Amelia (Bechtel) Kocher (1841 - 1905)

Born Nov 1841 in Pennsylvania, USA

Descendants

Died 1905 at about age 63 in Harrisburg, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States

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Biography

Amelia was born in Pennsylvania in 1841. She died in 1905.^[1] Her maiden name is uncertain. Death certificates for her children Milton, Cora, and Gertrude report the mother's maiden name as Amelia Bechtel; while death certificates for her children Emma and Walter report the mother's maiden name as Amelia Ritzman, and the death certificate for her daughter Martha has the name as Amelia Richmond (presumably representing Ritzman). Neither name has been found for a girl of approximately the right age in online U.S. Census records for 1850.

She was married to Josiah Kocher in about 1858.^[2]

The 1870 U.S. Census recorded Josiah Kocher and his wife Amelia in Wiconisco Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania. Josiah was listed as age 35 and a carpenter; Amelia Kocher was age 29. Also in the household were their children: Martha J., 10, Emma. L, 8, Milton H., 6, Mortie I., 4, and Katie C,, 1.^[3]

The 1880 U.S. Census recorded Josiah Kocher and Amelia Kocher and their family in Lykens, Dauphin County. Josiah was 44 and working as a carpenter; his wife Amelia was 37. Children living with them were Emma, 17, Milton, 15, Cora, 9, and Gertrude, 7.^[4]

Josiah Kocher died in 1893. The 1900 U.S. Census recorded Amelia Kocher, age 58 and a widow, living in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in a household that also included her daughter Gertrude Geesey, son-in-law Ira Geesey, and teenage children Walter L. Kocher and Clara E. Kocher. Amelia's birthdate was recorded as November 1841. She had been married 35 years and had borne 13 children, of whom 7 were living.^[5]

Children

Children of Josiah and Amelia Kocher included:

1. Martha J., born about 1860.
2. Emma Laura, born 20 October 1862.
3. Milton H., born 21 October 1864.
4. Mortie I., born about 1866; apparently died before 1880.
5. Katie C., born about 1869; apparently died before 1880.
6. Cora, born 18 January 1872
7. Gertrude, born 11 February 1875.
8. Walter Leroy, born 18 May 1881.
9. Clara E., born October 1883

Sources

1. ↑ Find-A-Grave
2. ↑ Marriage date estimated from indication on 1900 U.S. Census that they were married 35 years before his death in 1893.
3. ↑ United States Census, 1870. Enumeration sheet for Wiconisco, Dauphin, Pennsylvania. Accessed at Ancestry.com.
4. ↑ United States Census, 1880. [http://interactive.ancestry.com/6742/4244333-00024?pid=50117972 Enumeration sheet for Lykens, Dauphin, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1125; Family History Film: 1255125; Page: 306B; Enumeration District: 119; Image: 0022. Accessed at Ancestry.com.
5. ↑ United States Census, 1900. Enumeration sheet for Harrisburg Ward 6, Dauphin, Pennsylvania; Roll: 1402; Page: 16A; Enumeration District: 0061; FHL microfilm: 1241402. Accessed at Ancestry.com.

• Find-A-Grave, Amelia Bechtel-Ritzman Kocher, Memorial #112499363.