Service was required in the military. During his service the required length of service was changed from two to ten years. Several of the soldiers left the military, including Adam. In 1869 he and Anna fled and crossed the border just before being captured. The German military caught up to them but had no jurisdiction to bring them back.
Adam sailed to America first settling in Philadelphia, PA. Anna came over with her brother Leonard about a year later.
Adam Fleckenstein 1869
Adam's family members back in Germany
Adam and Anna were married on September 5, 1871, at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Philadelphia, PA. In November, 1873, they had their first child, Sophie. In 1875 the Fleckenstein's moved west to Assumption, Illinois, to farm. Once they moved to Assumption they lived in a rented farmhouse.
1880 Census - Assumption, IL. Adam and Anna had nine children, of their own. In 1880 Adam's brother Andrew was visiting with his three daughters when he died of sun stroke. Adam took the three girls into his home (from two different mothers, each had also died, as had a younger brother years before). Their names were Anna, Mary, and Catherine. The youngest, Catherine, stayed with a lady named Mary Rubbard. When Anna married (around 1883/84) she and her husband moved to Kansas and Catherine moved with them.
1880 Census Assumption IL
(Leonard Fleckenstein's family is listed under Adam's family. Leonard is Anna's brother.)
One of the nine children was my great-grandfather, George Adam Fleckenstein, Born Sept 28, 1886, Assumption, IL.
Around 1889.
Fleckenstein kids L-R: Nina, Frank, Josie, Christina, George.
Around 1904.
From the Daily Breeze - May 04, 1908
Adam Fleckenstein dies Monday, May 4,
1908.
Falls Dead While Eating Breakfast. Adam Fleckenstein, a prominent farmer
of Assumption township, fell dead while seated at the breakfast table at
the residence of his daughter, Mrs. Charles Myers, six miles north of Morrisonville, at six o’clock this morning. Death resulted from heart
failure. The news of his death by this ailment will come as a great
surprise to those who knew him, for he apparently was of a robust
constitution and had never previously been afflicted with his heart. Mr.
Fleckenstein and his wife were in Taylorville nearly all day Saturday,
being then en route to their daughter’s home. They left here in the
afternoon on the Banner Limited. The descendant was born in Germany
August 12, 1849, and when 20 years of age came to the United States
settling at Philadelphia. He was married there in 1871 to Miss Anna
Fleckenstein, who, though she bore the same name, was no blood relative.
Note: Even though the cause of death is listed as "heart failure" I suspect the cause of death was probably a stroke. It was noted that he had no previous heart problems and was of "robust constitution." There is a family history of high blood pressure going back through the male side of the family which is more likely to cause a stroke than a heart attack.
Anna in later years.
916 E Main St then and now.
From the Daily Breeze - July 19, 1932
Anna Fleckenstein had passed away July 16th at 916 East Main St. Decatur IL, where she moved in 1910, two years after Adam’s death. (The close-up article is legible enough to read.) By this time George had moved to Southern California.
