Funeral Card Friday - Kilian German
- Cherie Cayemberg
- Oct 25, 2024
- 4 min read
I posted about how fortunate I am to have an entire album of funeral cards from my Wisconsin family. In that post I shared the funeral card for Kilian German and wondered if he might be related or if my mother-in-law's mom just kept the cards because she knew them. After copying that post over to this new blogsite I decided to see what I could find on Kilian.
The Chillicothe Gazette in Ohio printed about his death there at Camp Sherman.
"Kilian German
Kilian German, Company B, 329th Infantry, died at the base hospital Sunday at 10:50 a.m. from erysipelas and heart trouble. The deceased was 24 years old. The remains were shipped to Campbellport, Miss. (sic), Monday morning."
Well I doubt the remains were shipped to Campbellport, Mississippi, but rather Campbellsport, Wisconsin. I was surprised to see erysipelas. I'd only ever heard of that on Downton Abbey so I looked it up to see why it it wasn't heart trouble alone that killed him. I'm no doctor, but from what I found is that erysipelas is a streptococcal infection. In the days of antibiotics that's not a big deal unless you run into antibiotic-resistant infections. Antibiotics weren't available during World War I. In fact if they had been more peole with "Spanish Flu" would have survived rather than succumbed due to pneumonia. So he had a skin infection and no antibiotics. Did he have an underlying heart condition? Maybe. Erysipelas can progress to the stage where today we would call it a "flesh eating disease." Streptococcal diseases also included strep throat, which could be fatal if untreated in "them olden days" as well as could lead to subsequent illnesses such as scarlet fever and rheumatic fever. There are so many ways this could have gone and any could have resulted in his heart eventually giving out. I already went online to order a copy of the death certificate. I'd like to see the details.
Here the newspaper clipping says he died of pneumonia. Not a surprising killer. I had wondered if this might have been a case of "Spanish Flu" in my original post, but this doesn't fit in to the timeframe of that pandemic. The first acknowledged case was at a military base in March of 1918 and it wasn't wide-spread at the time so this wasn't from that, but possibly it is from an erysipelas-caused streptococcal infection or getting erysipelas at the same time was just a coincidence.
"Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Moritz and Philip Schellinger attended the funeral of Kilian German at St. Kilian last Thursday. The young man died of pneumonia while in training with the national army at Camp Sherman, Chillicothe. O."
"German, Killian (sic) L., - NSN, White, 1301 Oak St., Toledo, O.
NA LB 6 Toledo, O. Sept 22/17. Br Wayne, Wis. 23 11/12 yrs. Co B 329 Inf to death. Pvt. Died of pneumonia Jan 27/18. Notified Mr. George German, father, R.F.D. 31, Capbellsport, Wis."
And then I finally found the proper obituary for him.
"Kilian German.
Washington county now also has a share in the casualties of the Great War. The remains of Kilian German of the town of Wayne arrived at Campbellsport last Wednesday to be buried in St. Kilian's Catholic cemetery. His death occurred in Camp Sherman, Chillicothe, Ohio, of pneumonia, after a brief illness, on Sunday, Jan. 27. He was 24 years old and was a member of Co. M, 239th* Infantry. He had spent a seven-day Christmas furlough, hale and hearty, with his parents. About two years ago he was engaged as bartender in the Washington House in this city, and he will be well remembered here as a lad buoyant with the vigor of youth. Today he is dead - a hero for his country, one of the many whom death claimed in our own land before they had an even chance with the enemy. But the sacrifice is not in the least inferior to that on the battlefield. We, who claim to have patriotism, will place him with those who gave their lives for our country and surround him with the glamour of the young hero. He leaves his parents, Mr. and Mrs. George German, two brothers, George of St. Kilian and Edward of Milwaukee, and one sister, Katherine (Mrs. Jos. P. Schmitt) of the town of Wayne. One of his brothers, Albert, died about six months ago.
The family of the deceased was notified of his illness, and his brother George left for the base hospital, but he did not find him alive any more. He and Sergeant E. G. Bowyer, accompanied the remains home. The boys of his company made him a pretty offering of flowers, and they through the sergeant, expressed their sympathy to the relatives and the community. He was a great favorite among his comrades. The sergeant also stated that he had as good care and attention as he could have had at home or at any hospital.
The pall-bearers at the funeral were Leo Strobel, Gregor Straub, Roman Darmondy, Leonard Flasch, Kilian Reindl and Engelbert German. Delegations from Wayne, Kohlsville and other places attended the last rites."
Strobel and Flasch are names I've heard of, but I only have one Strobel in my tree and no one named Flasch (yet). If Kilian was related it would have been a distant connection. I think it more likely that the card was kept for sentimental reasons than familial.
Rest in peace Kilian. We will remember you.
*The unit number was misidentified in the obituary which isn't surprising. It's significant to get those things right, but honestly most civilians just see them as unimportant, while veterans (and genealogists/historians) cringe when they are wrong. Just goes to prove that you should always verify your sources!
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