Joseph Preis (1863-1947)

Charts | Passenger | Marriage | naturalization | Death| Census

Immigrant. Earliest person of this line.

Husband of Helena Grove √

Facts (with source information): Narrative Report

What's so great about these records?
His naturalization document is quite informative. It says when and where he was born, when he arrived in the United States, where he was living in Europe before his voyage. It names the ship he rode. It says he renounces any allegiance to Kaiser Wilhelm II, a pretty important statement because war was coming in Europe. Americans of German descent, especially immigrants, wanted to be viewed as loyal to the United States.

Charts:

1883 Passenger Record:

Ship’s Arrival (image 1174)

SS Canada arrival, New York, October 18, 1883 (top of the image)

Passenger Record (image 1176)

Joseph Preis, no. 473, near the bottom

1887 Marriage Records

Marriage License

St. Louis, Missouri. left side, middle

Marriage

St. Nicholas, St. Louis, Missouri
upper right corner

This record is a treasure to genealogists. It names their parents. Of course, it is written in Latin, so you have to figure out what the names would be in German or English.

1913 Naturalization

Declaration of Intent, right side

War was coming in Europe. German immigrants wanted to be seen as loyal to the United States. Many filed for citizenship at this time. Joseph had been in America since 1883 and did not file the citizenship papers until 1913.

1947 Death

Death Certificate

The informant was his wife, Helen. She does not know the name of Joseph’s mother. It is very common to see on death certificates of immigrants that their survivors do not know the names or birth places of the dead person’s parents, particularly of their mothers.

Burial

He is buried in Calvary Cemetery with his wife and his daughter (Anna Mary Preis Murphy). Also in that family plot is his granddaughter, Elizabeth Murphy Stephens.

Family plot in Calvary Cemetery

Census Records:

The 1890 census was lost in a fire.

1900 Census

lines 40-45 (and the neighbor is Mathew Preis, Joseph’s brother)

His wife is called Lena. They have been married 12 years and have had 6 children. Four of the children are still living. Infant mortality was high, touching nearly every family.

Their son Joseph was born July 20, 1888 and died April 10, 1889. He is buried in Calvary Cemetery, St. Louis, Missouri. Their son Frank Charles Preis was born March 18, 1892 and died September 30, 1893. He is also buried in Calvary Cemetery.

1910 Census

lines 5-11

His wife is called Helena. All five living children are present in the household.

1920 Census

lines 40-44

Three of the children are in the household. When asked the year of his immigration, he gives a date that is off by several years. This is very, very common in the census. Seldom have I seen a census record with correct information in that column. Remember that the census is not a primary record. The record of his arrival in New York (1883), shown above, is a primary record. It tells us when he arrived.

1930 Census

lines 47-48

Just the two of them in the household now.

1940 Census

lines 39-40

Their name is spelled “Price,” which is the way it is pronounced. They have lived at the same place at least 5 years. She was born in Missouri. He is foreign born, but is a naturalized citizen. His mother tongue was German.