Barbara (Gruner) Renz (1851 - 1934)

Born 1 Oct 1851 in Germany

Wife of Johannes (Rieth) Reith — married 16 Mar 1876 in Kirchentellinsfurt

Wife of Johann Ulrich Renz — married 22 Feb 1906 in Berrien, Michigan, United States

Died 9 Jul 1934 at age 82 in Bridgman, Berrien, Michigan, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Ann Sherwin [send private message]

Biography

Barbara was born in Kirchentellinsfurt, Württemberg, Germany, on 1 October 1851. She was the daughter of Johann Martin Gruner, shoemaker in Kirchentellinsfurt, and Anna Maria Weber, according to the record of her first marriage, to Johannes (Rieth) Reith (1848-) on 16 March 1876 in Kirchentellinsfurt. ^[1]

Details of her immigration and the death of her first husband are unknown. However she had a son by him born in Germany in 1877. And since he appears as John Reith (father) in US records of her son, there is reason to surmise that he came to America with her.

Her second husband was Fred Nemitz^[2], and her third was Johann Ulrich Renz (1844-1929), whom she married on 22 February 1906 in Bridgman, Berrien County, Michigan.^[3]

At the time of her marriage to Ulrich Renz, Barbara owned a 20-acre farm in Lake Township, just south of Bridgman, and Ulrich left his job at the paper mill to become a fruit grower. In July 1924, Ulrich and Barbara signed over their farm to Mrs. Florina Kastory (her granddaughter ^[4]) for one dollar and moved into town. The deed contained the following stipulation: "This conveyance is made subject to a life estate reserved and retained in said premises by Barbara Renz, said Ulrich reserving no interest therein and second parties take and except this conveyance subject to such life estate." A statement in Barbara's death record that she had been a resident Bridgman nine years supports the date of their moves into town, but Barbara no doubt wanted to ensure that she would have a place to go if she should outlive her husband.^[5] She died in Bridgman, Michigan, on 9 July 1934, of acute myocarditis, and was buried on July 11 in Bridgman.^[6]

Sources

1. ↑ Ancestry.com. Württemberg, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1500-1985 [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016. Original data: Lutherische Kirchenbücher, 1500-1985. Image 788: https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/61023/images/1457457-00787?treeid=&personid=&hintid=&queryId=82627ecaf1a7538d5ed2c522bcb18620&usePUB=true&_phsrc=kZA2&_phstart=successSource&usePUBJs=true&_ga=2.191711082.1544895067.1620087062-1909865263.1620087062&pId=913268506
2. ↑ "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M91L-6XF : accessed 1 May 2021), Barbara Nemitz in household of Fred Nemitz, Lake Township, south side, Berrien, Michigan, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 67, sheet 13A, family 250, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,240,703.
3. ↑ "Michigan, County Marriages, 1820-1940," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:939J-HQSS-YX?cc=1810350&wc=Q868-N6N%3A150751701%2C158155301 : 11 May 2018), Berrien > Marriage certificates, 1905-1906, v. 2 > image 101 of 1465; various archives, Michigan.
4. ↑ Her pedigree can be traced on FamilySearch at https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/KZHL-32N/florina-florence-reith-1902-1987
5. ↑ Deed of transfer, Ulrich Renz and Barbara Renz, to Mrs. Florina Kastory, 17 July 1924, recorded 21 July 1924, Deed book page 463; Berrien County Courthouse, St. Joseph, Michigan.
6. ↑ Death certificate, Barbara Renz, Michigan Department of Health, online at Ancestry: https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/60872/images/44471_354976-01862?pId=601996486

See also:

• Sherwin, Ann C., The Renz Family: Featuring Jacob Ulrich Renz and Maria Barbara Schneider of Weil im Schönbuch and Pfrondorf, and including the Schwarz Family of Münster am Neckar. Privately published, 1988. Page 23.