The Internet Family Tree of the Gase, Elchert and Nye and Yost families of NW Ohio (compiled by Ronald A. Gase)

The Family Tree of the American Gase, Moermond, Boes, Steigmeyer, Elchert, Nye (Ney) and Yost families
The Family Tree of the Dutch Gase, Van Stein, Weder, Van der Fluit and Moermond families
Family Group Sheets
(compiled by Ronald A. Gase)
Tree currently contains 149,515 individuals and 63,651 families.
(site updated Monday, March 11th, 2024)

Introduction   Sources and acknowledgements   All surnames
Abbreviations used in the Family Tree

Introduction

In the USA today only a couple of hundred people carry the surname Gase. The American Gases mentioned on this web site are descendants of two German brothers, Matthew (Mathäus or Mathias) GÖS (later GASE) and John (Johann Baptist), who settled in Seneca County, Ohio in the early 1830's. In 2018 records from the Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg have been made available though FamilySearch.org showing that both John and Matthew are sons of Peter GÖS and Elisabetha ERBSLAND.
The GÖS (GASE) brothers traveled separately to the United States from Baden, now part of the German state of Baden-Württemberg, in SW Germany. Their elder sister Rosa GÖS, who was married to Joann AMANN in Germany, emigrated to the USA as well on the same ship as her brother Matthew in 1817. The Amann-Gase family settled in Hamilton County, Ohio in the 1830's.

Not until 1871, under the rule of Otto Bismarck, was Germany unified. Before that time it was nothing more than a loose confederation of kingdoms, duchies, lordships, palatinates etc. Boundaries were constantly changing and many names on maps of the first half of the 19th century have a different spelling now. Baden is located along the Rhine river with Alsace-Lorrain (now France) to the West, Württemberg to the East, Switzerland to the South and Hessen to the North. In Baden, in southwestern Germany we find the Black Forest (Schwarzwald in German). In the late 1700’s and early 1800’s, immigrants came from Baden as well as parts of Switzerland and Alsace-Lorraine. In the 1810’s and 1820’s it was customary for people from Switzerland, Alsace-Lorraine and West and South-West Germany to travel down the Rhine river to Rotterdam or Amsterdam, where they usually boarded ships that sailed under British flag.

The written report on the trip of the frigate Hope from Amsterdam to Philadelphia mentions two groups of passengers on board the ship, a group from Canton Aarau in northwestern Switzerland and the so-called Schwarzwald Gruppe from Baden. There’s also a list of the people who died during the terrible trip to the New World or shortly after arriving in Philadelphia. Among them we find a Johann Götz from Sasbach, Baden.

We have more proof for the exact location where the German Gase family lived in Baden. In a book describing the history of the St. Boniface Parish in New Riegel, Big Spring Township, Seneca County, Ohio there’s a paragraph called “From Whence They Came”. As background of the members of the Gös (Gase) family who were among the earliest pioneers in Seneca County Sarspach ad Rhenum, Latin for Sasbach am Rhein, is mentioned. Furthermore, in the Record of Burials for St. Boniface Catholic Church in New Riegel for 1839 – 1920 we find an entry on page 18 for a Maria GOESS who died on Sep 15th, 1848 at the age of 19 who also was “from Sarspach ad Rhenum”.

Finally, the following announcement was published several times in the local papers in Baden in January 1817:

Schulden Liquidation

Alle diejenigen, welche etwas an folgende aus dem Orte Sasbach nach Nord Amerika auswandern wollende Personen, als: Johann Bub, Dominik Mutter, Martin Göß, Johann Amann, Johann Zipfel, Joseph Wanner, Jung Joseph Vogelbach und Schreiner Anton Leri zu fordern haben, werden aufgefordert, ihre Forderungen an die 4 ersten den 25., und an die 4 letzten, den 26. Februar d. J. dem zur Erhebung der Schulden dieser Bürger beauftragten Komminsar Drißler in Saspach im Engel gehörig einzureichen,als sie sonst nicht mehr mit Nachforderungen berücksichtigt werden können.

Endingen, den 23. Jänner 1817, Großherzogl. BezirksAmt, Dr. Kapferer

Translation:

Debts Liquidation

All of those, who have something to collect from the following persons of the village of Sasbach, who are planning to emigrate to North America being:
Johann Bub, Dominik Mutter, Martin Göß, Johann Amann, Johann Zipfel, Joseph Wanner, young Joseph Vogelbach und carpenter Anton Leri, are invited, to present their outstanding debts against the first 4, on the 25th and the last 4 on the 26th of February of this year, at the Engel (a local pub in Sasbach, RAG) to the commissioner Drißler responsible for the raising of the debts of these citizens in Sasbach, as they otherwise will not be allowed to put in additional demands later on.

Endingen, den 23. January 1817, Grand Ducal District Authority, Dr. Kapferer


Matthias arrived in Philadelphia, PA, USA, on September 9th, 1817, listed as Mathias GOEZ, with his family on the ship Hope which had left Amsterdam, the Netherlands, four months earlier. Johann followed them some fifteen years later, first traveling on foot with his family from SW Germany to Le Havre on the shores of the Atlantic Ocean in France. From there he traveled on board the ship la Melonie to New York where he arrived on June 12th, 1832.

In the 1830 U.S. Federal Census he’s registered in Reading Township, Perry County, Ohio as Mathas GACE. In the 1840 census he lives in Seneca County, Ohio as Matthias GASS. In the 1850 and 1860 census we find him in Seneca Township, Seneca County, Ohio. In 1850 he’s Matthew GASE, born in Germany, in 1860 Matthias GASE born in Baden.

The first time we find John is in the 1840 census for Seneca County. He’s listed as John GASS. In the 1850 census John’s living in Seneca Township, Seneca County, Ohio living next door to his brother Matthew as John GASE from Germany. At the time of the 1860 and 1870 census he’s still living in Seneca Township as John GASE from Baden.

Many of their descendants are still living in Seneca County today.

By clicking here you can start exploring the Internet Family Tree starting with the parents of Johann and Matthias GASE (or GOES).
By clicking here you get access to all surnames of individuals mentioned in this Internet Family Tree.
Click on any individual for more details. Click on any parent or child to climb up or down the tree.


Sources and acknowledgements

Most information on descendants of Joseph Andrew Gase and Lavina Welly and the ancestors of Mary Catherine Guyton has been provided by Eugene J. Phillips of Tiffin, Ohio, USA. We've stayed in contact ever since and I feel very fortunate having been able to meet Gene and his wife Mary Catherine (Guyton) Phillips in Tiffin during my visits to Ohio between 2009 and 2019.

Most information on the descendants of Edward Jacob Werley and Ida Isabella Gase has been collected by Michael Longanbach. Mike also kindly photocopied many valuable obituaries from Seneca County newspapers for me. Mike, thanks a lot! In September of 2009 Mike has made his full database available to me enabling me to add many ancestors of him and his wife to my database. Thank you cousin!

Data on descendants of Charles Nicholas Gase and Lena Marie Leihgeber have been collected and shared by the late Virgil C. Gase Jr. of Fairfield, Ohio, USA.

Additional information on the members of the Gase Family that moved to St. Joseph County, Indiana, and their descendants has been supplied by the late Daniel Thomas (Dan) Rich and Irving L. Morse. Dan Rich and I combined our efforts in our study of the genealogy of the Steigmeyer, Geels, Geimer, Lengerich, Omlor and Reiling families from Indiana. Dan has collected hundreds of very valuable obituaries regarding members of these families for which I am very grateful. Dan, may you rest in peace.

Phyllis ("Pj") Johnston has been very helpful in collecting additional information on (ancestors and descendants of) Sylvester Joseph and Christina Wilhelmina (Sorg) Gase.

Data on the family of Russell Albert and Margaret Mary (Rall) Gase have been collected by Stephen Thomas Gase. Steve is also the writer of "The Family Tree" containing the family history of Gase/GÖS, published in 1996. This publication has been forwarded to me in 2001 and has since been used by me as a very important source of information and clues. In August of 2009 Steve has given me access to his full database enabling me to add many dates and middle names to members of the Nye and LaFontaine families included in his family tree. Steve, without you my project would have been much more time-consuming and less accurate. Thank you!

Ralph Yost has been my brother-in-arms regarding the Yost/Nye genealogy. Ralph, your help has been tremendous and is still very much appreciated.

The late Gregg Rounds of Fort Wayne IN has helped me through the years eliminating mistakes, sometimes multiple mistakes a day! Thanks Gregg. It is very much appreciated! Rest in peace!

Marianne (Lowery) Hughes has been a great help in gathering data on all the descendants of Harley John Lowery and Clara Theresa Boes. Marianne, it has been and still is a pleasure working with you!

The original information on descendants of George Leonard Tavernier and Veronica Marie Gase has been compiled by the late Mary Louise Tavernier Davis and forwarded to me by her daughter Alma Jeanne Davis Makurat for which I am very grateful.

Updated information on descendants of Walter Martin Coleman and Helen Regina Reinhart provided in 2018 has been kindly forwarded by their descendant Mark James Coleman.

Sarah Lynn Wonderly of Fremont, Ohio has assisted me since the summer of 2018 in finding all descendants of Aloysius Oliver Wonderly and Theresia Schock. She has also pointed out several mistakes on my side and provided me with many additions.

Carol Owen Kern has supplied a lot of information on descendants of Ralph Joseph Magers and Alice Victoria Michaels for which I am very grateful!!

Ryan J. McCammon provided me a framework that helped me trace most descendants of Priscilla Leota Freiburger and Charles (Carl) Lewis Strack, their partners and in-laws.

Data available on the Internet, especially on Ancestry.com, FamilySearch.org and MyHeritage.com have been used, but also personal data supplied to me by individuals.
In particular the assistance Carolyn Reinbolt has given me since 2004 has been invaluable!! In August 2014 she has made her most recent master file, containing more than 500,000 individuals, accessible for me thereby enabling me to make many additional connections and add many data to my database. Thank you Carolyn! Without your tremendous help through the thousands of e-mails we have exchanged on genealogy between 2004 and 2018 this project would not have been possible!!

A special word of thanks goes out to the late Ramon and Beatrice (Fox) Lowery. Ramon, a Nye and Yost descendant, has done a lot of research for me on the Lowery and Boes families to which he also belongs and the Fox family of his wife, Bea. Ramon has introduced me to many interesting people during my nine visits to Ohio between 2009-2019. Ramon and Bea, thanks for your friendship, for your hospitality and for everything you did for me! You have been the best of friends! May you both rest in peace!


Abbreviations used
  English Dutch
bd birth date geboortedatum
bpd date of baptism datum doop
rel religion geloof
occ occupation beroep
dd death date overlijdensdatum
brd date of burial datum begrafenis
cmd date of cremation datum crematie
m marriage huwelijk
bef before vóór
aft after na
abt about circa
sp spouse echtgeno(o)t(e)

dr R.A. Gase, ronald@gase.nl

Created 6 Mar 2024 with RootsMagic Genealogy Software v. 7.7.0.