Person:Johann Steger (1)

          Johann Georg Steger, along with his wife Catherine (Dirmayr) and six children left Kleinschwand, Germany which was located in an area referred to as the Imperial Circle of Vohenstrauss, the Bavarian part of the Austrian Empire in 1846 and immigrated to St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri as recorded in Germanic Genealogist, the name being listed as Georg Steger.  Later you will find the first name spelled George.
         AUTHOR'S NOTE:  It may be of interest to the reader to learn that in many cases immigrants used their middle name as their first name when they emigrated in hopes of keeping their true identity from being revealed since many were leaving oppressive regimes where additional oppression was meted out to the family members left behind when one or more members of that family emigrated to another country.
         To assist the reader in locating the area in Germany from where they emigrated, Kleinschwand is located approximately 80 miles east of Nurnberg.
         After staying in St. Louis over winter they then traveled to Iowa and on 11 Jun 1847 Johann Georg purchased 120 acres of land, legally described as the SW¼ of NW¼ and the W½ of SE¼ Section 15 Township 90N Range 1W located in Concord Township, Dubuque County, Iowa, for $1.25 per acre ($150.00) which was paid for in cash.  The sale was recorded on receipt number 8277 (see a copy of this document in Appendix A) on file in the Dubuque County, Iowa, Court House, with the name listed as George Steiger. The post office address listed was Cottage Hill, Dubuque County, Iowa.  Cottage Hill was a small town located between present-day Holy Cross and Rickardsville.
         In Book 1 of Naturalization Declarations, 1832-1856 on file at the Dubuque County Historical Society there appears an entry for George Stegner, listing Bavaria as the place he renounced and from where he arrived in America on 25 Dec 1846, with a signing date of 29 Jun 1853. All these dates coincide with events in the life of Johann Georg, thereby making the author believe that this is just another variation in the way his last name was spelled.  (Source:  Dubuque County Historical Society, Book 1 of Naturalization Declarations, 1832-1856, page: 1097.)
         In the US census dated 8 Nov 1850 with the name listed as George Stiger, Johann Georg, his wife and children were listed as living in District 7 of Dubuque County, Iowa. Johann Georg, a farmer, owned real estate valued at $400.00, an increase in value of 266% over the purchase price just three years earlier.  (Source: Ancestry.com: Census Year: 1850; Census Place: District 7, Dubuque, Iowa; Roll: M432_183; Page: 79; Image: 552.)
         In the state of Iowa census of 1856 Johann Georg's first and last names are listed as:  George Staggers. Along with his wife, Catherine, two of their children, Michael and Andrew, they were living in Concord township, Dubuque county.  The family had been residents of Iowa for nine years. Johann Georg, a landowner, along with his son Michael were listed as aliens.  The farm consisted of 20 acres of meadow, 30 tons of hay; fifteen acres of spring wheat and they had harvested 280 bushels; seven acres of oats, with 300 bushels harvested; nine acres of corn with 450 bushels harvested; one-half acre of potatoes and 50 bushels harvested; five hogs were sold with a value of $49.00 and they had manufactured 50 pounds of butter.  They also produced 10 pounds of wool.  (Source: Ancestry.com: Iowa State Census Collection, 1836-1925; Family Number: 65; Line 18; Roll: IA_54.)
         In the 20 July 1860 US census Johann Georg, Catherine, daughter Barbara and sons Michael and Andrew still lived in Concord Township.  Johann, a farmer, had a personal estate valued at $100.00 while Michael, also a farmer had real estate valued at $1,000.00 and a personal estate of $260.00 and Andrew, a farm laborer, had real estate valued at $1,000.00 and a personal estate of $238.00.   (Source: Ancestry.com: Census Year: 1860; Census Place: Concord, Dubuque, Iowa;  Roll: M653_320; Page: 82; Image: 221.)
         In the 1860 census you will notice that there is no real estate value listed for Johann Georg, only a $100.00 personal estate.  By this time he was 73 years old and probably turned ownership of the estate over to his children.

1.   GEDCOM file submitted by norbert steger, dianor@mybluelight.com. Created on 28 JUL 2006. Imported on 1 Aug 2006..