52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks: #2-Origins ~ When Did the Florys Come to Ohio?

Written for Amy Johnson Crow's 52Ancestors in 52 Weeks. 

Week 2 Prompt:
“The theme for Week 2 is "Origins. “Genealogists often get the question, "Where is your family from?" With this week's theme, you could explore an immigrant ancestor, but you could also think about the origin of other aspects of your family. Who was the first person in your family to settle in a particular town? If you have a long line of people with the same occupation, talent, etc, who was the first person you know who did it?”

Just the facts

Ancestor name: Frederic(k) Flory
Birth: 1 May 1809, Bern, Switzerland[1]
Marriage (first): 27 July 1831 to Eugenia Boillat, Tavannes, Bern, Switzerland[2]
Marriage (second): 13 January 1846, Amelia Sauvine[3]

Death: 27 September 1883, Wayne Co., Ohio[4]

Relationship to me: 3x great-grandfather
I am descended through:
– his daughter, Caroline Flory (1844 - 1884)
– her son, John Frederick Saurer (1873 - 1962)
– his daughter, Lela Mabel Saurer (1913 – 1991)
– her son, my father, Donald John Ritchie (1934 – 2022)

 

Story:

Following up with last week, I knew that Frederick’s daughter, Caroline had been born in Ohio about 1844.  I always thought that was about the earliest any of my paternal ancestors where in the United States.  Turns out I didn’t realize – because I’d never researched – just exactly how early this family had come to Ohio.  When I did start tracking them, I found this family aboard the Garonne, departing from Le Havre and arriving in New York on 21 July 1834.[5]

 Passenger list transcription:

Passenger #	Name	Age	Estimated birth year
36	Frederic Fleury	50	1784
37	Lidie  Fleury	50	1784
38	Jean  Fleury	24	1810
39	Abram  Fleury	20	1814
40	Julianna Fleury	18	1816
41	Frederic Fleury	25	1809
42	Euginia Fleury	23	1811
43	Frederic Fleury	3	1831

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This passenger list shows the parents, Frederic & Lidie Fleury, with their four adult children.  The baptismal record, referenced above,  for “my” Frederic, here age 25, confirms that these are his parents. The baptismal record for his son, Frederic, age 3, shows that little Frederic's mother is Euginia Boillat.[6]  Additionally, these families – the older couple and Frederic, Euginia, and son – are consistent with the families as they appear in the 1840 census and the 1850 census.

 

Analysis of the 1840 and 1850 census information
1840 census[7]	Potential birth year	Applicable family member	1850 census[8]	Age	Estimate birth year
1 Male 5 - 10	born 1830-1835	Frederick, child born Dec 1831 in Switzerland	Frederick L Flerey	18	1832
1  Male  30 - 40	born 1800-1810	Frederick, born 1809 in Switzerland	Frederick Flerey	41	1809
1 Females < 5	born 1835-1840	Child born since coming to Ohio	Mary J Flerey	15	1835
1 Female  20 - 30	born 1810-1820	Eugenia, born 1811 in Switzerland	Emily Flerey**	29	1821
			Caroline Flerey	6	1844
1  Male  50 - 60	born 1780-1790	Frederick, born 1784 in Switzerland	Frederick Flerey	66	1784
1  Female  50 - 60	born 1780-1790	Lydie, born 1781	-----

 

 

This information is consistent with the family arriving in 1834 with one exception noted below.  Lydie Flory had died Sept 1849 and so is not on the 1850 census.[9]

**Emily here is inconsistent with Eugenia in age and name.  Also, she is not old enough to be the mother of 18-year-old Frederick and barely old enough to be the mother of 15-year-old Mary J.   

 It took me some time to find evidence of Frederick's second marriage in 1846.  While only the marriage license application has been recorded, he clearly calls Amelia his wife in his will, which is more consistent with "Emily" in the 1850 census rather than his first wife’s name, Eugenia.[10]  This also shows that his first wife, Eugenia, is almost certainly dead by 1846.  It lends weight to the fact that Caroline’s mother was most likely Eugenia, as Caroline was born in 1844, prior to this marriage. 

 

So looking at the family's origins helped to find a name for Caroline's mother as well as to establish when the family came to the United States. Of course looking at those Swiss church records just led me to more questions because the records are in French!  I have always assumed my Swiss Ohio ancestors to be German speaking, as most information I have on them supports that - especially the two German bibles I've inherited!  Now I have to wonder if the Florys were French-speaking.  I have a Bible that was Caroline's, but it's in English so that doesn't help answer the question.

 

No matter how many answers I find, I also always find more questions!!

 

 

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[1].    Registres de l'eglise réformée de Péry (Berne), 1674-1875, database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939L-LQ97-D3 : downloaded 10 Aug 2022) Baptêmes 1798-1812, Frederic Flory, 21 May 1809, pg. 55; DGS 4758416/film 2005684, image 28/34. The record also states that he was born on 1 May 1809. “l'enfant est né” – the child was born.

 [2].    Registres de l'eglise réformée de Tavannes (Berne), 1606-1875, database,  FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939L-PXS7-GB : downloaded 8 Aug 2022) Publications de mariage 1816-1875, Frederic Flory – Eugenia Boillat, 6 Aug 1831, pg. 42, No. 242; DGS 004758568/film 2005768, image 23/160.

[3].   “Marriage records, 1813-1951,” database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-C9B8-BSFN-X : downloaded 8 Aug 2022), Marriage License, Index no. 4, pg. 85, Frederick Flora to Amelia Sauvine, 13 Jan 1846; Marriage license index 1843-1861 DGS 007718803/film 425751, image 52/217.

[4].   Wayne Co., Ohio, Death Record vol. 1, pg. 146, Frederick Flory, 29 September 1883; digital image, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89ZR-V91J-K : 22 November 2023). The age given of 74 is consistent with someone born in 1809.

[5].   “New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1891,” digital images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939V-RM1L-X  : accessed 10 November 2023), image 273; manifest, Garonne, Antwerp, Havre to New York, arriving 21 July 1834, unpaginated, passengers 36–43, Flory families; citing National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) microfilm publication M237, Roll 24.

[6].   Schweiz, Kirchenbücher, 1277-1992  > Bern > Péry  > Réformée  >Baptêmes 1816-1860, pg. 61, no. 61, Frederic Louis Flory, 1 January 1832; FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939L-LQ9Q-71 : downloaded 8 Aug 2022) ; DGS 004260649/film 425754, image 36/138.

[7].   1840 U. S. census, Wayne County, Ohio, East Union Twp, p. 170, lines 12 & 19, Frederick Flory households; NARA microfilm publication M704, roll 432.

[8].   1850 U. S. census, Wayne County, Ohio, population schedule, East Union Twp., p. 210, dwelling 164, family 164, Frederik Flery household & dwelling 166, family 166, Frederik Flery household; NARA microfilm publication M432, rolls 739–740.

[9].    Wayne County Historical Society (Ohio), compiler, Wayne County, Ohio Burial Records, 2nd edition (Evansville, Indiana: Unigraphic, 1980), p. 489, entry for “Lydie, w/o Friedrich Flory.”

[10].    Wayne County, Ohio, Probate Court, probate file 6008, will of Frederick Flory; FamilySearch, (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99QG-L6R5 : accessed 22 November 2023) Ohio Probate Records, 1789-1996 > Wayne> Estates 1884 no 5994–6053 > image 469/2988.