Caroline Gruissy Boerngen, 90th Birthday

Caroline Gruissy Boerngen

Daughter of Christian Gruissy & Mary Grorisclauss

Wife of Amelius Boerngen

Caroline is my 2^nd great grand aunt

This newspaper account of Caroline's "90th birthday anniversary" includes a list of guests, many of whom are relatives. I have been able to identify a few of those guests.

Celebrated 90^th anniversary. Mrs. Caroline [Gruissy] Boerngen, mother of George and Albert Boerngen, of State ave., NE, celebrated her 90^th birthday anniversary Wednesday afternoon at the home of the Rev. A. E. Boerngen of State ave., NE. She received many beautiful gifts. A covered dish dinner was served and was followed by a program of vocal and instrumental music, readings and recitations.

The rev. and Mrs. F. B. Hax of St. Paul’s Lutherna church were among the guests. Mrs. Boerngen is one of the oldest members of St. Paul’s church. Mr. Hax held a brief birthday service for his aged parishioner.

The following persons were present:

[My notes on the guests are in green.]

George Boerngen of Canton [son of Caroline & Amelius b c 1872 OH]

William Gray, Viola Gray, Robert Gray, Gloria Gray and Betty J Gray of Willowdale [note: Robert Gray, great grandson of Caroline]

Ralph, Bertha, Frank and William and Hazel Boerngen [Ralph, grandson of Caroline]

Paul, Ethel and Walter Dannemiller [Ethel, granddaughter of Caroline b 1902]

Bertha Smith

Gene and Lucy Schneider of Canton

Maude Burkatt

The Rev. William J Rueffley, Olivia Rueffley

Francis Gilt

Nettie McIntosh

Carl Frantz

Otis Stover, Mrs. Bessie Stover, and Joy Stover of Massilon

Philip Creasy and Mary Creasy of Beach City [half brother of Caroline b 1868 OH]

William Mann, Dorothy Mann, Dolly Mann, John Mann [note: Albert  John Mann, great grandson of Caroline}

Lillian Snyder and Vernon Snyder of Massillon

Mrs. Harold Swagler and Harold Swagler [Harold, great grand nephew of Caroline]

Elizabeth [Moore] Good of Seville [grand niece of Caroline b 1892 OH]

Harry Creasy and Norma Jean Creasy of Beach City [Harry, son of half brother of Caroline]

Mearl, Marion, Richard, Norman and Ronnie Covell [Marion, granddaughter of Caroline n 1907]

Thomas Swineford of Canton [grandson in law of Caroline]

Lee V. Lantzer, Margaret Lantzer and Augusta Lantzer of Massillon

Seth Morrison and Margaret Morrison of Creston [Margaret, niece of Caroline b 1861 OH]

Albert, Dora and Helen Morrison of Rittman [Albert, grandnephew of Caroline]

Mr. and Mrs. Henry Halderbaum

Emma Kratsch

Mrs. Krayer

Homer Matson of Massillon

Louis Boerngen, Ruth Boerngen, Florence Boerngen

Ida Kenny and Gloria Kenny of Canton

The Rev. A. E. Boerngen and Francis M. Boerngen of Massillon. [son of Caroline b c 1878]

Note: Caroline and Amelius Boerngen had a third son, Franklin L. Boerngen, 1874 – 1907.

Source: Celebrated 90^th anniversary (Massilon, OH: The Evening Independent, 12 Oct 1933) 5; digital image, Newspapers.com: accessed March 2018.

Note on Family Chart: The name of Caroline's mother is under further research.

Creasy/Gruissy Family Reunions in Ohio

Family Reunion! The words bring to mind images of young cousins chasing each other through a grassy field; women carrying platters of food made with recipes handed down through the family; men talking about days gone by and everyone wondering, "Where has time gone?"

Our Creasy/Gruissy family held reunions in June each year, beginning c 1922 in Ohio. The family is composed of descendants of Christian Gruissy b c 1792 in Switzerland. The family surname has been spelled many different ways. One branch in Ohio used ‘Creasy’.

I uncovered one reunion in Newspapers.com & then searched for more. I searched for several years prior to and after the first clipping and found two more. I was hoping to read about even more Creasy/Gruissy reunions but even these three short clippings are more than we knew once. [Notes in green are my notes, not original to the newspaper clippings.] The clippings follow the photo.

Thanks to new found cousin, Carole Morrison Moser, we have a photo of a family reunion.  Despite being out at a park, the men are wearing ties and the women are in lace collared dresses. At that time this was the norm, not shorts and sneakers as we would wear today. They probably went to church that morning in their 'Sunday best', went home to gather their picnic baskets and platters filled with food, scrubbed their children's faces one more time, and set for for an afternoon in the park with family members they might not have seen since the year before.

Carole Morrison Moser, Sharon Leber Ambrose, Joanne Grace Maurer Leber (Sharon’s mom) and I are working on putting names to faces in this photograph. Hopefully Joanne, who is a generation closer to all these folks than the rest of us, can link names and faces.

Creasy/Gruissy Family Reunion, year unknown

Photo courtesy of Carole Morrison Moser

1933

Creasy Family Reunion. The Creasy family reunion was held Sunday at Sippo park with 50 guests present, including Mrs. Caroline Boerngen [Caroline Gruissy Boerngen 1844-1935], the oldest member of the family. Games were enjoyed and a picnic luncheon was served followed by a ball game in the afternoon.

Source: Creasy Family Reunion (Massillon, OH: The Evening Independent, 17 July 1933) 3, digital image, Newspapers.com: accessed March 2018.

1934

Creasy Family. Mrs. Caroline Boerngen [Caroline Gruissy Boerngen 1844-1935], mother of A. E. Boerngen [Albert E. Boerngen b 1878], of 643 State ave., NE, who is 91 years old, was present at the annual reunion of the Creasy family, Sunday, in Sippo park. Mrs. Boerngen is the oldest living member of the Creasy family, and enjoyed the day. Seventy-five relatives were present from Canton, Akron, Kenmore, Beach City, Navarre, Wadsworth, Medina, Cleveland, Chippewa Lake and Massillon. A picnic dinner was served at noon.

Officers elected during the business meeting were Ralph Moore [Ralph Ely Moore, Sr., son of Caroline L. Gruissy Moore], of Akron, president, and Glen Spice [Glenn Aaron Spice grandson of Caroline L. Gruissy Moore] of Wadsworth, secretary and treasurer. Various games were enjoyed. The reunion will be held the same place next year the third Sunday in July.

Source: Creasy Family (Massillon, OH: The Evening Independent, 16 July 1934) 6; digital image, Newspapers.com: March 2018.

1935

Creasy Reunion. The 13^th annual reunion of the Creasy family was held Sunday in Sippo park when a picnic dinner and supper were served and there was a program of sports for which prizes were awarded. The reunion next year will be held in the same place.

Officers elected included Harry Creasy [Harry Lewis Creasy, son of Philip M. Creasy], president; Ernest Creasy [Ernest S. Creasy/Gruissy, son of Aaron Gruissy], vice president; Ella Creasy [wife of Ernest S. Creasy], secretary and treasurer; Ernest Creasy, Mrs. Ellen Halderbaum and William Mann are members of the entertainment committee.

Source: Creasy Reunion (Massillon, OH: The Evening Independent, 23 July 1935) 5; digital image, Newspapers.com: Accessed March 2018.

Related Posts:

• Augustus Ceaser Gruissy
• Christian Gruissy

Are you related to this family? I'd enjoy hearing from you!

Christian Gruissy Immigration 1835

Christian Gruissy

b c 1792 Switzerland

My 4th Great Grandfather

A Second Look

In 2011 I published a book, The Mark Family Story, that included my Gruissy roots. When I finished it I moved on to other branches of the family. Recently I have gone back to look at some of my Gruissy research notes & I did some searching on Ancestry. As we know, new records are always being added. I was happily surprised to find this record of Christian's arrival in the USA. Previously I had found him in Ohio in 1837. Now I know the he arrived two years before that. I wonder how they traveled from Switzerland to France; what led Christian to Ohio and how he traveled from New York to Ohio. Every discovery leads to more questions.

This record also shows two daughters I had not previously found, Elisabeth and Barbara.

Lesson to myself: Remember to go back and check for new information!

Ship: Rhode Island

Port of Departure, Le Harve, France

Arrival NY City 25 May 1835

Steerage Passengers:

Christian Gruissi          43        male     Laborer            Switzerland

Barbara                      44        female                          Switzerland

Christian                     23        male                             Switzerland

Elisabeth                     18        female                          Switzerland

Barbara                       13        female                          Switzerland

Rosina                         11        female                          Switzerland

John                             9        male                             Switzerland

Source: New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957; 25 May 1835, the Rhode Island; digital image, Ancestry (ancestry.com: March 2018) Christian Grussi.

Related Posts:

• Christian Gruissy, Jr.
• Augustus Ceaser Gruissy

Vintage Photographs: Reunited!

Esther Barbara Wolf Gruissy & Augustus Ceaser Gruissy

with their grandson

Richard Ray Nichols 

(son of Willis & Rephenia Cathern Gruissy Nichols)

I have had this photograph for some time. I like the framework and the photographer's information. Augustus is my 2nd great grandfather. My paternal grandmother, Ivy Regina Mark Brown, vaguely remembered seeing him as a little girl. She said he was friendly.

Recently (see previous post) a cousin contacted me. Carol  Morrison Moser had read my blog & reached out to me with photographs and family information. Carole is a descendant of Augustus and his first wife, Mary Everett. I am a descendant of Augustus' second wife, Esther Barbara Wolf. 

One of the photos Carole shared is below.

Rephenia Cathern Gruissy Nichols & 

Nancy Regina Gruissy Mark

 Augustus & Esther had 5 children. 

Only these two lived to adulthood.

Look at the two photographs! They must have been taken the same day. They show Augustus & Esther, their two daughters and their grandson. These photographs have been separated for many years and now, due to Carole, they are reunited. This is just one of many advantages of meeting cousins!

A few other Vintage Photographs:

• Alberta Joy Gardner Brown
• Elma Patrick
• Helen Coyle Gardner
• The Mark Family, 1930 OH
• Seth Benner Morrison
• 5 Morrison Sisters
• Emily Benner Morrison
• Bruce Alford
• Martin & Dollie Brumfield
• Cecil C. Fortenberry 
• Borden Hamilton Brown
• Thomas K. Mark & grandsons,c 1931