Albert and Anna Leistikow (or Leistico)

Albert A. Leistikow, son of Frederick Wilhelm and Charlotte (Schimmelpfennig) Leistikow, was born October 23, 1835, in the village of Labenz, County (Kreis) Scheifelbein located in an area of the country of Pomerania that is now part of Poland.

In Proviso Township, IL (west of Chicago), Albert enlisted in the Union Army for a 3-year hitch into Company 'B', 33rd Regiment, Illinois Infantry. After his hitch was finished, he re-enlisted in the same unit in Hutchinson, MN on January 1, 1864, and served until the war was over. He mustered out November 24, 1865 when the regiment was ordered to Camp Butler, Illinois, for final payment and discharge. December 6, 1865, the enlisted men of the entire Regiment received their final pay, and discharge from the military service. The commissioned officers were paid and discharged next day, December 7, 1865, and the Thirty-third Illinois Regiment ceased to exist. Those interested in the service and battles of the 33rd can find it summarized here.

For all his years of service, these stories are the only references I could find regarding the individual contributions of Albert (or for that matter, for any of the Leistikows who served). Albert apparently had a love of the drink, or at least these stories would indicate that he did. The first story mentions that Albert was the cook for company mess #3, at least at the time.

Anna Caroline "Caroline" Mau was born in Province, Battenburg, Germany, on October 27, 1842, where her father owned a 2-acre farm. Her father was a wagon maker by trade. She grew up with one sister and three brothers. When Caroline was 22, her father sold the farm in order to raise passage money to go to Chicago, where two of her brothers lived who had immigrated earlier. They sailed first to Quebec, and then continued on to Chicago, arriving there in 1864.

Caroline did housework in Chicago, earning $4.00 a week, which was much more than she could earn in Germany. One of her brothers bought a farm for her parents, so they moved there in 1866. There she met Albert.

Albert and Caroline married on August 8, 1866. (At some point, apparently Albert dropped the 'kow' from his last name, as records refer to him as Albert Leistico, and all his children went by Leistico). Albert and Caroline had 12 children:

Emilia Anna Leistico Born February 27, 1869, in Carver County, MN. Emilia married John Suess and they had 3 children.
Bertha Caroline Leistico Born March 13, 1871 in Carver County, MN. Bertha married Herman Albert Leistico and they had 2 children.
Herman Julius Leistico Born July 1, 1872, in Carver County, MN. Herman married Augusta Kraft and they had 5 children.
Caroline Wilhelmine Leistico Born December 25, 1873, in Carver County, MN. Caroline married Nathaniel N. Small and they had 1 child.
Wilhelmine Leistico Born January 8, 1876 in Carver County, MN. Wilhelmine married ??? Peak.
Magdelana Florentine Leistico Born April 15, 1877 in Carver County, MN. Magdelana married Herman Albert Leistico and they had 4 children.
Augusta Wilhelmine Leistico Born January 17, 1879 in Carver County, MN. Augusta married Artimus Ward Simmons and they had 5 children.
Frederick Leistico Born December 23, 1880 in Carver County, MN. Died in 1882.
Freddie Leistico Born December 23, 1881 in Carver County, MN. Died in 1882.
Frederick Wilhelm Leistico Born August 18, 1882 in Carver County, MN.
Maria Louisa Augusta Leistico Born October 26, 1884 in Carver County, MN.
Dorothea Wilhelmine Leistico Born May 28, 1887 in Carver County, MN. Dorothea married Herbert B. Kindscher.
Homestead Act of 1862 - A homestead was an area of public land in the West (usually 160 acres) granted to any US citizen willing to settle on and farm the land for at least five years. The law required a three-step procedure: file an application, improve the land, and file for deed of title. Anyone who had never taken up arms against the U.S. government, including freed slaves, (no rebs need apply!) and was at least 21 years old or the head of a household, could file an application to claim a federal land grant. The occupant had to reside on the land for five years, and show evidence of having made improvements. Civil War Union vets could subtract their years of service from the required five years.

Since Albert's homestead was acquired under the Homestead Act, because of his 4-years of service, he would have been able to file for the deed of title after only 1 year.

Albert and Caroline lived in Carver County for 12 years, then homesteaded on a property in Nobles County, through which the Chicago, St. Paul, and Minneapolis Railroad passed. During the grasshopper plague of 1873-1877, when grasshoppers devastated his crops, Albert got a job as a track walker for the railroad, earning $1.00 a day, and considered himself lucky.

Albert died of a heart attack on December 11, 1891. Caroline then applied for and received a soldier's widow's pension. She made her home with various children for 38 years. She enjoyed very good health and was a hard worker. She never wore glasses, but did a great deal of knitting and other fine work. She was a member of the German Luthern Church all her life. Caroline died while living with her daughter in Oxnard, CA.



Historic 1914 map showing the 160 acre property homesteaded by Albert and Caroline Leistico in 1878, (then owned by his estate). Located about 2.5 miles southwest of Brewster, MN in Hershey Township, Nobles County.

Current GoogleEarth clip of what was then Albert's homestead. (43°40'52.12"N, 95°30'11.75"W)
 


Historic 1930 map showing a 160 acre property owned by Herman Leistico, probably Albert's son, located about 3 miles north of Alberts homestead (still owned by the estate).

First published January 31, 2016. If you have comments, corrections or additional information or pictures you would like to contribute, feel free to contact Dave Nims.