I will be focusing on Lydia Olga Kobi’s family. She is the wife of Arthur Edmund Burgess and the mother of Lauree Burgess Betts and my (Heather) great-great-grandmother and Arthur and Lydia are my great-great-great-grandparents for reference. The first part of Lydia’s timeline starts with her father Andreas (Andrew) Kobi.
~~1830~~
Lydia’s father Andreas (Andrew) Kobi was born on October 3, 1834, in Meissenheim, Baden, Germany, to Andreas Kobi 1792-1840 and Maria Magdalena Wickersheim 1799-1860. Andrew was the fourth born.
-Andreas Kobi 1831-1841 (died at 10 years old)
-Johannes Kobi 1825-1826 (died at 1)
-Magdalena Kobi 1827-1859 (died at 32)
-Andreas (Andrew) Kobi 1834-1895
-Jakob Kobi 1831-1871
-Barbara Kobi 1837-1859 (died at 22)
Meissenheim was a farming and fishing community pictured below in the early 1900s and below that a map of Meissenheim.
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Andrew was baptized on 12 October 1834, in Meißenheim, Preußen, Baden, Germany.
~~1840~~
When Andrew was 5 years old, his father Andreas Kobi Sr 47, passed away on March 14, 1840, in Meißenheim, Ortenaukreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.
~~1850~~
On March 1, 1859, Andrews’s sister Barbara passed away at the age of 22 in Meißenheim, Baden, Germany
Also in 1859, his sister Magdalena 31, passed away on June 25, 1859, in Meißenheim, Ortenaukreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. She leaves behind a son Theobald Kobi age 4.
It is possible that the sisters were stricken with the second wave of Cholera that went through Europe.
~~1860~~
Just a year later Andrew’s mother Maria Magdalena Wickersheim Kobi passed away on August 23, 1860, in Meißenheim, Ortenaukreis, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. This leaves Andrew 26, with his brother Jakob 29, and 5-year-old nephew Theobald in the Kobi family.
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With the great loss of his family members, I wonder if Andrew needed a fresh start. Around March or April 1864, Andrew boarded the Ship Goschen in La Havre, France, and sailed across the Atlantic. His ship made it to the Port of New York landing at Castle Garden or Ellis Island on June 25, 1864. It looks like there were about 370 immigrants on this ship alone.
(Not the Goschen but a similar ship)
~~~~~
A little over two years after arriving in America, Andrew 31, married Miss Anna Elizabeth “Lizzie” Weyrauch 23, from Marthasville, Warren County, Missouri. They were married on October 1, 1866, in Polk County Iowa.
Anna’s parents were immigrants from Germany also. I will be telling their story soon.
~~~~~
Andrew and Anna welcomed their first child William Carl on September 1, 1867, in Des Moines, Boone County, Iowa.
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Andrew and Anna welcome their second child, a daughter Mary Magdelena “Lena”
on March 11, 1869, in Des Moines, Boone, Iowa, USA
~~1870~~
On January 15, 1871, in Ankeny, Polk County, Iowa, Andrew and Anna welcomed their third child Wilhelmina “Minnie” Lydia
~~~~~
Andrew and Anna welcomed baby number 4 a daughter Elisabeth Karolina “Carrie” on
November 2, 1872, in Ankeny, Polk County, Iowa.
~~~~~
Two years later, Andrew and Anna welcomed their fourth daughter and fifth child
Margaretha Frederika “Margie” on November 24, 1874, in Ankeny, Polk County, Iowa.
~~~~~
Baby number six Julius Henry was born on July 7, 1877, in Ankeny, Polk, Iowa to Andrew and Anna.
~~1880~~
On February 28, 1880, Andrew and Anna had their seventh child and fifth daughter Lydia Olga in Ankeny, Polk County, Iowa. Lydia is my great-great-great-grandma.
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| Name | Race | Sex | Age | Relation | Marital Status | Occupation | Sick Yes/No | Attended School | Birthplace | Father’s Birthplace | Mother’s Birthplace |
| Kobi, Andrew | W | M | 45 | Head | M | Farmer | No | Baden | Baden | Baden | |
| Lizzie | W | F | 37 | Wife | M | Keeping House | MO | Baden | Baden | ||
| Willie | W | M | 12 | Son | S | At Home | Yes | IA | Baden | MO | |
| Magdalena | W | F | 11 | Daughter | S | At Home | Yes | IA | Baden | MO | |
| Minnie | W | F | 9 | Daughter | S | At Home | Yes | IA | Baden | MO | |
| Caroline | W | F | 7 | Daughter | S | At Home | Yes | IA | Baden | MO | |
| Maragret | W | F | 5 | Daughter | S | At Home | IA | Baden | MO |
The family is living in Cocker Township in Polk County, Iowa. Andrew is Farming and the older kids are attending school. This also shows Lizzie’s (Anna) parents are from Baden Germany. My one question is, why isn’t Julius or Lydia listed in this census? Julius would have been almost 3 years old and Lydia 4 months. Hmm..
~~~~~
Just a little over a year Andrew and Anna’s eighth child and the third son Louis “Lou” Emil was born on July 11, 1881 in Ankeny, Polk, Iowa.
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Andrew and Anna’s ninth child died at birth in 1883. His name is unknown. Burial is also unknown. Assumably it’s in Ankeny, Iowa.
~~~~~
~Picture of young Anna~
This had to be a bittersweet day for the family. On October 26, 1885, in Ankeny, Iowa, Anna gave birth to a daughter whom Andrew named Anna Elizabeth in honor of his wife as she passed away while giving birth to baby number ten, young Anna.
Anna Elizabeth “Lizzie” Weyrauch Kobi is buried at the
Greenwood Friends Cemetery Douglas Township, Polk County, Iowa,
PLOTSec O Row 4 Lot 8
F.A.G# 28793554 · View Source
~~~~~
Mary Magdelena “Lena” Kobi 18, married Federick William Kraus 26, in Crocker County, Iowa, on May 27, 1886, They would have seven children Emma Elizabeth 1887-1971, Dora Wilhelmina 1891-1968, Carl Wesley 1894-1975, Edna 1898-1899, La Vona Lidia 1901-1957, Wilfred Jonathon 1904-1996, and Eldon Kabi 1906-1917.
~~1890~~
Minnie Kobi visits her sister Lena Kraus in Kansas. I’m not sure who Jeff is?
~~~~~
Wilhelmina “Minnie” Lidia Kobi 22, married Walter William Young 24, in Ankeny, Iowa, on July 3, 1892. They would have four children together: Charles Henry 1893-1891, Baby Girl Young 1894-1894, Wesley Andrew 1898- 1990, and Opal Elizabeth 1908-2000.
~~~~~
William Carl Kobi married Miss Rosella “Rose” Young of Ankeny, Iowa, on December 21, 1892, in Des Moines, Iowa. They would have three children together Orris Russell 1895-1966, Lester Roosevelt 1902-1948, and Delmar Harold 1907-1978.
~~~~~
Margaretha Fredricka “Margie” Kobi 20, married Charles Melvin Shellhart 21, of Ankeny on November 6, 1894, at the Kobi home in Ankeny, Iowa. They would have three children together Roye Francis 1896-1957, Clarence Rolland 1903-1972, and Lucille Elizabeth 1908-1966.
~~~~~
On December 28, 1895, According to the Altoona and Cedar Rapids Gazette in Iowa, Andrew sustained a deadly skull fracture after being kicked by his horse. He was 62 years old. That left the nine children orphaned, three of them minors. Young Anna was only 9 years old, Lou was 14, Lydia was 15, and Julius was 18. Andrew only got to know his first grandson for a month.
Greenwood Friends Cemetery Douglas Township, Polk County, Iowa
Show Map Sec O Row 4 Lot 8
F.A.G.#28793581 · View Source
~~~~~
This is the finished will of Andrew Kobi. It contains the contents of their home. The one that got me was the 6 dining chairs and how they will never be sat in again as a whole family. So sad to think about what they all went through.
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This directory was published after Andrew’s death. It shows his son William right after him.
This is a neat directory for me. My Betts, Burgess, Horning, and Kobi relatives are all listed in this 1896 directory.
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Elizabeth Karoline “Carrie” 25, married Orris Orton Brewbaker 30, of Ankeny Iowa, on November 9, 1897, in Ankeny, Polk County, Iowa. They would have two children together Lloyd Emerson Brewbaker 1898-1981 and Hazel Marie Brewbaker 1900-1983.
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Polk County Directory 1899. It shows Julius and his brother William.
~~~~~
Julius Henry passed away on September 10, 1899, at the age of 22. I could not find the cause of death. He is buried with his mother, father, and brother.
Greenwood Friends Cemetery Douglas Township, Polk County, Iowa
Show Map PLOTSec O Row 4 Lot 8
F.A.G.#28793604 · View Source
~~1900~~
The Kobi Sisters Circa 1900
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I figured it out! I couldn’t figure out who the Brewbakers when I posted this on Arthur Burgess’ page. It’s Lydia and Anna’s sister Carrie and her family. Makes so much more sense now knowing that the girls lost both parents and with Anna still being in school. Carrie is at home raising little Lloyd.
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Lydia Olga Kobi 20, married Arthur Edmond Burgess 24, from La Porte, Indiana, on January 5, 1901, in Polk County, Iowa. They would go on to have six children (4 oldest shown below) Lauree Evelyn 1902-1956, Edldon DeWitt 1905-1998, Kenneth Alvin 1907-1992, Merle J 1910-1991, Myra Aileen 1912-2006, and Gladys Ernilie 1924-2017
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Louis Emil Kobi 23, married Miss Jessie Elizabeth Arbougast 16, of South Dakota, on September 3, 1904, in Palo Alto County, Iowa. They had at least nine children together; Blanch 1907-?, Lenoel Wilfred Kobi 1909-1977, Leota Bell Kobi 1912-?, George Henry Kobi 1913-1999, Arthur Leroy Kobi 1916-1985, Theodore Washington Kobi 1918-1971, Edith P. Kobi 1920-?, Rosebud Elizabeth Kobi 1922-? and Harry L. Kobi 1927-1986
~~~~~
Young Anna Elizabeth Kobi 20, married David Newton Essick 21, of Virginia Township, Iowa, on June 27, 1906, in Ankeny Iowa. They had three children together; Cherry C. Essick 1907-1918, Carroll Eugene “Duke” Essick 1911-1977, and Vida Pauline Essick 1912-1918. With both of Anna and David’s girls dying in 1918, they more than likely passed away from the Spanish Flu outbreak of 1918.
~~~~~
Just a week after his 39th birthday, William suffered a terrible farming accident at his friend’s farm. The following newspaper articles got worse and worse as the week went on. William was a wealthy farmer and it left his wife Rosa widowed and one month pregnant with their third son Delmar. His two sons Orris 11, and Lester 4 were so young.
William is buried at the
Oralabor Cemetery Ankeny, Polk County, Iowa
F.A.G# 124225900 · View Source
~~1910~~
I stumbled upon this. Very interesting. William left her $30,000. In today’s money that’s about $844,000.
~~1920~~
Wilhelmina Lydia “Minnie” Kobi Young passed away on May 30, 1924, at the age of 53 from a cerebral hemorrhage caused by hypertension. She is buried at the Oralabor Cemetery in Ankeny, Polk County, Iowa.
F.A.G.# 80296813 · View Source
~~1930~~
Elizabeth Karoline “Carrie” Kobi Brewbaker passed away on April 1, 1934, from aortic insufficiency caused by thrombosis of leg veins. She is buried in Oralabor Cemetery Ankeny, Polk County, Iowa.
F.A.G.# 84310561 · View Source
~~~~~
Mary Magdalene “Lena” Kobi Kraus passed away on June 28, 1937 in Hays, Ellis County, Kansas
Mount Allen Cemetery Hays, Ellis County, Kansas, USA
F.A.G.# 137003029 · View Source
~~1940~~
Margaretha Fredricka “Margie” passed away at the age of 67, on August 30, 1942, from ulcers of the stomach. She is buried at the Oralabor Cemetery Ankeny, Polk County, Iowa
F.A.G.# 124684212 · View Source
~~1950~~
Louis Emil Kobi passed away on August 28, 1952, in Olmsted, Minnesota. I could not find any other information on his death. Lou and Jessie moved to Minnesota sometime around 1917.
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Lydia Olga Kobi Burgess passed away from a ten-year battle with generalized arteriosclerosis on April 8, 1954, at Lutheran Minor Hospital (early Good Sam) in Puyallup, Pierce County, Washington. She is buried at Sumner Cemetery Sumner, Pierce County, Washington.
F.A.G.#21066355 · View Source
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Anna Elizabeth Kobi Essick passed away from respiratory failure brought on by a cerebral hemorrhage contributed by a decade of arterial sclerotic cardiovascular disease on June 23, 1964, in Ankeny Iowa. She is buried in Oralabor Cemetery Ankeny, Polk County, Iowa.
F.A.G.# 80259059 · View Source
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A few takeaways I got from researching the Kobi family, most of the Kobi ladies passed away from Arteriosclerosis events. It even got passed down through the generations.
As always the Kobi story isn’t finished yet. Thank you for reading. Let me know if you have pictures, stories, or favorite memories of anyone on this page.
-Family members in Bold have their own page on this website where you can find more about their story.
-F.A.G# are FindaGrave.com reference numbers if you to start your own virtual cemetery through their app.
-I find most of my information in State or County books, family genealogy books, libraries, Google searches, and personal stories and pictures given to me
I do this to preserve our family history for us and future generations. I keep the website ad-free because who wants to see ads. I do take donations and I truly appreciate everyone who has donated so far. You know who you are 🙂 We have a Venmo set up now @Eric-Puryear-3 to make donations easier.
Thank you again for reading and remember if you count back 10 generations, it took 2,046 people to come together at separate times in history just to make you!
If the Genes Fit... 