Descendants of Leonard Schilling and Rose Maurer

PREFACE

This is a tree that includes six generations of Schilling family members dating from 1841 to the present. The following introduction is included to provide explanation of the roots of our tree. It is hoped that someone researching the Schilling or Kuster (Custer) surnames will find this site and be able to contribute further information that might lead to solving the family mystery.

It is not known if Rose Maurer was ever married to a Leonard Schilling, as no official document has been found to substantiate the event, nor to link that person to Rose's son, Leonard, the grandfather and great-grandfather of the family researchers. The first official record found was the 1880 census, which lists Rose as wife of Zsipperaen (Cyprian) Kuster. Rose's son, Leonard, was raised as a Kuster. Several family members claimed that, at some point after Rose's death in 1881, Leonard was told by Cyprian that he was not his biological son. Leonard reportedly went in search of his real father. Through 1885, Leonard was listed as Kuster in the Reading city directories. In the 1887 and later directories, his name appears as Leonard Schilling. As an adult, Leonard listed a Leonard Schilling as his father on all official documents, but it is not known if he actually ever found his biological father or had proof that Schilling was his surname. It is known that Leonard was married, about.1884, with the name Schilling. He also changed his given name to Lenhart for a period of at least six years in the late 1890's, as noted in city directories, then it reappears as Leonard. Additionally, he had a sister named Annie. She used the Schilling (Shilling) name as early as 1876, as documented in marriage records. See the notes attached to individuals for additional information, as well as the footnotes for available documentation.

What is known and documented is that Rose Maurer was Leonard's mother. He was raised by Cyprian Kuster. All of Leonard Schilling's children and subsequent descendants were legally named Schilling. Since Leonard listed his father as "Leonard Schilling" on all official documents, we will honor his memory by including the elder Leonard in our family tree unless we discover documentation to prove otherwise.

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Updated on 12 Jan 2012

This web site produced 30 Jul 2010 by Personal Ancestral File, a product of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.