Jakob Ulmer was born on November 23, 1869 in Gassendorf, Galicia to Johann Ulmer and Christina Wagner.  He was 11 years old when his mother died in 1881 and 18 when his father died in 1888. 

Jakob's married his first wife, Katharina Vonau (1864-1896) on June 6, 1892. While they were married for 4 years before she died, they didn't have any children.

Jakob and Maria Hollinger married on October 4, 1896 in a village called Bolechow but settled in house #226 in the village of Siemiginow. They lived there until they immigrated to Canada in 1899. 

Jakob died of  coronary thrombosis on June 10, 1947 in Golden Spike

Maria Hollinger was born on November 10, 1875 in Gassendorf, Galicia to Jakob Hollinger and Anna Maria Ulmer. Maria was only a couple of months old when her mother died in March 1876. No record was found of her father remarrying so it is unknown who raised her, she did have much older siblings as she was born in 1875 but her oldest sister was born in 1854. 

Maria died of food poisoning on December 9, 1929 in Spruce Grove. Her medical certificate of death cited " Had been eating sausage freely followed by beer". She was buried on December 11, 1929 in the Peace Church cemetery in Spruce Grove.

Immigration

During the late 1800s and early 1900s, Canada launched a campaign to entice the people of Galicia and Bukovina to immigrate to Western Canada. They offered transportation from Montreal or Halifax to the west, which at that time was still referred to as the Northwest Territories (Alberta & Saskatchewan didn't become provinces until 1905). They were also offered land, cattle and some tools to help settle the territory.  Jakob and Maria weren't the first of their respective families to make the move, neither were they the last.

Jakob and Maria immigrated to Canada in 1899. They were accompanied by Maria's brother, Peter Hollinger (our great uncle), and his family. It isn't known how the Ulmers travelled from Galicia to, most likely Hamburg and from there to Liverpool, England. On August 24, 1899 the boarded the SS Bavarian in Liverpool for their voyage to Canada. It appears that Jakob travelled on a different ticket class than everyone else. He is listed separately from Maria, their children, and Peter Hollinger's family on both the outbound and incoming passenger lists. 

On September 1, 1899 they arrived in Montreal.  It took longer for them to get from Montreal to the Stony Plain, Alberta area than the trip from Liverpool to Montreal. A brief newspaper article in the Edmonton Bulletin newspaper on September 21, 1899 announced their arrival on the last train of the day. 

Contrary to family folklore, their daughter Caroline was not born on the ship from Liverpool to Montreal as she is listed as a passenger on the ship. She was most likely born on their journey from Galicia to Liverpool, perhaps on the ship from Hamburg to Liverpool

Ulmer Family

Jacob and Maria had 10 children between 1897 and 1917. 

Johann (John) Ulmer

UNCLE

May 30, 1897 Brigidau, Galicia to December 17, 1948 Edmonton

John was their only child born in Galicia. A church book birth record for him has not been located, his date of birth is from his death certificate. John married Maria Mayer (January 3, 1902 - February 8, 1976) on February 12, 1920 in Edmonton.  John and Maria were second cousins. They had 5 children:

Erwin Arthur (1924 - 2012): Married Eleanora Gabel (2C1X our 2nd cousin 1 time removed ). 3 children: Gary, Dennis, Shirley

Edna Lorraine (1926 - 2022): Married Harvey Kulak. 3 children: Clifford, Bruce, David

Mildred Lavina (1931-2023): Married Eric Ulmer (4C). 3 children: Ward Eric, Linda, Marion

Doreen Laura (1933 - 2016): Married Fred Dringenberg. 3 children: Roy, Wayne, Janice  Second husband: James Tuff

Donna Viola (1935 - 2022): Married Peter Smigelski. 5 children: Larry, Dianne, Connie, Colleen, Dale

John and family lived in Beach Corner. He died of a stroke on December 17, 1948 in the Misericordia Hospital in Edmonton. He was buried at the St John's Lutheran church cemetery in Beach Corner. 

caroline Ulmer

AUNT

July 17, 1899 Galicia to July 14, 1968 Edmonton

Caroline was born shortly before her family immigrated to Canada. Where exactly she was born is unknown and the date is from her death certificate. She married Henry Baron (May 10, 1891 - July 21, 1983) on November 21, 1916 in Stony Plain.  They had 3 children:

Walter George (1917-1997): Married Olga Sharun. 4 children: Cindy, Ray, Brian, Ken

Eduard (1923-1956): unmarried

Gordon Henry (1931-2019): Married Mary Krupka: 1 daughter Cheryl

Caroline died from a heart attack at home on July 14, 1968. She is buried at Evergreen Memorial Gardens in Edmonton, Alberta.

Theresia Ulmer

AUNT

June 12, 1904 Spruce Grove to June 22, 1961 Golden Spike

Theresia was born June 12, 1904 in Spruce Grove. She married Philip Schoepp (Sepember 12, 1896 - June 7, 1971) on January 31, 1922 in Spruce Grove. They had 7 children:

Elsa (1922-2010): Married Oscar Zaft.  1 child Robert

Lewis (1924-2013): Married Lorna Lutz. 4 children: Darrel, Maureen, Colleen, Shannon

Lillian Martha (1926-?): Married George Schoepp. 1 child Wayne

Dora Violet (1927-2016): Married Erwin Reinholt Miller. 4 children: Terry, Rod, Brian, Darlene

Matilda Freada (1931-2018): Married Otto Clarence Giese. 3 children: Roy, Gerry, Randy

Lorraine Julia (1940-2008): Married Wayne Adolph. 3 children: Barry, Wendy, Keith

Esther Louise (unknown): Married Ernie Gehlert. 3 children: Lorne, Patricia, Pamela

Theresia died on June 22, 1961 in Golden Spike. She is buried at the Zion Lutheran church cemetery in Golden Spike.

LouiS (Ludwig) Ulmer

UNCLE

August 25, 1906 Spruce Grove to April 29, 1961 Guthrie, Oklahoma

Louis (birth name is Ludwig) was born on August 25, 1906 in Spruce Grove. He immigrated to the US in September 1928 to study to become a Lutheran minister. He married Clara Michalk (May 3, 1910 - October 31, 1953) on June 8, 1932 in Bishop Texas.  They raised 5 daughters, moving between Bishop, Texas and Guthrie, Oklahoma. 

Eudora Clara (1933 - 2022): Married Curtis Oswalt. 4 children: Curtis, Allen, Greg, Debra. Second marriage to Mark Taylor

LaVerne Jeanette (1937 - 2024): Married John Rauh. 2 children: Jennifer, JD

Grace Louise (1938 - 2013): Married Kenneth Davis. 2 children: Roxann, Randall

Gloria Ann (1941 - 2017): Married Robert Fischer. 2 children: Robert, Brent

Diana Lynn (unknown): Married Gary Antal. 1 child Matthew

Louis died April 29, 1961 in Guthrie, Oklahoma. He was buried May 5, 1961 in  the St. Paul Lutheran church cemetery in Bishop, Texas.

Henry Ulmer

UNCLE

June 19, 1908 Spruce Grove to June 27, 1991 Stony Plain

Henry was born June 19, 1908 in Spruce Grove. He married Minna Kornberger (February 8, 1912 to July 10, 1997) on November 25, 1929 in Spruce Grove. They had 3 children:

Joyce Berdeen (1930-1995): Married Andrew Kurienko (Kurie). 2 children: Drew Blake, Krys Berdeen

Robert Gordon (1934-2013):  Only know his wife was named Sharon.

Victor Henry (1942-2016): Married Joyce Budesheim - children  unknown.

Henry died on June 27, 1991 in Stony Plain. He was buried on July 2, 1991 in the St. Matthew Lutheran church cemetery.

Louise Ulmer

AUNT

May 5, 1910 Spruce Grove to January 19, 1982 Alberta Beach

Louise was born on May 5, 1910 in Spruce Grove.  She married Fred Schultz, who is our 3rd cousin 1x removed) on November 5, 1929 at the Zion Lutheran church in Golden Spike.  They had 3 children:

Vera (1931 - ?): Married Ronald Buckell. 1 child Diana Lynn

Joyce Louise (1936 - 2015): Rene Goddard. 2 children: Constance Marcele (1959-1969), Pamela Rene. Second husband: Robert Kelly. 1 son Arthur (Arthur may not have been her biological child)

Gordon (1940 - 1995): No other verifiable data was found. His headstone implies he was married to someone named Lynn.

Louise died on January 19, 1982 in Alberta Beach. She was buried January 22, 1982 in the Evergreen Memorial Garden cemetery.

Mary Ulmer

AUNT

December 26, 1912 Spruce Grove to March 29, 1974 White Rock, BC

Mary was born on December 26, 1912 in Spruce Grove.  Her first marriage was to William Litzenberger (March 25, 1912 - March 10, 1976).  They were divorced in March 1939. They had 1 daughter:

Anita Doreen (1933 - 1997): Married Kenneth Burrell. 3 children: Tracy, Brenda Brian

Mary's second marriage was to Jens Krogh (July 30, 1908 to May 10, 1977). They had 2 children

Dorothy - no information found

Stanley - no information found.

Mary died on March 29, 1974 in White Rock, BC.  She was cremated. No obituary was found.

Katharine (Kay) Ulmer

AUNT

about 1915 Spruce Grove to October 16, 1983 Edmonton

Katharina was born sometime around 1915. No documents have been found that have the actual date.  Katharina was referred to under multiple names over the years including: Katharina, Kathe, Margaret, Katie, Katharine M, Katharine Margaret, and Kay, which she normally went by. Kay married Frederick White (August 25, 1912 to November 4, 1993). 

They did not have any children.

Kay died on October 16, 1983 in Edmonton. She was buried October 19, 1983 in Evergreen Memorial Gardens cemetery.

Rudolph Ulmer

UNCLE

September 28, 1917 Spruce Grove to March 6, 1920 Spruce Grove

Rudolf was born on September 28, 1917 in Spruce Grove. He was the last of the children born to Jakob & Marie. 

Rudolf died in childhood, on March 6, 1920, from the measles and Spanish flu. He was buried at the Peace Lutheran church cemetery in Spruce Grove.