Michael Kolmer - Josepha Wagner

(Last updated: Wednesday May 06, 2009)

    Michael Kolmer and Josepha (Josefa) Wagner were both born in Endingen, Baden, Germany, and were presumably married there.  Their first child (that we know of), Josephine, was born in Endingen in 1830.  We don’t know much about them during their early years, where they lived, how they made their living, or if they had other children that died young.

    The little we know about their early years comes from the biography (and its draft) of their grandson, Alfred Benitz.  According to it, in 1833 when Josephine was 3 years old, the Kolmer family emigrated from Germany to the US.  Per census data, they must have lived in North Carolina for at least three years because their only son, John, and youngest daughter, Caroline, were both born there, 1836 and 1838, respectively.  The biography is mistaken where it claims the Kolmers emigrated to California  in 1841.  However, the Kolmers may have begun emigrating west in 1841, but from North Carolina to St. Louis, Missouri.  They were living in St. Louis when they decided to emigrate to Oregon on the west coast - in 1845.

1845 Overland Emigration by Covered Wagon:

    In 1845, Michael and his young family were among the first emigrants to travel by covered wagon overland to California.  They are included (as Coleman) in the list of Emigrants to Oregon In 1845 compiled by Stephenie Flora.  Per daughter Josephine’s recollections, they left from St. Joseph, Missouri.  It is almost certain they went with one of four wagon trains bound for Oregon that left from St. Jo during early May.  In early August, Michael (using the surname Coleman) is on record at Fort Hall, Idaho.  In his recollections Henry Marshall mentions him with others who were persuaded by Caleb Greenwood to split off for California.  They arrived at Sutter's Fort (Sacramento), California, on October 23^rd.  (H.H. Bancroft, in his "History of California", included them as members of the Grigsby-Ide party.)  It had taken them almost six months to cover the 2,000 miles (3,200 km) from Missouri.

    From the New Helvetia Diary we have concluded they stayed only one night at Sutter's Fort (23/24 Oct., 1845) then continued their journey, eventually wintering at Fort Ross.  Almost for certain they were invited there by Wilhelm Benitz, their fellow native from Endingen, Germany. 

Kolmer & Coleman:

    During their journey from Missouri to California in 1845 the Kolmers used the surname of Coleman.  They probably began using that name earlier, maybe in an attempt to appear less foreign.  However, we know from later documents that Josepha and her daughters were illiterate and it is very possible that Michael was also.  If so, they probably did not know how to spell their German surname and may have, for the sake of simplicity, accepted the similar sounding Coleman when it was bestowed upon them by English speakers.  After arriving in California they apparently went by either name, Coleman or Kolmer, scattering both around quite impartially.  Coleman Valley (near Occidental) and Kolmer Gulch (between Fort Ross and Timber Cove) are both named after them.  In the Sonoma County registry of marriages, their daughters are recorded as Josephine Coleman in 1847, and Caroline Colmen in 1855.  However son-in-law Wilhelm Benitz always referred to them as Kolmer in his letters – he would have known its correct spelling from the old country.  J. Coleman (John) appears on an 1877 map of Timber Cove yet Kolmer is the surname used in Josepha’s 1865 will and on their gravestone erected in 1898 (see below).

Coleman Valley

    In 1847, according to Amie Hill (Occidental village historian), the Kolmers became the first emigrants to settle in the area of Occidental (30 miles south of Fort Ross).   In late February of 1847, the witnesses to their eldest daughter's marriage (Josephine to Wilhelm Benitz) were early settlers of that area.

    The Kolmers lived close to present day Occidental, 2.5 miles north-west, leasing part of the Bodega Rancho land grant from Captain Stephen Smith.  The valley in which they lived and farmed became known as Kolmer Valley.  The name was later changed to its present form - Coleman Valley - through clerical error, per historian Amie Hill.   They remained there only a few years, until about 1851.  They were still there when the federal census was taken in late October, 1850.  With the census' all too often lack of accuracy, they are listed as Mitchell, Mary, John, and Caroline Coleman - all supposedly born in Germany.

Timber Cove

    In 1851 their son-in-law, Wilhelm Benitz, gave them land to farm at Timber Cove, two miles north of Fort Ross (see excerpts from his letters below).   We don't have a written record of why Wilhelm gave them the land or why the Kolmers decided to move from Coleman Valley.  However, we can speculate...

[SPECULATION:  There are several scenarios, but this seems the most plausible.  At that time Fort Ross was very remote and the lifestyle unforgiving.  Their daughter, Josephine, had lost her first three children.  It is easy to imagine how Josephine - and Wilhelm - would want to have her mother present for support and assistance with her fourth child, Franz (Frank), born in May, 1850.  It is also easy to imagine how Wilhelm, like many husbands, would tire of having his mother-in-law living in his house for an extended period.  Giving the Kolmers a couple hundred acres to farm near by was an ideal solution. It benefited both families. To Wilhelm, the farm was a tiny part (1.2%) of his Fort Ross property and it provided a barrier to squatters on his northern border.  To the Kolmers who leased in Coleman Valley it meant they would own their farm in Timber Cove.  It would not have been a hard decision to make for either party.] 

    The Kolmers were living in Timber Cove in 1855 when their youngest daughter, Caroline, impulsively and without her father’s permission married William "Dutch Bill" Howard of Occidental.  In his fury, Michael tossed all of Caroline's possessions out of the house and burnt them.

    We don't know what Michael cultivated on the flatter areas of his farm but from later photos, taken in the 1890's, it appears to be mostly pasture for grazing.

    Michael Kolmer died of a stroke at the farm on 12 February, 1858, apparently brought on by drink which had also ruined his finances.  Josepha died there on 22 February, 1865, illness unspecified.  They are buried in what has become known as the Benitz cemetery at Timber Cove.  Several other people (maybe as many as 25 per a 1951 newspaper article, see below) were buried there as well but the only gravestone in that cemetery that survives today was installed in 1898 by Josephine K. Benitz in memory of her parents and brother, John.   On that stone, Josepha Wagner Kolmer’s maiden name is miss-spelt as Wanger.  Lest you think it was the stone mason’s error, read the instructions in the image included here.  My guess: it was miss-spelt by one of Josephine K. Benitz’s grand-daughters (son William’s children Hattie and Katie) who accompanied her in 1898 on her visit to California.

 Josepha’s Will:

     In her will, Josepha Kolmer makes two intriguing omissions.  She makes no mention of the farm where she lives, nor makes any mention of or bequest to her eldest daughter, Josephine K. Benitz.  As to the farm, it is not clear from Wilhelm's letters what was the original agreement by which he gave the farm to Michael Kolmer to live on but it most likely remained Wilhelm's property.  As to why her eldest daughter was totally omitted, we simply don’t know.  It could as easily have been at her daughter’s request or out of pique for some unknown slight.  Also, she signs with a mark and not a written signature, which strongly suggests she was illiterate.

    We transcribe her entire will here.  If you wish, you can click on the images (about 130 kb each) and read the original as recorded by the probate judge - his statement is the last page (we didn't transcribe it).

Wilhelm's letter to Dutch Bill re Josepha's Death:

    It is intriguing to speculate why Wilhelm Benitz's tone in his letter to Dutch Bill Howard advising of their mother-in-law’s death appears short and abrupt.   It's an interesting letter.  To begin with, it was written in English by Wilhelm to Dutch Bill, not in German by Josephine to Caroline as we would expect.   Not truly surprising as we have strong indications that Josephine K. Benitz was illiterate.  This letter suggests that her sister,  Caroline K. Howard, was illiterate as well, else it would have been written in a very different, more compassionate, tone as she would surely have read it. 

Kolmer Farm after the Kolmers (1865-1950):

     Following Josepha Wagner Kolmer’s death, her son John Kolmer continued to live on the farm.  A year later, in preparation to sell Fort Ross, Wilhelm Benitz transferred ownership to friends and family the small pieces of his property on which they were living.  His brother-in-law, John Kolmer, received title to the Kolmer farm.

On the 28^th of August, 1866, “in consideration of the natural love and affection which he the said Wm. Benitz hath and herewith unto the said John Kolmer as also for the further maintenance and support and livelihood of him the said John Kolmer hath given granted and confirmed unto the said John Kolmer all that piece parcel on tract of land situate lying and being in the State of California and County of Sonoma and bounded and described as follows, to wit: Beginning at a stake in the shore of the Pacific Ocean… [and many chains later, see map <ADD MAP-PIX>] …to place of beginning containing two hundred and fifteen acres of land more or less.  To have and to hold all and singular the premises hereby granted and given with all and singular the appurtenances hereto belonging, in trust nevertheless for the sole use for the said John Colmer [sic] and if the said John Kolmer should die without lawful issue then the above described tract of land together with all and singular the appurtenances thereto belonging or in anywise appertaining is to revert back to the Wm. Benitz his heirs and assigns.”

    John Kolmer (or Coleman on 1877 maps) lived on the farm until his death in 1890 - shot by a neighbor.  He apparently died without any “lawful issue” because following his death, as per the above agreement, the farm reverted back to Wilhelm’s heirs, that is Josephine K. Benitz. 

    James B. Williams and Elizabeth Howard, eldest child of Caroline Kolmer Howard, lived next on the farm, until 1912.  In 1898 Josephine visited California for a few months, and on the 30^th of September of that year she sold the farm for US$10 (gold-coin) to her three surviving sons.  Preserving the Kolmer farm was apparently important to her and she continued to collect rent on it until her death in 1912 (per letter from W. C. Morgan, of Old Fort Ross, July 10, 1912).  According to a 1908 map of Sonoma County, today hanging in the Sonoma County Library Genealogy Annex in Santa Rosa, the farm was then owned by W. O., A. A., and J. E. Benitz (William, Alfred, and John).  We haven’t investigated how long the Benitz brothers continued to own it but title was eventually transferred to their cousins, the Williams and Adams families, descendants of Caroline Kolmer Howard.

    The original farm no longer exists as such and has been split up.  It included much of the area occupied by the present day village of Timber Cove.  According to a newspaper article published in 1951 (see below), the original Kolmer farm house was abandoned and was about to be demolished.  The article is confused on its Benitz facts prior to 1900 but nevertheless is still very informative.  In 1951, Lee Williams had just completed building a new (third) house on the property.  Another cousin, Gideon Adams, had a home nearby, and the cemetery was then on the property of Mr. Cooms, director of state parks along the Sonoma coast.  Today, much of the farm east of the coast highway, including the farmstead, has been replaced with summer rental cottages.  On the western, coastal part there is today a motel (Fort Ross Lodge) and several private homes.

Children

References in Wilhelm Benitz letters

    Michael's son-in-law, Wilhelm Benitz, mentions the Kolmer family in letters to his brothers in Pittsburgh and Endingen:

Timber Cove Landmark

Succumbs to Termites

    The following newspaper article was kindly provided by Robert Douglass who is researching Timber Cove property ownership.  The article appeared in a Sonoma newspaper in 1951 and contains colorful details and anecdotes about the Kolmer and Howard families.

    Note: The article is wrong on several of its Benitz facts (including the spelling of the name): The house was the home of Michael & Josepha Kolmer never that of William & Josephine Benitz; William Benitz arrived in California in about 1842 not 1850, from Texas not New Jersey; Michael Kolmer's wife's maiden-name was Wagner not Wangler, they arrived in 1845 from Missouri; and John Kolmer died on December 24 or 25, 1890, not February 25, 1890.