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Pfahl History Page 2 ....... From the Old Country
The first of this family in our direct line to come to America was Christian, my fathers' father who came with his family in 1849, born in 1821 at a village called Gochsen (probably would be called Goshen in English). In what at that time was the independent kingdom of Wurtemburg and was therefor 28 years old upon coming to this country. He had married at the same place some years prior to this time Fredericka Miller or Mueller and up to the time of coming here had been a professional man at arms, being a member of the King's body guard and when not engaged in military maneuvers and Court spectacles served as a warden in the Government game forests.
It will be recalled that about this time, in 1848 to be exact, there occurred the popular Revolution in the German states, particularly the south German states to compel their ruling Princes, all of whom were independent of any National control or authority, to grant to the whole German people a National Assembly or Congress and to submit themselves to its authority. The Revolution was suppressed and all those connected there-punished but the frightened Princes thought it wise to grant at least a semblance of the reforms demanded, which later, under the leadership of Bismarck developed into the German Empire.
My grandfather took part in this movement on the side of the people, and to avoid arrest and imprisonment and probable execution, fled in the night to Holland where he was joined the following year by his wife and family and sailed from Amsterdam for America, coming direct to Cleveland. His family at this time consisted of himself, wife and three sons, Frederick C. (My father), Christian Jr. and Charles, all born in Wurtemburg. I believe that nine more children were born to them after coming to this country but of all the children only six lived to maturity. These were Frederick C., Christian Jr., Charles, Mary, Louis, and Jacob. A very short time after my grandfather arrived in Cleveland he was followed by his brothers, Mathias, Conrad and William, a married sister and her husband and his own father John A. Pfahl, the mother having died in Germany. The father, John A. being crippled and broken in health, for some years made his home alternately with his married sons but eventually became such a care that he was admitted to the county Infirmary where he died some time prior to the Civil War.
The married sister referred to was the only sister my grandfather ever had, she and her husband after coming to Cleveland decided they would not locate here and it is said, made up their minds to settle in the South. My father tells me that from this time all trace of them was lost, although his father who was fond of his sister made every effort to discover what had become of them: my father could not even tell me what her name was as all this transpired while he was very young. Whether they were both lost in one of the various epidemics of Cholera or Yellow fever that periodically raged at that time or voluntarily exiled themselves from friends and family will probably never be known now.
Grandfather maintained his family in Cleveland at various jobs of ordinary labor until the outbreak of the Civil War when he promptly responded to the first call for 90 day volunteers and was commissioned second lieutenant in the seventh regiment O.V.I. (Ohio Volunteer Infantry). At the expiration of the term of enlistment he took a very prominent part in recruiting a Company in Cleveland for the 37th O.V.I. for an enlistment for three years and on account of his military experience was commissioned first lieutenant of this company. He had been elected Captain by the men themselves but did not have sufficient command of English at that time to put his men through the manual of arms or to make the official Company reports to his Colonel in that language. From the 37th he was transferred to the 43rd O.V.I. and his family, whom he removed to a farm in the wilderness near what is now Mishawaukee, Indiana. A short time after this he resigned his commission to busy himself clearing and planting the new farm, my father at this time, was sixteen years old and the next son fifteen, while the third son, Charles had been a cripple from infancy, it will be seen that his efforts at home were badly needed.
One year later the need for additional troops had become so pressing that the draft was resorted to, a regiment was being recruited at South Bend. During the Civil war days, any man who was drafted for service and did not wish to go was permitted the alternative of providing a substitute if he could and was relieved from future liability to the draft during the term of the substitute's enlistment. Of course the obvious way to escape service was to hire a substitute. Grandfather was not called in the draft but was approached by men who were, he and my father who by this time was seventeen years old agreed to substitute for these men for the sum of five hundred dollars each. This money proved sufficient to finance the family and the farm until the close of the war: both were assigned to duty in the 48th Indiana V.I., father as private soldier and grandfather as a sergeant, he having forfeited his right to a commission by resigning as previously noted and both served in this regiment for the remainder of the war, at the end of which they were mustered out at Louisville, Ky. after having taken part in action at Forts Donaldson and Henry, Vicksburg, Chattanooga and Lookout Mountain, Atlanta, and Sherman's celebrated march to the sea. Grandfather served throughout the war without a scratch but father was wounded at Holly Springs, Miss. and still bears the scars of battle.
After the war the farm in Indiana was sold and the family returned to Cleveland, for a short time they lived on a farm in Parma on what is now Snow Road and later removed to a farm on Ridge Road now W73rd St. at about the intersection of Denison Ave. It was here that my father first met my mother, who lived with her family on a farm on the opposite side of the road. They were married in the spring of 1869 and the following year on the 26th of May, my fathers 25th birthday, I was born. Of the other children of grandfather Pfahl, Christian Jr. married Elizabeth Scheideger at about the same time my parents were married and their children were Charles, Frank, Fred, Lucy, Christian, and Vida. Charles and Lucy now dead, Frank and Fred substantial citizens of Akron, Ohio. Christian in Philadelphia and Vida in Cleveland. The third son Charles, married Lena Young in about 1875 or 76 and their children were Bertha, now dead, Fred and William both in Cleveland. The daughter Mary, was married to Louis Oberle in about 1872 or 73 their children were Louis Jr., Robert, and Theodore: all of Cleveland.
The two youngest sons, Louis and Jacob were married in about 1873 to two sisters Elizabeth and Alvina Durschlag, to the best of my knowledge this was a double elopement, all of the parties involved being very young, I believe none more than 19 years old. The children of Louis were Amilia, Ida, Cora all of Cleveland and the children of Jacob being Edward, Emma, and Howard. Edward now of Berea, Emma a widow at North Olmstead, Ohio and Howard in Cleveland. At this writing my father at 87 years of age and his youngest brother Jacob of Florida, about 76, are the only surviving representatives of their generation.
In 1927 a letter was delivered to me addressed to the oldest living descendent of the late Mathias Pfahl. This letter was written by Otto Pfahl of the City of Heilbron, Germany seeking information of the family in America. I wrote him telling everything I knew dating from the arrival of my grandfather and his family and he answered this, giving the relationship of his family branch to ours. His knowledge of the family history dates back to the 1790's, beginning with his great grandfather, a John A. Pfahl, born in a village called Burg in Wurtemburg. According to him they have no knowledge of the family being represented at any other place prior to that time. He went on to say that this John A. had a brother who settled at Gochsen and married a girl from that place: he could not give this brother's name but said that Grandfather's father another John A. was this man's son thus showing the lateral connection, and stating that the family was quite numerous in the vicinity of Burg and that so far as he knew all were farmers with the exception of himself and that he held a position in the Court House at Heilbron.
This concludes all that I have been able to learn of the Pfahl history up to the present time.
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