Anna Margaretha Marti of Kochville Township, 1840 – 1916
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- 5 min read
This week, our recipe is from the Kochville Methodist Church Jubilee Cookbook, where it is simply identified as being “Grandma Marti’s Apple Jonathan.” Although today the identification may seem vague and imprecise, in 1925 Kochville Township, the identity of Grandma Marti would have been obvious – it was likely you were a relative. If you weren’t related, a friend or neighbor would have been.
While there is more than one option for Grandma Marti, one candidate stands out.
A 1957 history of Kochville Methodist Church, published for the congregation’s centennial celebration, provides an overview of the church’s founding and the story of the closely knit group of early settlers. More importantly, it suggests a candidate for Grandma Marti:
“ . . [A] Swiss woman, Veronica Stamm Fritz with her two girls, Margaretha and Frances, found her way here and bought this corner forty acres [the northeast corner of Bay and Kochville Roads] for $50.00.” Records indicated that Vrena Stamm received her land patent on May 25, 1850. The history continues: “She...built her cabin on the very spot where we are now gathered. In 1855 came Adam Marti's mother, Elizabeth Marti, his brother Jacob and sister Anna[.]”
“Jacob built his cabin on the next forty acres and two years later married Margaretha Fritz. His home was destined to become the stopping place and home of the majority of the ministers who served here until 1891.”
The most likely candidate for Grandma Marti is Anna Margaretha Marti. When she passed away in 1916, she left 24 grandchildren – many of whom were still living in Kochville and active members of the Kochville Methodist Church – and would have worked to put together the Kochville Methodist Church Jubilee Cookbook. For an outline of her life, we turn to her obituary:
“Marti - Mrs. Anna Margaretha Marti, widow of the late Jacob Marti, sr., died at Saginaw General hospital Monday evening of bronchial pneumonia, aged 75 years. Anna Margaretha Friz was born in Schaffhausen, Switzerland, May 20, 1840, came with her parents to America in 1845, and settled in Ohio, After a short residence there they came to Michigan and settled in Kochville township. She was married to Mr. Marti in 1857. After marriage they took up residence on a farm in Kochville. Mrs. Marti was a member of the German M.E. church of Kochville and of the Ladies’ aid society. She leaves five sons and six daughters: Mrs. Albert Berger, Mrs. William Bueker, Mrs. John Bueker and Edward Marti, living in Kochville: Mrs. Peter Lacker and Fred Marti of Saginaw; Mrs. Harry Spaulding of Buena Vista township; Mrs. William Cumming of Alberta, Canada, Oscar Marti of Los Angeles; Harry Marti of Colfax, Wis. She also leaves 24 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren, and one sister, Mrs. Frances Ellis of Lansing, Mich. The remains were taken to the home of her daughter, Mrs. John Bueker in Kochville township.” (The Saginaw Daily News, January 18, 1916.)
When her husband, Jacob, passed away in 1892, his obituary noted:
“Deceased was a native of Switzerland, and settled in the township in 1855, then a wilderness, but out of which he cleared a fine farm. He was class leader of the German M. E. church, justice of the peace and a man highly respected by everybody that knew him. He leaves a wife and 13 children, 7 sons and 6 daughters. One son is out in Washington and the others are residing here.” (Saginaw Courier Herald, Tuesday, 31 May 1892.)
For photographs of members of the Marti family, visit Findagrave.
While exploring this site, don’t hesitate to speculate about other candidates for Grandma Marti.
While modern Bay Road bears little resemblance to the trail that Anna Margaretha Marti saw when she arrived in Saginaw County with her mother, and Kochville Methodist Church is now Aldersgate Church, her final resting place in the Kochville Methodist Church cemetery on the southwest corner of Bay and Kochville seems little impacted by the change. It connects us with the people who shaped the community.
Note: Although we couldn’t locate a photograph of Ann Margaretha Fritz and Jacob Marti Sr.’s home, we have included an early twentieth-century image of the home of her daughter Louise Marti Bueker – Mrs. John Bueker. We can’t help but notice the apple orchard located between the house and barn of the West Kochville Road property.
The Recipe: Grandma Marti’s Apple Jonathan
Pare and quarter apples and lay in buttered pie tin and sweeten. Take two cups flour, 2t B.P. , salt, in this rub in 1 T butter or lard, thin this with enough milk that it will pour on apples easily. Bake till apples are well done, then turn upside down on plate. Serve with cream and sugar flavored with nutmeg. (From the Kochville Methodist Church Jubilee Cookbook, c. 1925.)
Castle Test Kitchen Interpretation
For the upside-down cake-like portion of Apple Jonathan:
4 – 6 apples, pared, cored and sliced
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons of baking powder
dash of salt
1 tablespoon butter
1 ½ cups milk
For cream:
1 cup heavy whipping cream
2 +\- tablespoons sugar
Ground nutmeg to taste
Preparation:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter, generously, a 9-inch pie tin. Arrange apple slices in pie tin, being careful to completely cover bottom of pan. Sprinkle 2 tablespoons of sugar over apples. Using a pastry blender, combine salt, flour, baking powder with butter. Add approximately 1 ½ cups of milk and use fork to combine milk with mixture. Pour over apples.
Place in oven. (We placed a cookie sheet under the pan–it just seemed like it would run over; It didn’t. However, we were prepared for the impending disaster that never happened.)
Bake approximately 30 to 40 minutes.
Let cool. Run a knife around perimeter of pan before inverting it and placing it on serving plate.
For Cream –
Use a whisk to combine cream with sugar and nutmeg. Whisk until sugar is dissolved.
CTK Notes:
Although one might be tempted to add cinnamon and other flavorings, there is something wonderfully simple about this dish. Although without the nutmeg-flavored cream, it borders on blandness, with the cream, it was sublime. It is something we will make again. We used one generous layer of apples; one could certainly increase the amount of apples. However, with this increase comes the risk of it running over and making a horrible mess.
There are recipes of Apple Jonathan online and also speculations about the source of the name; however, we were unable to verify the accuracy of the sources.
