Family: Martin Silbereisen and Catherine Resch

 No immigration has been found for Martin Silbereisen . (1823 Bavaria - 1860 Bay City, MI).  Catherine Resch (1828 Bavaria - 1907 Bay City, MI)e sailed from Harburg on 1 September 1854 on the Luneburg, arriving in New York on 30 October.  Martin and Catherine were married in  12 Aug 1855 in Hampton, Saqinaw Michigan.  

In November of 1858 Martin  bought land from Jacob Wisheintner.  He signed an indenture for $102 for lot 5 block 220, village of Portsmouth (later incorporated into Bay City.)  A brew master by trade, he built  and was a half partner in a brewery on the land.

In February of 1860 Martin signed a petition to become a citizen, but he did not live long enough to complete the process.  Martin died on 22 Sep 1860 at the age of 37.

He left his widow and two small daughters his half share in the old brewery, which was worth only the land it stood on.  He also owned a 3/5 share in a new brewery on lot 4 block 109.  His estate was estimated at a worth of $700.

Catherine retained personal possessions valued at $80.80 which included furniture, bedding, a milk cow and a horse.  A dwelling on the original lot was worth $175 and tools of the brewing trade, including wagons and stock for delivery were worth $168.70.(1)

Shortly thereafter, on 14 Jan 1861, Catherine remarried another Bavarian brew master, John Martin Schramm.  Their daughter Magdalena was born in 1865.

Great granddaughter Mary Rowe remembers her grandmother, Mary, talking about the Indians who used to come to the brewery on ponies with their manes tied up in rags. After an afternoon of drinking they would sleep it off on the floor of the  brewery.  As Mary was a toddler when her father died, it would seem logical that she was remembering the brewery of her step-father Martin Schramm.

Catherine outlived her second husband, who died in 1903.  In 1905 she was living with her widowed daughter Elizabeth and daughter Lena, who never married.  Katherine died on 8 Aug 1907 in Bay City.

Martin and Catherine are buried in St. Patrick's cemetery in Bay City.

Martin Silbereisen and Catherine Resch had two daughters

Mary married Michael Lynn 
Elizabeth married Thomas Francis Martin

Catherine Resch and Martin Schramm had one daughter Lena.  Lena helped raise her three nephews when her sister, Elizabeth, died in 1911.  She died 4 May 1943 at the age of 78.(2)


(1) Petition for the Appt. of an Administrator Bay Co MI, 21 Dec 1861 -- State of Michigan, County of Bay, Probate Court in the matter of the Estate of Martin Silbereisen, deceased, Aug 21st 1907, 18 Sep 1907, 19 Sep 1907 (daughters had reached majority).

(2) "Michigan, Death Certificates, 1921-1952," index, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/KF4Y-QQ2 : accessed 04 Sep 2013), Lena F Schramm, 1943.

Family - Elizabeth Silbereisen

22 Feb 1859 Bay City, MI - 19 Jan 1911

Elizabeth Silbereisen was the daughter of Martin Silbereisen and Catherine Resch immigrants from Bavaria.  Her father died when she was a year old and her mother married John Martin Schramm.

Little is known about Elizabeth's early years.  Her father and her step-father were brew masters so it is likely that she spent time in the brewery.

She was married on 18 Oct 1882 to Thomas Francis Madden.  The information on the wedding date comes from the bible that belonged to Merril Rowe (a descendant of Elizabeth's sister Mary).  There is a gap of nearly ten years between the marriage and the birth of the first known child of Thomas and Elizabeth.

Thomas's death certificate lists four children, three still living.  This was filled in by Elizabeth who would know with certainty,  so it is probable that there was an infant or stillbirth  in those early years.

When Thomas died in 1903, Elizabeth was left with three children, the youngest just four years old, and a shipping company to run.  She left the day to day operations of the business to her brother in law Michael Lynn.

Among the items found about life in those days was this notice in the Bay City Times announcing the family trip on the lakes on the Lizzie Madden in 1906.

Eliza's sister, Mary, her husband Michael Linn (Lynn) and their two daughters were living with Eliza in 1910.  By that time Elizabeth had already been diagnosed with uterine cancer, she succumbed on 19 Jan 2011 and was buried in St. Patricks's Cemetery in Bay City.

Picture taken by Jane Madden Marqueling

Connections: Jerry Madden of Menimonee, Michigan

The connections with other Maddens around the Great Lakes are intriguing.  Among those nebulous connections is Jerry Madden.   As I explored his family, I found it led back to the same family as Capt. Michael Madden.  He was the subject of an earlier blog.  Michael and Jerry were cousins, the sons of Jeremiah and John, respectively.  They in turn were the sons of Mary who was born in Ireland about 1795. I did not find the name of their father.

In 1861 John was living in Ellice, Perth, Ontario, Canada with his wife Louisa, six children and his mother Mary.(1)  By 1871 John has moved to Wisconsin.  Mary was now living with her son James and his wife Ellen.(2)

While I did not find Michael's father Jeremiah in the same household with Mary, the proximity in Ellice and naming patterns of children make it very likely that he is another son.

I found an obituary for Jerry's father John.  It states he was born in Bauden, County Cork in 1826 and traveled to Canada when he was fourteen.  So much for a close connection to my James (or else, perhaps James was not from Limerick).  The obituary also states that he lived in Kingston for 25 years before moving to Clay Banks in Wisconsin.  We know that this is incorrect as the census record in Ellice, which is Perth County, is definitely his.

Son, Jerry, was living in Menominee, MI by 1900 and remained until at least 1921.  He was the owner of a lumber mill and by 1921 he was president of Commercial Bank.

Jerry died in Chicago, IL on 29 Jul 1923 shortly after James H. Madden died there.  It was James' obituary that set me on this hunt as his obituary was copied to Menominee, where as far as I knew he had no family.

Click here for more information on this family. 

(1) 1861 Census Library and Archives Canada; Ottawa, Ontario, Canada; Census Returns For 1861; Roll: C-1064-1065.  Upper Canada pg 23

(1) Census of Canada, 1871. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Library and Archives Canada, n.d. RG31-C-1. Statistics Canada Fonds C-9940 p 23 Family 72 Ellice, Perth, Ontairo

Family - Sarah Jane Madden

June 1861 Albany, NY - Between 1920 & 1930 New York, NY

Sarah was the youngest daughter of James and Mary.   In 1884 she married Winfield Scott Morris and they settle in New York City where Winfield was listed as a furniture buyer and later a commercial traveler dealing with furniture.

Little information has been found about Sarah and Winfield, beyond the fact that they continued to live in New York City.  I have no pictures, no stories, no memories.  Perhaps locating the family of Winfield would help.  He is the son of Isaac (bn Germany) and Martha (bn NY) and he had two younger sisters Elizabeth (Eliza) and Frances (Franke).  His father died in Albany sometime between 1870 and 1880.

Sarah died sometime between 1920 and 1930 when Winfield  a widower is paying $150 rent for an apartment at 35 Wadsworth Ave in New York and his sister-in-law Helen (Nellie) is living with him.

United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Twelfth Census of the United States, 1900. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1900. T623 Roll: 1116; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 0802

"New York, State Census, 1905," index and images, FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/SPNS-8GL : accessed 04 Sep 2013), Winfield S Morris in entry for Isaac Schiff, 1905.

Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. 1020; Page: 13B; Enumeration District: 0482

Fourteenth Census of the United States, 1920. (NARA microfilm publication T625, 2076 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C. 1224; Page: 15B; Enumeration District: 1425

Fifteenth Census of the United States, 1930. Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.1930. T626 Roll: 1579; Page: 17A; Enumeration District: 1093 (Winfield widower)

Family: Ellen (Nellie) E Madden

circa 1937/8 Jane, Aunt Nell, Tom, Pat and Jim
(Children of Francis Martin Madden)

1858 Albany, NY - 1945 Minneapolis, MN

Besides their three sons, Thomas, John and James and the three children that did not live more than a few years each, Willie, Marie and Margaret, James and Anna had two daughters.

The oldest, Ellen E Madden, better known as Nell, was born in 1858 according to childhood census records.  As she aged the year of birth moved a little later in time.

Nellie and  Betty Madden circa 1942/5

In 1880, Nellie is living with her father and two youngest brothers and keeping house.(1)   Nellie is listed in the Albany City Directories at least until 1883 as a dressmaker living at 165 Colonie which was the family house.  It seems probable that she lived with James up to the time of his death in 1893.

There is a possible listing in New York City in 1894 for Nellie.  Her sister Sarah was a resident at that time.

In 1900 she was living with her brother James and his wife Lillian. A common name and some fudging her age over the years makes it difficult to find Nellie in census records.  In 1903 she was still living in Ashland, whether in James' house or elsewhere is unknown.  It seems possible that she was living in Chicago on her "own income" in 1910.  In 1930 she is living in New York City with her widowed brother-in-law Winfield Morris Scott. No other records have been found until shortly before her death..  I'm sure they exist but are in the "hidden world of missing links."  We do know that she visited family and perhaps for extended stays.

Photo taken by Grand-niece Jane Madden Marqueling

On 7 Mar 1943 Nell moved into St. Otto's Home, which was run by Franciscan Nuns in Little Falls, MN.  She remained there until the day before her death,  26 Jun 1945.  She died in the home of her nephew Carl Madden, 5433 Clinton St., Minneapolis on 27 Jun 1945.(2)  Nellie is buried in St. Patrick's Cemetery in Bay City, MI.



(1) Tenth Census of the United States, 1880.   Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.  Micropublication T9-805, pg 375A, Albany, NY.

(2)Minnestora Death Index Online 1908-2002, St, Paul, Minnesota Historical Society 2001 #020705