I recently received an email from George Nielsen about a patent. Patent number 948,508 was for a Cotton Oil Mill Seed Huller and was awarded to John G. Kappler and John Gaines of Giddings, Texas on February 8, 1910. Mr. Kappler and Mr. Gaines filed for the patent on January 25, 1909. George thought John G. Kappler was Johann Gerhard Kappler so I started doing some research. Here is what I found.
Johann Gerhard Kappler was born on February 2, 1872 to Andreas Kappler and Agnes Groschel in Serbin, Texas. Johann Gerhard was the eighth child and fifth son of Andreas and Agnes. The 1880 U.S. Census listed Andreas Kappler and his wife Agnes with children Ernst (age 21), Paul (age 17), Agnes (age 14), Emma (age 11), Gerhard (age 8), Bernhard (age 5), Herman (age 3) and Otto (age one month).
The Baptismal Records of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Serbin, Texas 1854-1883 [records originally written by Pastor John Kilian and translated to English by Dr. Joseph Wilson] agree with the U.S. Census of 1880 listing Ernst Albert as the oldest son and child (page 31), then Hanna Maria as the second child and first daughter (page 53). Hanna Maria was not listed on the 1880 census with the Kappler family because she had married Ernst Friedrich Weise on November 16, 1879 (ancestry.com). Andreas’ and Agnes’ unnamed third child and second son was born on January 8, 1863 but died before being baptized on January 11 (page 75). Paul August was their fourth child and third son born October 29, 1863 (page 83). Their fifth child and second daughter Agnes was born on March 11, 1866 (page 101) and Emma Paulina was their sixth child and third daughter born on June 13, 1868 (page 125). Carl August, their seventh child and fourth son was born and baptized on November 7, 1870 and died on November 8, 1870 (page 155). Then came Johann Gerhard (page 171), their eighth child and fifth son born on February 7, 1872, listed as Gerhard in the 1880 census. Andreas’ and Agnes’ ninth child and sixth son was born on January 5, 1875 and was named Carl Bernhard (page 201), listed as Bernhard in the 1880 census. Carl Hermann (page 239), their tenth child and seventh son was born on March 12, 1878 and listed as Herman in the 1880 census. Their eleventh child and eighth son was William Otto and was born on May 9, 1880 (page 267) and listed as Otto in the 1880 census.
According to ancestry.com, Johann Gerhard Kappler married Johanna Maria (Mary) Berger on January 13, 1895. The 1900 U. S. Census lists a “J. G. Kappler” working as a “cotton ginner” and living in Giddings, Texas. J. G. Kappler’s date of birth was listed as February 1872, and his place of birth as Texas. The 1900 U.S. Census also states that J. G. Kappler and Mary had been married for five years, again consistent with Johann Gerhard Kappler and Johanna Maria Berger. I think it is safe to say that J. G. Kappler and Johann Gerhard Kappler are one and the same person. J. G. Kappler and his wife Mary had four children: Walter age four; Clara age three; Matilda age two; and Louis age one.
The 1910 U.S. Census shows a John G. Kappler and wife Mary living in Lee County Justice precinct 1, with children Walter age fourteen, Clara age thirteen, Matilda age twelve, Louis age ten, Ellaise age five and Amelia age seven months. According to the 1910 U.S. Census, John G. Kappler was born about 1872. It also states that he and his wife Mary have been married for fifteen years, again consistent with Johann Gerhard Kappler and Johanna Maria Berger. Therefore, with confidence, I will proclaim that John G. Kappler, J. G. Kappler, and Johann Gerhard Kappler are the same person.
J. G. Kappler listed in the 1900 U.S. Census that his job was a cotton ginner in Giddings, Texas. In the U.S. Census of 1910, John G. Kappler listed his job as manager at the “Creased Brick and Gin Co.” I could not find any information about the Creased Brick and Gin Company, but since J. G. Kappler was a cotton ginner in 1900, it is not a big stretch to believe that the Gin in the name Creased Brick and Gin Company meant a cotton gin. Therefore, I believe that Johann Gerhard Kappler was awarded patent number 948,508, along with John Gaines for their invention of a Cotton Oil Mill Seed Huller.
The patent may be seen at texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth511581/.
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