Saturday, September 29, 2012

Alma Sitzenstock and George Busselburg

Alma Sitzenstock Busselburg
(Click on image to enlarge)
Alma Sitzenstock; undated, but possibly circa 1913.
Image courtesy of the Hobart Historical Society.


This lovely young woman, the only daughter of Ernest (Sr.) and Emma Sitzenstock, the only sister of Ernest Jr., became Mrs. George Busselburg* sometime in November 1919. Exactly when, I can't tell, since the News says November 19, the Gazette says November 27, and the Indiana Marriage Collection is silent on the matter.**

So let us say, sometime in the latter half of November, the young folks went to Crown Point for a quiet wedding — quiet, I gather, since there were no reports of festivities, receptions, or honeymoons. The News simply noted that the newlyweds would "reside on the Sitzenstock farm adjoining the homestead."

The Sitzenstock farm lay just south of present-day U.S. 30, between Clay and Colorado Streets.

Sitzenstock 1908
(Click on image to enlarge)

Neither newspaper said a word about George's background. I myself have scarcely mentioned the Busselburg family — which makes sense, since they lived in Winfield Township. George's parents, Henry and Annie, were both German immigrants. They married in 1886 and owned land in Winfield Township as early as 1891. There they stayed for decades, farming and raising their family. George was their second son, born in January 1890. He would eventually have five brothers and two sisters, though I believe one of those sisters died in childhood.

This new Busselburg family that George and Alma have formed will probably show up more from now on, since they became a fixture in Ross Township and eventually moved to downtown Ainsworth. We've already seen a photo of one of their children, Marian, who attended the Ainsworth school.


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*Another name with a lot of variant spellings. I just chose one and I'm sticking with it.
**[2/25/2013 update] I've finally found them in the Indiana Marriage Collection, which gives the date as November 19, 1919. Perhaps I couldn't find them before because George's surname is mistakenly transcribed as Russellberg.


Sources:
1891 Plat Book.
1900 Census.
1908 Plat Map.
1910 Census.
1920 Census.
♦ "Busselberg-Sitzenstock." Hobart News 27 Nov. 1919.
♦ "Local Drifts." Hobart Gazette 5 Dec. 1919.
Social Security Death Index.

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