Family history post:
110 years ago a 2nd Great Grand Uncle passed away. Peter John Sterrenberg died on February 6, 1916, in Charlotte, Livingston County, Illinois.
Peter was born in Ostfreisland, Germany, on September 23, 1838. He was one of 8 known children (his obit states that he was the eldest of 10) born to Jan Peter and Fijke Willems (Bleij) Sterrenberg. His closest sibling in age was a younger sister by two years, Amke Feyke Sterrenberg. She is my 2nd Great Grandmother.
 |
| an old postcard picture |
In 1850, at the age of 12, Peter was sent to Holland, to learn the carpenter trade. He remained there for four years, and returned to his parents’ home at that time. Two years later, in 1856, his father passed away and Peter took it upon himself to provide for his mother and siblings, at the age of 18.
In 1866, Peter and his brother William left Germany and came to America. They settled in Minonk, IL. Peter was a carpenter there. The following year, he sent for his mother and the rest of his siblings to come to America. They would arrive sometime in 1868.
In 1876, Peter went back to Germany to visit with family. Since I was only able to find 8 children born to JP and Fijke in our US Census records… it’s possible that two siblings remained in Germany…they could be who he went to visit. Upon his return to America, he married Helena Schmidt in 1877. They had 6 known children
I was unable to find Peter in the 1870 census. In the 1880 census, Peter and his family were living in Danforth, IL, and he was still using his carpentry skills. In 1883, they moved to Charlotte, IL. Shortly after that, Peter entered into a partnership with Frank Manssen. They opened a mercantile, which lasted for 20 years. The business is listed in the Charlotte Business Directory in 1898 as “Sterrenberg & Manssen”, and they sold general merchandise, farm implements and lumber.
 |
| map showing location of Charlotte IL |
Backing up a little bit… I found a Chatsworth IL Centennial history book from 1967 online. In it, there is a page about the history of the village of Charlotte. It mentions that in 1887, the Lutheran Church was built…by Peter Sterrenberg. I also found a mention elsewhere that its members were mostly German immigrants from the area.
 |
| from the Chatsworth IL Centennial book, 1967 |
In the 1900 census, Frank Manssen was living with the Sterrenberg family. Frank’s occupation is Grocer, while Peter’s is Grocery Bus.
According to Google, a grocery bus at that time was exactly what you might think it was…. A wagon someone used to sell/deliver food from.
Like today’s food truck…but with groceries instead of a kitchen. 🙂
 |
| 1900 US Census |
In 1903, Frank had retired and left town. The business officially became known as Sterrenberg & Sons. I tried to find an old ad or something in a newspaper, but was unsuccessful. After Peter’s death, the store was renamed again to Sterrenberg Bros.
 |
| 1906, from the Chatsworth Plaindealer paper |
In the 1910 census, Peter had retired from the store and is listed as a farmer.
He died 6 years later and is buried in the Chatsworth-Charlotte Cemetery in Chatsworth, IL.
 |
| 1916 Chatsworth Plaindealer paper, part 1 |
 |
| 1916 Chatsworth Plaindealer paper, part 2 |
 |
| 1916 Chatsworth Plaindealer paper, part 3 |
No comments:
Post a Comment