "Jule". One-story living house with barn and stable.
House was completely reconstructed at the end of the 60s. August Gartner
August arrived in the United States (Baltimore) on Friday, September 10, 1880. Since this ship traveled at 10 knots, the trip should have taken approximately 13 days to complete. August was 22 years old at the time and listed his occupation as "carpenter" -- he had worked as a cabinet maker in Germany. The ship was the Leipzig; the port of embarkation was Bremen; manifest #15817. The mode of travel was "steerage" and the captain's name was Pfeiffer.
The "Leipzig" was a 2,388 gross ton ship, built by Caird & Co, Greenock in 1869 for North German Lloyd of Bremen. Her details were - length 290.2ft x beam 39ft, clipper stem, one funnel, two masts (rigged for sail), iron construction, single screw and a speed of 10 knots. There was accommodation for 84-1st and 600-3rd class passengers. Launched on 13/2/1869, she sailed from Bremen on her maiden voyage to Southampton and Baltimore in May 1869. On 13/1/1872 she commenced the first of five Bremen - New York voyages and in 1883 her engines were compounded by Henniges, Bremen. She started her last Bremen - Baltimore crossing on 12/5/1886 and was subsequently used on the S.American service. She started her last voyage on 19/5/1894 and was sold to Hamburg owners the same year. In 1898 she was scrapped at Hamburg.
After arriving in the US, he traveled on the Mississippi, working. He eventually settled in Allegheny City, PA, where there was a large community of German folks. Here is a panoramic style "map" of Pittsburgh, that also shows both Birmingham (now the South Side of Pittsburgh) and Allegheny City (now the North Side of Pittsburgh). This map was drawn in 1871, just a few years before August arrived in the area.
August & Hildegard Gartner He married Hildegard Schad on August 18, 1885 in Allegheny City. Hildegard was born in December of 1862 in Germany, the daughter of Johanne and Valentina Schade. She arrived in the United States on Monday, May 22, 1882 on the ship Donau. Since this ship traveled at 13 knots, the trip should have taken 10 days to complete. The Donau departed from Bremen, manifest #36631. Hildegard's last residence was listed as Prussia, and she was 19 years old at the time.
The "Donau" was an iron built steamer, built by Caird & Co, Greenock for Norddeutscher Lloyd [North German Lloyd] in 1868. She was 2896 gross tons, length 332ft x beam 40ft, clipper stem, one funnel, two masts, single screw and a speed of 13 knots. There was accommodation for 60-1st and 700-3rd class passengers. Launched on 17/10/1868, she left Bremen on 16/1/1869 for her maiden voyage to Southampton and New York. In 1877 her engines were compounded and her last voyage Bremen - New York commenced 16/1/1887. Last voyage Bremen - Baltimore commenced 25/9/1889 and she was then sold to another German company. On 16/3/1895 she was abandoned and burnt out in the North Atlantic.
For a short period of time, August worked with his brother-in-law, Damian Heinrich (his sister, Justina's husband)--they formed "Gartner and Henrich, Masonry Contractors." August eventually took off on his own and established "Gartner Masonry."
August petitioned for naturalization in 1888. At that time he was living in the 13th Ward of Allegheny City (this section later became known as the Troy Hill section of Pittsburgh.) The family attended Most Holy Name of Jesus Church on Troy Hill.
Here is an 1890 Hopkins Plat Map (Volume 2, East Side of Allegheny City, plate 15) which shows exactly where August and Hildegard were living in 1890. These real estate or land ownership maps, also known as plat maps, not only depict property owners, they also show churches, cemeteries, mills, schools, roads, railroads, lakes, ponds, rivers, and streams. In this map, you can you can see "A. Gaertner" living on Lowry Street. The map "explanation" says that the yellow color depicts a "frame" style house.
The original spelling of his surname was Gärtner, which August changed to Gaertner for a short while after arriving in the United States. But, he eventually decided that he preferred the Gartner spelling of his surname, and it is used on all his later legal documents.
August bought property from the Wohleber's on Reserve Township Road, which he had sub-divided into a plan of lots in January of 1892. August built his family home on lots #15, & 16 of this plan of lots. (see scan of this document in my "Documents" section on this web site) After the family home was built, they began attending St. Aloysius Church and School on Reserve Township Road (later known as Mt. Troy Road.)
August and Hildegard had nine children:
The family home on Reserve Township Road
August & Hildegard bought a farm in Bayard, Columbiana County, Ohio. I was told that this was due to August's health (and I imagine all the pollutants in the Pittsburgh air).
Hildegard on the farm in Ohio
Tom, Joseph, Herman, Ray and August Gartner
Hildegard with her grandsons, Paul and Joseph in 1928
Hildegard and August in their later years
August died on August 10, 1926, and is buried in the family plot at Most Holy Name Cemetery, Mt. Troy Road, Reserve Twp, PA, Lot #127.
Herman Gartner never married. He served in World War I, where he was unfortunately "gassed" during the war. The after-effects of this gassing caused him to die at a young age. He died in 1926, and is buried alongside his parents.
After August died in 1926, Hildegard moved back into the main house with the family. She lived there until her death on March 31, 1937, and is buried next to August.
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