The Second Generation

Census records show that Phillip and Maria Jergens’ children married German immigrants or the children of German immigrants. When I mentioned this to Margaret Jergens, she said that when her parents wished to talk privately around their kids, they spoke German.

Helena Jergens was born on January 2, 1846, most likely in Delhi Township, Hamilton County, Ohio. On January 12, 1869, at Holy Trinity Church in Dayton, Montgomery county, Ohio, 23-year-old Helena married Jacob Zink, a butcher. Jacob, the son of Frank Joseph Zink and Theresa Nann, was born “at the old Four Mile House in [Montgomery] county” exactly one year earlier than Helena, according to History of the City of Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio, as well as the date of birth listed on his death record. In her brother Phillip’s biography in History of the City of Dayton, Helena is mentioned as “Lena.”

Helena and Jacob had twelve children (surname ZINK):

      i. Mary Frances.

     ii. John J.

    iii. Mary Helen.

    iv. Daniel J.

     v. Benjamin.

    vi. Samuel.

    vii. Elizabeth.

   viii. Lawrence.

    ix. Theresa.

     x. Phillip.

    xi. Anthony Joseph ("Andy")

   xii. Viola.

 

Here’s what Jacob Zink’s biography in History of the City of Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio, published in 1909, had to say about him:

Jacob died at age 67 on February 28, 1912, of “acute indigestion,” apparently brought about by ptomaine poisoning. He was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio, on March 2, 1912 in Section 14, Lot S119, Grave 1NW. Helena died of a cerebral hemorrhage at age 78 on January 24, 1924, in Dayton, Ohio. On January 28th she was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Dayton, in Section 14, Lot N119, Grave 3NW. Helena’s interment record lists her name as “Helen.”

 

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Mary Jergens was born November 27, 1847, most likely in Delhi Township, Hamilton County, Ohio. On May 5, 1868, at Holy Trinity Church in Dayton, Montgomery county, Ohio, she married Franklin Joseph Zink (known as Joseph). Joseph Zink was born March 20, 1847 in Ohio. He was a butcher like his brother Jacob (who married Mary’s sister Helena). Mary and Joseph Zink had twelve children, ten of whom survived to adulthood. Mary died in West Milton, Miami County, Ohio, on December 5, 1909. Joseph died March 31, 1923, also in West Milton. Both Mary Zink and her husband Joseph are buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in Piqua, Miami county, Ohio.

Joseph and Mary (Jergens) Zink had twelve children (surname ZINK):

      i. Franklin Joseph, Jr. (1869-1921)

     ii. (Infant Zink)

    iii. William Anthony (1872-1943)

    iv. Lewis H. (1874-1940)

     v. Minnie Alice (1876-1952)

    vi. John Isaac (1878-1929)

    vii. Mary Catherine (1880-1953)

   viii. Walter Clements (1882-1952)

    ix. Charles Lawrence (1885-1956)

     x. George Albert (1887-1949)

    xi. (Infant Zink)

   xii. Mary Louise (1890-1972)

 

 

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Margaret Jergens, known as “Maggie,” was born on August 22, 1849, most likely in Delhi Township, Hamilton County, Ohio. On November 25, 1873 she married John Kleinfelder, a blacksmith, born in January 1845 in Germany. Census records indicate that this family also lived in Mad River Township. The essay states that Maggie “raised a family of ten children.” In the 1900 census Maggie is listed as having given birth to ten children, eight of whom were then living. John Kleinfelder died suddenly of “heart failure” on April 26, 1899 at age 54 years, 3 months, 20 days (per the records of Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Dayton). He was buried on April 30th in Calvary Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio, in Section 13, Lot 152, Grave 2NE. Maggie died at age 59 on December 30, 1908. Her cause of death was recorded as “ovarian cyst.” She was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Dayton on New Year’s Day 1909, in Section 13, Lot 152, Grave 1NE.

John and Maggie (Jergens) Kleinfelder had the following children (surname KLEINFELDER):

Two of Maggie and John Kleinfelder’s ten children died either at birth or soon after. One was a daughter named Katherine, the other a son named Benjamin. This son may have been the “Peter B. Kleinfelder” whose obituary appeared in the August 15, 1879 issue of the Dayton Daily Journal. Benjamin and Katherine were buried in the old St. Henry Cemetery in Dayton. When this cemetery closed, they were reinterred under the chapel in Calvary Cemetery.

 

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Elizabeth Mary Jergens, known as “Liz,” was born August 6, 1853, most likely in Delhi Township, Hamilton County, Ohio.

Elizabeth first married George Logel on May 21, 1872. Because George was not yet 21 years old at the time, his mother Barbara Logel gave her consent to this marriage. Elizabeth and George had two children (surname LOGEL):

      i. John Jacob (1873-1940)

     ii. Anna Maria (“Annie”) (1877-1894), who died in her teens.

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Elizabeth (Jergens) Logel married a second time, on August 2, 1911, to Charles J. Heckler, a man younger than her son John.

Charles Heckler, enumerated as a boarder in the Jergens household in the 1900 and 1910 censuses, was born August 5, 1879 (despite the fact that his headstone has a birth year of 1875 carved on it). Charles’ interment record gives Celina (Mercer County), Ohio, as his place of birth. We found Charles Heckler in the 1880 census in Hopewell Township, Mercer County, Ohio, the 10-month-old son of German immigrant Joseph Heckler, a farmer, and his Ohio-born wife Catharine.

Elizabeth (Jergens) (Logel) Heckler died at age 80 on July 12, 1934, in Dayton. She was buried four days later in Calvary Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio, in Section 12, Lot 21, Grave 3SW. On March 25, 1948, Charles Heckler died in Dayton at age 68. He was buried next to Elizabeth on March 30th in Calvary Cemetery in Section 12, Lot 21, Grave 2SW.

 

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Phillip Jergens, Jr. Phillip was born September 22, 1855 in Mad River Township. Phillip’s occupation was that of butcher. He and his family lived on the Old Troy Pike in Mad River Township, about a mile and a half from his parents’ homestead property. On April 29, 1879, Phillip married Mary Abele, born November 22, 1860 in Dayton, Ohio, the daughter of German immigrants John and Barbara Abele. Mary (Abele) Jergens was the older sister of Magdalena (Abele) Jergens.

Mary and Phillip Jergens, Jr. had two children (surname JERGENS):

      i. Phillip Peter (1881-1931)

     ii. Ida Mary Magdalen (1887-1967)

 

The History of the City of Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio, has a biographical section about Phillip Jergens, Jr.:

 

We confess to developing a special affection for Phillip Jergens, Jr., after finding mention of him in the local newspapers. Not only did he sue two of his siblings in a dispute over his parents’ property; he also operated an extensive distillery on his own land during Prohibition. In 1923, he was arrested for violation of the liquor laws, fined, and sentenced to sixty days in the Miami county jail. In 1932, he got busted all over again for the same offense (but on a smaller scale). Because Phillip was 78 years old by that time, his sentence was suspended.

We also rather enjoyed the Dayton Daily News’ description of the 1932 raid on Phillip’s backyard still:

 

Could “the woman” have been Phillip, Jr.’s wife, Mary? We can’t think of who else it might have been, given the location and the circumstances. Likely there was more to the story than reported here; but we are in awe of Mary (Abele) Jergens’ steely resolve, even if the gun was loaded with the wrong ammo.

Stories like these bring folks to life in our imaginations, and move us to embrace them with all their flaws and foibles.

Phillip, Jr., outlived three of his four grandchildren as well as his only son. In their old age, both he and wife Mary went to live with their daughter Ida and her family at 159 Oxford Avenue in Dayton, which is where both Phillip and Mary died. Phillip passed away first, on October 27, 1937 at age 82. He was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Dayton, in Section 14, Lot 83, Grave 1SW, on October 30, 1937. Mary (Abele) Jergens died at age 83 on August 21, 1944 and was buried three days later near her husband in Calvary Cemetery, in Section 14, Lot 83, Grave 2SW.

To see photos of Phillip Jergens, Jr., his wife Mary, and their family, click here.

 

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Peter Joseph Jergens was born November 6, 1857 in Mad River Township, Montgomery Co., Ohio. Peter was a “gardener” like his father, Phillip, Sr., which is to say he planted, grew, and sold a variety of flowers in the springtime, and then all different kinds of vegetables as they matured and ripened for harvesting throughout the summer and early autumn.

Peter got his own biographical section in the History of the City of Dayton and Montgomery County, Ohio (though it listed his year of birth incorrectly):

On August 6, 1889, at Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Dayton, Ohio, Peter Jergens married Magdalena Abele. Magdalena was the youngest child of German immigrants John and Barbara Abele, and the sister of Mary Abele who wed Peter’s brother Phillip, Jr. (see above). Born circa February 1871, Magdalena was considerably younger than her husband.

Magdalena and Peter Jergens, Sr., had three children (surname JERGENS):

      i. Mary. Born December 3, 1889, Mary died shortly after birth. She was buried December 5, 1889 in Calvary Cemetery, Dayton, in Section 1, Lot 284.

     ii. Henry Peter (“Harry”) (1890-1958)

    iii. Peter Joseph, Jr. (1893-1979)

Our curiosity is piqued by the proximity of Peter and Magdalena’s wedding date to the birth of their first child. Mary, born exactly seventeen weeks after her parents’ marriage, probably was born prematurely. The Jergens family essay states that “she died about an hour after her birth.” We think Magdalena may have been expecting this child prior to her wedding day, because a fetus of only four months’ gestation probably wouldn’t have survived for even an hour. Whatever the case may have been, we view this sort of thing as not uncommon and appreciate the interest it adds to the family history.

Magdalena (Abele) Jergens died of tuberculosis on October 19, 1895 and was buried on October 23rd in Calvary Cemetery, Dayton, in Section 14, Lot 83, Grave 2NW. Harry was only four years old, and little Peter not quite two, when their mother died. Following Magdalena’s death, Elizabeth (Jergens) Logel took care of the boys. The 1900 census shows Elizabeth Logel living in her brother Peter Jergens’ household with Harry and Peter, Jr.

Peter Jergens, Sr., never remarried. In the 1920 census he is listed as living with son Peter, Jr., and family; in the 1930 census, he is shown to be residing with son Harry and family. He died at age 90 on February 15, 1948 at Harry’s home. Peter’s civil death record noted his cause of death as “arterio sclerotic heart disease.” Peter Jergens, Sr., was buried on February 19th in Calvary Cemetery, Dayton, OH, in Section 14, Lot 83, Grave 3NW, next to Magdalena.

 

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Joseph Jergens, the youngest of Phillip, Sr. and Mary (Steffen) Jergens’ children, was born July 17, 1860 in Mad River Township, Montgomery Co., Ohio. Early in life, Joseph worked as a butcher; he is listed in an 1888-92 Dayton, Ohio, directory as being located on the Springfield Pike, east of the corporation line. On May 18, 1882, in Dayton, Joseph married Louisa Barbara (“Lucy B.”) Dessecker, born November 17, 1861, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the daughter of German immigrants John and Regina (Henizer) Dessecker. The 1900 census tells us that the family lived at 9 Brandt Street in Dayton.

By 1910 Joseph Jergens’ occupation was no longer that of butcher – he was employed as a machinist, apparently making “Automobile parts.” His son John, who lived next door on Grove Street in Dayton, also worked as a machinist, in an “Auto Factory.” The 1900 and 1910 censuses tell us that Lucy Jergens had borne seven children, four of whom were then living. One of the lost children was daughter Anna Alberta, born March 15, 1891. Calvary Cemetery in Dayton has no details regarding Anna’s age at death, only that she was buried in Section 1, Lot 284. Son Edward died March 19, 1899 at age seven months (of “brain fever,” per Our Lady of the Rosary Church records; the city of Dayton listed the cause of death as “spasms”). Edward Jergens was buried near his sister Anna. Between Anna and Edward is another infant burial, Julia Jergens, who also might have been the child of Joseph and Lucy. Calvary Cemetery has no dates of birth or death for Julia.

The four surviving children of Lucy and Joseph Jergens were (surname JERGENS):

      i. John Philip (28 Aug 1882 – 4 Dec 1918) married Lucille Saunders on May 8, 1905. They had at least two children, daughters named Alberta and Mary Lucille. Lucille (Saunders) Jergens died at age 26 in 1913. Little Mary Lucille Jergens died at age 8 in February 1917 in a Catholic orphanage in Cincinnati. John P. Jergens died in 1918 at Dayton State Hospital for the Insane in Van Buren, Montgomery county, Ohio, of general paresis brought on by syphilis. They are all buried (but not together) in Calvary Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio. (Alberta L. Jergens is buried there also, but the death info doesn’t match the 1910 census info.).

     ii. William J. (5 Oct 1884 – 7 Dec 1948) married Mary A. Disken. It appears that this couple had no children.

    iii. Helen Mary (4 April 1889 – 17 Dec 1952) married Otto Richter. They had one child, Harold Otto Richter (born 2 Dec 1912, died 3 Aug 2009).

    iv. Regina May (18 July 1893 – 29 Oct 1974) married Edward A. Reese around 1915. In the 1920 census, this couple and their child were shown to be living with Regina’s older brother William and wife Mary. They had at least one child, a son named Edward A. Reese, Jr. Apparently Edward divorced Regina: Dayton city directories prior to 1930 show Mrs. Regina Reese living alone and Mr. Edward A. Reese with a new wife. In both the 1930 and 1940 censuses, Regina was enumerated in Gallipolis, Gallia county, OH, as a patient at the Ohio Hospital for Epileptics. The Social Security Death Index indicates that Regina Reese died in Gallipolis, suggesting that she spent more than half her life hospitalized. Regina (Jergens) Reese is buried in St. Louis Catholic Cemetery in Gallipolis, OH.

Lucy B. (Dessecker) Jergens died at home, which was 160 Grove Street in Dayton, on April 27, 1914, of “broncho-pneumonia.” She was 52 years old. Lucy was buried two days later in Calvary Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio in Section 6, Lot 22, Tier 7C. Joseph Jergens died in Dayton at age 62 on May 13, 1924, of acute pericarditis. His death record notes his occupation as “sand blaster.” Joseph was buried on May 16th with his wife in Section 6, Lot 22, Tier 7C.

The Third Generation

John Jacob Logel (Elizabeth², Phillip¹, Philipp⁰ )

John Logel was born September 1, 1873 in Mad River Township, Montgomery County, Ohio, the first child and only son of George and Elizabeth (Jergens) Logel. We knew that John’s middle initial was J; and we appreciate that he spelled out his name in full on his World War I draft registration.

On May 25, 1898, at Our Lady of the Rosary Church in North Dayton, John Logel married Elizabeth Mary “Lizzie” Edemann, born March 7, 1877 in Greene county, Ohio, the daughter of German immigrants Henry and Gertrude (Aman) Edemann. They had thirteen children (surname LOGEL):

      i. Leo Joseph (1899-1973)

     ii. Henry John (1900-1985)

    iii. Gertrude M. (1901-1921) died of pulmonary tuberculosis.

    iv. Anna Marie (1903-1971)

     v. Helen Elizabeth (born 1904, died 1907 at 2 years, 7 months of age.)

    vi. Josephine Marie (1906-1985)

    vii. Eleanora M. (1907-1998)

   viii. Catherine M. (1909-1995)

    ix. Louise M. (1910-1910)

     x. Rose Mary (1912-1920).

    xi. Elizabeth M. (1914-1966)

   xii. John J., Jr. (1916-1978)

  xiii. Lucille M. (1920-2003)

 

Elizabeth (Edemann) Logel died at age 62 on June 19, 1939. She was buried June 22, 1939 in Calvary Cemetery, Dayton, OH, in Section 9, Lot 18, Tier 6, H. Her husband, John Logel, Sr., died the following year, on January 29, 1940 at age 66. John was buried on the 1st of February with his wife Elizabeth in Section 9, Lot 18, Tier 6, H, in Calvary Cemetery.

 

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Phillip Peter Jergens (Phillip², Phillip¹, Philipp⁰ )

Phillip P. Jergens, the son of Phillip Jergens, Jr. and Mary Abele, was born on April 25, 1881 in Mad River Township, Montgomery county, Ohio. We have gleaned from Phillip’s draft registration the exact date of his birth, his middle name, and the fact that his eyes were blue. Initially, Phillip worked as a butcher, like his father. By September 12, 1918, when Phillip completed a draft registration for World War I, he listed his occupation as “assistant chief inspector” for Platt Iron Works in Dayton. Phillip’s 1931 death record noted his occupation as “plumber.”

On January 20, 1904, at Our Lady of the Rosary church in Dayton (also known as Holy Rosary), Phillip Peter married Viola M. Blaeszer, born July 1, 1884, in Dayton, the daughter of Henry and Kate (Kuntz) Blaeszer. They had two children (surname JERGENS):

Phillip and Viola Jergens endured the tragic loss of both their children. In 1918, twelve-year-old Philip A. Jergens died of shock and hemorrhage from a gunshot wound to his right lung. The accident occurred on November 28th; young Philip died early the next morning. Thirteen years later, Mary Kathryn Jergens was working as a domestic when she developed blood poisoning (septicemia) following a bacterial infection of the lymph nodes of her neck (cervical adenitis). Her illness lasted nearly two weeks; she died at home at the age of 26 on February 23, 1931. Both Mary Kathryn and Philip Andrew Jergens were buried in Calvary Cemetery in Dayton, in Section 14, Lot 83.

On the day Mary Kathryn died, the doctor who had tended her now turned his attention to her father, who had chronic heart problems. On March 9, 1931, two weeks after Mary Kathryn’s death, Phillip died at age 49; the loss of his last surviving child probably broke his already ailing heart. Phillip P. Jergens was buried on March 13th in Calvary Cemetery, Dayton, OH, in Section 14, Lot 83, Grave 3SW.

Viola M. (Blazer) Jergens outlived her husband and children by many years. She died on March 12, 1966, at 81 years of age and was buried four days later in Section 14, Lot 83, Grave 2SE of Calvary Cemetery, near her husband.

 

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Ida Mary Magdalen Jergens (Phillip², Phillip¹, Philipp⁰ )

Ida Mary Magdalen Jergens, the daughter of Phillip Jergens, Jr. and Mary Abele, was born on May 6, 1887 in Mad River Township, Montgomery county, Ohio. The 1910 census tells us that Ida was a music teacher. On May 12, 1915, at Our Lady of the Rosary church in Dayton, Ida married Frank Kramer Meyers, born November 23, 1874, the son of German immigrants Joseph H. Meyers and Elizabeth Kramer. Frank Meyers worked as a letter carrier for the US postal service.

Ida and Frank had two children (surname MEYERS):

Son Franklyn died of pneumonia a couple of months shy of his fifteenth birthday. He was laid to rest in Calvary Cemetery in Dayton in Section 6, Lot 17, Grave 1. Four-and-a-half years later, Frank K. Meyers died at age 60 on August 14, 1935; he was buried in Calvary Cemetery in Section 6, Lot 18, Grave 2.

The 1940 census shows three people in the Meyers household – Ida; Charlotte; and Ida’s mother, Mary Jergens. Both of Ida’s parents had come to live with her in their final years. Her father passed away in 1937; her mother, in 1944.

Ida’s daughter Charlotte Louise Meyers, born February 19, 1925, in Dayton, married Paul Donald Mathews. Paul was born in Czechoslovakia on February 4, 1905, the son of Paul and Susie (Petrick) Matusovic. The Matusovic family emigrated from Béld, Slovakia (then part of the Austro‐Hungarian Empire), arriving in New York City on May 10, 1912. They settled in Detroit, Michigan.

Note that, while Susie and Paul, Sr., stayed with the original spelling of their surname, Paul, Jr., chose at some point to anglicize it to Mathews. All of them anglicized their given names: Pál to Paul; Zsuzsanna to Susie. Paul, Jr. grew up to be a college‐educated architect, whose accomplishments included helping to design Main Street at Disneyland in Anaheim, California. Mathews family lore says that Charlotte Meyers and Paul Mathews met when both were working at Wright Field in Dayton in the early 1940s. Paul’s service start date with the US Army Air Forces during World War II was May 6, 1942, which may explain why he was at Wright Field.

When Paul and Charlotte moved to California, they brought Charlotte’s mother Ida with them. Paul & Charlotte Mathews and Ida Meyers appear in the 1946 voter rolls for Santa Monica, Los Angeles county, CA. They lived at 1423 24th Street.

Charlotte and Paul had three children (surname MATHEWS), all of whom are still living.

Paul Donald Mathews died on March 25, 1965, in Los Angeles. On March 31st, he was laid to rest in Ft. Rosecrans National Cemetery in San Diego, in Section Ps‐3, Site 379‐C. His headstone declares his military rank as Captain.

Charlotte married again: On July 1, 1967, in Los Angeles, she wed Robert J. Hering. Exactly five weeks later, Ida (Jergens) Meyers died at age 80, on August 5, 1967 in Santa Monica, Los Angeles county, CA. She had outlived her husband Frank by thirty‐two years. Ida was laid to rest in Calvary Cemetery in Dayton, Ohio, on August 8, 1967, in Section 6, Lot 18, Grave 1, between her husband and son.

Charlotte (Meyers) (Mathews) Hering was 82 years old when she passed away on November 29, 2007, in Pacific Palisades, Los Angeles county, CA. Her husband Robert Hering died soon after, on February 4, 2008. They are both interred at Woodlawn cemetery in Santa Monica.

 

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Henry Peter ("Harry") Jergens (Peter², Phillip¹, Philipp⁰ )

Harry Jergens was born on December 9, 1890 in Mad River Township, Montgomery County, Ohio. Like his father and grandfather, Harry was a gardener. On May 8, 1912, when Harry was 21 years old, he married Bertha Mary Rediess, the daughter of German immigrants Edward F. and Rosa (Kliche) Rediess, at Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Dayton, Ohio. (The Rediess family is enumerated in the 1910 census at the top of the same page where the Logel families are listed.) Bertha was born on August 6, 1890.

Harry and Bertha Jergens had ten children, eight of whom survived infancy (surname JERGENS):

Harry and Bertha Jergens’s children were educated through the 8th grade at Our Lady of the Rosary parochial school. After graduation, they all went to work for their father.

Bertha (Rediess) Jergens died in Dayton, Montgomery County, OH, on April 10, 1958, at 67 years of age, and was buried four days later in Section 7, Lot 68, Grave 3NE of Calvary Cemetery in Dayton. Little more than two months later, 67-year-old Harry died on June 19, 1958, in Dayton, OH, and was buried on the 23rd of June in Calvary Cemetery, Dayton, OH, in Section 7, Lot 68, Grave 4NE.

 

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Peter Joseph Jergens, Jr. (Peter², Phillip¹, Philipp⁰ )

Peter Jergens, Jr., was born in Mad River Township, Montgomery County, Ohio on November 23, 1893. Like his brother, father, and grandfather, Peter Jergens worked as a gardener. Early on, Peter used a horse and wagon for his various transportation needs. Later, his occupation was more aptly termed “truck gardener,” when motorized vehicles came into common use.

On Thursday, May 10, 1917 at Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Dayton, Peter Jergens married Cecilia Margaret Leyes, born March 18, 1895, the oldest child of Anna Margaret Hecht and Henry J. Leyes.

In 2003 Peter's son Eugene wrote about why his parents were married on a Thursday: “The occupation of a vegetable farmer had restrictions on time, and limited free time in May. Also, Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday were market days. Street markets in the downtown area [were] very important for income. So you can get a picture of why Thursday was logical -- it likely gave space for a twelve-hour honeymoon, because Friday was back to work in preparation for Saturday market.”

Peter and Cecilia (Leyes) Jergens had nine children (surname JERGENS):

      i. Rita Marie was born February 27, 1918, in Dayton, Montgomery Co., Ohio. She was married to Cletus A. Schmidt for 67 years; he predeceased her in 2008. They have four children, four grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. Rita died in Hemet, California, on July 6, 2009, at the age of 91. She and her husband are interred together at Riverside National Cemetery in Riverside, CA.

     ii. Margaret Mary Cecilia was born June 5, 1919, in Dayton, Montgomery Co., Ohio. Margaret was married to Elmer Ellsworth Watson, Jr. (known as “Doc”) for 68 years. They raised their family in South Windsor, Connecticut, where they resided for 55 years. Margaret died in Port Charlotte, Florida, on July 24, 2012, at age 93. Doc Watson died in Rotonda West, Florida, on July 27, 2016, at age 101. They were laid to rest together in Center Cemetery, South Windsor, Connecticut, on May 27, 2017, with military honors for Doc for his service in the US Army during WWII. They were survived by six children, six grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.

    iii. Mary Ann Cecilia was born July 6, 1920, in Dayton, Montgomery Co., Ohio. She was married to Earl R. Guntle for 38 years; he predeceased her in 1980. They had eight children, eighteen grandchildren, and twenty-five great-grandchildren. Mary Ann died at Miami Valley Hospital, Dayton, OH, on February 14, 2015, at the age of 94. She and her husband are interred together at Hill Grove Cemetery in Miamisburg, OH.

    iv. Joseph.   This child was stillborn on November 10, 1922 and buried the next day in Section 14, Lot 83, Grave 12NE, Calvary Cemetery, Dayton, Ohio.

     v. Eugene Joseph, known from childhood as “Bud.” He was born August 16, 1924, in Dayton, Montgomery Co., Ohio. During WWII, Bud served in the U.S. Navy. When Bud died February 23, 2005, in Dayton, Ohio, at the age of 80, he was survived by his wife of 60 years, seven children, thirteen grandchildren, eight great-grandchildren, and a great-great-grandson. Eugene J. “Bud” Jergens was buried with military honors in Dayton National Cemetery on February 28, 2005. Bud’s wife, Charlotte (Madascy) Jergens, died in Dayton on November 8, 2018.

    vi. Doloris Mary Bernadette was born January 27, 1926, in Dayton, Montgomery Co., Ohio. On June 24, 1944, in Kandiyohi, MN, Doloris married Wallace F. Stuhr. Wallace was born in Kandiyohi County, MN, on July 16, 1920. Wallace Stuhr died on July 24, 2004, in San Diego Co., CA; Doloris (Jergens) Stuhr died on July 12, 2019, in El Cajon, San Diego Co., CA. They were survived by their six children and eleven grandchildren.

    vii. Living Jergens (1929-)

   viii. Jerome Joseph was born April 6, 1931 in Dayton, Montgomery Co., Ohio. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean Conflict. Jerome died on March 27, 2013, at the age of 81, in Dayton. He was survived by his wife of 59 years, nine children, thirteen grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

    ix. Charlotte Mary Madonna, known as “Madonna.” She was born September 8, 1934 in Dayton, Montgomery Co., Ohio. On October 6, 1956, when Madonna was 22, she married John S. Goncey, born in Dayton on December 2, 1925. John Goncey died on September 3, 2009, in California; Madonna (Jergens) Goncey died on March 23, 2010, in La Mesa, California. They were survived by their daughter, son-in-law, four grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren.

 

Peter and Cecilia Jergens’s children were educated at Our Lady of the Rosary parochial school, as well as at Kiser High School and Stivers High School, all in Dayton.

In February 1947, Peter, Cecilia, and family moved from Dayton to nearby Miamisburg. (The youngest members of this family probably graduated from the high school local to Miamisburg.)

In 1958, when Peter and Cecilia Jergens were visiting their daughters who lived in southern California, Cecilia became seriously ill and was hospitalized in San Diego. She died in the hospital on May 7, 1958, at age 63, just days before her 41st wedding anniversary. She is buried in Holy Cross Catholic Cemetery, 4470 Hilltop Drive, San Diego, San Diego County, CA, in the section named “Our Lady of Guadalupe,” Plot #1306, Grave #6.

Peter Jergens, Jr., married a second time, on November 28, 1959, to Hildegard Emma (Schmit) Helterline, born June 1, 1898 in Pearl Lake, Minnesota, the widow of George Andrew Helterline [Halterlein] of Plains, Montana. Hilda lived in southern California and worked as a housekeeper in a parish rectory. Peter met Hilda after Cecilia’s death, when he was again visiting his daughters in California. Peter and Hilda Jergens lived in Miamisburg, Ohio.

Hilda (Schmit) (Helterline) Jergens died August 27, 1979 at age 81. Hilda’s children from her previous marriage had her remains brought back to Plains, Sanders County, Montana, for burial in Plains Cemetery. Peter, aged 85, died weeks later, in Miamisburg, Montgomery County, Ohio, on October 14, 1979. He was buried on October 18th in Miamisburg Catholic Cemetery, Miamisburg, Ohio.