John and Gertrude (Jung) Nimsgern

John was the son of Johann and Susanna Nimsgern. He was eight years of age when he crossed the Atlantic in May of 1852 with his parents and his brother Peter and sisters Anna, Maria and Susanna. After arriving in McHenry Township, the family settled on abt 45 acres of land on the south side of what today is Miller Road off of Spring Grove Road, just several miles from the village of Johnsburg. Today the Stade Dairy Farm is located here.

Little is known of John's childhood growing up in McHenry Township. On the 1870 census, age 28, John is found living within the household of a Peter Whitney. He was a hired farm laborer. A land deed from McHenry County, shows that John's first land purchase was 3 Nov 1870. He purchased land from Mathias and Gertrude Wagner in Richmond Township. This can be found on the 1872 McHenry County Plat Map for Richmond Township, John's name is shown as John Nimskin, in Section 35, approx 45 acres. It was located along South Solon Road just a short distance North of Miller Road, where he grew up.

John married Gertrude Jung, daughter of Johann Baptist Jung and Anna Wagner 4 May 1871 at St John the Baptist Catholic Church in Johnsburg, Il. They had thirteen children which included a set of twins, however only seven survived to adulthood, six having died as infants. Their first five children were born on the above mentioned farmstead. Only the home from this farmstead remains today, it sits back from the road on a wide expanse of lawn graced with trees that were most likely there when John purchased the land in 1870. The present owners have built around the original structure, and they left intact the original stone walls in the basement/cellar and the ceiling above is the original hard wood flooring supported by huge trunks from trees that were probably cut down on the property when the home was first built. The barn and any other structures are no longer there.

John sold this homestead to his brother-in-law Frank Jung. By 1892 John had purchased farmland in a different Section of Richmond Township. On the 1892 McHenry County Plat Map for Richmond Township, John's land is shown in Section 26, his name is shown as John Nemsgern. This homestead consisted of approx. 145 acres of land. Today this area is known as Nottingham Woods. On this homestead is where John and Gertrude's next seven children were born. I have a family photo given to me by a family member recently that I will add as a seperate attachment.

After their son Frank married, John and Gertrude moved to McHenry for a short time, where is still uncertain, I have not been able to locate them on the 1900 census. Frank and his wife Katharine (Schaefer) kept the farm running. Their children were born on this farmstead. John and Gertrude did return at some point to their farmstead. It was sold to the Michael Freund family several years after Gertrude and John had died. Gertrude age 57 died 10 Nov 1910, several days after having suffered a stroke. John age 66 died just eleven days later, on 21 Nov 1910. According to his obit and death cert, he had been in ill health and after Gertrude died his condition worsened. He was transported to Michael Reese Hospital in Chicago, Il, where he died.

John and Gertrude's son Peter, aged 29 years, passed away just the following year, 4 Jul 1911, from tuberculosis at a tent colony in Waukegan. He was a cement finisher, and had been living with his brother Robert in Waukegan. Robert was a member of the Waukegan Fire Dept..

John and Gertrude along with their son Peter and other family members are buried in the family plot at St Peter's Catholic Cemetery in Spring Grove, Il. There is a gravesite in the same lot as John and Gertrude marked "baby girl, buried 14 Nov 1910, age 2 days". This is somewhat of a mystery, it is unknown who this baby girl was ?

John and Gertrude are my maternal 2x gr grandparents, their son Frank is my gr grandfather. Information in Family Group Records was obtained from family members, church records, vital records, federal census, and obits.

Family Group Records

John Nimsgern
Son of Johann and Susanna Nimsgern
Born 28 Aug 1844/France
Married Gertrude Jung 4 May 1871
St John The Baptist Catholic Church, Johnsburg, Il
Died 21 Nov 1910/Michael Reese Hospital, Chicago, Il
Buried at St Peter's Catholic Cemetery, Spring Grove, Il
Gertrude Jung
Daughter of Johann Baptist Jung and Anna Wagner
Born 2 Apr 1853/McHenry Township
Died 10 Nov 1910/Spring Grove, Il
Buried at St Peter's Catholic Cemetery, Spring Grove, Il

Children of John and Gertrude

1.Susanna
Born 15 May 1872/Solon Mills, Il
Died 28 Aug 1872/Solon Mills, Il
Buried at St John The Baptist Catholic Church, Johnsburg, Il

2.Maria
Born 15 Aug 1873/Solon Mills, Il
Married Michael Degan 29 Oct 1896
St John The Baptist Catholic Church, Johnsburg, Il
Died 30 Jun 1950/St Catherines Hospital, Kenosha, Wi
Buried at St Thomas Aquinas Cemetery, Kenosha, Wi

3.Frank Matthew
Born 27 Oct 1874/Solon Mills, Il
Married Katharina Schaeffer 28 Nov 1899
St John The Baptist Catholic Church, Johnsburg, Il
Died 11 May 1922/Spring Grove, Il
Buried at St Peter's Cemetery, Spring Grove, Il

4.Mathias
Born 12 Mar 1877/Solon Mills, Il
Married Maria Pittges 15 Feb 1912
St John The Baptist Catholic Church, Johnsburg, Il
Died 9 Feb 1965/Spring Grove, Il
Buried at St Peter's Cemetery, Spring Grove, Il

5.Anna Maria
Born 8 Apr 1878/Solon Mills, Il
Died 1 Sep 1878/Solon Mills, Il
Buried at St John The Baptist Catholic Church, Johnsburg, Il

6.Martin
Born 12 May 1879/Spring Grove, Il
Never Married
Died 7 Jan 1954/St Francis Hospital, Freeport, Il
Buried at St Peter's Cemetery, Spring Grove, Il

7.Susan
Born 13 Oct 1880/Spring Grove, Il
Married Parick Graham 13 Sep 1938
Died 2 Jan 1968/Elgin, Il
Buried at Mount Hope Cemetery, Elgin, Il

8.Peter John
Born 4 feb 1882/Spring Grove, Il
Never Married
Died 4 July 1911/Tent Colony, Waukegan, Il
Buried at St Peter's Cemetery, Spring Grove, Il

9.John
Born 13 May 1883/Spring Grove, Il
Died 7 Sep 1883/Spring Grove, Il
Buried at St John The Baptist Catholic Cemetery, Johnsburg, Il

10.Robert Joseph
Born 9 Sep 1884/Spring Grove, Il
Married Elizabeth Bonkamp 7 May 1913
Died 25 Sep 1949/Waukegan, Il
Buried at St Mary's Cemetery, Waukegan, Il

11.Joanna (twin)
Born 14 Oct 1886/Spring Grove, Il
Died/Infant, date unknown/Spring Grove, Il
Buried at St John the Baptist Catholic Cemetery, Johnsburg, Il

12.Wilhelm (twin of Joanna)
Born 14 Oct 1886/Spring Grove, Il
Died/Infant, date unknown/Spring Grove, Il
Buried at St John the Baptist Catholic Cemetery, Johnsburg, Il

13.John
Born 18 Dec 1887/Spring Grove, Il
Died/Infant, date unknown/Spring Grove, Il
Buried at St John the Baptist Catholic Cemetery

Family Photo
This family photo was taken about 1895. In front row left to right are:Frank, John, Robert, and Gertrude. Back row left to right are: Martin, Susan, Mathias, Mary and Peter.
I would like to thank my mother's cousin, Eddie Stoffel and his wife Anita, who took the time to share with me family information and photo's. I had just about given up hope of locating a photo of my 2x great-grandparents John and Gertrude. I have Eddie to thank for this family photo as well as the person who had passed it along to him, Clarence Young, who has since passed away.

Additional Family Group Records will be added for each of John and Gertrudes children, please check back for updates.

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