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Folmer Marthenze Sr.

 

Born: 12 Jan 1849/1851, Denmark.

 

Parents: Christopher Valdemar Mortensen and Jensine Oline Ronne (Jensine is listed as his mother on  Folmer’s marriage certificate,  on his death certificate, his mother’s name was listed as Raende Roeskind).  Somehow the name Mortensen changed in coming to the US; perhaps the Danish pronunciation upon arrival was misunderstood or written incorrectly and became Marthenze. This information has not been substantiated, however.

 

Siblings: Hans Harold and Karen Hertha “Bertha”  No further information was ever found on Hans.

 

Immigration to US: Ship name Eugenie, departed Hamburg, Germany,  arrived July 26, 1871 in NY. Contract # 1606

 

Marriage:

#1 Maria Elisabeth Boos 4/3/1876 in Sheboygan, WI

Children with Maria: Anna Catharina (1878-?) Peter (1876-1877). Maria was admitted to the Sheboygan Co. Insane Asylum sometime after Peter’s death in the late 1870’s.

 

#2 Catharina Schleth; partner, no legal marriage.

 

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

 

Occupation: farmer, cut firewood, made shingles, cut ice

 

Death: 24 Aug 1923, Wilson Township, Sheboygan. Folmar died at 72 years, 224 years of age from mitral insufficiency (heart valve problem) and anasarca (swelling from congestive heart failure).

 

Buried: Wildwood Cemetery, sect. 5, Sheboygan. Buried next to wife Maria, in a section separate from his children and partner, Catharina.

Obituary

From the Sheboygan Press, Aug.4, 1923
Folmer Marthenze, Resident for Half Century, is Dead
                                      
Folmer Marthenze, age 72, a pioneer of Sheboygan County, died at his home at Black River at 6:30 this morning. Mr. Marthenze was born in Denmark January 12, 1851, and came to this country with his parents in 1872. The family settled at Town Wilson, near Black River.
When Mr. Marthenze arrived in this country , he spent a short time in New Jersey, after which he came to Sheboygan County and settled in Town  Wilson. Starting his career in this country by working on farms and later by selling lumber to Sheboygan concerns, he saved enough money to purchase the 90 acres at Black River, which he has owned for so long. Thus by his industry, Mr. Marthenze worked his way up from a farm hand to the owner of Black River Resort.

Mr. Marthenze was well known throughout the county, and there are none in Town Wilson and comparitively few in Sheboygan who are not acquainted with him or have heard of him as the owner of Black River Resort. The most beautiful section of Sheyboygan County is that known as The Black River Resort, acres of wooded land  still in it’s primitive state. It was the pride of Mr. Marthenze to preserve this land without the removal of a single shrub or bush, and whenever he leased a piece of property for summer resort purposes, he was very careful to see that restrictions were so placed that it would not change from it’s natural state.

Deceased is survived by his wife, three daughters, Mrs. Orville Hanson, Lansing Michigan, Mrs. James Poppe of Town Wilson, and Mrs. Andrew Poppe of Sheboygan; three sons, John and George, Town Wilson and Folmer Marthenze, Sheboygan; one sister, Bertha Hanson, Chicago; and five grandchildren.

Funeral services will be held at 2 o’clockTuesday afternoonfrom the A.W. Ramm Funeral parlors. Burial will be made in Wildwood cemetery.

 

This information was found in a folder on the Marthenze family at the Sheboygan Co. Historical Research Center, except where noted.  The author, Roger Lohrman, June Marthenze’s son, left a seven page typed document.   

 After Folmar’s parents  arrived in the US in 1871, they moved to Chicago.  Valdemar, who was now Folmar because  his pronunciation of Valdemar was misinterpreted, came to Sheboygan about 1875.  He went to the Norwegian Methodist church on 9th street.  He was crazy about the minister’s daughter, but she would have nothing to do with him.  At one time he wanted to become a minister himself, but this never transpired. 
Folmer was married to Maria Elisabeth Boos, who was from Germany, at her father Peter’s house in the Town of Herman.  On May 22, 1877, Folmar purchased 95.3 wooded acres on Lake Michigan for $600.  His property taxes in 1880 were $5.59. ®1   The acreage had over one mile of lakefront on it, and the Sheboygan river ran through the back acreage.  It was located in Section 11 in the Town of Wilson, and the area is now called Black River.  Folmar built a log house styled after those used in Denmark at the time.

For his living, Folmar did many things: he farmed, cut firewood for people living in the area, and made wooden shingles.  He also cut ice on Black River and stored it for summer use, and at one time was foreman in a chair factory.  He got to the last job on horseback everyday.  On Sundays he had a job of hauling manure, and for this he was teased.

Folmar and Maria had two children; Anna Catharina and Peter, who died as an infant when he was just old enough to sit and eat solid food. He is buried in the Juniper Beach Cemetery, which is just south of what was Folmar’s land. Over the years all but one of the stones in that cemetery have been destroyed or stolen by vandals. The only one that remains is a monument to two brothers who drowned in 1850. Because Maria was lonely in their house in the woods, and because of her little son’s death, she began to have mental problems.  Folmar’s strong sense of individualism probably didn’t help the situation, and she was institutionalized at the insane asylum in Sheboygan where she lived the rest of her life until her death in 1928. 

Needing someone to care for Anna and do housework, Folmar advertised for a housekeeper.  His ad was answered by Catharina Schleth.  Catharina was born in Reimerdorf, in the Schleswig-Holstein area of Prussia, which is now part of West Germany. (The area had originally been Danish, then was taken over by Germany in the 1860’s, then the northern half returned to Denmark after WWI and the remainder stayed German). In 1878, when she was 25, she came to America to meet her boyfriend, but upon arrival she was unable to find him. ( There is some discrepancy of this date as Catharina Schleth was found in the “Germans To America Book” and is listed as arriving in NY 5/4/1882).

Folmar’s job sounded good to her, as she had always made her money by doing housework both in Germany and Sheboygan, so she took it.  As time went on, they became good friends, what with Folmar having “lost” his wife, and Catharina’s boyfriend’s disappearance.  One thing led to another, and gradually they became partners.  They considered 1884 as the year of their marriage.  Catharina and Folmar had five children together, and the whole family, including Catharina, would regularly visit Maria at the insane asylum.  She would sit crouched in a chair with a frightened look.

The Marthenze’s neighbors to the north were the Jervings. The father, Peter, was from Sweden and his wife was from Norway.  Once Folmar and Peter had an argument over a tree.  They both claimed that it was on their side of the line.  Finally one day Mr. Jerving cut the tree down, and made it into firewood.  Folmar was absolutetly outraged, and said that the Jerving kids couldn’t play with his kids unless Peter would give him $10 for firewood.  Now this was a more serious problem than it sounds like, for there were no kids in that area to play with.  Peter stewed for awhile, but with a little presure from his kids, he finally gave in and paid Folmar the $10.

From time to time, Christoph and Jensine (Folmar’s parents) would come up from Chicago to visit and help with the work, but because both Christoph and Folmar were such indivualistic bastards, it would always end in an argument between the two of them, and Christoph and his wife would go back home in a huff.

Folmar was nearsighted, so he wore round glasses, and would sometimes get headaches while working, and he’d have to stop and lie down.  Once he got a rupture (hernia), and put off having it taken care of until it was absolutely necessary.  Evenings he would read agricultural magazines and smoke his pipe while Catharina knitted. He was a very intelligent man, and he spoke Danish, English, and German fluently.  He owned a great many books, and had an opinion on every subject, which he frequently expressed.

In about 1910 the family bought a two story house from a man named Becker, which is located at what was then called route 3, now 4420 County Trunk EE.  On his property, which consisted of 80 acres in the eastern half of section 2 of the town of Wilson, he could farm more crops.  He would sometimes walk through Sheboygan with a cart, selling his produce.

Folmar spent his last days in his original log house, where he died from heart trouble in August 1923.  His lakefront land was divided among his six children and Catharina in common.  Anna received the parcel with the original homestead on it, but was angry with the family because she felt she should have inherited all of the original land since she was the only legitimate child.

* Note: there is no town in Germany called Reimersdorf

 

Census:

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

 

1905 Wisconsin State Census, Sheboygan Co, Town of Wilson: Folmer Marthenze, age 55, born Denmark, farmer; John, son, age 20, laborer; George, age 18, no relationship listed, no occupation; Maggie, daughter, age 15; Tina, daughter, age 14, Folmer, son, age 11; Catharina Sloth, age 53, servant, born Germany

 

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
Folmar born Mar 1894 age 6

Note: They do live next door to the Jervings
Notes from the Sheboygan Press: Folmer was a pallbearer ar Mrs. Jervings funeral 8/23/1919.

 

1880 US Census, WI, Sheboygan Co, Town of Wilson:
(indexed backwards, last name Folmer, 1st name Marthenze)
Folmer Marthenze, age 29, married, farmer, born Denmark, parents born Denmark
Mary, age 25, keeping house was written in, then crossed out, born Prussia
Catharina, daughter, age 1, born WI

 

 

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.

 

                                              

                                                                               Marthenze family circa 1915

Back row: Catharina, John Marthemze and wife Carrie Loop; Front row: George Marthenze, Folmer Sr and Folmer Jr.

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