3.0 Felix Dontenville, fifth of six known children of Jean George Dontenville and Marie Salome Banwarth, was born in St. Maurice, Alsace, May 15, 1833. In 1851, at age 18, Felix immigrated to the United States. He sailed from Havre, and arrived at the Port of New York on November 5, 1851 aboard the Ship Germania. At some point in time after his arrival in the United States, Felix changed his family name from Dontenville to Dondeville.
Also aboard the Ship Germania on that crossing was Margaret Schmidt, a 21-year-old young lady. While her country of origin was listed as Switzerland, other documents and family recollections suggest that Margaret most likely was born in Bavaria. We do not know if St. Louis was the initial destination of Felix or Margaret. We do know they ended up there. Felix found work as a barkeeper and married Margaret Schmidt April 1, 1857. Their first child, August, was born July 18, 1859. A daughter, Katherine (Katie), was born August 23, 1861.
During the Civil War Felix served with the First Missouri Infantry Regiment as a sergeant. A third child, Mary, was born in 1864, Henry was born October 11, 1866, and the fifth and youngest child Max on March 15, 1869. Apparently the family moved to Kansas shortly after Max's birth. The 1870 census finds Felix and his family in the Town of Perry in Jefferson County, Kansas where they were living on a farm with Felix's older brother Max, his wife Sarah, and a son Daniel.
The 1880 census found the family back in St. Louis with Felix's occupation listed as police officer. Exactly when they returned from Kansas is not known. It is probable that Felix had joined the St. Louis Police Department in the 1860s and had been reinstated when they returned. The 1889-1890 St. Louis Directories listed Felix's address as 907 Lami Street and confirmed that he was then employed as a police officer. Margaret died April 7, 1894. At the time of the 1900 census Felix was living at 3241 California Avenue with his daughter Katie, and her daughters Maddie and Amelia. He died September 12, 1914 at the home of his daughter Mary. He was buried next to Margaret in Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery in St Louis.
MAXIMINE DONDEVILLE (1829-
Maximine Dontenville, an older brother of Felix, and the fourth child of Jean George Dontenville and Marie Salome Banwarth, was born in St. Maurice, Alsace, May 22, 1829. The first reference to his presence in this country was the 1870 census cited above. Jefferson County, Kansas's marriage records document that Max Donterville married Sarah Rader there on June 25, 1863.
The 1880 United States Census provided further information about Max and his family who were living on the farm in Jefferson County, Kansas. Max's wife, Sarah Wilson Rader, had a son Daniel by an earlier marriage. Sarah was born in Illinois and her son in Missouri, possibly in St. Louis. In 1880 Sarah's mother, Mary Wilson, was living with them. The farm may have belonged to Sarah's first husband. From 1900 census records, it is known that Max emigrated in 1851, the same year as Felix. Early 1900 news articles reveal that Max and Sarah Donderville moved from their farm into the town of Perry in May 1902 and in 1905 owned property on Elm Street.
A February 1911 news article reported that Sarah had petitioned for divorce, stating that Max had ordered her to leave their home and declared that he would no longer treat her as his wife, for purpose of depriving her of a just share of his estate. Max and Sarah had married in 1863. After living together for over thirty years, Sarah secured a divorce in 1896 on grounds of gross negligence of duty. The couple reconciled and continued to live together, with out bring remarried, until the second separation in December 1910 at which time Sarah filed for a common law divorce. Both were in their 80s at the time.
CHILDREN OF FELIX and MARGARET
3.1 AUGUST DONDEVILLE - ALICE MORGAN
3.2 KATHERINE DONDEVILLE - CHRISTIAN OFFER
3.3 MARY DONDEVILLE - PAUL A. SCHAAF
3.4 HENRY DONDEVILLE- AUGUSTA HUMBERT
FELIX DONDEVILLE (1833 - 1914)
MARGARET SCHMIDT (1830- c1900)
SARAH WILSON RADER
| HOME | INDEX |