My focus in this branch of my family is my great grandfather David Kimball (b. 1801) who settled with his family in Walworth County in Southern Wisconsin in 1847.
A note on his surname…. He was born ‘Justis David Kuempel‘. His last name also appears as ‘Kümpel‘ in German records. It appears that when he arrived in the United States he changed his last name to ‘Kimball‘.
Justis David Kuempel was born to Quirin Kuempel and Anna Maria Siefert from Wasungen – located 5 miles to the South of Wernshausen (see a translation of their marriage record) in Wernshausen (located in the state of Thüringen in the Kries (county) of Schmalkalden-Meiningen), Germany in 1800. He had an older sister (Elizabeth Margarethe Kuempel, b. 1795) and an older brother (Johann Matheus Kuempel, b. 1797) and an older half sister (Eva Catharina Kuempel, born in 1790 to Quirinus Kuempel and his first wife Anna Catharina Kremer, b. 1764, d. 1790).
Quirin Kuempel was the son (and only child) of Matthaus Kuempel and Gertrud Scheifer.
Anna Maria Siefert was second daughter and third child of Lorenz Heinrich Siefert and Susanna Catharina Sauer.
- See Wernshausen on Google Maps
- View information about Wernshausen from the Meyers Gazetteer
Just David married Margarethe Elizabeth Jung (b. 1809) and they had 11 children together (9 born in Germany, 2 born in Wisconsin). The entire family left Wernshausn in March, 1847 and traveled to Walworth County in Southern Wisconsin.
- German Marriage Record – Entry number 2
- German birth record for Marie Elizabeth (b. 1828) – entry number 17
- German birth record for Wilhelmine (b. 30 April 1830) – Entry number 13
- German birth record for Johann George (b. 15 June 1832) – Entry number 13
- German birth record for Moritz (b. 11 June 1834) – Entry number 32
- German birth record for Margarethe Elise (b. 27 January 1837) – Entry number 2
- German birth record for Johann Adam (b. 13 February 1839) – Entry number 2
- German birth record for Fredrich Wilhelm (b. 3 March 1840) – Entry number 7
- German birth record for Margareth Ida (b. 6 July 1842) – Entry number 18
- German birth record for Martha Elonore (b. 25 May 1844) – Entry number 12
Members of the Cooper County, Missouri Historical Society have transcribed German newspaper and passport information from the period and have created a database of Immigrants from Sachsen-Meiningen, Germany (among other areas). This database (viewable on the societies website) refers to a Justis David Kümpel who left Wernshausn in March, 1847 with his wife and 9 children.
This same source identifies several other Kümpel’s who also left in March 1847:
- Christoph Friedrich Kümpel (from Altenbreitungen, located about 10 miles North and slightly West of Wernshausn)
- Georg Adam Kümpel – with wife and 5 children (from Wernshausn): He may have married Katherine Margarethe Hattenbach and lived in Jackson, Iowa, USA
- Gustav Kümpel – was a Tuchmacher/Cloth-maker (from Meiningen, located about 20 miles South and slightly East of Wernshausn)
Mid-1800’s Kümpel Emigrants from the Duchy of Saxony-Meiningen
The Thuringian Archives has assembled a list of mid-1800’s emigrants from the Duchy of Saxony-Meiningen that also includes an entry for Just David Kümpel. The table below is an extract of entries with the Kümpel surname, or you can view the original PDF document (in German).
The family arrived in New York in May of 1847. David Kümpel filed his intention to become a United States Citizen on June 12, 1847 (KJENDLIE, DONNA. Index to Records of Naturalization’s and Declarations of Intent, Book One. Walworth County, WI: Walworth County Genealogical Society, Inc., 2000. [93p.])
It appears that Christopher Friedrich Kimball traveled with David and settled in the area for a few years before moving on to Michigan City, Indiana. He was a grandson, son of Georg Simon Kuempel (b. 1777, d. 1837). Christopher married Anna Elizabeth Kremmer and they had the following children (all born in Germany: I believe that the surviving children emigrated to the United States with their parents):
- Ernest Kimball, b. 6 June 1836, married Emily, had sons WIllie (b. 1862), Fred (b. 1863) and Charles (b. 1865)
- Christopher G Kimball, b. 1837, married Margaret Goetz and had George (b. 1865), Elia Elizabeth (b. 30 April 1870), Edward A (b. 23 May 1873), Lewis E (b. May 1878), Katherine K (b. 28 December 1879), Mabel E (b. September 1882) and Fern M (b. 19 November 1887)
- Charles Kimball, b. 1838, married Jane Dizard, had Frank C (b. AUgust 1868) and Lulu May (b. 22 JAnuary 1878)
- Infant Kimball, b. 1840, d. ????
- Fredrick Kimball, b. 1842, married Laura, had Augusta (b. 1876), Fred (b. 1878) and Emily (b. April 1880)
- Augusta Kimball, b. 1845, married Joseph F. Cloucheek, had Henry W (B. 1877)
- Anna Irene Kimball, b. 10 December 1846, married Fred C. Voss, had Louise (b 1868), Ernest (b. 1870) and Frank (b. 1874)
Early Kimball Settlers in Walworth County
“The town has one village on the Nippersink Creek, commonly called Genoa [located in sections 35 – 36 of Bloomfield Township]. The first settler in this town was Harry Kimball, who made a claim in 1836 and built the first log house in 1837, when he was joined by his son Oramel Kimball” (History of the Cities and Townships of Walworth County: Bloomfield Township).
It would be easy to assume that David Kimball was joining family members who preceded him to the Walworth county area. Some of the early settlers who arrived in the Walworth county area in the early 1840’s include:
- Harry Kimball (born in Connecticut in 1783) reportedly was in the Genoa area in 1836. He appears on the census in Spring Prairie, Walworth County in 1840, and on the 1850 census living in Bloomfield.
- Jesse W. Kimball (born in New York in 1805) and his wife Emily arrived in Walworth County about 1842.
- Abner Murray Kimball (born in New Hampshire in 1812) and his wife Sarah arrived in East Troy, Walworth County about 1843. This family appears to be well documented in a Family Tree on Family Search, which traces the family back to the 1500’s in Rattlesden, Suffolk, England and to the death of Richard Kimball on June 22, 1675 in Ipswich, Essex, Massachusetts Bay Colony, British Colonial America.
- Abraham Kimball (born in Vermont in 1807) and his wife Ruth arrived in Fulton, Rock County, between 1839 and 1843.
- Newcomb Kimball (born in Pennsylvania in 1816) and his wife Elora arrived in Lima, Rock County, prior to 1843.
As can be seen, these Kimball’s (a surname associated with English emigrants) descended from families who settled in the Eastern United States. It does not appear that any of these early settlers were related to David Kimball.
No records of early settlers to the area from Germany with the last name of ‘Jung’ or its variations have been identified.
Although it is known that David Kimball was in the area at the time of the 1850 census, finding his entry is challenging. There are many Kimball’s enumerated in Walworth County, but there is only one entry with the last name of Kimball that has family members who were born in Germany. It matches David Kimball’s family in most details:
1850 United States Census, Wisconsin, Walworth, Bloomfield, Pages 6 (lines 36 – 42) and 7 (lines 1-2).
The names were indexed on Ancestry.com as follows:
- Dalphet – David?
- Elisa – Margaret Eliza?
- Molets – Believed to be George Morris (b. 1832).
- Eliza – Believed to be Margaret Eliza (b. 1837).
- John – Johann Adam (b. 1839)
- William – William Frederick (b. 1840 )
- Itan – Ida Margaret (b. 1842)?
- Martin (M)- believed to be Martha Lenora (Female, b. 1844)
- Christina – Christiaina (b. 1848)
In spite of the above differences there are several aspects of this entry that support believing that it actually is documenting the David Kimball family:
- The last name is correct
- The location is as expected
- The birth locations all line up
- The ages are correct
- Other than Martin/Martha, the genders are correct
Not enumerated are:
- Daughter Mary E. Kimball (b. 1828) died 2 Feb 1849.
- Son Morris Kimball (b. 1834) died 26 September 1855.
A Casper Kimball, who is of interest because he was born in Saxony [Germany] in 1830, filed his intention to become a United States Citizen on October 26, 1858 (KJENDLIE, DONNA. Index to Records of Naturalizations and Declarations of Intent, Book One. Walworth County, WI: Walworth County Genealogical Society, Inc., 2000. [93p.])
- I believe that this is Casper John Kimball: according to his 1900 US Census record he emigrated in 1857. He married Christine Runkel in 1863 and had four sons: John (b. 1865, d, 1870), Louis Adam (b. 1869), Philip Casper (b. 1872) and Henry A (b. 1878). I do not know how he fits into my Kimball family, although DNA evidence seems to suggest that he is related somehow: based on his age he could be a nephew of David Kimball.
The 1860 United States Census record for the family is much less ambiguous:
Bloomfield Township, Walworth County, Wisconsin. Post Office: Bloomfield,Page 45, Dwelling 526, Family 71, Lines 24 – 30, 15 June 1860 (Roll: M653_1434 Page: 79
- John: Johann Adam, born 13 Feb 1839
- William: William Frederick, born 3 March 1840
- Ida: Ida Margaret, born 6 July 1842
- Martha: Martha Eleonor, born 25 May 1845
- Christiaina: born 1848 – First child born in the United States. This confirms that the family arrived in the United States no later than 1848.
George (b. 1834) and Margaret Eliza (b. 1837) were not enumerated with the family in 1860:
- George had married Mary Emma Prouty (b. 1840) and was living with their daughter Eva (b. 1857) in Freemont, Bremer, Iowa
- Margaret Eliza married Sumner Nelson on 1 April 1859 and was living with him in Bloomfield.
Also enumerated on the 1860 census in Bloomfield was recent arrival (June 1857) Charles Kimball, born in Germany in 1854, his wife Elizabeth (b. 1821), son Edward (b. 1854), daughter Eliza (b. 1856), all born in Germany, and son Casper, born in 1859 in the United States.
In June, 1863 the government created a Draft Registration Record for Bloomfield. The following Kimball’s were identified:
- William Kimball, age on July 1, 1863: 23, born in Germany (~1840) [William Frederick Kimball]
- John Kimball, age on July 1, 1863: 30, born in New York (~1833)
- John A Kimball, age on July 1, 1863: 24, born in Germany (~1839) [Johann Adam Kimball]
- John C Kimball, age on July 1, 1863: 30, born in Germany (~1833)
Source: National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Consolidated Lists of Civil War Draft Registration Records (Provost Marshal General’s Bureau; Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865); Record Group: 110, Records of the Provost Marshal General’s Bureau (Civil War); Collection Name: Consolidated Enrollment Lists, 1863-1865 (Civil War Union Draft Records); NAI: 4213514; Archive Volume Number: 2 of 4
A Charles F Kimball, born in Saxe Meininger [Germany] in 1814, filed his intention to become a United States Citizen on November 1, 1866 (KJENDLIE, DONNA. Index to Records of Naturalizations and Declarations of Intent, Book One. Walworth County, WI: Walworth County Genealogical Society, Inc., 2000. [93p.])
David Kimball died in 31 August 1868 and is buried in the Bloomfield cemetery in Pell Lake, Wisconsin.
The images available for the 1870 census for Bloomfield township are of very poor quality: The writing on some pages is so faint that it is almost completely unreadable. A thorough analysis of images of Bloomfield Township, Walworth County (Post Office: Sharon) census of 1870 (Roll 1741, Wisconsin, Volume 24 (1-342A) obtained from archive.org (available here) revealed the following:
- Page 2, Dwelling 10, Family 10, Lines 8 – 12: Oramel Kimball (55), Lucinda (41), Charles (15), Harry (10), Emma (1)
- Page 5, Dwelling 34, Family 34, Lines 18 – 22: Charles F Kimball (55), Anna E? (44), Casper (11), William (8) and Augusta (4)
- Page 5, Dwelling 35, Family 35 (William Merria… – Line 23): Eliza Kimball (line 28), 7 year old female
- Page 13, Dwelling 101, Family 101, Lines 37 – 38: Charles Dorothy (55), Eliza [Kimball] Dorothy (32), Estilla (F, 10)
No record for Margaret Elizabeth could be identified.
On November 6, 1876 Edward Kimball (b. 1854), son of Charles F. Kimball, filed his intention to become a United States Citizen:
At the time of the 1880 United States census Margaret was living with her son William Frederick Kimball and his family. It is notable that Charles F Kimball and family were enumerated just before William’s family, implying that they lived on adjacent properties.
Another neighbor was Charles Dorothy who, according to the “Combination atlas map of Walworth County Wisconsin” (1873), owned property adjacent to and to the South of William Frederick Kimball. Charles would marry Williams daughter Margaret Eliza after the death of his first wife, Mary A Tupper, who reportedly died in 1860. Estill Dorothy, a daughter of Charles, was living with Charles and Margaret Eliza according to the 1870 census. It is possible that Mary died as a result of giving birth to Estill.
Margaret Elizabeth died 21 April 1881 and is also buried in the Bloomfield cemetery in Pell Lake, Wisconsin.
Additional Information
- View his genealogical information on my RootsWeb family tree
- View his genealogical information on the FamilySearch Tree (Family Search account – available at no cost – is required to view this information)
- The are a large number of entries for the ‘Kumpel’ family from Wernshausen area documented on the Geni website ( https://www.geni.com ), including an entry for Georg Adam Kumpel ( https://www.geni.com/people/Georg-Kumpel/6000000001809389397 )
Research questions:
- How did they travel to the United States? No record of their journey was found in a determined search of passenger and immigration records on Ancestry.com in April of 2017.
- 13 March 2020: Ancestry.com does not list any ship arriving in New York in May 1847. They show the Albany arriving 1 April, and the Yssel arriving 27 April (1 passenger!), then no other arrivals until the Roscol arrived 1 September. It is hard for me to believe that no passenger ships arrived between May and August: this must just be a gap in Ancestry.com’s records.
- Where was Margaret Elizabeth living at the time of the 1870 census?
- Where did the family live prior to the death of David Kimball in 1868? No record of land ownership has been found.
- Was John C Kimball (b. 1833) related to David Kimball (b. 1801)?
- Was Charles F Kimball (b. 1854) related to David Kimball (b. 1801)?
- Was Casper Kimball (b. 1830) related to David Kimball (b. 1801)?
- Is a copy of the intention filed by Casper Kimball in 1858 available?
- When did Margaret Elizabeth Jung die? Two dates are reported in Ancestry trees: 21 April 1881 and 4 February 1881.
Notes:
- The Kirchenbuch, 1858-1929: Evangelisch Lutherische St. Johannis Gemeinde (Slades Corner, Wisconsin) Contains history, members, baptisms, communicants 1867-1924, confirmations 1867-1929, meeting reports 1867-1899, marriages, deaths 1863-1929, collections 1869-1897, and misc. newspaper clippings. This is on FamilySearch Film 1404984 Items 1-2. This may document some events related to the David Kimball family. A copy was ordered on 13 June 2017 and is now at the Dallas Public Library.