The Proeger Family · Generation 5 — the immigrants and the frontier

Frederick Albert Proeger

Son of Julius Karl Proeger · 1873–1947

Frederick Albert Proeger

Confirmed

Son of Julius Karl Proeger · 1873–1947

Born
24 November 1873
Died
8 October 1947
Parents
Julius Karl Proeger & Minnie Kochendoerfer
Married
Ethel Gregg
Sources
16

Research status

Research status: CONFIRMED — added 24 September 2026 from a record that names the parents; entered in the family tree the same day.

Life in the order the records give it

Birth1873
Born 24 November 1873, Pittsburgh; died 8 October 1947, Greensburg, Pennsylvania
his Pennsylvania death certificate
Census1927
🆕 The 1927–28 Greensburg directory lists him as a musician, with Ethel G., at 215 West 3rd Street S614. added 26 September 2026.
Military1918
🆕 His 1918 draft card, signed Fred Proeger, gives his birth date as 24 November 1873, his work as musician, and his nearest relative as Ethel Proeger, both at 131 North Maple, Greensburg S631. added 26 September 2026.
Census1950
🆕 In 1950 his widow, Ethel G. Proeger, 74, headed her own household at 109 West Third Street, Greensburg S733. added 26 September 2026.

Family parents, marriages, children, siblings

Parents
Son of Julius Karl Proeger and Minnie Kochendoerfer; the Pennsylvania births and christenings index names his parents as Julius and Mina Prager
Marriage1896
Married Ethel Gregg, 30 September 1896, Washington County, Pennsylvania
Marriage1875
🆕 The marriage licence, no. 6460, reads “Fred Proeger to Ethel Gregg”; the date and county above come from its index S417. Ethel Gregg was born on 27 November 1875 at Carmichaels, Greene County, the daughter of Edward Gregg and Elizabeth Darling S423, and at 4 she was living there with her parents and her sister Mabel S416. Fred was a musician all his working life. In 1900 the couple rented on North Pennsylvania Avenue in Greensburg with their daughter Eleanor, born February 1898 S418. In 1910 he “teaches & plays”, at 131 North Maple Avenue S419. In 1920 he was a piano teacher in the same house, and Eleanor, 21, was a conservatory student S420. In 1930 they rented in Greensburg Ward 4 S421. In 1940 he was a church organist and musician at 533 Fremont Avenue S422. Ethel outlived him by ten years; she died at Greensburg on 19 February 1957 and was buried at St. Clair Cemetery S423. added 25 September 2026.
Children1898
🆕 Their daughter: Eleanor E. (or G.) Proeger, born February 1898 in Pennsylvania Confirmed. She is in her parents' household in all three censuses: in 1900, aged 2 S418; in 1910, aged 12, at school, written “Eleanor E.” S419; and in 1920, aged 21, single, a conservatory student, written “Eleanor G.” S420. The two censuses give her second initial differently, so it is shown as E. (or G.). The 1910 return says Ethel had borne one child, and Eleanor is the only one in any census. Her marriage and later life are not yet found. added 27 September 2026.
Parents1849
🆕 Ethel's parents Confirmed: her father Edward Gregg, born 11 September 1849 in Greene County, Pennsylvania, a planing-mill worker at Carmichaels, Greene County, in 1880; and her mother Elizabeth “Lizzie” Darling, born about 1854 in Virginia. Ethel's 1957 death certificate names Edward Gregg and Elizabeth Darling as her parents S423, and the 1880 census has Edward, 30, wife Lizzie, 26, and daughters Ethel, 4, and Mabel, 1, in one household S416; both read from the images, and FamilySearch indexes the same household (1:1:MWFF-3W2). Her sister Mabel Gregg, born 17 November 1878 at Carmichaels, Confirmed: Mabel's own 1968 death certificate names the same parents S931. Lizzie died at Pittsburgh on 30 May 1891 S925 and Edward there on 19 September 1905 S927; both were buried at Carmichaels. What is weak: Edward's and Lizzie's marriage, about 1875, has not been found. Added as Probable 28 September 2026; relabelled Confirmed for the parents 29 September 2026, and for Mabel the same day.
Marriage1977
🆕 The 1977 Virginia marriage record of their granddaughter Jane Shrum, born 1932, of Greensburg, names her father as Paul Shrum and gives her mother’s maiden name as Eleanore Proeger Confirmed S1136. That puts in writing the Shrum–Proeger marriage proposed above. Eleanor’s place as this couple’s daughter still rests on the census and on Ethel’s death certificate.

Open questions what is probable, weak or missing — confirm or correct it

Probable
🆕 Probably their daughter Eleanor married: in 1940 she was Eleanor Shrum, 41, born Pennsylvania, in Greensburg with her husband Paul L. Shrum, 41, attorney at law, and their children William, 10, and Jane, 7 Probable confirm or correct → S999. Evidence: Paul L. Shrum was the informant on Ethel's 1957 death certificate at Greensburg S423, and the age and birthplace fit. Weak: no Shrum–Proeger marriage record has been read. Know more? Use “Add to this record”. added 29 September 2026

In the record Generation 5 — the immigrants and the frontier

Frederick Albert Proeger · Sources

Citations

Sources cited on this card

16 of the record's sources are cited here. The numbering is the record's own; the full list, with where else each is cited, is at Sources.

  1. S4161880 U.S. Federal Census — Edward Gregg household, Carmichaels Borough, Greene Co., Pennsylvania (ED 69, page 3, dwelling 29, lines 31–34). Ancestry record 29464210. Image examined, read 24 September 2026. Confirmed Edward Gregg, 30, works in a planing mill, born Pennsylvania; wife Lizzie, 26, born Virginia; daughters Ethel, 4, born Pennsylvania, and Mabel, 1; enumerated 2 June 1880. Ethel's 1957 death certificate (S423) gives her birth at Carmichaels on 27 November 1875 and her parents as Edward Gregg and Elizabeth Darling; Lizzie is taken as Elizabeth. The page gives Lizzie's birthplace as Virginia on her own line and Pennsylvania on Ethel's; Virginia is held, unconfirmed. An Aaron Gregg, 54, shares the dwelling; the page does not say how he is related.
  2. S417Pennsylvania, U.S., Marriages, 1852–1968 — marriage licence no. 6460, Fred Proeger to Ethel Gregg (docket cover; FHL film 001851681). Ancestry record 902707460. Image examined, read 24 September 2026. Confirmed The docket cover reads “No. 6460. Marriage License. Fred Proeger to Ethel Gregg.” The cover carries the names only. The date (30 September 1896), the place (Washington County) and the ages come from the index, not from this image; the application and return pages have not been examined. The same image is Ancestry record 2707460.
  3. S4181900 U.S. Federal Census — Fred Proeger household, North Pennsylvania Avenue, Greensburg Borough ward 1, Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania (ED 100, sheet 22B, lines 84–86). Ancestry record 42744922. Image examined, read 24 September 2026. Confirmed Fred Proeger, head, born November 1873, 26, married 4 years, born Pennsylvania of German-born parents, musician, renting; wife Ethel, born November 1875, 24; daughter Eleanor, born February 1898; enumerated 19 June 1900. The index's “Fred B.” is the enumerator's column code, not an initial. The same image is Ancestry record 42744921.
  4. S4191910 U.S. Federal Census — Fred A. Proeger household, 131 North Maple Avenue, Greensburg Borough ward 2, Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania (ED 128, sheet 1B, lines 98–100). Ancestry record 192460778. Image examined, read 24 September 2026. Confirmed Fred A. Proeger, 36, married 14 years, born Pennsylvania of German-born parents, musician who “teaches & plays” on his own account, renting 131 North Maple Avenue; wife Ethel, 34, one child born and living; daughter Eleanor E., 12, at school; enumerated 15 April 1910. Eleanor's second initial is unclear here; the 1920 sheet (S420) reads G. The same image is Ancestry record 26043052.
  5. S4201920 U.S. Federal Census — Fred A. Proeger household, 131 North Maple Avenue, Greensburg Borough, part of 2nd ward, Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania (ED 100, sheet 7B, lines 83–85). Ancestry record 34594692. Image examined, read 24 September 2026. Confirmed Fred A. Proeger, 46, renting, born Pennsylvania of German-born parents, teacher, piano music; wife Ethel, 44, born Pennsylvania of Pennsylvania-born parents; daughter Eleanor G., 21, single, student at a conservatory; enumerated 15–16 January 1920. Same house number and same neighbours as 1910. The same image is Ancestry record 34594691.
  6. S4211930 U.S. Federal Census — Fred A. Proger household, Greensburg Ward 4, Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania (ED 65-38, sheet 8A, lines 1–3). Ancestry record 56807879. Image examined, read 24 September 2026. Confirmed Fred A. Proger, head, 56, renting house 223 at $60 a month, with a radio, born Pennsylvania of German-born parents, first married at 22; wife Ethel, 54, first married at 20; a roomer, a schoolteacher; enumerated 10 April 1930. Spelled Proger on the sheet. His occupation is written only as “M.” and is not expanded here. The street for line 1 is faint and is not given.
  7. S4221940 U.S. Federal Census — Fred Proeger household, 533 Fremont Avenue, Greensburg ward 8, Westmoreland Co., Pennsylvania (ED 65-60, sheet 3B, lines 66–67). Ancestry record 18754029. Image examined, read 24 September 2026. Confirmed Fred Proeger, head and informant, 66, born Pennsylvania, organist and musician for a church and on his own account, renting 533 Fremont Avenue at $36.50 a month, in the same house in 1935; wife Ethel, 63, born Pennsylvania; enumerated 4 April 1940. Ancestry's index reads Praeger; the image reads Proeger. The same image is Ancestry record 18754027.
  8. S423Pennsylvania death certificate, file no. 18938 — Ethel Gregg Proeger, 19 February 1957, Greensburg. Ancestry record 7223935. Image examined, read 24 September 2026. Confirmed Ethel Gregg Proeger, widow of Frederick A. Proeger, of 302 N. Pennsylvania Avenue, Greensburg, retired homemaker, born 27 November 1875 at Carmichaels, Pa., died 19 February 1957 at Greensburg, aged 81, of a cerebral haemorrhage; father Edward Gregg, mother Elizabeth Darling; buried 21 February 1957 at St. Clair Cemetery, Hempfield Township. Her parents are as the informant gave them. The marriage index names her father as A. E. Gregg; the two forms are not merged.
  9. S614Greensburg, Pennsylvania, city directory, 1927–28 (R. L. Polk & Co.), p. 363. Ancestry record 181912557. Image examined, read 25 September 2026. Confirmed Proeger Fredk A (Ethel G) musician h215 W 3d.
  10. S631U.S. World War I draft registration, 1918 — Fred Proeger, Greensburg, Pennsylvania. Ancestry record 10739249. Image examined, read 25 September 2026. Confirmed Fred Proeger, 131 North Maple, Greensburg, Westmoreland County; 44, born 24 November 1873; white, native born; musician; nearest relative Ethel Proeger, the same address; registered 12 September 1918. Signed Fred Proeger.
  11. S7331950 U.S. census, Greensburg, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, ED 65-77, sheet 17. Ancestry record 244607791. Image examined, read 26 September 2026. Confirmed Ethel G. Proeger, head, widow, 74, at 109 West Third Street. The index reads her age as 78; the image says 74, which fits her 1875 birth.
  12. S925Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, death register, 1891, p. 559 — Lizzie D. Gregg, 30 May 1891. Ancestry record 193310. Image examined, read 29 September 2026. Confirmed Lizzie D. Gregg, white, female, aged 36 years 11 months, died 30 May 1891 of pneumonia and convulsions; born in Virginia; late of the 20th Ward, Pittsburgh, for 1 year 7 months, previously of Carmichaels, Greene County; buried at Carmichaels 1 June 1891; undertaker Thomas B. Moreland. The D. fits her maiden name, Darling. Her age gives a birth about June 1854, in line with her age of 26 in 1880 (S416).
  13. S927Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, death register, 1905, p. 575 — Edwin Alexander Gregg, 19 September 1905. Ancestry record 405285. Image examined, read 29 September 2026. Confirmed Edwin Alexander Gregg, white, male, aged 56 years 0 months 7 days, married, contractor, died 19 September 1905 of mitral stenosis; born in Greene County; father Alfred Gregg, mother Mary Gregg, both born in Greene County; of 681 South Lang Avenue, 22nd Ward; buried at Carmichaels 22 September 1905; undertaker Thomas B. Moreland. Taken to be Edward Gregg: a Greene County birth in September 1849, a contractor, burial at Carmichaels and the undertaker who buried Lizzie in 1891 (S925).
  14. S931Pennsylvania death certificate — Mabel Gregg MacDonald, 30 January 1968, Hempfield Township, Westmoreland County. Ancestry record 15192131. Image examined, read 29 September 2026. Confirmed Mabel Gregg Mac Donald, widow of William S., of 224 Underwood Avenue, Greensburg, born 17 November 1878 at Carmichaels, died 30 January 1968; father Edward Gregg, mother Elizabeth Darling; buried at St. Clair Cemetery 1 February 1968. The same parents and birthplace as her sister Ethel's certificate (S423).
  15. S9991940 United States Federal Census — Greensburg, ward 7, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania, ED 65-58, sheet 6B, dwelling 134. Ancestry record 18749768. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 29 September 2026. Probable Paul L. Shrum, 41, attorney at law; Eleanor, his wife, 41, born Pennsylvania; William, 10; Jane, 7; and a servant. The supplementary line gives Eleanor 2 children ever born. Paul L. Shrum was the informant on Ethel Gregg Proeger's 1957 Greensburg death certificate (S423), which is what ties this Eleanor to Eleanor E. Proeger. No Shrum–Proeger marriage record has been read.
  16. S1136Virginia marriage record, Winchester, 1977, state file 77-016405 — Jane Shrum. Ancestry record 1529358070. Image examined in the Stage 2 reading, 27 September 2026. Confirmed The bride, Jane Shrum (then Shippy), born 1932 in Pennsylvania, of Greensburg, Pennsylvania; her father Paul Shrum; her mother’s maiden name Eleanore Proeger. The bride may be living, so only her name and birth year are given here.

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Compiled for the Proeger family

Living adults appear by name and relationship, with the year only: no full date of birth and no home town on any page that search engines index, and a living person’s own page is kept out of search engines. Minors appear by name only — no date of birth, no birth year, no age, no school, no place, no address, no other identifying detail. A minor may be named and may appear in a family photograph; nothing further about them is published. Where it is not established whether someone is an adult or a minor, the minor rule applies.

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