Notes for Conrad Krüser:

General Notes:

The following dialog is from the Pans Family Papers Creaser (Kruser) Family Tree - Presented by Barden Creaser, Bridgewater N.S. 4/10/1969. (Public Archives of N.S. Halifax) Compiled by JP

Conrad Krüser, a farmer age 32 and his wife, Maria Magdalene came from the Palantinate on the ship Gahe (Gale). (For a picture of the trip by ship - see notes under Johann Heinrich Wagner). Through the early years the name Krüser has changed from Krüser, Cruser, Creiser, Greeser, Kreser, Creaser and finally Gross. This change is probably due to the people in authority being British and the foreigners were not able to give the correct spelling so the names were written as they were pronounced (or heard). The name Krüser originated in southwestern Germany. The Palatinate was a small state (see history below) along the upper and middle Rhine, noted for its fertile land. TheCapital was Heidelberg.

On June 5, 1752, the Gale "fell down river" and on June 9,1752 the ship sailed from Rotterdam with 184 freights and 249 souls. Freights were tickets that wer to be worked off after landing. Conrad Kruser had two freights to work off.

Conrad and Maria Krüser landed in Halifax and their names appear on the victualling lists for September - October 1752 and February - April 1753 at Halifax. Victual lists were records of food rations. Their names also appeared on victual lists at Lunenburg in June 1755, February - May 1756, January - May 1757.

Conrad Krüser was in Strasburger's Division in 1753 and was called to return to Division in 1754. He was mentioned in 1753-54 in drawing for 30 acre farm lots of Middle Range and in the "livestock distribution" of 1754. The married men were paired for the livestock drawings and Conrad Krüser and George Hohl drew lot 177 and received between them 5 sheep, 1 sow and 1 goat. He was also on the "cattle expedition" in 1756 to Grand Pre to round up livestock left behind by the Arcadians. He was mentioned in the "registry of town lots" in 1760 and on Nov. 7, 1763 he drew a 300 acre lot.

Conrad and Maria had a son George Michael who was born in 1756 and baptised in Lunenberg. They finally settled in Creeser's Cove, now Riverport, near the residence of the late Kenneth Creaser.

George Michael married Anna Catherine Henritchy in 1777. They had ten children which was the beginning of the Creaser (Gross) family in the New World

See notes on Johan Heinrich Wagner who also sailed on the ship "GALE".

(JP) From "A History of Modern Germany" by Hajo Holborn and the Encyclopedia Americana.

Palatinate (area) - Zweinbrucken (town) - Germany (Country)

Palatinate - a German principality (German Platz). Lands to the west of the middle Rhine and to the east of the middle Rhine along the Neckar River.

In 1410 the four sons of the Elector Palantine, Rupert III divided among themselves the lands of the Palantinate into the Electoral Palatinate, the Upper Palatinate, Mosbach and Simmern-Zweinbrucken. (JP) Our families cam from Zweinbrucken. This last of the four divisons was in turn split up into smaller divisions in 1569.

The counts palantine built the magnificent Heidelberg Castle on the Neckar River and made it thei main residence.

With Elector Otto Henry who made Lutheranism the state religion in 1556, the original Palatinate line died out in 1559. It was followed by the Palatinate Simmeron branch, whose members embraced the Calvinist faith. In 1608 elector Frederick IV became the head of the Protestant Union of German princes. The acceptance of the Bohemaian crown by his son, the Elector Frederick V, in 1619 marked the beginning of the Thirty Years War. Frederick V lost not only Bohemia in 1620 but all his German territories together with the electoral dignity to the Catholic Wittelsbach Duke Maximilian I of Bavaria in 1623. The Peace of Westphalia (1648) restored Frederick's son, Charles Louis, as ruler of the Rhenish Palatinate. A new electoral dignity was created for him, since the old one, together with the Upper Palatinate, remained in Bavaria's possession.

The rebuilding of the Rhenish Palatinate, which had suffered severe destruction during the war, was cut short by the new War of the League of Augsburg, also know as the War of the Palatinate. In 1685 the last elector of the Palatinate - Simmern line had been succeeded by Philip William of the Roman Catholic Palatinate - Zweibrucken - Neuberg line. King Louis XIV of France,pretending to act on behalf of his sister-in-law, a Palatinate princess, challenged the succession. In the subsequent general European War of the League of Augsburg, French designs on the Palatinate were freustrated but in 1689 the country was systematically devasted by a retreating French army.

It was this destruction that led to the first wave of German overseas migration. Most of the early German settlers of Pennsylvania came from the Palatinate. In place of Heidelberg, now in ruins, Mannheim in 1730 became the capital of Palatinate.

Charles Theodore of the Palatinate-Sulzbach branch inherited the Palatinate in 1742 and Bavaria in 1777. In 1799 he was succeeded in all the Wittelsbach lands by Maximilian IV Joseph of the Palatinate-Birkenfeld line.

In 1797-1801, however, all the Palatinate lands on the left bank of the Rhone became French. Those on the right bank, including Mannheim and Heidelberg were joined to Baden in 1903. The treaty of Vienna (1815) gave most of the left Rhenish Palatinate, augmented by some adjacent territories, to Bavaria. After Wold War II this Rhenish or Lower Palatinate became part of the state (land) of Rhineland-Palatinate.

A GROSS BY ANY OTHER NAME..... (JP AND DEBRA R. POCK - SEPT 94

Throughout this research we were dealinq not only with the confusion of spelling, but with periodical changes in the family names.

There was obviously a lanquaqe barrier between the British authorities and the Germanic families who were our forebears. The ship's manifest is likely close to accurate as it was completed in Rotterdam and no doubt written by German-speakinq officials. However, the clerks on duty at the end of the Gale's voyaqe were British. It was not even possible for most of the German-speakinq heads of family to spell their name for a clerk, and unless the manifest could be consulted or the man was literate enouqh to siqn his own name, the British clerk wrote what he heard. The qutteral German sounds and accents were often misinterpreted. Through written use, the interpretation of a family name was accepted until the name went throuqh another phase of variation, possibly by a church official or census taker, and underwent still further change.

Bell's Reqister reqardinq the name Krüser states: "The indebtedness list has the surname as 'Krieger'. But while no 'mark' shows on the photostat I think the nature of the writlng shows that the name was written by a clerk & not by any farmer. Ship's list has 'Kruger'. Judginq from the way the name was represented in Nova Scotia I have no doubt that it was properly and accurately 'Kruser'."

At Halifax in Sept. and Oct. 1752 Conrad and Magdalena KRUZER were recorded on the Victualer List. In Feb.-April 1773 Conrad and Magdalena KRUSER reappeared. At Lunenburg in Dec. 1753 COENRAED CREUZER participated in the return of arms. A 1753 allotment list gives CONRAED CRUSER a 30 acre farm lot, Middle Range, A-3. In July 1754 CONRAD GRIESER received a Division, G-lO, with a "house'. In a live-stock distribution in 1754 CONRAD KRUSER and a partner, Geo. Hohl received Lot No. 177 - 5 sheep, 1 sow and 1 goat.

In 1755 Conrad andMagdalena received their victuals in their own name, Krüser. However, when George Michael was baptised on 18 Jan. 1756, Conrad and Maria Marqt CRUSER were credited as parents. The surname was correctly recorded as KUSER through 1756 and 1757 on the Victualer's List, but appeared as Conrad CRUSER for the Cattle Expedition. (This was a round-up of cattle at Grand Pre, left behind by the fleeinq Arcadians when the British displaced the French.)

Conrad CRUESER was reqistered for a Town Lot in 1760 (Strashurger's Piv. G-10.) and in the same year a 30 acre lot (South,D-5) to Conrad CRIESER. The same version of Conrad's name, CRIESER was applied to tte Second Drawinq, 7 Nov. 1763 for 300 acre lots (Third Division D-14).

The (Dutch) Reformed Church Reqister buries Conrad CRUSER in 1806, age 81.

CREASER seems to have been the accepted form of the name Krüser through the next three generations, and even our fifth generation grandfather, whom we know as Georqe Robert Gross Jr., has his birth record under the name of CREASER. He, however, consistently used the name GROSS throughout his lifetime, not interchangeably as did his father.

As the families moved down the coast and away from their German speaking neighbors, even forgettinq that they themselves were "German", the rolling gutteral "Krus" and the liqhtly accented "er" of Krüser or even Creaser, became GROSS. Had the name-intent actually been Gross, it would have been pronounced Gross, not with the short "o" that this variation adopted.

Notes for George Michael Creaser:

General Notes:

See notes under his wife Rebecca.

See notes under Conrad Kruser.

Notes for Anna Barbara Henritchy:

General Notes:

Later shortened to "Ritchey"

Notes for Rebecca Heiner:

General Notes:

(JP) from Bell Registry 9/94 - Rebecca married George Romkee in 1784. Of their six daughters, three were name Mary something and two were name Anna something. Their sons were all called John something. Obviously these children were called by their something name.

After haveing 10 children, George died in 1810. Rebecca, then 51 years old married George Michael Creaser Sr. whose wife Anna Barbara Henrici (Ritchey) also dies in 1810. Of the 20 children these two had between them it is possible that nine were still at home. It is even possible that they parented another child named Rebecca.

Notes for George Michael Creaser Jr:

General Notes:

See notes under Conrad Kruser.

Notes for George Robert Gross:

General Notes:

True name thought to be Creasar - a stow-away on ship; took name of Gross when man by name of Gross died ??? ( Olive's notes). (LMZ) This story not true. Name evolved-see notes under Conrad Kruser who came to Halifax in 1752.

From Mr Hobbs Town Hall NB.... The record shows that George Gross died Jan 18, 1875. His wife (Sophia H) died March 10 1879. He was 26 when he died and she was 31. A daughter (Nellie) died Aug 29 1872 at 2 months and a son (Charles O.) died Nov 27, 1874 at the age of 1. (Notes MZ... this George Gross may be a son of George Robert Gross Sr. with a something name.

Dutch Reformed church of Lunenberg records give GR's name as Jacob in error. His god-parents were Jacob Henritchy and his wife Elizabeth. The record-keeper mixeup the name in the entry.

Notes for George Robert Gross Jr:

General Notes:

(JP) George Robert Gross Jr - if 22 [as stated at marriage in 1866] he was born in 1844. If 25 [as stated in 1871 census] he was born in 1846. If 56 [as stated at death] he was born in 1848.

See notes under Mary Jane Wagner, GRG's wife. They had 6 children and then Mary Jane left GRG apparantly to marry Alonzo Fenton. There is no record of a divorce with Mary Jane Wagner. (JP) I wonder if George had another family in Maine. He had 16 years to accomplish this from the time Mary Jane came with her family to Plympton, MA. His death certificate states death took place by accidental drowning in W. Tremont, ME. His parents, George Robert Gross and Rebecca Remby are listed, his marital staus reads "affirmative", but no spouse is named.

Letter to LMZ from June Parker ( August 3, 1994): I forgot to tell you in my last epsitle that I now have a copy of George R. Gross' death certificate. It does not answer all the questions I have about him, but sheds light on a few puzzelments. The drowning (July 3, 1904) took place at Trement (actually W. Tremont) Maine. ...I located the reporting physician, J.D. Phillips, M.D. whose addess was S.W.Harbor and the undertaker, S.S. King whose address was Manset. Finding those two locations, it was not difficult to locate W. Tremont nearby. It you look at a map of Maine, find Mount Desert Island where these towns are located.

Notes for Mary Jane Wagner:

General Notes:

This entry made 9/94 by LMZ after a visit with JP.

(JP) Mary Jane as 21 years 2 Mo old when she maried Geoge Gross. (The marriage record states she was 22 years old.) There is no record of a divorce. When she married Alonzo Fenton in 1890, Alonzo was 33 years old and M.J. was 45 years old - 12 years her husband's senior. (Marriage records show her age as 35 years old.)

Mary Jane and George Gross's children at the time of M.J.'s marriage to Alonzo were: Annie Dorcas, 19; Rebecca, 17; Selena, 16; (George) Daniel, 14; Edwin Albert (Bert), 11; Maude, 8. (JP) I wonder how she reconciled her given age with those of her children.

(JP) Mary Jane bought a cemetery lot at the Hillcrest Cemetery, Plympton, MA in 1932 for $10.00. The headstone reads "FENTON-ALONZO and MARY" She had every intention of being buried there. (see below)

(JP) By that time Plympton had been her home for 44 years. She had owned a home at the corner of Main and Mayflower Road and paid taxes in her own name (Mary Jane Fenton) from 1913 until 1923 - even though she had a living and live-in husband. (I don't know how she got the powers that were to agree to this since ...(it was a man's world).

(JP) But she owned her own property and paid the taxes in her own name. Her husband paid poll taxes and taxes on a wood lot. The house was sold in 1923 and the Fentons went to Marlboro to live with daughter Maude MacKenzie. They spent every summer with M.J's granddaughter Bertha Shurleff in No Carver and there were many tears when it came time to "go home" in the fall.

(JP) M.J. died 24 Feb 1943 and her daughter Maude had her buried in the Rocklawn Cemetary, Marlboro. Death records five her age as 91Y, 5M,, 9D. She was actually 97 years old.

(JP) Mary Jane Wagenr (Gram Fenton) was my great grandmother (also LMZ's) and one of the most exciting people I ever met. I just loved her. When I lived in Plymton I would actually run up town on Memorial Day because I know Gram would be at the cemetery for the parade and memorial ovservace. She walked with a can be then - well,not so much walked with it but "swang" it a lot as she talked and laughed and played and joked.

(LMZ) She died in 1945. I was 9 but I also remember her arrival at the cemetery on Memorial Days. She would be dressed in black from head to foot and with her cane she still "swang". I remember it as a great event that everyone stood and took notice of when she made her arrival.

(JP) She wore make-up which rather awed me at the time as no one else I know cared to wear lipstick and rouge. To me she was wonderful. Yet, her grandchildren, Selena's children, semm to agree that "she wasn't much of a grandmother." I guess they expected a lot more of her after their mother died in 1918 leaving six children at home ranging in age from 2 years to 16. Their grandmother Parker (see notes) seemed the more helpful to them in practical ways. Guess Gram was cut from a more playful design which they were in no position to appreciate.

(JP) I still feel badly when I read her name "MARY" on the Fenton's headston that Gram is not buried there where she wanted to be. Aunt Maude was jealous of the love Mary Jane felt for her granddaugter Bertha and family. Maude was always angry when Gram cried at having to go home with her. Perhaps she felt justified in having her way at the end. Besides, no one is left to remember of care any more... except me.

Notes for Selena Catherine Gross:

General Notes:

Childrens ages at her death. She was 43 yrs, 7 mos and 3 days old.

Bertha - 26

Abbie - 23

Lena - 21

Ted - 18

Gertrude - 16

Elsie - 13

Irene - 10

Les - 8

Olive - 5

Barbara - 2

The Gross family settled in Plympton, Mass. around 1888.

See notes under Conrad Kruser 1874 and Johann Heinrich Wagner with reference to families coming to North America from"The Palentine States" (later part of Germany).