Johann Jakob RÖMER

                   Londorf (Climbach) Geburts Protocoll  (Birth and Baptism)
Microfilm #1195987
Geburts Protocol 1815-1834
1817, No. 58, page 748 - Anna Maria Römer
Anna Maria Römer, born 17 September 1817 in Glimbach about three in the morning. Illegitimate daughter of Christina Commelin, daughter of Anna Maria neé Schnittin of Glimbach, first illegitimate child, a daughter. Baptized 19 September 1817. Jacob Römer, unmarried son of Johannes Römer, citizen (Gemeindesm.) and farmer, acknowledged
(bekannt) the child as his and was Sponsor.


Londorf (Climbach)
Confirmanden Register (Confirmation) 1808-1875
Microfilm #1201531
1831, p. 118, Glimbach - Anna Maria Römer, geboren 17 Sep 1817, Jacob Römer, Christina geboren Commelin
                  

                   From family records provided by Louise Fassnacht (Mrs. Warren Hasenkamp) of the Scribner, NE, Roemer clan in 1997:

ROEMER, John: 1817-died in the gold rush years in California
Wisner, Eleanore 1817-1906

John was born in Climback, Hessen, Germany. He married Eleanore Wisner who was born in Germany also. They were the parents of John August Roemer, born in 1852 and also Helena, Alice and Carl.

John, who had served in the French Army, preceeded his family to the United States and joined the Forty-Niners in the gold rush to California. He staked a claim which he owned with another partner. John wrote several letters back home to Germany with money enclosed telling them that he was going to San Francisco to sell some of his gold dust. That was the last letter that they received and John was never heard from again. Presumably he, like many others, was robbed and killed. John had wanted his family to join him ... this never happened, but the family did come to the United States.

Some stories that were told about Helena and Alice (sic. probably Barbara)  was that in 1870 when they were working in Paris, France, Helena was sick one day and did not go to work. When Alice (sic. probably Barbara) came home from work she told Helena that the border between France and Germany had been closed. [The Franco-Prussian War 1870-1871] They packed up their clothing as fast as possible and headed for the border. Here they happened to find a farmer with a load of hay about to cross the border. They hid in the hay and thus made it back to the German lines and into Germany. Due to border disputes their home area was annexed back and forth between Germany and France. 

[France at times exercised hegemony over the Climbach, Hesse-Darmstadt, area and it was part of the Kingdom of Westphalia which Napoleon created for his brother, Jerome.There is also village named Climbach in Alsace-Lorraine where there are families named Roemer living. There is no known connection between the two Climbach villages.]

When the family did come to the United States they came by ship and landed in Baltimore, Maryland. They then took a train to Chicago, Illinois, and then on to Scribner, Nebraska.


Londorf (Climbach) Geburts Protocoll  (Birth and Baptism)
Microfilm #1195987
Geburts Protocol 1815-1834
1820, No. 33, page 22 - Johannes Römer
Johannes Römer, born 29 March 1820 in Glimbach about eleven in the morning. Son of Johann Jacob Römer, citizen and farmer of Glimbach, and his wife Christina neé Commelin, the second child, first son. Baptized 30 March 1820. Sponsors: Johannes Conrad of Climbach; (2) Catharina Römer, unmarried daughter of Christoph Römer


Londorf (Climbach)
Confirmanden Register (Confirmation) 1808-1875
Microfilm #1201531
1834, p. 140, Glimbach - Johannes Römer, geboren 29 Mar 1820, Johann Jacob Römer, Christina geboren Commelin
                  

                   Londorf (Climbach) Geburts Protocoll  (Birth and Baptism)
Microfilm #1195987
Geburts Protocol 1815-1834
1823, No. 52, page 279, Helena Römer
Helena Römer, born 7 June 1823 in Glimbach about three in the morning. Daughter of Jacob Römer, citizen and farmer of Glimbach, and his wife Christina neé Schmidt, the third child, second daughter. Baptized 8 June 1823. Sponsors: (1) Helena Römer, unmarried daughter of Johannes Römer, citizen and _____ of Glimbach, the father's sister. Added note: Helena died 3 February 1907; buried 6 February 1907. Added note: "*Schmidt is Christina, neé Commelin."


Londorf (Climbach)
Confirmanden Register (Confirmation) 1808-1875
Microfilm #1201531
1837, p. 159, Climbach - Helena Römer, geb 27 Jun 1823, Jacob Römer, Christina geboren Commelin
                  

                   Londorf (Climbach) Geburts Protocoll  (Birth and Baptism)
Microfilm #1195987
Geburts Protocol 1815-1834
1827, No. 69, page 856 - Jacob Römer
Jacob Römer died in Glimbach 27 December 1827 about six in the evening, son of Jacob Römer, citizen and farmer of Glimbach, and Christiana neé Schmitt, age 2 years, 9 months and 28 days (born 29 Oct 1825). Buried on 29 December 1827 about three in the afternoon in the presence of Wilhelm, Christoph Wißner's son, and Johannes, Christoph Conrad's son, both of Glimbach.
                  

                   Londorf (Climbach) Geburts Protocoll  (Birth and Baptism)
Microfilm #1195987
Geburts Protocol 1815-1834
1828, No. 112, page 700 - Heinrich Römer
Heinrich Römer, born 25 September 1828 in Glimbach about midnight. Son of Jacob Römer, citizen and farmer in Glimbach, and his wife Christina neé Schmitt, the fifth child, third son. Baptized 29 September 1828. Sponsors: (1) Johann Heinrich Stein, citizen and farmer and Ducal Mayor (Großherzogliche Bürgemeister) of Glimbach. Added note: He died 6 September 1904, buried 9 September.


Londorf (Climbach)
Confirmanden Register (Confirmation) 1808-1875
Microfilm #1201531
1842, p. 194, Climbach - Heinrich Römer, geb 25 Sep 1828, Jacob Römer, Christina geb. Commelin
                  

                   Londorf Verstorbene
Microfile #1201528
1831, No. 84, page 177 - Catharina Römer
Catharina Römer died in Glimbach 16 Oct 1831 about ten in the evening, daughter of Johann Jacob Römer, citizen and farmer in Glimbach, and Christina neé Commelin, age 4 months and 23 days (born 23 Aug 1831). Buried 18 Oct 1831 about five in the evening in the presence of Jacob Conrad, unmarried son of Christoph Conrad, citizen and farmer, and Wilhelmina Wiesseck, unmarried daughter of Christoph Wiesseck, both of Glimbach.


Londorf (Climbach) Geburts Protocoll  (Birth and Baptism)
Microfilm #1195987
Geburts Protocol 1815-1834
1831, No. 64, page 233 - Catharina Römer
Catharina Römer, born 31 Aug 1831 in Glimbach about three in the morning. Daughter of Johann Jacob Römer, citizen and farmer in Glimbach, and his wife Christina neé Commelin, the sixth child, third daughter. Baptized the same day. Sponsors: (1) Johann Jost Schmitt, citizen and farmer, also  _____; (2) Catharina neé Conrad, wife of Ludwig Leyrers. Added note: She died 16 Oct 1831
                  

                   The death information on Caspar is provided by Yvonne Rübensamen.



Londorf (Climbach) Geburts Protocoll  (Birth and Baptism)
Microfilm #1195987
Geburts Protocol 1815-1834
1832, No. 114, page 351-352 - Caspar Römer
Caspar Römer, born 5 December 1832 in Glimbach about four in the evening. Son of Johann Jacob Römer, citizen and farmer in Glimbach, and his wife Anna Christina neé Commelin, the seventh child, fourth son. Baptized 7 December 1832. Sponsor: Caspar Hilgärtner, citizen and farmer of Glimbach.


Londorf (Climbach)
Confirmanden Register (Confirmation) 1808-1875
Microfilm #1201531
1846, p. 220, Climbach - Caspar Römer, geb 5 Dec 1832, Joh. Jacob Römer, Anna Christina geb Commelin
                  

                   The first documentation of Climbach was made in the year 1237; presumable the foundation of the village had been around 1100, as the peasants of the Lumda Valley villages built new farms at the »Clincbach« in order to save their way up to the fields on the hill (gradient of 11 %).

The small half-timbered church was built in the time around 1783.

A popular delivery tells us that the »Aspekippel«, a small basin with precipitous walls on its sides and an elevation in its midst has been the last active volcano in Hessia.

As a consequence of the Hessian municipal reform Climbach is a part of Allendorf (Lumda) since 1971.
=========================

According to Clara Scheihing Benson, he  earned his living in the US as a foreman in a sugar beet factory in Burlington IA. However, there is no record of a sugar beet factory in the Burlington area, though there was a candy manufacturing plant that used large volumes of beet sugar.

His granddaughter Clara Scheihing Benson believed he was a stonemason in Germany, but his occupation listed in the Climbach church records as farmer.

There is no record of Balthasar Römer owning property in Union Township. However his son-in-law, William Hillgaertner, owned 140 acres (most of the NW¼ of Section 6) in the Township. This lends support to the oral tradition that he earned his living in an occupation other than farming. He was 50 years old when he emigrated to Iowa, "elderly" in that era and quite old to begin anew the hard labor of farming even the well-developed, cleared and fertile Iowa farmland.

According to the Krekel family, descendants of his oldest daughter Louise and Wilhelm Hillgärtner, he lived in house on Hunt Road near Louise and Wilhelm.


Burlington Hawk-Eye, Tuesday Moring, May 24, 1904, page 6 (spellings as in the published obituary):

Roemer
Balthasar Roemer passed away at 5 o'clock Monday morning at his home, five miles from the city, on the Hunt road. He was a native of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany, and came to America twenty years ago, locating in Des Moines County. His good wife passed away several years ago. He is survived by the following children: Mrs. Louisa Hilgaertner and Mrs. Elisabeth Schilling (sic - should be Scheihing) of this county; Mrs. Eliza Scheiing (sic - should be Mrs. Eliza Westphalen) of Scribney (sic - Scribner), Neb, and Mrs. Laura Schming (sic - should be Scheihing), of Godfrey (sic - should be Guthrie), Okla. Deceased was a good man, a consistent member of St. Lukes Evangelical church. The funeral will  be held Thursday afternoon at 2 o'clocl from the Wm. Hilgaertner residence. Interment in Porter cemetery.

Evangelische St. Lucas Gemeinde
14th & South, Burlington
Kirchenbuch II, 324, 1904
Römer, Balthasar, Gestorben 23 Mai, Begraben 26 Mai, Alter 67-5-10, Leichentext 1 Cor 15, 42-44, Name des Gottesaders: Hunts Friedhof.


Hunt Cemetery, also called Porter Cemetery, is in the SW¼ of the NE¼ of the SW¼ of Section 14, Range 3W of Union Township, on land of Thompson Porter. Porter apparently established the burial ground as a family cemetery, and then permitted other families with connections to Sections 13 and 14 of Union Township to bury their dead there as well. There are about 45 grave monuments in the cemetery, which is about 1 acre in size,  marking the burial sites of about 89 individuals.

From US Highway 61 south of Burlington take Hunt Road, a gravel road, as it angles Southwest; a high tension power line parallels the road. About ¾ mile down the road at a stop sign an old school building on the north is marked "Brush College." Here Hunt Road makes a 90 degree turn to the south; Brush College Road angles Southwest; and the road straight ahead from the stop sign is 65th Street. Go straight ahead on 65th Street. The first house on the right has a large "Forest View" sign in front. About ¼ mile ahead is the entry to Hunt Wood County Conservation area on the South side of the road. Park and take the center trail, straight south from the gate. In about ½ mile you will come to the high tension electrical line; walk under it to the right for about ¼ mile and you will see another road-trail angling into the woods on your left. Follow this road-trail a short distance and you will come to Hunt Cemetery which is fenced in. Most of the stones have been pushed over by vandals and the cemetery is largely overgrown with day lilies and vinca, originally planted by families to decorate the graves of their loved ones.

Balthasar Römer's grave stone is in the second row, going from North to South, fourth grave plot from the gate. The stone, a slab of marble, has been broken into three pieces and is so worn that it is difficult to discern the letters. The fifth grave plot from the gate is that of Laura Hillgaertner, Balthasar's granddaughter (daughter of Luisa Roemer Hillgaertner).


Londorf (Climbach) Geburts Protocoll  (Birth and Baptism)
Microfilm #1195987
Geburts Protocol 1815-1834
1836, No. 131, page 867  Johann Balser Römer - ROEMR50A/B.JPG
Johann Balser Römer, born 12 Dec 1836 about five in the morning in Climbach. Son of Johann Jacob Römer, citizen and farmer in Climbach, and his wife Christina née Commelin, the eighth child, fifth son. Baptized 14 Dec 1836. Sponsor: Johann Balser Weller, citizen in Climbach.


FHC Microfilm #1027367 (National Archives M237)

[Germans to America, Vol. 53, page 300
May 1886 - Jan 1887]

Ship: Steamer La Bourgogne, Ship's Master E. Frangeul
From Havre to New York
Arr. 04 Oct 1886

Passenger No. 440,  Romer, Balthazar, age 50, Cultivator, Germany to New York

LA BOURGOGNE
The "La Bourgogne" was built in 1885 by Forges & Chantiers de la Mediteranee, La Seyne for the Compagnie Generale Transatlantique (French Line). She was a 7,395 gross ton vessel, length 494.4ft x beam 52.2 ft, two funnels, four masts, iron and steel construction, single screw and a speed of 17 knots. There was accommodation for 390-1st, 65-2nd and 600-3rd class passengers. Launched on 10 Aug 1885, she sailed on her maiden voyage from Havre to New York on 19/6/1886. In Feb.1896 she collided with, and sank the steamer "Atlas" off the US coast. In 1897-8 she was fitted with quadruple expansion engines and her masts reduced to two. On 4 July 1898 she was sunk in collision in dense fog with the British sailing ship "Cromartyshire" off Cape Sable. At the time, she was carrying 506 passengers and 220 crew of whom 549 were lost. [North Atlantic Seaway by N.R.P.Bonsor, vol.2, p.656]


Londorf (Climbach)
Confirmanden Register (Confirmation) 1808-1875
Microfilm #1201531
1850, p. 5, Climbach -Johann Balser Römer, geb 12 Dec 1836, Jakob Römer, Anna Christina geboren Commelin


Balthasar renounced his allegiance to "William II Emperor of Germany."


On the Ship's Passenger List when Balthazar immigrated to the USA, his occupation is listed as "Cultivator."
                  

                   Londorf Geburts/Taufen
Microfilm #1195988
1839, No. 114, page 328 - Catharina Römer
Catharina Römer, born 26 Nov 1839 about two in the morning in Climbach. Daughter of Jacob Römer, citizen and farmer in Climbach, and his wife Anna Christina neé Commelin, the ninth child,  fourth daughter. Baptized 28 Nov 1839. Sponsor: Catharina Backhaus, wife of Johann Heinrich Backhaus I, citizen and day laborer in Climbach.


Londorf (Climbach)
Confirmanden Register (Confirmation) 1808-1875
Microfilm #1201531
1853, p. 29, Climbach - Katharina Römer, 26 Nov 1839, Jakob Römer, +Anna Christina geb. Commelin