Unknown Photos

Gwendolyn Pigg also sent me these photos, but doesn't know who they are. They could be from the Reiter, Tyrey, Bruns, Drennon families who all lived in Jefferson County, Missouri.
These all seem to be between the Civil War and turn of the century. Dwight and Gwendolyn think the photo below is Peter Romaine McFrey in his Union Civil War uniform. He was killed or died 29 Dec. 1862 at 23 years of age at Vicksburg, Ms.
The children below seem to have been photographed at the same time as the couple below. Gwendolyn writes:

The next two with the same tree like backgrounds look so much like him that they must be McFrys but I don't know which ones. Maybe Peter's Sisters.

The backgrounds seem to be similar with trees.

Double click on the photo below to get a closer look. It is the Kraft Reunion 1920. We have some identifed: 35 is Thomas Long, 37 is Harry Guinther, 39 Lecy Long Guinther, 27 Cecil Long, 26 Guinther, 10 Guinther, 16 Long.

If you are recognize any of these people, please e-mail us. Click on Jaclyn Morgan under Contacts and Contributors to the left. To see more unknown photos from the Reiter, Tyrey, Long, Wiley line click on the lable "unknown photos"

Reiter-Bruns Family

Eloisa Drennon Bruns with her daughters Cora, Emma and Rose, 1938 at the old Aquilla Drennon house.

Gwendolyn has sent me lots of wonderful photos. I have categorized them and will post them in groups. This group will have Reiter and Bruns photos with two Longs. These are all from northwestern Jefferson County, Missouri.


The photo below is identified above. It has the following family names: Kramme, Bruns, McCulloch, Hollandt, Blake, Weber, Torbitsky, Gascke, Meyer, Ultzen, Belew, Reiter, Eime, Schuchart, Pierce, Steele. It is "Reunion at Maple Grove School, Dittmer July 4, 1922."
The next photo is identified as a Cedar Grove School photo, September 24, 1928 (??)
It has these names: Meyer, Manion, Montgomery, Reiter, Williams, Harrison.
The photo below is my great-aunt Katie Long Bruns with her husband Harry Bruns. Katie (was my grandfather's half sister Cenith Catherine Long---her mother was a Wiley)

Gwendolyn sent this photo in with her unknown photos---it's Celecy Ellen Long Guinther (great Aunt Lecy whose mother was Mary Reiter---she had the same father as Katie---Thomas Henry Long)
Below is Fred (Francis Frederick) Reiter and his wife Rose Bruns. This is from the Baptist Church photo. The children are: Ina Reiter Pigg (face turned), Lula Reiter Sutter (in hat), Clara Reiter Kolley and Emmett Reiter in the lap.
Finally, here is Fred Reiter and Rose Bruns wedding photo--such a handsome couple.

Louis Reiter

Louis (Lewis, Ludwig) Reiter (Ryder, Reider) emigrated to the United States around 1854. Gwendolyn Pigg (a cousin's wife) and I think the mines where he lived were giving out---not an uncommon story (some of my English ancestors came when Cornish tin mines gave out)
Gwendolyn found his ship record which she's pieced together. He left Liverpool on the Ship of New York arriving in New York city June 27, 1854. One third of the passengers were Irish with the remaining German.
Although he was around 30 years old when he came, he didn't marry for 15 more years. We assume he mined lead in Jefferson County, Missouri's abundant lead mines before he enlisted in the Civil War. He enlisted in De Soto, Mo 27th August 1862 in co. K, 31st Regiment of Missouri Volunteers mustering into services as a Private in Ironton, MO. (double click on the documents to read them) David Long told me recently that Louis Reiter left German so he didn't have to be conscripted in the German army only to come here and fighting in the Union Army.
We have abundant records. The roll call above asked where he was born. On one he said "Carkert, Germany" and the other "Cassell, Germany". Gwendolyn and I agree there is no "Carkert, Germany". "Cassell" was a clue to look in the vicinity of Kassel. Gwendolyn found a village Korbach which she thinks is likely because this village had mining and sounds a bit like "Carkert"--I also agree that it is likely he is from there or nearby.

Because he was injured, we have even more details: "Reider [sic] was present with the company and participant in the battle of Chicasaw Bayou Mississippi on the 29th of Dec. 1862. That in said engagement, the company did some hard fighting and made a number of movements at double quick on rough ground leaping ditches, stumps and obstructions the movement requiring much violent physical exertion. that immediately after said battle, said Reider made complaint that he had injured himself during the battle in slipping or falling and on examination it was found that said Reider was badly ruptured on the left side."

He was sent to a hospital at Jefferson Barracks until October 1863 where he was fitted with a truss. He was later honorably discharged for Scrofula Cachexia (basically the rupture or hernia on the left side)on 17 Dec. 1863 in Detroit, Michigan at 49 years old. He came back to the Old Ditch area of Jefferson County working in the mines, getting married and fathering six children: Mary Celecia Reiter Long, Louis H. Reiter, Amanda Reiter Ingalls, Francis Frederick Reiter, Annie Josephine Reiter Phenty, William Edward Reiter.

Unfortunately 6 of those children were under 16 when he died, forcing Eliza Tyrey Reiter to apply for a Widow's Pension. He was buried at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Jefferson County, Missouri.

This photo is from Ginny Guinther----Mom and I went a few years ago and couldn't find it. And, this appears to be Eliza's side of the stone. . .oh well.

Elizabeth Ellen Tyrey Reiter

Eliza is also my great-great-grandmother (my grandfather Roy Long's grandmother). Her father Jacob Tyrey (the surname was probably not spelled that way) came from Germany and settled in Wisconsin (mining) before coming to Missouri. Her mother Celicia Gilpatrick or Kilpatrick(probably a Scotch-Irish name) was from Tennessee---I don't know any more about either of them.

I've mentioned before that being related to someone famous doesn't interest me, nor does having a family tree back to the dawn of man. I'm interested in where my ancestors lived and why they moved. My cousins Gwendolyn and Ira Pigg just sent me a package with some documents they copied for me. Above is an envelope that had her pension check in it (her husband Louis Reiter was a Civil War veteran). I don't think she actually lived in Oermann, Missouri, but nearby---this is on the Morse Mill-Grubville Road (I think)
If you look in quadrants 19 and 20, you'll see the name "Elizabeth Reuter" whom I believe to be Elizabeth Reiter. I've found spelling mistakes on every relative in this 1898 atlas.
The 1900 census shows who lived around her, and I can find all of those names near her on that Atlas page. She still had Annie Josephine Reiter Phenty and Edward William Reiter living with her. Below is a note she wrote Annie:

Aug. 12, 1898
To Annie
A life can be well ended
if it has been well spent.
Eliza E. Reiter

Catherine Brown Long

Milton Long and Catherine Brown Long

Catherine Brown Long was my great-great grandmother---Thomas Henry Long's mother (her other children were Jeptha Long , Milton Martin Long, Nora Long Couch, Sarah Jane Long Maness, Susan Long Wallace, Mary Evaline Long Hughes, and James C. Long). This page of the 1898 Atlas has Maness, Couch, Long, Brown, Graham farms---they sure didn't go far to find spouses back then, did they?
Catherine Caroline Brown Long was the daughter of Henry G. Brown and Mary Polly Graham---both names are "old" Jefferson County names. Henry G. Brown was apparently the constable of the Big River Township (click here to see---on the document with guardianship of Thomas's children)