Steinbachs move to Milford, Minnesota
John Paul's family moved to Milford Township west of New Ulm, Minnesota in the fall of 1866. Elisabeth Steinbach acquired the following Land Patents in 7/10/1868.
NENE Sec 15, Township 110-N, 32-W Range, 5th PM Meridian, MN, Brown County (40 acres)
SESE Sec 10, Township 110-N, 32-W Range, 5th PM Meridian, MN Brown County (40 acres)
Part 2, Sec 14, Township 110-N, 32-W Range, 5th PM Meridian, MN, Brown County (39 acres)
NENE Sec 15, Township 110-N, 32-W Range, 5th PM Meridian, MN, Brown County (40 acres)
SESE Sec 10, Township 110-N, 32-W Range, 5th PM Meridian, MN Brown County (40 acres)
Part 2, Sec 14, Township 110-N, 32-W Range, 5th PM Meridian, MN, Brown County (39 acres)
Hard times hit them in the 1870s. Elisabeth who had her first mental breakdown in 1866 was admitted to Saint Peter Insane Assylum for the first time February 27, 1870 and was discharged March 27, 1871. Baby Theresa was born July 1, 1870 but died a few months later on Oct 1, 1870. She returned to the assylum for the second time June 26, 1871 and was discharged July 22, 1871. She had actually escaped from the hospital in July 1871 and had also been in the county jail. Papers from the hospital claim she was very irritable, escaped whenever she could and wandered around the area. While we cannot know the specific mental illness Elisabeth had, her brother Ludwig also wandered and her daughter Anna spent at least twenty-four years in an assylum. One possibility is that they suffered from early-onset Alzheimer's disease.
An intense three-day blizzard hit January 7-9, 1873. It was called an “Artic Cyclone.” John Paul divorced Elizabeth May 1, 1873. She was admitted to the Saint Peter Insane Assylum in Nicollet County for the third time on December 16, 1873. The summer of 1873 saw the beginning of the Minnesota grasshopper “Rocky Mountain Locusts” plague 1873-1878 that included Brown County. You may have read about it in Laura Ingalls Wilder’s “On the Banks of Plum Creek.” The grasshoppers devoured the wheat crops, all vegetation, clothing, and much more. Farmers who had crop failures due to grasshoppers received county assistance in the form of seed grain, pork, and flour. Their son Edward died May 1, 1874 at age six. In the midst of these difficult times, John Paul married Wilhelmina Krenz February 21, 1875 in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin and lived on the farm in Milford, Minnesota. Elisabeth received rent from the farm she owned. Elisabeth lost the farm due to the grasshopper plague. An 1878 report by Elisabeth’s Guardian states that the real property was “heavy mortgaged” and encumbered for more than the property was worth, and that “the Sheriff sold said real estate to the highest bidder, which sale brought hardly a sufficient sum to satisfy the mortgagee.” |
1870 US Census August 10
Milford, Minn Post Office, Brown County Paul Steinback 42 Elizabeth Steinback 45 David Steinback 16 Emma Steinback 14 Anna Steinback 12 Lewis Steinback 9 Louisa Steinback 8 Francis Steinback 6 Edward Steinback 2 Therese Steinback 8/12 Value of Real Estate $4000 Value of Personal Estate $1570 1875 Minnesota Census in Milford, Brown County June 27th
John Paul, Mina (32) Note: Mina is his second wife. David (21) Louis (15) Frank (10) Emma (19) Anna (17) Elis (13) Mina (8) Anna (6) |