Michael and Caroline (Gerken) Steger

Caroline (Gerken) Steger

Caroline Gerken was born on April 1, 1857, at New Vienna, Iowa. Caroline was the fifth of eight children born to Herman and Mary Catherine (Schulte) Gerken. She grew to young womanhood in the New Vienna and Dyersville vicinity. When her father Herman died in 1875, he bequeathed her one thousand dollars.

Caroline Gerken and Michael Steger marry.
On June 4, 1878, Caroline Gerken was united in marriage to Mr. Michael Steger, at Dubuque, Iowa, with the Reverend Father Ehrenberger officiating at the marriage.

Michael Steger.
Mr. Steger was born on April 11, 1854, at the Steger homestead near Dyersville, Iowa. Michael resided near Dyersville until his marriage in the year 1878, when he and his wife moved to Worthington, Iowa. The Stegers--Michael, age 26, and Caroline, age 23--were living in South Fork Township, Delaware County, Iowa, at the time of the 1880 U.S. Census, where he was listed as farming and she as keeping house. In 1897 the family moved to Fillmore, Iowa, and then on to Norcross, Minnesota, in March 1905.

FUNERAL OF MR. M. STEGER HELD
REMAINS ARRIVED FROM NORCROSS, MINN., AND TAKEN TO GERKEN HOME.
Remains Were Laid to Rest in Family Lot in St. Francis Cemetery.
The remains of Mr. Michael Steger, of whose death on Tuesday, September 2, 1924, mention was made in last week's issue of the Commercial, arrived here from Norcross, Minnesota, early Saturday morning and taken to the home of his nephew and niece, Mr. and Mrs. John B. H. Gerken, on West DeWitt Street in Dyersville, Iowa, from where the funeral was held Saturday morning, September 6, at 9:30 o'clock to St. Francis Church. Requiem mass was sung by his nephew, Rev. Father William A. Kunkel, of Raymond, Iowa, after which interment was made in the family lot in St. Francis cemetery. The pallbearers were six nephews of the deceased: Messrs Rudolph, Erwin, and Alfred Steger, Arthur Trumm, Fred Scheyer, and Oscar Gerken. The funeral cortege was very large. The deceased was over 70 years of age.

He is survived by his wife and eight of his ten children. Pauline died a young child, and Arthur preceded him to the grave several years ago. The children surviving are Clara (Mrs. C. Murphy), Clark, S.D.; Eva (Mrs. J. G. Bauer), Madison, Minn.; Wanda (Mrs. J. M. Ramsey), Cleveland, Ohio; Florentine, Louis, Hildegard, Alma, and Walter, all of Norcross. Mr. Steger is also survived by the following brothers and sisters: Matthew of Newell, Ia.; Andrew of Dyersville; Joseph of Adrian, Minn.; Mrs. A. Scheyer, Dubuque; and Paul, Herman, Lizzie, Frank, and Mrs. Frank Trumm of Dyersville. One brother, John, and one sister, Mrs. H. Hense, preceded him to the grave.

Among the relatives here from abroad at the funeral were Ewald Gerken, Mrs. A. Scheyer, son Fred, of Dubuque; George Noethe of Patch Grove, Wis.; John Link of Guttenberg; Frank Kunkel, Raymond; Rev. Kunkel, Raymond; Mr. and Mrs. N. Schuster, New Vienna.

Death Result of Accident.
Mr. Steger's death was the result of a fall from a haystack. He was assisting his boys at work and was up on top of a haystack, when he accidentally fell to the ground, injuring his spine. This occurred on Friday, August 29, 1924. His sufferings were intense, and everything possible was done by skilled physicians to make him as comfortable as possible. An examination revealed the fact that there was no hope for his recovery from the start, and death came as relief on Tuesday, Sept. 2d.

Mr. Steger was a man of upright and honest character, a devoted husband and father, and a loyal neighbor. He was devoted to the family circle and reared a family of whom he could feel justly proud. He was a consistent member of the Catholic church and lived strictly in accordance with its teachings, and when death claimed him, he was well prepared to meet his Maker. He was always a kind and good neighbor, and his many kind deeds will ever be cherished by all who had the pleasure of knowing him. Heartfelt sympathy is extended those left to mourn his loss.

FUNERAL OF MRS. STEGER HELD
REQUIEM HIGHMASS WAS SUNG BY REV. FATHER KUNKEL, OF RAYMOND
Remains Arrived Here From Madison, Minn., Wednesday, Taken to J. B. H. Gerken Home
The funeral of the late Mrs. Mike Steger, née Caroline Gerken, whose death occurred at Madison, Minn., on Saturday, April 13, 1929, was held here Wednesday morning, April 17, from the home of her nephew and niece, Mr. and Mrs. John B. H. Gerken, on West DeWitt Street in Dyersville, Iowa, to St. Francis Church, where requiem high mass was sung for the repose of her soul by her nephew Rev. Father William Kunkel of Raymond, assisted by Rev. Father John Mayer of Petersburg, another relative of the deceased, as deacon, and Rev. Father Steinlage as subdeacon.

After the mass the remains were laid to rest in St. Francis cemetery beside those of her husband. Rt. Rev. Bishop Gerken of Amarillo, Texas, a nephew of the deceased, gave the absolution at the bier and also officiated at the graveside. The casket bearers were Messrs. Fred Scheyer, Richard Steger, Urbain Steger, Clarence Steger, Arthur Trumm, and Adrian Steger, great nephews of the deceased. The deceased was 72 years and 12 days old when death claimed her.

They lived in Norcross until the death of Mr. Steger in 1924. In February 1926 she left the home at Norcross and since that time made her home with her daughter, Mrs. Bauer of Madison, Minn., from where she made occasional visits to her other married daughters and sons.

Deceased is survived by the following children: Clara (Mrs. Con Murphy) of Clark, S.D.; Eva (Mrs. Jos. Bauer) of Madison, Minn.; Wanda (Mrs. Joseph M. Ramsey) of Cleveland, Ohio; Florentine (Mrs. Charles Vaughan) of Turner, Washington; Louis of Norcross, Minn.; Hildegard of Nueve Eeija, Philippine Islands; Alma of Cleveland, Ohio; Walter of Herman, Minn.; also one sister, Mrs. Mary Kerkhoff, of Petersburg, and one brother, Louis Gerken, of Ft. Worth, Texas, survive. Two children preceded her in death, Pauline, aged 3 years, and Arthur, aged 31 years.

Mrs. Steger had been in ill health for several months and since the first of February had been confined to her room at the home of her daughter. On March 31 she was taken to the Ebenezer Hospital in Madison, Minn., where she had an operation for hernia, from which she apparently recovered, but suddenly passed away last Saturday morning. Imbolism was the immediate cause of her death.

Funeral services were held at St. Michael's Church, Madison, Minn., after which the remains were taken to Dyersville, arriving early on Wednesday morning, and taken to the home of her nephew and niece, Mr. and Mrs. John B. H. Gerken, from where the funeral was held at 9:30 o'clock that morning.

Children of Michael and Caroline (Gerken) Steger:

Sources include articles and obituaries from the Dyersville Commercial, information provided by Walter Steger, and the 1880 U.S. census. Walter Steger was one of only three first cousins of my grandfather that I was able to meet during the course of my family history research. Walter, himself a genealogist who would later publish a Gerken family history, had written my uncle Ewald believing him to be my grandfather Ewald, and I traveled with my uncle Ewald Gerken and his family to meet him and his wife Dessie at Herman, Minnesota. The image of Caroline (Gerken) Steger was furnished by Giles Gerken.

© 2000, 2002-04 Tom Larson P.O. Box 141 Peosta, IA 52068-0141 http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~tdlarson/gerken/steger/index.htm Last revised December 11, 2004.