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Photographs  

Henry Christian Grabenhorst	Margaret Layer Grabenhorst	Henry Christian and Margaret  Layer Grabenhorst	Henry Christian Grabenhorst

Henry Christian and Margaret  Layer Grabenhorst with son William Henry	Henry Christian and Margaret Layer Grabenhorst with Carrie, Fred, William and wife Eva at Lafayette 1910	Henry Christian and Margaret Layer Grabenhorst with Bill Grabenhorst and Robert Johnson on July 4, 1915

Margaret Layer Grabenhorst with son Frederick	Three photographs of Jacob Frederick (Fred) Grabenhorst son of Henry Christian and Margaret Layer Grabenhorst

Five photographs of Caroline Catherine (Carrie) Grabenhorst - daughter of Henry Christian and Margaret Layer Grabenhorst

Documents and Articles

Obituaries

Henry Christian Grabenhorst

Statesman Journal Obituary
GRABENHORST --- At the residence 3 miles south, Pacific highway, Saturday afternoon, Dec 16th, Henry C. Grabenhorst, age 93 years, father of J.F. Grabenhorst, W.H. Grabenhorst Sr., and Miss Carrie C. Grabenhorst, grandfather of George H. ,William H., Chas H. and Eugene B. Grabenhorst, all of Salem, Mrs. Lillian Busch of Yakima, Wash., Mrs. Nellie C McAllister of Salem and Mrs. Evelyn Oberer of Portland. Also survived by 11 great-grandchildren. Funeral services will be held Monday, Dec18, at 3 o'clock from the Rigdon mortuary. Internment City View Cemetery

Statesman Journal Obituary
SALEM MAN BORN IN 1829 CALLED BY DEATH
The death in Salem a few days ago of Henry C. Grabenhorst, at the age of 93 years, calls attention to the fact that at the time of his birth in 1829, a number of Revolutionary heroes were still living. John Adams and Thomas Jefferson had been dead only four years when Mr. Grabenhorst was born, and Aaron Burr was still living in poverty in New York City. And Abraham Lincoln was a rail splitting youth in Kentucky, 20 years old when Mr. Grabenhorst was born. Henry C. Grabenhorst who died a few days ago was active in his farm work until about a week before his death. His father, Henry G. Grabenhorst, and grandfather of W.H. Grabenhorst died at the age of 100 years and three months.

Margaret Layer Grabenhorst (wife of Henry Christian Grabenhorst)

Statesman Journal Obituary:
GRABENHORST --- At the residence on the Jefferson road, four miles south of Salem, on Thursday morning, May 26th, Mrs. Margaret A. Grabenhorst, age 82 years, wife of Henry C Grabenhorst, mother of J.F. Grabenhorst and W.H. Grabenhorst Sr., and Miss Carrie C. Grabenhorst; grandmother of seven and great-grandmother of eight. Funeral services will be held Saturday at 3 o'clock from the residence. Reverend Kohler officiating, internment following in City View Cemetery under the direction of Rigdon and sons. Internment Source: Statesman.

Jacob Frederick Grabenhorst (son of Henry Christian Grabenhorst and Margaret Layer Grabenhorst)

Statesman Journal Obituary:
Jacob Frederick Grabenhorst, late resident of route four, Salem, at his residence Sunday, September 22, at the age of 83 years. Survived by one sister, Miss Carrie C Grabenhorst of Salem; nephews, Eugene B, George H, William H and Charles W, all of Salem; nieces, Mrs. Lillian Busch of Yakima, Wash, Mrs. L.A. McAllister and Mrs. Evelyn Oberer, both of Salem. Services will be held Tuesday, September 24, from Clough-Barrick chapel, at 10:30 a.m. with Rev P.W. Ericksen officiating. Internment: City View Cemetery.

William Henry Grabenhorst (son of Henry Christian Grabenhorst and Margaret Layer Grabenhorst)
(see section on William for his obituaries)

Anna Louisa Grabenhorst (daughter of Henry Christian Grabenhorst and Margaret Layer Grabenhorst)

Baltimore Sun Obituary November 14, 1877
GRABENHORST - On November 10, after a brief illness of diphtheria, ANNIE L, aged 10 years 1 month and 21 days, the beloved daughter of H.C. and M. A. Grabenhorst

Dear Annie,
No tongue can tell how we miss thee, but God doeth all things well

We watched her breathing through the night,
Her breathing soft and low,
As in her breast the wave of life
Kept heaving to and fro.

Then when the morn came, dim and sad,
And chill'd with early showers,
Her quiet eyelids closed - she had
Another morn than ours.

BY HER PARENTS (written by her father Henry Christian Grabenhorst)

Caroline Catherine (Carrie) Grabenhorst (daughter of Henry Christian Grabenhorst and Margaret Layer Grabenhorst)

Statesman Journal Obituary.
Death Claims Miss Caroline Grabenhorst
Miss Caroline Catherine Grabenhorst, 87, resident of Salem for almost 60 years, died Monday at a Salem convalescent home. The home was at 4995 Sunnyside Rd SE. Daughter of Henry C and Margaret Grabenhorst, she was born in Baltimore, Md. The family came to Salem from Iowa in 1902. Miss Grabenhorst belonged to the Lutheran Church. Surviving are two nephews, George H Grabenhorst, Sr. and Charles W Grabenhorst, both Salem; and two nieces, Mrs. Nellie McAllister, Salem and Mrs. Evelyn Doane, Portland. Private funeral services will be at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday at Virgil T. Golden Chapel. Internment at City View Cemetery.

George Andrew Grabenhorst (son of Henry Christian Grabenhorst and Margaret Layer Grabenhorst)

Baltimore Sun Obituary Nov 19 1877
GRABENHORST - In Frederick county, on 16th of November, 1877, GEORGE ANDREW, aged 16 months, beloved son of H.C. and M.A. Grabenhorst
Suffer little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not; for of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.

We had a gift more precious
Than ought else here below:
Its ransom none but God could take,
And none but Christ bestow.

It was a young, immortal soul,
To train for its bright home:
How brief the time we called it ours,
Now we are all alone.

(written by his father Henry Christian Grabenhorst)

Articles

Salem Newspaper Article 1921
Sixty-Fifth Wedding Anniversary

It is not often that a fiftieth wedding anniversary is celebrated, much less a sixty-fifth. To Mr. and Mrs. H.C. Grabenhorst was given this rare privilege last Sunday, when, surrounded by their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren they enjoyed an all-day reunion at their home south of town on the Pacific highway. A feature of much interest was the serving of the dinner on china that had been an original wedding gift. The quaint wedding gown of handsome, brocaded silk was brought out, although time had added an ampleness to the figure that had worn it 65 years ago, that prevented it being worn on this latter occasion. Mr. and Mrs. Grabenhorst were married in Baltimore, MD., where they resided until coming to Oregon 19 years ago, settling first at Lafayette, later coming to Salem. Children present Sunday were Mr. and Mrs. W.H. Grabenhorst, J.F. Grabenhorst and Miss Carrie C. Grabenhorst. Grandchildren were Mr. and Mrs. George H. Grabenhorst, Mr. and Mrs. W.H. Grabenhorst Jr., Mr. and Mrs. C.W. Grabenhorst, Mr. and Mrs. E.B. Grabenhorst, Mr. and Mrs. Lee McAllister and Mr. and Mrs. L.E. Ober of Portland. Eight great grandchildren were also present. Mr. Grabenhorst is 92 and Mrs. Grabenhorst is ten years his junior.

The Biographical Record of Webster County Iowa: The S.J. Clarke Publishing Company 1902

H. C. Grabenhorst, one of the largest landowners and most ambitious farmers of Dayton Township, was born in the province of Brunswick, Germany, November 21, 1829. The family, whose reputation for industry he so well sustains, was first represented in America by the paternal grandfather, who spent eight years in America during the latter part of the eighteenth century, and while absent from his native land followed for a time the martial fortunes of Washington during the Revolutionary war. In all he remained in America about eight years and finally returned to the associations of his youth and the home of his kindred and friends.

Henry George Grabenhorst, the father of our subject, was born in the village of Watzum, Brunswick, Germany on March 17, 1799, and spent his early life among the vine-clad hills of his fatherland. At the end of thirteen years he commenced working on a farm near his native village. During the French Revolution the farmers were required to furnish teams to carry away the stricken soldiers from the battlefields, and he assisted in the duty of conveying the wounded to the rear of the army. Leaving the farm he learned the tailor's trade, which he followed until his immigration to America in 1850. He landed in New York, and from there went to Chester County, Pennsylvania where he engaged in farming for five years, and then removed to Illinois, locating eight miles north of Chicago. The same summer, however, he went to Webster County, Iowa, and entered a half-section (note: 320 acres) of government land northeast of Dayton, which is still known as the Grabenhorst place. The following spring he and his family took up their abode in a log house which is still standing on the farm. At that time Dayton did not exist, their nearest post office being Homer, which was then the county seat of Webster County. Iowa City was their nearest market and thither they were compelled to go for their supply of provisions. With the help of his son-in-law, Mr. Grabenhorst raised the first house in Dayton. He was twice married before leaving German, his first wife having died in that county in 1831 during the infancy of our subject. For his second wife he married Dorothy Branders, who came with him to America and died in Webster County, Iowa in September 1885, her remains being interred in Dayton Cemetery. He departed this life on the 23rd of May, 1899, at the extreme old age of one hundred years and two months. His life was an active and useful one, and he commanded the respect and confidence of all who knew him. At the age of thirteen years, just before leaving his native village, he was confirmed in the Lutheran church, and was ever afterward a faithful member of that denomination. Beside our subject he had two other sons and one daughter, namely: Andrew married Catherine Bartlett, who died at their home in Pennsylvania in 1899; Fred married Mrs. McDevitt and lives in Boone County, Iowa; and Dorothy married first Jacob Fisher and after his death wed Bernard Wolf, who is also now deceased. At the time of his death Mr. Grabenhorst had fifteen grandchildren and thirty great-grandchildren. He was always a home-loving man and very devoted to his family.

The children were reared to a life of agriculture and educated in the public schools of Germany. The parents were quite well to do, owning thirteen hundred acres of land in Braunschweig, and upon this farm H. C. Grabenhorst remained until 1849, when, with all the enterprise of a young man of eighteen years, he sailed for the new world and found himself working on a farm in Pennsylvania. Things being to his liking in the United States, he sent for his parents in the spring of 1850 and after their arrival in this country the family made their home in the Keystone state for five years, as before stated.

Upon the removal of the father to Iowa, our subject went to Maryland, where he conducted a dairy in the vicinity of Baltimore, and owned one hundred ninety cows for that purpose. He was successful beyond his most sanguine expectations, his milk and cream sales amounting to about forty thousand annually. For the long period of sixteen years he supplied one hotel in Baltimore with milk, delivering between thirty and eight gallons daily to the appreciative hostelry. For twenty-one years he remained in the same location, and in 1874 removed to a farm near Frederick City, Maryland, where he lived for seventeen years. In 1891 he decided to permanently locate in Iowa, and for four years resided in the city of Des Moines. As far back as 1859 he had visited his father in this locality and purchased large land holdings, among his other possessions acquired at that time being two hundred acres in section 18, Dayton Township, Webster County and six hundred and forty acres of land on section 12, the latter costing him between fifty-four hundred and six thousand dollars.

While living near Baltimore, Maryland, Mr. Grabenhorst married Margaret Ann Layer, whose family was among the early settlers of Pennsylvania during the last century, the grandfather having arrived from Germany in 1816. The parents of Mrs. Grabenhorst were farmers during their years of activity and in 1855 the mother settled on a farm in Maryland, the father having died in Pennsylvania in August 1849. She survived him until July, 1901, at which time she was eight-five years of age. There were but three children in the family, and of these Jacob F., who married Christiana Wolf, and Louisa, who married Daniel F. Wolf and lived in Baltimore, are deceased. To Mr. And Mrs. Grabenhorst have been born five children: Jacob F., who lives with his parents on the home farm; William H., who lives on a farm near Dayton, and married Eva Haight, of New York state; Anna L., who died at the age of ten years; Carrie C., who is at home; and George, who died when only sixteen months old.

Several years ago Mr. Grabenhorst disposed of the section of land upon which he now resides to his son and daughter, and himself and wife are now living on the farm with their children. He has a wide acquaintance in Dayton township and is esteemed by all who know him.