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Catharina Schleth

 

Born: 2 Jul 1853, Alt Bennebeck, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany

 

Parents: Jurgen Schleth and Anna Maria Hoffman

 

Siblings: Anna Maria (1852-?), Margaretha [Lausen] (1855-1897), Hans Jacob (1858-?), Wiebke (1860-1897), Marie (1864, died at 2 weeks of age), Jurgen Peter (1865-?), Johann, (1868-1951)

 

Immigration: Arrived 5/4/1882 in New York on the ship Wieland (Germans to America book)

 

Ship Wieland

Marriage: No legal marriage, partner was Folmer Marthenze Sr.

 

Children:  John (Jan 1886-1974), George (Dec. 1886-1962), Margaret (1889-1939), Teana Cathryn (1891-1977) and Folmar Charles (1894-1948)

 

Death: 21 Oct 1935, at daughter Teana Poppe’s, Sheboygan, WI. Died at age 82 of hepatitis.  Buried Wildwood Cemetery, Sheboygan Sect. 7 next to her children.

From the Sheboygan Press Oct. 21st, 1935:
MRS. MARTHENZE DIES AT THE HOME OF HER DAUGHTER TODAY
Mrs. Catharina Schleth Marthenze, 82, died at 4 am today, at the home of her daughter, Mrs. Andrew Poppe, S. 9th St.
Mrs. Marthenze was born in Germany on July 2, 1853, and came to this country, directly to Sheboygan county, as a young girl. She spent most of her life in the town of Wilson. Her husband preceded her in death twelve years ago.
Survivors are three daughters: Mrs. Orville Hammond, Lansing MI, Mrs. James Poppe and Mrs. Andrew Poppe, Town of Sheboygan; three sons, George, John and Folmer Marthenze all of the Town of Wilson  and nine grandchildren. At the request of Mrs. Marthenze, the funeral will be private. Interment will be in Wildwood cemetery.

 

Biography

Catharina was born in Northen Germany, in an area known as Schleswig-Holstein. Denmark borders this region to the north, Poland and the Baltic Sea to the east and the North Sea to the west. This area has been an independant state and belonged to both Denmark and Germany at one time or another, so shares cultural hertitage of both countries.

Catharina was the second of 8 children; she had 3 sisters that survived to adulthood and 3 younger brothers. Family lore has it that Catharina had a boyfriend in Germany that came to the US ahead of her, she was to come and meet him at some later date. There was a letter written by one of the Marthenze children indicating she left for the US in 1878, however a Catharina Schleth was found in the registry of the S.S. Wieland, arriving in 1882. Supposedly she never met up with this boyfriend, or one or the other was no longer interested. There is no record of why she settled in Sheboygan. According to this letter, after she had been here a year or two, she met H.C. Prange, a merchant in Sheboygan. His stores later expanded throughout the midwest, and were bought out by Younkers in the 1980’s. He supposedly asked her to marry him, but she declined. An ad had been placed in the newspaper by Folmer Marthenze for a housekeeper and caretaker for his young daughter, Anna, as his wife had been committed to an insane asylum. Catharina had always earned a living doing housekeeping, and answered the ad. The author of the letter indicated that “after a time, one thing led to another, they became ‘good’ friends”. They went on to have 5 children together, although never married. They considered their marriage date as 1884.  Catharina must have been a very unique person, especially for her time. She came to the US on her own at age 29, likely a daring thing to do in that time. She settled down with a married man, not so uncommon now days, but almost unheard of then. She was said to have a very good sense of humor, as one day the census taker came around and wanted to know where all of the kids came from if the wife was in the insane asylum. She answered that she had found them all “down by the lake”, meaning lake Michigan where they lived. Catharina, Folmer, all of their children and Anna would all go to the insane asylum and visit Maria, Folmer’s “wife”.  Maria lived at the insane asylum until she died in 1928.

Catharina lived together with Folmer and their children in a log cabin he built in the Danish style. They lived on about 100 acres of woods directly on Lake Michigan, a few miles south of Sheboygan in the Town of Wilson. This area was very remote at the time they lived there, and referred to as Black River, as the Sheboygan River trransects the area. Kohler-Andre State park is currently just to the south of the property where they lived. It is a beautiful area with forests, sand dunes and the crystal blue waters of Lake Michigan.

 

 

 

                                  

                         

In 1910, Folmer purchased a two-story home on what is now County EE, near the log cabin. There was more tillable acreage here for Folmer to farm on. They lived in the 2 story home for a time, then moved back to the log home when son John was married. After Folmer died in 1923, Catharina moved back to the two story home and lived upstairs with John and his wife, Carrie. Granddaughter June was born there, and Catharina used to look out of the south windows of the house and wait for June to come home from school.  June would go right upstairs and Catharina would give her bread with home-rendered lard with cracklings and salt on it. She also enjoyed tending after her chickens.

Catharina died in 1935 at 82 years and 111 days of age from hepatitis. She was buried with her children at the Wildwood cemetery in Sheboygan, while Folmar was buried with Maria in a near-by section of Wildwood cemetery.

 

                                      

                                                                                     Marthenze Family circa 1900

In center row, eldest daughter Anna from marriage to Maria Boos is sitting next to Folmer Sr., Catharina Schleth is sitting next to Folmer. Boys standing in back row are George and John; Folmer Jr. is youngest boy sitting next to half-sister Anna. The other two little girls sitting in front are Teana and Margaret.

 

Census:

1930 US Census, WI, Sheboygan Co, Wilson Township:
John Marthenze, age 45, age 29 at 1st marriage, born WI, owns radio, father b Denmark, mother b Germany, farmer, dairy farm
Caroline, age 36, age 21 at 1st marriage, born WI, parents b Germany
June B, daughter, age 1, born WI
Catharina, mother, age 76, widow, born Germany

 

1920 US Census, Sheboygan Co, Town of Wilson:
Folmar (spelled either Folmerr or Folmire) Marthenze age 69, emigrated 1878, born Denmark
Catrina age 66, born Holstein
John Marthenze age 35?
Caroline Marthenze age ?

 

1910 US Census, Sheboygan Co, Town of Wilson:
Folmer, age 59 married 11 years, born Denmark, emigrated 1871, farmer
Catherine, wife, age 52, born Germany, emigrated 1880 or 1882 (cannot decipher) number of children born 6
John, son age 25, farm labourer
George age 23 farm labourer
Teana age 18
Folmar son age 16

 

In the 1905 State Census, Catharina is listed as Catharina Sloth, age 53, servant in Folmer Marthenze’s household.

 

1900 US Census, Sheboygan Co, Town of Wilson:
Fulmer  “Martherye” (sic), born Jan 1849, age 51, born Denmark, married married 24 years, crossed out, changed to 16, born Denmark, emigrated 1870
Catherine, wife age 46, born Germany, married 16 year, 5 children born, 5 alive, emigrated (crossed out and changed - illegible, looks like 1880, lived in US 20 years)
Anna, age 21, born Oct. 1878 (this is daughter by 1st wife)
John, born Jan 1885 age 15 all children born WI
George born Dec 1886 age 13
Maggie born Oct. 1888 age 11
Teana born Oct 1890 age 9

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