Cecilia married Clarence Tennis after 1930 in Illinois, USA. Clarence was born on 4 Mar 1902 in Bellmont, Wabash County, Illinois, USA; died in 0Jun 1967 in Olmsted, Pulaski County, Illinois, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Harold George Tennis was born on 2 Sep 1934 in Pulaski County, Illinois, USA; died on 8 Mar 1935 in Pulaski County, Illinois, USA; was buried on 9 Mar 1935 in St. Catherine's Catholic Cemetery, Grand Chain, Pulaski County, Illinois, USA.
2. Wilma Marie Tennis was born on 4 Jun 1936 in Pulaski County, Illinois, USA; died on 4 Jul 1998.
3. Leona Tennis
4. Carolyn Tennis was born on 25 Oct 1942 in Pulaski County, Illinois, USA; died on 17 Dec 2004 in Missouri, USA.

Aloysius married Emma Elizabeth Ehrstein on 24 Apr 1906 in Grand Chain, Pulaski County, Illinois, USA. Emma (daughter of Michael Ehrstein and Mary Stoeckel) was born on 2 Aug 1881 in Grand Chain, Pulaski County, Illinois, USA; died on 25 Dec 1966 in Grand Chain, Pulaski County, Illinois, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Louis married Catherine Marxer on 12 Apr 1868 in Millstadt, St. Clair County, Illinois, USA. Catherine (daughter of Lorenz Marxer and Regina Wundel) was born in 0Nov 1852 in Millstadt, St. Clair County, Illinois, USA; died on 3 Apr 1937 in Olmsted, Pulaski County, Illinois, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Gurney Surname
Entries: 4720 Updated: 2004-06-27 23:23:02 UTC (Sun) Contact: Karen Gurney khguerney@yahoo.com

BIOGRAPHY:http://www.itcs.uiuc.edu/users/beaumont/HTMfiles/EHRSTEIN.HTM
Michael Ehrstein was a farmer.
The Messenger carried his obituary: After a requiem High Mass, for the repose of his soul, the body of Michael Ehrstein was laid to rest in Grand Chain (Pulaski County, Illinois) Monday, November 8, 1920. The deceased was afflicted by paralysis in December of 1918, while at the home of his eldest son Michael, and for two years and eleven months he was a helpless invalid at the Sisters Hospital of the Holy Cross in Cairo, Illinois. He succumbed to a third stroke shortly after midnight Friday November 5, 1920. The son of Anton and Christina Ehrstein, he was born on November 9, 1851 in Rochester, New York in Monroe County. His wife preceded him to the grave in 1904. At his funeral were his two surviving brothers and his children. The funeral was largely attended -- a real tribute to the old timer. Non-Catholics alone filled the church, while St. Catherine's people stood in the aisles and on the steps.
Three sources, Michael's wedding license, death certificate, and Messenger obituary, list his birthplace as Rochester, New York. I believe this is accurate. However, there is no proof from birth records in Rochester and there is considerable uncertainty over Michael Ehrstein's exact birth date. According to his death certificate he was born January 6, 1849. However, if Christina's birth date (June 17, 1848) is correct, it would be impossible for Michael's birth date to be January 6, 1849 -- just seven months later. Also, if the passenger list is correct, the Ehrsteins entered the United States August 1, 1851, and Michael was not listed there.
Michael's obituary in the Messenger reported his birth date as November 9. However, Michael's family would certainly have remembered the day he celebrated his birth, and that was reported as January 6 by Michael's eldest son, Michael, on his death certificate.
St. Catherine's in Grand Chain reported that Michael died at age 69 years, 9 months and 29 days and that his birth date was January 6, 1851. Again, if the passenger list is correct, the Ehrsteins entered the United States August 1, 1851, and Michael was not listed among the passengers, so I believe the January 6, 1851 date is wrong.
The 1860 and 1880 U.S. Census for St. Clair County, Illinois, taken during the month of June, listed Michael as 8 and 28 years old, respectively. Michael's mother, Christina, was alive for the 1860 Census and she would have certainly remembered the year of his birth. Also, Michael's marriage certificate from St. Clair County reported his age as 26 in June 1878. These three sources, together, suggest a birth date between August 1, 1851 (Ehrsteins' arrival in the United States) and June 4, 1852. And practically, this narrows his birth date between August 1, 1851 and January 6, 1852, the date on his death certificate.
If Michael was born in January of 1852, he would have been conceived in April, 1851. Christina would have been pregnant with him just prior to leaving Germany and three months pregnant on the voyage across the Atlantic. No doubt, she would have been miserable on a sailing ship crossing the ocean. These voyages were difficult enough for the healthiest of passengers, but they would have been extremely difficult for a pregnant woman. Furthermore, in 1851, the journey from New York to Illinois would have required traveling by boat on the Hudson River, the Great Lakes, and then the Illinois River. Maybe once they reached Rochester, New York, they decided to stay there until Michael was born, or perhaps he was actually born on the trip to Belleville somewhere near Rochester on Lake Erie, accounting for the family story that "he couldn't wait to get to Illinois so he was born on the voyage," according to Irma Huber, nee Plogmann.
Michael married Mary Stoeckel in Belleville on June 4, 1878. She was born on December 8, 1858 and she died December 25, 1904 in Grand Chain, Illinois according to Clayton Ehrstein who lived in Grand Chain. There does not seem to be a death certificate in either Pulaski or Alexander Counties. The death was not reported in the Cairo Citizen or the Pulaski Enterprise, either. But she is buried beside Michael, her husband, in Grand Chain's Masonic Cemetery.
These Ehrstein children were born in the Belleville, Illinois area, not in Grand Chain. However, no birth certificates exist in St. Clair County. They moved to Grand Chain, Illinois between Frederich Anton's death in Belleville on August 20, 1886 and Katie's death in Grand Chain on September 10, 1898. Anton Ehrstein died March 31, 1887 leaving Michael a farm. Michael never seems to have lived on the farm he inherited. Instead, he probably sold it to finance his move to Grand Chain were he purchased land. Clayton Ehrstein reported that several families from Belleville moved to Grand Chain around this time.

St. Peter and Paul's Church, 720 Main Street West, Rochester, New York, found Michael's baptismal record. It says he was born January 6, 1852 and that the baptism was witnessed by Michael Wegmann and Clara Metzger.

OBITUARY: EHRSTEIN, Michael 69y. Mary STOECKEL Nov. 12, 1920, p. 1

Michael married Mary Stoeckel on 4 Jun 1878 in Belleville, St. Clair County, Illinois, USA. Mary (daughter of Georg Stöckel Stoeckel and Maria Scharfenberger) was born on 8 Dec 1858 in Grand Chain, Pulaski County, Illinois, USA; died on 25 Dec 1904 in Grand Chain, Pulaski County, Illinois, USA; was buried in Masonic Cemetery, Grand Chain, Pulaski County, Illinois, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

http://www.itcs.uiuc.edu/users/beaumont/HTMfiles/STOECKEL.HTM
The Stoeckel family emigrated in 1858, from the area near Neustadt, just 25 kilometers north of Birkenhordt, which was the home village of the Ehrsteins. George Stoeckel came from Diedesfeld and his wife, Mary, came from Hambach. Both lie on the edge of the Haardt Mountains near Neustadt (49 25'N, 8 10'E) within the Royal Bavarian Rhine Country, or Palatinate as does Birkenhordt.

George and Mary Stoeckel produced 10 children the first of which was born before they were married. Mary was their second child. She was born 11 months after her mother's conversion to Catholicism and her marriage to George in the Catholic Church.
Mary -- Born December 8, 1858 in Illinois according to her marriage certificate. This means that she was conceived in March, 1858 on the voyage to America. She married Michael Ehrstein.

Michael married Eva Häberle on 10 Jul 1832 in Kusel, Pfalz, Bayern. Eva was born in 1813 in Kusel, Pfalz; died on 5 Jan 1883 in St. Clair County, Illinois, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Lorenz married Regina Wundel about 1841. Regina was born in 1821 in Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France; died on 7 Jun 1864 in Millstadt, St. Clair County, Illinois, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Die Familien von Birkenhördt, Böllenborn, Blankenborn und Reisdorf
1800-1875 von Andreas Drieß
Band 2, Seite 45, 46

CENSUS:
1880:
Anton Erstine, St. Clair, Illinois
Name: Anton ERSTINE Age: 62 Estimated birth year: <1818> Birthplace: GER Occupation: Farming Relation: Self Home in 1880: St. Clair, Illinois Marital status: Married Race: White Gender: Male Head of household: Anton ERSTINE Father's birthplace: GER Mother's birthplace: GER Image Source: Year: 1880; Census Place: , St. Clair, Illinois; Roll: T9_247; Family History Film: 1254247; Page: 266C; Enumeration District: ; Image: .

BIOGRAPHY: The following information was copied from http://www.itcs.uiuc.edu/users/beaumont/HTMfiles/EHRSTEIN.HTM
Anton was married to Christina Karcher on January 25, 1848. I have a copy of this German marriage certificate, which states that Anton was exempt from the military according to a certificate which he exhibited. Balthasar was not present at the wedding and communication was not possible with him according to the writ of Notoriety produced on the 3rd of January 1848 at the Court of Bergzabern. The service was apparently a civil service, rather than a religious one. (Does Anton's military exemption certificate and the writ of notoriety still exist at the Court of Bergzabern?)
Anton married relatively late in life at age 27. His first child was born five months after his marriage to Christina -- a ceremony that his father, although alive, did not attend. In fact, the German certificate of marriage states that communications with Bathasar "was not possible." Given the shortage of land during this time, Anton probably did not own property while his father was still alive. Perhaps the marriage was delayed because Anton did not own land, but the impending birth forced the situation. The ceremony is also registered as a civil ceremony. Notice Christina's mother was originally an Ehrstein and there is a Wegmann family connection between Anton and Christina. (See chart.) Was Anton's father was too ill to attend the wedding, or did he refuse? Were Anton and Christina too closely related for a proper wedding, or did Christina's pregnancy prevent a religious ceremony? Did Anton's father die soon after the marriage, giving Anton the financial resources to emigrate? We may never know, but two years after the birth of their child, the Ehrstein's emigrated to the United States.
Anton Ehrstein, farmer and stock raiser, left Birkenhordt with his wife and infant daughter, Christina. (Note that Anton's wife was named Christina, too.) The family took the ship Carrioca to the United States landing in New York on August 1, 1851 (M237, reel 102). The ship sailed from Le Havre, France several weeks earlier. John L. Pray was the ship master of the Carrioca (Paulista de Carioca, French ship, page 243, from Fast Sailing Ships : Their Design and Construction, 1775-1875 / David R. MacGregor) and he listed the name of the Ehrstein child as Fritz. Perhaps Fritz was a nickname used to distinguish the girl from her mother.
Oral family history states that the Ehrsteins stayed in Rochester, New York until they moved to St. Clair County, Illinois. The 1850 U.S. Census for Monroe County, New York does not list any Ehrsteins, which suggests that no other Ehrstein preceded Anton and his family to the United States. However, other Ehrsteins followed Anton to New York, and several Ehrstein families still live in Rochester, New York today.
According to Anton Ehrstein's obituary in a local German language newspaper, he and his family moved to St. Clair County, Illinois in 1853, most likely purchasing a farm in Section 22, T1N, R9W near Belleville. It is possible that Anton was either forced to work in New York before he could afford to buy land in Illinois, or Michael's birth delayed the trip to Illinois. The family is listed in the 1860 U.S. Census for St. Clair County -- Township 1 North, Range 9 West. They owned several parcels of land, but in 1857, Anton paid $2,000 to Jacob Mellein for the west half of the southeast quarter of Section 23, Township 1 North, Range 9 West (Book R-2, pg. 343-4.) The 1870 Agricultural Schedule for St. Clair County, Illinois noted that Anton owned 70 acres of improved farmland and 80 acres of woodland valued at $10,000.
Anton died March 31, 1887 at the age of 68. He was buried from Cathedral Parish and is in Greenmount Cemetery in Belleville, Illinois. I have his death certificate. He willed a farm to each of his sons -- Michael received part of Section 34, Township 1 North, Range 9 West in Clinton County. This farm was purchased by Anton on June 23, 1883 from Lewis Osterwisch for $2,500. Joseph Ehrstein received part of Section 14, Township 1 North, Range 9 West in St. Clair County. He was required to pay his sister Christina $300 and his brother Frederich $450. Joseph married Anna Stoeckel, which is interesting because Anton's son Michael married a Stoeckel, too. Frederich Ehrstein received part of Section 22, Township 1 North, Range 9 West in St. Clair County. He was required to leave 1/4 acre as the family cemetery. This cemetery still exists today, but it is in total disrepair. Melchior Ehrstein received part of Section 22, Township 1 North, Range 9 West in St. Clair County. He was required to give Christina $300 and Fred $450. His mother Magdelena was given the house on this farm and she was to receive one third of all the crops from Anton's lands. So Melchior, a stepbrother or half-brother, inherited the family homestead where Magdelena lived until she was 85 years old. Oral history in the Ehrstein family mentions a feud that existed between the Ehrstein brothers. Could it have been caused by the contents of Anton's will?

BIOGRAPHY: see http://www.itcs.uiuc.edu/users/beaumont/HTMfiles/EHRSTEIN.HTM
additional info: http://rootsweb.com/~ilstclai/ED82-108.htm
The Ehrstein family was next to make its way to America. They emigrated in August of 1851 from Birkenhordt, Germany in the kanton Bergzabern, District Landau in the Royal Bavarian Rhine Country. This area is also known as the Palatinate. Many Germans emigrated from this area, especially to New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois. Ehrstein families still live in the Palatinate near Birkenhordt

BIOGRAPHY: Re: Ehrstein's from Alsace (Ingwiller, Pfaffenhoffen & Bouxwiller)
Author: jim ehrstein Date: 14 Mar 2002 5:40 AM GMT
Classification: Query
In Reply to: Re: Ehrstein's from Alsace (Ingwiller, Pfaffenhoffen & Bouxwiller) <

BIOGRAPHY: I still haven't had time to convert what I have from handwritten to a form I can send, but I'll pass along a link to a written description of the history of the Ehrstein's who left Birchenhordt in the 1850's, stopped in Rochester NY for a couple of years, then moved to Illinois. I also have their tree in handwritten form. They actually can link back to the late 1700's but not far enough to link to your John Ehrstine (nor to my clan, who also came from Birkenhordt in the 1860s and stayed in Rochester. I'll send more later. The WEB link is Strangely I found it by search engine several years ago, but don't pick it up with any search engine today.

Anton married Anna Christina Kärcher on 5 Feb 1848 in Birkenhördt, Pfalz, Bayern. Anna (daughter of Johannes Kärcher and Maria Eva Ehrstein) was born on 13 Sep 1823 in Birkenhördt, Pfalz, Bayern; was christened on 14 Sep 1823 in Birkenhördt, Pfalz, Bayern; died on 1 Feb 1863 in St. Clair County, Illinois, USA; was buried in Green Mount Cemetery, Belleville, St. Clair County, Illinois, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Die Familien von Birkenhördt, Böllenborn, Blankenborn und Reisdorf
1800-1875 von Andreas Drieß
Band 2, Seite 45, 46, 100

New York Passenger Lists, 1851-1891
Name: Christina Ehrstein Arrival Date: 01 Aug 1851 Age: 26 Gender: Female Port of Departure: Le Havre, France Destination: United States of America Place of Origin: Germany Ship Name: Carrioca Port of Arrival: New York Line: 36 Microfilm Roll: 102 List Number: 1049

see http://www.itcs.uiuc.edu/users/beaumont/HTMfiles/EHRSTEIN.HTM

The following information was copied from http://www.itcs.uiuc.edu/users/beaumont/HTMfiles/EHRSTEIN.HTM

Died in childbirth at 40 buried on farm in St. Clair County, USA
Christina Karcher was born on September 14, 1823 in Birkenhordt to Johannes Karcher who died January 14, 1841 and Marie Eva Ehrstein. Johannes and Marie were married January 19, 1818. Marie, 53 years old at the time, attended Christina's wedding. Christina died on February 1, 1863. There is no death certificate available from St. Clair County or the Catholic Church. She was buried on the family farm and died due to complications of childbirth. A smallpox epidemic occurred around this time and may have been the cause of her complications, but child birth was an extremely risky proposition all by itself in those days. The son born to her at this time was named Anton. He was born on January 1, 1863 and died February 11, 1863. Also buried in the Ehrstein family cemetery is Jakob Ehrstein who was born June 8, 1854 and died January 27, 1863, within three days of Christina.
Other Ehrsteins lived in St. Clair County. Rosa Ehrstein married Jacob Gaubatz on August 10, 1856, Certificate No. 4943. And Balthazar Ehrstein married Eva Ehret on October 26, 1865, Certificate No. 1641. There is no reference to these individuals in our direct line of relatives, but it's possible they were from Birkenhordt and followed Anton to the United States.
Anton and Christina had several children:
Christina -- Born June 17, 1848 at 6 a.m. in Birkenhordt. I have this birth certificate. This birth took place just 5 months after the civil marriage of Anton and Christina, and it could have been the motivation for their immigration and their civil marriage ceremony. Christina married Henry Schrant and moved to Spring Valley, Minnesota. Christina died May 15, 1951.
Michael -- Born January 6, 1852. He died November 5, 1920 and is buried in the Masonic Cemetery in Grand Chain, Illinois with no birth or death date inscribed on his grave stone.
Jakob -- Born June 8, 1854 and died January 27, 1863.
Joseph -- Born August 13, 1856 in St. Clair County, Illinois. His birth Record exists. He died February 27, 1932.
Frederich -- Born February 5, 1860 and he died September 23, 1950.
The following article appeared in the Belleville Weekly Advocate -- On February 4, 1920 a vein of coal 8 feet thick was discovered on the Fred Ehrstein farm in Stookey Township near Belleville. Frank and Fred, sons of the owner, discovered the coal 4 feet under the surface. Fischer Coal Co. of Millstadt wants to strip-mine the coal.
Anton remarried six months after the death of his first wife, Christina. He married Magdelena Fuchs on July 28, 1863 (Record No. 723). An obituary for Magdelena says that she was born June 14, 1831 to Conrad Fuchs and that she died January 15, 1917 -- the oldest woman in Stookey Township and survived by 28 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren. She had two sisters Elizabeth Holdner of St. Louis and Catherine Frisch of Red Bud and was buried from St. Mary's Parish into Greenmount Cemetery in Belleville, Illinois.

Notes:

Die Familien von Birkenhördt, Böllenborn, Blankenborn und Reisdorf
1800-1875 von Andreas Drieß
Band 2, Seite 45
3. Grades verwandt

Notes:

http://www.itcs.uiuc.edu/users/beaumont/HTMfiles/STOECKEL.HTM
The Stoeckel family emigrated in 1858, from the area near Neustadt, just 25 kilometers north of Birkenhordt, which was the home village of the Ehrsteins. George Stoeckel came from Diedesfeld and his wife, Mary, came from Hambach. Both lie on the edge of the Haardt Mountains near Neustadt (49 25'N, 8 10'E) within the Royal Bavarian Rhine Country, or Palatinate as does Birkenhordt
The obituaries for George Stoeckel and Mary Stoeckel, nee Scharfenberger, reported that they entered the United States in 1858. In fact, they entered the port of New Orleans, March 22, 1858, on the Ship Johannisberg with 62 other passengers. By most standards, this was a small ship for the time. Many ships from Bremen, for instance, carried more than 300 passengers. The Captain of the Johannisberg was George Ulrick and he sailed from Le Havre, France nearly a month earlier (Microfilm 252, Roll 45). George and Mary were married on January 19, 1858 in Hambach. It seems they gathered their belongings and quickly emigrated to the United States

Georg married Maria Scharfenberger on 20 Jan 1858. Maria (daughter of Konrad Joseph Scharfenberger and Maria Ursula Metzger) was born on 18 Sep 1834 in Hambach, Pfalz, Bayern; died on 3 Mar 1894 in St. Clair County, Illinois, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]