Individual Details
(Mar 22, 1871 - Mar 26, 1936)
History: The Rastatter family is known to have been in the Banat regio n (of wha t is now Romania) since at least the 1850s. They immigrate d to the area from e ither the Rhineland, Alsace, Lorraine, Luxembourg , Pfalz, Trier or Mainz, but i t is not known for sure when and why th ey arrived there. It is known that ther e were three waves of Germa n Catholics that moved to the Banat region between 1 711 and 1787. Th e area at the time was part of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire t hat wa s controlled by the Hapsburgs. The Banat Province was one of the prim ary areas of settlement and later came to be known as the "breadbaske t of Europe". The city of Ulm, Germany was part of the Swabian regio n that was the most com mon point of departure. Some of the immigrant s traveled by boat down the Danub e, others came by covered wagon. Th e Hungarians (or Magyars) called these new peoples Swabians or Danub e Swabians. A well-known verse describes the conditio ns the three wa ves of immigrants encountered; "The first encounter's death, the seco nd misery, only the third has bread". By 1880, the ethnic mix consist ed o f 47% Magyar, 14% German, 14% Slovaks, 13% Romanian and 7% Croati an and Serbian . Emperor Franz Joseph needed the Magyars' support an d started a program of sy stematic "Magyarization". In 1879, the Magya r language became obligatory in sta te supported schools and governmen t administration. Discrimination, the prospe cts of work in the US an d its homesteading laws, as well as the avoidance of mi litray servic e and heavy taxation, were some of the major factors that lead 197 ,00 0 Danube Swabians to leave for the US and Canada. BIRTH: Michael wa s born in Sinpetrn Deutch (German Saint Peter) in the Banat Province . The town is lo cated 22 kilometers north of Tomisoara (Temisvar i n Hungarian) and 22 kilometer s south of Arad. Today, Tomisoara is a m ajor Romanian city. In the early 1900 s, it was a little Hungarian vi llage in the middle of the Banat region of valle ys. It is west and s outhwest of the Transylvanian mountains. Not more than 30 miles dista nt, the mountains start their rise to heights of 3000 feet above t h e plains. It is said this was a beautiful valley with flowers and g ently wavin g wheat fields. Records for the European born Rastatters a nd Jochums should be located at the family's church in the Arad regio n of what is now Romania: La B iserica, Catholica Pertern, Popa German , Comuna, Sinpetrn German, Jud, Arad Ban at, Romania, Europa. BIOGRAP HY: Before his emigration to the US, and his mar riage to Clara, he wa s a sergeant in the Calvary of Emperor Franz Josef (1830 - 1916). Aft er his release from service, his parents agreed with Clara's dad th a t they should meet. As Michael was a cabinetmaker, and Clara a wido w who need ed someone to run her late husband's (Anton Jochum) shop, t hey were married (he may have run the shop for a year or two before t heir marriage). 34 year-old M ichael (Hungarian Milialy) arrived in t he US at Ellis Island on February 2, 190 5 aboard the Kaiser Wilhelm D er Grosse from Bremen, Germany. He lived on Daven port Street in Clev eland, Ohio among a large group of immigrants. He worked as a carpen ter/cabinet/maker until he had made enough money to buy passage for h i s wife, children and stepchildren. He sent for his stepson Steven ( Jochum) lat er in 1905. His wife Clara finally sold the family stor e in German St. Peter f or about $250, gathered up Mary, James (Jack) , and Anna and immigrated to the U S. This part of the family arrive d in Baltimore, Maryland on May 18, 1907 aboa rd the Breslau from Brem en, Germany. They moved into Michael's residence on Da venport Avenue . As luck would have it, on board the same ship, from the same v illa ge, were Joseph Rastatter (Michael's cousin) and his daughter Theres a (who would later marry Stephen Jochum). James Rastatter Sr. recalle d his Grandfathe r Michael learning how to drive an automobile in th e 1930s. As Michael tried t o slow the vehicle by pressing on the bra ke pedal
Events
| Birth | Mar 22, 1871 | German St. Peter, Arad, Romania | |  | |
| Marriage | Abt, 1896 | German St. Peter, Arad, Romania - Clara Friesenhahn | | | |
| Marriage | 1896/97 | German St. Peter, Arad, Romania - Clara Friesenhahn | | | |
| Immigration | Feb 2, 1905 | German St. Peter, Arad, Romania | | | |
| Death | Mar 26, 1936 | Cleveland, Ohio | | | |
Families
Endnotes