In December 1879 four month old John Conrad Reinhardt landed in New York from Germany aboard the ship Bergenland  with his parents and older sister Eva.[1]  From New York John and family traveled to Amana, Iowa, and settled in South Amana.[2]  John was born in Baden, Germany on 10 August 1879[3] to Conrad John Reinhardt and Anna Marie Schwebler.[4]  They lived in South Amana from December 1879 to April 1883.[5]  At this time it is unknown where the family lived between 1883 and 1885 when they settled in Ottawa, Illinois.   John grew up in Ottawa, Illinois, the son of a shoemaker,[6]  where he was confirmed and became a member of the German Church of Illinois now the United Church of Christ.[7]  I don’t know when he left Ottawa to strike out on his own, however in 1910, John lived alone on a farm in Salamanca, Cherokee, Kansas.[8]  According to his marriage license in 1912 he lived Columbus, Cherokee, Kansas[9] which is the nearest city to Salamanca Township, and only about 30 miles from Carthage, Missouri[10] where he married Nina Lynn of Sarcoxie, Jasper, Missouri on 10 July 1912.[11]  Nina was 16 years his junior.[12]  After they were married they lived in Canada for a year and then settled in Sabetha, Nehama, Kansas.[13]  When John first came to Sabetha he was employed by Ernest Meeh, who owned a meat market.[14] After the World War I, Mr. Meeh returned to New York, and John bought the meat market from him.[15]  John and Nina had five children, Eugene born in 1913,[16] followed by Alice in 1915,[17] John Julius in 1917,[18] Ada in 1919[19] and Mark in 1921.[20] In February 1942 John became seriously ill and spent a week in a coma before passing away on the 24^th.[21]  For three years prior to his death, he suffered from two strokes and was in poor health.[22]  Nina lived for 48 years after John’s death.[23]  Nina passed away on 24 May 1990 and is buried in the Sabetha Cemetery[24] along with her husband John.[25] 

In case the note above is not readable, there is a transcription below.

 

August 15, 1930

Dear Sister Liz and Tim,

Your birthday greeting received.  Maybe but only maybe I might drive up there for a day or 2.

John

Had some rains here corn looking fairly good.

Liz was John sister Elizabeth Reinhardt Farrell and Tim was her husband.

Copyright© 2017 Gail Grunst

______________________________________________________________ 

[1] Germans to America(Vol. 34). (1993). Wilmington, DE, DE: Scholarly Resources.

[2] Amana Church Membership Records, in archive collection of the Amana Heritage Museum, Amana, Iowa

[3] Kansas, Sabetha, Sabetha Herald, Wednesday February 25, 1942.  John Reinhardt Obituary.

[4] Year: 1880; Census Place: Amana, Iowa, Iowa; Roll: 345; Family History Film: 1254345; Page: 146D; Enumeration District: 201

[5] August Koch manuscript, Archives Collection, Amana Heritage Museum, Amana, Iowa.

[6] Year: 1880; Census Place: Amana, Iowa, Iowa; Roll: 345; Family History Film: 1254345; Page: 146D; Enumeration District: 201

[7] Kansas, Sabetha, Sabetha Herald, Wednesday February 25, 1942.  John Conrad Reinhardt Obituary.

[8] Year: 1910; Census Place: Salamanca, Cherokee, Kansas; Roll T624 434; page: 1A; Enumeration District: 0039 FHL microfilm:  1374447.   Ancestry.Com. 1910 United States Federal Census [database on-line].  Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2006.

[9] Ancestry.com. Missouri Marriage Records, 1805-2002[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2007.  Original data:  Missouri Marriage Records, Jefferson City, MO, USA: Missouri State Archives.

[10] Mapquest.com https://www.mapquest.com/directions/list/1/us/ks/columbus-282022909/to/us/mo/sarcoxie

[11] Ancestry.com. Missouri Marriage Records, 1805-2002[database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2007.  Original data:  Missouri Marriage Records, Jefferson City, MO, USA: Missouri State Archives.

[12] Kansas, Sabetha, Sabetha Herald, Wednesday, May 30 1990, page 7.  Nina Reinhardt Obituary.

[13] Ibid.

[14] Kansas, Sabetha, Sabetha Herald, Wednesday February 25, 1942.  John Reinhardt Obituary

[15] Ibid.

[16] Year: 1920; Census Place: Sabetha, Nemaha, Kansas; Roll: T625_540; Page: 11B; Enumeration District: 134.  Source Information:  Ancestry.com. 1920 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2010. Images reproduced by FamilySearch.

[17] Ibid.

[18] Ibid.

[19] Ibid.

[20] Year: 1930; Census Place: Sabetha, Nemaha, Kansas; Roll: 713; Page: 6A; Enumeration District: 0023; FHL microfilm: 2340448

Source Information:  Ancestry.com. 1930 United States Federal Census [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2002.

[21] Kansas, Sabetha, Sabetha Herald, Wednesday February 25, 1942.  John Reinhardt Obituary

[22] Ibid.

[23] Kansas, Sabetha, Sabetha Herald, Wednesday, May 30 1990, page 7.  Nina Reinhardt Obituary.

[24] Ibid

[25] Kansas, Sabetha, Sabetha Herald, Wednesday February 25, 1942.  John Reinhardt Obituary