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It is hard to imagine a family being willing to send all of their sons off to a country thousands of miles away, knowing they would probably never return. That is what happened to Gottfried Christian Hess and his two brothers. They were born in Nagold, Württemberg, which is now a part of Germany, to Ludwig and Maria Hess. At that time, Württemberg was still a small country that was controlled by a number of estate owners who were the nobility and gave their allegiance to a king. The estate owners let people live on their land and farm it....
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It is hard to imagine a family being willing to send all of their sons off to a country thousands of miles away, knowing they would probably never return. That is what happened to Gottfried Christian Hess and his two brothers. They were born in Nagold, Württemberg, which is now a part of Germany, to Ludwig and Maria Hess. At that time, Württemberg was still a small country that was controlled by a number of estate owners who were the nobility and gave their allegiance to a king. The estate owners let people live on their land and farm it. To pay their rent, part of what was produced was given to the estate owner-what we call sharecropping. The workers could not own their own land. Additionally, the king could demand that the men serve in his army at any time he wanted to do battle with another country, or, if he wanted to supply an army for another country that would pay him for the use of his army. The men could be gone as much as nine months out of the year. This made life very difficult for the workers. The crops had to be cared for to produce the needed food for the family and the land rent to continue to have a place to live, but the king could demand their services whenever he wished. Gottfried's father, Ludwig Hess, and mother, Maria, wanted something better for their sons. The eldest Hess son, also named Ludwig, was born in 1825 and Johann was born in 1827. There were three daughters in the Hess family also: Liesle, Ernestine, and Maria. The youngest son, Gottfried Christian Hess, was born on April 29, 1838. When he was 15 years old, he left Nagold and his parents to go with his older brothers to the United States before he was old enough to be conscripted into the army. It was a heart-wrenching time in the family. His sister Maria recalled the time vividly 50 years later. She wrote her brother, remembering that "when You left how our dear Father put his Hands on Your head and prayed upon You 'The Lord bless You and protect You'. How he cried so that he almost could not speak anymore." All the children except Maria emigrated to the United States eventually. None returned to Württemberg. Ludwig's name became Louis in English, Johann became John, Liesle became Elizabeth or Lizzie, and Gottfried was called Frederick or Fred. In January of 1854 the three brothers got the necessary documents to emigrate. Ludwig, 29, was accompanied by his wife and year-old daughter as well. They sailed on the ship JULIA from Antwerp, Belgium. After 49 days they arrived in New York City on April 17, 1854. Fred turned 16 twelve days later. Arriving with no money and no knowledge of English, Fred was apprenticed to a shoemaker in upstate New York for six months. Then he went west to Carroll County, Illinois. John probably was living there. Some years later their sister Liesle, or Lizzie, settled there and remained for the rest of her life, never marrying. For about three years Fred worked at his new trade of shoemaking. Then he hired out to work for farmers. It seems he enjoyed farming which he had learned at home more than shoemaking. In Mount Carroll he received his final naturalization papers on September 25, 1860 when he was 22 years old. The papers were issued under his Anglicized name FREDERICK CHRISIAN HESS. While in Carroll County he also met the family of Tobitha Klein, his future bride. Her father, Jacob, had been a circuit riding minister establishing churches in northwestern Pennsylvania. He and his wife, Nancy, and four year old daughter, Tobitha, had moved by flatboat from Vennago County, PA, down the Allegheny and Ohio Rivers to Illinois. Their youngest daughter, May Hess Primrose, recalled reading books in the family library which were water stained from that move. The Klein's settled in Carroll County where Jacob again started churches, riding horseback between them. Tobitha's mother, Nancy Ann Hammacher Klein, was from a Pennsylvania Dutch family.She was very supportive of Jacob's work of establishing new churches. Jacob's mother was a Jewess of the tribe of Benjamin who had converted to Christianity. Jacob was a tailor by trade but to provide food for his growing family they had a farm. As a circuit riding minister, when the churches he started were established he moved to another location. Some of those Caroll County churches were pastored by James Primrose, the Hess's son-in-law, around 1910. He also served them as a circuit riding preacher, but often used the railroad gandy dancers' car for his ride between churches instead of the horse. In time, the Klein's moved on to Troy Grove, IL. By then Tobitha was the eldest of six children and was in her late teens. She had the same kind of dark, curly hair her father, Jacob, had. Late in life she recalled her life in the small town as she grew up. One of her friends was the sister of William Hickock, later known as Wild Bill Hickock. On Sundays, Tobitha's father would go on horseback to one or more of the churches he pastored but the family was at home with no church to attend. One such Sunday, Tobitha and her friend were cutting some cloth to do some sewing, using Jacob's large tailoring scissors. Their log cabins were chinked with mud to keep out the weather, but often the mud would dry and a piece would fall out. While the girls were cutting some cloth they saw a snake's head poke through one of these holes near the bottom of the wall. When the girls made a noise it retreated. Bill's sister said to Tobitha, "Sh! Sh! Give me the scissors." She knelt near the hole with the scissors opened wide around the hole. Then they waited quietly. Soon the snake poked his head through again and came in far enough so that Bill's sister clamped the scissors down behind his head. End of that snake! Bill Hickock was a tease and like to tease his sister's friend. He made up a chant to irritate Tobitha, something like "Tibbatha, Tabbatha, Tobitha Ann…" It worked. It did irritate her. When Tobitha was almost fourteen years old her mother had another baby. I'm not sure which one. The midwife collected some cloths to use to catch the flow of blood. Tobitha took them and placed them in the oven which was hot . The woman wanted to know why. Tobitha told her she wanted those cloths clean and hot before they were put next to her mother. She had been trained by her mother that it was important. Since the idea of sterilizing equipment was not even practiced in most medical circles at that time, it is interesting that Nancy Klein had learned it and passed the idea along to her daughter. After that, Tobitha helped at the birthing of other babies in the area or helped when someone was sick, following the doctors directions. Tobitha was joined in the Klein family by John, Judson, Josephine, Elizabeth, and Lincoln. From Carroll County Fred Hess visited the Kleins in Green River and in Troy Grove. After a time, Fred moved to Troy Grove and again was a hired farm worker. Very possibly he was hired by Jacob Klein to work on his farm because Fred referred to the entire Klein family as 'The family' when writing to Tobitha, not 'Your family'. He showed warm regard and close knowledge of the family in his letters. The community was still referred to as "Homer" though the name had been officially Troy Grove since a post office was established in 1837. The name had to be changed because there was already a Homer in Illinois by that time. Throughout his Civil War letters, Fred always used "Homer" to refer to their hometown of Troy Grove. Today, in the park at the center of Troy Grove there is an obelisk with the names of Civil War veterans in unknown graves. Included are names of men who were mentioned in Fred's letters. In her later years, Tobitha recalled that when the Civil War began Fred remembered his father's dislike of the army and he hesitated to enlist. When he wrote his father that he had joined the army, his father was quite upset and wrote back that he had sent him to America to keep him out of the army. Fred explained that there was a just cause for the war: to keep the Union intact. He also promised that after the war was over he would be finished with the army. In respect to his father's dislike of the military life, Fred would not accept any promotions, though he was offered them more than once. Tobitha said that he was approached four times to accept a promotion but each time he refused because he was only there to get the job done and didn't want to become fond of the army. Fred refers to the Fourth of July of 1862 fondly in his letters. It sounds like he must have been 'courting' Tobitha by that time. He wanted to be sure Tobitha would wait to become his wife when he returned. Instead, they were married on August 12, 1862, just four days before her 18th birthday. On August 27 he reported for induction into the army. Fred enlisted on August 9 to be a part of the "Absalom B. Moore Infantry" which was made up of men from LaSalle County. They were inducted into the U.S. Army as the 104th Illinois Infantry Regiment on August 27, 1862. To begin their training, they assembled on the fairgrounds at Ottawa, which they called Camp Wallace. The enlistment ledger described Fred as somewhat taller than average at 5'10", with brown hair, gray eyes, and a dark complexion. He was listed as a farmer. His letters tell of his skill in sewing which he had learned in shoemaking, but his eye for good farmland and crops showed the heart of a farmer. The first of his letters to Tobitha was written from near Louisville, KY, precisely one month after they were married. In it he describes his outfit finally receiving uniforms and arms. His description of the reaction of the troops shows his dry humor which is often seen in his letters. Because his formal schooling had been in German, Fred's letters had capitals according to the German rules rather than the English style. Also, words which he spoke incorrectly, he spelled like he spoke them. Some German words were very similar and he used them instead of the English words. But as their correspondence continued, some things he learned from Tobitha's letters. Where periods were practically non-existent at first, in later letters he used periods to indicate the end of a paragraph. He was learning while chronicling his part of the Civil War - a correspondence course of sorts. Most of the information about the next three years is from his letters which he wrote to Tobitha. The first years, 1862 and 1863, he did not write a number on his letters to indicate the sequence so we have no way to know how many are missing, but in 1864 he began numbering each one and Tobitha did the same though we do not have any of her letters. Because of that we know if we are missing any letters he wrote. However, Army records clarify the reason for some of the gaps of time between letters. From Ottawa, IL, the 104th went by train to southern Indiana, across the Ohio River from Louisville, KY. His second letter (Sept. 19, 1862) established a familiar pattern of opening his letter with the phrase, "I now take my pen in hand…" and if he had received a letter from Tobitha, he usually inserted "It is with pleasure"…before "I now take my pen in hand…" At that time, the Southern troops were attempting to raise support in Kentucky and persuade their government to secede. Gen. Bragg's troops actually occupied the capital of Frankfort which caused the Northern Army to send many troops to that area, including the 104th Illinois Infantry. As they followed the retreating Southern troops toward Tennessee, one evening Fred was found delirious from an extremely high fever by his bunkmate, J.W. Bullis. On Oct. 26, 1862, Fred was admitted to a hospital in Frankfort. The rest of his outfit continued on to Tennessee where they had their first battle at Hartsville on Dec. 7, 1862. Because of the troops alongside of them turning and running, the battle resulted in a rout. The ones of the 104th who were not killed were captured. Fred's friend and bunkmate, J.W. Bullis, was injured and lost his sight in both eyes. However, Fred was still in the hospital and was not involved in the battle so was not captured. For more than a month Tobitha did not hear from Fred. Watching the newspaper for his name on casualty lists, she had not seen him listed as wounded or killed, which was the usual way of hearing. She felt he would have written if at all possible. Since she had saved her allotment money, after two months or so of not hearing anything about, or from, Fred, Tobitha told her parents she was going to follow the trail of the 104th as far as she could and find Fred. They were reluctant about an 18-year-old going into a recent battle area and tried to keep her from going. But she would not be dissuaded. When her father saw her off at the train depot he told her, "Good-bye. I don't expect to ever see you again." That made her quite indignant but did not deter her. From Louisville, KY, she had difficulty, as a civilian, getting permission to ride the train further since servicemen and war correspondents were given priority on public transportation. By train or otherwise, in time Tobitha got to Frankfort and made inquiries until she found Fred in a hospital. He was near death from typhoid fever, which was a common, and often fatal, illness at that time. Tobitha saw the need of nurses to care for the sick and wounded so she stayed. She not only nursed Fred back to health but helped care for the other soldiers that were there. Fred mentions some of these in his later letters. One thing which disturbed her was the terrible stench which the unsanitary conditions produced. They finally poured vinegar on a shovel full of hot ashes and carried it through the rooms to get rid of the smell. By Feb. 1863, Fred was well enough to be transferred to a recuperation hospital in New Albany, IN, across the Ohio River from Louisville. He was finally released from the hospital on Feb. 28, 1863. Most of the rest of the 104th that survived the battle and imprisonment after Hartsville had been paroled to Camp Douglas near Chicago. Early in the Civil War, when troops were captured often they were sent on 'parole', which meant they were not to go back into active service for a specific length of time but they were not kept prisoner by the side who captured them. That saved having to have so many prison camps with the care and feeding of them. Since Fred was not a prisoner he was able to go with Tobitha back to her family. That was the only furlough he had while in the Army. Just 10 days later, on March 11, he reported back to duty at Camp Douglas where they were guarding Southern prisoners of war. He began writing to Tobitha again, which he continued throughout the rest of the war. When the 104th Infantry's parole was up in mid-April they were taken by train to Nashville, TN, which he described in his letter of April 16, 1863. From there to Washington, D.C., they marched wherever they went. Only when sick or wounded or on special assignment did the foot soldiers get anywhere without walking. That is why Fred's letters #15 to 19 in 1864 reflected real enjoyment telling about riding a mule while on special assignment. Fred's concern to relieve Tobitha's anxiety for his welfare must have always been on his mind so that after any major battle he got a letter off to her as soon as possible. For example, the letter which he wrote during the night of November 26, 1863, was written in pencil by the light from the moon in the middle of the night so he would have a letter ready to mail as soon as possible when the battle was over . That was the Battle of Missionary Ridge near Chattanooga, TN. He had made certain he had pencil and paper in his pocket to write her. The dead and wounded were listed in the newspapers regularly, especially after a major battle. To reassure her, he wrote as soon as possible after any battles. While Fred was gone, Tobitha kept busy helping other women and children whose husbands and fathers were in the army, as well as helping at home. In his letters Fred reacts with concern when he found she had been helping someone who was sick or having a baby, knowing her own health wasn't very good. One time she was concerned about other servicemen's families with financial needs. She knotted a red bandanna over her curly black hair, blackened her face, put on some old clothes to look like a Negro mammy. Then she went around to the people of the town asking for food and money to help those families. She often laughed to herself when people wondered who the mammy was and where she was from. When his three year enlistment was half over, in his March 25, 1864, letter Fred carefully wrote out the names of the 96 original members of Company C and gave an account of them. There were 35 still with Co. C; 34 were wounded, ill and/or discharged; 18 were dead; 6 transferred; and 3 deserted. The 104th was with the Union's XIV Army under Gen. Wm. T. Sherman pushing toward the capture of Atlanta early in 1864. When they had worked their way south to the Kinnesaw area, Fred was again stricken with typhoid fever and unable to march. He was taken by ambulance-a horse pulled wagon-back to the hospital in Chattanooga, TN, arriving on June 25. This city was the area he spent more time in than any other during the war. There he slowly regained his strength and did guard duty at the hospital and whatever else he was capable of doing. He writes in his letters about any of the men from the home area, Homer, so the news could be relayed to their families. He also mentions other soldiers dying of typhoid fever, so he was aware how fortunate he was to recover, however slowly. When Fred was finally released to return to duty in late July, he was given the duty of driving cattle as far as Resaca, Georgia. Then he was to take the train to catch up with the troops. In Marietta he missed the train and was kept there to be a butcher to slaughter beef for the troops for the next three months. After that duty he felt it would not be any big event to butcher an animal on the farm. In November of 1864 Gen. Sherman pulled all his troops together before cutting off his supplies from the North. His goal was to cut off supplies for the Southern troops by marching from Atlanta to Savannah, with his troops living off the land. Fred did not write from early Nov. til Dec. 15 since there would be no way of mailing a letter; but he got one ready when they were nearing Savannah and would be reconnected with the U.S. mail. Fred's admiration of the beauty of Savannah in his letters of December and January 1864 reflects that the city's surrender without fighting had left it intact. Many of the mansions, churches and statuary he mentioned are still standing and beautiful today. From Savannah, the winter weather and swamps conspired to make life miserable, but the troops prevailed where they had been expected to fail. The fact they were feeling that the end must be near seemed to spur them on; but Fred's letters reflect increased longing to be home. The infrequency of receiving Tobitha's letters was a constant theme, and his exuberance at receiving several at one time was quite touching, as in his letter of March 27, 1865. In the last few months of his service he mentioned the idea of going to Iowa after he returned home. Since his elder brother, Louis, lived in Grundy County this was of interest to him. His father-in-law, Jacob Klein, had explored the idea since he was still interested in planting new churches in remote areas. Fred asked Tobitha's opinion about moving to Iowa, showing admirable sensitivity, considering the male role at that time in history. He was willing to go to Iowa or stay in 'Homer' according to her wishes. Unfortunately, there are four of Fred's letters missing after Lee's surrender to Grant, Lincoln's assassination, and Gen. Johnston's surrender to Gen. Sherman. From then on he talks of the end being near-and he was ready for it. They had forced marches, covering as much as 37 miles in one day, from North Carolina through Virginia to be in Washington, D.C. for their Grand Review. He resented having to march so hard in the humid heat of late May for no real purpose. When they arrived in Alexandria, VA, just across from the capitol they prepared for their Grand Review by receiving new uniforms or repairing and cleaning the old ones. He expressed his wish to that Tobitha could see them in their parade for he was proud of their accomplishments and ability as an experienced unit. The day before their turn in the National Review they moved and camped on the former plantation of General Robert E. Lee, which became the Arlington National Cemetery. May 24, 1865, a hot, bright day, they marched across the bridge, circled the capitol, continued up Pennsylvania Avenue to pass the White House and the new president, Andrew Jackson, and the rest of the dignitaries of Washington. Then they marched back across the Potomac to their encampment in Arlington Heights. It was late when they returned from their day of glory. Fred voiced his disappointment in Washington, D.C., in his last letter home. The 104th spent another 12 days in D.C. after moving across the Potomac and camping two miles toward the northern or Maryland side of the area. Then, on June 6, 1865, all that remained of the 104th Illinois Infantry Regiment was mustered out after two years, 9 months, and 9 days of infantry service. Fred did not write out the full accounting of Company C as he did when their enlistment time was half over since he was going home and could tell about it in person, but of the 98 who enlisted in Company C, only 26 were there to be discharged. The war was especially known for its carnage and death from disease. On June 7 they boarded a train for the journey home. The first day they made the short trip to Baltimore where the citizens had prepared a dinner for them, so they marched from the 'cars' to have their dinner. The next morning they traveled across Pennsylvania to Pittsburgh where a large welcome and dinner again awaited them. Then back on the train, getting to Chicago on June 10 with no one to welcome them. They had dinner at Soldiers' Rest and slept in Monitor Hall. The following morning they marched to Camp Fry where they stayed until June 17, waiting to be paid. They received payment for their service until they were discharged in Washington. Finally, they were free to go home. There are no records of the excitement of his homecoming, but it is obvious he did not rest long. Within a year, the entire Klein family as well as Fred and Tobitha made preparation to leave Illinois. They moved in two covered wagons across the Mississippi River to the Melrose township of Grundy County, Iowa. Fred and Tobitha lived with the Solomon Wilhelm family, about a mile and a half southeast of Alice, when they first arrived. The hospitality of the Wilhelms provided them a home from when they arrived in early May until they had purchased land and built a home. Their first child, Louis Ransom, was born on July 25, 1866. The harsh winters with the north wind blowing fiercely across the open plains had nothing to slow it, so Tobitha and her mother, Nancy Klein, decided to plant trees after both families had built homes. In the spring when the trees were dropping their seeds they took a horse and wagon down to the Iowa River about 12 miles away and collected seeds by the bushel. They planted them in rows from four to eight deep on the north and west of their home places. The groves of trees made a windbreak in winter, and cooling shade in summer as well as good play area for the children. The Hess family home, on what is now Highway 14, is still standing. In the early years they shared their house in the daytime with the school and boarded the teacher before the community built Melrose #7 school about ¾ mile south. All their children and many of the grandchildren attended Melrose #7, thought not in the original building. Their youngest daughter, May, and her classmates planted trees around the perimeter of the school property, just as her mother and grandmother had done around their farms years earlier. The Klein family purchased and built on the adjoining land to the north of Fred and Tobitha. After building their homes, the settlers in the community also worked together to build a church. Jacob Klein, Tobitha's father, was the founding minister of the Alice Church which is still active. At that time Alice also had a store with a post office in it, but only the church has survived. It formally became a congregation in 1868. Jacob worked his farm during the week and ministered to his small congregation on Sundays. Fred and Tobitha were charter members and remained members the rest of their lives, even after they retired to live in Conrad. She was the last surviving charter member. After building their home and getting started farming, Tobitha and Fred had the normal challenges of pioneer living-the elements, illnesses, parental duties, community responsibilities. Their family grew regularly. When Louis was two, Charles Henry was born on July 29, 1868; Ernest Jacob on November 10, 1870, Tobitha Eleanor on April 22, 1873; John Martin on January 7, 1877; Nancy Ann on March 9, 1879; Grace Lorena on August 1, 1881; and Mary May on May 1, 1886. Tobitha Eleanor took ill and died a few months after John was born. Ernest died when he was 17, less than two years after May was born, so grief was a part of their lives, also. As with all the early pioneers, the remoteness of their homes made living difficult and necessitated improvising. The root cellar, which is still by the house on Highway 14, kept root vegetables and apples fresh and prevented them from freezing over the winter. Their soap was made with wood ashes for lye and fat rendered from butchered hogs. Fred expanded his land holdings to keep up with the growing family. Having come from a tradition where the common folks could not own their own land, Fred showed pride of ownership in his land and responsibility to the community. He was active in politics and was on the county board of supervisors. In 1898 and 1899 Fred was the chairman. At Alice Church he was an elder and deacon at various times. The respect he was shown by the community was earned by hard work and caring for those less fortunate than he. Through the years he did not use his native language, German, except when someone who knew no other language would seek his help. To his children he used German only to say good morning and good night. He was proud to be an American and wanted his children to be strong Americans. New ideas interested him so he would evaluate whatever he heard. For example, when Nan married Willis Daggett, the Queen Anne was a new cherry that had been developed. Fred made sure they were on the menu for the wedding dinner. He was a progressive farmer, not tied to the old ways. Just a few years after their youngest child, May, was born the oldest boys married and the grandchildren began to arrive by the time she was four. She chuckled at some of her earliest memories of playing with her niece, Nira, Charley's daughter, the eldest of the grandchildren. One day they had an argument about who was the oldest, May or Nira. Apparently Nira thought it was her turn to be oldest. She was Charley's only child and as far as I know she had no children. The rest of the Hess children were more prolific. Louie's family included Susie, Robert, Vernon, Ernest, Lucy, Raymond, Leslie, Sylvan, Foster, and Homer. John's family included Ruby, Walter, Bernice, Daisey, Marion, and Rosemary.Nan's children were Annola, Horace, Harold and Dilman. Grace had Elsie, Fred, Don, Gladys, Charles, Alice, Pearl, and Nita. May's children were Myran, Tabitha, Gaylord, Thelma, WillFred, Ruth, Joe Stewart, Miriam and Muriel. Each family grieved the losses of children at birth, due to disease, or accident but most grew to maturity and had families of their own. After Nancy Ann Klein passed away at age 60 on November 18, 1887, Jacob decided it was time to move to another area and start another church. He went to Albany in northern Missouri and started a church there. He also remarried. Fred and Tobitha bought Jacob's land. He died in Missouri on April 21, 1891, at 72 years of age, but was buried in the Alice cemetery. Some time after his death, in 1909, his widow received a letter that verified Jacob's lineage in the tribe of Benjamin. Educational opportunities in the area were limited during these years. Few had more than an elementary school education. The large families were needed to help at the tasks necessary for making a living at farming. When May finished the local school, she was interested in getting a further education. Her parents agreed and in the fall of 1904 Fred accompanied her to Ft. Scott, KS, to enroll in the Collegiate Institute of the Church of God for one year. Following the wedding of their youngest daughter, May, in 1905, Fred and Tobitha began to think of retiring from the grueling duties of farming. May remembered her father as always seeming tall because of his standing erect even when following the plow behind the horses, but the years were bowing his shoulders. Over the years, Tobitha had rather fragile health. Their land holdings made a formidable amount of farming necessary. All the children were on their own so they began planning for retirement. In 1908 Fred, now 70 years old, and Tobitha built a home in Conrad for their retirement. It included a large garden for food and flowers. They would have time to be more social and continue to help those around them who were in need. Fred's quiet, pleasant temperament is illustrated by the memory of one of his grandsons about a winter sleigh ride. The sleigh was full and they were going cross country when something jumped out and spooked the horse, which reared up and overturned the sleigh. Grandfather Hess immediately helped everyone up and checked to see if all were unhurt. Then he calmly gentled the horse and soothed it before righting the sleigh and re-hitching and continuing the outing. As their 50th wedding anniversary approached, Fred began to 'set his house in order'. In the Spring of 1912, he gave each of his children an 80 acre parcel of land for their use during their lifetime and at their death to become the property of their children. The only exception was Charles to whom Fred had given 80 acres of land some years before and from whom he bought it back when Charles' indebtedness was as great as the land value. Fred made it clear that he would buy the land back but that was the only land Charlie would receive from him. I believe the only parcel that is still in the hands of the heirs of Fred and Tobitha is the one Louis received. Fred also had a will making Tobitha the executrix and sole heir. Having settled the affairs of his estate, he stated in the will: "All this I do being of sound mind and disposing memory and at this time mindful of the existence of my six children to whom I leave my paternal blessing." Dated February 10, 1912. He knew he was fortunate to expect to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary and he prepared by caring for his family. Their 50th anniversary celebration was given prominent coverage in the Conrad Record. They described the day, the guests, the celebration at church and at home, the entertainment, distances traveled by the guests. One of the most significant items was that there were 21 Civil War soldiers there to celebrate. Included was his bunkmate, J.W. Bullis, who had found Fred desperately ill with typhoid fever and made sure he received medical attention. The same J.W. Bullis that lost the sight in both his eyes shortly after, in the first battle the 104th fought, at Hartsville, TN. They had maintained their friendship through all the years. The Presbyterian Church in Conrad was the setting of the dinner for 175 at noon and a supper of 75 of those traveling some distance. When John's wife, Elsie, and their children needed a home in 1913, Fred had their carriage house remade into a home. Living near them in Conrad, the children and Elsie had the love and support of their grand-parenting until Elsie's death in 1923. Her children remembered fondly the warmth and love shown by both of them. Both Tobitha's and Fred's heritage from their parents was a strong belief in God which they experienced for themselves and taught their children. They lived as Christians and raised their family to know of God's love and concern. All through their lives they served in the churches where they lived. After retirement, Fred's health was not robust. They no longer regularly made the trip from Conrad to Alice Church for the services. They attended and participated in the Presbyterian Church in Conrad. Fred taught a Sunday School class, right up to three weeks before his death. He received a modest pension from his Civil War service because of the recurring illness he had experienced. In time, his heart was affected. He had difficulty sleeping lying down and would stay in one of is rockers to sleep. The evening of Friday, November 24, 1916, his granddaughter, Bernice, was visiting. Fred was not feeling well and she didn't want to leave him, but she was called to go home at bedtime. Fred stayed in the rocker to sleep. When Tobitha checked to see how he was early in the morning, around 1 o'clock, she found he was gone. Death had taken him quietly. Many friends mourned his death as well as his family. Besides Tobitha, his wife of over 54 years, he was survived by his six children, two sisters, 32 grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He was 78 years old. He was buried at Alice cemetery. After Fred's death, Tobitha continued to live in their home in Conrad for the next 16 years. The community knew her as Grandma Hess, always helping others and bringing joy-and often flowers-to those needing them. When in her mid-eighties, she had Thelma Primrose, May's daughter, live with her for most of a year. She shared many memories with her about her long life. Each Memorial Day there were services to remember the Civil War soldiers from the area. Included was the name of one woman: Tobitha Klein Hess. She was remembered for her period of nursing the sick and wounded when she went to find her husband in the hospital. Tobitha was not robust in spite of her longevity. They last couple of years of her life her health deteriorated until she died at home on Tuesday, October 18, 1932. She was 88 years old. Besides the town of Conrad and many friends she left a family of six children, 34 grandchildren, 45 great-grandchildren, and 1 great-great-grandchild plus one brother and two sisters. With her death was the end of an era in that she was the last of the charter members of the Alice Church. She is buried in the Alice cemetery, where her parents, her husband Fred, most of their children, and many of their grandchildren are also buried. This is a story without beginning or end. This was not the beginning of our family nor the end. You can add your family's story. This tells some of what I have been able to discover about two our mutual ancestors whom I've admired.
Muriel Primrose Baron , June 1997
a brother Johann (Lewis): memorial 89113059.
a sister Christiane Ernestine: memorial 134532790.
a sister Elizabeth Rosine: memorial 124715352.∼http://iowagravestones.org/gs_view.php?id=327596
Civil War Veteran and member Wilson GAR Post 71 at Grundy Center, Iowa.
Frederick C Hess
Residence: Illinois
Enlistment Date: 9 Aug 1862
Rank at enlistment: Private
State Served: Illinois
Survived the War?: Yes
Service Record: Enlisted in Company C, Illinois 104th Infantry Regiment on 27 Aug 1862.Mustered out on 06 Jun 1865 at Washington, DC.
Sources: Illinois: Roster of Officers and Enlisted Men |
