Gottlieb Groshans was the Great, Great Grandfather of my children.

When Gottlieb Groshans (or Grosshans) was born on 25 Nov 1847, his father, Jean Jacques “Jacob” Grosshans, was 39 and his mother, Marie Sigwalt Grosshans, was 30. He married Salome Lauffer in 1870. They had eight children in 17 years. He died on 25 Aug 1919, in Kankakee, Illinois, at the age of 71, and was buried in Streator, Illinois.

Recently, I have discovered that Gottlieb’s name originally was Theophile Grosshans. Theophile is a French name and means “loved by God.” When the French region of Alsace where Theophile was placed under German control, Theophile needed to change to a German name. The German name he selected was Gottlieb because it also means “one who loves God.” I find it remarkable that he kept the meaning of his name intact even though he had to make a name change! The 1871German take over of the Alsace region occurred after the German Empire was victorious in the Franco Prussian War. The German occupation lasted until 1918. So, Gottlieb was 24 when his homeland became controlled by the German Empire.

As you can see by time of the 1919 death notices below, he was using the name Gottlieb Groshans.

26 Aug 1919 The Times, Streator IL

Here are the children that I have found in my research:

THE 1900 US CENSUS (note that Salome is not listed in this census as she was deceased)

In the 1900 US census, he is listed as Gottliebes G*Shous.  (Please remember that the census takers did not worry about writing what they “heard.”) In the 1900 census, we learn this information: He is the head of household with a birth date listed as October 1849. So, the there is a birth date conflict as he was actually born in 1847. Did he want to appear younger in the census or was there a poor note-taker? He states his occupation as Farm Laborer. He owns a home and it looks like it was on 6th Street in LaSalle, Streator, IL. He states that his birth place was France and that this was also the birth place of his parents. Gottlieb states that he immigrated to the USA in 1886.

In this 1900 census, Gottlieb is living with his son Louis who is employed as a coal miner. Louis’ birth date is listed as October 1872. The census states that Louis was born in France.

In this 1900 census, Gottlieb is also living with his daughter Zetmar. Her birth date is listed as May of 1877 in France. Her occupation is as a garment worker. (My other research shows she may have used the name Sarah and that her birth date may not match this census???)

In this 1900 census, Gottlieb is also living with his daughter Annie. Her birth date is listed as May 1881. She was born in Illinois. Her occupation is also listed as a garment worker.

In this 1900 census, Gottlieb is also living with his daughter Louisa who was born in July of 1884 in Illinois. The census shows that Louisa was 15 years old and still in school.

MY NOTES:

The Family Search # for Gottlieb is LVDW-RB1.

The Find a Grave link is :https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/79547191/gottlieb-groshans

I wrote a blog that is related:https://tellinglifestories.org/2017/02/01/salome-a-k-a-selma-laufer-groshans/

Sibling of Gottlieb:

Gottlieb had a brother named Henry Grosshans. Henry married Salome Hartweg on November 5, 1873. They had nine children in 17 years. He died on May 13, 1930.

Here is a news clipping about Henry:

15 May 1930 The Times Streator, IL