#52Ancestors- # 4: Johann Heinrich Oesterlein aka John Henry Esterline

This post is part 4 of the 52 Ancestors: 52 Weeks Series.
Today's post is that of one Johann Heinrich Oesterlein also known as John Henry Esterline. John was my 3rd great grandfather and he emigrated to America from Bavaria, Germany when he was a young lad.
Family history passed down to my mother states that Grandfather John came over to America as a stowaway on a ship when he was just 9 years old. The fact that no passenger records have ever been located for him sort of lends credence to the story in my eyes. He did, however file an Intent to Naturalization in 1837-1838 and those papers state that he came to America from Le Havre, France.
His Intent to Naturalize was filed on 9 October, 1855 in Spencer County, Indiana. He was thirty-three years old at he time. (Record of Intentions of Naturalization, Intention Book I, page 171).  Said record goes on to state that he arrived in New York on 15 May, 1838.  His army enlistment record states he was born in Wurzburg Germany and shows an enlistment date of 16 July, 1837 some year before he arrived in New York so there must have been a discrepancy with these two dates somehow.
On 1 May, 1853 in Spencer County, Indiana he married one Mary Ann Miller, my third great grandmother.

The best guess is that he was born about 1821, which would have made him about seventeen years old at the time he arrived in America.

Grandfather Esterline is said to have had fiery red hair and a long beard to match according to Esterline researcher Barb Dicken.

Several cousins before me have tried to find more information concerning our great grandfather but no one has been successful thus far that I am aware of.  I am happy to report though that as a result of having had my autosomal DNA tested I have turned up a close match on the ESTERLINE side of the family, she and I are 2nd Cousins, her grandmother was Rachael Jane ESTERLINE who was a sister to my Great Grandfather John Wesley ESTERLINE.

This weekend we will be getting together for the first time to share family photos and talk about the ESTERLINE side of the family. When I say we, I mean my match, as well as her daughter and her granddaughter and her daughter in law are coming to meet with my mother and I for the very first time.  I hope that we can learn more about our Emigrant Ancestors as a result of this meeting and maybe discover some missing clues.

I am sure Ill have some photos and some updates to share in the coming days as well.  I am now aware as to the reason that my DNA profile states I carry the gene for red hair, it turns out that several of my grandparents had red hair. So its not surprising that our grandson Skylar has red hair too given the obvious fact that his mother is a red head and that combined with my son likely inheriting the gene for red hair also set him up for his copper colored hair.

They say life is a mystery, some mysteries are worth exploring further, such as the one of my Great Grandfather John Henry Esterline the Emigrant from Germany.