Abel German 1839 - 1904

Abel German was the youngest son of Zachariah German and Mary (Polly) Chamberlain.  He was born May 2, 1839 in Delaware County, NY and died on September 19, 1904 at Walnut Creek, near Glen Elder, Mitchell County, KS.

Abel and Sabina German and family, 1889
Back L-R: Chesman, Edward, Otis
Center: Sabina, Abel, Nettie Grace
Front: Harvey, Homer, Henry

Abel likely accompanied Zachariah when he moved to Polo, Illinois in 1855, because he does not appear in the New York 1855 census and because he enlisted with the 92nd infantry (Illinois) in Polo on August 19, 1862.  

Interestingly, the 1860 census shows Abel in Allen County, Kansas Territory, working as a farm laborer with the family of Malachi Plank (who was also from New York; see also 1855 census for Watertown, Jefferson, NY).  

Abel reached the rank of Sergeant, was with Sherman's army on his march through Georgia, and was discharged in North Carolina in June of 1865. 

Abel's discharge certificate.  His age is wrong:

The New York census in the summer of 1865 shows Abel in Prattsville, NY, with his mother Polly, but the designation "Army" for this census means only that he was reported by Polly, not that he was necessarily present.

  

Abel married Sabina Howard in Johnson County, NE on June 13, 1869:

For investigation: was Sabina Howard related to Mary Jane German's first husband, Willson Howard of Prattsville, NY?

The 1870 US census shows Abel with his brother Samuel Germain in Richardson County, NE. 

In 1874 Abel took up a homestead quit claim deed outside Glen Elder, KS, where he established himself as a farmer. Here's his original deed from 1882, after he made the final payment:

Abel German's deed for the NW Quarter of Section 9, Township 7 South, Range 9 West of the 6th Prime Meridian

This page from the 1917 atlas shows the location of Abel's original homestead, and the land subsequently acquired and farmed by his sons Chesman (C.A. German), Edward (E.B. German) and Otis H. German:

The school marked in the upper left corner of Section 11 is where my father walked to grade school in the 1930's and 40's. The three dots at the north end of Chesman's land are houses, one of which belonged to his son Kenneth (my grandfather) when the Corps of Engineers acquired and demolished it in the early 1960's to make way for Waconda Lake.

Abel German died on September 19, 1904, apparently from gangrene as a complication of diabetes.  His wife, Sabina Howard, died on January 10, 1924.  Their obituaries, and also for their son Homer (click on the image to enlarge):

Abel's parents sold their land in New York in February of 1855, so we think Abel was 15 when he moved to Polo, Illinois with his father Zachariah, not 14 as given in his obituary.

In 1964 Abel's son Henry German wrote that "He was a man six feet tall + weighing 200 lbs before the onset of diabetes which eventually caused his death.  Gangrene set in his right leg and it was amputated above the knee.  Following this he improved somewhat.  He was fitted with an artificial leg.  When gangrene appeared in his left foot he died within a week."

Abel and Sabina are buried in the Walnut Creek cemetery southwest of Glen Elder, Kansas.  This cemetery is at 39.451879 N, -98.362672 W.

Henry also wrote that Abel was born in Cayuga County, NY, which disagrees with all other sources. Henry's statement that Abel was "six feet tall" conflicts with his Army discharge papers, which say he was 5' 9". But when Henry wrote this in 1964, his father had been dead for 60 years.

My cousin is building this site with a lot of information about Abel and Sabina, and their descendants in Kansas:
http://edminniegerman.blogspot.com/2015/07/children-of-abel-sabina-german.html