Grandma’s line 2

The first post in this series began with Grandma’s parents; this one moves to her grandparents on her mother’s side, whom we previously met here. The relationships can be represented visually as follows:

Sarah Epp Franz

Jacob Epp

Margaretha Siebert Epp

Grandma’s mother Sarah Epp Franz was the daughter of Margaretha Siebert Epp, who was born on 26 March 1856 in Molotschna colony, likely in Kleefeld. As mentioned several times, her parents were Johann and Katharina Rempel Siebert. She was baptized at the age of eighteen in 1874, came to the U.S. with the rest of her family (including the Peter D Buller family) on the S.S. Switzerland in 1879, and married Jacob Epp on 1 July 1883. She bore seven children between the years 1884 and 1892 (Sarah was her oldest), five daughters and two sons. She passed away on 23 August 1922 at the age of sixty-five.

Jacob Epp (sometimes referred to as Jacob Epp II, since his father was also named Jacob) was born on 12 November 1856 in Tiegerweide, a village approximately six miles northwest of Kleefeld. He was baptized at Neukirch, four miles east of Kleefeld, on 16 May 1877, and emigrated to the U.S. on the S.S. Vaderland. He passed away on 18 February 1921 in Henderson, at the age of sixty-four. Both Margaretha and Jacob are buried in the Bethesda Cemetery.

Before leaving this couple it is worth commenting on Jacob’s membership in the Neukirch church (he would have been a member of the congregation in which he was baptized). The map accompanying the post on church life in Molotschna (see here) identified Neukirch as one of the villages in which a church was located. The Neukirch congregation was organized in 1863 and constructed a building in 1865, so Jacob’s membership in that church began not too many years into its history.