Family History
                    
By
               
Ann Hillmann Schwaba

   I, Ann Hillmann Schwaba, will attempt to give you some history of the Hillmann family.  Most of the following I have retained from my memory.  My father, Walter, supplied much of it in stories he told to me and my brothers as we were growing up.  It all started with…

  John Henry Hillmann and Mary Ann Jenning. They were married in the church of St. John The Baptist in New York City on February 15, 1849. Their witnesses were John B. Jenning, who I presume to be Mary Ann’s father, and John Henry Jenning, who I presume to be her brother.  They were married by a Rev. Joseph Lutz.

   The couple came from Hanover, Germany, however I do not know when they came to the U.S. nor do I know why they left their homeland.

      They settled in what is now Central Park in New York City and began a truck farm.  Squatters rights were given to immigrants at that time and that is why they settled in Central Park.  I know that John Hillmann served in the Civil War, but in what capacity I do not know.  Somehow I remember my father telling me the served in the battle of Bull Run.  I am not quite sure whether they began their family before or after the war.  They had seven children Herman, George, Arthur, Henry, Benjamin,
Peter (our grandfather), and a girl, Elizabeth.  After they had established their farm in Central Park, they were successful because their produce was so good.  However, people began to come in and steal their crops.  It was at this time that John Henry decided to move his family to Iowa. How he got the idea to move there or from whom I do not know.  They settled in what is now Carroll, Iowa in the northwestern part of the state.  Our grandfather, Peter, was sent to school in Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin. The school was operated by the Jesuit fathers and at that time was a college.  It later became a Catholic military school called Campion.  It is no longer operated as a military school. 

                                                           
Continued          
Hillmann Family
Tree
The Mount Carmel Store built by
John Henry Hillmann in 1879
Enlarged photo                         Sketch of Building
History of The Mount Carmel Store:
Transcribed By: Marilu Underberg Thurman
The Hillmann Line
John Henry & Mary Ann (Jenning) Hillmann
Children of John & Mary Ann
Herman Hillmann
George Hillmann
Arthur Hillmann
Henry Hillmann
Benjamin Hillmann
Peter Hillmann
Elizabeth Hillmann
Alphabetical Listing
Message Board
Contact:
Name:
Bob Hillmann
Email:
hillmanntree@yahoo.com