Birth 1811 January 5, in Saxony, Germany
Immigrated in 1852, from Alsace-Lorrain/Elsase-Lothringen
Death 1901 August 19, in Washington Twp, Stark Co., OH
Person ID: KNZC-KZ1
Kroft Family Crest, German
Saxony Coat of Arms
Saxony map, 1914SpouseMarriage: 1855
Iowa to
Mary Ann Beglin (1833-1872)
Born in Saxony, Prussia
ChildrenBarbara Ann Croft (1856–1888) b. in Iowa City
Joseph Croft (1858–1938)
Peter Croft (1861–1923)
Jacob Kroft (1863–1941)
Andrew Croft(1865–)
Mary Croft (1866–1943)
Margaret "Maggie" Croft (1869–)
Franklin Charles Croft (1871–1965)
New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957
1850 schooner
Radius manifest, 1852Pierce/Pierre Krafft
Arrival Date: 14 Oct 1852
Birth Year: abt 1812
Age: 40
Ethnicity/Race/Nationality: French; German
Place of Origin: France; Germany
Port of Departure: Le Havre, France
Port of Arrival: New York
Ship Name: Radius
[Wallingford, Jacque. Nov, 2011]
Union Square NY, 1849Germans to AmericaPierre Krafft is found in the Germans to America that come on the ship Radius from Havre on 15th of October 1852. It states he is a Tailor.
It is only off by 2 months to the day, as he stated on his Intent that he landed on 15 December 1852. It could have been a misunderstanding by the person doing the Intent. Ancestry.com has it as Pierce Krafft, but I looked at the record and think that it is indeed Pierre Krafft. As far as him being a Tailor, could be again a misunderstanding.
[Wallingford, Jacque. Oct, 2011]Peter Kroft (Croft) IntentA Peter Kroft was supposedly from the Alsace-Lorraine area. He came to America in 1852 and went by the name of Peter Croft.
His Declaration of Intent stated his name as Peter Croft, but it was signed Peter Kroft.
He lived in Iowa, then moved to Indiana for a few years, and then settled in Stark County, Ohio. He died in 1901. His death record shows his name as Peter Kroft, not Peter Croft that all the census records had shown. Land Records also listed his name as Peter Kroft.
[Wallingford, Jacque. Posted: 5 Jan 2006. boards.ancestry.com]Peter Kroft may have embarked in France in the city of Le Havre and arrived in New York City on 15 December 1852.
[Vetman, M. mvetman@icpr.in.gov. Reference Archivist. Indiana State Archives.]
Alsace Coat of Arms
Alsace-Lorraine map
Alsace-Lorraine language mapAlsaceFrance consolidated her hold with the 1679 Treaties of Nijmegen, occupied Strasbourg in 1681 in an unprovoked action, and from 1688 onwards devastated large parts of southern Germany. These territorial changes were reinforced at the 1697 Treaty of Ryswick which ended the War of the Grand Alliance.
However, Alsace had a somewhat exceptional position in the Kingdom of France. The German language was still used in local government, school and education and the German (Lutheran) University of Strasbourg was continued and attended by students from Germany.
In response to the restoration of Napoleon I of France, in 1814 and 1815, Alsace was occupied by foreign forces. This had grave effects on trade and the economy of the region, since former overland trade routes were switched to newly-opened Mediterranean and Atlantic seaports.
The population grew rapidly, from 800,000 in 1814 to 914,000 in 1830 and 1,067,000 in 1846. The combination of factors meant hunger, housing shortages and a lack of work for young people. Thus, it is not surprising that people left Alsace. Many Alsatians also began to sail for the United States and Canada.
Napoleon III, 1863Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte (1808 April 20–1873 January 9) was the President of the French Second Republic and as Napoleon III, the ruler of the Second French Empire. He was the nephew and heir of Napoleon I, christened as Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte. Elected President by popular vote in 1848, he initiated a coup d'état in 1851, before ascending the throne as Napoleon III on 2 December 1852, the forty-eighth anniversary of Napoleon I's coronation. He ruled as Emperor of the French until 4 September 1870.
A brief war against Austria in 1859 largely completed the process of Italian unification. In the Near East, Napoleon III spearheaded allied action against Russia in the Crimean War and restored French presence in the Levant, claiming for France the role of protector of the Maronite Christians. A French garrison in Rome likewise secured the Papal States against annexation by Italy, defeating the Italians at Mentana and winning the support of French Catholics for Napoleon's regime.
In the Far East, Napoleon III established French rule in Cochinchina and New Caledonia. French interests in China were upheld in the Second Opium War and the Taiping Rebellion; an abortive campaign against Korea was launched in 1866 while a military mission to Japan participated in the restoration of Imperial rule.
French intervention in Mexico was less successful and was terminated in 1867 due to mounting Mexican resistance and American diplomatic pressure.
The Second French Empire was overthrown three days after Napoleon's disastrous surrender at the Battle of Sedan in 1870, which resulted in both the proclamation of the French Third Republic and the cession of the territory of Alsace-Lorraine to the newly formed German Empire.
France had declared the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71), and was defeated by the Kingdom of Prussia and other German states. The end of the war led to the unification of Germany.
King William I of Prussia, 1797-1888On 18 January 1871 in the Mirror Gallery in the Palace of Versailles the King of Prussia Wiliam I was announced the German Emperor.
The Imperial territory of Alsace-Lorraine was a territory created by the German Empire in 1871 after it annexed most of Alsace and the Moselle region of Lorraine following its victory in the Franco-Prussian War.
Prussia map, 1867
Elsase-Lothringen Revenue Stamp, 1875The Crofts/Krofts left Alsace-Lorrain in the year 1851 and ended up in Iowa, Indiana, and finally in Ohio. Peter Croft married a Mary Beglin and had several children (including son Joseph).
Source:
Message Boards hughlaur Posted: 22 Jun 2001
http://boards.ancestry.com/localities.weurope.france.alsacePeter Kroft's migration pattern is very odd - just the opposite of the rest of America - he starts out in Iowa and moves east, first to Indiana and then Ohio. The rest of America went from Ohio to Indiana and then Iowa - the westward expansion.
Usually Germans conform! It must have been the Frenchman in him!
[O'Donovan, C. 2011]
Iowa, 1856 mapLand Grant
First Log Cabin at Fort Des Moines, Iowa, 1845
Fort Des Moines flood, Iowa, 1851
Peter Kroft of Boone County, Illinois
160 acres subject to sale
at Fort Des Moines, Iowa
June 15th, 1855
Freedom Twshp, Iowa 1896 mapUS Census 1860, Greene, St. Joseph, Indiana
Indiana-Ohio map, 1860
Post Office: Sumption Prairie
Peter Craft
Age: 49
Birth Year: abt 1811
Birthplace: France
Mary 29
Birthplace: France
Barbra 4, Iowa
Joseph 2, Iowa
Naturalization
Declaration of Intent Peter CroftThe intent was dated 5th day of November 1860, St. Joseph Circuit, State of Indiana. Croft is the name on the Intent, but signed Kroft (not Peter's signature I beleive). The Intent says he is 49 years old and a native of France. His allegiance is to Louis Napolean Emperor of France. He arrived in New York on December 15th, 1852 (almost looks like 1862) from Le Havre, France.
[Wallingford, Jacque. Nov, 2011]US Census 1870, Washington, Stark, Ohio
Morgan's raiders , Washington, Ohio, Aug. 16, 1863
Maximo, Stark Co., Ohio, 1894
Stark County, OH
Hodson Mem. Hospital, Washignton, Ohio
Post Office: Maximo
Peter Croft, 59, abt 1811, Farmer,
Real Estate Value $3,500, Personal Estate Value $350,
Place of Birth Saxony
Mary, 38,
Place of Birth Prussia
Barbara, 14, IA
Joseph, 12, IA
Peter, 10, IN
Jacob, 8, IN
Andrew, 6, IN
Mary, 4, OH
Margaret, 2, OH
Dewalt Beglin, 86, Old & Infirm,
Place of Birth Darmstadt
US Census 1880, Washington, Stark, Ohio
Peter Croft
Age: 69
Estimated Birth Year: abt 1811
Birthplace: Germany
Father's birthplace: Germany
Mother's birthplace: Germany
Occupation: "Nothing Much"
Marital Status: "Alone," Widower
1880 Census of Nimishillen, Stark, OhioAugust Monnie, 43, Farmer, OH FR FR
Felecy, 24, OH FR FR
Josephine, 2, OH
Peter Croft, 19, Servant, OH FR GER
Stark County Democrat-April 6, 1900
Peter Kroft to Andrew Kroft 1 1/2
acres, Washington township, $1.US Census 1900, Washington, Stark, Ohio
Peter Croft, 89
Birth Date: Jan 1811
Birthplace: France
Immigration Year: 1852
Relationship to head-of-house: Father
Father's Birthplace: France
Mother's Birthplace: France
Marital Status: Widowed
Andrew Croft 37
Ida M Croft 29
Joseph E Croft 6
Larra Croft 4
Frank Croft 0/12
Peter Croft 89
August Gartner was from the Baden-Baden area of Germany. He and his family settled in Dubuque, IA. His oldest daughter Karoline went to California where she married a Joseph Croft from Ohio around 1900. One of their older daughters (Bertha) married a Dewey Massey.
Source:
Message Boards hughlaur Posted: 22 Jun 2001
http://boards.ancestry.com/localities.northam.usa.states.iowa.counties.dubuque
