einrich (Henry) Ludwig Traphagen was born November, 1828, around Hannover, Germany. His father was born in Prussia, possibly in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein and his mother born in Hannover, Germany. Henry Ludwig arrived at Philadelphia June 26, 1856 on the Moive from Bremen, Germany at age 28 along with other Germans from Hannover. They were Elizabeth Schomburg, age 32, Doris Kasten, age 30, and Adolph Ulrich, age 22. He settled in Chicago, Illinois shortly after his arrival. He died  at age 59 residing at 313 East Division Street in Chicago on December 29, 1887 and is buried at Waldheim Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois (now known as the Forest Home Cemetery), near lot 582, section E.

        At the time of his death, he worked as a watchman as well as in a brickyard during the 1880 census. Other Germans from Hanover, listed in the 1880 census boarding at the same complex at 313 East Division, were Frank Maas, a coal yard worker, Maria Sandmacher, a housekeeper, her son August, a painter, and Albert Kahn, a street peddler.

        When Henry Ludwig first arrived in the United States, he was listed in the 1860 census with several other Germans but with not spouse or children recorded. His occupation at that time was a corn merchant. City directories for 1859-1860 list Frederick Trefenhagen an upholster for Hollister and Wilkin. The directory for 1865-66 lists Henry Trappenhazen a drayman living Mark near Halsted. In the 1869 Chicago directory he is listed as Henry Trappenhagen working as a brickmaker for Strauss Hahne & Co., where he remained through the mid 1880's.

        In the 1870 census, Henry Ludwig is listed with a wife, Marie ( ), born about 1833 in the German state of Mecklenburg. The eldest daughter Caroline lists her age as 7 and her birthplace as Mecklenburg. Also listed are three children: Caroline, born about 1853 in Mecklenberg, Henry, born 1864 in Illinois and Anna, born 1868 in Illinois. It is very likely that Henry Ludwig married Marie in Germany and left here and their daughter in Germany to settle in America and then sent for them after he established his residency in Chicago. His son Henry at age 16 worked as an engraver in the same brickyard as his father.

Children of Heinrich Ludwig and Marie ( ) Traphagen:

1. Caroline, born about 1853 in Mecklenburg., Germany.
2. Henry. (2)
3. Anna, born about 1868 in Chicago, Illinois.
4. William (Willie), born about 1871 in Chicago, Illinois and died there January 26, 1878.

Generation Two

2. Henry Traphagen was born September 4, 1864 in Chicago, Illinois. He died May 13, 1911, age 46 residing at 2924 Herndon Street in Chicago and is buried next to his father at Forest Home Cemetery in Forest Park, near Chicago, Illinois (Lot 582, Sec E). He married May 25, 1889 Anna (Annie) Marie Bachle and was residing at 210 East Division Street in Chicago during the 1900 census, near to his boyhood home at 313 East Division. At that time his occupation is listed at a pulley company.  For whatever reason the family was listed as Henry Trapton during the 1900 census as well as listing their descendants as English-Canadian and German-Swiss.

    Anna Marie Bachle was the second of three daughters of John and Marie Annie (Kaiser) Bachle, both of Swiss-German descent. John Bachle was listed on the 1880 census as bicycle maker living at 385 North Market Street in Chicago, Illinois, now known as the Merchandise Mart at the end of Orleans Street. Their eldest daughter, Rosa, was born about 1869 while the youngest, Mary, was born in 1877, both in Chicago.

   Anna (Annie) was born July 22, 1873 in Chicago and died at age 80 May 23, 1954 while residing at 903 Willow Drive, Brea, California. She was buried at Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Orange, California. Henry and Annie had six children and all except son Frank John are buried in Montrose Cemetery in Chicago.

    In 1911 Annie lost her husband Henry and the following year baby daughter Violet died at age 2. The family moved to 2702 Sheffield near Wrigley Field where son William Traphagen died in 1913 at the age of 19. Probably sometime prior to son Arthur's death in 1916, and around the time the Chicago Cubs started up in 1914, Annie and her youngest son, Frank John, migrated to Southern California. They settled in South Pasadena and Annie soon opened a Sweets Shop. She later married William A. Turner who worked for the Parks department and Los Angeles County Sheriffs office during World War II. Annie and William eventually moved to Brea, California where she lived until her death in 1954. Willima Turner died shortly after Annie passed away.

Children of Henry and Anna Marie (Bachle) Traphagen:

1. Harry, born August 21, 1889, died October 9, 1936 in Chicago, buried Montrose Cemetery. He married Charlotte Elizabeth Schuler. Harry owned Faith Manufacturing Company in Chicago, Illinois which manufactured ornaments for cars. It is quite possible that his younger brother, Frank John, worked with him and learned his trade as a machinist, before leaving to California with their mother, Annie (Beckley) Traphagen.
2. Lillian Anna. (3)
3. William, born June 14, 1893, died Chicago February 26, 1913. He is buried in Montrose Cemetery.
4. Arthur, born March, 1897, died in Chicago December 16, 1916. He is buried in Montrose Cemetery.
5. Frank John. (4)
6. Violet, born April 11, 1910, died Chicago June 10, 1912. She is buried in Montrose Cemetery.

Generation Three

3. LillianAnna Traphagen was born on her mother's birthday,  July 22, 1891 in Chicago, Illinois and died there March 18, 1933. She is buried in Montrose Cemetery. She worked in a factory with her cousin Annie Toblesky who lived with the Traphagen family during the 1910 census. Lillian married May 25, 1912 Fritz August Wilhelm Schaefer. He was born April 12, 1880 in Chicago, the son of Wilhelm and Louise (Ruman) Schaefer and died February 9, 1973. After Lillian died he remarried and moved to a farm in Indiana. Fritz worked as a butcher along with Henry Traphagen. They had six children all born in Chicago.

Children of Fritz and Lillian (Traphagen) Schaefer:

1. Violet Florence, born December 24, 1912 and died October 13, 1992 in Rosemont, Illinois. She married Albert Alfred Kurth in 1936 and had a daughter, Carol Ann Kurth born April 30, 1937 in Rosemont, Illinois, and who currently still resides there.
2. Harvey, born January 15, 1914 and died April 1980 in Florida. He married Kate Schlee and had seven children: Robert, Gary, Harold, Harvey, Frederick, Kathryn, and Sandra.
3. Eleanor Lillian, born March 9, 1916. She married William Richard Thinnes March 29, 1933.
4. Harold, born May 9, 1917 and died January, 1927 in Chicago.
5. Ellard, born November 21, 1919. He lived with Frank John Traphagen for six months in 1939 in South Pasadena, California. He married Carmella Lombardo and had two children, Allen and James.
6. Marion, born May 21, 1928. She married Stephen Marnos and had one son, Steve.

4. Frank John Traphagen was born May 4, 1906 in Chicago, Illinois and died at age 59 July 2, 1965 while residing at 303 Normandy Place, Anaheim, California and is buried at Memory Garden Memorial Cemetery in Brea, California. He left Chicago about 1916 with his mother, Annie Traphagen, and eventually learned the trade of surveyor. He later became a machinist and worked as an auxiliary deputy Sheriff for Los Angeles County during World War II, as well as working for the Corps of Engineers for the Manhattan Project.

    Frank John Traphagen married first Nellie Irene (  ) and adopted a son, Frank William. During the war they visited the farm in Indiana of Fritz Schaefer, husband to his oldest sister Lillian Anna. About 1948 Frank and Irene divorced and he married second Anita Adell Wells in May, 1949 in Reno, Nevada. Anita was working at National Technical Laboratories during the war. The couple lived in a duplex next to Annie and William Turner when their first son John was born in 1949. They later moved to 618 W. Riggins Street, Monterey Park, California when the twins were born in 1951. About 1953 the Traphagen family moved from Monterey Park to 1215 South Woods, Fullerton, California and a few years later moved to their newly constructed house at 303 Normandy, Anaheim, California. During the same time, April 1955, Frank visited Baja California, Mexico and caught a "whooping big marlin fish". Frank was general supervisor of the machine shop at Beckman Instruments until his death in 1965. He enjoyed gardening, fishing and was a devoted L.A. Dodgers fan. Nellie Irene Traphagen remarried Norman Park who readopted   Frank William Park on September 13, 1956.

    Anita Adell Wells was born March 11, 1913 at 218 Garfield Street in Rochester, New York. Her father, Adelbert John Wells was born November 14, 1884 in Cherry Creek, New York, and her mother Rose Helen Cotter was born November 30, 1885 in Brockport, New York. Anita's father was a B & O train engineer conductor who was responsible for delivering Franklin D. Roosevelt's casket from Washington DC to Hyde Park, New York, very near to Rhinebeck, Dutchess County, New York, home of Willem Traphagen, Jr. and the Beekman Arms Hotel.

Children of Frank John and Anita (Wells) Traphagen:

1. John Alan. (5)
2. Thomas Lee, an identical twin born on the summer solstice of June 21, 1951 in Pasadena, California, grew up in Anaheim, Orange County, California. As a speech and drama enthusiast, he won national awards during his school years and graduated with honors from California State University, Fullerton in 1974. He migrated to Portland, Oregon in the mid seventies and married a Salem, Oregon watercolor artist, Andrea Gail Baker May 22, 1983 in Vancouver, Washington. During the mid 1980's he started his own business in sound and staging services specializing in event management and logistical operations. He sold his business, "Mobile Event Systems", in 1993 and built a new house on his five acres in Woodland, Washington. In the mid 1990's Tom and Andrea started another business in fine arts, Eclectic Collection. In the same period Tom began a new career as a metro bus driver for the Tri-County area around Portland, Oregon. His interests are photography, art, history, and accounting.
3. Robert Dell (twin), was also born on the summer solstice of June 21, 1951 in Pasadena, California and grew up in Orange County, California. Robert was class president at Sycamore Junior High School and gave the graduation speech upon leaving with honors. Honors continued to follow him throughout his school years while graduating from California State University, Fullerton with a degree in Political Science. He also was a drama enthusiast and learned the trade of floor covering, earning his way through college. He continued to work in the trade and married Colleen Ann Taylor on September 21, 1984 in Las Vegas, Nevada. They currently live in Anaheim, California where Robert is an estimator and supervises the property management division for Pacific Decorating Centers in Southern California. Colleen was born August 2, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois. His interests include golfing and sports.

5. John Alan Traphagen was born November 26, 1949, Pasadena, California. He was a chess enthusiast from a very young age and worked for Beckman Instruments in the mid 1970's as a production control supervisor, where his father Frank John was employed. He married first September 10, 1972 in Princess Anne, Delaware, Cheryl Lorene Ames. Cheryl was born January 23, 1953 in Roswell, New Mexico.

Children of John Alan and Cheryl Lorene (Ames) Traphagen:

1. Michael John, born December 15, 1973, Fullerton, California. He married Sara Vergara Torres July 27, 1997 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Sara was born November 2, 1975 in Jocotepec, Jalisco, Mexico. Michael is currently working in the construction trade as a carpenter\framer around Orange and Riverside Counties, California.
2. Jeannine Elissa, born May 19, 1979, Pomona, California.

Child of John Alan and Lois Stephanie (Boland) Traphagen:

1. Danielle Nicole, born December 16, 1986, Fontana, California.

SOURCES:

• Germans to America (Lists of Passengers Arriving at U.S. Ports) by Glazier & Philby, Volume 10, January 1856-April 1857, pages 128-29.
• Federal Census, Chicago, Illinois:

        Traphagen

        1860
        1870
        1880 E.D. 172, 313 East Division St.
        1900 E.D. 686, 210 East Division St. (listed as Trapton)
        1910 E.D. 943, 1520 Clybourne Ave.

        Bachle

        1880 E.D. 169, 385 N. Market St. (now Orleans St.)

• City Directories of Chicago, Illinois.
• Death records of Chicago, Illinois.
• Death records of Orange County, California.
• Information supplied by Thomas Traphagen, Juanita Thinnes, and Carol Kurth.