As I began piecing our family story together, this is what I learned. My Great, Great, Grandfather was named John Jacob Franzmann. He was born about 1814 and lived in Prussia. We don’t know if he was born there or immigrated there….I have my theories. John Jacob married a woman named Malinda in Prussia in 1834. They had 5 children that I know of. One of those was also a John Jacob.
This second John Jacob was born in Prussia on Jan. 15 in 1839. He immigrated to the U.S. with his family when he was about 9 years old. They settled in Cannelton, IN. He went on to marry another immigrant from Germany, Elizabeth Arnold, in 1868. Here is a picture of John Jacob Jr. and Elizabeth.
They went on to have 8 children. Here they are with their children at the old home place. Such a solemn group.
One of the boys was named Fred Christian Franzman (notice the change in spelling on the last name?) – he was my great grandfather. He had a reputation for a horrible temper. I’ve heard tales. If I had to judge by this picture…I’d believe the tales. They called him Grandpa Hitler…got the idea?
He married a woman named Lena. German was the language spoken in their home. This couple had 5 children that I know of. One of them was a boy named Frederick Elmer Franzman…my grandfather. I never knew him. He died working in a clay mine when my Grandma was about 6 months pregnant with my Dad. He was 21 years old.
This is my Grandfather, Frederick Elmer as a child:
Very “Spanky and the Gang” isn’t it? That cute little boy turned into a very dapper young man!
No wonder Grandma fell hard…that and the fact that his Dad was very well to do in a very small, poor, river town. As I said…I’ve heard tales.
I’ll continue uncovering family secrets tomorrow as we learn about the other side of the family. And we’ll get closer to the deep, dark, family secret related to Thalassemia.
The Essential Herbalist 
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