The Sunday Journal
EIGHTY-THIRD YEAR No. 17 (rsw note - probably 1916)
EVANSVILLE, IND., SUNDAY MORN
FIVE GENERATIONS IN FAMILY OF PIONEER WHO TRAVELED IN "SCHOONER" TO SETTLE HERE
(Note: At the top of the article, a photograph appears showing five people on a porch. The photo credit is given to Van Dyke Studio Photo. and the caption reads:) Sitting-Jacob Geis, 96 years old. Standing-left to right, Mrs. Frank Borchert, Zita Faye Borchert, 8 months old, Jacob Weisman and Mrs. Mary Weisman.
In the above picture are shown five generations of the Geis family and every member of the group can be found in Evansville, living within five blocks of each other. Over 95 years separates Jacob Geis from his little 8-months-old great-great granddaughter. Mr. Geis was born in Germany in 1820 and came to this country in 1848. Mrs. Mary Weisman, shown at the right of the aged man, is his oldest granddaughter and Jacob Weisman, in the center, his oldest grandson. The mother of the little girl, Mrs. Frank Borchert, is the oldest great-grandchild. Mr. Geis is now very feeble, but is still able to talk of the time when IN was young.
In a brick cottage on Delaware Street, where a daughter and granddaughter make every effort to see that his last years are spent in peace, lives one of the real pioneers of southern IN. The weight of almost a century is on his shoulders, for he has outlived his three score and ten by over a quarter of a century. The man is Jacob Geis and while 96 years old, is still able to tell interesting stories of when IN was young.
???????? in ???????? Germany, Jacob Geis was born. There he grew to manhood and served his three years in the German army. After leaving the army, he was seized by the wanderlaust and the tales of the chances that America afforded, caused him to want to leave the Fatherland. In 1847 he was married to Miss Mary Ritter and as he was in danger of being called back to the army, decided to bring his young wife to America.
The couple sailed for New York April 1, 1848, and after landing in this country Mr. Geis at once started West. He found employment on the Miami and Erie canal, then under construction and a year later bought a small farm near Port Washington, O. There his first child, Mrs. Mary Weisman, of this city, was born.
For ten years, the Geis family lived near Port Washington and then the wanderlust again struck Jacob Geis and with two other venturesome men he decided to take his family further west. At that time hundreds were moving to the great prairie regions and the passing of the prairie schooners caused Mr. Geis to decide to cast his fortunes in the lands west of the Mississippi.
Early in the Spring of 1859 just two years before the start of the great Civil War three covered wagons left Port Washington bound for the plains of Iowa. The Geis family was in one of those wagons. Jacob Geis at that time was almost 40 year old. He was going into a new country to make a home for himself and family at an age when many men of today begin to think of retiring from active life.
Following the rough roads of that period the family crossed into IN and passed through Fort Wayne. At that time the city which is now trying to shade the fair name of Evansville by claiming to be the second city in the state was a mere cluster of houses about the old fort.
A day out of Fort Wayne a young brother of Mrs. Geis who had been with the party decided he was old enough to shift for himself and that he was not going any farther West. The ???? morning he had disappeared and was never heard of since. A few years ago Mrs. Weisman learned that a man whom she believed to be her uncle had died in Fort Wayne where he had been engaged in the clothing business.
After travelling for several days through northern IN Mr. Geis decided to abandon the Iowa trip and hearing that southern IN offered excellent opportunities he turned south. Thirty-six days were required to reach this section of the state and the family settled on a farm near Boonville.
During the last year of the war Mr. Geis joined an IN infantry regiment and served until peace was declared. He returned to his farm and in a short time moved his family to Huntingburg where he made his home until seven years ago.
Mrs. Geis died April 10, 1901, at Huntingburg and as many of his relatives were living in Evansville, Mr. Geis decided to come here to spend the last years of his life. For the last few years he has been living at the home of J. H. McConnell, 920 East Delaware street. His daughter, Mrs. Weisman, also makes her home there.
Ten children were born to Mr. and Mrs. Geis and seven of them are still living. Counting his children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren, Mr. Geis has 120 living descendants.
Jacob Geis is an excellent type of the sturdy German pioneers who were responsible for making the First District one of the richest agricultural, mining and industrial sections of IN.
(Transcription Notes: The above information was transcribed from a photocopy with attempt to preserve original punctuation and spelling. The exact date of publication is unknown, but is believed to have occurred in 1916. The two places where "????????" appear are where the original newspaper clipping was folded and the type is no longer legible.)