Name/Title
Fleischer family: Charles William (CW) and Ernestina (Bohnsack) Fleischer, 1878 Pioneers in Bohnsack Township, Traill County, DTEntry/Object ID
2025.12.1Description
This family history file folder contains numerous images and documents about the lives of Charles William (CW) Fleischer and his wife, Ernestina Bohnsack. In 1878, CW Fleischer travelled from his home in Lansing, Minnesota, where he operated a mill, with Ernestina's brother, Johan Bohnsack, and nephew, William Bohnsack, to Traill County, Dakota Territory [info courtesy 1939 autobiography, William Bohnsack]. They crossed the Red River on a ferry at Hendrum, MN, and travelled up the Elm River. They staked land claims in what became known as Bohnsack Township in Traill County. They returned to Hendrum, and then to Moorhead, MN, and crossed the Red River to Fargo, DT, where they filed their claims at the Lands Office.
The following Spring, in 1879, CW Fleischer returned with his wife Ernestina and family to his land claim in Bohnsack Township in Traill County, DT [see page 96, left, from Grandin Centennial, 1881-1981, book]. CW had established a homestead located six miles west and two miles north of Grandin, ND [NE Qtr, Sect. 26, Bohnsack Township, 1892 Plat map, below]. Note that CW and Ernestina's son, Wm (Bill) Fleischer also owner land nearby in Sections 22 and 26.
From profiles in Jackie (Ausk) Baumgartner's Ancestry.com Public Member Tree: "Ackerman/Kneip/Fleischer/Hagen Family Tree", we know that Charles William (CW) Fleischer was born on 8 September 1836 in Germany. CW came to America in 1855 and first settled in Will County, Illinois, which is where he met and married, at age 21, Ernestina Bohnsack, age 19, on 8 April 1858 in Joliet. Ernestina was born on 24 October 1838 in Germany; Ernestina was a sister to Johan J. Bohnsack (see TCHS Catalogit Family History entry 2022.726.1). CW and Ernestina first farmed in Will County, Illinois. In 1863, CW also served in the US Army for two years during the Civil War [see page 96 below from Grandin Centennial, 1881-1981, book]. CW and Ernestina later moved to farms in Sheboygan County, Wisconsin, and then to Redwood County, Minnesota, before homesteading farmland in Traill County, Dakota Territory.
Charles William (CW) Fleischer and Ernestina Bohnsack had seven children, including two born in Illinois: Charles William Jr (Charlie) Fleischer (born 1859), and Amelia (Molly) Fleischer (b. 1860); one born in Wisconsin: William C. (Bill) Fleischer (b. 1862), one born in Ohio: Anna Fleischer (b. 1866); and two born in Minnesota: Clara Fleischer (b. 1869) and George Fleischer (b. 1874) [for additional information on these seven children, see profiles in Jackie Baumgartner's Ancestry.com Public Member Tree: "Ackerman/Kneip/Fleischer/Hagen Family Tree"]. Notably, CW and Ernestina's older sons, Charles William (Charlie) Fleischer and William (Bill) Fleischer would have helped their parents establish their new home in Bohnsack Township (see TCHS Catalogit Family History entry 2022.358.1).
As indicated from his life story above, CW Fleischer moved relatively often, from Illinois to Wisconsin to Minnesota and to Dakota Territory. After four years of farming in Bohnsack Township, in 1882, CW Fleischer went west to Montana and staked a mining claim near Helena [see page 96 below from Grandin Centennial, 1881-1981, book].
When CW left for Montana, Ernestina (Bohnsack) Fleischer remained on the home farm in Bohnsack Township. So far, we do not know what happened between CW and Ernestina in the five years from 1882 to 1887, but fortunately, letters that CW wrote to his wife Ernestina or Stina from 1888 to 1891 were saved by granddaughter Wilma Fleischer, the daughter of William (Bill) and Lizzie (Johnson) Fleischer; Bill was CW and Stina's second son. Wilma Fleischer married Lester Peterson in 1920, and they later inherited the Wm Fleischer farmland in Bohnsack Township (see 1892 plat map, below). Before her passing in 1997, Wilma gave these letters from CW to Stina to nephew Dennis Peterson, who has donated them to the TCHS. Included with the original letters hand-written in German, were type-written translations compiled by Walter Bohnsack, a nephew of Ernestina (Bohnsack) Fleischer.
In a letter written to Stina on 22 October 1888, CW wrote (below, translated; much of the original letter was torn and parts were missing): "It made me very glad that you had written to me. I was sick, and had been on my back for a long period of time." CW finished this letter with "All that I do is for you, and I will always be true to you."
In 1889, CW wrote a letter to Stina (below, translated) with mixed messages. In the first paragraph, CW wrote "What you think of me is important, and I will of course not see you again." Then later he wrote "From your letters I can tell you are loyal to me, and I hope to see you again."
In a second 1889 letter written over two pages in early winter (below, translated), CW wrote to Stina that "It is comforting to know, that you have kept me in your thoughts." In this letter, CW described how when he was sick that a "lady took care of me for days." CW writes about hard times but also finishes the letter on page 2 that "You can see that I am now, Judge Fleischer. For seven years, I was nothing more than a beggar. My seal or engraving is shown here on this letter." The original letter has a heading: "C. W. Fleischer, Justice of the Peace", and an embossed "Notarial Seal Montana" stamp at the top of the letter.
In a third 1889 letter dated 20 December 1889 (below, translated), CW had apparently just received a letter from Stina that included pictures of their children. He wrote "This morning, I was glad to get Charlie's picture, and that of the other children. When I saw them, and thought of them and you, I had cried." CW ends this letter with "I would be happy to see you again."
In another letter dated 9 March 1890 (below, translated), CW starts with "I recieved your frank letter, and I wish to say, I probably was [felt] a little bitter." CW then goes on later to write that "The lady [Theresa] with whom I am staying, is full ten years old than I am, and therefore not one I would fall in love with." He also writes that "I was hurt in a fall from a ledge, 175 ft. high, and have become a cripple in a way" and adds "I am not a man anymore ...I have lost my virility." CW also writes "She [Theresa] has no interest in marriage, and you can be thankful for that."
But, we know that 20 years later in the 1910 US Census, CW Fleischer, now age 73, declared that he was "Mining" a "Quartz mine [gold]" in Lewis-and-Clark County, and that he was married to a 73-year-old Theresa, and that they had been married for 28 years (since 1882?). Find-a-Grave records indicate that CW Fleischer's second wife, perhaps by common law, was widow Theresa (Duer) Munding, whose husband Anthony Munding had died in 1881 in Minnesota. It is unclear how or where CW and Theresa met, but from the letters it would appear that this was in Helena. We do know that Charles William (CW) Fleischer passed away, age 74, on 27 August 1911 in St. John's Hospital in Helena [MT Death Certif.], and that Theresa died about 4 years later on 4 November 1915. Charles W. and Theresa Fleischer were interred in Forestvale Cemetery located just north of Helena, MT [FaG grave-marker, below].
In the 1900 US Census, Ernestina, age 61, was head of household at the Fleischer farm, and had the help of two daughters, Clara and Tillie, and one son, George, to help with the farm, in addition, two "Farm Laborers" were also listed with Ernestina at the time of this 1900 census collected on 12 June. Interestingly, Ernestina declared that she was a widow in this 1900 census, even though her husband CW Fleischer was very much alive in Montana. There is evidently no record of CW and Ernistina ever being divorced. When Ernestina (Bohnsack) Flesicher passed away, age 87, on 1 August 1926, her ND Death Certificate stated that she was "widowed" and a "Farmer" in Bohnsack Township in Traill County for 47 years, that is, since 1879. Ernestina's daughter, Tillie Fleischer, provided the information for Ernestina's death certificate. Ernestina (Bohnsack Fleischer was interred in Riverside Cemetery by Hillsboro, ND [US FaG grave-marker, below].Cataloged By
John 'Jack' LudwigAcquisition
Accession
2025.12Source or Donor
Jackie (Ausk) BaumgartnerLocation
* Untyped Location
Resource RoomBuilding
Plummer House
