Chester & Jesse Grimmell
The Grimmell is the oldest of your linealities with recorded historicity, anteceding the House of Orange by a little more than a century; but in our numerical order, we have to designate the first name as the sixth generation.
The name originated from the old German Grimerald or Grimoald and the village of Grimelshausen, located in Thuringer, was their freehold. History records the name in l126 and again we find it in 1322 at which time the family had a large flourmill located on the top of a gravel hill near Grimelshausen.
From the older spellings, the name became Grimmell in 1570 and on August 6, 1576 a Grimmell married and later had two boys, thus starting two branches of the name. Today, members of the family may still be found in Fankfort-on~Main. Mastallen, Kassel, Dansig-Marburg, Oberkaufungen, Epe Groningen, Helversin, and in Tilburg. They live also in Holland in the Weesp Zelst area and in Canada at Montreal, Bridgeburg, and Fort Erle. In the United States, they live at (S)emmersville, Mass, New York, Brooklyn and Buffalo of our state; Pittsburg, Pa; Cleveland, Ohio; Richmond, Virginia; Flagstaff, Arizona; and in California at San Francisco.
6. -- Hans Grimmell -- died June 26~ 1633 -- Hans worked in the royal castle at Frankenburger as a waiter and married a Lady of the Court. She was the daughter of the Court's favorite musician and owned an extensive amount of property.
7. -- John Conrade Grimmel - born in Frankenburger, baptized Sept 14, 1623, and died in 1708 -- John Conrade was married twice, having four children from his first marriage and five more by the second. There is also something about his having seventeen children in all; but this is difficult to read from my source of information and probably there is nine who lived and the other eight died in infancy.
John Conrade Grimmell in 1648 had a governmental job as the Inspector of Land. By 1650 he had earned the title of Steward of the government was a Rent Master for a First. In the German economy of the time a system was used quite similar to the Patroom System of the Holland Dutch. As a First was a wealthy man living in the royal castle who owned the surrounding land and rented it to the German serfs; so was the Patroon of Holland. There was a major difference, however. In Germany a serf had to remain always a serf, as did his son after him, while in Holland a serf had a possible chance of escaping to a better life if he had the personal ambition. Your ancestors in Holland and the members of their Court were more liberal than were the ruling heads of Germany. It is a well known fact that Holland was the first nation of the world to allow religious freedom to its people and probably as a means of inducement to get their colony in America populated, they went so far as to extend to the serfs the privilege that they could actually buy the land they settled in America after having worked for the Patroon for five years. You will recall from an earlier page that, as was John Conrade Grimmell, your ancestor's (Princess Anneke) husband was also a Rent master. And also, coincidently, while an ocean in distance separated them, both men were alive at the same time and started their work within twenty years of each other.
It was also in 1650 that the family received its Coat of Arms. This is gold over blue and has red lions. Under the lions are two gold stars. On the helmet, the right is gold above red, and the left is blue over red. The wings have a gold star between them.
8. -- John Lawrence Grimmell -- (March 1697-May 5, 1741) -- You will notice from these dates that John Conrade was at least seventy-four years old when his son John Lawrenoe was born and that the son lived only 44 years. Like his father, he also lived in Frankenburg, and he became a stenographer in the town's Courthouse.
9. -- John Ludwig Grimmell -- (April 2, l738-Aprll 27, 1791) -- John Ludwig was the man responsible for many changes in the lives of the Grimmell family. While the men of the generations preceding him held positions acceptable to gentlemen of wealth and royal favor; he learned a trade and became a master bookbinder.
This was the time of the Reformation and, like Martin Luther; all of the Grimmels had formerly been of the Catholic Religion. When Luther became dissatisfied with the older religion, John Ludwig Grimmell joined Luther's group. He also moved his family to Marburg where he later died and where his son was born:
10. -- John Henry Grimmell -- (Sept 18, l775-Sept 18, 1839) -- Like his father, John Henry became both a master bookbinder and a Reformer. John was married twice.
11. -- Jeremiah G. Grimmell -- (Jan 25, 1809 - Apr 4, 1871) -- born in Marburg, as was his father, he was aga1n like him and his grandfather, also a master bookbinder of the royal castle. On July 7, 1840, he married, in the Lutheran Church of Marburg, a Margarette Rehn. Although Margarette (Feb. 8, 1818 - Dec. 27, 1900) was born of humble Lutheran parents, Herman Rehn, a shoemaker of Marburg, and his wife, Katherine Brown, somebody in the family's old town of Grimmelleshausen had taken her into their home and taught her to be a Lady. In spite of financial loss and change of environment, she somehow managed to retain her training in later years and always expected to be waited upon as long as she lived. Your grandmother was named after her.
Jeremiah carried his father's and grandfathers religious revolt even to the point that on Oct. 18, 1835 he allowed himself to be baptized at midnight in the river Lahn near Marburg. Although it was against the law, he both preached and baptized other people at night. For this he was thrown into prison and he lost both his job and wealth. Coming to America in 1851, besides earning a living at his old profession of bookbinding, he continued to preach, and leaving the Lutheran faith, he founded the Baptist congregations of both Williamsburg, near New York City, and Wilmington, Delaware. He died in Buffalo, New York, but is buried in Wilmington. Margarette died in Cleveland, Ohio. He and Margarette had six children:
12. -- Elizabeth, Julius, Lena, Harry, Jeremiah P. and August.
12. -- Elizabeth -- married Clement Jochen who lost his arm in the Civil War, lived in Wilmington, had four children.
12. -- Julius -- married Helen Weimer of Buffalo who was a schoolteacher. Julius entered the Ministry and was the pastor of German Baptist churches in Cleveland, Ohio, and New York City. He later became the editor of a New York state German Baptist paper similar in size to our present Batavia Daily News. While he spoke only German in the family home as a child, as did all of the family, he was known for his excellent command of the English language as a man. After retiring from an active ministry, he supplied in English as well as German churches until he died suddenly while swimming at the summer home of his son-in-law end daughter, Orrin and Bertha Judd, out on Long Island.
Julius Grimmell and Helen Weimer had seven children:
13. -- Martha, Bertha, Rowland, Helen, Walter, Clara, and Thekla
13. -- Martha -- married Rev. John Pfaifer and they lived and died in the West someplace.
13. -- Bertha -- taught in New York City high schools until she was married and also was her church organist. She married Orrin Judd of Brooklyn, New York. Orrin was a Senior Auditor and both he and his wife were greatly interested in missionary work. They had three children:
14. -- A boy -- and a girl -- shortly after starting to school, these two died within a month of each other from some kind of epidemic.
14. -- Orrin Judd, Jr. -- was an attorney in New York City. During his period of office, Governor Thomas A. Dewey selected Orrin Junior for the office of State Solicitor General, and in 1959 his successor, Governor Nelson Rockefeller appointed Orrin as a council member and the advisor for the Anti-Rackets Law in the New York City area. Orrin Judd, Jr. has four children but we don't know their names.
13. -- Rowland -- graduated from the University of Rochester, NY, was married, and lived in Cleveland, Ohio.
13. -- Helen -- also taught in New York City high schools. Never married, she lived with her sister Bertha and Orrin Judd, Sr.
13. -- Walter -- died while he was in college studying to be a medical missionary.
13. -- Clara -- married a Seibert and also lives in Cleveland. Had three children.
13. -- Thekla -- graduated from Vassar, married a college professor, lives in California and has 3 children.
12. -- Lena -- of the twelfth generation, married John Trabbold in Buffalo, New York. They had 4 children:
13. -- Walter, Arthur, Harry, and Alice -- all deceased today.
12. -- Harry -- the second boy of that generation married Katherine Arndt and lived in Buffalo. They had six children:
13. -- Wesley, Harry, Edward, Howard, Carolyn, and Albert
13. -- Wesley -- lived in San Francisco, married but had no children. He died on Thanksgiving Day, 1948.
13. -- Harry -- lived in Buffalo. Married and had one son.
13. -- Edward -- also lived in San Francisco. He served in the Spanish-American War, and never married.
13. -- Howard Lawrence -- lived also in California where he was an insurance broker. He had two children:
14. -- Jean -- lives in Hill Valley California, is married and has three children.
14. -- Lawrence -- is a Commander in our Navy.
13. -- Carolyn -- graduated from Columbia University and married Everett DuVall. Mr. DuVall taught at Temple University in Philadelphia and is now the social science instructor in one of the California colleges. They had a boy who died in infancy and she sent some of his things to you, LaVerne, when you were born.
13. -- Elbert -- called Bert, lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where his wife died, and later he moved to California where he now lives.
12. -- Jeremiah Philip -- (Jan. 17, 1855-Oct. 12, 1897) -- was born in Philadelphia where his father had a pastorate at the time. On March 4, 1876, he married Mary Wagner of Darien, New York in Buffalo. Jeremiah Philip was a compositor for the Buffalo, Commercial Newspaper, now merged with another large Buffalo concern. He was an active member of the First German Baptist Church of Buffalo and taught the adult class there for many years, and was the superintendent of its Sunday school. During the 1890 years he was a member of the Symphony Male Choir of about 25 voices and your grandmother has his lapel pin, which is a small gold harp. When he died at the age of 42, he and his wife had six children:
13. -- Hattie, Mabel, Grace, Chester, Eleanor, and Linda
13. -- Hattie -- (Dec. 24, l877-Dec. 1901) -- graduated from Bryant and Stratton Business School of Buffalo and was engaged in secretarial and stenographic work until she died at the age of thirty.
13. -- Mabel -- (May 6, 1881-Dec. 19, 1930) -- married William Becker of Buffalo in 1904. Mr. Becker is still living and upon occasion attends the family reunion with his second wife. He and Mabel Grimmell had two children:
14. -- Horace and Everett
14. -- Horace -- (1905) died as an infant.
14. -- Everett -- (born Feb. 4, 1907) -- without having earned the degree from college, became an engineer in maritime construction and today is the chief engineer of a Buffalo firm which, along with other projects, built the Mount Morris Dam, deepened the Buffalo harbor, and helped to build the St. Lawrence Seaway. Everett married Mildred Beuerman and they have two children:
15. -- Mary Ann -- is married and has three children, making a sixteenth generation for the family.
15. -- William -- (born May 1940) -- Billy, as he was called, is now studying at the University of Buffalo to finish a tool and die making course of two after which he plans to take two more years in engineering.
13. -- Grace Margarette -- (May 10, 1883-Aug 15 1973) was (as she says) the tomboy of the family. This was perfectly natural because Chester, as the only boy of the family, would be apt to choose the sister nearest to his own age to be his playmate. As a young lady, she learned the art of making original hats for women and after a period of doing this in one of the larger department stores in Buffalo, she opened her own retail shop in Corfu, New York, on the south side of Main and east of the corner. She lived at Corfu with her cousin Renie Wagner and while she had this store, a large part of Corfu's business section burned and her building with it. As you know, she still has the skill of her trade and along with this, is cleaver in any kind of sewing.
While in Corfu, she became acquainted with Roy Eugene Hills (Feb 13, 1885-Dec 29, 1979) whom she married. After her marriage she had the misfortune to be beset with frequent periods of illness and she has had several operations. Consequently, although she likes to travel, she and her husband today had to limit their trips to those of no more than a week’s duration at a time. She denies it, but I still think she has certain ability in playing string musical instruments. Grace Margarette was named after her grandmother Grimmell, as we said before, and she and Roy had two children:
14. -- Ruth Mariem Hills and Byron Eugene
14. -- Ruth Mariem Hills -- (born Jan. 7, 1914) -- married LaVerne Stang Lamkin and had two sons:
15. -- LaVerne Stang Lamkin, Jr. and Davis Hills Lamkin
14. -- Byron Eugene Hills -- (March 12, 1917-Nov.16, 1941) -- we have related something of his life under the names, Hills and Corp.
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Chester & Jesse Grimmell
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13. -- Chester Jeremiah Grimmell -- (Jan. 12, 1886 - March 4, 1953) -- the only boy in the family married Jesse Stumpf (Aug 31, 1886-1957) on June 21, 1911 and lived in Fort Erie, Canada, where Chester owned an automotive agency. They had: Ronald, Earl, Harold, and Gerald. (Harold and Gerald were twins).
14. -- Ronald Grimmell -- (born Jan 26, 1913 - Dec 4, 1988) married Murial (1910-2001) and had Gary and Frances
15. -- Frances Grimmell, Married William Burnside 1966. William is deceased - 1986. They had two children: Scott William & Marlee Ann
16. -- Scott William Burnside born Aug 14, 1966 - married to Nicole Francois Larocque. Have two children: Justine & James
17. -- Justine Lee Marie Burnside June 7, 1992
17. -- James Burnside Dec 21, 1999.
16. -- Marlee Ann Burnside was born Nov 1 1969. Married David Derocco. Marlee has two children: Danielle Lee & Tessa June
17. -- Danielle Lee Burnside-Hackett born Jan 5, 1990.
17. -- Tessa June Derocco born Dec 17 2001.
14. -- Earl Grimmell -- (born Jan 9, 1914) -- never married.
14. -- Harold Grimmell -- (born Dec. 18, 1918) married Metta Honey and they had four children, Linda, Martha, Rob, and Laurie
14. -- Gerald Grimmell - Dec 18, 1918 to 1998 wife Jean 1920 to 1989 had three chilldren - Doug, Nancy and Ann.
15. -- Doug Grimmell was born Nov 3 1942. Doug was married to Carol Cooze 1962 (Divorced 1970) and had one Daughter Laurie. Married Marilyn Brown 1972. Had two daughters Sara and Julie. Doug joined the Candian Air Force in 1960 and worked in communications until retiring in 1984. Worked for Nortel Networks as a software test engineer for 20 years, retiring in 2004. Presently (2007) living in Belleville, Ontario. Presently working for Innovatia (www.innovatia.net) as a subject matter expert. Doug's e-mail address dgrimmell@sympatico.ca
16. -- Laurie - born January 6, 1963 has one daughter Hilary born Feb 27, 1984. One son Andrew born Nov 10, 1988
16. -- Sara - born June 30, 1973 has one son Alexander born Feb 11, 1995
16. -- Julie - born November 7, 1978 has one daughter Olivia born Jan 30, 2007.
15. -- Nancy - born August 5, 1947 is married to Ron Morlock – living in Mansfield Texas, and had one son Todd, and daughter Marcy.
15. -- Ann - born April 4, 1949 is married to Ron Blount living in Dunkirk NY with no children.
13. -- Eleanor Grimmell -- (born March 26, 1890 - May 30, 1973) -- married Philip Ensmenger (born Jan 12, 1889 - Mar. 7, 1973) on June 21, 1912. Mr. Ensmenger as a young man lived in western Canada on his uncle’s ranch trying to improve an asthmatic condition with which he has always been troubled. He was an electrician in one the larger plants of Buffalo for several years; but had to leave the job because of his asthma and then he turned to selling Fuller brushes. From a salesman, he became a sales manager for that firm and another smaller firm. They live in Buffalo, as you know, and have four:
14. -- Dorothy, Philip Jr., Donald, and Roy
14. -- Dorothy -- (born Aug. 28, 1914) -- As your mother and Dorothy were the only girls of their generation, they were always close during their childhood, spending their vacations with each other. After her high school years, Dorothy attended Bryant and Stratton Business College and today works in the registration office of the University of Buffalo. On the tenth of May, 1939, she married Stewart Blaisdell (born Dec 12, 1916) Stewart's father, now retired, was a successful beer broker and after working for his father a few years, Stewart became a mechanic in the garage of Curtiss-Wright Airplane factory taking care of the management automobiles. When this plant was purchased by Westinghouse Electric, he retained his job and is still there. Like your father, again, he too was active in the Boy Scouting Movement; put as I was first an Exploring Advisor and later a Council-wide Commissioner, he was first a Neighborhood Commissioner in Buffalo and then an Explorer Advisor in Clarence. They have two daughters:
15. -- Joanne -- (born June 16, 1940) -- is now studying at Brookport State Teachers College to become a physical education instructor. She was active in Girl Scouting, having attained all the ranks.
15. -- Beverly -- (born July 17, 1943) -- interested in zoology, Beverly worked in 1959 and 1960 summers at the Buffalo Museum of Science and took part in their television broadcasts. She attends Clarence Central School.
14. -- Philip Ensmenger Jr. -- (born May 1, 1920) -- served in France during World War II and upon his return from military duty married Ruth Sohafer of Buffalo. They adopted a girl whom they named Joy and later had a girl of their own named Beth for the fifteenth generation.
14. -- Philip Junior, joined the credit department of Sears, Roebuck & Company in the Buffalo store and becoming manager of that department transferred to Erie, Pennsylvania. Later he became the manager of the same department in the Syracuse, New York, store and they live at Camillus, New York.
14. -- Donald -- (born June 26, 1926) -- followed in his father's footsteps as a salesman, first as a salesman under his father, and now for another firm. He served, also, in World War II and later married Virginia Reiner (whose name you will again see in the Wagner genealogy) and they have:
15. Philip III -- born 1949, Steven -- born 1951, a girl -- 1956 -- died as infant, a girl -- 1961 -- died as infant.
14. -- Roy -- (born April 1928) -- Like his brothers Philip and Donald, Roy, during his summer vacations from school usually visited his uncle Roy Hills, after whom he was named. He also visited your mother and me after we were married. He, again, was another salesman in the family. Roy married Lorraine Taylor and they live in California in a Los Angeles suburb. Although Roy is not in scouting work, he is the advisor for the teenagers group of his church there. Roy and Lorraine have three children:
15. -- Gary, born 1950, Gail, born 1952, and Glenn, born 1957.
I3. -- Linda Grimmell - (born Jan 23, 1894 - Dec. 30, 1972) -- the youngest of the family, Linda never married. After her first piano lessons under the tutorage of her aunt Eva (called Effie) Reiner, Linda went on to study music at the Buffalo Conservatory of Music. In addition to being the organist at one of Buffalo's largest churches, for years, she also taught piano for several years. She has also been a secretary in a brokerage firm of Buffalo for many years and will retire at the end of 1960. She now has an apartment in Buffalo's South side.
12. -- August Grimmell -- of twelfth generation August, youngest child of the elder Jeremiah and his wife Margarette, we have no information other than the fact that he did marry. But who he married and information about his children we do not know.