Karoline Bertha Emilie Oehns^{[1, 2]}

1858 - 1936  (77 years)

• Name	Karoline Bertha Emilie Oehns
  Nickname	Carlina
  Born	10 Oct 1858	Deutschland
  Emigration	1859	Prussia
  	Auswanderungsakten Brandenburg, Preußen
  Immigration	1859	United States
  	Source: 1900 US Census, 1910 US Census. 1920 Census states immigrated 1858, naturalised 1863
  Also Known As	1917
  	Bertha Owens - alternate spelling of name (from son William's death cert, of which Bertha was informant)
  Address	1936	4420 Anderson Ave, St. Louis, City, Missouri, United States
  Died	24 May 1936	St. Louis, City, Missouri, United States
  Buried	27 May 1936	Friedens Cemetery, St. Louis, City, Missouri, United States
  Gender	Female
  Notes	Bertha Riess alternately used the names "Carlina Riess" and "Bertha Riess". 1900 Census: Riess, Otto W; CARLINA B. (b. Oct 1858); sons William, Fred, Edwin, Elroy; neighbour Newsham. 1910 Census: Riess, BERTHA, age 51 sons William, Edward, Elroy; neighbour Newsham. 1917 death certificate of William: father Otto W. Riess (PA), mother BERTHA OWENS [sic] (Germany); signed Mrs. Bertha Riess. 1920 Census: Riess, BERTHA C age 61; son Elroy. 1936 death certificate of BERTHA Riess; father Fredrick Ohens, mother unknown, informant Elroy L Riess. 1955 death certificate of Edwin: father William Otto Riess, mother BERTHA OHEN [sic]. It is highly likely that these consecutive census entries are tracking the same person, and that she favoured the name Carlina B., at first, but later Bertha C., each time using the initial of her other forename. In her later life she was known primarily as Bertha. The anglicized name "Owens" may have been used by Bertha herself in 1917 due to anti-German sentiment. Parents of Bertha Ohens Riess: 1936 death certificate of Bertha Riess states: father Fredrick Ohens, Germany mother unknown, informant Elroy L Riess. Bertha herself was born in Germany - the census records and death certificate agree. She arrived in the United States before the birth of her oldest son William in Pennsylvania in June 1883 (ref, 1900 US Census). A search of Prussian emigration records reveals an extremely close match: Year 1859 Karoline Emilie Bertha Oehns Origin Zinna - Destination Amerika Birth 8 Okt 1858 - Age 1 The birthdate of this "Karoline E. Bertha Oehns" is only two days from that on the death certificate of "[Carlina] Bertha Ohens" (see previous note about the name Carlina, and how she used it interchangeably with Bertha, favouring the latter). "Carlina" may have been how her name was transcribed by an American bureaucrat, hearing "Karolina". "Acht Oktober" may have become 10 October, through a similar error. Searching the same Auswanderungsakten Brandenburg, Preußen records for "Oehns" in 1859, we find what appears to be a single family coming from the town of Zinna: Karl Julius Ludwig Oehns, b. 1823 Charlotte Caroline Leinert Oehns, b. 1829 Karoline Wilhelmine Emilie Oehns, b. 1856 Karoline Emilie Bertha Oehns, b. 8 Okt 1858 There are no other Oehns from Zinna in that emigration record in that year. Despite the name Frederick Oehns on the death certificate, then, I believe these to be more likely candidates for Bertha's parents, and am listing them as such. Note also that Elroy was unaware of his grandmother's name - either forename or surname - thus indicating that he was very unfamiliar with his own mother's origins. All of this is dependent on the assumptions that Carlina Bertha Oehns, born 10 Oct 1858, and Karoline Emilie Bertha Oehns, b. 8 Okt 1858, are one and the same person, and that she was - at the age of about one year - traveling with her parents and sister.
  Person ID	I25	tree1
  Last Modified	2 Sep 2011

  
  

  Father	Karl Julius Ludwig Oehns,   b. 11 Jan 1823, Prussia ,   d. Bef 1923  (Age 99 years)
  Mother	Charlotte Caroline Leinert,   b. 18 Sep 1829,   d. Bef 1929  (Age 99 years)
  Married	Before 1859	Prussia
  Family ID	F25	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Otto W. Riess,   b. Jun 1852, Pennsylvania, United States ,   d. 24 Sep 1905, St. Louis, City, Missouri, United States  (Age ~ 53 years)
  Married	1881
  Children	1. William M. Riess,   b. 11 Jun 1883, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States ,   d. 11 Apr 1917, 4225 No 11th St, St. Louis, City, Missouri, United States  (Age 33 years) + 2. Fredrick W. Riess, Sr.,   b. 2 Sep 1885, St. Louis, City, Missouri, United States ,   d. 21 May 1933, 6316 Lucille St, St. Louis, City, Missouri, United States  (Age 47 years) + 3. Edwin Charles Riess,   b. 3 Mar 1891,   d. 14 Feb 1955  (Age 63 years)   4. Elroy Louis Riess,   b. 16 Sep 1895, Missouri, United States ,   d. 10 Mar 1962  (Age 66 years)
  Last Modified	21 Aug 2011
  Family ID	F12	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

• Documents

  Death Certificate of Bertha Ohens Riess

  
  

  icons

  Coat of arms of Zinna, Prussia Coat of arms of Zinna, Prussia, probable origin of Bertha Oehns Riess

  
  

• Sources

  [S43] Missouri Death Certificates. Death certificate of Bertha Riess [S59] Emigration Records - Prussia. Auswanderungsakten Brandenburg, Preußen Karoline Emilie Bertha Oehns age 1 origin Zilla dest. Amerika year 1859 born 8 Okt 1858