Paul Mayer

Paul Mayer is one of my proverbial genealogical “brick walls.”

Things I know about Paul Mayer:
Born in Württemberg, Germany, around 1832 (on 3 different censuses, age corresponds to a birth year of 1831-1833 on all censuses)
Was enumerated on the Indiana state census as living in Richmond, Wayne County, IN, in 1860, single, age 28
Married first to Mary Miller, 1862-1864, per marriage license
Enlisted as a Union soldier in the Civil War, per enlistment and pension records
Married second to Mary Breiker, 1865-1868, per marriage license
Married third to Caroline (Lichtenfels) Hammann, 1869-1885, per marriage license
Died in May 1885 in Richmond, Wayne County, IN, per church record
Paul – Thomas – Julia – my mom – me

Things I don’t know about Paul Mayer:
Who his parents were
Where he lived in Württemberg
When he immigrated
When he arrived in the United States
The people listed as living with him on the 1860 census, possible family?

It seems like I know a lot about Paul Mayer, though it’s all stateside. I want to learn more about his family in Germany, which is why I was excited to find that he had received his certificate of citizenship in Richmond, IN. I hope to find more of his naturalization papers there since I have yet to find anything on any index available.

Interesting fact about the Two Mary’s (as I call them): He used one headstone over their graves.

Photo of headstone taken by author, July 2013, St. Andrews Cemetery, Richmond, IN