This branch of the Prasse family in the United States originated with the immigration of Ernst Heinrich Prasse and his family in about 1846. The family was from the sovereign Kingdom of Hanover, confederation of German states. The family was most probably from the Buer, Osnabruck area. This family may be related with the St. Charles, Missouri Prasse family as both families are from the same area of Germany. Ernst was born in 1814 and married his first wife, Margaret, in about 1836. Margaret was born in 1817. They had five children while still in Germany. They were Louisa, Caroline, Henry, Frederick, and Carl Heinrich. Ernst found work as a teamster. The family took up residence on North Fourteenth Street shortly after they arrived in St. Louis, Missouri. Four generations of Prasses continued to live here over the next half century. The first Prasse of this branch to be born in America was Catherine.

Around 1852, Ernst married his second wife, Mary. Mary was born in 1830. She apparently had a daughter, Charlotte, by a previous marriage. Charlotte was born in 1844 in Hanover, Germany. Ernst and Mary had three children, Mena, Amelia, and Elizabeth. The family continued to live at 2103 N. 14th St.

Sometime after 1860, Ernst married his third wife, Florentine Marie Fryenn. She was born in 1817 in Germany. Around 1870, Ernst opened a store which he named Ernst H. Prasse _ Groceries and Provisions. The store was located at 2121 N. 14th St. In 1874, Ernst moved his store to 2327 N. 15th St. and renamed it E. H. Prasse and Son. We may assume that he outfitted settlers for the trip west from the "Gateway to the West" as St. Louis was known. Ernst died in 1875 and is buried in St. Peter's Cemetery in St. Louis along with Florentine who died in 1886.

Louisa was born in 1837. Louisa's last name is spelled Prassen on her confirmation certificate and Prasser on her marriage certificate to Carl A. Reese. She married Carl in 1855 and they had a daughter named Dena Florentine. Carl died and Louisa remarried to Hermann Heitmann between 1857 and 1858. Hermann and his brother came to America on a cattle boat. Hermann arrived in Dittmer, Missouri in 1845 and was naturalized in 1856. He homesteaded land in Dittmer. The Heitmann family had a grocery store at 1020N Vandeventer in St. Louis. The store operated at least until 1908. Louisa had a millinery shop at 252 Franklin Avenue, St. Louis in 1866. The first child born died shortly after birth and was never named. The child is buried in the Prasse family plot in St. Peter's Cemetery, St. Louis, Missouri. Herman and Louisa had ten more children; Julia, Elizabeth, Henry Ernest, Charles, Frederick, Lena, August, Minnie, Herman, and Mary. Louisa and Hermann are buried in St. Martin's Cemetery in Dittmer, Missouri.

In 1839, Caroline was born. Nothing else is known of Caroline's life.

Henry was born in 1840 and died in St. Louis in 1865. He is buried at St. Peter's Cemetery.

Frederick's life is yet a mystery other than the fact that he was born in 1842.

Carl Heinrich, or Charles as he was called in America, was born in 1845. He grew up to be a teamster with his father, Ernst, and later went into the grocery business with him. After his father's death in 1875, he went back to driving a team again. In 1871, he married Louisa Maria Budde. Louisa was born in 1849 in St. Louis. They moved in with the rest of the family at 2103 N. 14th St. and raised eight children: Anna Florentine (Flora), Ernst Henry, Henry C. (Harry), Carolina Elisa (Carrie), Fred William, Charles Henry, George Joseph Heinrich, and Edward Philip. In 1898, Charles had a house built at 3819 Maffit Avenue in St. Louis. Charles died in 1902 but Louisa lived in this house until a few years before her death in 1916. Charles and Louisa are buried at St. Peter's Cemetery in St. Louis.

In 1847, Catherine was born. Nothing else is known of her life except that she died in 1865 in St. Louis. She is buried at St. Peter's Cemetery.

Mena was born in 1854. Details of Mena's life are yet unknown.

Amelia was born in 1857. She married Henry Vollmach who was born in 1850. They had three children: Johanna, William, and Charles. Amelia died in 1912 and is buried at St. Peter's Cemetery with Henry who died in 1918.

In 1859, Elizabeth was born. She lived with her step_mother, Florentine, at 2105 N. 14th St. and then married Henry Landwekr of 2109 N. 14th St. They moved all the way to 2107 N. 14th St. to live. Henry was born in 1857. They raised three children: Henry, Emilie, and Emma. Henry's mother Johanna and sister Emily also lived with them. Henry was a molder in 1880 and by 1900 he had become a constable.

Julia Heitmann is the only child of Louisa of which anything is really known. Julia married Herman Viehland. She and Herman had three children; Oscar, Hulda, and Bertha. Bertha Viehland married William Redhage and they had three children; Alberta, Louis, and one other son. Alberta Redhage married James T. Shephard and they live in Gray Summit, Missouri. Louis Redhage married a woman by the name of Martha and they live in Cibolo, Texas. Louis is a transmission specialist for Bock Ford in New Braunfels, Texas and Martha was the post mistress of Cibolo for some time. They have one son who lives in Universal City, Texas. The other son of Bertha and William Redhage lives in Wisconsin.

Elizabeth and Lena Heitmann both moved to Montezuma, Colorado where a cousin had a boarding house.

The first_born, Flora, was born in 1872. She married Hermann H. Neihaus in 1896. Hermann was born in 1870 and was a varnisher by trade. They moved in with the rest of the family in the double brick house at 2105 N. 14th St. Flora and Hermann did not have any children and Flora died in 1900 at the age of 28. She is buried at St. Peter's Cemetery.

Ernest was born in 1873. In 1897, he married Emily Hilmer. Emily was born in 1874. They stayed in the N. 14th St. house with everyone else until around 1901. They had one child named Mabel who was born in 1899. Mabel married and divorced a Mr. Folle. She then married Claude B. Clark and they moved to St. Petersburg, Florida. Ernest was a cabinet maker all his life. He died in 1919 and his wife, Emily, died in 1924. Both are buried in St. Peter's Cemetery.

In 1876, Harry was born. He moved to Denver, Colorado in the early 1900s where he probably met and married Clare Benson. They had one daughter named Manilla (Mona). In the 1910s, he divorced Clare and moved to Detroit, Michigan. There he practiced his lifelong trade as a marble worker. He was a member of the Knights Templar. Harry died in 1938. Mona's first husband, Mr. Waite, died. She remarried George Russell and currently lives in Victoria, British Columbia.

By 1877, Carrie came along. She married Henry Oswald Stanton in 1906. Henry was born in 1865 in New York. He was the son of Alexander Stanton. Henry and Carrie lived in St. Louis for the rest of their lives. Henry died in 1930 and Carrie in 1949. Both are buried in Lake Charles Cemetery in St. Louis. They had one son, Oswald H. Stanton (Ozzie), who was born in 1912. Ozzie married Louise Margarete Wagner in 1941 and they had their only child, Russell Oswald, in 1944. Ozzie is a retired electronics engineer from McDonnell_Douglas. He and Louise lived all their lives in St. Louis until moving to St. Charles in 1975. Russell became an aeronautical engineer. He married Charline Lenore Yancey in 1967. Charline is a registered nurse from Atlanta, Georgia. They currently live in Grafton, Virginia with their three boys: Phillip, Christopher, and James.

Fred was born in 1879. He worked most of his life as a cabinet maker. In 1900, he took his first wife, Elizabeth Rosner. Elizabeth was born in 1881 in Missouri. They had two daughters, Laura and Florence E. By 1915, Fred divorced Elizabeth and deserted the family. Lizzie resented the Prasse's the rest of her life because of this. She became a sales clerk at The Grand Leader (later known as Stix, Baer, and Fuller) to support the family. Lizzie died in 1963 and is buried with her daughters at Valhalla Cemetery in St. Louis. Fred met his second wife, Maude Bollinger, when he came to her millinery shop to install cabinets. She was born in 1884 in Sabuie, Missouri. When Maude left for Council Bluffs, Iowa, Fred followed her there and they were married about 1916. Fred worked for the Missouri_Pacific Railroad as a timber buyer. They had four children: Maude Bertha, June Viola, Fred Harry Charles, and Flora Lou. Fred abandoned this family too and in 1932, he jumped off the Free (now McArthur) Bridge. He was found at the foot of Sidney St. He is buried at St. Peter's Cemetery next to his parents. Maude worked as a practical nurse but could not support the children. Flora, the youngest, was adopted by Maude's sister, Effie Hale. She lived in Connecticut. The other three children went to live at the Missouri Baptist Orphanage in St. Louis.

Charlie, who was born in 1882, grew up to be a cabinet maker and carpenter in St. Louis. By 1920, he moved to Denver, Colorado, like his brothers, George and Harry. He was a fireman until retirement. He married a lady named Celeste and they had a daughter also named Celeste. Charlie is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Denver.

In 1883, George was born. He married Cornelia Augusta Oellerman in 1908. They moved in with the family on Maffit Ave. Their first two children, Ruth Dorthea and Arthur Stanley, were born here. George was a bookbinder and had trouble with the union. He had fallen in love with Colorado during a visit there, so they moved to Denver around 1916. Here their third child, Charles Warren, was born. George died in 1957 in Denver as did Cornelia in 1976. They are buried at Crown Hill Cemetery in Denver.

The youngest, Ed, was born in 1886. He went to work as a glazier by the age of 15. He soon started working as a cabinet maker like his brothers and later became a carpenter. He worked on such projects like Lock and Dam 25 on the Mississippi River at Winfield, Missouri. In 1908, he married Cora Belle Sotier. She was born in St. Louis in 1880. They moved in with her family at 3521 N. Jefferson Ave. There they raised their children: Carl Alfred, Edward Philip, II, and Helen Louise. In 1928, Ed separated from Cora but continued to support the family. Ed remarried Hulda Poetting, the widow of Charles Grasel, in 1940. He lived with Hulda and her daughter, Florence, until his death in 1950. He is buried at New St. Marcus Cemetery in St. Louis along with Hulda who died in 1964. Florence still lives in St. Louis. Around 1950, Cora moved to Long Beach, California where she died in 1973.

Laura became a stenographer and married James R. Hurley. They had one child, Jean Ann. James died in 1948. Laura died in 1970 in Toledo, Ohio. They are both buried in Valhalla Cemetery. Jean married a Mr. Bussman.

In about 1905, Florence was born. She was a telephone operator and married John Serben. She died in St. Louis in 1975 and is buried with her mother and sister at Valhalla Cemetery.

Maude, the first born by Fred's second wife, was born in 1918 in Sabuie, Missouri. She married Charles Zahner and they now reside in Dunedin, Florida. They have one adopted son, John, who lives in Clearwater, Florida.

In 1920, June was born in Marquand, Missouri. She married Arthur Merle McGary. They had two children, Fred and Susan. Arthur died in 1978. June lives with her son, Fred. Fred, who was born in 1945, married Carolyn Williams and they have a son, David Frederick. Susan married James Scales and they had a son, James Cleo. Susan divorced James and remarried to Jack Gorman.

Fred came into the world in 1922 in Bismark, Missouri. His last name is spelled "Prassey" on his birth certificate. He officially had it changed back to Prasse later when he joined the Navy. He made a habit of running away from the Missouri Baptist Orphanage. Most of the time he went to his Uncle Ed's house. Ed was the only adult male Prasse left in St. Louis at the time and tried to spend time with Fred's children to make up for what his brother had done. Fred ran away for good when he was 15. He enlisted in the Army but was discharged for being too young. When World War II began Fred joined the Navy. After the war, he was a policeman in St. Louis. He later operated a security and alarm business from which he retired in 1983. Fred married Shirly Summers in 1944 and they had two children: Sherlyn, born in 1946, and Fred Kardel (Rocky), born in 1947. Shirly and Fred were divorced in 1980 and Fred remarried a woman named Lee in 1981. They separated in about 1982. He now resides in St. Louis. Sherlyn is married to Larry Leaky and they have a son, Donald, and a daughter. Rocky is married to Patty McKinnis. Fred is a Vice President for Prudential Insurance. They have three children: Brett, Ryan, and Jessica. Brett died in a tragic car wreck on December 24, 1989.

Flora, the youngest, married John Hartung. They had a son, John Kevin, and a daughter, Mary Kay. After her husband, John, died in 1964, Flora remarried to Rick Rodriguez in 1980. John, or Kevin as he is most commonly called, married Karen Sprague and they have a daughter, Kimberly Ann. Mary Kay is a librarian in Tampa, Florida.

Ruth was born in 1910 and married Walter Kerbel in 1936. Walter was born in 1907 in Lincoln, Nebraska. He retired from the Air Force as a Colonel after a 32 year career from 1931 to 1963. He was a pilot during World War II and Korea. During this time, they raised two children: Karen and Waldemar Kent. Ruth died in 1982 and is buried at Ft. Logan National Cemetery in Denver. Walter currently lives in Dallas, Texas where he is manager of a charitable foundation. Karen married Edward Skaff and they have four children: Edward, Jr., Mary Alice, Andrew, and Susan Ann. They live in Evergreen, Colorado and Ed owns a chain of four drug stores. Kent was born in 1939 and married Carol Ann Foster in Lubbock, Texas in 1962. Kent is a pilot for TWA and Lieutenant Colonel in the USAF Reserve at McGuire AFB, New Jersey. He flew in Vietnam. Carol is an ordained deacon in the Episcopal Church. They live in Neshanic, New Jersey and have three children: Kelly Allison, Walter Jarrett, and Dallas Anne.

Arthur died in infancy in 1914 in St. Louis, Missouri.

Charles was born in 1920 in Denver, Colorado. He married Elizabeth Ann Greene. Charles died in 1961 and is buried at Crown Hill Cemetery. Elizabeth moved to Phoenix, Arizona with their two sons: Mark Warren and Scott. Mark was born in 1948 and married Virginia Louise Evans in 1980 in Phoenix. He is a drug store manager and Virginia is a seamstress and escrow secretary. Virginia has three children by a previous marriage: Kristen Ann, James John, and Collen Kay. Mark and Virginia have had one child, Evan Charles. Elizabeth, Mark, and Scott still live in Phoenix.

Carl was born in 1909 in St. Louis. He had a variety of jobs including, dry goods clerk, drummer in a dance band, grocery store owner, ice cream store owner, air conditioning mechanic and foreman in a mobile home factory. In 1935, he married Irma Smrcka whose stepfather was a river boat pilot. They moved to Long Beach, California in 1949. Carl died in 1968 and Irma still lives in Long Beach. They had no children.

In 1918, Ed was born in St. Louis. He worked in Carl's store, then worked for Carter Carburetor Co, and later was a refrigeration mechanic. He met Virginia Blanche Fitzsimmons who was an inspector for Carter Carburetor. It seems after a year of dating and a six month engagement, Ed told Virginia that they were going out for ice cream and ended up at a Justice of the Peace. Thus they were married in 1942. After Ed served as an officer in the Army during World War II, he bought St. Louis Commercial Refrigeration in 1945. Later he was a home builder. He was a commercial construction superintendent for Laxton Construction Company in Charlotte, North Carolina until his death in February, 1984. Virginia was a secretary and bookkeeper for Ed's various businesses. She was also a special education teacher's aid and worked for the 1980 U. S. Census. They have two boys: Edward Philip, III and Donald Lawrence.

Helen was born in 1922 in St. Louis. She married Charles Bradley in 1940, but was soon divorced in 1946. She then married Robert Leroy Hutchison in 1949. They had one son, Robert Lee, in 1951. Helen then divorced Robert in 1954 and remarried to Edwin Wade in 1954. She divorced Edwin too in 1958 and remarried Robert Mixer in 1968, who she also divorced in 1970. Helen is a retired accountant and lives in Long Beach, California. Her son Bob is a teacher in a day care center at UCLB and is working on his degree in electronics.

Phil was born in St. Louis in 1946. He married Julia O'Brien Knott in 1969. Julia was also born in 1946. Phil is a retired Air Force officer, now working for a contractor to the Federal Aviation Administration in Washington, D.C. He was an air traffic control instructor at Keesler AFB in Mississippi before retirement. Julia is a registered nurse. They have two living children: Edward Philip, IV and Jennifer Marie. David Alan was born in 1978 and his life was cut short in 1982 due to a swimming pool accident.

In 1952, Don arrived in St. Louis. He was in the U. S. Army from August 1975 to August 1977. He married Vikki Joy Hall in 1976 in Ft. Knox, Kentucky. Vikki was born in 1955 in Colver City, California. Don is now a construction engineer and the family resides in Charlotte, North Carolina. Vikki and Don have two children: Kristie Jo and Michael Scott.