Stephen Russ

Born -- November 23, 1832 -- Ulm, Einsingen, Wuertemburg, Germany
Died -- August 7, 1886 -- Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio
Married -- April 7, 1863 -- Eva Catherina Von Nida Eberling
Date of Immigration -- August 9, 1858

His Immigration and Service during the Civil War

According to the Wuertemburg Emigration Index, Stephen Russ was born in Ulm, Einsingen, Wuertemburg, Germany, and his date of birth was November 23, 1832. He applied to emigrate to the United States in June of 1858, and arrived in Castle Garden, New York on August 9, 1858 aboard the ship named "Galena". His Civil War military record indicates that he had a dark complexion, stood about 5'9", had black hair, and grey eyes.

Stephen had enlisted in the Union Army, Company "C", 28th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, June 13, 1861 in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio. He received an honorable discharge November 17, 1862 at Camp Brownstown, West Virginia due to illness affecting his eyes, lungs and his throat while in active duty. His illness was said to have been contracted from lying on cold, wet ground under Gauly Bridge in West Virginia. At the time of his discharge, he had lost most of his sight and was considered unfit for military duty as a result.

There were medical statements included in Stephen's pension file which indicated that he had several surgeries done on both of his eyes for removal of cataracts. He was completely blind out of his right eye while the vision in his left eye had been severely impaired. As a result, he had to wear glasses and walked around with a cane for the rest of his life. His illness had been described in other notarized statements as being like "a constant cold that had never gone away since his service in the military."

During the years that followed his discharge and until the day he died, Stephen often complained of pain in his throat and chest. According to notarized statements in his pension file, sometimes the pain was so severe, he would be bedridden for days at a time which made it impossible for him to hold down a regular job. He suffered from hoarseness which was sometimes so severe, he could barely speak, and had a horrible cough. A death record indicates that Stephen died of tuberculosis. He is buried at the Spring Grove Cemetery in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio in the Civil War section, and according to their records, Stephen's parents were Joseph and Christina RUSS. Through a search at FamilySearch, I found a Joseph Russ and Christina Kolbe, both from Ulm, who might possibly have been his parents. Joseph's parents were Johannis Russ and Veronica Beidermann, and Christina's parents were Xaverius Kolbe and Victoria Schmid, but I still have to do some more digging in order to confirm whether or not I have the right Joseph and Christina.

Stephen married my great-great-grandmother, Eva Catherina Von Nida, April 7, 1863 in Cincinnati, Hamilton Co., Ohio. She was the daughter of Christoph and Anna Margaretha Von Nida, and was born on June 6, 1828 in Kleinfischlingen, Bayern, Germany. Catherina immigrated to the United States around 1839 with her family. They were in the Cincinnati area by at least 1845 where Catherina's first child, Christoph Louis Eberling, of her first marriage, was born. Catherina's first husband was Louis Eberling, and after he died July 22, 1860, she was living with her parents, along with her six children, in Green Township.

Finding Stephen Russ's Civil War Pension File was the "break" I needed to learn more about Catherina's family. When Stephen died in 1886, Catherina applied for his pension and in order to qualify, she had to prove that she was a widow of Stephen Russ, and that she had not married after his death. She also had to prove that her youngest son, George Heinrich Russ, was Stephen's son and that he was still living at home in her care at the time of Stephen's death. It took Catherina two years to finally get approved for receiving Stephen's pension, as well as obtaining an increase in the amount of money she'd be receiving for her youngest son, George.

Stephen had a brother who had served during the Civil War. His name was Gotthard RUSS and he was born October 17, 1831 in Ulm, Einsingen, Wuertemburg, Germany and died January 21, 1874 in Cincinnati. He is buried at the Spring Grove Cemetery in the Civil War section as well. He enlisted in the Union Army, Company "F", 6th Regiment, Ohio Infantry, September 2, 1862, and was mustered out on October 2, 1862 in Cincinnati, Hamilton County, Ohio. He married Barbara METZGER November 1, 1860 in Cincinnati, and so far I've only found him to have one child, a girl named Franciska. I've been trying to find more information about Barbara and Franciska, but I have not had any luck finding either of them in the 1880 census. I would imagine that Barbara more than likely remarried after Gotthard's death, but haven't been able to find out who her second husband could have been. A search through the Hamilton County Probate Records has yielded no results, although I did manage to find a record of her marriage to Gotthard Russ.