John F. Oberhaus Family

The Oberhaus family came from the small town of Halle, near Bielefeld, in Westphalia (at that time part of Prussia). The first of three brothers to come to America was John Oberhaus (B. 1801 — D. 1852) who came to Lucas County about 1834. Between 1845 and 1850 he went to Perrysburg Township in Wood County. 1850 Census records of that township list John, 49, farmer; wife Clara, 34; children Mary, 11; James, 7; and John, 5. He later settled in Allen Township of Ottawa County where many of his descendants still reside. John and wife Clara both died in 1852. Cause of death and their place of burial are unknown.

Their son John (B. 1844, Lucas County — D. 1927) who was 8 years old at the time of his parents' deaths married Eleanore Hansen (B. 1858, Hannover, Germany — D. 1911) in Williston, Ohio. They are buried in the cemetery at Williston, Ohio. Of their children, three daughters spent their married lives in Henry County. Caroline M. (B. Sept. 22, 1879) married John H. Steffens and spent their married lives in Freedom Township. Anna, the next daughter, married Henry Volkmann and also lived in the same area. Another daughter, Sara (B. June 5, 1885), married her second cousin Fred H. Oberhaus on November 2, 1911. Fred H. Oberhaus was the son of J. Fred Oberhaus (B. July 18, 1842).

Casper Oberhaus (B. Sept. 9, 1813) was the next brother to leave Germany. He came from Germany to Perrysburg Township in Wood County in 1844 with his son Casper (B. 1837), his second wife Mary Elizabeth (Groner), whom he married in 1841, and their son John Fred (B. July 18, 1842). In 1845 they moved to a farm in Lucas County which is now a part of Walbridge Park in the city of Toledo. Mrs. Oberhaus died and was buried on this farm in the same year. In 1847, Casper took his third wife, Marie Hunterbrinker (B. 1817, Hannover, Germany). In 1848, Casper and his family settled in Section 3 of Napoleon Township where he purchased 80 acres of timberland for one dollar and a half-cent per acre. Casper later purchased more land in Section 3 and 4 of Napoleon Township. Casper died in 1898 at the age of 85 years while cutting grain with a cradle. His third wife Marie died in 1896, both are buried in the St. Paul's Lutheran Cemetery in Napoleon Township.

The August 7, 1850 census lists the household as consisting of Casper, 36; his wife Mary, 27; Casper, 13; and Frederick, 8.

Children of Casper Oberhaus (B. Sept. 9, 1813 — D. 1898) were:

• Casper, born 1837 in Halle, Germany, from the first marriage. He served in the 68th Ohio Volunteer Infantry from 1861 until the close of the Civil War. There is no further information available.
• John Fred, later known as Frederick or Fred (as it was the German custom to drop the first name and use the middle name). He was born in Halle, Germany, July 18, 1842. His life and family will be covered later.
• Sophia who married Charles Lindau.
• Caroline who married Robert Knape.
• Louise who married Fred Bruns, after his death by lightning, she remarried and moved to California.
• Frans, later known as Frank, who married Mary Cordes, who came from Hannover, Germany.

The third of the Oberhaus brohters to arrive from Germany was John Fred (B. June 24, 1824) (not to be confused with the son of Casper, who also went by the name of Fred) who arrived in the United States in the early 1850's. He quickly acquired land in Sections 3 and 4 of Napoleon Township. According to stories heard from several sources, Fred and his older brother Casper became involved in a dispute over some timber and both had made contact with some attorneys in order to settle the dispute in court. Before the case was taken to court, the brothers decided both would be losers and the attorneys would benefit more than the value of the timber involved and the dispute was dropped. After the incident, Fred and his wife, Catherine

Welling (B. 1826 - D. 1910) purchased a farm in Wood County near Pemberville in the early 1870's. He died there October 5, 1883 and was buried with his wife in a cemetery near Pemberville. They had several children, one of which was Louise, who was born in 1865 near Napoleon and grew up near Pemberville. Louise married George Andrew Beck of Elmore and they moved to one of the Oberhaus farms in Section 3 of Napoleon Township. Later they purchased a farm in Section 10 on the north side of U.S. Route 6 in Napoleon Township. Their children were Ida, Fred, Harold and Vernice. Fred (B. Feb. 3, 1889 - D. Aug. 1950) married Grace Veigel (B. Nov. 23, 1892). Of their six children, their oldest daughter Loretta married Henry Zumfelde of Wauseon, whose Great Grandfather Casper Oberhaus was the older brother of Loretta Beck's Great Grandfather Fred (listed as John Frederick, B. 1824 in the family tree).

At this point continues the life story of Fred (John Frederick, B. July 18, 1842). Fred was confirmed on January 22, 1860, by Pastor Bergt in St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Napoleon. At the age of 21 he started work as a carpenter and later became a contractor building many fine homes, barns and other buildings in the area.

In 1867, Fred, with his father Casper, his Uncle Fred, along with 15 other German Lutherans, organized St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Napoleon Township. This group had been holding services for a year in a small church at Bostelman's Corners. The congregation immediately decided to build a new church and Fred Oberhaus was awarded the contract to build it. The original church is still in use as the central portion of the present church. The area served by this congregation came to be known as the "Hannover Settlement" as all of the charter members (with the exception of the Oberhauses) were natives of the Province of Hannover, Germany as were most of the Germans that came in the last third of the 19th century.

Fred Oberhaus married Sophia Marie Biederstedt (B. Dec. 12, 1851 in Mecklenburg, Germany - D. March 19, 1939) on April 19, 1872. She had come to Ohio in the mid-1850s and settled with her parents on a farm in section 36 of Adams Township, Defiance County. Her parents, August

Biederstedt (B. Oct. 1, 1825 - D. July 15, 1889) and his wife Sophia Marie Spadholz (B. April 20, 1830 - D. June 8, 1877) are buried in a cemetery in Section 18 of Napoleon Township.

After their marriage in 1872, Fred (B. July 18, 1842 - D. Jan. 20, 1928) and his wife Marie moved into a new house on the farm in Section 4 of Napoleon Township. This home is still maintained in good condition and is now occupied by their grandson Henry, his wife Arleta and daughter Brenda, who own and operate the farm which has been owned by the Oberhaus family since 1871. Brenda, now 20 years old, is the fifth generation to have lived on the farm. For five generations the family has been active in St. Paul's Lutheran Church where many of the Oberhaus descendents still maintain their membership.

Henry also was elected to serve as Township Trustee in November of 1977.

Children of Fred and Marie Oberhaus are:

• Anna, (B. Oct. 17, 1873 - D. Mar. 8, 1942) was married to William Badenhop
• Mary, (B. May 6, 1875 - D. Oct. 30, 1963) was married to Fred zumFelde
• Fred, (B. July 19, 1877 - D. April 14, 1935) was married to Sarah Oberhaus
• Ida, (B. July 6, 1880 - D. Nov. 7, 1969) was married to Fred Springhorn
• George (B. Mar. 24, 1882 - D. Mar. 27, 1954) was married to Elizabeth Buchenberg
• Karl (B. July 24, 1884 - D. June 26, 1960) was married to Ida Buchenberg
• Ferd (B. Mar. 16, 1887 - D. Aug. 13, 1975) was married to Kathryn Scheele in 1930 and she died in 1944 and he then married Elvera Delventhal in 1946
• Wilhiminna (Minnie) B. Jan. 2, 1890 - D. Dec. 24, 1966) was never married
• William (B. Jan. 2, 1890 - D. April 20, 1966) was married to Augusta Lukozus in 1916 and she died in 1933 and he then married Dora Schultz in 1938
• Albert (B. May 27, 1893 - D. April 6, 1950) was married to Margarthe Plum