OSTFRIESEN GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA

E

M

I

G

R

A

T

I

O

N

AMERICAN—OSTFRIESEN ZEITUNG

Eala Freya Fresena! Lever Dod als Slav! January-March 2010 Volume 13, Issue 1

2

The newsletter of the Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America is

published four times a year. Please write: Lin Strong, Editor,

OGSA Newsletter, 168 North Lake Street, Forest Lake, MN 55025

or email - Lin@ogsa.us with comments or suggestions.

We are happy to consider any contributions of genealogical infor-

mation. Whether we can use your material is based on such factors

as general interest to our members, our need to cover certain sub-

jects, balance through the year and available space. The editor

reserves the right to edit all submitted materials for presentation and

grammar. The editor will correct errors and may need to determine

length of copy.

Contributors are responsible for accuracy, omissions and factual

errors. Cite documentation for facts or statistical information and

give complete source for all abstracted or transcribed records.

Other than the exceptions given, all or part of this publication may

be copied without fee provided that: copies are not made or

distributed for direct title commercial advantage; the OGSA

copyright notice, the name of the publication and its date appear;

and notice is given that copying is by permission of the Ostfriesen

Genealogical Society. You must contact the editor for permission to

publish in any form. Materials not otherwise attributed, were

prepared by the editor.

Copyright @ January 2010

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America

& Lin Cornelius Strong

Ostfriesen American Zeitung Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America

January—March 2010 Volume 13, Issue 1

OSTFRIESEN GENEALOGICAL

SOCIETY OF AMERICA OGSA OFFICERS:

President— Gene Janssen: (952) 939-0617 / genejanssen@comcast.net

Vice President—Ray Kleinow: rayk29@comcast.net

Treasurer—Lübbert Kruizenga: luebbert@ogsa.us Recording Secretary— Sharon Arends: mnmax424@msn.com

BOARD MEMBERS:

Lin Strong: Lin@ogsa.us/lcstrong@frontiernet.net (NEW!) 651-269-

3580

Jill Morelli: jkmorelli@gmail.com

Rick Gersema: gersey6@msn.com

Zella Mirick: zwmirick@comcast.net

Nancy Jensen: nljen31@msn.com

A list of new board members will be in the April issue.

VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES

Could you help host an event?

Would you like to get more involved?

Contact President, Gene Janssen (above) for more information!

AMERICAN-OSTFRIESEN ZEITUNG STAFF: Lin Strong, News Editor / Cell 651-269-3580 / Lin@ogsa.us

Please put ―OGSA‖ in the subject line of all correspondence Contributing Authors: Jill Morelli, Rudy Wiemann, Gene Janssen, Zella

Mirick, Jeanee Thompson

Columnists: Jeanee Thompson, Ray Kleinow, Rudy Wiemann, Lin Strong

NEWSLETTER MAIL ADDRESS:

168 N Lake St., Forest Lake, MN 55025

Please send all newsletter correspondence to this address.

OGSA CONTACT INFORMATION Mail Address: OGSA, 1670 So. Robert St., #333

W. St. Paul, MN 55118

OGSA BOOK COLLECTION LOCATED AT:

MN Genealogical Society, 1185 Concord St. N., So. St. Paul, MN

OGSA Phone No.: (651) 451-6472 (leave message)

Email: ogsa@ogsa.us / info@ogsa.us

OGSA MISSION STATEMENT OGSA is headquartered in Minnesota and our official name is Ost-

friesen Genealogical Society of America. Anyone with ancestors from

Ostfriesland or who has an interest in Ostfriesland is welcome to join.

The purpose of the group is exclusively educational, and specifically

to:

Foster and increase interest in Ostfriesen genealogy.

Provide an association for those interested in Ostfriesen

genealogy.

Provide an opportunity for the exchange of knowledge of

Ostfriesland.

Encourage the establishment of Ostfriesen genealogical resources.

Hold meetings for the instruction and interest of its members.

Collect and, when practical, publish genealogical, biographical and

historical material relating to people of Ostfriesen descent.

Work with other similar societies to preserve and protect

Ostfriesen genealogy and heritage.

Our organization is a 501C3 non-profit organization.

Your donations are tax-deductible.

OGSA MEMBERSHIP

MEMBER PRIVILEGES include four issues of the Ameri-

can-Ostfriesen Zeitung (January, April, July, October), four

program meetings each year and one special event, special

member order discounts, and access to the OGSA library.

OGSA 2010 MEMBERSHIP—Send your check for $18

(download from our website or sent by pdf file) or $28 for

paper copies payable to OGSA, 1670 South Robert Street,

#333, West St. Paul, MN 55118

Foreign membership is $18 if downloaded or sent by pdf

file—$30 if paper copies. You can deposit your member-

ship at Sparkasse Emden if you prefer.

The membership year is from November 1 through

October 31. Please renew early so you do not miss

an issue! This helps us keep costs down!

If you join midway during the year, you will receive the

code to download all back issues for that year or paper

copies if you join at the $28 level.

Online membership for 2007 and 2008 newsletters—

$12 per year; 2009 newsletters+History Issue $18.

Please include your name, address, email address,

phone number and up to eight names you are research-

ing in Ostfriesland along with their village names.

If you have any question about your membership, please

do not hesitate to contact the membership coordinator!

Moving? Let us know as soon as possible!

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

3

We can't say we enjoyed the

voyage...

4-6

Member News 6

The Norddeutscher Lloyd 7

Ostfriesen Emigrant Pastors 8-10

Take heed of the following…

Moin M’Nanner

10

10

An American Odyssey 11-12

Emigration from Ostfriesland in

the 19th Century

13-15

Dit un Dat, Miscellaneous News 16

And Once They Got Here…

The Ocean Voyage...

17

17

The Diary of Teetje Mennenga of

Manslagt

18-19

News from Ostfriesland 20-21

Ray’s Tech Talk, Miscellaneous 22-23

A German Immigrant’s Letter

Home

If You……….

24-29

29

New Members, Donations 30

Illinois Central Railroad 31

Upcoming Issues, Conference 31

Upcoming Events 32

VI SI T U S ON LI N E

www.ogsa.us

MOIN, ALLE! Another year has flown by. Thanks for all the Christmas cards and holiday

wishes! The contact is always appreciated.

Last year the first newsletter was on emigration. Never before have I had so

many comments, questions and compliments on one issue. So here is another

one! Does your family have an old diary, letters or stories on emigration?

Please consider sharing them with all of us.

As you read this, OGSA is starting it‘s 13th year as an organization. For me, that is unbe-

lievable. If I had known then how much work the newsletters would be, I‘d have run the

other way screaming NOOOOOOOOOOOO! But there have been benefits, too. We now

have Ostfriesian history books translated into English—something that did not exist before.

We have 12 years of articles on Ostfriesian history, culture, customs and genealogy—a leg-

acy for future generations. You can contribute your stories to add to future newsletters—

this is one way all of you can be involved. Or give me the data and I‘ll write it for you!

Only eight months left before our OGSA Conference in Cedar Falls, IA. If you have not

done so, make sure you put August 1-5 on your calendar. Yes, it is a Sunday through

Thursday! We have so many great events planned and you will not want to miss them.

Sunday afternoon we will have an open house tea and program—invite friends and relatives

who live in that area to attend! We will have pictures, art and posters along with door

prizes and fun, too! Do you know the following terms—Bohnensuppe, Rote Grütze,

Kluntje, Boβeln, Klootscheten? You‘d better come and learn all about them and more!

How many of you took the challenge in the History Issue to start journaling? I want to

know! Okay, here is another one!

I am going to challenge each and every one of you this year to get the next generation

involved! Children, grandchildren or nieces and nephews! Do they know where Ost-

friesland is? Have you shared some of your stories with them? You can get them involved

just by gifting them a membership to OGSA—and let our newsletters speak for themselves!

An OGSA gift membership includes a newsletter sent to them four times a year—or they

can even download it. It‘s a great year-around gift for any family member. We have over

400 members—can we make 500 before the end of the year? Only with YOUR help!

If you live near enough, invite your children, siblings or other family members to a meeting

or to the conference! For me it was simple enough to invite two grandchildren to our No-

vember tea party—along came Dad and the baby, too! They were so impressed with how

friendly everyone was and with the beautiful German-American Institute. Sometimes all it

takes is an invite—we all have to do that! Next year I’m going to invite my nieces and

nephews, too—I need someone to take over our family’s genealogy someday!

THE OSTFRIESEN EMIGRANTS… All of us have emigrant ancestors! Why did they leave the comfort of their hearth and home, their parents, siblings and other rela-

tives to venture to a vast land where few other than their own countrymen in the United States, could understand them? What pos-

sessed them to give up on their homeland for the unknown? What did they gain by leaving Ostfriesland and coming to America?

Most of them never saw their relatives or their homeland again. Some of them never even made it to America—they died on board

ship and were buried at sea.

Everything in America was so very different from Ostfriesland—the language, the homes, the farms, the churches and the villages,

too. The way of life was also vastly different—in Ostfriesland you knew all your neighbors and in most cases were related to many

in your village. In America the farms were rural, far away from the villages—again very different from their birth village where the

farms were all part of the village. There was isolation and great loneliness. Some immigrants never adjusted—some literally died of

homesickness.

What was hardest for my grandmother was that she never saw her parents again. When there was money enough for her to return,

she refused. It would be unbearable for her to go back only to have to leave again. Amazingly in my research I have found several

families that traveled back and forth every few years—of course they must have done well enough in America to be able to afford

this travel. There was also one family that returned to Ostfriesland after ten years only to return two years later—their life in Amer-

ica had changed them so much that they could not re-assimilate back into Ostfriesian culture. The life of the immigrant was not

easy—there are a lot of stories in this newsletter that will testify to that fact! Read them more than once and read them to your fam-

ily, too.

EDITOR COLUMN

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

Inside this issue:

4

―Emigrants from the Kolonie Upshört near Wiesede in the

19th Century‖. Ostfriesen Zeitung, Dec. 8, 1999, by

Christa Herzog, author of Upschört Chronicle.

Transl. by Rudy Wiemann

Ostfriesland's population increased greatly during

the first half of the nineteenth century, a time when

harvest yields were declining. Foodstuffs were go-

ing up in price, and the social environment pre-

vented many hungry mouths from being fed. For

those who bought a Kolonat, a tract of land in a peat

bog Kolonie, to settle on, stark reality soon trumped

the hope for modest prosperity. The situation under

which these settlers were expected to survive

was often unworthy of the human condition, and

many a settler's family had no choice but to aban-

don its homestead. Since the forties of that century,

however, the "New World" was offering promising

prospects for a better life.

For Upschört, as for many rural towns, the list of

emigrants is a fairly long one. Those making the

move usually traveled to Bremerhaven where they

found shelter in great halls while awaiting the de-

parture of their ocean going sailing ships. The huge

wave of emigrants leaving the continent in the 19th

century made this port at times Europe's busiest

point of departure. Hopes and fears accompanied

those folks on their way into an uncertain future.

Colorado, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and

southeast Nebraska were the most popular destina-

tions for Upschört's emigrants. Nebraska around

1850 was untamed country which so far had at-

tracted fewer than 3,000 newcomers. The United

States gladly received anybody willing to settle its

wide domain and for a long time had no require-

ments for official papers to be presented for gaining

entry. Government land went for $1.25 per acre.

With the building of the railroads, settlement made

rapid progress. In 1870, Nebraska's inhabitants al-

ready numbered 23,000. The state was mostly bare

of trees, which made it relatively easy to start up a

farm. For those hopeful settlers wishing to move

further west, the Missouri River presented an obsta-

cle, as there were few places where the river could

be crossed by ferry. One of those was at Rock Port,

Missouri, where Upschörters settled, including, in

the end, Heinrich Rahmann and Trienke Margare-

the, nee Kleihauer. Several folks of Rahmann's

group moved beyond the river to Auburn, Nebraska,

some went as far as California.

The Rahmann family left the peat bog settlement of Upschört with two chil-

dren and Heinrich's aged mother, Gretje Fooken. They reached Bremerhaven

on June 2, 1847, and two days later their sailing ship cast off. In a letter

home Rahmann wrote about the voyage, "On the 4th we sailed into the North

Sea. On the 5th, 6th, and 7th we took shelter from a storm, and on the 8th we

sailed on. On the 10th we saw the (Westfriesian) island of Texel, and on the

12th we saw England to the right and France to the left. We had headwind

most of the time.

We can't say that we enjoyed the voyage. We were given enough to eat and

drink, but it was of very poor quality. My mother, my wife, and I suffered

from seasickness, my mother worse than the rest of us. Our two children

remained healthy throughout the trip. We saw many big and beautiful fish,

easily a thousand of them, which were as large as a horse, but time moved

very slowly for us before we finished our crossing. It took two months. On

July 28 we arrived in New York feeling hale and hearty. We were all full of

joy that the good Lord had helped us this far."

Ocean crossings were still made by sailing ship for a long time after the in-

troduction of regular steamship connections between Europe and America,

which already existed back in 1838. These windjammers often offered only

the barest essentials in comfort, sanitary furnishings, and safety. Undertaking

a voyage on one of them was anything but pleasurable. It took eight or more

weeks to traverse the great, watery expanse, as made clear in a letter by

Heinrich and Trienke Rahmann: "It often was wet and cold. Only once we

were given a few potatoes. Twice a week we got rice, twice a week pearl

barley, twice a week peas, once a week beans, and once a week sauerkraut.

The water was bad and the beacon and meat no one could eat. The beacon

was too salty and the meat stank. The food was cooked very thin. At first we

couldn't get anything to drink at all, and then mostly bad water. ... 56 days

we were on that big ship until we finally arrived in New York. The Ameri-

cans did a great job looking after us, such as very likely no one would have

in Germany. They eat and drink well here, like in Germany on wedding

days, and that goes for the servants as well as for the owners."

The Rahmanns suggested the following tips for those crossing the ocean,

"Should there be anybody else wanting to come over here, he or she should

AN EMIGRATION STORY

"We can't say that we enjoyed the voyage"

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

5

most of all take provisions on board, particularly jugs of

egg beer*, fortified with syrup, sugar, and brandy to

keep it from spoiling. Also bring zwieback, because

when one gets seasick one cannot stomach the ship's

rations."

On August 1st the family left New York on the way to

St. Louis. "Three times we were on a steamer and twice

on a canal boat, which was cumbersome and cost us a

lot of money. Those who want to move here should sail

to New Orleans." But most of the immigrants who sur-

vived the crossing and stepped off the ship in New York

in good shape were soon putting thoughts of the home

country on hold as they made plans for moving on. A

letter from Trienke Rahmann's brother testifies to the

often conflicting emotions of the newcomer:

"Petersburg, September 6, 1859. Dear Parents,

Brother, Brother-in-Law, and Sisters! I received your

last letter from July 28 on August 28 and see by it that

you are still all well, only that you have had trouble with

your hand, and that the finger has remained stiff, and

that therefor work has become more difficult, so that you

wish that I should return as soon as possible. If I had

gotten that letter two weeks sooner, I would surely have

come. You say that I should not be apprehensive about

the war. That alone is good news. I would also be less

displeased than before knowing that since the partition-

ing of the pastureland commons conditions have im-

proved. I hope that I will not dislike it quite so much any

more. But should things indeed be like before, I must say

that I would like it better here. Should you have white

bread and roast beef on the table every day and a keg of

beer in the house, I would like it there as well. But even

if you don't, I will, if I stay healthy, nevertheless come

and help as much as it is in my power to do so ... ." The

brother did not return home.

Joy and sadness accompanied the families on their trip.

Heinrich Rahmann writes in 1847, "When we arrived in

the city of St. Louis, Gretje Boien met us on the steam

ship. We went with her to her home. We stayed for two

weeks, and then our mother and son got sick. We had the

doctor come for both, but no help was possible. In Sep-

tember the good Lord took our son Hinrich Gerdes to

himself. Two weeks later our mother died; after a short

illness Focke Rahmann died; 6-7 days later Johann

Rahmann and Mareken Rahmann, my sister, passed

away." On March 22, 1854, Heinrich Rahmann and four

countrymen went to California to work in the gold

fields. There they could earn $10-12 per day. Trienke

stayed behind with the two younger children, Johann

and Gerd Janssen (George), at her brother-in-law's. The

oldest son, Ihnke, stayed in Waterloo, Illinois, where he

went to school for half a year; during the second half he

had to work. In 1857 Heinrich Rahmann returned from

California. He never saw his son Johann, already born in

the USA, who died of the measles in March of that year. In that same

spring Heinrich and Trienke Rahmann moved to Petersburg, Illinois.

The main reason for the emigration wave from Europe may be found in

the limited employment prospects which that continent could offer its

growing population in the pre-industrialized era. Hopeless economic

conditions and archaic social structures could meet the desire for a se-

cure living standard only in a wretched fashion. The settling of peat

bogs under conditions hostile to life dashed many a hopeful start. The

situation in America was different. There no barriers were in place

which would keep even the impecunious from gaining a secure exis-

tence on their own soil. Those who were capable of hard work could

soon reach an independent livelihood.

Heinrich Gerdes Rahmann wrote in 1849 to his in-laws in Wiesede, "We

moved into a house with 10 acres of land. ... There I had two horses,

three cows, two calves, 30 chickens, and five geese. As to crops, I had

seven acres in Turkish wheat, 1 1/2 acres in potatoes, one acre in cab-

bage, and 1/2 acre in garden vegetables. Harness and plow were on

hand, too, those things altogether costing $250. We lived there until

March. Then we rented a farm. Hermann Harms from Reepsholt and I.

It is 90 acres, a large piece of land, for it we pay $200. A fruit and vege-

table garden is laid out as well. I use 60 acres of that land, Hermann

uses 30 acres. I now have four horses, four cows, three heifers, and

about 50 hogs and 40 chickens. The horses cost $50-70 a head, a cow

$10-15. The hogs easily feed themselves. A pound of fat goes for 3 1/2

cents on average. I live 12 miles away from the city of St. Louis. It is a

metropolis, two hours long and two English miles wide. There they have

markets every other day in three places." At these farmers markets Rah-

mann could sell his produce.

Rahmann's positive references to those who already emigrated may have

infected many a one with the travel bug and made it easier for those who

hesitated to make up their minds to emigrate. Thus the Rahmanns wrote

in July 1853, "In Germany we would never have become what we are

now, as we are not wanting in anything. We have a goodly number of

horses, cows, hogs, equipment, wagons, and everything necessary for

working the soil. We also again have a lot of high-priced fruits of the

field growing on our land. The use of fertilizer is completely unneces-

sary; everything that you could name will grow here. One only has to

work the soil well. We have a rather large place. Forty acres are tilled,

and we have planted all of it. ... We have not yet bought a place of our

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

Greetings from Upschört

(Postcard)

6

own, as we have not felt like doing so. We think that we won't do

so right away either, for we are firmly resolved to travel to Cali-

fornia next spring. Many of our acquaintances have already trav-

eled there, as one can earn a lot of money there. Three years ago

Elle Ellen and his wife traveled there. They earned a good deal of

money. He first worked in the gold fields and she took in borders.

Now both work in a saw mill. She cooks and he does other work.

She earns $2,400 plus her food. A few of the travelers returned

this spring. They only worked there for a short while and brought

back $1,000. They then bought about 100 heads of cattle and took

them back to California to make a big profit, for cattle is expensive

in California. ... A maid knowledgeable of laundering and baking

earns $80-100 plus board. He who has the use of land and lots of

garden vegetables can in two to three years earn so much money

that he'll never need to work again." These promising prospects

were still valid 20 years later. Albert Hillers, who emigrated in

1857, wrote home in 1871, "I would not be surprised if, because of

all the good news sent back home, emigration to the Land of

Plenty will steadily increase, because no young fellow can get

ahead over there like he can in America, even if he works all his

life and for 20 years after his blessed end."

After all these tribulations and the extreme want which Heinrich

Gerdes Rahmann and his family were subject to in 19th century

Upschört and Wiesedermeer, this situation must have seemed to

them like a slice of paradise. In 1860, the Rahmanns rented a 180

acre farm near Petersburg, Illinois, together with Trienke's sister

and brother-in-law Albert Hillers. In 1861, the Rahmanns moved

to Rock Port on the Missouri River. They both died in Rock Port.

Thus this place became the last center for the family. The head-

stone inscription for the couple reads (in transl.), "After many ex-

periences, much suffering, and tested in my faith in the Lord / I

shall calmly depart from here, up to the bright heavenly star."

For Hermann Dirks, too, born 1849 in Upschört, a compelling

future began right after his arrival in America in 1871 when he

met his future wife, Maria Wilhelmina Oetken. She was the

daughter of Jacob Oetken of Reepsholt. Jacob Oetken's wife died

in 1861. Three weeks after her death he left his home country with

his children for America. Maria Wilhelmina was then 8 years old.

The Oetkens were just three days on the ocean when a strong

storm came up which pushed their ship back into the English

Channel. The voyage for the Oetkens thus lasted 11 weeks.

Hermann Dirks and Maria Oetken married and settled in Cook,

Johnson Co., Nebraska. Seven of their eleven children were born

there. In 1886 they moved to Clarence Township, Barton Co.,

Kansas, three miles south of Albert.

Hermann and Maria Dirks are listed among the early settlers in

Clarence. The first pioneers reached this place in 1871. They

made the long trip on foot, by oxcarts, covered wagon, and on

horseback until they arrived in the fertile plains of the Arkansas

valley. To reach the market, Hermann drove a herd of cattle to

Kansas. A day's trip was about 15 miles. Every night he put up a

fence around his herd. Hermann and Maria's first dwelling was a

sod hut, their furniture were apple and orange crates. Dirks bought

two horses and busted the sod. A few years later they built a farm

house of their own. Money was scarce and families helping one

another was essential for survival.

The Lutheran families in Clarence, of which many came from

Ostfriesland, organized religious services in private homes un-

til 1876, when the first church could be built. They called it St.

Paul's. In 1890, a second congregation, Peace Lutheran Church,

was founded. Hermann Dirks belonged to this congregation as

a founding member. He was a member of the church council

since 1893 and served as president of the congregation since

1900. He and his wife were active in organizing the congrega-

tional life. The son of an Upschört Kolonist, he was also co-

founder of the Farmers State Bank in Albert. Hermann Dirks

died in 1915, Maria Wilhelmina in 1920 in Great Bend, Kan-

sas. The descendants of the union of Hermann Dirks and Maria

Wilhelmina Oetken number, besides their eleven children, 20

grandchildren.

*There are many egg beer (Eierbier) recipes. A rather simple

one goes as follows:

One egg, 1/2 bottle of beer, one tea spoon of sugar and shake

of nutmeg. Whisk the egg, and gradually add the beer. Heat

the mix while stirring. When it begins to foam, take the pot off

the burner. Shake a little nutmeg in it. In the summertime it

may be served as a cold drink, in the winter it is good heated.

MEMBER NEWS... Norm Hensley had an important birthday in October! And

Ruth Jones had one in July! Where do the years go?

Carol Spessard is a very proud grandmother—James Harvey

Olson, born Oct. 29 at St. Joseph's in St. Paul. 8# 2 oz, 21.5"

long

Jean Haemig has had some medical problems and is now on

the road to recovery.

Jeanee Kay Guelke co-authored a book. She didn‘t inform us

about this, but the editor found it on amazon.com! Look it up!

Gene Janssen‘s sister Judy Janssen Walker died on October

10, 2009.

Diane & Rick Chynoweth welcomed their first grandchild,

Caleb Richard, on June 14, 2009. They're thankful their

daughter & son-in-law live close they can see them often.

Lora Drenth‘s father Edward C. Drenth of Ellsworth, MN

died on November 2, 2009. Our sympathies to your family!

Lora also married David LaTourelle. Lora was on the 2005

homecoming tour.

Margaret Freeman needs your prayers—she is battling pan-

creatic cancer.

David Remmer‘s mom, Esther Daro Remmers died 28 Au-

gust 2009, at David City, Nebraska at the age of 94 years old.

Her grandparents (Johann Daro from Arle, and Catharina

Feldmann from Langefeld) were from Ostfriesland.

Ron & Diane Cirksena have a long-awaited granddaughter,

Alexandra. Diane moved to Florida to babysit full-time and

loves the blessings that has brought to her life.

We love to hear from you—good news or sad! Send us a

quick note.

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

7

The Ships They Took

Line. This great advance was

fully appreciated by the direc-

tors of the Norddeutscher Lloyd

in Bremen. Their aim during

the years following was to es-

tablish a regular express service

between Bremen and New

York. The first express steamer was the "Elbe", which was

placed in service in 1881. The first captain of a Lloyd express

steamer was Herr Chr. Leist, who made five trips in the "Elbe"

during the year 1881. The "Elbe", was quickly followed by the

"Werra" and the "Fulda", so that in 1883, by including in this

service the fastest of the older steamers, the Lloyd was enabled

to inaugurate a regular weekly express service between

Bremerhaven and New York, whereby the length of the pas-

sage was reduced to between 8 and 9 days. In the year 1881 the

Company's steamers had traveled a distance equal to 23 times

the circumference of the earth.

Two new routes from Bremen to the Far East, and Bremen to

Australia, were opened in 1886, both via Suez. Italy to New

York sailings commenced in October, 1891 and in 1897, the

Bremen - UK service was sold to Argo Steamship Company

together with seven ships. Occasional sailings between Bremen

and Galveston resumed in 1898 and became regular in 1899.

A fortnightly service was started in 1893 by what they called

their Roland Line. The Roland Line sailed from Breman to

New York with steerage passengers and cargo. By December

of 1893, the line owned 80 vessels.

In 1904 a new service from Marseilles to Naples and Alexan-

dria started and in 1909, a joint summer service between Bre-

men and Hamburg to Quebec and Montreal, was instituted with

Hamburg America, Red Star and Holland America Lines. Bre-

men - Galveston ships commenced calls at Philadelphia in

March, 1910 and a new service started in 1913 to Boston and

New Orleans.

At the outbreak of WWI, many NGL ships took refuge in US

ports, and these were seized by American authorities in 1917.

After the Armistice, the company lost every worthwhile ocean

going steamer as war reparations, and in 1920 chartered ships

from the US Shipping Board to resume services. They gradu-

ally rebuilt their fleet and in 1925 took over the Hamburg-

Bremen Africa Line, the Dampschiff Reederei Horn and the

Roland Line. In 1928 Quebec and Montreal services were re-

sumed. During World War II, NGL again lost almost their en-

tire fleet and again restarted with chartered ships. In 1970 the

company amalgamated with Hamburg America Line to become

HAPAG-Lloyd.

SOURCE: http://www.theshipslist.com/ships/lines/

nglloyd.html / www.norwayheritage.com/p_shiplist.asp?

co=ndlaa

The German shipping company, North

German Lloyd (NDL), was founded by

the Bremen merchants Henrich Hermann

Eduard Meier and Crüsemann on 20 Feb-

ruary 1857 following the dissolution of

the Ocean Steam Navigation Company (a

joint German-American enterprise). It should be noted that the

word 'Lloyd' was merely being used to denote commercial ship-

ping, with which it had become synonymous with at that period.

H.H. Meier became the first Chairman of the Supervisory Board

and Crüsemann the first director of the company (German:

Aktiengesellschaft - AG). Crüsemann took care of the cargo on

passenger ships, which as a result of emigration had grown signifi-

cantly for the shipping company. The shipping company was also

active in other areas such as providing a tugboat service, baths

service, insurance and ship repair, the last of which is still in busi-

ness. The first office of the shipping company was located at num-

ber 13 Martinistraße in Bremen.

The company started with a route to England prior to starting a

transatlantic service. In 1857, the first ship, the Adler (Eagle)

started a regular passenger service between the Weser region

(where Bremen is located) and England. On 28 October 1857, she

made her maiden voyage from Nordenham to London.

The company was often called the "Bremen Line". During the first

year of its operations a line to England was started with three

small steamers, the "Adler", "Möwe" and "Falke", and four large

screw steamers were ordered in England and Scotland for the New

York service.

On June 19, 1858, at 6 o'clock in the afternoon; the "Bremen" left

the wharf at Bremerhaven on her maiden voyage to New York,

carrying 100 tons of freight, one cabin and 93- steerage passen-

gers. This was the first transatlantic sailing of a Norddeutscher

Lloyd steamer. She arrived in New York on July 4, at 7 o'clock in

the morning.

Transatlantic voyages to New York started in June, 1858; Balti-

more in March, 1868; and in 1869 regular sailings commenced to

New Orleans. A service to Central America was instituted in 1871,

but was withdrawn in 1874. Voyages from Bremen to Brazil and

the River Plate started in 1876 and Genoa to Brazil and River Plate

in 1878, the latter service only lasting for three years.

By 1866, NGL was making weekly runs to New York and in 1874

averaged 11 days and 13 hours on its sailings. From 1882 on-

wards, the New Orleans service was extended to Galveston, but

the whole route was abandoned in 1886.

Prior to 1878 the normal average speed of a steamer was about 12

knots, while 20 years before that a speed of eight knots was re-

garded as a great achievement. In 1878 however, a speed as high

as 16 knots was attained by the steamer "Arizona" of the Guion

The Norddeutscher Lloyd

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

8

Rev. Martin Christian Daniel Hafermann, editor of the Christopho-

rus Almanac. Emigration to America

From the Lutheran Almanac "Christophorus der Stelzfuß" (Pegleg), 1883

Edition, edited by Pastor Martin C. D. Hafermann (1833-1899). Transl. by

Rudy Wiemann

Emigration to America has increased significantly in the last

few years, and especially so in the present year (1883). Thousands

of our German brothers and sisters have turned their backs on their

homeland, tore themselves away from family, friends, acquaintan-

ces, from their home church and, surely, with this last step also -

from the living God!

Offering those who are leaving us one last service of love is a

rewarding and blessed task which several of our domestic mission

chapters have set for themselves. Their goal is to direct the travel-

ers one last time to the Almighty God, to admonish them not to

deny their Christian faith and not to turn their backs on the church,

but to join a congregation of our denomination in the New World.

Toward the furtherance of this goal, the mission chapters make it

their concern to be useful to these emigrants up to the time of their

departure. In the ports of arrival in North America similar chapters

lovingly attend the newcomers as soon as they report to the proper

address.

It is urgently desired that all pertinent addresses be given to every

emigrant in writing, as they are stated below: Hamburg: Senior Pastor Kreusler, Paulstraße 3; Harbor Missionary Sitz-

mann, St. Georg, Brennerstraße 33, daily from 11 am to 1 pm in the hostel

'Zur Heimat', St. Annen.

Bremen: Pastor Cuntz, Rolandstraße 1; Book Seller Brahnen, Roßstraße

24.

Rotterdam: Ferdinand Runge, Westerstraat 40.

Antwerp: Pastor Meyer, 25 Rue van Bree.

Stettin: Pastor Brandt, Lastadie, Holzstraße 4.

New York: The Lutheran Emigrantenhaus, State St. 16; Castle Garden,

across the street from the site of debarkation, Pastor Berkemeier at the

Emigrantenhaus; Pastor Keyl, Broadway 3; Pastor R. Neumann, Mission

Office, 3 Battery Place, to the left of Castle Garden, PO Box 3480. These

pastors are available at the arrival of every ship docking at Castle Garden.

Baltimore: Harbor Missionary Sallmann, East Pratt Street 166.

Philadelphia: Pastor Wischan, 726 North 7 St.

In Hamburg and Bremen church service and communion for emi-

grants will be held before the departure of every ship. Just as the

Lutheran Church of Norway has insisted for many years with great

emphasis that its emigrants should not leave their homeland with-

out a church-issued document as well as references and addresses

in America, so should we, too, see to it that every pastor in every

congregation make it sufficiently known that every emigrant may

receive from him without cost such a document, which may be

called a Church Passport (Kirchenpass). This passport would

document the emigrant‘s and his family‘s church status (Baptism,

Confirmation, Marriage, Denomination, Names of Children, etc.)

and contain a recommendation directed to a German, possibly Lu-

theran, pastor over there in whose congregation, or its proximity,

the individual or party intends to settle. Should that pastor not

be able to look after the immigrant, he would be asked to for-

ward this document to a brother cleric who may be in a posi-

tion to do so.

To facilitate this system of references, we list the addresses of

German Lutheran pastors for immigrants in North America, as

follows: The designations (Mis.), (Oh.), (Wisc.), (Ill.), (Min.) indicate the

Synod - Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota - in which the

pastor is ordained. (Street addresses are omitted here.)

Alabama: MOBILE: Pastor Bäpler (Mis.); Pastor Wahl (Mis.).

Arkansas: LITTLE ROCK: Pastor Berg (Mis.); Pastor Obermeyer

(Mis.) - FORT SMITH: Pastor Germann (Mis.).

California: ST. FRANCISCO: Pastor Bühler (Mis.) - LOS ANGE-

LES: Pastor Wynecken (Mis.).

Canada: PEMBROKE, ONTARIO: Pastor Eifert.

Connecticut: DANBURY: Pastor Fischer (Mis.) - ROCKVILLE:

Pastor Sörgel (Mis.).

Illinois: CHAMPAIGN: Pastor Brauer (Mis.) - CHICAGO: Pastor

Bartling (Mis.); Pastor Engelbrecht (Mis.); Pastor Hölter (Mis.); Pas-

tor Lehmann (Mis.); Pastor Lochner (Mis.); Pastor Wagner (Mis.);

Pastor Wunder (Mis.); (Chicago residents may be contacted through

Hewes & Brauns, 171 S. Water St.) - MATTESON: Pastor Hieber

(Mis.); Pastor Burfeind (Mis.) - DOLTON: Pastor Rauchert (Mis.) -

PROVISO: Pastor Strieter (Mis.) - LEMONT: Pastor Uffenbeck

(Mis.) - JEFFERSON: Pastor Brunn (Mis.) - GALENA: Pastor Klind-

worth (Wisc.) - QUINCY: Pastor Hallerberg (Mis.); Pastor Liese

(Mis.); Pastor Willner (Mis.) - ROCKFORD: Pastor Johannes (Mis.) -

BUXTON: Pastor Castens (Mis.) - GALESBURG: Pastor Bendler

(Wisc.) - CLAYTON: Pastor Gerken (Mis.); Pastor Steffen (Mis.) -

ARENZVILLE: Pastor Drögemüller (Mis.) - BEARDSTOWN: Pastor

Merbitz (Mis.) - CHANDLERVILLE: Pastor Greif (Mis.) -

LOMBARD: Pastor Gotsch (Mis.) - MADISON: Pastor Grosse

(Mis.); Pastor Prof. Häntzschel (Mis.); Pastor Prof. Brauer (Mis.) -

BLOOMINGTON: Pastor Riedel (Mis.) - COLLINSVILLE: Pastor

Dorn (Mis.) - DORSEY: Pastor Flachsbart - PEORIA: Pastor

Bangerter (Mis.); Pastor Traub (Mis.) - SPRINGFIELD: Pastor Prof.

Wyneken (Mis.) - ROCK ISLAND: Pastor Mennicke (Mis.) - HAMP-

TON: Pastor Winter (Mis.) - CHESTER: Pastor Müller (Mis.) - RED

BUD: Pastor Schaller (Wisc.); Pastor Erdmann (Mis.) - PEKIN: Pastor

Witte (Mis.) - DANVILLE: Pastor Martens (Mis.) - NASHVILLE:

Pastor Kollmorgen (Mis.) - BELLEVILLE: Pastor Kühn (Mis.).

Indiana: INDIANAPOLIS: Pastor Iske (Mis.); Pastor Kühn (Mis.);

Pastor Schmidt (Mis.); Pastor Seuel (Mis.); (Indianapolis residents

may be contacted through W. Cook & Co., corner East and Washing-

ton Streets) - BREMEN: Pastor Schlesselmann (Mis.) - FORT

WAYNE: Pastor Dr. Sihler (Mis.); Pastor Gross (Mis.); Pastor Mi-

chael (Mis.); Pastor Sauer (Mis.); Pastor Zagel (Mis.); Pastor Zscho-

che (Mis.) - VALLONIA: Pastor Schultze (Mis.) - COLUMBUS:

Pastor Heitmüler (Mis.); Pastor Nützel (Mis.) - JONESVILLE: Pastor

Jüngel (Mis.); Pastor Eirich (Mis.) - LOGANSPORT: Pastor Jox

(Mis.) - RICHMOND: Pastor Wickmeyer (Oh.) - HUNTINGTON:

Pastor Hassolt (Mis.).

Iowa: IOWA CITY: Pastor Thurner, (Mis.) - MARENGO: Pastor

Semmann (Mis.).

Kansas: HUMBOLT: Pastor Krämer (Mis.) - LEAVENWORTH:

Pastor Meyer (Mis.).

Kentucky: LOUISVILLE: Pastor Pohlmann (Mis.).

OSTFRIESEN EMIGRANT PASTORS

Emigration to America

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

9

Louisiana: NEW ORLEANS: Pastor Döscher (Mis.); Pastor Mödinger

(Mis.); Pastor Rösener (Mis.), also to be reached through the flour dealer-

ship Glover & Odendahl, 59 Poydras St.

Maryland: BALTIMORE: Pastor Frincke (Mis.); Pastor Hanser (Mis.);

Pastor Stürken (Mis); Pastor Tressel (Oh.); Pastor Hörr (Oh.); Immigrant

Missionary Sallmann (Mis.), every immigrant may approach this man

about all problems with complete confidence. - CUMBERLAND: Pastor

Hanewinkel (Mis.).

Massachusetts: BOSTON: Pastor Biewand (Mis.) - BOXBURG: Pastor

Fick (Mis.).

Michigan: ADRIAN: Pastor Trautmann (Mis.) - DETROIT: Pastor Hügli

(Mis.); Pastor Moll (Mis.) - DEARBORN: Pastor Lange (Mis.) - MON-

ROE: Pastor Hattstädt (Mis.); Pastor Bauer (Mis.); Pastor Burmester

(Mis.) - GRAND HAVEN: Pastor Bauer (Mis.); Pastor Burmester (Mis.) -

JACKSON: Pastor Wolf (Oh.) - LANSING: Pastor Bundenthal (Mis.) -

WYANDOTTE: Pastor Markworth (Mis.) - LUDINGTON: Pastor Karrer

(Mis.) - BRIDGEWATER: Pastor Dörfler (Oh.) - WALDENBURG: Pas-

tor Böling (Mis.) - ROSEVILLE: Pastor List (Mis.).

Minnesota: ST. PAUL: Pastor Hoyer (Min.); Pastor Rolf (Mis.); Pastor

Tirmenstein (Min.) - NEW ULM: Pastor Reim (Min.) - NORWOOD:

Pastor Landeck (Mis.) - CLAREMONT: Pastor Schaaf (Mis.) - CALE-

DONIA: Pastor Gutknecht (Min.) - STILLWATER: Pastor Seifert (Min.);

Pastor Siegrist (Min.) - WINONA: Pastor v. Rohr (Wisc.); Pastor Bäben-

roh (Wisc.) - ROCHESTER: Pastor Schmidt (Min.) - NICOLLET: Pastor

Dageförde (Min.) - COURTLAND: Pastor Schulze (Mis.).

Mississippi: MOSS POINT: Pastor Lewerenz (Mis.).

Missouri: ST LOUIS: Pastor Prof. Walther (Mis.), Concordia College;

Pastor Hanser (Mis.); Pastor Lenk (Mis.); Pastor Link (Mis.); Pastor Mar-

tens (Mis.); Pastor Meyer (Mis.); Pastor Prof. Stockhardt (Mis.), Concor-

dia College. St. Louis residents may inquire at the china dealership

Heinecke & Estel near the ferry landing or at china dealer F.W. Bertram,

1412 Corondolet Ave. - ELLISVILLE: Pastor Richter (Mis.) - BADEN:

Pastor Zimmermann (Mis.); Pastor Schwankowsky (Mis.) - FARMING-

TON: Pastor Iben (Mis.) - ST. CHARLES: Pastor Maak (Mis.); Pastor

Gräbner (Mis.).

Nebraska: LOUISVILLE: Pastor Catenhusen (Mis.) - WEST POINT:

Pastor Adam (Mis.) - MARTINSBURG: Pastor Bullinger ((Mis.) -

MADISON: Pastor Hoffmann (Mis.) - NORFOLK: Pastor Leuthäuser

(Mis.); Pastor Pankow (Wisc.) - WILLIAMSPORT: Pastor Burger (Mis).

New York: Pastor Keyl (Mis.), Lutheran immigrant missionary, 3 Broad-

way, one stairway up, or at the debarkation building Castle Garden, where

he can be found on arrival of every immigrant ship. Immigrants are

strongly advised not to make any plans after their arrival without first

having spoken with him, especially before continuing on their journey. -

New arrivals are also strongly advised to visit the guest house Das

Deutsche Emigrantenhaus, 16 State Street, diagonally across from Castle

Garden, right after landing. In this Christian guest house the immigrants

find good, low cost lodging and from Pastor Berkemeyer, who resides

here, faithful counsel and help as well as job placements. One should pay

very close attention to the address of the house and the name above the

entrance: DAS DEUTSCHE EMIGRANTENHAUS. Pastor Sieker

(Min.); Pastor König (Mis.); Pastor Buch (Mis.); Pastor Steup (Mis.) -

WILLIAMSBURG: Pastor Beyer (Mis.); Pastor Körner (Mis.) - AL-

BANY: Pastor Frey (Mis.); Pastor Stuts (Mis.) - WELLSVILLE: Pastor

Zollmann (Mis.) - HUDSON: Pastor Renz (Mis.) - BUFFALO: Pastor

Grossberger (Mis.); Pastor Senne (Mis.) - LONG ISLAND: Pastor Eben-

dick (Mis.); Pastor Henkel, (Mis.) - STATEN ISLAND: Pastor Frincke

(Mis.) - YONKERS: Pastor Fröhlinger (Mis.) - MOUNT VERNON: Pas-

tor Holls (Mis.).

Ohio: CINCINNATI: Pastor Brömer (Mis.) - CLEVELAND: Pastor

Schwan (Mis.); Pastor Dankworth (Mis.); Pastor Zorn (Mis.); Pastor

Schwan (Mis.); Pastor Koch (Mis.); Pastor Niemann (Mis.) - LANCAS-

TER: Pastor Dreyer, (Mis.) - COLUMBUS: Pastor Mees (Mis.); Pastor

Prof. Lehmann (Oh.), Capital University; Pastor Prof. Loy (Oh.), Capital

University - ADAMS: Pastor Schmidt (Mis.) - TOLEDO: Pastor Querl

(Mis.); Pastor Schlenker (Oh.) - ZANESVILLE: Pastor Frank (Mis.) -

MASSILON: Pastor Bühl (Mis.) - AKRON: Pastor Lothmann (Mis.) -

MARYSVILLE: Pastor Werfelmann (Mis.); Pastor Lembke (Oh.) -

TRENTON: Pastor Mayer (Oh.); Pastor Schmidt (Oh.) - MIDDLE-

TOWN: Pastor Buchholz (Oh.) - READING: Pastor Bachmann (Oh.) -

NORWALK: Pastor Ulrich (Oh.) - YOUNGSTOWN: Pastor Bächler

(Oh.); Pastor Meiser (Oh.) - MARION: Pastor Müller (Oh.); Pastor

Reif (Oh.).

Oregon: EAST PORTLAND: Pastor Döring, (Mis.).

Pennsylvania: PITTSBURGH: Pastor Ahner (Mis.); Pastor Hein

(Mis.); Pastor Lindemann (Mis.); Pastor Richmann (Mis.) - ALLE-

GHENY: Pastor Wambsganss (Mis.) - FREEDOM: Pastor Pohl (Mis.)

- PHILADELPHIA: Pastor Schröder (Mis.) - JOHNSONBURG: Pas-

tor Lauterbach (Mis.) - YORK: Pastor Walker (Mis.).

Tennessee: WARTBURG: Pastor Hirschmann (Mis.) - MEMPHIS:

Pastor Pflantz (Mis.).

Texas: DALLAS: Pastor Birkmann (Mis.) - SCHULENBURG: Pastor

Süss (Mis.) - HOUSTON: Pastor Stiemke (Mis.) - ROSE HILL: Pas-

tor Wischmeyer (Mis.) - SERBIN: Pastor Geyer (Mis.); Pastor Kilian

(Mis.) - GIDDINGS: Pastor Kaspar (Mis.) - WILLIAM PENN: Pastor

Klindworth (Mis.).

Virginia: ALEXANDRIA: Pastor Dröge (Mis.) - RICHMOND: Pas-

tor Dreyer (Mis.), inquire at E.O. Noelting.

Wisconsin: MORRISON: Pastor Röck (Wisc.) - FOUNTAIN CITY:

Pastor Hacker (Wisc.) - MONDOVI: Pastor Heyner (Mis.); Pastor

Nommensen (Wisc.) - DUNDAS: Pastor Albrecht (Wisc.) - COLUM-

BUS: Pastor Vogel (Wisc.) - MAYVILLE: Pastor Conrad (Wisc.);

Pastor Rathjen (Mis.); Pastor Seuel (Mis.) - REEDSVILLE: Pastor

Grothe (Mis.) - HORICON: Pastor Holst (Mis.) - PLATTVILLE:

Pastor Hoyer (Wisc.) - BERLIN: Pastor Lessmann (Mis.) - WATER-

TOWN: Pastor Brockmann (Wisc.); Pastor Strasen (Mis.) - HELEN-

VILLE; Pastor Körner (Wisc.) - WATERLOO: Pastor Meyer (Wisc.) -

KENOSHA: Pastor Popp (Wisc.); Pastor Streissguth (Wisc.) - AH-

NAPEE: Pastor Steyer (Mis.); Pastor Oehlert (Wisc.) - LA CROSSE:

Pastor Reim (Wisc.); Pastor Oerding (Min.) - MILWAUKEE: Pastor

Adelberg (Wisc.); Pastor Dammann (Wisc.); Pastor Bading (Wisc.);

Pastor Hinnenthal (Wisc.); Pastor Hönecke (Wisc.); Pastor Jäckel

(Wisc.); Pastor Löber jun. (Mis.); Pastor Küchle (Mis.); Pastor Re-

insch (Wisc.); Pastor Sprengeler (Mis.); Pastor Strasen (Mis.) - AP-

PLETON: Pastor Häse (Wisc.); Pastor Hodtwalker (Wisc.); Pastor

Sprengling (Wisc.) - GRAFTON: Pastor Wesemann (Mis.) -

RACINE: Pastor Keller (Mis.); Pastor Waldt (Wisc.) - BURLING-

TON: Pastor Liefeld (Wisc.) - CALEDONIA: Pastor Meyer (Wisc.) -

WATERFORD: Pastor Schumann (Mis.) - JANESVILLE: Pastor

Schlerf (Mis.) - PELLA: Pastor Schwan (Mis.) - FARMINGTON:

Pastor Denninger (Wisc.) - SHEBOYGAN: Pastor Göhringer (Mis.) -

HOWARDS GROVE: Pastor Hild (Mis.); Pastor Hillemann (Wisc.) -

READFIELD: Pastor Markworth (Mis.); Pastor Althof (Wisc.) - NEW

LONDON: Pastor Kluge (Wisc.); Pastor Walker (Mis.) - LEWISTON:

Pastor Koch (Wisc.).

Final Comments:

For counseling and providing helpful service to emigrants,

especially for preventing their being taken advantage of while

purchasing transportation tickets, exchanging currency, and

making other preparations for emigration, the chapters of the

interior mission have employed Emigration Missionaries in

Bremen and Hamburg:

In Bremen: Runge, Ansgarikirchhof 5.

In Hamburg: Sitzmann, St. Annenstraße 14.

These, as well as Pastor Cuntz in Bremen (Neustadt), may be

contacted with complete confidence by everyone regarding all

matters concerning emigration. The

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

10

"Nachweisungsbureau" (Information desk) at the railroad depot in Bremen

is open daily and ready to give out information of any kind.

With regard to overall preparations, special emphasis should be given to the book

"Winke und Rathschläge für Auswanderer nach Amerika" (Hints and Words of Ad-

vice for Emigrants to America) as well as to the "Hannoversche Sonntags-

blatt" (Hanoverian Sunday Bulletin), 1882, Nr. 18.

Lastly, for all of our evangelical compatriots who are thinking about emigrating, A.

Schröter‘s book, "Die Deutsche Auswanderung" (The German Emigration) is ur-

gently recommended, as it will help them avoid going their own way but rather

walking in God‘s way.

TAKE HEED OF THE FOLLOWING... The following thoughts which are worth heeding are being impressed upon the

reader:

1. You must not turn your back on your homeland without pressing reasons. Our

forefathers have considered foreign lands synonymous with misery.

2. Have you considered what your homeland, the home of your child-

hood, your friendships, your church, your Sunday services, your

schools mean to you and what you will lose when they are no longer

part of your life? Who knows if you will find an evangelical congre-

gation in that foreign land, if God‘s word and sacraments will be

offered to you, if a German school will open its doors to your chil-

dren.

3. Are you aware of the sorrows and hardships which await you during your journey

and after your arrival at your destination, of the completely different situations you

will enter into, and of the many things which you will sorely miss for the rest of

your life, even if in other respects you may be making good progress over there?

4. Are the reasons which are moving you to think about emigrating really sound and

strong enough to exchange your secure, old home for an uncertain foreign abode?

5. Don‘t let yourselves be blinded by the splendid prospects which are presented by

those who want to move you to emigrate, may they be agents or trusted acquaintan-

ces. Likewise, when reading reports sent back by family members already over

there, keep this old saying in mind: Not all which glitters is gold.

6. Are you able to separate yourselves with a clear conscience from your situation in

your homeland, or might you violate your duties - children to your parents, workers

to your employers and those of you of drafting age to your country.

7. Do you have sufficient means at your disposal to travel further west and to estab-

lish yourselves there? Else you may be reduced to the most dire circumstances im-

mediately after setting foot upon that foreign land.

8. Also keep in mind how many have already returned from there bitterly disap-

pointed and dirt poor, how many more would have gladly followed if they hadn‘t

been ashamed or had the means to do so, and how many have been brought to ruin,

were never heard from again, just died behind a fence or met some other terrible

end.

9. Be aware of cheating agents and their shills, listen to their sham presentations

with the utmost skepticism and never believe them unless you have obtained verifi-

cation from insightful and clear-headed friends.

10. Consider that without serious diligence and untiring endurance, without sobriety

and frugality, without prayer and fear of God you will prosper neither there nor here

nor can you receive the blessings from above in the New World or the Old.

If, after considering all of the above, you are still convinced that the good Lord has

predestined you to be a migratory bird, then go ahead with God! But do not forget

the motto of this almanac:

“I am a pilgrim on the road

Which takes me to the Lord’s abode.”

Rev. Hafermann edited the ―Christophorus‖ almanac from 1875 to his death in

1899. It is the precursor to today‘s ―Ostfreesland‖ almanac.

The words,

"Where life is

good, there is

my home," is

a Roman, a

heathen word.

Moin M’nanner (Hello Everyone)

“Viel Glück und einen guten

Rutsch ins Neujahr!” Happy New

Year! The German word Rutsch

means slide—so here‘s wishing

you a good ―slide‖ in or into the

New Year.

I don‘t make New Year‘s resolutions. There would

be too many to make and to keep. However, I do

enjoy the changing of the year and looking forward

to a new year of blessings and opportunities.

And, you will definitely want to be at the OGSA

conference in Cedar Falls in August, 2010. Lin

Strong and Lübbert Kruizenga are working on details

(many of them) along with help from a number of

members from that area, and the response from

members there and across the country has been en-

thusiastic. It will be a chance to renew acquaintance

with Pastors Jürgen and Andrea Hoogstraat as well

as some of our far-flung members.

In the past weeks the Tergast Ortssippenbuch has

arrived as well as the Großefehn, It‘s History book.

The preface to the Tergast OSB is one of finest of all

the OSB prefaces—written by Pastor Gunther

Faßbender. I will be translating it to include in a

future newsletter. Those of us who have ancestors

from the fen areas are especially interested in the

Großefehn book. It explains much about the devel-

opment of this land rivaling the story of reclaiming

land from the sea. Thanks to OGSA member Bev

Menssen Ewert for directing us to this book.

A word of thanks, also, to many of you who have

made donations to OGSA above and beyond the so-

called ―dues.‖ It is exciting to be involved in spread-

ing awareness of Ostfriesian culture and history, and

it all adds a new dimension to our genealogical re-

search.

Consider giving a gift membership to one of your

children or other family member this year—it’s time

to get another generation involved in OGSA.

If you received a ballot in the mail, I hope you sent it

in by now! This is one way to get involved.

Again—have a good slide into the new year, and

may it be smooth (and I don‘t mean all down hill).

Gene Janssen, President

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

11

An Immigrant Family Arrives

An American Odyssey

Kansas!

The year was 1883, the month was March,

and the brand-new Kansas Pacific passenger train sparkled in

the sun as it rattled west across a prairie landscape punctuated

here and there by gleaming patches of late-winter snow.

Eyes glued to the passing scene, a youthful German

immigrant gazed through a train-window and marveled at the

brave new world that he and his small family were about to

inherit. For three days and two nights, the three of them – fa-

ther, mother, and infant son – had ridden a series of smoke-

belching trains from Baltimore toward the vast prairie lands

that formed the heart of the American Frontier.

The journey had not been easy.

Before boarding the recently launched, steam-

powered Kansas Pacific, many of these train-riders had en-

dured more than a week of living ―below decks‖ – as steerage

passengers whose economy-class tickets required them to hud-

dle together in a damp, clammy ship‘s hold where clean water

was scarce and hungry rats skittered along the rafters every

night.

The Atlantic crossing had been rough – typical for

March – and the passengers had shivered and clung to each

other while the great steamer SS Braunschweig lurched through

the gales and tilted precariously at the top of each storm-driven

wave. While the mothers with babes in arms prayed fervently –

―Bitte, Der Gott!‖ – the fathers glared and frowned helplessly.

There was nothing that they could do.

But the days passed one by one, and somehow

they had managed to weather the long sea-journey from the Ger-

man port of Bremen to Baltimore . . . where most immediately

boarded the B&O Railroad‘s spiffy new westbound express to-

ward Harper‘s Ferry and Wheeling, and then on toward the great

open spaces of Ohio that lay beyond.

After changing trains in Cleveland, they‘d rum-

bled west on the Missouri Pacific. Open-mouthed with amaze-

ment, they‘d stared in awe at the immense, smoke-billowing

labyrinth that was rapidly growing Chicago – with her bellowing

stockyards and her roaring iron

forges and fast-growing industrial

plants. Onward! After another day

and a half of bouncing and vibrating

in their poorly heated coach, these

weary settlers had nearly reached

their destination . . . the place they‘d

been dreaming of for so many years,

back in the war-torn, Prussian-ruled

world of their Old Europe.

It was early afternoon

when the coal-fired Missouri Pacific

Passenger list: Soeke Soeken age 28, Antje age 24, Oltmann age ¾; three bags

After journeying from the Kaiser’s Germany to the vast

prairies of frontier Kansas, four generations of the Soeken

family built a new world based on reverence for the land

and its creator—along with plenty of good old-fashioned,

hard work. In many ways, their story is the story of America

during the past 125 years. Submitted by Don Soeken

Scene at the Bremen Port before Boarding

SS Braunschweig

12

The Ostfriesen Alliance

passenger train crept into the settlement of Claflin, Kansas,

soon to become one of the busiest towns in the region. The

whistle shrieked twice, and the train at last shuddered to a stop.

And now the young immigrant who‘d been sitting by the win-

dow rose quickly to his feet. Beside him stood a smiling young

woman in a pretty bonnet – his wife of a year – with a baby in

her arms. The infant‘s name was Otto, and he would be a

bright, energetic child destined to play a major role in main-

taining the Soeken farming operation in the years ahead.

Yawning and stretching, the three of them eased

through the open doorway of the passenger car, and then

stepped bravely out onto the wooden platform.

Their new home!

The immigrant‘s name was Soko which he later

changed it to Soeko (American pronunciation‖: ―SO-ko‖)

Soeken, and he was the son of Oltman Gerdes Soeken and

Triene Hinrich Sanderfield, who had been married in the Lu-

theran Church at Bagband, Ostfriesland in The Year of Our

Lord 1841.

Because he was one of the younger sons of Oltmann

and Triene, Soeke could not hope to inherit the family farm in

Ostfriesland. In addition, he had long dreaded the prospect of

serving (and probably being killed) in the fiercely disciplined

and aggressive Prussian Army.

For the daring Soeke Soeken, the handwriting was

clearly on the wall.

He would have to leave his beloved homeland. Be-

cause he knew that fertile American farmland could be pur-

chased for as little as $1.25 an acre in the recently established,

frontier-state of Kansas, Soeke had decided to take his chances

as a farmer in the New World.

Leaving his friends and family behind had not been

easy, however. Like most European immigrants of the day, he

understood that he would probably never embrace his large, ex-

tended family or his village again. But the poverty he had wit-

nessed all around him – to say nothing of the endless, bloody

warfare that raged perpetually among the Germans, the Russians

and the Poles – had left him little choice.

Like nearly two million other German-speaking immi-

grants between 1850 and 1900, Soeke Soeken had ―voted with his

feet.‖ Full of fear and uncertainty, he had nonetheless made the

decision to give up the security and familiarity of Old Europe for

the wide-open prairies of sparsely settled Kansas.

Although Soeke didn‘t know it at the time, he was part

of one of the largest mass-immigrations in American history . . .

part of the flood of opportunity-seeking Germanic peoples who

would travel west to populate the State of Kansas during the sec-

ond half of the 19th Century.

They came by train, by covered wagon, by horse-drawn

cart and on foot. They came in the tens of thousands – from

Bremerhaven and Cologne and Munich – and then later they

came in the hundreds of thousands . . . and they brought with

them their extraordinary work ethic, their devotion to social or-

der, their religious reverence and their powerful sense of self-

discipline.

And they built a world.

Although many Kansans don‘t know it, fully 40 percent

of the Sunflower State‘s 2.7 million residents in 2003 can claim

German ancestry, in one form or another. By far the largest sin-

gle ethnic group in Kansas, the hard-working German-Americans

of Topeka and Lawrence and Lyons and a thousand other com-

munities has provided the structural foundation for an agricultural

world dominated by booming farmlands and sweeping vistas of

sun-gold wheat. (Although heavy industry – and especially air-

craft manufacture – has also come to play an important role in

recent years.)

In the end, Soeke Soeken‘s story is their story. It‘s the

dramatic and triumphant (and sometimes heartbreaking) story of

some of America‘s most resolute and courageous settlers: the

Germans in Kansas.

Railroad map showing Missouri Pacific to Claflin

Steerage Class Facilities

Union Pacific Train 1900 Era

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

13

The Earliest Emigration

the resourceful, Bremen emi-

gration firm, Buttel and Stisser,

explored the possibility of using

Ostfriesian harbors on the Ems

River to continue their opera-

tions. For this purpose they

chose the city of Leer with its

excellent harbor and proceeded

to have a ship, the Liebau, fitted

for the ocean crossing. Emi-

grants, who had been recruited long before by enterprising

agents, came from far-flung areas of Germany, such as Leipzig,

Saxon-Weimar, and Saxon-Altenburg. They had arrived in

Bremen only to be directed to go on to Leer, thus having under-

gone a long, wearisome journey before even setting foot on a

ship.

Then, however, they had another long wait in Leer because the

outfitting of the ship was proceeding at a slow pace. Because

the ship provided little or no haven for the impatient emigrants,

they filed a complaint to the magistracy of Leer about the bad

handling which they had experienced. The magistrates opened

an investigation into the Liebau and then facilitated a speedier

handling of funds and finally the sought-for sailing. However,

they sent an extensive report about the case to the police at

Bremen. At the end of their report they request that informa-

tion be forwarded to them about the "...... registrations and

intentions of emigrant ships, since there is already another ship

from Bremen being outfitted in the harbor to take on emigrants

and it is assumed that a prolonged war with Denmark would

mean more of the same."

It is not possible to establish with certainty whether more emi-

grant ships from Bremen were actually outfitted in Leer for the

trans-Atlantic voyage. It may be that the ship Wieland under

Captain Henke sailed from there in 1850. At any rate, when

the Danish blockade was lifted the Buttel and Stisser firm

ceased to utilize this costly, complicated emigration path. Nev-

ertheless, their enterprising spirit set in motion the first depar-

ture of emigrant ships from an Ostfriesian harbor.

The favorable geographic location of Ostfriesland must have

become clear to the native citizens at this time, because the

increasing wave of emigration seemed to indicate that Bremen

could not handle all the business. During this time alone, from

1 January to 30 September, 1851, a total of 166 ships with

27,819 passengers had sailed from Bremen!1 So, in August

1851, in the old harbor city of Emden, the Ostfriesische Verein

für deutsche Auswanderung (The Ostfriesian Society for Ger-

man Emigration) was founded. The board consisted of six well

-known citizens and merchants of Emden: J. H. Tholen, R.

Reemstma, F. L. Pape, P. Hinderks, E. Haase and H. Chr.

Reepen.

This is an excerpt from a dissertation originally written during

World War II by an Ostfriesian history student, Wilhelm Weitz,

son of Pastor Weitz of Ardorf, and prepared under the tutelage of

the Marburg University history professor, Wilhelm Mommsen.

The author, Weitz,was killed in action in the war, and since the

"Friesische Jahrbuch" for 1958 had no other contributions on the

theme of emigration from Ostfriesland, it was decided by the edi-

torial board to include this independent study and archival re-

search in the essays for that issue, with the acknowledgement that

this essay contains some problematical material and is not as

satisfactory as could be hoped. The editor states "...it is hoped

that someday, someone with a knowledge of the vast material

surrounding the theme, Ostfriesians in the United States—history

and reasons for emigration—would cover the subject matter

more thoroughly."

The "Articles" are arranged in six categories:

1. The index serves to orient the reader to the intentions of the

writer.

2. A listing of sources provides an important basis and aid for

further research in this field.

3. The heart of the dissertation presents an overview of various

emigration societies and organizations as well as

interesting and, up to this time, unpublished material.

4. Emigrant letters (not included in this translation)

5. Statistical tables for 1859-1866 of emigration from Ost-

friesland

6. Passenger lists of emigrants departing from Emden:

a. The ship "Antje Brons" list of 17 April 1855.

b. The ship "Antje Brons" list of 17/18 April 1857

c. The ship "Johannes" list of 22 May 1857

The most valuable and important part of the work are the tables

listing the statistics of emigration from the province of Ost-

friesland, once a part of the former Kingdom of Hannover or the

Province of Hannover under the Prussians. The remainder of the

text (of the dissertation) in its original form is not really suitable

for a scientific publication. (Acc. to the editor of the Friesisches

Jahrbuch). The original dissertation, to be found in the Staatsar-

chiv of Aurich, can be used for further research. (The publication

then lists an outline, page 111, of the structure of the dissertation

and a list of sources used).

Part 3 of the dissertation is translated as follows:

The Promotion of Emigration by Organizations and Societies.

In the decades of the 30s and 40s of the 19th century, emigrants

were shipping out from the Weser area. The old shipping routes

from Bremen provided the most desirable opportunities for emi-

gration. In addition, this old Hansiatic city, Bremen, was served

by an expansive network of railroads serving all of Germany.

Emigrants could reach the seaport relatively quickly and easily.

However, when the Danish navy had successfully blockaded the

mouth of the Weser river (where Bremen was located) in 1849,

Emigration from Ostfriesland in the 19th Century

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

14

The "stated goals" of the society were ". . . to facilitate the most

economical means of emigration for the increasing numbers of

emigrants in these times via affordable harbor places, with a

strong oversight over the process and the eventual operation of

independent ships. Whatever each and every emigrant seeks in

the new world, the same climate, social and political situation

will be easier to realize here and the society wishes to make this

known . . ." 2 Heinrich Christian Reepen was elected the director

of the society and agents were installed in the larger cities of the

Ostfriesian homeland:

in Aurich: Herm. Diedr. Jacobs

in Leer: E. Janssen

in Norden: G. L. Gödeken

in Pewsum: Ludwig Rulffes

in Wittmund: E. W. Schäferling

Meanwhile, the teacher in Hesel, Sundermann, [I believe he was

arrested for this action] had announced that no economic im-

provement could be expected in the moor colonies. The govern-

ment provided no assistance! According to him, the only escape

from total disaster for his people was for them to leave their

homeland. In order to help his fellow citizens in this endeavor

and to avoid a dispersal of

families and descendents,

Sundermann and the Land-

wirt, Eberhardt from Ayen-

wolde organized a second

Ostfriesian emigration soci-

ety, Neufriesland, in Novem-

ber 1851 at Aurich.

Soon, the two organizations were working closely together for

the promotion of Ostfriesian emigration. Emden was designated

as the port of departure and Ostfriesians were advised to trust

their emigration arrangements to the two societies. The work was

promoted energetically the following spring, and the first ships

were prepared for the journey. On April 1, 1852, the beautiful,

and fast, sailing ship, Wilhelmine,a schooner, captained by J.

Oortgiese, was ready for the trip to Baltimore. Cost of the trans-

Atlantic voyage was 34 Reichsthaler in gold.

On March 17th the sailing of another ship, this one to New York,

was announced in the Ostfriesische Zeitung. This was "in every

respect, a first class ship, exquisitely built, outstandingly beauti-

ful for the passage, with around 150 Lasten (the weight/size of

the ship), --the schooner, brig, Marie Agnes captained by Johann

Westerhuus. The cost was set at 36 Reichsmark per person.

Children under 10 years of age were to pay five Reichsmark less.

This cost of passage was ". . . cheaper by far than could be found

anywhere else." In addition, "the Ostfriesian emigrant would

find the journey to be much more comfortable and pleasing with

fellow passengers from the homeland and this tie would be espe-

cially useful for all in the strange land." Departure took place on

April 13, 1852, and was a special accomplishment for all of Ost-

friesland, with special notice published in the daily press. The

Ostfriesische Zeitung printed a long report on the same day de-

claring: "Blessed with the most beautiful April, spring weather,

the eager North Sea coastal travelers departed today about 7:00

p.m. with a north wind--this the first and praiseworthy undertak-

ing in the comfortable and

richly appointed, well-built

ship, Maria Agnes, Captain J.

Westerhuus, departed our har-

bor with a firing of its cannons

and a load of about 76 passen-

gers, mostly Ostfriesians,

seeking a new homeland in the

new world. One can rightfully

describe this first expedition as

a welcome undertaking which will abound in good fortune, and

in the long run, for the wellbeing of the participants and their

followers."

A second ship's sailing was announced for the first of June.

This, however, did not happen, because the competition from

Bremen and Hamburg was too vigorous. There were, as yet,

no rail connections for travelers from Germany's interior to

make connections to Emden. Also, the long-planned steamship

line from the Ems (called "Concordia") to Bremen never re-

ceived adequate attention.

Thus, it was several years before another emigrant ship left

from an Ostfriesian harbor. Not until1855 was a ship outfitted

in Emden to be used as an emigrant vessel. In that year several

Emden firms, Y. and B. Brons, W. Brons, Schulte and Janssen

and W. H. Klaassen merged to form Brons and Co. for the pur-

pose of transporting emigrants to America. This was the first

Ostfriesian emigrant organization. The founding of such an

undertaking, however, had to conform to the laws of the Royal

Hannoverian government. [Here follow several paragraphs

detailing the stipulations of the Hannoverian government and

the subsequent negotiations]

The Antje Brons (Captain Woortmann) lay in the Emden harbor

on April 18, 1855, and sailed from there the next day. Before

its departure, two officials had examined the ship and certified

"that it was adequately outfitted and appointed for 85 passen-

gers." The extant passengers' list lists the names and the home

town or village of the emigrants. Of the 86 passengers there

were seven cabin passengers and 79 steerage passengers. All

of the cabin passengers were from Nortmoor; the steerage pas-

sengers were from:

Midlum 4 persons Tergast 1 person

Osterhusen 8 persons Upleward 1 person

Leer 7 persons Moorhusen 2 persons

Rorichum 2 persons Rhaudermoor 7 persons

Weener 7 persons Warsingsfehn 3 persons

Emden 16 persons Esens 1 person

Rhauderfehn 5 persons Osteel 1 person

Jemgum 1 person Coldinne 1 person

Larrelt 3 persons Uttum 4 persons

Twixlum 1 person

(The list is found in the Emden Stadtarchiv, III, 1862)

(The passenger list will be printed later or may eventually be

found on the website of the ISTG [Immigrant Ships

Transcribers Guild])

The emigration report in the Ostfriesische Zeitung of April 19,

The Neufriesland mission statement:

". . . to found a centralized settle-

ment of Ostfriesians in a free state

of North America, such as Michigan

or Wisconsin where circumstances

for improvement are the best." (3)

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

15

1855 observed that almost all the passengers were of "middle

class" origin, and that their journey's goal was the city of Freeport

and environs in the state of Illinois.

"Neither low spirits nor quiet resignation were to be found in this

group, as in other emigrant groups--rather a general expectant

attitude and trust in a happy future in the far-off, new homeland .

. . the class status of farm or land owners was promoted by the

travel agency which counted among its clients numerous families

from various age groups. Others had paid dearly to have their

sons released from military duty with the opinion that it was

worth it to allow their children to become independent in Amer-

ica whereas they would only have long years of dependency to

look forward to here."

In closing, particular economic gains for the city of Emden are

recorded in a listing of provisions which the city needed to pro-

vide for the outfitting of such ships. For this ship alone (which

was provisioned for 91 days) the city of Emden provided:

2,348 pounds of white bread

3,222 pounds of dark bread (Schwarzbrot)

2,471 pounds of meat

1,273 pounds of bacon

449 pounds of butter and other items.

In addition, the emigrants spent a great deal of money in the city

before the departure. "These financial gains will rise with the

increased business expected." However, the intention of the

Brons & Co. firm to send forth another ship in the following

month did not materialize. A decreased interest in emigration

was the reason and the Bremen firms, with round-the-clock, ac-

tive agents also in Ostfriesland, drew the emigrant business to

their city.

Not until the next year did another emigrant ship leave the Emden

harbor. This time the journey was sponsored by the R. Reemtsma

firm, which had received a license for the undertaking in Febru-

ary of 1856. The ship was the brig, Gertrude, captained by A.

Hayen, which sailed for New York on April 15, 1856 with 81

passengers. With rare exception, the passengers were mostly

from Emden and the surrounding communities. Still, this was the

only journey sponsored by the R. Reemstma firm—already by

August, 1856, they had to discontinue the service because of the

demise of their partner, Brongers, and the necessity for downsiz-

ing the company.

However, the other harbor on the Ems River, Leer, where various

Bremen emigrant ships had already been outfitted in 1849, had

not lain dormant. There, in Leer, numerous business firms com-

bined and founded the Auswanderer-Gesellschaft "Frisia" on

February 1, 1856. The founders were: P. Fritzen from the firm,

Fritzen and Büttner, Jul. Kaulen from the firm, Beckmann, and H.

Wiemann.

The new society sought permission to incorporate from the Royal

Ministerium of the Interior (Hannover) and declared capital fund

holdings of 12,000 RM gold. (Parts of the dissertation deleted

here because there are long explanations of the process involving

the permission and the arguments for and against it.) The city

of Leer never fulfilled this dream of becoming a port of depar-

ture for emigrants.

In 1857, the city of Emden witnessed two more emigrant ship

departures: On April 18, 1857, the ship "Antje Brons" cap-

tained by H. Woortmann, once again left the Emden harbor

and, with favorable winds, brought 95 passengers to New

York. Following that departure, on May 23, the schooner

"Johannes" captained by E. P. Kuper left the Emden harbor. It

had been outfitted by the Brons und Company firm. Thirty-six

emigrants found their way to Charleston, South Carolina, on

this schooner. Almost all of them came from areas around

Aurich and Leer.

This journey of the "Johannes" ap-

pears to be the final chapter of emi-

grant ships from Emden. The firm of

Brons und Company reported to the

Emden magistrates on February 12,

1862, that . . .since 1857 there has

been no occasion to transport passen-

gers overseas. They therefore peti-

tioned that the surety bonds be dis-

solved.

The activities of the Ostfriesian emigration societies lasted only

a short time. From 1856 on, with the completion of the rail

line, the conditions were ripe for development; however, suc-

cess was not possible without the necessary state or govern-

ment support. The Bremen firms, with their long history of

shipping and trans-oceanic connections were better equipped to

handle the business and they enjoyed the support of their home

base, the city of Bremen. The Ostfriesian firms, in contrast,

struggling with initial start-up prob-

lems, were also working in complete

isolation with no state or city support.

SOURCE: Translation of "Beiträge

zur Auswanderung aus Ostfriesland

im 19. Jahrhundert" von Wilhelm

Weitz (Articles about Emigration

from Ostfriesland in the 19th Century

-by Wilhelm Weitz).

Printed originally in Friesisches

Jahrbuch, 1958 Laverman N.V., Drachten, Publisher as a pub-

lication of Der Friesenrat. Gene Janssen, Translator

__________________________________________________ 1 Ostfriesische Tageszeitung, 5 Sep 1936. 2 Ostfriesische Zeitung, No. 182, 4 Aug 1851. 3 Leer Anzeigenblatt, 8 Nov 1851.

“I neither want to encour-age you for a trip here or to dissuade you. I believe, however, that you can live here much better and the children here have the best prospects. Our lives here are much better and more comfortable.” Immigrant Letter Excerpt

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

16 Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

DIT UN DAT

MISCELLANEOUS

BOOKS NOW AVAILABLE! TERGAST OSB has arrived! NEERMOOR OFB will be avail-

able in January, too. The 1719 Kopfschatzungsregister is also

reprinted, a source of some of the earliest census type records. A

lot of other books have been reprinted—the out of print OSB that

you have been waiting for! If you are interested in any of them,

please let us know now. info@ogsa.us

OGSA also has printed Grossefehn, It’s History—a fantastic

book. If your family worked and lived on the moors, you will

want this book! A great look at daily life.

Samke Klinkenborg’s Emigration Story Transribed by Gene Janssen (from the Ostfriesen-Zeitung)

Samke Klinkenborg née Penning was born in Bunderhammrich in 1842. She married John Klinkenborg who served in the German navy for many years. John died after the birth of their nine children. When the eldest son, Evert, was almost twenty years old, he travelled to America to ex-plore possibilities for life there for his mother and eight siblings. After his arrival in New York he went to Iowa and found work in the Ashton/George area. Any money that he could save was sent back to his mother, so that she and the children could also come to the States.

Even today, after all these years, the family has a sheepskin case contain-ing the many papers of Samke Klinkenborg. One of the items is her pass-port. It was issued in 1887 in Ditzumerverlaat and cosigned by John Pen-ning, most likely a relative. As she was boarding the ship she discovered that her family had been assigned to two different ships. She was not happy with that situation and through her insistence, ways and means were found to keep everyone together on one ship. When Samke left Germany she had $38, probably tucked away in her blouse.

http://www.immigrantships.net/

The Emigrant Ship Transcriber’s Guild Volunteers have transcribed thousands of ship records and they are

available on this website. There is even a search for you to check

for your ancestors.

The internet has dramatically changed the way for adoptee’s to

find information on their birth parents. Check out these:

FINDING ADOPTION RECORDS:

http://www.cyndislist.com/adoption.htm

http://www.firstmotherforum.com/

PETITIONING COURT TO OPEN ADOPTION RECORDS:

http://www.plumsite.com/shea/petition.html

Adoption records—state by state:

http://www.adoptiononline.com/aecstatebystate.html

ORPHAN TRAIN WEBSITE:

http://www.orphantraindepot.com/

AND A BOOK FOR ADOPTEES:

Askin, Jane. Search: A Handbook for Adoptees and Birthpar-

ents. (3rd edition). Phoenix, Arizona: Oryx Press, 1998.

Aurich - Within the next five years the local retail trade is scheduled to

undergo a thorough reorganization designed to make Aurich the first shop-

ping town in Ostfriesland. The master plan has already been placed before

the town council. More than 170,000 sq. ft. of new retail area will be cre-

ated, divided into three areas: on the Wallster Weg, at the end of the Oster-

strasse, and on the Norderstrasse, featuring respectively a shopping mall

with 500 parking spaces, gastronomy, and specialty stores. The central bus

depot will be relocated. The promoter of this plan, a project and city devel-

opment company from Stuttgart will advise Aurich‘s administration as the

undertaking proceeds. Aurich believes strongly that it has to make this

effort in order not to be overtaken by competition from neighboring

Jemgum - An ancient dugout canoe, 2 ft. wide and 15 ft. long, solidly

imbedded in clay has been discovered by an archaeological team of the

Ostfriesische Landschaft on the natural gas storage cavern preparation site

near Jemgum. It has been carefully removed, placed in a wooden con-

tainer, and shipped with as little disturbance as possible to the conservation

lab of the Historical Museum in Schleswig.

Rheiderland Zeitung, 10/27/09

Westgroßefehn - The Fehn Museum Society has ambitious

plans. It intends to build on the museum‘s grounds a genuine ―Tjalk‖,

a single-mast, flat-bottomed coastal freighter of by-gone days. The

project will be an attempt to get in touch again with the ship building

tradition in Westgroßefehn, which once had 5 shipyards. The last yard

closed in the middle of the last century. The Society will be seeking

public assistance and is looking for skilled tradesmen. It will offer

students from Großefehn‘s technical school a way to earn credits for

hands-on work. By the way, Westgroßefehn‘s Museum offers its visi-

tors a look at a original, homey Teestube, a historical smithy and saw-

mill. Ostfriesische Nachrichten, 11/12/09

When did you last back up all your data? It is the first of the year and a perfect time to back up genealogical data!

What would you lose if your computer crashed today?

Flash drives are cheaper than ever—buy a new one just for that purpose!

Do it the first day of every month! It is something you will never regret.

BEST ADVICE—share your best genealogical advice

with OGSA. If it is a sentence, paragraph or even two—help

others! Maybe it‘s a book you‘ve found, a website or a library.

Your data will be included in the July newsletter.

lcstrong@frontiernet.net—newsletter address is on page two.

Aurich - The county administration has proposed to the Education Committee that the student achievements in the subjects Metals and Electronics at the Vocational-Technical School in Aurich be lifted to the highest level in the state of Lower Saxony. It intends to raise 700,000 euros to merge these two subjects in one Innovation Center: Production Techniques. The state applauds the plan but won‘t partici-pate. The administration has further proposed to invest 1.3 million euros in Norden‘s technical school, much of it to be spent on expand-ing the present facilities. The county is reacting to the industrialization of the region and the raised demands facing hopeful employees. It is convinced that schools must keep abreast of technical advances. Ostfriesische Nachrichten, 11/18/09

OGSA member Jerry Dohling sent in a correction. A marriage record for

his ancestors was listed in the last newsletter—but the date should have

been 1911! The family knew the date, but not where the marriage took

place and I found it in the newspaper local news column! A suggestion for

getting through your brick wall!

17

AND ONCE THEY GOT HERE….

EARLY TRAVEL IN AMERICA

Before the whistle of the locomotive was heard on the prairie and the settlements came into closer association with the cities lying further east, travel was maintained mostly by the stage coach. They transported passengers, mail and freight. Their course went over the state roads, so called, because they were laid out and maintained by the states. One such road led in those days from Chicago via Rockford and Free-port to Galena. Even today, it still forms a main traffic artery between the numerous cities and villages existing on the way to Chicago. Whenever the weather was good, and the horses frequently changed, the stage coach made from sixty to seventy miles a day. Although the trip was slower than the means of transportation today, it did not lack a certain romanticism. If the weather turned wet and the road softened, then the good fellowship of the passengers and the for-ward progress of the coach stopped. ―Stuck in the mud‖, was more than just a figure of speech in those days, it was often hard reality. William Cullen Bryant, the well-known American poet and editor, reports of one such experience on the trip to his mother in Princeton, Illinois. ―Shortly before sundown we intended to cross the Illinois Canal. High water had swept away the primitive bridge, and as we made the attempt to travel across the water by a ford, the wheels on the one side hit on some rocks and on the other side sank deep into the mud, and in a flash the vehicle upset. The men waded out, the women were carried, and happily no one was injured or drowned. A farm wagon passing by took the women passengers to the nearest farm house. In order to bring out the baggage and to right again the coach, we all had to stand and work chest deep in the mud. Around nine o’clock we reached a hospitable farm house, where we spent the night in an effort to dry our clothing and to prepare the baggage for the return trip on the next day.” Such experiences frightened many people away from longer trips on the stage. The mail had to suffer from it also. In these days, when it takes a letter only 21 hours to

come from New York to German Valley, it is hard to imagine how long it must have taken by canal boat and stage. And how anxiously the settlers living on the border of civilization

waited for a sign of life from the loved ones who still lived in the old, dear places they had abandoned. Postal rates were also higher in those days, for example, a letter from Freeport to New York cost 25 cents; to Ohio 18 ¾ cents; to St. Louis 6 ¼ cents; to East Friesland 50 cents. A complete change for the better in transportation, living conditions, and market places for farm products took place when the railroad came to Northern Illinois and touched the Colony. A great new era of development began for the Colony when the

locomotive of the Chicago, Galena Rail Road, now the Northwestern, entered into the happily excited Freeport in August, 1853. It had not been easy to get the railroad pro-ject, which had been in the planning since 1846, into ac-tion and to persuade the rail-road company to lay track through Freeport. Only when the farmers of Stephenson County subscribed some $20,000 to the common stock of the railroad, did they give heed to their wishes.

Later, these farmers had the sad experience of many oth-ers who paid their subscriptions only to have the railroad go over into other hands at a low price and thus lose their investment. Even though this was no small loss, at least they could console themselves with the thought that they were now in connection with a railroad and the rest of the world. The first railroad passed by some four miles north of the East Friesian Colony. SOURCE: DeWall, Kenneth, East Frisians in America

We tried to help one another as

best we could out of the mess.

The Ocean Voyage...

Even before our fathers and mothers were settled safely

under cover in the new homeland, they had to endure

difficulties. ―There are not trips without hardships.‖

Already with the beginning of the trip the hardships be-

gan. The ships of those days could not be compared with

the floating palaces of today‘s ocean liners. They were

sailing ships. And almost always, small, old, unsecured

boxes, and in as much as the most of the immigrants

were not in a position to raise the required passenger fare

on larger and more comfortable ships, they had to travel

by these ships.

As a rule, the trip lasted from six to eight weeks, depend-

ing on the weather. Sometimes the vessel was driven off

its course by sever storms, and arrived months late at its

appointed harbor. When Okkel De Groot‘s parents came

to America, they were driven by a frightful storm far into

the South Atlantic and only after six months, did they

reach the protecting harbor. Again and again, death

through hunger or thirst or a watery grave stared into

their anxious faces.

Who could describe the experiences of such a trip in a

suitable manner? One, who had lived through it all, told

me: ―The passenger area in the belly of the ship was

indescribably dirty; the food mostly spoiled; the drinking

water stinking; the ventilation poor; and the sanitary

arrangements defied description. For these reasons,

seasickness and other sever illnesses were the order of

the day.

Often we men stood on the deck at the midnight hour and

watched as captain and crew took up the corpse of a

passenger and silently and swiftly consigned it to a cold

sea grave, the last great trip from which there is no re-

turn. Men, women, and children longed with ever

greater yearning for an end of the sailing trip; and with

many the nagging feeling of homesickness crept over

them even now. Oh, If only we had stayed at home.”

SOURCE: DeWall, Kenneth, East Frisians in

America

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

18

SOURCE: Bruns, Hilda, Unser Ostfriesland, Ostfriesen Zeitung, 1992 Translated by Gene Janssen Just twenty years-old, Tjaard Nanninga emigrated in 1869 from Man-slagt to America. He had a definite goal in the United States. Some years before Jan and Jacob Benninga, both also from Manslagt, had made the journey and had settled in Riley County, Kansas, and this is where Tjaard Nanninga headed. Presumably, he was going to check out the area for his family because they all followed him to the new world two years later: his father (a smith, village shipper and merchant), Reinder Heeren Tjaards Nanninga and his second wife, Geelke (Garrelts) along with seven children from this second marriage. In addition, the married daughter from the first marriage, Elisabeth, followed a few months later along with her husband. Among the seven children there was a seventeen-year-old daughter named Tettje. A diary written by her about the journey for the time span from the departure on April 14th until the arrival on June 13, 1871 has been preserved. From these descriptions, it becomes clear (already in the first entries) that there was more to emigration than a well planned or routine move. On the contrary, it usually meant a complete break, a cutting of social ties, and a departure from familiar surroundings with an irreversible part-ing from relatives and friends, from customs, language and lifestyles along with anxiety about the future. It is readily apparent that this was especially so for the children and the youth. For the seventeen-year-old Tettje Nanninga these feelings of separa-tion were likely so intense, and the emotional and psychological burden so heavy, that she died within the year of arrival in America. According to family lore she was so homesick that she could not eat or sleep, and she lost all interest in living. However, her writings provide a glimpse into the transportation con-ditions of the waning 19th century. A three-month ship‘s journey on a sailing ship was less than a cruise which one undertook for pleasure. Ultimately, these diary entries remind us of a particular aspect of Ostfrie-sian history—the years when, because of economic conditions, thou-sands of Ostfriesians (primarily from the Krummhörn and Rheiderland areas) were compelled to leave their homeland in search of a better life elsewhere. ―Tettje Nanninga’s Diary During the Journey to America in 1871‖ does not record unusual events. It is written in the simple style of a seventeen-year-old with a village school education; however, it is a document richly revealing the social aspect of Ostfriesland around 1870. It ends soon after their arrival in Baltimore, though in an un-usually positive tone. She was still able to delight in the unfamiliar mountains and valleys and to report almost gleefully about the flowers which she picked during the train trip. Yet America did not become the ―promised land‖ for her. To avoid any alteration in the original impressions, a word-for-word transcription follows. Manslagt, 14thApril It is most certainly part of God‘s wisdom that one must part from that which one values most. Yes, part. Even though nothing in the world pains the heart as much as a parting of ways, yes parting. Now, don‘t get me wrong. When people part from one another they say Auf Wiederse-hen, Auf Wiedersehen, Auf Wiedersehen (‗See you again). Manslagt, 14th April 1871 I‘m supposed to leave my home and go out into the world; to leave my German homeland and go to America. True, my parents and six siblings

are going also, but one dear sister, dear grandfather, aunts, uncles, friends and acquaintances remain behind. 15th Apr. At 9:00 a.m. we boarded the train at Emden. The first station we reached was Oldersum The train only stopped for a few moments. Next we came to Neermoor, then Leer, where we passed the time until noon, changing trains. Barely a stop in Nordmoor then in Stickhusen? (is that in Oldenburg?), Augustfehn, and Apen and also only a few minutes in Ocholt and again barely a stop at Zwischenahn. At 2:10 p.m. we arrived in Oldenburg. The houses in this city are mostly painted white with red roofs. We were here for a quarter hour…in Wüstung also hardly a stop. From Stickhausen ‗til Wüstung there is almost nothing other than bush and heather. In Delmenhorst and Hüchtingen again only a few min-utes stop and then we came to Bremen around 4:00 p.m. Consul Schon was already waiting for us here, and with his help we loaded our baggage onto a hand cart and went to the inn accompanied by him. The innkeeper seemed to know that we were coming and brought us into a low room. That same evening, father went to Con-sul Schon and registered us on the sailing ship ―Iris‖ whose captain was named Schütte. We obtained second cabin accommodations for the price of steerage. Bremen, the 17th April At 11:00 a.m. we made our way to the station where, after a 1-1/2 hour wait, and with the help of our inn-keeper, we boarded the train. But, it took even longer before everyone found their places, because there were several ships sailing on the same day as ours. When we arrived in Bremerhafen it was raining fiercely, and we had some difficulty finding the ―Iris.‖ Wednesday, Bremerhafen, 19th At 11:00 a.m. we left Bremerhafen with an especially good wind, but that evening there was a storm which really scared us. The next day we were all seasick so that we had to stay in bed for two days. Saturday the 22nd April We were all feeling fairly well as long as the ship didn‘t roll too much. It was very foggy in the afternoon.

The Diary of Tettje Nanninga from Manslagt

A Journey to America in 1871

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

19

Sunday the 23rd April 1871 Ooh? This was a boring Sunday because we couldn‘t work like on other days, and besides that, the ship made little forward progress. On 25-26th . . . we were passing England, but the wind was against us. 27th April, Thursday We were seasick again because of the strong rolling of the ship plus the wind was of little help. The 28th, Friday I had to stay in bed though the others could sit up and eat. The wind stayed the same. The 30th April Oh how boring our day was especially since the wind was terribly strong and against us, so that sometimes the water splashed overboard, otherwise we could have been out on the deck. The 31st was a beautiful day, but it was too bad that we made little for-ward progress. The evening was even finer than the day because it became very still and our young friends took advantage of it by danc-ing. The 1st of May On the first we left the English Channel after 12 days and the sailors said that had the wind remained like it was on the first day we would have passed through the channel in three days. The 2nd of May This was a beautiful day because the wind was better for us, and also it was warm enough that we could be outside on the deck almost the whole time, and father and I were the last ones to go in because the sight of the ocean was really pleasant. The 3/4th of May The wind wasn‘t so good again, but in the evening it picked up so strongly that we made good progress during the night. The 5th and 6th of May On May 5th the wind was more favorable than any previous day though the ship rolled so much that we could hardly remain seated and our trunks shifted back and forth. The 6th was my birthday and I received a lot of birthday wishes. The wind was as favorable on the 7th. The 8th of May (Tuesday) The wind was favorable and we saw various large fish this evening. The 9th of May The wind changed and was not so favorable. The 12th of May, Saturday On this day the wind was so unfavorable and the ship rolled so very much that I had to stay in bed the whole day as did many others be-cause of headaches. On Sunday the wind was better and besides the weather was beautiful. Monday and Tuesday the same. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday we did not make much progress though the weather was beautiful and meanwhile it had be-come very hot. The 27th of May The ship rolled mightily again, but no seasickness though we feared we would have a bad Pentecost because we were by the Gulf of Mexico though it went better than what we had expected and though it was boring we could at least be outside. The evening of the second day there were a lot of games and dancing, but I had to refrain because we were not allowed to dance. The 31st It was really warm but the wind was unfavorable and remained so until the 6th (Wednesday) when it changed in our favor. The 7th June (Thursday) Once again the wind was favorable and this day was so warm that we could run around without stockings and vests just like the Bohemians,

Pomeranians and Saxons. In the evening we got strong storms, and the rain fell in sheets along with strong winds, though the crew were used to this from the Gulf of Mexico. The 8th, Friday It was very still so that the ship hardly moved. The 9th of June (Translator’s Note: from this point on Tettje is confused about the date and used July instead of June in the original. It was changed here for clarity.) The wind was favorable once again and by evening we were so close to land that the captain could see a lighthouse, but then we had to retreat because we did not yet have any pi-lots aboard, and the captain could not see to navigate the dangerous areas in the night. Sunday, the 10th of June Everyone assembled early on deck this morning in order to see the much-longed-for land. Around noon a pilot came and among the men in his crew was a black man. In the afternoon there was a strong storm and such a strong rain, so that the sailors were drenched because they had to lower the sails. On Monday the 12th of June When we got up in the morning the ship was running so fast that we thought we would be in Baltimore by evening. But, around 7:00 a.m. the wind changed and they had to throw out the anchor, but at noon a pilot came and brought us up to the harbor of Baltimore. Here we stayed until the next morning until a doctor had checked whether there were any sick passengers on board. Then the steamer brought us into the Baltimore harbor. We had barely gotten off when our baggage was already on land, and a couple of men came and everything had to be opened, but they just looked over it a bit and then they made a mark on it. At noon we left the ship because almost all the other passengers left. Everything was rather difficult because in Baltimore, not only were the people different, but the language was strange, and one could trust no one, whereas on the ship we had all become acquainted with each other for there were various young girls and women aboard. Here in Baltimore we first felt the entry into a strange land. Around 4:00 p.m. we had to go to the train station, though not without bidding farewell to our friends. The rail coaches were completely different from those in Germany. On both sides there were white benches and each bench could seat two people. The seats were upholstered and in each coach there was a room with fresh water and a toilet. One could go from one coach to another because there was a glass door on either end where three or four people could stand. We were in the first coach. Groenhagen and his wife and various others were in the third coach. We never got into Baltimore itself but went around part of it. Now, though, there was something to see—mountains and val-leys, and these seemed the more beautiful to us because we had never seen a mountain before. And now we saw noth-ing but mountains and forests so that occasionally it would be very dark when passing between high rocks or through the mountains. We also saw various waterfalls, and when the train stopped, we hurried out and picked wonderful flowers and mixed bouquets along the way so that soon all the windows were decorated.

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

20

NEWS FROM OSTFRIESLAND

Submitted by Rudy Wiemann Ostfriesen-Zeitung, 10/27/09 Wiesmoor - Nearly 200 local eighth graders did their part for the protection and maintenance of the moor landscape at Lake Ottermeer. Armed with the knowledge gained in preceding lectures and gardening tools brought from home, they went after "invasive" plant life, mostly young birches and beeches, which in time would put pressure on the endangered bog flora for the preservation of which a 300 acre nature preserve has been set aside. Needless to say, for these boys and girls this combination of class room learning and hands-on experience was quite exciting. Emder Zeitung, 10/27/09 Emden - The shipyard Nordseewerke Corp., founded in 1903 and one of Germany‘s longest-standing shipyards still in existence, taken over by ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems in 1974 for the production of sub-marines, surface navy ships, freighters, and specialty vessels, has been purchased by SIAG of Dernbach, Germany, fabricator of wind turbine support structures. TK Marine Systems, headquartered in Hamburg, has about 8,000 employees in Germany, Sweden, and Greece. It is part of ThyssenKrupp Group which employs roughly 200,000 people worldwide and has an annual turnover of around $80 billion. Its ship-yards in Hamburg and Kiel will be made greater use of by its with-drawal from Emden. SI (Schaaf Industrie) AG (Corp.) has rapidly grown from a structural steel fabricator to a leading supplier to the wind energy industry with fabrication plants in several European countries and Egypt. It has recently taken over a tubular steel fabrica-tion plant in Chattanooga, TN, from where it intends to supply Amer-ica‘s booming wind energy market. It has about 1,200 employees and an expected 2009 turnover of $325 million. It will retain 720 of Nord-seewerke‘s 1,200 employees. Another 300 will continue to work for TK Marine until its operations have been phased out entirely. As a nostalgia-laden sign of the times, Emden‘s iconic Nordseewerke ship-yard will morph to Europe‘s largest offshore tower production site. Jeversches Wochenblatt, 10/27/09 Jever – The Stadtkirche has a long tradition in the care it gives to its presentations of sacred music. Music lovers far and wide look forward to the concerts of its Stadtkantorei choir. The delivery of works by M.A. Charpentiers (Te Deum) and Haydn (Theresien Messe) during the festive concert on Saturday in commemoration of its 50th anniver-sary must surely rank among its most impressive offerings so far. The Kantor‘s mixed choir of 80 singers and five soloists and the debuting ―concertino Jever‖, a new group of 25 musicians, raised storms of applause in an audience deeply moved by the power of the composi-tions and the depth of their interpretation. General Anzeiger, 10/31/09 Völlen - 47 grade school students have been busy most of the week memorizing an entire opera: ―Cinderella. A Fairy Tale Opera‖. Since Monday they have been singing, dancing, baking cookies, printing programs, preparing decorations, and tailoring costumes. Thursday was dress rehearsal, followed by two performances on Friday in Völlen‘s Peter-and-Paul Church. Tickets were 10 euros for adults, five euros for children. The project was organized by opera diva Irmelin Sloman who has already offered such courses for 5 years, her motiva-tion founded in the hope that love of opera may thereby be more read-ily passed on to the next generation. Emder Zeitung, 11/4/09 Grimersum - Discussions concerning a planned partnership of the consolidated community Krummhörn and the American rural town of Grundy Center, Iowa, which were prompted by the introduction of

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

Grimersum‘s OSB, awakened a great deal of interest. This OSB, or Orts-sippenbuch (local family book), contains vital statistics of the parishion-ers entered by the pastors of the Reformed congregation into the church records between 1698 and 1900. They are a hot item for family research-ers, and 25 OSB copies are already on the way to America. If the com-munity council votes in favor of the partnership, as is expected, a delega-tion will seal it in Grundy Center in October of 2010. There have already been many inquiries of Krummhörners eager to travel with the delega-tion. (In August of that year OGSA will hold its quadrennial East Frie-sian Congress in the nearby town of Cedar Falls.) The source material of Grimersum‘s OSB was the center of interest earlier this year by a group of 22 tourists who, as descendants of East Friesian emigrants, eagerly researched their family‘s roots and learned about the land of their fore-bears. Ostfriesische Nachrichten, 11/5/09 Aurich/Emden - Plans are under discussion to upgrade the railroad tracks between Aurich and Emden‘s harbor, as their current weight re-strictions and insufficient right-of-way widths limit their hauling poten-tial more than justifiable. About a thousand tight spots will need realign-ing or widening, and three bridges will have to be replaced, including the railroad bridge at Suurhusen. Even the tracks between Aurich and Georgsheil, only recently brought back into service, require partial re-alignment. The estimated cost for this project is close to $40 million. In Aurich it is especially the wind turbine manufacturer Enercon who will benefit from this improvement, as it is greatly enlarging its production facilities in Sandhorst and wants to transport more heavy loads per rail-road to Emden‘s harbor for export. Emder Zeitung, 11/5/09 Pewsum - ―The first Church Night [sic] in East Friesian Pewsum was a great success!‖ With these words the deaconess and religious advisor for the school of Pewsum and Woquard sums up a lively program for 70 young people who participated in Reformation Day activities ―of another sort‖. The kids learned what motivated Martin Luther to call for changes in the church; that God loves all people no matter what they look like and who they are; and, yes, they were even encouraged to say what they liked and disliked about today‘s church. Finally, up the steeple they went whence they could step out into the night and rappel to the ground - if they were able to overcome their fears as Martin Luther overcame his. A disco was set up in the church, offering music and snacks, highlighted this youth-oriented Reformation Day celebration. But for the confir-mands of Pewsum and Woquard the program was not yet over. They bedded down for the night in the church and were served rolls and hot chocolate in the morning before going home or being picked up by their families. Pewsum was not alone in this Reformation Day observance. Across Germany about 100,000 young people celebrated it with a ―Church Night‖ which, the church hopes, will offer an alternative to Halloween. Ostfriesen Zeitung, 11/5/09 Aurich - Last spring a delegation from Tajikistan, north of Afghanistan, visited Aurich to study its school system and witness the operation of a couple of structural steel fabrication shops. They asked for help in set-ting up a technical training system of their own. The response was great - problematical, however, the transport of donated equipment per con-tainer to that land-locked country‘s capital, Dushanbe, 5,000 miles away. A way was finally cleared with the help of the federal office of economic development, and seven tons of used equipment, valued at appr. $80,000, will begin its three week haul across Europe and part of Asia to reach its destination. Emder Zeitung, 11/8/09 Emden - The Norwegian energy company Stadkraft plans the construc-

21

as mayor, was only allowed to make decisions involving sums up to 10,00 euros. General Anzeiger, 11/14/09 Filsum - The farmer Frerich de Riese was feeling relief after the village council approved his application to build a 200 by 80 feet shed for 12,000 laying hens with a 7.5 acre attached run adjacent to his farm buildings. Eight members of the parties CDU, FDP, and AWG voted for approval against three SPD votes for denial. Construction will begin early next year. The total investment will amount to about $750,000. General Anzeiger, 11/14/09 Emden - The Synod of the Reformed Church in Germany fixed its budget for the coming year at 35.5 million euros and stated that despite falling church surtax income it would be able to continue on its present course without further reductions in expenditures. The budget will be about 800,000 euros below that of 2009. For the coming year it figures on 21 million euros in church surtax income, a reduction of about 5% due to the economic crises which has had a severe impact on many of its members. Borkumer Zeitung, 11/14/09 Borkum - The action ―Christmas in a Shoe Box‖ turned out to be a great success on the island with 150 boxes packed. The small, lovingly wrapped presents will be on their way to Emden from where they will be shipped to Eastern Europe and South Africa. There they are longingly expected by many children living in impoverished areas. Rheiderland Zeitung, 11/15/09 Jemgum/Ditzum - Continuation of the ferry service Jemgum-Emden-Delfzijl for 2010 is almost assured. Invitations for bids by interested operators will run until Dec. 1. There already have been several applica-tions.

General Anzeiger, 11/16/09 Ihren - The local advisory group for proposing construction projects to be included in the Federal Village Renewal Program has submitted its list of priorities to the building committee of the consolidated commu-nity Westoverledingen. The list is headed by street improvement meas-ures. Ihren may expect federal participation of at least 42% which would reduce the property owners‘ share from the usual 75% to 43.5%. How-ever, the state has now signaled a 65% participation which would further reduce the share payable by property owners to 34%. Ostfriesische Nachrichten, 11/16/09 Aurich - Yesterday, in observation of the National Day of Mourning, representatives of the town of Aurich, the Federal Defense Forces, and the German Association of War Graves placed wreaths at the war memo-rial on Aurich‘s Jehringsstrasse. Speakers stressed that the fallen, as victims of war, force, and tyranny, are a reminder to the living to strive for peaceful conflict resolutions, and that remembering their fate im-presses on us the importance of peace, freedom, democracy, reconcilia-tion, and humanity. Special thoughts were with the German soldiers who died and die outside of the borders of Germany. Ostfriesen Zeitung, 11/18/09 Jemgum - The consolidated community Jemgum has initiated a precau-tionary lawsuit against the company chosen to construct the planned natural gas pipeline tunnel under the Ems River at Soltborg. Home own-ers in the area fear that the consequential lowering of the ground water table will do damage to their houses, as has happened in the 1980s dur-ing the construction of the nearby highway tunnel. Underlying the region is a layer of organic material, remnant of an Ice Age blanket mire later covered by alluvial deposits from the rising North Sea. This layer will shrink upon draining it of ground water. By initiating a lawsuit now the community expects to reverse the burden of proof later in case such damage does occur, namely, that it will be up the company to prove that its tunneling is not the cause of the problem.

tion of a new, modern natural gas fired power plant in Emden‘s harbor at the site of the present power plant which it purchased from Eon Corp. a year ago. It will cost more than $450 million to build and will have a capacity of 450 megawatts. With a ratio of energy input to out-put of 58%, as compared to 42% for the present facility, it will be one of Europe‘s most modern plants. It is expected that the old plant, part of which has been idled already, will eventually be phased out entirely, the final decision to be made in Oslo in early 2011. Pipes already in place between Rysum Neck, Stadkraft’s North Sea pipeline‘s landfall, and the power plant will continue to be used, and Emden‘s administra-tion, which welcomes the project, is already working on emissions related permits. Stadkraft plans to double its CO2-poor natural gas based power generation in Europe by 2015. Borkumer Zeitung, 11/8/09 Borkum - The island‘s youth organizations, senior groups, and church related social activities, etc., have all benefitted from the public en-gagement and generosity of the local Lions Club and its 29 mem-bers. These good folks raise some of their donations through the sale of calendars for the month of December. These calendars have a little door for each day of the month which upon opening reveal a number. On 24 dates this number will entitle the lucky winner, or winners, to a prize. There are 35 prizes altogether worth close to $10,000. The draw-ings will appear on the following day in the Borkumer Zeitung and can also be looked up at www.lions-club-borkum. Ostfriesen Zeitung, 11/12/09 Leer - Something unusual is happening to the children of Leer: more and more want to learn to the play the violin. After Barbara Rehklau of the County Music School began to teach by the Suzuki method, 38 young students signed up within a short time. The school now has 125 youngsters learning to play string instruments. Emder Zeitung, 11/14/09 Rysum - After Rysum‘s Reformed Church underwent renovation work during which it was found that the stone building dates from the 13th century, not the 15th as had been assumed, and that it had a predeces-sor made of wood which dates from the 11th century, the town was eager to finish work on its windmill project. This mill did have two predecessors (the first one 500 years ago) and was built in the Dutch style in 1895. It burnt down in 1917 and was rebuilt in 1921 with parts obtained in Varel. It was decommissioned in 1964, as the miller was not able to raise the money for needed repairs. The octagonal super-structure, including the cap, was sold to Zwischenahn (Oldenburg) and used to rebuild that town‘s windmill. When in the 1980s Rysum was enrolled in the Federal Village Renewal Program, a local ad hoc soci-ety was quickly formed for the purpose of rebuilding the town‘s mill, the brick base of which was still in place. In 1988 the frame work of a superstructure purchased in Schleswig-Holstein was moved to Rysum and placed on the brick base. Work could now begin outside and was completed in 1995. Since then it has operated a Teestube and overnight accommodations for travel groups of between six and 16 persons. Work is now rapidly progressing on the restoration of the miller‘s house during which phase it was discovered that it once was a farm house with a Gulf style attached barn which was taken down to make room for the mill. Emder Zeitung, 11/14/09 Hamswehrum - As part of the action ―Tass Tee mit Börgmester‖ (a cup of tea with the mayor) 65 villagers met in the Loogvolkhuus (Platt: Village Folks House) to make known their unhappiness with the local street conditions, lighting, and related topics. They wanted to know when Hamswehrum would finally be enrolled in the Federal Village Renewal Program which would free up funds for improvements of this kind. Mayor Saathoff told his constituents that Uttum and Freepsum had already been enrolled, that Pewsum‘s application was being proc-essed, and that Hamswehrum‘s turn would come, just that he couldn‘t say when, as the decision lay with the Office for Geo-Information, Land Development, and Real Estate Holdings in Aurich. He himself,

Current News

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

22

RAY’S TECH TALK Ray

Kleinow

Interested in technology, but don‘t know where to start? I‘ll try to make it easier for you by explaining what is out

there and how to use it. Most of these tips will save you lots of time—and help you, too! Contact Ray at rayk29

@comcast.net and put ―TECH TALK‖ in the subject line.

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

Comcast at MGS! It was installed at the Minnesota Genealogical Society and tested on November 12th ! Many thanks to the people making this finally happen. This now makes computers at MGS (including our OGSA office computer), able to download about 20 times faster! All users will benefit. And the cost is lower than what was being paid to Qwest! Telephone costs are also lower with Comcast and they supply McAfee Security Suite which will save more OGSA office costs.

MN Marriages? MN Official Marriage System (MOMS) at www.mncounty.com is one power house site! You must check this one out if you are looking for marriage information on someone in Minnesota.

FamilySearch Wiki? Don‘t know what a ―wiki‖ is? A good definition would be ―a very powerful, easy to use, online library (maybe encyclope-dia?) with thousands of articles written by many authors on a wide variety of subjects‖. Now FamilySearch.org has added one for genealogy. The main features are "how to" articles on the process of genealogical research. It is free and YOU can be an author of an article or an addition to an article! See http://wiki.familysearch.org.

MoinMoin Wiki Engine! Yes, that is right! There is such a thing! See http://moinmo.in/MoinMoinEtymology

Written on Stone? We keep hearing about the short life expectancy of our media storage devices. Recently I wrote about devices available to lengthen that life span. Now we hear about a CD/DVD made of stone? (See http://cranberry.com). Expected life 1,000 years? Will there be a CD/DVD reader available at that time? And to really make you think – many new netbook computers do not have CD/DVD drives! How long will the CD/DVD media be with us? We know Blu-ray discs will extend the life of this type of media for a few more years. Maybe we should stay with the tried and true method of renewing your data periodically on the latest popular media as the old one is phased out. That is usually only a few years. Right now flash drive technology is improving and getting cheaper. (If it is priced much more than about $2.00 - $2.50 per GB, look for a better sale. The larger sizes are more, as always.) A few software companies are now selling their lat-est versions on flash drives, not CD/DVDs.

More ―Drive-by‖ Viruses Several reports of a window popping up while visiting websites stating your computer has a virus and you can download a pro-gram to eliminate it by clicking their button. If you clicked on the cancel button, (or any of their buttons), it goes on to their next window as if you clicked on the download button. If you then clicked on the cancel button of that window, it takes you back to the first window stating you should download the pro-gram to fix it.

This action immediately should tell you this is a trick to get you to download their virus (usually a root kit virus, difficult to re-move and not found by the normal virus protection programs), into your computer. If you did, it really would be infected and then they would try to get you to buy their program to eliminate it. Once they were given your credit card information, be assured you will have many charges you don‘t want!

Some of these pop-ups say they are from Microsoft or one of the other well-known companies. The ones I’ve seen only say ―Security Alert‖. You can usually close these type of windows by an Alt+F4 action for each window as it pops up. Many legiti-mate sites are being compromised and your anti-virus programs do not stop this sort of action. Don‘t be fooled by one of these tricks! If you have followed me so far and want more details on how to reduce these attacks, see information on OpenDNS at http://www.open dns.com and check out the free services avail-able for individuals.

Computer Virus Tutorial I talk about ―viruses‖ above and some of you may be saying ―Just what is a computer virus‖? Or maybe terms like ―Malware‖: ―Spyware‖: ―Adware‖: or ―Grayware‖ just to mention a few. There is helpful information available on Google, as usual. Also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Computer_virus and change the ―computer_virus‖ to the other terms.

FamilySearch Adds ―Community Trees‖ I like this one. They say in part "Community Trees are lineage-linked genealogies from specific time periods and geographic localities around the world. The information also includes the supporting sources. Most of the genealogies are joint projects between FamilySearch and others who live locally or have exper-tise in the area or records used to create the genealogies. Each Community Tree is a searchable database with views of individu-als, families, ancestors and descendants, as well as printing op-tions‖. See http://histfam.familysearch.org/ but understand it is beta software and may have bugs.

Portable Applications for Flash Drives These are getting more popular all the time. See http://www.portableapps.com. There are many free applications specifi-cally designed for a flash drive installation. See also ―suites‖ of apps. These applications can be installed on a flash drive and instantly used on any computer you plug it into. It does not install or leave data on the computer you use unless you want it to. Us-ing RootsMagic? See RootsMagic-To-Go at http://rootsmagic.com.

Emails More Secure? We all know not to send sensitive information in an email be-cause it can be easily opened by the wrong people. We also likely know there are ways to make the emails more secure. Perhaps this free program can help. It is an online e-mail encryption sys-tem. How much more secure depends on many things but cer-

23 Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

tainly secure enough to protect many individual user‘s needs. (With Christmas coming up, and presents need to be discussed yet the computer is used by the family…..) It is easy to use and with a good ―secret word‖ will work for you. More information may be found at https://lockbin.com.

RootsMagic and Legacy Interfaces with Family Search Trees Both the RootsMagic and Legacy have newer versions with the ability to interfaces with FamilySearch. There are some excel-lent tutorials at http://rootsmagic.com/FamilySearch/Tutorials/ showing how to work closely with the new FamilySearch Tree system. See both websites for more details at http://roots magic.com and http://legacyfamilytree.com FamilyRelatives Adds 1Million Military Records Familyrelatives.com has added over 1 million army records ranging from 1808 through to De Ruvigny's biographical record of World War I soldiers. See http://familyrelatives.com.

Footnote Keeps Getting Better Since their start in 2007, they have added millions of records covering military, census, naturalization, city directories, news-papers, photographs, etc. They are now offering a webinar with a tutorial of their site at http://blog.footnote.com/the-worlds-first-footnote-webinar/. This helps you find records: details use of their search engine: viewer: and creating Footnote Pages.

Google Sidewiki for Genealogy Another new feature from Google for their Toolbar. Sidewiki allows you to attach comments to any webpage that will show when another person having Sidewiki installed visits that web-page. I think this could be good for comments about documents having (what we may believe to be) errors, thus helping other genealogists. It could become a problem if it is abused, like many things. There are many details you should read about to understand all the features. If you want to try it out, download the latest Google Toolbar with Sidewiki at http://www.google. com/Sidewiki.

Microsoft Office 2010 Starter Edition - Free, but-only pre-installed on a new PC and it is a reduced functionality, adver-tisement supported product. See Microsoft‘s words on http://blogs.technet.com/office2010/archive/2009/10/07/new-ways-to-try-and-buy-microsoft-office-2010.aspx. I guess the free compe-tition from OpenOffice.org, etc. is being noticed?

Fan Charts Anyone? These are really impressive. They put so much information in a document. They do this by using a high definition PDF file. What looks like a meaningless blur becomes clear by zooming in. They are called At-A-Glance fan charts and are available from Millisecond Publishing Company. See http://www.familyforest.com.

Kindle – For Windows? Mac? iPhone? If you don‘t know what a Kindle is – of course – ―Google‖ it. Basically a Kindle looks like a fairly thin book but it is actu-ally a computer with monitor, etc., and its main function is to act like a book you can take practically anywhere and read. However, it can hold many books. College students are buy-ing their textbooks for classes and downloading them into their Kindles. Now they can have all their textbooks along at a fraction of the bulk. It has not been compatible with Windows, Macs, or Phones. Now Amazon announced they are working on

a Kindle application for Windows computers. An app for the iPhone was announced earlier and supposedly they are working on one for the Mac. Also, the rumors say once a book is pur-chased, it will be available on each of the devices. Rumor also says the Windows Kindle application will be free.

Raindrop Mozilla, the creators of the web browser Firefox, are creating a program to unify email, Facebook and Twitter communication into one interface. Raindrop will be a web application instead of a downloadable program and should include applications for mobile devices using web-based services. Google - Mozilla Raindrop.

The German Research Companion Pre-publication Sale—3rd Edition

706 pages—incredible data for all German researchers.

If you do not have this book, you must have it! Donate a copy to your local library!

Pre-publication price $25 (includes s & h)

Shirley J. Riemer, Dr. Roger P. Minert, Jennifer A. Anderson, co-authors

Order must be received before February 1, 2010 , after that date the price will be $28 + shipping.

Send check to: Lorelei Press, P.O. Box 1845, Provo, Utah 84603-1845

SKN Ostfriesland-Magazin

This color magazine has interesting articles (all in German) and

some of the most beautiful pictures of Ostfriesland you‘ve ever

seen. The cost, however, has been prohibitive due to the postage

to the USA. You can now order it online for 45.8 Euro each year

and get it as an E-Magazine. Order right online!

http://www.skn.info/index.php?option=com_content&view

=article&id=97&Itemid=155

Weihnachtsmarkt (Christmas Markets)

Bremen (along with a city tour), Oldenburg,

Leer Emden and Aurich (and maybe more) on

December 2—11/12, 2010!

Mulled wine, candies, Christmas decorations,

baked treats, brats and lots more! Come along

on a tour which will also include many villages

in Ostfriesland. Winter is beautiful in Ost-

friesland—just colder!

Do your Christmas shopping in Germany next

year! Contact Lin at 651-269-3580 for more details. This trip is not sponsored by OGSA nor are they responsible for any portion of the trip.

24

R.B. Rykena‘s letters to family in Germany, 7 November 1864

(The following letter has been given by Mrs. Tru-

man Lander to me who gave me permission to

share it with our readers. She believes that there

had been more than one attempt to translate the

letter, probably from German to English, and the

following work was the most successful one though

she does not know who actually did the final work.

The actual letter is held by a relative in Texas.

Mrs. Lander is the great-great-grandniece of the author and the great-

great-granddaughter of the recipient of the letter. She recently re-

ceived it from her cousins when she was visiting in Iowa near the place

where her German immigrant ancestors had settled. Mrs. Lander grew

up in northern Illinois and spent many pleasant summers on relatives’

farms in German Valley. These are the Illinois relatives to which the

writer refers near the end of his letter. She has also had the opportu-

nity to visit Ostfriesland. We are grateful for her contribution). ED.

Note: some of the village names may vary—other items could not be

easily translated. There are several question marks in the translation.

Hardin county, Iowa, Nov. 7, 1864

Dear brothers and sisters and relatives:

On the 10th of October we arrived well and in good spirits in

New York. There I wrote a letter, but did not have it finished

when we had to go on. Then I gave the letter to Theo Schmidt

without the address, he wanted to see that you got it, but it did

not happen. Other than that I know nothing, for I have not asked

Theo Schmidt about it, and I did not see him again till in Chi-

cago, and there we had no time. In Chicago we immediately

had to go to the other train which goes to the state of Iowa, and

Theo Schmidt and the others who came with us separated and

went into another train, and so we were there with our nine.

We finally got on the train (remainder of line too dark to read)

rooms but they told me they did not know where Hardin County

was situated in Iowa state. I thought to myself what is there to

do? I then asked if I could not go to Mysart [?] on this train.

Thereupon they replied ―Yes‖, and so we went on and on Satur-

day, Oct. 15 in the afternoon at 2 o‘clock we came to Miport [?]

in good shape. There we got information where we had to go in

Iowa and that same afternoon at 3 o‘clock we went on, and that

evening at 9 o‘clock we arrived in Dubjuk (Ed: Dubuque).

There we remained till Monday morning, for on Sunday no

trains go. Then we left Monday morning at 8 o‘clock for Sider-

fals (Ed: Cedar Falls) further than that no trains goes into Iowa.

We came to Siderfals at 4 o‘clock. Then we had to go 40 Eng-

lish miles further or 13 1/4 hours to get to Heikens [very likely

friends who had immigrated earlier].

I asked the inn-keeper how we should arrange it to get to Heik-

ens. I asked how much this trip would cost. He said probably

ten dollars [or in Hannover money 11 m. 10 sgr.] but could not

get a driver this evening any more, and that we would have to

wait till the next morning, but before we could talk about it, the

inn-keeper was informed by a man that there were East-Frisians

in town, and they were from Hardin County. He told him that

East-Frisians were at his house; they wanted to go to Hardin

County to buy land. They were to come to him that evening.

Then we became interested. Before an hour had passed two ap-

peared. The one was from Marsingsten [?Warsingsfehn] the

other from Loquard, Germany with name Benjamin Smidt. That

was a moment of joy for us.

So we spent the greatest part of the night with each other with

questions and answers, how things were in Loquard and how it

was in America, and especially if we could ride with them, for

they had to come to town with horse and buggy, and they said we

could ride with them and stay with them.

So then we left in the morning of Tuesday, Oct. 18 at 10:30 and

came in the evening at 8 o‘clock in Hardin County to the house of

Benjamin Smidt and remained with him till the next morning.

Then at 10 o‘clock we left Smidt and at noon came to Geerd and

Fjehren Heikens whom we found in good health. Now we were

there where we intended to stay, but to stay there for the entire

winter was too much for us and also for Heikens.

So we resolved to buy land, and then if it was possible, to build a

house. Heikens told us that we could buy 30 acres land near by

which was ¼ hour from their property. So we thought we must

have this. Then we would remain near people we knew. So we

bought these 30 acres for 6 1/4 dollars or in Hannover money the

entire 30 acres for 32 Gold. This land is still in its original condi-

tion, it is called prairie. That is green land. It must first be

fenced in and provided with a granary. As long as this is not

done one has no real benefit from it because the cattle have a free

pasture on it. A similar 20 acres I bought four weeks later. This I

paid for with 260 m[arks] gold. That in Hannover currency.

These 20 acres lie along the same road as the first 30 acres and is

at a distance of a quarter of an hour from the

first 30 acres.

I would rather have had these 160 acres land

in one piece, and I could no doubt have ob-

tained it, if I would have gone somewhat

further away from Heikens and I do myself

know, that is best if we go further from

Heikens, then we would go further from the woodland, and the

woodland is now at a distance of ¾ hour from the land we have

bought.

I have bought five acres woodland at $20 per acre. That lies 1 ¼

hours distant from us. I bought that because it lies in the

neighborhood of the sawmill. For if the Lord, from which we

receive everything, gives me health and strength I intend this

Early Correspondence

A German Immigrant’s Letter Home

The land and homes are getting more expensive each year because the immigra-tion here is very great.

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

25

winter to have many trees sawn for building a house. The

trees in our woodland are of the best kind, have a height of

from six to 20 feet and a diameter of one foot and some three

feet. What am I saying? There are some that have a diameter

of four feet and are probably 100 feet tall. This will probably

seem strange to you. Many trees are oaks, but there are all

kinds, linden, cedars, sugar maples. Whoever in spring col-

lects the sap by boring a hole in the tree so that the sap runs

out from the morning when there is frost and during the day

when the sun shines brightly on it, namely for 12 hours, till

the container is full. This is cooked so long till it become

thick and then you have the best sugar. This woodland and

the prairie that we bought cost all together a total of 652 m

[arks] gold.

In addition, we have bought two black horses, one four year

old, and the other five years old, with harness for 195m Gold,

a new wagon for 75m gold, a plow for 13m gold, a brown

cow for 25m gold. This cow is of the best quality. It gives

daily 1/2 [?] butter. We butchered a hog. It weighed 321 lbs.

for 20m gold. We bought 1 ½ load wheat for 1 dollar per

bushel or the load for 52m gold. Maize for feed for horses,

cows, hogs, and sheep. We have bought 1/12 loads for 120

bushels at ½ dollar per bushel, or 25m gold per load We have

bought 6 hogs for winter, of which we make 2 measures of

lard for 6 ¼ dollars 4m20ngr. Sheep one can buy here for 4

Marks. Those are the best ones. Gerd Heikens and Rieke

want to go the first days and get ten head. We have bought

hay from Heikens at $4 per ton. One ton is 2000 lbs. But the

pounds are not as heavy as in Germany – 900 East Frisian

lbs., 1000 lbs. of American weight. For we feed to horses in

the stable as in East Friesland.

The cows go out in the pasture every day, and in the evening

they come home, if the weather is good. Then one does not

have to feed the cows much, and then the cows give more

milk as those in East Friesland. They get hay and beans, for

they go where the maize has grown, for enough corn remains

in the stalks where the maize has grown. Enough leaves re-

main on them so that they can become satisfied in a short

time, and there is much that remains standing here on the

green land in autumn and so may acres lie in pasture here that

you cannot imagine it.

One can walk for 50 hours here and see here and there a little

cultivated land, the rest is almost ALL GREEN LAND. As

far as I have come in America I have not seen as much green

land as in the state of Iowa. Another state east of here through

which we traveled is the state of Illinois and I have not seen

much green land there but Heikens told me that there is much

good land there but not as level as in Iowa and that it is better

here for the land users than in Illinois because one can keep as

many cattle here as one has, and as one is accustomed to say,

they run to far places.

The cattle here become fat in a short time, so that one can

hardly eat the meat because of the fat. For the horses, accord-

ing to

Heikens

opinion,

the grass

is not so

nourish-

ing but

accord-

ing to my

opinion

the hay

that we

feed is

very

nourish-

ing, for

our horses get all together 60 to 80 ears daily, that is ½ bushel [and

in several days they go into the woods and get a load of wood with

the wagon or sled, and that is quite a distance.

If everything goes according to our plans we want to milk 10 cows

next summer, for here the butter has a good price. The only thing

missing is that we do not have our own house. Next summer there

will be much to do. Then we must build a house and the land must

be broken. The buildings here are usually small and poor. Most

people put them up themselves. The reason is first of all, that few

carpenters are here and the labor costs are high, for the carpenter

earn daily 2 ½ to 3 dollars, and then they would rather do their own

work, for everyone here has much land and so much to do that he

cannot do work for someone else. The second reason is that the

people who immigrate here have no money. If they still have a

little money, they give it up for land. For the rest they are not so

greatly concerned. They think that the house can be obtained eas-

ily.

They buy woodland, and get trees and lay them one on another,

have some trees sawed, make a roof from the boards, floor and ves-

tibule, The windows they buy. The grooves are filled with lime

mortar, and most people do this themselves. Now you can know

what kind of buildings these are, but now I cease about those people

who have no possessions. There are also better buildings here

which are quite good and nice. But here in the country there are no

large houses except the cattle barns and the so called granaries.

They have been built by the settlers. But I think that if I build a

house, I shall build it in the East Frisian style. The worst part is that

the stones are at a distance of two hours from the buildings site, and

a thousand stones cost 6m gold. They are eight inches long, four

inches wide, two inches thick. One can get limestone here also; one

must quarry this oneself. Then one can get this for nothing, but this

is at a distance of three hours from here. What we shall do, I my-

self do not know, whether we shall use bricks or limestone for the

cellar. The other parts of the building we shall make of wood.

How large it will be, and how furnished, I shall see if the Lord

grants it and gives us good health. I shall inform you later.

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

26

For the time being we have been at Heikens home for four weeks

and three days. Then we went to our rented place which we had

rented for one year, namely for the third part; two parts for us and

one part for the owner. That is a house 24 ft. long, 16 feet wide,

and 40 acres of cultivated land. Of this we have to sow 34 acres

with spring wheat, and six acres with barley or oats. We have ½

acre for vegetable garden. This is not included, and free firewood,

but we have to make it ourselves from the woodland.

Geerd and we have about 1,000 acres adjacent to our dwelling

house. We can use these without cost. The house stands next to

the road. The house stands in our cultivated area; across the road

lies the Greenland. Ryke has drawn a sketch of the layout of the

farm showing the 20 acres the landlord uses, his house, their

rented house, the road and the common pasture or green land.

Towards the south the house in which we now live has no cellar.

Otherwise we would milk more cows than we now do, as one has

the milk and butter for the work and as much hay as one wants to

make. The cows certainly give as much profit as in East Friesland,

for a pound of butter now cost seven ngr ?? and can be sold for

cash at all merchants, markets. The horses and sheep can run

freely, but one must keep watch that they do not go so far that they

become lost. Most of them come in the evening to a protected

place. As concerns cultivated land, that must be fenced. One can

let the cattle go upon whatever is not fenced. It seems to me the

soil is very fertile. The soil is similar to that upon which one has

hauled manure from the stable, and the ooze of which is soaked

into the ground. Then the earth can be black and mellow.

The ground is that way not only a few inches, but in some places 1

foot down. and in others two or three or four feet down. The grass

here varies in height from one foot to 2 ½ [feet]. I keep that which

is one foot high the rest is too tall and rough.. As concerns the

corn, they get here so much yield per [Gras] acres as in East

Friesland but it makes as much work, not in the field. They use no

meetje, sloat, no drasgente, no furrow, no sloot. When it is once

turned over, then the whole work is over. They then come with

plows and harrows. The water flows by itself to the low places

and the land is hilly. The higher places are used for cultivation

and the lower ones for pasture. I want to draw a ink sketch how it

is lies, namely so, as one hill is ten here , another seven to eight

feet. [Sketch that is a wavy line.]

So we have 160 acres of which in my opinion 120 acres can be

cultivated and 40 be used for pasture and this is the privilege that

the all-knowing God has arranged everything so wisely. If the

surface were not that way, one could not get rid of the water so

easily, for the water here must flow into the great world ocean, just

as well as in east Friesland. Here the Lord our God has cared for

us. He has created everything wisely. It is said we are at an eleva-

tion 2000 feet higher than in Germany. Now here it lies so that the

small streams cut through the ??. Here one calls the small streams

creeks, and the larger streams rivers, and these streams flow into

the Mississippi.

How much the cultivated land will yield, I cannot say with cer-

tainly. Heikens told me on the average 20 bushels die Weizen

(wheat) i.e. 3 ¾ ton, oats 40 to 50 bushels, i.e. 7 ½ to 9 ½ ton,

barley likewise; maize or trishe Weite 50 to 60 bushel. Pota-

toes here one gets per acre according to East Frisian Lathen

about 200 (Lak?) then they are planted with the plow and har-

vested with the plow. For the rest everything here is rather

expensive, especially woolen and cotton goods, calico the yard

that is about 1 ½ short ell by you, for 12 to 15 (ngr?).

Syrup costs per gallon $1. or 22 1/2 ? one gallon has a weight

of 11 ? in American weight.] Syrup one does not have to buy

here; this grows in the field. This grows in rows, it must be

planted in spring. Then it can be harvested in the month of

August. These stalks are ground by a mill. The mill has 3

grinders meshing with each other and press the juice out of the

stalks. Such a one Heikens have bought this summer and have

made more than 200 gallons of syrup. When the juice has been

pressed by the mill it is put into a large pan and then it must be

boiled until it no longer yields foam. Then one cannot distin-

guish it from syrup. If the harvest is fairly good one can get

160 gallons per acre and one can sell them to all storekeepers

in the states.

The next town to which we live is called Steamboat [Rock]

where one can get everything for money which one needs, no

matter what it is. There one finds a corn mill, a steam-powered

sawmill, tailors and leather cutters, yes, almost all trades are

carried on here but the handiwork is expensive. I had my

horses shoed there, for that I had to pay eight dollars or accord-

ing to your currency 4 ½ m courant. That is the way it is with

all the work here. No worker takes on a job less than one dol-

lar. The day may be as short as you please, and in the past

summer the workers in the harvest received two to three dol-

lars.

Now I suppose that you can see from my letter, how it stands

here for the people who immigrate here, for whoever is healthy

and wants to work can easily earn enough for his daily bread

but in a few years will also bring it so far that he will also be

independent and can lead a life free from fear of lack of neces-

sities.

Examples of this are several here.

First is Benjamin Smidt, second is Jakas Flaht, both from

(Loquard). They live ½ hour from us. These persons each

possess 100 acres of land. They have their own horses and

farm equipment. Each one has 14 or 15 head cattle and have

sold five or six hogs and have butchered enough for themselves

that they get bacon and meat on their plates three times daily,

as much as they want, and they assured me that they had

brought no money to America. Flaht said he had borrowed five

dollars and Smidt had one small coin. Smidt has been here 10

years, Flaht eight years and there are more of such people here,

who came here with no money and were almost naked, and

now have bread in abundance.

It is to be wished that more people would come here from Ger-

many, namely those who pass their lives in anxiety and about

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

27

[w]here they can get their daily bread from one day to an-

other, and get clothes and this is not the case here. But it is

not good here for everyone. I mean those who do not want to

work and want to use other people to work. Those are hired

here, and those who came here and bring no money along,

Those must first work for a farmer for 2 to 3 years so that he

earns something. But as you can see from my letter whoever

has a little money can pay something for horses, land, cattle,

and a field for planting, a plow and machinery. You know

something about the machine for which we paid 205 dollars.

So you know something about how much one must spend, for

I think that we do not have to but (buy?) much more except

that we shall buy 10 head of cows at 20 or 25 MCourant (?)

per head.

Whoever does not want to buy land here can rent enough, as

you can see from my letter we have rented 40 acres for culti-

vation because we do not anticipate a harvest for the coming

year from the land that we have bought and I think I would

like another 20 acres for rent but then I must buy 2 horses.

This I may probably do, but I believe that the people here put

in too much land, but on the whole everything seems good

here for people who seek a home here and do not bury them-

selves in solitude, for most people here live from 1/4 to 1/2

hour from each other. They must wait one or two years, then

I believe it will be settled enough, for almost every day people

come here to buy land, and every day the land rises in price.

At our departure for America I promised G. Praal I would

give him information how I liked it here, then he would not

keep his nephew Jan Remmers from coming to America, be-

cause at that time he wanted to go with us. Dear friend Praal,

I cannot advise him against that. If you believe my letter, you

will know whether it is good here or not good. You must read

this letter yourself. Brothers and sister who live in Larrelt I

do not believe that they want to come to us over here, but I

believe that it is better here, and I believe you would do better

here in America than where you are--- but you must know for

yourselves, but let your children, if they read this, go with joy,

for they find here more than you think.

For you Brother Heurholtz and sister and child, in my opinion,

this is the right place for you. I think you must come as soon

as you can. Brother Wilke Bischof and sister Aake I probably

do not have to advise to come to America but the children of

Geerken ? Albert Sweers, I would like to see them come over

to us, but they must know for themselves. If they do not want

to, I have told them about it..

As concerns the trip across the ocean, that was not as bad as

we had anticipated. I and my wife and Geerte were not sea

sick at all, but Antje and Tetze were badly afflicted by it. The

other little ones suffered somewhat from it, but on the whole

the journey was quite uncomfortable, but I had imagined it

would be worse. The first days the weather was nice, so that

the children played on the deck, but when we came out on the

open ocean there came a north west wind, and the ship rolled

from one side to

another, that the

trunks were jum-

bled and one could

hardly stand.

Many people were

fearful and be-

lieved we would

perish; others were

not concerned

about it.

In the evening at 10

o‘clock I went to

bed where my wife

and children had gone on a so-called bed because they could not

stand or sit, but one could not sleep, for one had to hold on to the

bed railings or one would have fallen on the floor. I feared that we

would have to exchange this life for eternity, but the Lord set me

free. Yes, He had promised me in Germany that He would be with

me till the end of the world, and this promise I could with assurance

believe in this time [and say with Simeon: biblical passage fol-

lowed, but was not included in translation].

Yes, my dear ones, this is a great privilege when the Lord the Al-

mighty reveals Himself to an unworthy sinner of many transgres-

sions, so that one cannot say otherwise, but that you Lord are

mighty to save all sinners from the power of death, and to give

them eternal blessedness. This we ask, that you give this to us all,

here in this life, that we do not fall into temptation, and in eternity.

This is my most fervent wish, as we might possibly not see each

other again on this earth, but that we would find each in eternity,

where there is no more separation but abundance of joy from eter-

nity to eternity.

I must also write this to you. The ship HANSA on which we came

over was 430 feet long, 54 feet broad, and 37 feet deep, and such

ships and even larger ones are docked in New York in large num-

bers. One cannot imagine a city like New York. There is so much

traffic on the streets that one cannot get from one side to the other

side. So many wagons, coaches and riders are on the streets, that I

cannot describe it all and if I were to devote even a few lines to all

that I met and saw, that it would be impossible for me.

Thus I must write yet, that it is still the same with the war. They

must still draw lots and the draft has taken some East Frisians, but it

is said that whoever is no citizen here need not be drafted, for one

does not have to be a citizen if one does not want to be one. The

citizen has the privilege of voting in presidential elections, but if he

possesses ability he can fill public places. Now many East Frisians

have demanded citizenship and therefore are subject to draft, but

whoever wants to immigrate to America does not have to stay away

on that account, and the largest families find their best living here,

for the labor is well paid.

One can easily get land at a third of its value, as much as one

wishes. If I could cultivate it I would rent 80 or 100 more acres, but

American Ostfriesen Zeitung

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

28

I cannot work it, and one can get no people who want to work for

[one] another. In recent days I have rented 15 or 20 acres more.

These lie at a distance of 1/4 hour from us. You know how large

an acre is 160 rods. A rod has 16 ½ feet in American measure.

One American foot is 12 ½ Hannover measures. In my opinion

an acre has almost 1 ½ Morgen (calenberch measure).

As concerns the climate, it is here very temperate. Almost as you

have it, but on the average it is colder here. Here there was frost

every day from September on, sometimes quite heavy, but the

weather was nice on most days, so that one could easily work in

the fields during the day. On the two days of January 2nd and 3rd

we helped Heikens thresh his grain, namely wheat. (translator

questions the month) You will hardly believe how fast this went.

In six hours we threshed two loads or 200 bushels. Then it was

ready to be sold. Ten horses pull this machine, and nine laborers

are employed with it, and I was surprised that not as much was

lost by it as is the case in East Friesland, when one brought a corn

heap into the granary. The large land owners in East Friesland

should see such a machine harvesting. The people who owned

such a machine said they easily thresh in ten hours five loads or

400 bushels.

Such a machine costs from four to five hundred dollars or 65

(Luidor) and if there were not such machines in America, then

America would be lost, but now you can understand that the work

is easier here, for one does not need ? which requires a ? and one

hauls the grain in heaps next to each other on the same land

where it grew and the machine stands on four wheels and moves

between them and harvests them. The straw stays on one pile and

in winter the cattle go on the field and eat of it. Even if one has

50 head of grown cattle, one man can easily feed them. He gives

it water to drink once a day and in the morning and in the evening

he gives it some hay or corn. In winter the manure must be

hauled three or four times out of the cattle barns where the cattle

spend the nights, for the cattle barns here are mostly open stalls.

The cattle here are more used to the cold than those by you, for

almost no day passes by that the horses do not go into the woods

and stand at the wagon all day long and eat hay, and towards eve-

ning go home with a load of wood. If the horses were to do that

by you, one would think it would be a waste, and here one does

not get nearly the wages as in East Friesland. So, far, as long as I

have been here in America, I have not seen anyone with a spade.

In general, the horses here are not as large and strong. I think

they are of firmer build! Cows here are as good as you have;

many are black-mottled, some all brown and brown mottled, but

on the average they give more milk than by you, and the milk is

much better. The butter is excellent. The sheep here are as large

as by you, but the wool is short and they say that they produce

yearly 6 to 8 lbs. wool. The hogs are of an English breed.

Now, my dear bothers and sister in Larrelt, do you want to come?

I believe if you would know how good one has it here, in my

opinion if the Lord gives us His blessing, your sons and daugh-

ters might. If they want to seek their temporal advancement and

want to find it, they must come here to America, and in the spiri-

tual sense it is as good here as by you, for the Lord, our God, is

omnipresent. He is near us all, all who call upon Him.

Those of you who intend to come over here I would advise that

in the time they still have left to take as much instruction as they

can in the English language, for the English language is of great

value here to the people who want to be ahead in the world, for

here it is necessary to get along with few possessions in order to

have good days in old age. You, brother Fleurholt and sister

Anke and children prepare yourselves to come over to us. I

know that you would like to be with us, but to come to a deci-

sion, more is required. But I think that if you were here you

would not regret it, for your children are much better off here,

and of more use to you and to themselves than in East Friesland.

For I know how it is in East Friesland. I can speak of it through

experience, and if I am not mistaken, I can also tell about Amer-

ica through experience. I think both your families must come

over and bring Eilert Van Hoorn and Antje along too, For there

are good opportunities for a blacksmith here, for you can see

from my letter what a blacksmith earns here, and you, sister

Frederika, you cannot get it any better than here in America, for

every day in America we eat white bread, cake and pannckock

Poffert [pancake] and syrup as much as we want, for all this

grows for us. Butter, if one has cows, costs nothing pasture

costs nothing and one can milk them at the door. This, of

course, is only a joke; do not feel offended by it, for it is not

meant that way by me. But that is the way it is here.

The wheat flour here is much better than in East Friesland, and

the reason is this: at the harvest it is much hotter here than in

East Friesland, and it ripens in a few days. Then it is put in

shocks, and the harvest is done. But enough of this. Now my

dear ones, you must know what to do. You must take counsel

yourselves. We would gladly see that you come to us, but if you

have regrets about it then I wish that I had not advised you to

come.

If you want to come over you must first inform us about it.

Then I shall write you how to begin your trip and what is neces-

sary for you to take along and even if you are not coming to us,

you must not wait as long as we waited, for I have not delayed

in giving you information. As you can see from the date which

is written at the beginning of this letter, but as soon as possible.]

I had almost forgotten that I had given Reent Janssen informa-

tion for you can tell him this—in my opinion it would be much

better for him and his family in America than in East Friesland.

For those who have enough money and property in East

Friesland need not come to America, but whoever in East

Friesland has to rent a place for 10 to 13M annually, and if

things go somewhat badly for him then, and if he has property

has to divide it. That one does not have to do here, as you can

see from my letter, but as the Apostle says, ―Who believes our

message and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed. Yes, for

most people it is not worth while to immigrate to America, and

therefore they rather postpone their opportunity and remain

where they are. But many people are uninformed and they can-

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

29

not know about it, if they do not want to believe what is

said about it.

But this you can believe me, that there is here on the prai-

rie not as much aristocracy as in East Friesland, but there

is no poverty to speak of, for everyone has bread in abun-

dance. Here in the neighborhood where we live there are

also wealthy people who own more than 1000 acres of

land in cultivation and have enough money besides, but

they do not think themselves greater than those who own

100 or 80 acres and one cannot distinguish them by their

clothes.

Money cannot help them for no one in Hardin County re-

gards them more than the others. Everyone is satisfied

with that which he has, and he has to treat those who have

less than he has fairly otherwise he cannot get anyone to

work for him. Here there is more equality than in East

Friesland, and if the circumstances in East Friesland were

such that everyone could get such land for a little money,

and ¾ of the population were no longer living there, then

you would talk in a different manner. Therefore, it would

be desirable that our people make up their minds and come

to America, for here lie thousands of uncultivated acres,

and who knows how many.

You can send this letter to Slewholt, and Slewholt must

bring it to Birhoff, and if Kramer goes past you, then greet

him for us and tell him that I have not forgotten him, and

that I shall write to him soon. Greet Hurhen for us all, and

if he wishes to read this letter then send this letter to him.

Greet all friends, Ebling, Werde, Gernten ?, D. Hochstraat,

and Lamerlo ?, especially our old Aunt Wetve ? Horse-

brock and family and (??). Sister Antje! I had almost for-

gotten her. She was sick when we left you. I wonder if

she has recovered from her illness and if this is the case,

that she gives due honor to the Lord, to whom all honor is

due, and this we can do through the strength of Christ.

Therefore, request the Lord to give you strength and this I

would advise you, all my friends and relatives, that like the

merchant in the gospel, you all seek the one pearl, namely

the pearl of great price and sell everything you have and

purchase the only thing which is necessary.]

Now I must quit writing for this time, and hope that this

letter finds you in good health. I can give you no informa-

tion about the family that lives in Illinois for we are at a

distance of 50 to 60 hours from them. Now, my dear ones,

write to us soon. Whoever desires to come over to us, will

do best if he comes in spring. Our address is as follows:

To R.B. Rykena, Lethopolis, Hardin County, Iowa, United

States, North America. Again, hearty greetings from all of

us, and write to us soon.

Your brother and sister, besides children R.B. Rykena

Hardin County, State Iowa

21st January, 1865 / Translated Nov. 18, 1993

If You… Okay, I challenged you to get your children and, if you have them,

grandchildren involved in history. If you don‘t have children of your

own, buy a book for a niece or nephew, but you may want to read them,

too! These books are written in a way that draws the reader into a spe-

cific time frame.

Have a story night once every week where you read from one of these

books. Or if you babysit grandchildren—read one to them when you stay

with them. Live too far away? Read to them via tape cassette or web-

cam! You can find these books in libraries, school book fairs, used and

new book stores and on amazon.com or barnesandnoble.com, too. You

might be the catalyst for introducing a child to history—and maybe even

to become a professor of history!

These are some of my favorite books for children—and easily read by a

3rd, 4th or 5th grader—but the topics are not quite that simple and there

is a great deal of history in them written in a way that makes it interest-

ing. Last year there was a book review about the children‘s book If Your

Name was Changed on Ellis Island, but there are many more books in

that series. If you have not read that one, look for a copy! Go to a

bookstore, find a comfy chair and read it while you are there!

If You Lived 100 Years Ago (McGovern, Ann)—it‘s a great look at his-

tory from a personal standpoint. Where did the rich, poor and middle

class live? Where did people sleep? What good were clotheslines?

What did they wear and look like? What did things cost in the 1890‘s?

What did they eat and do for fun? What was fun and cost 10 cents or

less? Doctors, cars, occupations, school, child labor and more! This is a

very small sampling of the topics that are covered.

If your ancestors immigrated to the U.S. in the 1880-1900 era, you must

get this book. YOU will want to read it, too!

If You Were a Pioneer on the Prairie (Kamma, Anne)—what was the

prairie like? Why did people want to come to the prairie? How would

you build your house? What was it like to live in a dugout? How did the

pioneers keep their food from spoiling? What did they eat, wear and do

to have fun? Would you get lonely? Pioneer tricks? How did you stay

warm? Why were the farmers afraid of grasshoppers? What were wind-

mills used for? Our ancestors lived this life—what better way can you

find to tell these stories?

Some of the other books in this Scholastic Publishing series include:

If You Traveled West in a Covered Wagon

If You Lived with the Sioux Indians

If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620

If You Traveled the Underground Railroad

If you Lived in Colonial Times

If You Lived During the American Revolution

If You Lived at the Time of the Civil War

If You Lived at the Time of Abraham Lincoln

There is an index in the back of them and in some books there are other

resources for additional information.

You can also check out Scholastic Publishing at:

http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/index.jsp

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

30

MEMBERSHIP

INFORMATION Welcome to OGSA!

Do you have a new address, address correction? Please let

us know!

Do you know someone who might like a sample copy of our

newsletter? There is a sample on the home page of our web-

stie—www.ogsa.us. This is one way we find new members!

Barnes, Kelly, 6742 Moss Creek Place, Indianapolis, IN 46237,

(317) 791-8323 KLb4@yahoo.com, Researching: Rohlf, Lűbke,

Janβen/Janssen (Rispel/Rispeler), DeFries/DeVries, Schwei

(Halbemond, Norden), Siekmann (Muggenkrug, Hoven, Warden-

barg, Oldenburg)

Beekman, John; 4404 West Kings Row, Muncie, IN 47304;

jjbeekman@cs.com; 765-288-2479. Researching: Beekman

(Weener, Tergast, Nuttermore), Kok (Potshausen), Goemann

(Weener), Thedinga (Kloster Thedinga)

Borde, Audrey K., 1316 N. Sibley, Metairie, LA 70003; 504-467-

4624; Researching: Heikamp, Boomgaarden (Leer, Neus-

tadtgödens)

Dohlmann, Paul, 67677-250th St. #30, Colo, IA 50056 641-377-

3120; Researching: Jűrgens (Visquard/Emden);Feikes/

Dohlmann (Campen, Loquard); Meyer (Wirdum); Kampmeier

(Oldersum); Mennenga (Uphusen); van Böhning (Uphusen)

Hahn, Angela E. Thaden, 20835 Boca Chica Heights, Pueblo

CO 81008; Researching: Thaden (Dornum), Croon

(Wittmund), Gerdes (Lütetsburg), Schuster (Norden)

Henkel, Ceres, 1120 6th Street, Fairbury, NE 68352

Magee, Greta, 4221 Briarwood Drive, Cedar Falls, IA 50613

(319) 277-5448 gfmagee@yahoo.com, Researching: Hook/Hoek

(Weener) Roskamp, (Bunderhammrich, Landschaftspolder),

Reuter/Reuter (Simonswolde), Willems/Kuchje (Freepsum, Wo-

quard)

Maggs, Jean M., 8700 River Trace, Roswell, GA 30076; 678-

923-1700; Researching: Siebolds (Weene/Norden); Grundmann,

Egbert, Alfs, Lange (Ganderkesee)

Niemeyer, Kathy; PO Box 403, Clara City, MN 56222; kmanie-

meyer@yahoo.com; 320-847-2579. Researching: Dieken, Nie-

meyer, Gerdes, Boike, Broers, Van der Heyden, Klinghagen,

Aeikens, Harms, Beckmann

Ocando, Marilynne; 7319 Summerwind Circle, Laurel, NC

20707 Ramberg, Pat, 4004 Crestwood Place, White Bear Lake, MN

55110 (615) 653-0195 pptzk0520@gmail.com

Researching: Cornelssen, Gerdes, Heyen, Groden, Behrends,

Cassens, Knalson/Knelsen (Hohenkirchen, Pakens, Wittmund,

Jever, Carolinensiel)

Reinders, John E.; 5606 Castlebury Court, Burke, VA 22015;

jreind@aol.com; 703-978-1769. Researching: Reinders

(Strackholt), Dirks (Aurich-Oldendorf)

Sherman, Ted, 1772 Highland Parkway, St. Paul, MN 55116;

651-698-7109; TedSherman@Target.com

New Addresses, Phone Numbers, Emails or Corrections Asche, Clarence: 5520 Regis Trail NE, Fridley, MN 55342

Cantwell, Margaret: 312 E Greenwood St., Toulon IL 61483

Conrad, Mary Ann, 1095 Silvercrest Circle #313,

Iowa City, IA 52240; phone 310-512-0098

Freesemann, Gretchen, freesemg@mchsi.com

Gerdes, Gerald, 402-423-7118

Giesen, James, 2020 Ione Street, Sacramento, CA

Guelke, Jeanne Kay, jkg@wynndel.ca; RR 1, Site 15A, Box

4, Wynndel, BC V0B 2N0 Canada; Phone 250-402-3791

Hanson, Darlene, 320-986-2784

Henning, Barbara, bevingje@gmail.com

Henrichs, Henry J., 2375 Peters Rd., Ann Arbor, MI 48103

Hensley, Norman, 256-215-4028

Holden, Mary Ann, 350 W. Schaumburg Rd., Apt. D-354,

Schaumburg, IL 60194; 847-884-5708

Janssen, Gene, genejanssen@comcast.net

Person, Marilu, 16233 Half St. SE

Rippentrop, Randy, 832-585-0027

Risius, Arlene – 509 Second St. SW, Buffalo Center, IA

50424; 641-562-2911

Smith, Barbara, myronsmith@windstream.net

Wiekert, Nanke R., 11777 Monroe St. NE, Blaine MN 55434

Donations Small or large, we want you to know that we value your dona-

tions. Thanks to the following for adding a donation to their

membership renewal!

Beverly Webster Jill Morelli

Glenda Mattes Les & Shirley Harms

Al Folkers William Christopher

Bette Browning Mickey Peterson

Jean Haemig Mardelle DeCamp

Robert Cassens Mary Ann Conrad

Cindy Mohr George Rust

Paul Schmitt Carol Spessard

Deanne Turja Rene Van Gerpen

Nancy Grant Mona Marshik

Diane Haynes Charles Hundling

John Reinders Kathy Niemeyer

Steven Read Muriel Parker

Sharon Myers Mark Tooren

Margaret Freeman Ron Stahlberg

Will Duitsman Jerry Bartell

Jean Goljenboom

Don & Karen Soeken—Large monetary donation

Gene Janssen ―Anniversay Book for Immanuel Lutheran

Church, Flatville IL ―100 Years of God’s Presence‖.

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

Schmitt, Donald M., 508 Old Tracy Rd., Mountain Home AR

72653; 719-248-7881; email: dks508-7881 Researching:

Monk, Duis, Post, Uncan, Van Westen, Baumann, Obert

South, Libbie, 1180 Jostes Rd., Rochester IL 62563; 217-498-

8616 e-mail: elsouth@springnet1.com Researching: Harms,

Janssen, Ortgiesen (Etzel), Cordes, Helmerichs (Horsten),

Tiarks (Altgödens)

31

UPCOMING ISSUES WILL INCLUDE:

Amt Leer and it’s Villages

Prussian and Landschaftspolder

Hinte

Newspapers & Local News

Courthouse Finds!

Primary & Secondary Sources

Poetry of Annemarie Neuber

The Best Advice…

Local News Columns—History or Gossip?

U.S. Township Records

German-Ostfriesen Terminology

The Island of Spiekeroog

Die Ostfriesische Nachrichten—a goldmine of informa-tion

Missionaries to Ostfriesland

I l l inois Centra l Rai lroad

The Illinois Central Railroad was the first great

railroad network planned in the Midwest, and the

company was a leader in facilitating the develop-

ment of Illinois and the region. The system began

with its primary function being the transportation

of coal from Illinois and Kentucky, but grew in

importance for the delivery of agricultural and

manufactured goods, and passengers as well.

The railroad was chartered on February 10, 1851,

and opened its first section from Chicago in May,

1852. By 1856 it was the longest railroad in the

world. Eventually, by the late 1800s, the Illinois

Central extended as far as Albert Lea, Minnesota

and Baton Rouge, Louisiana (see map). In the

1900s the line reached west to South Dakota, south

to New Orleans and Miami, east to Indianapolis,

and north to Madison.

Today, the Illinois Central, while not as dominant

as it once was, remains as a major rail carrier in

Illinois and the region. Source: Modelski, Andrew

M., Railroad Maps of North America, 1984

Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America, January 2010

Takin’ our show on the road…

The 2010 OGSA Conference

August 1-5 in Cedar Falls, IA Did you know: Hardin County has a great winery & we will visit it!

Grundy County has QUILT BARNS?

Sunday—Invite your family and friends to an open house

Ostfriesen Tea Party!

A wonderful opportunity to introduce everyone to

Ostfriesland!

Beautiful Ostfriesian Tea Sets—a one of a kind display!

Lillian Marks and Lin Strong will set tables for an Ost-

friesen tea party!

Ostfriesland in Art—Pictures & Drawings!

Do you know where the NE Iowa Ghost Towns are located?

Noted Ostfriesian historians and speakers

Ostfriesen History, Culture, Customs & Genealogy, too!

A full research library for your use—including longer hours

and research help for you.

Mini sessions on a variety of subjects!

A beautiful convention center that we will not have to share!

Door prizes, a silent auction and loads of fun!

Watch your mail for more information!

You will not want to miss this event!

32

OSTFRIESEN GENEALOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA

1670 South Robert Street, #333, West St. Paul, MN 55118

Address Service Requested

U.S.POSTAGE

PAID

PERMIT NO. #21

2010 OGSA Programs - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Saturday, January 30, 2010 Special Program & Annual Meeting / Minnesota Genealogical Society Auditorium 10 a.m.—Program - OGSA Resources & How to Best Use Them! Noon—Pot luck lunch BBQ hamburgers and beverages provided, bring a dish to share. 1:30 p.m.—Annual Meeting Library is open until 4 p.m. for research. Research help is available. Come for a few hours or all day!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Saturday, May 1, 2010 Movie Time! Come for a couple of hours or all day! Mn.Genealogical Society Auditorium 10 a.m.—Ostfriesland 1866-1946 11:15 a.m.—Window on the Moor (The life of the moor colonists) 12:30 p.m.—Brookmerland (Communities of Marienhafe, Osteel, Rechtsupweg, Leezdorf & Upgrant Schott) 2 p.m.—Südliches Ostfriesland — the moor area south of Leer 3:15 p.m.—Emden & It’s Surrounding Communities Dinner at a German Restaurant 5 p.m.—Let us know if you wish to join us.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Sunday—Thursday, August 1-5, 2010

OGSA Conference, Park Place Event Center, Cedar Falls, IA Pastor Jurgen & Andrea Hoogstraat—Featured Speakers Optional daily tours into the Iowa Countryside visiting Ostfriesen colonies, churches, museums. mini-sessions, research library, picnic with Bosseln and Bohnensuppe; special entertainment, door prizes, art show and a great silent auction, too! Watch for brochures to be sent in January! Discounts for early registration!