Several years ago, my father and grandfather visited relatives in Illinois in part, to gather some genealogical information. Among the treasures they brought back with them were some family stories about Fredericke (Bergemann) Adermann, my 3rd great grandmother and the mother of  Ferdinand Adermann. One of her grandsons, Wilbert “Feeley” Adermann (1904 – 1985), shared that Fredericke had been married five times. With that information, my Aderman cousin and genealogy buddy, Kevin, keeper of Our Family Genealogies, has done exceptional research on her and now much of her history is coming together. We know she was born 29 May 1829 in Prussia and I hope that by 29 May 2013 I am confident enough in my interpretation of the data we have that I can share it with you then.

In the meantime, I offer Fredericke’s obituary on this anniversary of her death, 23 Mar 1914. Since obituaries are written by the surviving family, they sometimes contain historical inaccuracies, but they do share the best “first hand” knowledge that a family has of their loved one. One historical fact: Fredericke and her fifth husband, August Laramee, died on the same day–a rare and fascinating phenomenon! Their obituary was on the front page of The Altamont News:

The Altamont News

Altamont, Illinois, Thursday, April 2, 1914

OBITUARY

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Life sketches of Mr. and Mrs. August Laramee, Old Residents of This Community – Funeral Thursday.

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An event that seldom takes place in any community occurred at Altamont on Monday of last week when August Laramee and wife answered the final summons, Mrs. Laramee in the morning, Mr. Laramee in the afternoon.  The husband was unconscious during the entire day and did not know that his wife had died.

Funeral services were conducted from the Emanuel Lutheran Church on Friday forenoon in the presence of many relatives and friends, after which burial took place at the Bethlehem Cemetery.

Mrs. Fredericka Laramee was born in Germany, May 29, 1829.  Her first husband, a Mr. Bergemann, died in the old country.  She and six children came to America in 1871.  Her second husband, a Mr. Adermann, died during the eighties.  She was married to Mr. Laramee in April of 1893.  Mrs. Laramee leaves the following children to mourn her departure:  Mrs. Anna Mittelstadt* of Appleton, New York, Ferdinand Adermann of Altamont, August Adermann of Minnesota, Mrs. Fredericka Wachholz of St. Peter and Mrs. Fred Radloff of Altamont.

August Laramee was born in Germany, December 1, 1828.  He came to America in 1857, settling first in New York.  He later came to the Bethlehem community and moved to Altamont in 1909.  He was married in March of 1860 to Wilhelmina Ploeger, who died in 1891.  Mr. Laramee leaves the following children:  Mrs. Lena Beccue of Milnor, North Dakota, William Laramee of Mt. Pulaski, Gus Laramee of Kansas, George and Ferd Laramee of Altamont.

*Mrs. Anna Mittelstadt is actually Anna Laramee, the daughter of August Laramee.