The photo image above is what the "Home of our Fathers", our "Zacher Fathers" that is, looked like way back in 1999 when the photo was taken. As soon as I saw the title of the article this photo led off with, I knew, I just knew, we should also be honoring the fact that a whole lot of Zacher Mothers lived, worked, and had families there, too.
Not as much emphasis appears to be given to the Matriarchs of the Zacher history in any of the writings I've seen thus far, but the fact is the Patriarchs couldn't, and wouldn't, have been able to do the things they did, to accomplish all the things they did without the active participation and contributions of the women in their lives.
I may not be able to do the Zacher women the justice they so richly deserve in this series of blog posts, but it won't be for lack of trying. The honest truth is there simply isn't as much information available on their contributions, and memories fade as time goes on of what they did and how much they meant to this story.
The actual physical "Home of Our Fathers" has changed dramatically over the many years of its existence. It's kind of sad, really, to see the deterioration as time and Mother Nature ravage this once stately building and the rest of the outbuildings that make up the Zacher Homestead.
I'll be trying to provide some comparative images as much as historical evidence allows in future posts in this series. After all, the Zacher story I'm trying to tell is all about trying to document some of those dramatic physical changes that only time and Mother Nature can reveal. It's also to try and throw in a little bit of history to boot! Hopefully, that history will include both the Zacher Fathers and the Zacher Mothers who played such a vital role in helping shape who their descendants are today.
Mom's maiden name was Zacher, and therein are my very own beginnings. From there, determining where to begin and with which Father and Mother for purposes of this blog post were pretty much determined by a cousin of mine, Bonnie Rieger-Reger (Jeanne Zacher-Rieger).
The impetus for this post happened kind of spontaneously in a conversation between the two of us in Facebook Messenger one day. In that conversation, Bonnie asked me if I'd seen an article published on June 30, 1999 in the Grant County News about the history of the Zacher Farm. That paper was our source for local news while growing up. Because Zacher is my Mom's maiden name and, therefore, part of who I am, I was immediately interested.
The article in question presented a brief history of the Zacher homestead and its patriarch, "Chris Zacher", my own Great-Grandfather. Chris' full name was "Christian", and that's where this saga begins for purposes of what will be a series of posts on the Zacher Clan in "My Town, Your Town, Our Town".
The author of the article is Marlo Sisco-Maier.
Here's the three columns of the article in sequence. I hope everyone can read it:
There are a couple things I need to point out regarding what's said in that article before going any further with an attempt at reviving any memories of the Zacher Family homestead:
- The Zacher homestead is located northeast of Elgin, ND, not northwest as stated at the very end of the article, and,
- The article almost makes it sound like Zacher relatives are still living on, and working, the family farm. They are not living there. Nor are any Zacher relatives still working the family farm. The author does go on to say the Zacher homestead is now owned by the Eugene Kuntz family. Eugene has since passed away, and the farm is now owned and operated by Eugene's Son, Duane, but his family does not actually live on the property.
For those who might be textually challenged like me (I do much better with visuals if available), the image below shows the area in question:
The Zacher Homestead is located just to the right and downward just a tad from the number "49" (State Highway 49 for all the cartographers trying to make sense of things) in this image. The creek that appears to be growing out of the number "49" is Antelope Creek.
Just thought I should make those clarifications before getting into the meat of the story.
From there, we'll go down memory lane beginning with Great-Granddad Christian Zacher and his first wife, my own Great-Grandmother, Suzanna Sprecher-Zacher.
The image below is a copy of a piece that was originally written by and provided to me by Cousin Ardis Storms (Arleigh Zacher) in her very, very well done effort to put together the original Eaton and Zacher Family Tree (for anyone reading this who isn't aware, Eaton is the last name of my Mom's Mother.....my maternal Grandmother). To my knowledge, there isn't any such writing detailing anything about Suzanna.
- The Zacher homestead was a little more than 40 miles south and east of Hebron...almost straight south of Glen Ullin, ND, and actually about 6 miles north and a little bit east of Elgin. As can be seen on the map image provided previously, Hebron is just North of Interstate 94 and to the northwest of Glen Ullin.
- The name of the river Ardis mentioned in her piece that the homestead was in between is actually spelled "Heart River". It's a bit north of the homestead, but her claim the homestead was located on Antelope Creek is absolutely correct. That creek is an integral part of the Zacher family history, as well.
For anyone wishing to do further research on their own Germans From Russia origins, the following resources are very good places to start:
American Historical Society of Germans From Russia
Germans From Russia Heritage Society, Teplitz, Bessarabia
Cousin Ardis also included copies of the same kind of history in her family tree documentation for those in possession of that tome.
There is some writing on the back of the image that follows that says whomever took the pic thinks it is of Christian, and that it was taken in California. There is no date, but we do know from Great Aunt Pauline's writings that Christian moved his family to California sometime in 1907. It might, therefore, be a safe assumption that he had moved to California after having turned over the farming operation to his son, Oscar. But that's another story for another blog post, eh?
We do know the image below is an actual photo of Christian, Suzanna, and 5 of their 7 children:
The image below is a family tree of the two primary characters, Christian and Suzanna Zacher including their son, Oscar (my Granddad), Lela Pearl (my Grandmother), and their children (my Mom and her brothers and sisters....my aunts and uncles) presented in what amounts to an introduction into what will follow in future blog posts:
Well, that's it for this post. Hopefully, it gives those intending to follow the Zacher story a bit of insight into the origins of the homestead. I'm pretty sure those of us who experienced this "wonder" will cherish those memories the rest of our days. I know I will.
The next post will attempt to go into more detail as told by Great Aunt Pauline, daughter and youngest child of Christian and Suzanna.
Until next time.....
