Generation No. 1

1. JOHANN GEORGE¹ GEGENHEIMER He married MARGARETHA HARTMEN.

Child of JOHANN GEGENHEIMER and MARGARETHA HARTMEN is:

2. i. JOHANN JACOB² GEGENHEIMER, b. May 18, 1804, Freckenfeld, Rhein-Pfalz, Germany; d. November 26, 1888.

Generation No. 2

2. JOHANN JACOB² GEGENHEIMER (JOHANN GEORGE¹) was born May 18, 1804 in Freckenfeld, Rhein-Pfalz, Germany, and died November 26, 1888. He married MARIA ANNE DEPREZ March 11, 1827, daughter of DANIEL DEPREZ and MARIA BOSSART. She was born February 27, 1808, and died February 25, 1882.

Notes for JOHANN JACOB GEGENHEIMER:

His mother died soon after his birth, and his father died in less than nine years. He attended school until he was fourteen years old, after which he followed the occupations of teaming and farming.

On April 17, 1833, these sturdy pioneers with their three children, embarked at LeHav're, (a seaport on the English Channel), turning their backs on the old world, and with hopeful hearts, faced the long journey that would take them to the new world about which they had heard such good reports.

Their's was a stormy voyage, lasting fifty-nine days. One man on the ship, a tailor named Ferbei' Fritz, sat on his trunk and sewed. During the stormy weather, the waves tossed the ship and caused the trunk to slide back and forth across the deck, taking the tailor with it.

When a day and a half from land, Eva, the youngest child, died. The mother entreated the captain to allow them to bring the body ashore for burial; to which he agreed if the sharks did not bother the ship too much. They arrived in New Orleans on June 15, 1833, and left little Eva's body to be buried there.

Leaving New Orleans, they came up the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers to Cincinnati, Ohio, where they were met by their brother-in-law, George Michael Haehl, Jr., whose wife was the former Eva Maria DePrez, a sister of Anne Maria Gegenheimer. George Michael Haehl, Jr., had come over to America in 1832, the year before, and he and his father had a wagon shop in Cincinnati at the time. They came overland by wagon to Rush County-and settled in Walker Township. They bought eighty acres of land from William and Elizabeth Rader for four hundred dollars on September 8, 1834, and on the next day, they bought forty more acres from the government for $1.25 an acre. Both deeds were signed by Andrew Jackson, the President at the time.

The forest was typically cleared over several years by cutting and burning, filling the air with smoke. The roots and stumps took years to eliminate, and plowing was a hard and frustrating task. The earth was too fertile to plant wheat because it would grow too tall and fall over, losing the grain. Thus, they could plant only corn, and cornbread was their staple for many years, along with wild game.

First they put out one and a half acres of corn, which the squirrels ate. Sometimes the squirrels came in swarms. The settlers killed the squirrels and at first threw them away, not knowing they could be used for food. When they were used for food, usually only the hams and back were eaten. They raised a few hogs on beechnuts and acorns, then fed them corn as soon as they had better luck growing it. They bought a team of horses and a wagon and killed their hogs on the farm and hauled them to Cincinnati. This had to be done in the winter, so the hog carcasses would be preserved by freezing during the trip. It took three days to go and three more to return. Some settlers combined their hog herds and drove their hogs to Cincinnati much like the western cattle drives. Instead of brands, the hogs were identified by ear marks. The trip took two or three weeks, and had to be done in the winter because that is the only time the packers worked. Also, the drives had to be done when the ground was soft, because frozen ground cut the hog's feet. They sold the hogs for $1.80 a hundred pounds. Mother Gegenheimer would stay home with the children, and the deer and wolves would come around the cabin and nearly frighten them to death.

They became very discouraged, and would have gone back to Germany if they would have had enough money to make the trip. But in time the conditions got better, they got more land cleared, and they bought seed wheat, and sowed it. They used reap hooks to garner it, then on a windy day, would stand on a stump and let the wind blow away the chaff, thus cleaning it fairly good. They worked very hard clearing the land, building log houses, barns, and rail fences, and prospered, and were able to give each of their children a farm, besides the 120 acre farm on which they lived.

The Haehls and Gegenheimers were among the first from the Bavarian district of Europe to come to Rush and Shelby Counties and form a German colony. They spoke only the German language, and by 1836 felt the need for a church, and with other German families formed the congregation called the Evangelical Protestant Zion Church, and erected a 25' x 35' log church. The preaching was done in German until 1911 and then changed to English for the benefit of the younger generation.

1835 LOG CABIN RESTORED

4-year effort revealed work of pioneer family

The concept of a dream home can be as varied as the families doing the building and the living in them. For Thomas L. and Patricia A. Lux, it has always been an 1835 log cabin; an original log cabin, that is. When the Luxes bought the farm on which they reside in 1974, they knew that at least part of the original cabin remained because of the wider-than-usual windowsills and doorways. Pat Lux said the cabin was underneath the weatherboarding exterior. Years of expansions and modernizations had left the home just south of Manilla at 4635S Rush County 925W looking like most others in the neighborhood. But that wasn't what the Luxes' grown children wanted.

"We always said we would tear away the weatherboarding some day so we could expose the log cabin," Lux said. "Kyle (one of the grown children) was over one day, and we just started tearing off the weatherboard." That was in June 1991, and it officially launched a unique renovation and restoration project that took 4 1/2 years to complete. The finished product is a rustic and fashionable farmhouse that preserves a piece of Rush County's history and the quality of 1835 workmanship.

The Luxes also tore down a small log barn on their dairy farm and moved the logs to the homesite where they were reset as an addition to the house. Pat Lux said her "mud room" is part of the new addition. That's where she has her washer and dryer, along with some relics such as a 1907 Detroit Jewel gas stove with porcelain handles and a for-looks-only Misty Oak brand potbellied stove. Pat said a screened-in porch was added along with two wooden porches and a long porch on the front of the house The original logs - some of them about two feet thick and presumably cut from woods on the farmland while it was being cleared - were in remarkable condition, considering they had been part of the house for 160 years. Lux said having weatherboarding over the log cabin frame for many decades shielded the logs from the elements. We haven't been able to find out when the weatherboarding was put on," said Lux, but no one familiar with the house or the location could remember the log cabin until the Luxes exposed it and began the work project.

Lux said additions that she and her husband had made through the years were renovated to blend into the log arrangement. Mud and straw packed in between the logs to mortar them together had to be removed and the logs brushed, washed and bleached before a new mortar mix for chinking was applied between the logs. Then a clear sealer was used to preserve the original log cabin. The mortar had rotted away in some places, and there was evidence of termites. Those spots were cut away. Poplar boards and barn siding have been used to keep the rustic, rough-cut decor in the home's add-on areas that were not part of the original log cabin. Many of the furnishings are antique family heirlooms.

The Luxes continued to live in the house during the remodeling. "It was a mess, but we lived in it for over four years. The living room was the worst. When we tore away to the original logs, they were black ... covered with soot. When the house was built, the family had cooked in the living room," Lux said. The renovation was a family affair. Pat Lux, 53, and hubby Tom, 52, had help from their grown children. Pat Lux said son Jeff Lux, an electrical engineer for Trane Co., of Rushville, was "sort of like the family project engineer." Daughter Kim Lux and sons Kyle Slaton and Matt Lux also spent many hours helping at home. Kyle is employed by Gecom in Greensburg, while Matt is a lineman for PSI Energy and Kim a worker at Shares, Inc., both of Shelbyville.

The cabin home was built by Jacob Gegenheimer (now spelled Gahimer). Gegenheimer was born in Freckfeld, Rheinpfol, Germany. He married Maria Anne DePrez in 1827, and on April 17, 1833, the couple and their three children set sail for America. It was a long and demanding journey, lasting 59 days before the family disembarked in New Orleans. Their youngest child, Eva, died less than two days before the ship docked in America. According to family records obtained by Pat Lux, the Gegenheimers then sailed the Mississippi and Ohio rivers to Cincinnati, where a relative, identified only as Maria's brother-in-law took them by wagon to the area in Walker Township, Rush County.

The family bought 80 acres of land from the U. S. government for $400 on Sept. 8, 1834. The next day, another 40 acres were purchased for $1.25 an acre. Both deeds bear the signature of the president of the United States, Andrew Jackson. The next spring, the two- story log cabin was built. Now, 161 years later, the Gegenheimers' home-building skills clearly have withstood the test of time, with a little help from 1990s technology.

Notes for MARIA ANNE DEPREZ:

Both of Maria DePrez parents were of French origin. According to family tradition, the DePrez's were Huguenots who left France and fled to safety over the border into the Rhein-Phalz where they settled in the village of Billigheim, Germany, and never returned.

Children of JOHANN GEGENHEIMER and MARIA DEPREZ are:

3. i. ANNA CATHERINE³ GEGENHEIMER, b. September 12, 1828; d. 1902.

4. ii. MICHAEL GEGENHEIMER, b. October 30, 1830.

iii. EVA GEGENHEIMER, b. 1831; d. June 13, 1833, Atlantic.

5. iv. JACOB GEGENHEIMER, b. 1835; d. 1916.

6. v. JOHN GEGENHEIMER, b. 1838, Rush County; d. 1914.

7. vi. MARGARET GEGENHEIMER, b. 1840; d. 1922.

8. vii. WILLIAM GEGENHEIMER, b. 1843; d. 1924.

9. viii. DANIEL GEGENHEIMER, b. 1846; d. 1929.

10. ix. MARY GEGENHEIMER, b. 1851; d. 1922, Shelbyville News.

Generation No. 3

3. ANNA CATHERINE³ GEGENHEIMER (JOHANN JACOB², JOHANN GEORGE¹) was born September 12, 1828, and died 1902. She married JOHN HAEHL.

Child of ANNA GEGENHEIMER and JOHN HAEHL is:

i. ONE CHILD⁴ HAEHL, d. Infancy.

4. MICHAEL³ GEGENHEIMER (JOHANN JACOB², JOHANN GEORGE¹) was born October 30, 1830. He married MARGARET HOWELL.

Children of MICHAEL GEGENHEIMER and MARGARET HOWELL are:

i. WILLIAM⁴ GEGENHEIMER.

ii. HENRY GEGENHEIMER.

iii. JOHN GEGENHEIMER.

iv. CHARLES GEGENHEIMER.

v. MARGARET GEGENHEIMER.

vi. FRANK GEGENHEIMER.

vii. MICHAEL GEGENHEIMER, d. 1917.

viii. FRED GEGENHEIMER.

ix. MARY GEGENHEIMER.

5. JACOB³ GEGENHEIMER (JOHANN JACOB², JOHANN GEORGE¹) was born 1835, and died 1916. He married CATHERINE THEOBOLD.

Children of JACOB GEGENHEIMER and CATHERINE THEOBOLD are:

i. JACOB⁴ GEGENHEIMER.

ii. CAROLINE GEGENHEIMER.

iii. MARGARET GEGENHEIMER.

iv. CATHERINE GEGENHEIMER.

v. MARY GEGENHEIMER.

vi. LOUIS GEGENHEIMER.

vii. WILHELMINA GEGENHEIMER.

6. JOHN³ GEGENHEIMER (JOHANN JACOB², JOHANN GEORGE¹) was born 1838 in Rush County, and died 1914. He married BARBARA HAUG March 26, 1860.

Children of JOHN GEGENHEIMER and BARBARA HAUG are:

i. MARY⁴ GEGENHEIMER.

ii. JOHN GEGENHEIMER.

iii. ANDREW GEGENHEIMER.

iv. JACOB GEGENHEIMER.

v. CATHARINE GEGENHEIMER.

vi. EMMA GEGENHEIMER.

7. MARGARET³ GEGENHEIMER (JOHANN JACOB², JOHANN GEORGE¹) was born 1840, and died 1922. She married AMDREW KUHN.

Children of MARGARET GEGENHEIMER and AMDREW KUHN are:

i. WILLIAM⁴ KUHN.

ii. FREDERICK KUHN.

iii. JOHN KUHN.

iv. GEORGE KUHN.

v. CAROLINE KUHN, d. Age 3.

8. WILLIAM³ GEGENHEIMER (JOHANN JACOB², JOHANN GEORGE¹) was born 1843, and died 1924. He married (1) CATHERINE LETHERMAN. She died in After birth of John William. He married (2) SALOME HIRTZEL.

Children of WILLIAM GEGENHEIMER and CATHERINE LETHERMAN are:

i. JULIUS⁴ GEGENHEIMER.

ii. GEORGE GEGENHEIMER.

iii. AUGUST GEGENHEIMER.

iv. JOHN WILLIAM GEGENHEIMER.

Children of WILLIAM GEGENHEIMER and SALOME HIRTZEL are:

v. ADELINE⁴ GEGENHEIMER.

vi. CONRAD GEGENHEIMER.

vii. EDWARD GEGENHEIMER.

9. DANIEL³ GEGENHEIMER (JOHANN JACOB², JOHANN GEORGE¹) was born 1846, and died 1929. He married (1) ARKANSAS HILLIGOSS. She died 1888. He married (2) FLORENCE PHILLIPS.

Children of DANIEL GEGENHEIMER and ARKANSAS HILLIGOSS are:

i. ELIAS LOVE⁴ GEGENHEIMER.

ii. NANCY TRUST GEGENHEIMER.

iii. NELLIE IVONA GEGENHEIMER.

Child of DANIEL GEGENHEIMER and FLORENCE PHILLIPS is:

iv. ERCELL⁴ GEGENHEIMER.

10. MARY³ GEGENHEIMER (JOHANN JACOB², JOHANN GEORGE¹) was born 1851, and died 1922 in Shelbyville News. She married CHARLES MILLER.

Children of MARY GEGENHEIMER and CHARLES MILLER are:

i. EMMA⁴ MILLER.

ii. CHARLES MILLER.

iii. LENORA MILLER.

iv. FLORENCE MILLER.

v. LEONA MILLER.