Person Sheet

Name Bertha Amelia FERCH  Birth Date 25 Sep 1870 Birth Place Rogassen, Posen, Germany (Rogazno Poland) Birth Memo Rogassen in the Kuss family bible appears to have been misspelt. Rogasen on the 1800's Prussian Map became Rogazno on the 1998 map of Poland in Province Pozan. Death Date 3 Dec 194119,13 Age: 71 Death Place Farm Home near Wells, Minnesota Death Memo 2:35 Wed morning. Died of pericious anemia, from which she had been ill for 3 years. See notes for entire article.KUSS, BERTHA   http://people.mnhs.org/dci/Results.cfm CertID# 1941-MN-004043    Date of Death:  County of Death:  12/03/1941  FARIBAULT Burial Date 6 Dec 1941 Burial Place Rosehill Cemetery, Wells, MN Burial Memo Member of German Lutheran Church. Funeral services held from the farm at 1:00 pm and 2:00 at the First Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wells, Rev William Ganschow. Pall bearers Adolph Reinke of Blue Earth, Herman Boettcher, John Rathai, Charles Giese, Ezra Willette all of Wells, and Charles Boeck of Alden. Grave is located at the extreme north end of the cemetary on the north side of the highway. Came To America Date 22 Nov 189521 Age: 25 Came To America Place New York, NY Came To America Memo Need to check Hamburg Passenger Lists 1850-1934 Family History Library Salt Lake City LDS in Appleton, WI 414-733-5358, Rochester,MN 507-281-6641 Film # 0473103 Bd. 49 Occupation Housewife who had 3 sets of twins and possibly 4 Religion Lutheran18 Father Julius Hermann FERCH Mother Julia Anna ARNDT (1842-)
Spouses
1 Fredrick (Friedrich) William (Wilhelm) KUSS 10,11,12 Birth Date 28 Jul 186513,14 Birth Place Klein Vesick (WISSEK) , Posen,Germany {Klein Wiseck on Alien Reg} Birth Memo It appears that the spelling in the Kuss Family bible may have been incorrect. Wissek, Posen appears to be the closest to this pronunciation. WISSEK, Province Posen in late 1800's is now Wyrzysk, Province Pozan, Poland in 1998. Death Place Blue Earth County, Mankato, MN15 Death Memo Died in a Mankato hospital. Burried in the Wells Cemetary. Grave stones are located at the extreme north end of the cemetary on the north side of the hyway. Burial Place Wells, MN Cemetary Occupation Farmer Laborer, indicated he owned no land but had personal property valued at $40013,17 Education Spoke english but did not write it.13 Religion Lutheran18 Father Julius KUSS (-1875) Mother Auguste HOFFMANN (1840-)
Marriage Date 18 Jan 1897 Marriage Place Faribault County?, Blue Earth?, MN
Children Hugo Friedrick (1899-1977) Paul Adolf (1900-1966) Meta Bertha (1897-1951) Adelia Rosa (1902-) Melita Adeliade (1906-1980) John Julius (1903-1976) Alvina Renate (1913-1999) Bruno Richard (1899-1965) Reinholdt Herman (1915-1978) Elsa Lora Rosie (1900-1912) Otto Richard
Notes for Bertha Amelia FERCH
Bertha's family in Germany were a poor debtors farmers who lived above the barn on their employers property. Bertha left Germany to travel to America to escape the poor hardship of that country. When Bertha would get home from school in Germany, she always had chores to do. One of those chores was having to gather sheep manure using the dress she had on like a sack and then would carry the manure to the fields and drop it onto the ground from her dress. Another chore she would do normally around the Jewish celebration of "Pass Over". She would have to take dumplings her mother had made and stuff them down the mouths of the geese. The idea was to make the geese look extra plump so the Jews would perceive they were getting a good deal. Bertha told storys of having her fingers and hands ripped to bloody pieces by the raspy inner mouths of the geese. 21
Obituary
Since September 1941 she had been confined to her bed continually but had been poorly since February. Bertha Amelia Kuss, daughter of Julius and Julia Ferch, was born at Rogassen, Province Possen, Germany, on September 25, 1870 and came to this country with her parents in November 1895 and settled in the vicinity of Elmore. On January 18, 1896 she was united in marriage to Frederick William Kuss by Reverend Robert at the Lutheran Church in Blue Earth and lived in that vicinity until 15 years ago when they moved near Wells. To this union were born fourteen children, five of whom, three daughters and two sons preceed their mother. She is survived by her husband and five sons, Bruno, Hugo and Paul Kuss all of Minneapolis, John Kuss of Kiester, and Reinholdt Kuss of Wells, four daughters, Meta Draper of Minneapolis, Adelia Failes of Blue Earth, Melita Bauers of Winnebago and Alvina Kuss, at home. Also twenty grandchildren and1 great greandchild.19
Research
According to Deana Hoepker-Steel of Twin Falls Idaho, a decendent of Bertha's brother Gustav, the family all came over from Germany either in 1893 or 189522 Ferch, Bertha November 02, 1895 Hamburg 0085 previous next rdsteel@onewest.net Deana Hoepker-Steel of Twin Falls Idaho (7.3.2003)
Ship Logs
Ferch, Bertha November 02, 1895 Hamburg Purchase this item Choose a size:  5x7 $10.00  9x12 $12.50 Built by M. Pearse & Company, Stockton-on-Tees, England, 1881. 2,345 gross tons; 300 (bp) feet long; 36 feet wide. Compound engine, single screw.  Service speed 11 knots.  600 passengers (600 third class). Built for Union Line, in 1881 and named Amalfi. Also used by Hamburg-American Line. Sold in 1911 and renamed Ada. Torpedoed and sunk by a German submarine off Scotland on June 9 in 1917. Photo: German Ship Museum  http://www.ellisisland.org/search/viewTextManifest.asp?MID=14886505610017955200&LNM=FERCH&PLNM=FERCH&RF=32&pID=103040080085Ê Manifest for Amalfi Sailing from Hamburg Name Gender Age Married Ethnicity Place of Residence 0084.  Ferch, Julianna F 52y M German   0086.  Ferch, Paul M 16y   German   0088.  Ferch, Emma F 11y   German   0099.  Grossmann, Ludmilla F 9y   Hungarian   0102.  Starynika, Katherina F 51y M German   0103.  Starynika, Franziska F 30y M German   0110.  Ohlberg, Sarah F 20y   Austrian   0111.  Weidner, Hermann M 36y   German   0112.  Meyer, Richard M 19y   German   0083.  Rocke, Emma F 31y M German   0085.  Ferch, Bertha F 23y   German   0089.  Ferch, Gustav M 5y   German   0096.  Schwemler, Eugenie F 28y M Hungarian   0098.  Grossmann, Saudor M 8y   Hungarian   0107.  Haber, Adalbert M 28y   Austrian   0114.  Koch, Helene F 11y   U.S.A.   0116.  Grossmann, Este F 17y   Hungarian   0117.  Bartos, Stefan M 17y   Hungarian   0118.  Geutzel, Max M 21y   German   0121.  Petik, Josepha F 18y   German   0122.  Kiesel, Maria F 47y M Hungarian   0124.  Kiesel, Wilhelmine F 14y   Hungarian   0125.  Kiesel, Antonie F 11y   Hungarian    Associated Passenger Date of Arrival Port of Departure Line # Page #  0084  Ferch, Bertha November 02, 1895 Hamburg 0085 Ferch, Bertha German November 02, 1895 23y F Amalfi Hamburg, Germany23
Family Bible Notes
From Kuss Family Bible Page labeled "Kinder" Bertha Amelia Ferch Born 1870, Sept 25th in Rogassen Province Posen Germany daughter of Julia & Julius Ferch. 3 brothers & 3 sisters came to America in the year of 1895 in November settled in Elmore Minnesota in 1896 Jan 18th was married to Fredrick Kuss to them were born 14 children 9 still living, lived in Faribault County all their life on a farm.21
Notes for Fredrick (Friedrich) William (Wilhelm) (Spouse 1)
Fredrick supposedly came to America 3 times before staying here. His family was fairly wealthy. When his father died and his mother remarried, it appears the wealth went to the Timm family. It was after this that Fredrick came to America permanently during August 1890.20 On the Alien Registraton in 1908 Fred indicated he had a brother in Germany but didn't know if he was still living. Hadn't heard from him in 15 years.13
Notes for Fredrick (Friedrich) William (Wilhelm) & Bertha Amelia (Family)
Had 3 sets of twins, two sets died at birth. Rosie died at around age 12 from constapation.