From the 1842 town chronicles of Horrenburg, Germany

"Until 1842 Horrenberg had a village square which was known as Lindenplatz or Kegelplatz.  The Lindenplatz was  located at the place where Horrenberg's town hall is today. Travelers who rode on the Reichsstrasse coming from Wiesloch in the direction of Nuremberg inevitably had to notice the inn, "Zum Wilden Mann" beside the Lindenplatz.  Since the middle ages it was a nice possibility to take a break in the inn "Zum Wilden Mann" or to stay the night before crossing the national border.  

Around 1840 the plans for the construction of a first town hall began in Horrenberg.  The building was to be built on the communitys own Lindenplatz.  Josef Janson, the owner of "Zum Wilden Mann" connected with the construction serious disadvantages for his inn.  The wild man should disappear completely behind the large town hall building, which would mean the loss of access for Janson.  In the course of the debate with the community (of) Horrenberg, Janson finally brought action against the community and its mayor Johann Hering.  He relied on the age old justice of the wild man".

I might be wrong, but it looks like the restaurant would be blocked from view if you were approaching from the NE, along the road going S.  The square roof in the center of the photo must be the town hall--so yes, it would block the view of the Restaurant Wilden Mann.



"The process around the Lindenplatz dragged itself through three instances (district court, Hofgericht, Oberhofgericht) and was finally decided by the grand ducal Oberhofgericht in Mannheim in favor of the municipality Horrenberg.  In the course of the process there were many testimonies and local appointments. From a sketch plan for Weisloch district court shows that the road to Hoffenheim at the town hall described a sharp turn and was not created as a turnoff from the road to Balzfeld. At the place of nowadays town hall, a gravel path deviated with gravel branched off, which crossed the Lindenplatz and ended immediately before the wild man.  This path not only served as a gateway to the wild man but was also the main access to Horrenberger castle in the middle ages.

 According to the case files, the Janson family owned the wild man for 100 years as a successor to the Hamburger family.  Johann Adam Janson from Baiertal (born 1709, died 1798) had taken over the wild man around 1740 from his father-in-law Johann Caspar Hamburger.  The inn later passed to his son Georg Adam Janson (born 1739, died 1795).  Later his widow ran the inn until 1803. As a result, Valentin Janson was its owner until 1830. Since 1830, the inn and its associated agriculture belonged to the son Josef Janson. 

During the course of the trial Josef Janson wanted several witnesses to appear (Maria Ihle, 83 years, Josef Fuchs, 80 years, Johann Ihle, 78 years), who were to confirm that the wild man could only be reached via the mentioned ravine and there were ways to do so Justice exists since time immemorial.  Janson demanded an expedited litigation "otherwise the witnesses die".  The court could not agree with the plaintiff's arguments and dismissed Jansons lawsuit for a fee.  

Previously the community Horrenberg had been seized twice because they had not pre-stretched in the opinion of the municipal councils unnecessary court costs.  At the end of the process there were several losers.  Innkeeper Janson had not only lost the case but was also financially ruined by the conviction to pay all court and attorney fees. Since the Horrenberg parish had split into two camps during the trial, those who supported the community's position no longer visited Janson's inn.  

Finally, Janson emigrated with his family to the US because he saw no future in Horrenberg.  Since Mayor Hering also had a large part of the population against him, he was replaced.  When he was brought to trial during the revolution of 1848/49 as a sympathizer of the republican movement, he also emigrated to America.  The new Horrenberg town hall which was initially also used as a school, fulfills its function until the municipal reform of 1972".

Thank you to Kai's wife Kathrin for translating this chronicle page and typing it up so we could make sense of it 😊

Woohoo--Jansons from Germany!

It's incredible...after YEARS of investigating, the blog actually paid off this week😄.  I'm only sorry Larry's no longer here to appreciate it.  Here's some background, you'll recall:

Cousins Josef and Johannes Janson and their families left Balzfeld, Germany in 1883 (125 years ago!) and settled in Buckman, Minnesota.  Josef luckily became my great grandfather via his son Anton and his grand-daughter Orlinda (my mom).  The farm they settled on is still the Janson farm, a mile west of Buckman.

 Last summer, cousin Dave Janson and his family toured Europe.  They visited the Balzfeld-Horrenburg area (a few miles south of Heidelburg), where they met another lovely Janson family--Kai and his wife and two sons.  (The connection was thru Diana Jung, a wonderfully friendly local woman I met online when I found Balzfeld-Horrenburg on Facebook 😊).  The party truly was a reunion, hosted by Roger and Janice, there on the farm.

So, why do we think we're connected to Kai and fam (besides the name)?  Ha--Kai and both sons have middle names that are "family names":  Kai Otto Janson, his wife Kathrin, and sons Marvin Daniel and Leon Sebastian...plus Kai is just as obsessed with family history as I am.   

We talked as fast as we could.  Kai had a printout on the wall of the Janson family as far as he knew it.  But of course his research goes as far as his family now, but doesn't include many of those who left, while my research goes up to when Josef left Germany in 1883, but misses those who stayed in Europe.  We didn't actually find the connection, but we will!  

Kathrin brought the definitive story on the "Zum Wilden Mann"--but I don't have a working scanner, so I'll have to type it out.  The internet is a little weird tonight, too, so I'll type that for the next post. 

HOORAY that we got to meet Kai and family--  

Das leben ist gut!

Larry Robert Royston (1960-2017)

In the spring of 2005, I answered a question posed on a blog called "Love and the Happy Cynic".  I was flattered when I got an answer--I mean, bloggers were BMOC, with thousands of followers, right?  But this guy actually wrote back, and wanted to talk.  Turned out he lived in a little town in Georgia with his wife Jan.  He'd grown up in Hawaii, knew tons about history, was well read and very funny, and had young-onset Parkinson's Disease.

That was Larry, the co-author of "Janson" (and "Hesch History").  We emailed and chatted most days, tried to make each other laugh.  We often discussed books or the news, as you do, and one day he asked what I knew about my ancestors.  I vaguely recalled a story about a great grandfather who fell out of a wagon, and a Janson grandpa who came here as a 3 year old. That was about it.

So started an adventure that kept us both interested for years.  HH  began in January 2009, and "Janson" that September.  This post is the 300th here.  We tapered off in the last year, partly because of Larry's PD, but mostly because we ran out of new sources to tap.  He was an inspiration, zeroing in on small facts that turned into days of fun research (about local people and the history of Buckman and St Michaels, among many other topics).  Because of Larry, I went to Europe to find the places we discovered (and because Marion persuaded me ☺).

It's been a wonderful twelve years, knowing Larry.  I'm heartbroken that he's gone.  I've lost a dear friend, and as I've said before, he knew way more about us than you do. 

Rest in peace, dear friend.

I'll miss you always

Aunt Jeanette turns 90

This last Saturday we celebrated Aunt Jeanette Janson's 90th birthday.  It was an open house at the Pierz Ballroom (the Funhouse 😊) and a ton of people came to wish her a HBD.  She taught school in the area for 42 years, so there were former students and lots of neighbors, friends and family. It was great.
Here are some old and new pics of the last 90 years...
(Thanks to family Facebook pages for most of em).

 This photo was taken at the party--most of my wonderful family and two of my sisters.  Can you pick out Kathy, Marion and me?  ☺  

AJs crown was perfect on her, don't you think?

 (Just a side note: remember how, at weddings when we were kids, the whole hall would be hazy with cigarette smoke?  Well, at the party on Saturday, a friend of the family was telling a joke and needed cellophane for the punch line.  He asked the smokers in the crowd to bring a pack to the stage--and NO ONE had cigs!  (Or, no one wanted to admit it) but even 10 years ago, there would have been plenty of packs to choose from...now, not even one.  Truly remarkable!)

Henry Naber Obituary from 1888

Hooray!  Another connection confirmed: yesterday, I got a delightful email from Judy, who, you'll remember, is descended from Henry Naber, our G G Grandfather Gerhard's brother, who farmed in Bremen township, Delaware Co, near Dyersville, Iowa.  To refresh your memory, he's the middle oval on the tree below.  You're welcome.

By today's standards, all three brothers died young--63, 65, and 59--but they all had families, and descendants, some of whom are currently trying to piece together their stories.
Judy wrote to the Dyersville Historical Society asking for Henry's obit.  It's short but gives a lot of info--altho it doesn't completely clear things up, since every generation seemed to have multiple variations on the name John Henry! (The photo might or might not be him, but the vintage seems possible)...

Judy writes: "My current theory is this:  There is a B.H. Naber and Anna Marie Tegla Naber, presumably husband & wife buried at the cemetery at New Vienna according to Find a Grave.  According to Find a Grave, J.H. is their son.  There's a bit in the St Boniface Centennial Book of 1995 about John Herman (J.H.) that confirms his middle name and also that of his father: Bernard Herman Naber.  I'm thinking I can also tie this information in to the B.H. Naber and 3 sons: Theodor, Henry (John H) & Gerhard (John G) that immigrated into New Orleans that you have previously found.  According to a marriage record of the son Bernard D - he was actually a Bernard Theodur!!!  The only thing I've had trouble resolving with that is Gerhard's age.  There seems to be a discrepancy of birth year between what was on the ship manifest and what was on his tombstone".  

See?  It's complicated! 

🌺THANKS, Judy 🌺

Pauline B Janson (1916-2016)

  Our family and the world lost a special person last week.  Pauline Schwieters married Dick Janson, who was great uncle Sebastian's son.  She knew some of the Janson family stories and discretely shared them if we asked.  I liked her a lot.

 Pauline  B. Janson, age 100 of New Munich, died Thursday, November 17, 2016, at the Tree of Life Assisted Living in New Munich, Minnesota.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at 11 a.m., Tuesday, November 22 at the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church in New Munich, with Rev. Daniel Walz officiating. Interment will be at the parish cemetery following Mass.

Visitation will be at the Patton-Schad Funeral Home in Melrose from 4 to 8 p.m. on Monday, and from 10 to 11 a.m. Tuesday at the church in New Munich. Rosary will be at 5:00 p.m. on Monday by the St. Anne's Christian Women and Immaculate Conception Catholic United Financial.

Pauline was born on February 16, 1916, in New Munich, Minnesota, to Ferdinand Schwieters and Mary (Niehoff) Schwieters. She was united in marriage to Alphonse "Dick" Janson on July 24, 1944, in New Munich.

She was a member of Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, St. Anne's Christian Women, Little Flower Mission group, Immaculate Conception United Financial, and Schanhaar-Otte VFW Post 7050 Auxiliary.

Survivors include her son Joseph (Kathryn Palmer) of Austin, Texas, her daughter-in-law Lorraine Janson of Loveland, Colorado, her son Thomas (Martha Risch) of St. Joseph Township, Minnesota, five grandchildren, Elizabeth (Mick), Tara, Katherine, Michael (Angela) and Holly, and 4 great-grandchildren, Caden, Patrick, Anders-Erik and Elise.

Pauline was preceded in death by her husband, daughter Mary, son Dennis, and brothers, Paulin, Claude, Conrad, Raymond, Casper and Al Schwieters, and sisters, Ida Timmer, Mary Stahlboerger, Eleanor Altmann, Alma Wiener, Lorretta Athmann, and Theresa Ehlert.

No flowers or memorials. Instead, please consider a donation to your local food shelf.

The original log cabin, maybe?

At the reunion last MONTH (sorry it's taken so long), I happened to be talking with Aunt Jeanette, Kenny and Gary.  The subject was the Janson farm house.  Did they think the original log cabin was incorporated into the brick house?

Now, this often happened--as the original building got too small, people would add extra rooms like a kitchen or bedrooms, and then eventually, a basement and an upstairs.  (That was true of the house we bought northwest of Royalton in 1970--since they built extensions on it, that small room became a walk-thru on the way to other rooms, but it was too main floor to be used as storage).



Aunt J and Gary said no--the house, built around 1890, was "stick built" and planned, even tho it seemed oddly laid out when we were kids.  (I suppose the house was finished before they realized an indoor bathroom was desirable.  Seems like it was carved out of the main floor bedroom and a closet).
Anyway, AJ mentioned an old shed that sat east of the house when she was first married..."they kept pigs in it, I think".  But wow, maybe the original cabin was still there in the late 1940s?

Well, they wouldn't have taken pics of it, right?  It was a shed by then--useful, and not bad enough to tear down, plus the land gently sloped away to the north right there--perfect for a pasture behind it, but not the best place for a permanent house.

Okay, it's a theory, but a sorta charming one, I think ☺

Johannes Janson Family Reunion

Hooray, it's supposed to be nice on Saturday--see ya in Gilman, ok?

A new Naber (descendant)

If you've looked around the Janson blog before, you'll remember this family tree we posted in October 2009 (so pretend you remember, mkay?) It's a Naber family tree I found in mom's stuff.  Since posting it, a couple people have found it and figured out where they fit, the latest being this week ☺
Judy figured out she's descended from great grandpa Gerhard's brother Henry (JH) there in the middle.  She knew her gg-grandmother, Anna, had a brother named Bernard (1860-1926), and that he lived all his life in Iowa.  She knew, too, that Anna married Johann Wilhelm Erdmann June 16, 1876 in Petersburg Iowa, and that they eventually moved to Texas where they stayed.  Their youngest son was Judy's grandpa.  Isn't that just neat?  
Welcome to this end of the family, Judy!

We met another Janson ☺

Early in April, a bunch of Jansons sat down together and talked family ☺.  It was great fun, and I'm sorry it's taken me this long to post about it, but I knew I'd need to do a little research first.
Part of the fun was the WHO part of it: Tom, Glenn, Bev, Gary, Bob and me.   Bob is a descendant of Johannes Janson, the cousin and traveling companion of Josef Janson on their trip to America in 1883.  He first emailed about the ship our two families arrived on, the Zeeland.  That was December 2014.  So, how does he connect specifically?  His mom was Bette, the daughter of Sophie (Janson) and Nick Daniel.  Sophie, of course, was Johannes & Marie's daughter.
(The rest of us at the meeting were descendants of Joseph's via Sebastian and Anton, but you knew that, right?)

Bob's been doing research into his family that connects to Joseph and Franziska, too, so he's read this blog to see if we have any family stories in common.  One, of course, is How They Left Germany .  Bob questioned it!
Now, Larry and I've found a few dubious stories over the years we've been researching the family, but usually there's something true in a story, even if it's not the WHOLE truth.  However, it sounds like mom's story of 4 adults and 10 kids leaving by night in a rowboat was only true in that they did leave Germany together.
According to Bob's research, they left by...train.
Still, I think I heard the story once, not over and over.  I don't know how old I was, but I recall being thrilled imagining the romance and danger of the river, with dark woods and towering castled promontories along the way and towns that needed avoiding.  Of course it stuck in my head.  In reality, they had to leave because 9 of those 10 kids were boys, and subject to the draft in a few short years.  I imagine tales of America's opportunities were pretty irresistible, too.

Another fascinating question we discovered is this strange photo.  Bob couldn't figure out how it fit with other pics of the John Janson house--it's configured totally wrong to be that house, and yet, the people in the photo are definitely John and Maria and four of their adult kids.  Gary picked it up and recognized the house he grew up in, before the porch was added.  The windows and door configuration, the lean-to on the back (right side, which was gone by the time we knew it; only the cement slab was left, remember?)  So, if the two families were at odds after John moved 4 miles south, why were they sitting here?  Certainly, the original cabin on this spot was long gone, so it couldn't have been nostalgia. (By the look of John & Marie, it was around the time of their 50th wedding anniversary).
It's another cool mystery for us to ponder ☺ **

** Hmm, going thru Pierz Journal clippings today (May 1), I found this puzzling auction bill, from 1921: it was published just days after Reinhard was born.  There was a follow-up note in the paper saying that Anton Janson got good prices for his stuff at the auction (they said that about all the auctions, but it means that the event was actually held).  Since Reinhard, Mom and Loretta grew up in that house, and Reinhard's family after them, what was grandpa doing having an auction?? Still, it might have been an opportunity for John's family to walk around in the yard, then.  OR...did they stop at the farm when they knew Joe and Franziska were not home?  Wow, that's possible, too.

We may never know.....

Here's Bob, by the way--5th adult from the left--white hair and glasses. 

 ☺

THANKS for traveling to Minnesota, Bob.

Meeting you was interesting & fun!

Joseph Janson's last will and testament

Oh, such a beautiful fall day today!  It's breezy and 64° and I'm happy ☺.

Yesterday, we heard from Bob G, a Johannes Janson descendant (his mom was a Daniel).  Bob's sent info before, about that side of the family and about the Zeeland, too, the ship that carried both families to America.

If you recall, Johannes had a son named Joseph, who became the blacksmith and village clerk in Buckman.  That made two Joe Jansons to keep separate, i.e., if the newspaper said Joe Janson had visitors from New Munich, then you knew it was old Joe, but if the paper mentioned Joe Janson's daughter who was working in Little Falls, you knew it was blacksmith Joe.  The problem ended in December 1911, when our grandpa's father Joseph died.  What Bob found was a last will written by (old) Joseph and his wife Franziska, from February, 1911.

The document must have been a transcription because the handwriting is too even and legible and (carelessly misspelled), but it gives us a list of what they owned, as well as who their close friends were (Ignatz Ronellenfitch and Joseph Weisbrik). This is soooo cool!

THANKS, BOB!

Peter Janson 1893-1981

What a marvelous thing online family genealogy is.  Since we began researching the Jansons (mom's family), the Heschs (dad's family),and writing about them here, I've met amazing relatives that I wasn't aware of.  Each one has stories that compliment or enhance, or conflict, with what I heard as a kid ☺.  I love it!

Case in point:  Last summer, I heard from Ed and his wife Sue.  Ed is descended from John, our great grandfather Joe's cousin (the two Jansons who settled in Buckman in 1883).  Ed's grandpa was Dan Janson, whose daughter Laura was Ed's mom.
Zu Verstehen so far?

Yesterday, Sue emailed this cool newspaper article found among Laura's effects, about Peter Adrian Janson, her uncle.  It's from Janesville, Minnesota, February 1, 1978.  Pete is the guy on the right in this picture, when he still lived in Oklahoma.
The article's about his life, of course, but the part that most interests me is in the second column, where he talks about how his parents arrived in Buckman in 1883.

Pete's account is interesting to me because my great grandpa Joe was that cousin, and of course I heard a different version of the story ☺.  I always thought John was the stronger character, and that once they arrived in Mn, they simply couldn't get along because there were four adults, eight kids under 12, plus two new babies...all in a tiny cabin on the land a mile west of Buckman. Sounds insufferable to me ☺.

THANKS, Sue & Ed!

A couple days later:  I found a copy of the WPA bio of Joseph A. Janson, who was Peter's brother.  He became the blacksmith in Buckman and was a council member and clerk of the village.  Part of the biographies were a little about a persons' roots.  Here's what Joe said about his parents:

"John Janson was a cabinet maker by trade in Germany. In the spring of 1883 he immigrated to America with his family, settling in Buckman twp., where he purchased 80 acres of land in section 29. The land was improved brush land.  Ten acres were under cultivation. There was a log house and a log barn on the place.
Mr Janson bought a team of oxen which he used for about six years.  Then he sold them and bought a team of horses. He began to clear more land and hired team and men during the first years to help him.  In 1897 he built a brick veneer house and the same year he purchased 80 acres more wild land which they also improved..."

A Birth Certificate for another Joseph Janson c. 1901

 These two maps show Prince Edward County in the state of Virginia, where our Jansons tried farming for 10 months in 1900.   The map on the left shows the county in relation to larger Va cities, and the one on the right shows Hampden in the middle and Meherrin on the south edge, about 20 miles away.  Turns out that grandpa's brother Sebastian lived in Meherrin while their parents tried Hampton.  They all eventually moved back to Minnesota.

Larry found two interesting pieces of info online yesterday--both having to do with Joseph, Sebastian and Mary's son.  Evidently, in 1942, Joe had to prove when and where he was born to someone here in Stearns county.  Were they enlisting men over 40 then?  Anyway, these are interesting documents--see who little Joe's godfather was?  Anton was 20 years old.  We have no idea who the other sponsor was--looks like Mrs Zerknutzer?  Larry found a family named Zirknitzer but we have no clues beyond that.  Yes, new info always creates more questions!        

The very next day ☺:
Ha! It crossed my mind to check the 1900 census records for Hampden but I didn't actually do it.  Wanna guess who did? The Zirknitzer family lived next door to Joseph and Franziska Janson.  They were from Austria, so would have been as familiar as a lot of their Buckman neighbors.
In June 1900, Sebastian and Mary were still living in Buckman, according to the Minnesota census, with their adopted son John and Seb's brother Eugene.  We assume they left for Virginia shortly afterwords because their son Joseph was born in Meherrin, Va according to the green birth certificate above.
So baby Joseph's sponsors were Anton Janson and Katherine Zirknitzer.
(BTW, Larry scanned the rest of the population living around our great grandparents--almost every one, black or white, were born in Virginia of parents born in Virginia--not exactly the German settlement Joe and Fran hoped for).

Mom as a bridesmaid

This weekend, Em was going thru the treasures in her former closet here at home. Evidently, there's some of my stuff in that closet, too, specifically, more old photos (I'd forgotten ☺).
I don't recognize anyone other than mom, but I assume the bride was one of her co-workers in the Cities, and one of the other "girls" who traveled to California with mom in 1939.  Was this Marjorie Albright's wedding?

Anyway, I was struck by how much my lovely niece Laurel looks like mom did then.  Isn't that cool? ☺

Janson Philanthropists

Here's the last part of what Eileen sent about her contingent of the Jansons. They left Balzfeld, Germany in 1853 and settled in Columbia, Pennsylvania, some 30 years before the Minnesota Jansons left.

"The Frank, Valentine and Joseph Janson Foundation was formed through the will of Joseph Janson dated February 21, 1925. The Foundation was established to provide assistance to the needy of Holy Trinity, St. Peter’s Parish (also in Columbia), and Columbia residents. So the brothers were philanthropists as well.
In addition to helping the needy, the Janson Foundation provided for the purchase of plot of land located at Sixth and Cherry Streets in Columbia. This land is for perpetual use for the Borough of Columbia. The land is known as Janson Park and is managed by the Janson Foundation.
Since its’ inception, the Park has been host for many recreational events and activities. There were many street fairs/festivals held there for the people of the town and surrounding communities, baseball and softball leagues play there, and a summer playground program for Columbia youth. I remember going to
the Park as a child and playing on the jungle gym, see saws and sliding board. When I would go to the Park for the summer children’s program we could check out board games, jacks, pick-up sticks and other toys to play with the other children. This program ended many years ago but within the last year or
so, the town has restarted a summer program there.

Several years ago the Armstrong Foundation (Armstrong World Industries from nearby Marietta) renovated the playground with the purchase of new playground equipment. Gone are the metal ones of my youth. In place are colorful ones. I would have enjoyed them as a child. At the entrance to the Park is a plaque that bears the inscription

“Janson Park: Perpetuated by FRANK JANSON, 

VALENTINE JANSON, and JOSEPH JANSON. “ 

Janson Steel and Iron Company continued to operate after the death of the Janson brothers. At one time my Great Grandfather William Pieper Weisser (married Mary Catherine Kasel, daughter of Frank P. Kasel and Catherine Janson) was its’ Superintendent. The Company must have run into some challenging times  since it sought reorganization under Section 77B of the Bankruptcy Act on February 15, 1938. The business operated until January 11, 1941 when disinterested trustees were appointed by the Court.  It is so sad that the Company ran into difficulties. Janson Steel and Iron Company was sold to a company from Indiana.

The last child of Valentine and Catherine Duerk Janson was Martha Mary Janson. She was born on December 15, 1860 in Columbia. She married Joseph John Becker on June 15, 1892. Martha and Joseph had three daughters: Mary, Martha, and Serena Becker".

I think it's pretty cool that we have close relatives in other states, and that we're finding out how they fared in America, too, even at this late date ☺.  Thanks again to Colleen!  She adds that if any relative wants to contact her, I should give them her email address. Okay!

The Janson Steel and Iron Company

A little re-cap here: Immigrants Valentine and Catherine Duerk Janson had three daughters and a son born in Horrenberg, Germany, (Gertrude, Catherine and Maria Eva and Joseph), and three more children born in America: Frank, Valentine, and Martha Mary, ok?

To continue Eileens story:

"Joseph Janson grew up in Pennsylvania. He married Serena B, Vogel in 1875.
Joe had a sharp mind and an acumen for business. He worked at Columbia National Bank on Locust Street in Columbia. This bank financed the bridge that was destroyed by a hurricane, which replaced the bridge that was burnt during the Civil War. There were 6 bridges in all that have spanned the Susquehanna River, connecting Lancaster and York Counties.

(The cities and counties of Lancaster and York were named for Lancashire and Yorkshire England-think War of the Roses here.

The Confederate Army came Northward into Pennsylvania with a plan to capture Philadelphia. Local people from Columbia and Wrightsville (York County) stopped this advance by burning the bridge.  The Confederates were forced to regroup. They then went on to the town of Gettysburg, Adams County, Pennsylvania!)

 Joseph’s keen business sense led him to become the Cashier of the Columbia National Bank in March of 1887. Prior to that he was the Paying Teller. Somewhere in my possession I have an article that was written about his brilliance as a young businessman. I will forward it on when I can relocate it. Columbia National Bank held total assets exceeding $1M. That was a lot of money for the day. At the time, it was the largest Bank in Lancaster County and only second to one in Philadelphia in total assets (in Pennsylvania).

In addition to his position as Bank Cashier, Joseph was the Treasurer of the Columbia Gas Company. He was also involved with the St. Joseph’s Association of Holy Trinity Church in Columbia. In addition to the financial roles he was
active in Columbia civics.

Joseph along with his brothers Frank and Valentine, formed the Janson Steel and Iron Company in 1899. Joseph was President of Janson Steel while Frank Janson was General Manager and Valentine Janson was the Treasurer. Frank P. Kasel, husband of Catherine Janson Kasel, was the Superintendent from its beginning until his death in 1919.

Eventually, Janson Steel And Iron had assets in excess of $100,000.00. The company was located at Twelfth and Mifflin Streets and employed about 200 people. My Paternal Great Grandfather George Washington Appold worked for the Jansons (maternal side).
The Janson Brothers purchased Empire Mill in New York in March of 1900. It was recorded in the March 10, 1900 New York Tribune.

Frank Janson was also civic minded. He ran for, and was elected to, a local office for the Borough of Columbia. He ran on the Democratic Party ticket.

He and Valentine Janson initially ran a slate mantel business prior to the opening of Janson Steel. Neither Frank nor Valentine Janson ever married.

Frank Janson died in Columbia on February 18, 1923 from influenza. Valentine Janson died shortly thereafter, on March 30, 1923. He died from a respiratory condition. I wonder if that was from years of dealing with the mill. Both Frank and Valentine Janson are buried at Holy Trinity Cemetery.

(This was the house Frank and Valentine built for themselves.  The current owner told Eileen that there is a vault is in the basement--see inscription above the door?  Stained glass windows were a part of the house, too.  The family on the porch are the next owners, not the Jansons).

Joseph Janson became ill with pneumonia while traveling to Europe with his wife Serena B. Vogel Janson and her niece Elizabeth Blackman. They were staying at a luxurious hotel in Hamburg, Germany when Joseph was taken ill. He passed away on October 20, 1925 in his native country.
He was taken back to the United States and was buried at Holy Trinity Cemetery on November 13, 1925.
I only recently discovered the circumstances surrounding his death. I knew from reading travel information on Ancestry.com that Serena Vogel Janson and Elizabeth Blackman (Serena’s niece) had traveled back to the United States from Germany and wondered why Joseph was not with them. But within the last few months I found a new kind of record on Ancestry.com: Notice of
Americans Dying Abroad. It answered some questions for me. I had not been able to figure out why I did not have a Pennsylvania Death Certificate for him when I could locate ones for all of his siblings.
Lesson here is go back and recheck previously looked at sites!"

--To be continued!--