Johann Gottlieb (or Gottfried) BAUMANN was born Sunday, May 4th, 1817, at Rohr, a small village near Stuttgart, in Wurttemburg, Germany. He learned woodcraft as a cabinet maker's apprentice. When his term of indenture ended, young Johann decided to emigrate to the United States, quite possibly to avoid compulsory military service. To raise money, he trained and sold red birds. In his sixteenth year, he journeyed from Stuttgart to Amsterdam to sail for America. Arriving at the dock, he found his intended transport had departed the day before. Bitterly disappointed, Johann returned home.

The next year he succeeded in obtaining passage and sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, probably arriving in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

He first located at Greensburg in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.

Two of Johann's sisters married the ROTH brothers and eventually resided in Pennsylvania. Whether the the three siblings emigrated together is not known.

Census records indicate that there were several BAUMANN families already settled in Westmoreland County at this time
By 1838, he had adopted the Americanization of his name - John - and moved to Mercer County in northwestern Pennsylvania. On March 1st, 1838, he married Hannah Maria KLINGINSMITH.

Hannah, a milliner by profession, also occasionally served as midwife.

John and Hannah BAUMANN were the parents of six children:

1. Harriet BAUMANN, b. 11 Jan 1839, Mercer Co. PA; d. 22 Apr 1897
    married Calvin PARKER

2. Simon Peter BAUMANN, b. 29 Sep 1840, Mercer Co. PA; d. 22 Jun 1915
    married Dorotha MADDEN

3. Sarah Catherine BAUMANN, b. 23 Jun 1843, Mercer Co. PA; d. 18 Dec 1906, Haigler NE
    married 1862, IA Norman James ALLEN, Sr.

4. Maria BAUMANN, b. 12 Mar 1846, Mercer Co. PA; d. 11 Sep 1851, Mercer Co. PA

5. Mary Ann BAUMANN, b. 16 Sep 1849, Mercer Co. PA; d. 27 Sep 1926, IA
    married Nelson Stewart DAVENPORT

6. Hiram Mack BAUMANN, b. 19 Apr 1852, Mercer Co. PA; d. 31 Oct 1909, Kansas City MO
    interment Walnut Creek Cemetery, Wellsville KS
    married 24 Mar 1875, Creston IA Emma Alice CORT

On Thursday, 11 September 1851, five-year-old Maria died in a freak accident. She was climbing a rail fence when one of its cross-timbers collapsed. The family was devastated. Following her death, John and Hannah BAUMANN began thinking about a new home.

Sometime in the early 1850's, John set out to find the perfect spot. In Illinois, he met someone who proposed to trade him land for his fine riding pony. This real estate, however, consisted of several low, swampy lots near Lake Michigan. [In subsequent years, these wetlands were drained and became part of the famous loop area of Chicago.] Declining the offer, John rode on. More attractive land lay in Iowa. A suitable location was found in Lincoln Township, Ringgold County, Iowa.

The BAUMANN family moved to this land in Ringgold County, Iowa in the year of 1855. John was soon hard at work - demonstrating his cabinetry skills by making furniture and caskets. It is said that he acquired a reputation as a peacemaker among local Indians, who referred to him as "Uncle John." Through his influence, they adopted the white man's custom of burying their dead.

The BAUMANN family, were mostly interred at Rising Sun Cemetery in Ringgold County, Iowa.

SOURCE:
LESAN, Mrs. B. M. Early History of Ringgold County: 1844 - 1937 Pp. 20. Blair Pub. House. Lamoni IA. 1937.

Transcription by Sharon R. Becker, December of 2009; updated May of 2010