Joseph Maus of Germany

Joseph Maus was born in 1829 in the city of Darmstadt, in the state of Hesse, Germany. Josephus Maus and his wife had their son, Joseph, christened at a local Roman Catholic Church on the 24th of January in 1830. Darmstadt is located on the western side of the Rhine River and was probably a lovely place of residence at this time. The photo above shows a market square, called Schossplatz, in front of the Ducal Palace in Darmstadt c. 1890.

Joseph lived in this city until the summer of 1853. At age 24, he decided to join other German families and friends who had emigrated to America. It's possible that a relative, already in Wisconsin, helped Joseph buy his new property in 1853 in Oshkosh, Winnebago, Wisconsin, his future location.

Joseph made his way to Port Havre in Holland to climb  aboard a ship headed for New York's Castlegarden, and landed there on 7 Aug 1853. I suppose Joseph made this trip with other German friends/family, as most emigrants did travel in groups. Whatever the case may be, Joseph set to work right away in his new city of Oshkosh, probably building his own home, as he was a carpenter.

About 1856, Joseph married Magdalena Haas and they enjoyed their life together as a couple. Then, daughter Anna Maus was born in 1857 and daughter, Louise E. Maus was born in 1859. The family lived on Winnebago Street in Oshkosh.

At the outbreak of the Civil War, many Wisconsin citizens were certain that the German immigrants would not want to become soldiers knowing full well that many German men left Germany to avoid war in Europe. But they were wrong. There were many, many German men who volunteered their service and Joseph was one of the first to join the ranks. He was mustered in at Madison, WI to Company F, the 12th Infantry as a Private. He was later transferred to Co. C in the 183rd Infantry.

I know that Joseph survived the war and that he was living at Washington and Fifth in Oshkosh in 1866. I recently found a death record of a Joseph Maus who died in Ohio c. 1878 but I have no proof that this was indeed our ancestor. I need more evidence to make a conclusive report. (As I mentioned about his daughters in an earlier story, they met and married their spouses in Crawford County, Ohio and died in Ohio. I also have proof that Magdalena, Joseph's wife, died in Ohio. So, it is probable that Joseph was in Ohio also, but I have not found enough evidence about him after 1866.)

Joseph Maus
Born:  1829 in Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany
Married: c. 1856 to Magdalena Haas in Oshkosh, Winnebago, WI
Died: ? Unknown death and burial dates and places
Sources: Baptismal record from FamilySearch.org; Federal Census: 1860; Wisconsin State Census: 1855; Oshkosh City Directory: 1866; Military  Records from NARA; Death record from FamilySearch.org