Gasper is my paternal grandmother's maiden name. My emigrating Gasper ancestor was Johann Gasper (my great great great grandfather).   His wife's name was Agnes Esher Gasper, however, there is no evidence that she came to America with Johann. Johann came to America sometime in the late 1850's from the region of Rheinland.  Specifically, from the village of Glesch, which is in the far western end of present day Germany, near Koln.

Johann and Agnes had several children: George, Adam, Anna, Conrad, William, Peter, Maria, Anna Louise, Anna Maria and Sebastian. Maria, Anna Louise and Sebastian died as children. George, Adam, Conrad, William and Peter all came to America in the late 1850's as well.  Anna elected to stay in Germany and her married name became Marx.

Shortly after the arrival of the Gasper brothers in America, the spelling of the late name was changed to Jasper.  I do not have an explanation for this change. Johann and four of his five sons took on the Jasper spelling. The other son, William kept the spelling as Gasper.  William was my great great grandfather.

Johann and four sons:  George, Adam, Conrad and Peter all moved to western Wisconsin in the 1860's and settled in the Cazenovia area, in the small village of Germantown which still exists today.  Eventually, Johann and the sons all moved away to other areas. Johann and Adam to Chippewa Falls, WI, Conrad to Iowa and George to parts unknown. There are Jasper descendants that live in Washington state.  Peter Jasper was the only son to stay in Cazenovia.  Many of his descendants still live in that area.

Johann Gasper died in 1886, and is believed to be buried in Hope Cemetery in Chippewa Falls. It is unknown when Agnes died, but I believe it may have been in the 1850's in Rheinland. 

The only son not to move to Cazenovia was my great great grandfather, William Gasper.  He settled in Milwaukee and married Margaret Auer Gasper in 1861.  William went on to serve 3 years in the Civil War in the 26th Wisconsin Regiment. He and Margaret had seven children:  Anna, John, William, Frank, Christina, Ludwig and Engelbert.  Ludwig died as a child. Engelbert was my great grandfather. He married Marie Zeidler in 1907. William Gasper died in 1902 and Margaret died in 1914.  They are buried at Calvary Cemetery in Milwaukee.

Engelbert and Marie had six children:  Howard, Lorraine, Lucille, Norman, Jerome and Roland.  Lucille died as a child. Lorraine was my grandmother. Her last name became Geldreich after she married my grandfather, George Geldreich.  Engelbert and Marie died in 1962 and 1964 respectively. They are also buried at Calvary Cemetery.

George and Lorraine Geldreich had three children:  Thomas, Mary Ellen and Richard.  Richard is my father.

Click below to view Gasper family descendant charts. 

Gasper Family Chart # 1

Gasper Family Chart # 2

Gasper Family Chart # 3

Gasper Family Chart # 4

Gasper Family Chart # 5

Gasper Family Chart # 6

The Jasper family charts were too numerous to post on my web page. If anyone is interested in copies of these, please contact me.

I must pay tribute to Pat Gasper Ray and her husband Al Ray for all their hard work on the Gasper family. They spent untold hours at the library, Register of Deeds, Courthouse and at cemeteries throughout Wisconsin researching the Gasper family. Pat also made contact with distant Jasper relatives with which we can link our family.

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