Imagine learning late in life that your surname is not actually your surname. My Dad always wondered about his last name, Ullrich, because the facts just did not add up. The facts didn’t add up because Ullrich was not his last name. His parents were his parents, but his father was not an Ullrich. His father was William Otto Joachim and so my Dad was a Joachim. This is very clear. The paper trail is quite complete.
William Otto Joachim (Otto) was the son of Katie Briem and Conrad Otto Joachim. Otto’s New Jersey birth certificate officially recorded his name as shown below.
When Otto was only three weeks old, his father, also called Otto, had a heart attack and died. He was only 37. Katie was 29 and suddenly a widow with three children under the age of six: Gustave, 5; Louisa, 4; and Otto, 3 weeks. She had lost her mother only a few years earlier and would lose her father the following year. She could not turn to her parents for help.
It was 1885. Without a husband or father, there was little a woman could do to provide for herself say nothing of providing for a family with three young children. Domestic service would have been the most likely employment possibility. Women’s roles were very limited and centered around the home and family. Managing a household was a physically demanding job without all the appliances we have today. Imagine maintaining a home without even a vacuum cleaner to say nothing of a washing machine!
Katie soon remarried. She married Karl J. Ullrich. Katie and Karl had two daughters, Augusta and Dorothea (Dora).
In 1900, Otto is on the census living in the Karl Ullrich household. Karl is the head of the household followed by his wife, Katie, and daughters Augusta and Dora. Otto is the last line entry in the household and clearly identified with the surname Joachim.
Otto’s brother, Gustave, always used his surname, Joachim. Gustave’s descendants are all Joachims.
Otto’s sister, Louisa, used her surname, Joachim, until 1903 when she married and took her husband’s name, Katz.
There really was no reason why Karl would have taken the time or spent the money to officially adopt Otto. It also seems highly unlikely he would have adopted Otto and not Gustave and Louisa.
Yet in 1903, Otto enlisted in the 7th Cavalry Regiment as Otto W. Ullrich. (See the second to the last entry below.) Why did Otto enlist using the surname, Ullrich? He also added three years to his age suggesting he really wanted to enlist.
The question of Otto changing his surname to Ullrich is particularly perplexing because oral history maintains that Otto did not like Karl. There is often tension between parents and stepchildren. One story told many times was that when Otto returned from military service, he had dinner with Katie and Karl. Karl sliced the roast and served himself first. Otto took umbrage and insisted that his mother be served first. Karl refused and Otto threw a plate of mashed potatoes into Karl’s face! There is usually some part of these family stories which is a fact.
When my father learned that his Dad had taken Karl’s surname, he believed that Otto was protecting his mother, Katie. There had been military deaths in the family and pensions had been awarded. My father believed, as do I, that Otto wanted to ensure that should anything happen to him while in military service, his mother would receive the pension. This is only an educated guess but one which made complete sense to my father.
It should be noted that Karl Ullrich raised five children with Katie and three of those children were not his own. Interestingly, his name was passed down, not through one of his children, who were girls, but rather the son of Conrad Otto Joachim.
So it is that this blog will follow the Joachim family and what became the Ullrich family in 1903 with an Army enlistment.
Sources:
William Otto Joachim, birth certificate J57 (1885), New Jersey State Archives, Trenton, New Jersey.
Karl Ullrich household, 1900 U.S. Census, New York County, New York, population schedule, Borough of Manhattan, enumeration district [ED] 761, supervisor’s district [SD] 1, sheet 12, dwelling 224, family 272; National Archives micropublication T623.
Original data: Register of Enlistments in the U.S. Army, 1798-1914; (National Archives Microfilm Publication M233, 81 rolls); Records of the Adjutant General’s Office, 1780’s-1917, Record Group 94; National Archives, Washington, D.C.
What a wonderful son to protect his mother in this way. I wonder if mine would think to do so! I do know how terrible it is to learn that you are not entitled to the name you have grown up with. So I can empathize with your father! Another wonderful story. well done.
I can’t imagine how your father felt when you were able to give him this information on what “should” have been his last name. You have a wonderful gift for digging until you get an answer – or, at least some of the answers. I look forward to more posts and even more answers.
Lynn, I am so very grateful for these stories. I’ve heard them at the dinner table but didn’t always get the full version so now I’m so happy to have you put it all down for us to read. I cannot think of a better gift than this blog to leave for your grandchildren. Well done!
The FBI or CIA could use you! Well done!
I knew the Ullrich family name was originally Joachim, however I never knew the circumstances for the change. Otto is another ancestor of whom to be proud. His bravery and devotion in enlisting in the Army under the Ullrich family in order to protect his mother’s future is very commendable.
You told me some time ago, you were having trouble making sense of everything you thought you knew about your Dad’s side. But P.I.Lynn does it again! One question – is the name pronounced “wah- keem” ?
Current family members pronounce the name “joe ak him”
Wow that is fascinating I had not heard this story before.
This is interesting, but I am not surprised. I have always been enchanted with stories and conversations with you. You have a gift, so keep doing what you are doing so well. Looking forward to more.
Thank you, Susan. Your enthusiasm is encouraging. Please stay tuned…
Thanks for your incredible stories – your details and insight are simply amazing. I love the photo of our grandpas!
I always think of you, my fellow Joachim genealogist, when writing Joachim pieces!