++++ Frederick Baumann was born near Berlin on January 6, 1826. He was educated at the Berlin Polytechnic Institute and Academy of Arts. He arrived in Chicago in 1850 where he worked on a farm in Washington Heights until joining John Van Osdel's office as an architectural draftsman in 1852. His long career included partnerships with John Van Osdel, Edward Burling, and his cousin, Edward Baumann.  Important work included prestigious commissions and innovative structural designs, including the development of isolated pier foundations. (extant at the Washington Block). 

With his wife, Wilhelmina Steenhauer, he fathered 11 children. He died, much respected iin Chicago, at the age of 95, on March 18, 1921. +