The Gumm Children
Photo taken: abt. 1885
Photo found: Big DC Flea, Chantilly, VA
Status: looking for family
In our previous post, we read about Frederick and Anna Gumm (née Graf), immigrants from Prussia and Switzerland respectively who made their home in Paris Township, Edgar County, Illinois.
Typically when we find a photo, we research descendants hurriedly, only giving their names for the purpose of moving on to the next generation and finding a living relative. Well, not in this case. Because here we have this beautiful portrait of the whole Gumm family, each of the children posing with their parents, and I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to give Frederick and Anna's children some time in the limelight.
Let's recap the children and their birthdates:
Anna (1859) - far right
Mary (1862) - far left
Edward (1865) - probably top middle
John (1867) - probably top left
William (1869) - probably top right
Jennie (1874) - bottom left
Albert (1876) - bottom right
It isn't clear who the baby in Anna's arms is - the child doesn't appear in the 1900 census, so they likely died young. The 1900 census corroborates this: Anna testified that she had 9 children, only 5 of them living. Which means, actually, that some of the children featured in our photo today will die only a short few years after it was taken, before the 1900 census... let's investigate.
And note: while it was fairly easy to distinguish each child, I did take some liberties on the three boys in the back row. It appears that the middle is the eldest, and the boy on the right is the youngest; but, this, of course, could be wrong.
Anna
Anna was the eldest child of the Gumm family, born in 1859 in Paris, Illinois. We first find her in the 1860 census, not even a year old, living with her 32 year old father, 22 year old mother, and a boarder named Peter Bross, also from Prussia.
On 6 April 1884, Anna married Jacob Henry Zeis, but the pair had no children, and Jacob died in 1898. After his death, Anna moved back in with her parents, as seen in the 1900 census. In 1905, an Anna Zeis shows up living with a Wagner family in Buffalo, NY, working as a dressmaker. Could this be our Anna?
Mary
Mary was Frederick and Anna's second eldest child, born in 1862 in Paris, Illinois. She married Charles Hains on 14 December 1887 but, unfortunately, that's the end of the paper trail for them.
Edward
In 1865, Frederick and Anna were blessed with their first son. Edward married Florence Mapes on 23 November 1887 and lucky for us, the family left a few descendants. In the 1900 census, Edward and Florence are living in Paris Township with their four children: Fred (12), Zeis (8), Mary (6) and Bessie (4). The name Zeis is intriguing, as it was his Edward's eldest sister Anna's married name. I wonder if there was a connection?
In 1900 Edward was working as a farmer - a profession he carried with him onto the 1920 census. Only two years later, in January 1922, Edward died. He wasn't even 60. That same year, unfortunate times stroke again when Florence and her youngest child Bessie were in a car accident; however, they survived.
John
It turns out John, the fourth eldest child born in 1867, was living down the road from his elder brother Edward in 1900. John married Elizabeth Mays on 28 August 1890, and with Elizabeth, or Lizzie, John fathered Carl (1892), Hazel (1895), Clarence (1897), Helen (1900). It is unclear when John dies, although his daughter, Hazel, has a FindAGrave memorial which we will use to contact possible descendants.
William
William, the Frederick and Anna's third boy, was born in 1869. He married Anna Bell Morris on 17 April 1892 but unfortunately, only four years later on 11 August 1896, William died at the young age of 27.
According to his death certificate, he worked as a farmer, and died at 6801 Union Ave in Chicago. One can only assume this wasn't his residence, as it is a house in the middle of the city and no farm could operate in such a location at the turn of the century. The informant on his death certificate was E C Morton, so perhaps this was his house.
Jennie
Jennie, the second youngest child of Frederick and Anna, was born in 1874. Jennie never married - she kept her maiden name through her life, as evidenced in the 1930 census, where she is labeled as single (rather than widowed or divorced). Interestingly, she is living with a woman 14 years her senior named "Elizabeth Z Nichols" who Jennie identifies as her sister. The closest sister to this age would be Anna, and the Z middle initial intrigues me...could it stand for Zeis? This wouldn't be the first instance in which I've come across a widow who changes her first name to her middle name when she remarries, effectively changing her identity altogether. If Anna was indeed Anna Elizabeth Gumm at birth, perhaps she remarried a Nichols after her first husband passed, made Zeis her middle name, and began going by Elizabeth.
So was Anna's middle name Elizabeth, as I'm speculating? I go back to FamilySearch to check. And...
Yes. Yes it was. Her christening record from the Presbyterian Church of Paris lists her as "Anna Elizabeth Gumm", daughter of Frederick Gumm.
Bingo.
Despite this breakthrough, Anna's second husband's identity isn't entirely clear. In the 1900 census, she is still living with her parents after the death of her first husband, and by the 1930 census, she is a Nichols; but finding her in the 1910 and 1920 censuses proves a difficult task. So, as for both Anna and Jennie, there will be no descendants of theirs to return these photos to.
Albert
And so we arrive at the youngest son, Albert, born 1876. The baby of the family, if you will, but he certainly did not fly under the radar. He is, in fact, the most interesting of the Gumm bunch.
If you remember from Frederick and Anna's original post, they were mentioned in "A History of Illinois and Her People" in a section of the book dedicated to...Albert! So let's revisit that section:
While all his siblings went on to live out humble farming careers, Albert took quite a different path and, it would appear, he did well for himself. And while we love finding an employment story in historical biographies, here are where things get...well...interesting for Albert. The biography continues:
Did you catch it? In the first paragraph?
Albert married Anna B. Morris. The same Anna B. Morris that his elder brother, William, married in 1894 before dying in 1896 and leaving no children.
I'll have to circle back on the statement made above, that I couldn't find the eldest daughter, Anna (or Elizabeth) in the 1920 census. Actually, in 1920 she is living, along with Jennie, with Albert and his daughter, Anna Louise. Perhaps his two "spinster" sisters offered to move in to help with household duties after the death of his wife in 1917.
Anna Louise Gumm would remain Albert's only daughter, and that is where our story of the Gumm family will end...for now.
Next: Anna Louise Gumm Masterson
Photo found: Big DC Flea, Chantilly, VA
Status: looking for family
In our previous post, we read about Frederick and Anna Gumm (née Graf), immigrants from Prussia and Switzerland respectively who made their home in Paris Township, Edgar County, Illinois.
Typically when we find a photo, we research descendants hurriedly, only giving their names for the purpose of moving on to the next generation and finding a living relative. Well, not in this case. Because here we have this beautiful portrait of the whole Gumm family, each of the children posing with their parents, and I thought this would be a perfect opportunity to give Frederick and Anna's children some time in the limelight.
Let's recap the children and their birthdates:
Anna (1859) - far right
Mary (1862) - far left
Edward (1865) - probably top middle
John (1867) - probably top left
William (1869) - probably top right
Jennie (1874) - bottom left
Albert (1876) - bottom right
It isn't clear who the baby in Anna's arms is - the child doesn't appear in the 1900 census, so they likely died young. The 1900 census corroborates this: Anna testified that she had 9 children, only 5 of them living. Which means, actually, that some of the children featured in our photo today will die only a short few years after it was taken, before the 1900 census... let's investigate.
And note: while it was fairly easy to distinguish each child, I did take some liberties on the three boys in the back row. It appears that the middle is the eldest, and the boy on the right is the youngest; but, this, of course, could be wrong.
Anna
Anna was the eldest child of the Gumm family, born in 1859 in Paris, Illinois. We first find her in the 1860 census, not even a year old, living with her 32 year old father, 22 year old mother, and a boarder named Peter Bross, also from Prussia.
 |
| Anna Gumm |
On 6 April 1884, Anna married Jacob Henry Zeis, but the pair had no children, and Jacob died in 1898. After his death, Anna moved back in with her parents, as seen in the 1900 census. In 1905, an Anna Zeis shows up living with a Wagner family in Buffalo, NY, working as a dressmaker. Could this be our Anna?
Mary
Mary was Frederick and Anna's second eldest child, born in 1862 in Paris, Illinois. She married Charles Hains on 14 December 1887 but, unfortunately, that's the end of the paper trail for them.
 |
| Mary Gumm |
Edward
In 1865, Frederick and Anna were blessed with their first son. Edward married Florence Mapes on 23 November 1887 and lucky for us, the family left a few descendants. In the 1900 census, Edward and Florence are living in Paris Township with their four children: Fred (12), Zeis (8), Mary (6) and Bessie (4). The name Zeis is intriguing, as it was his Edward's eldest sister Anna's married name. I wonder if there was a connection?
 |
| Edward Gumm |
John
It turns out John, the fourth eldest child born in 1867, was living down the road from his elder brother Edward in 1900. John married Elizabeth Mays on 28 August 1890, and with Elizabeth, or Lizzie, John fathered Carl (1892), Hazel (1895), Clarence (1897), Helen (1900). It is unclear when John dies, although his daughter, Hazel, has a FindAGrave memorial which we will use to contact possible descendants.
 |
| John Gumm |
William
William, the Frederick and Anna's third boy, was born in 1869. He married Anna Bell Morris on 17 April 1892 but unfortunately, only four years later on 11 August 1896, William died at the young age of 27.
 |
| William Gumm |
Jennie
Jennie, the second youngest child of Frederick and Anna, was born in 1874. Jennie never married - she kept her maiden name through her life, as evidenced in the 1930 census, where she is labeled as single (rather than widowed or divorced). Interestingly, she is living with a woman 14 years her senior named "Elizabeth Z Nichols" who Jennie identifies as her sister. The closest sister to this age would be Anna, and the Z middle initial intrigues me...could it stand for Zeis? This wouldn't be the first instance in which I've come across a widow who changes her first name to her middle name when she remarries, effectively changing her identity altogether. If Anna was indeed Anna Elizabeth Gumm at birth, perhaps she remarried a Nichols after her first husband passed, made Zeis her middle name, and began going by Elizabeth.
 |
| Jennie Gumm |
So was Anna's middle name Elizabeth, as I'm speculating? I go back to FamilySearch to check. And...
Yes. Yes it was. Her christening record from the Presbyterian Church of Paris lists her as "Anna Elizabeth Gumm", daughter of Frederick Gumm.
Bingo.
Despite this breakthrough, Anna's second husband's identity isn't entirely clear. In the 1900 census, she is still living with her parents after the death of her first husband, and by the 1930 census, she is a Nichols; but finding her in the 1910 and 1920 censuses proves a difficult task. So, as for both Anna and Jennie, there will be no descendants of theirs to return these photos to.
Albert
And so we arrive at the youngest son, Albert, born 1876. The baby of the family, if you will, but he certainly did not fly under the radar. He is, in fact, the most interesting of the Gumm bunch.
 |
| Albert Gumm |
While all his siblings went on to live out humble farming careers, Albert took quite a different path and, it would appear, he did well for himself. And while we love finding an employment story in historical biographies, here are where things get...well...interesting for Albert. The biography continues:
Did you catch it? In the first paragraph?
Albert married Anna B. Morris. The same Anna B. Morris that his elder brother, William, married in 1894 before dying in 1896 and leaving no children.
I'll have to circle back on the statement made above, that I couldn't find the eldest daughter, Anna (or Elizabeth) in the 1920 census. Actually, in 1920 she is living, along with Jennie, with Albert and his daughter, Anna Louise. Perhaps his two "spinster" sisters offered to move in to help with household duties after the death of his wife in 1917.
Anna Louise Gumm would remain Albert's only daughter, and that is where our story of the Gumm family will end...for now.
Next: Anna Louise Gumm Masterson
Yes, Anna’s middle name was Elizabeth.
ReplyDeleteAlbert looks to be about five or six so that would put the photo around 1881/82.
Sarah Elen Gumm died in 1874 at age 2 so she would not be in the photo. As far as the baby goes, I have another sibling on my tree named Pearl (1881 - 1898) but not any other information on her. Is it possible the baby is a grandchild from Annie or Mary? I’ll have to do more research on that.
Thank you for the great photos and information on Albert!