Author: Amy Klemke Uehara

 

 

Our friend, BILLY GENSMER, of Wisconsin has written about his family and his journey to the Oderbruch area, west and east of the Oder/Odra River in 1999 and again in 2000. It seems that his 1999 trip was just a few weeks apart from that of Amy KLEMKE Uehara’s the same year. It would have been great to meet there as we have much in common.
We are quite impressed that as a young man, he drove across Germany and into Poland on his own without any car navigation assistance!
During his trips he discovers much about the families that emigrated from the area to the USA between 1846 and 1851.  
Surnames mentioned are: GENSMER; GENZMER; GENTZMER; KASTNER; HERWYEN; SPIREK; DEWITZ; DORN; DAHRENDT; DAHRENS; DORNFELD; DORNFELDT; METZKE; MATZKE; JAHANEN; JAHANES; MEIERS; STANTZ; STANZ; PASCHE; STEINBACH; HILKE; KIESE; VOIGT; MELCHER; MELCHERT; ROEHMILDT.

 

 

My family GENSMER (German spelling GENZMER/GENTZMER) came from the Oderbruch area to Dodge County, Wisconsin between 1846 and 1851. I visited the area in 1999 and 2000.
 
This is my direct line of ancestors:
 
Martin (Gottfried) GENZMER (ca 1788 to ca 1860) and Dorothea  DEWITZ(ca 1788 to ca 1860) both from Alt Rüdnitz, both came with son Martin F. and his family in 1851, both died in Wisconsin and we are unsure on the dates.
 
Martin Freidrich GENZMER(1809-1902) and Caroline KASTNER (1810 to 1907) Caroline came from Hohen-Kraenig, just east of Schwedt.
 
Paul Ferdinand (P.F.) GENSMER (1849-1914) and Maria Dorn (1850-1914) Maria’s family was from Nahausen or Nauhausen, a few miles northeast of Hohen-Kraenig.
 
John Ludwig GENSMER (1880 to 1971) and Emma Van HERWYEN (1884-1965)
 
Victor William Ferdinand GENSMER (1927-2007) and Joyce Irene SPIREK(1939-2007)

 

I was born in 1979, as you can see I have quite a few double generation gaps in my family, making me only a third generation American, as my great grandpa (P.F.) was born in Alt Rüdnitz and came over on the ship at the age of 2.
 
Some other surnames in my direct line from that area are: KASTNER, DEWITZ, DORN (also spelled DAHRENDT or DAHRENS, possibly even DORNFELD or DORNFELDT), METZKE or MATZKE, JAHANEN or JAHANES, MEIERS, STANTZ or STANZ.
 
Other Families that intermarried with the GENZMERS include PASCHE, STEINBACH, HILKE, KIESE, VOIGT, MELCHER or MELCHERT, ROEHMILDT, many more than I can think of off hand.
 
Prior to the dawn of the Internet, I didn’t know much about my family history at all, other than what the old folks remembered that had been passed down. Luckily, I have one set of grandparents, two sets of great grandparents and one set of gr gr grandparents buried in the same cemetery near Bethany, MN. Martin (1809-1902) and Caroline (KASTNER) GENSMER (1810-1907) were my gr gr Grandparents. My dad seemed to know that Martin was also the name of Martin’s father, and that they came to Wisconsin before moving to Minnesota but that’s about it.

 

My gr great Aunt Maria GENSMER(daughter of Martin and Caroline) married Traugott ROEHMILDT, possibly when the family was still living in Wisconsin in the 1850s… eventually they wound up in the Waterville/Elysian Minnesota area. This move to Minnesota is supposedly what convinced my gr gr grandparents Martin and Caroline to move to Winona County Minnesota with the younger children in 1861. The land west of the Mississippi River had more open prairie suitable for farming…the land in Southeast Wisconsin where they originally settled was dense forests and required an incredible amount of clearing.
 
My dad told me stories of my grandpa John taking fishing trips to that area of MN (Waterville/Elysian ) and to visit relatives. Maria was the oldest of Martin and Carolines children, born around 1831, and My great grandpa Paul Ferdinand was the youngest, born in 1849. If I remember right, Maria lived to a very old age like her parents, into the 90s. Her younger brother PF did not fare so well. Him and his wife (Maria DORN) both died in 1918, within months of each other.
 
Two of my older uncles, now long dead, actually remembered P.F. a little, and they described him as a short, stalky man who used to spend a great deal of time in the spring and summer lounging in his hammock in the front yard of his farm.
 
This is getting off subject, but the little Lutheran Church that PF and some of his close friends and relatives built, just down the road from his farm, celebrated it’s 140th anniversary this past Sunday.(Aug. 19th 2018)

 

According to one of our old family tree histories, My own Great Great Great grandfather, Gottfried Martin GENZMER, was captured by the French Army around 1810, he escaped, only to be recaptured and sent to a French prison camp for nearly 7 years. This may explain why there is a nearly 9 year gap in the age of his two oldest sons, Martin (1809) and Johann (1817). The whole experience was said to have a very negative effect on him psychologically.
 
Getting back to my first visit to Alt Rüdnitz, I will certainly say that it was a rewarding experience to stand on the same land that my ancestors called home so long ago, and being the first one in my direct line to set foot there in nearly 150 years. I wish some of those hills and buildings could talk and tell the whole story. I have to remind myself of why they chose to leave to begin with, nearly constant war, famine, and religious conflict.

 

My first trip to the area was in December 23rd and 24th 1999, when I served in the U.S. Army. It was cold, dreary, cloudy, icy, and even less daylight than I was used to at home in Minnesota. I drove to Berlin the night of the 23rd, and stayed overnight as it was a long drive from where I was stationed in Babenhausen (Babenhausen is about 30 miles Southeast of Frankfurt am Main). I got a lot of strange looks from the local people as I got farther northeast city of Berlin, from Germans and Poles alike, being by myself, with my high and tight haircut and old BMW with “USA” on the plates.
 
I got a bit nervous as I drove through Hohenwutzen, the last town before my border crossing into Poland. I was alone, and truly on my own, and what I was doing wasn’t truly “legal”, as military members are not supposed to travel more than a few hours from where they are stationed, or cross a boarder without a pass from our chain of command.
 
The customs agent on the German side was on the phone and listening to the radio. He was pretty involved in whatever he was on the phone talking about, and barely batted an eye at me. He looked at my passport and just said “ok”, handing it back to me and continued on with his phone conversation. The guard on the Polish side was a bit more inquisitive, but did not speak very good English. He did not seem to understand my reason for being there, and eventually just stamped my passport and said “ok, have nice day” and let me drive on.
 
The first building that greeted me was a McDonalds, small world I thought to myself. I made the hard right turn onto route 126 and continued along the Oder river. What was striking was how much the land reminded me of home. My older relatives always told us, how old folks that were still alive in their generation said that Minnesota and Wisconsin was a lot like Germany. The low lands and wet lands along the Polish side of the Oder are surrounded by hills and steep valleys with small streams that feed into the river, very similar to the land in extreme Southeast MN.
 
I drove through the former German town of Alt Custrinschen and came up to the Stara Rudnica sign. I stopped to snap a few pictures and drove farther into town. Not much of a town I thought to myself. There was a little church in center of town, a school, a bus stop, and possibly a city hall or some government building…The rest of the town was a strewn mix of somewhat modern Polish house and dilapidated and long abandoned German houses and buildings. The evidence of World War II and Soviet control for over 40 years was still strong.
 
I noticed lights on in the church, and thought I would sneak inside. It turns out some of the local children were inside practicing for a Christmas Service. One of the ladies approached me eventually and asked me if I needed something. Forget about speaking English, I had to communicate in what little broken German I knew. (Most people living along the border are at least somewhat bilingual) She led me over to what I assumed was the parsonage, and I spoke with an older lady (more than likely the pastors wife) who communicated what she could about the history of the town prior to the war. I tried to ask her if this was the only church that was ever here, she seemed to say that there were 3 or possibly 4 churches there at some point. I am not sure about 3 or 4, but there was in fact a much larger Evangelische Church, with a tall clock and bell tower, clearly visible in some old post cards I have found online. It was that church she was describing to me….the large church mostly survived the war but had a lot of damage, so the Poles that resettled the area tore it down and used the bricks to repair some of the other houses and buildings that could be salvaged.
 
She seemed to suggest that the little church I visited was built or rebuilt around the time of the war also, but in the old photos around 1900 it is there, and always labeled Luther-Kirche (Lutheran church). And in those photos it look much the same as it does now. I am kicking myself today for not getting some pictures of the inside of the church, but I was kind of distracting the kids. The church was built around 1841, at one point I found an old German newspaper online, describing my gr gr gr uncle Christian GENZMERand his wife buying pieces for the alter and the organ around that time, they were at one of the towns closer to Frankfurt/Oder transporting them. It would be nice to know whether or not that is the original Lutheran church from that time.
 
I also tried asking her if there were any cemeteries surviving from that time, she seemed to say there were a few graves left but the Red Army pretty much robbed and destroyed everything they came across. She didn’t seem to want to tell me where it was, or tell me much more, I got the feeling she didn’t want me snooping around in the woods. Maybe for good reason, in the 1950s a few kids died by accidentally detonating a bomb from World War II.

 

As the day got a little brighter, I decided to continue northeast on the road that lead to Grüneberg (Golice). The road was paved at first, then turned to old cobblestone, then rough cobblestone, then a mix of gravel and icy lopsided cobblestone tracks as I got deeper into the woods. A rusted curve sign confirmed that yes, this was an actual road. I starting thinking to myself that maybe this whole thing wasn’t such a good idea, but eventually I came up a hill and back to pavement, and what the Polish consider civilization. I snapped a few pictures of the outside of the tiny church there, and decided to drive toward Zehden (Cydenia).

 

My gr great Aunt Maria GENSMER (daughter of Martin and Caroline) is listed as being born there.  Other than that, I am not really sure what connection Grüneberg really would have to our family. Most of the Germans from that time in that area were fisherman and farmers, and possibly miners.

 

I remember there being a large monestary or cloister on the hill overlooking the town, then I descended a long steep hill into town.
 
By this point the clouds were breaking and bright sun seemed to make the countryside seem a lot more alive.
 
I stopped at a museum in Zehden, and talked to an older man who was already celebrating Christmas early (I could tell he was pretty drunk, but he was friendly enough). He seemed to want to talk more about some ancient graves that were found scattered across that entire countryside, probably dating back to before the Roman Empire. He wasn’t much help for what I was looking for. He was very adamant that he hated the Russians, and how he lived under communist rule for decades; that he made clear.
 
At some point, I went to the Polish Military Cemetery/War Memorial in Siekierki (formerly Zäckerick) and snapped a few pictures. I am having trouble now remembering in what order I did some of these things.
 
I also went to that monument just east of Niederwutzen (Osinow Dolny, the border crossing ), the one that has the sculpture of the eagle on a pedestal with all the steps leading up to it. It is a victory memorial of a Polish battle from around the 10th century AD., I believe they were fighting against Germanic tribes.
 
To be honest I can’t even remember if I drove through Königsberg (Chonja) on my first trip. I wish I would have spent more time and been more organized, daylight was really in short supply.
 
The last place I went to before leaving Poland was Krajnik Gorny (Hohenkränig). This is the town where all of my KASTNER ancestors supposedly came from. I managed to get a picture of the outside of the little church in the middle of town, but the sun was already close to setting.
 
That is where my journey ended the first time, I crossed into Schwedt on the German side as the sun was setting and began the long drive “home” to Babenhausen.
 
I also came back in May 2000. I did some visiting with two pastors on the German side of the river in Neu Custrinschen and Neu Lietzegöricke.

 

I stayed at a motel in Bad Freienwalde. I got to talking with the hotel manager (Heiko GROGER?) about genealogy and the history of the area, and he connected me with 2 church Pastors in the area. One was in Neu Lietzegöricke, the other in Neuküstrinchen.

 

I don’t remember much about the pastor in Neu Lietzegöricke, but I think I was at the parsonage in town and not the the church itself. He had the old Kirchenbucher (Church books), some dating well back to the 1800s. He actually remembered and had known a few people with my surname living in the area, some of whom were in his congregation or neighboring congregations at one time. A few of them had originally lived on the east side of the Oder in or near Alt Lietzegöricke. None of them were still living.

 

The thing too, is that GENZMER is not that uncommon of a name in Germany. It’s not as common as a Johnson or a Smith in England, but the name GENZMER is scattered over all parts of Germany. Until recently, GENSMERs in the U.S. seemed to mostly stick to certain parts of Wisconsin, Minnesota, the Dakotas, and Pennsylvania.

 

Going to Neuküstrinchen, I visited with a Pastor SCHNEIDER. He lived directly across the street from the big church in Neuküstrinchen, called “Dom des Oderbruchs” (Cathedral of the Oderbruch)

 

A very friendly and helpful older gentleman, he got out the old Kirchenbucher just like the last guy. A few scattered people over the last 150 or so years with my last name, some of them from the Alt Custrinchen area as well, that’s about it.

 

What was more interesting here was the church itself. A huge brick cruciformed church that basically dwarfs the rest of this tiny little town. The history of the congregation dates well back into the 1700s. Pastor SCHNEIDER also showed me some paintings of the church building that stood here prior to the brick structure.

 

The inside was also amazing. Huge organ, large hanging lighted chandelier. The church seems much bigger on the inside.

 

The outside of the church has various small war monuments dedicated to the incredible loss of life suffered at the end of World War II. Pastor SCHNEIDER showed me some battle scars the church had received in World war World War II that had long been repaired. One part of the southern wall was mortared pretty badly in the war, I believe he said the church had some pretty bad roof damage as well.

 

 

 

WURL INFORMATION – Research by Dicksie Knight May

Photo of the author Dicksie Knight May in front of the WURL Ranch, Larimer County, Colorado. The Wurl Ranch is on the National and State Register. The buildings were built between 1880 and 1883, and was operated by the WURL family until 1936. Photo taken in December, 2018 by Brandi Morgan Photography LLC.

 

Wilhelm WURL (1821-1894) + Caroline Wilhelmine GABRIEL (1826-1906) Alt Custrinchen, Prussia. Both died in Laramie, WY. These are my My great-great-grandparents who, along with their children and spouses, traveled directly to the US in 1879 and 1880. 

 

1. Caroline Maria WURL (1846-1923) + Friedrich Carl BORGEMANN aka BERGEMAN (1842-1904). Information on Caroline states she was born in Brandenburg, but family members believe both were born in Alt Custrinchen. Married in Prussia. Came over in 1880 on the ship Main. Both died in Laramie, WY. Children born in Prussia: Friedrich August (1876) Brandenburg Marie Louise Caroline BORGEMANN (1877) Brandenburg. 

 

2. Frederick Wilhelm aka William WURL (1847-1923) + Louisa Augusta PAHL (1852-1923) Married in Prussia. Came over in 1880 on the ship Main. Both died in Laramie, WY. Both died in Laramie and it appears they were born in Alt Custrinchen, but no proof. Children born in Germany/Prussia: Wilhelm aka William Friedrich WURL (1876) Franz aka Frank Louie WURL (1878) and Herm (? baby on ship list). Herm died on the train just before arriving in Laramie, WY according to newspaper article. More children born in Wyoming as follows: Frederick “Fred” August WURL and Emma Augusta WURL. 

 

3. Amelia Luise aka Louise Augusta WURL (1850-1914) Alt Custrinchen + Paul Ludwig ala Louis PILGER, Berlin. Married in Prussia. Came to the US in 1879. Both died in Laramie, WY. Child born in Germany was Frederick aka Fred PILGER (1874). Children Born in Wyoming: Anna Luise PILGER; Wilhelm PILGER and Minna (Minnie) Eliza PILGER.

 

4. Johann Ludwig aka Louis WURL (1852-1898) + Minnie KRENSKE (married in Laramie, WY). Served as an Albany Country Representative in the 2nd Wyoming Legislature. Minnie died in Laramie, WY (was murdered) and Louis died in South Africa. He confessed to murdering his wife to Mrs. Otto KREUGER aka Marie Luise ROESLER who went to South Africa with him that he murdered his wife and he committed suicide because she said he couldn’t live with the guilt he felt about the murder.

 

5. August Frederick William WURL (1859-1912) Alt Custrinchen + Louisa Maria MATTHES born Germany. Married in Cuming County, NE. Children all born in Wyoming. Lived in Laramie, WY and Larimer County, CO (about 30 miles south of Laramie just across the Wyoming/Colorado State line. Children born in Wyoming and Nebraska: William A. F. WURL, Maria Louisa Caroline “Louise” WURL KOCH; Franz “Frank” Ludwig WURL; Otto Emil WURL; Ida Helen WURL JOHNSON; Fannie Martha WURL HEINEMANN; Heinrich “Henry; WURL.
MATTHES: Johann Christian “Ferdinand” MATTHES (born 24 Oct 1834 at Alt Rüdnitz, Brandenburg, Germany) + Marie aka Marea WOLLIN (1835 at Kronheide, Pommern, Germany. (My great great grandparents).
Married: at Kronheide, Pommern, Germany Children born in Germany:
1. Auguste aka Augusta Wilhelmine MATTHES, (1859-1918) Kronheide, Pommern, Prussia + Charles aka Karl SCHULZ. Augusta died at Lincoln, NE.
2. Franz aka Frank Julius Herman MATTHES (1862-1944) Kronheide, Pommern, Germany + Ida HELLER. Frank died at Cuming County, NE. 
3. Louisa (Louise) Marie MATTHES (1866- . . . She stated she was born in Castrenika?,? Germany + August WURL (1859- 1912) Alt Custrinchen, Prussia. Both died at Laramie, WY. (My great grandparents)
Children born in Nebraska:
4. August MATTHES + Paulene WERBLOW
5. Eda MATTHES
6. Otto MATTHES
One record here in the US states that Maria and Ferdinand had 12 children, but only the above 3 came with them to the United States. After arriving here they had 3 more children so there are 6 children not accounted for. DOCUMENTATION IN THE COLLECTION OF DICKSIE KNIGHT MAY. Lois E. SCHULTZ of Wisner, NE, did the research and provided me with Family Group Sheets and all of the church information from Cuming County pertaining to Ferdinand and Maria WOLLIN MATTHES and their descendents in June of 1983.

Update (2020/19/6): 

Yesterday my brother, John PORTER, Shirley LILLEY, and I drove out to the ranch homesteaded by my great and great great grandfathers, August ( Louisa MATTHES) and Wilhelm WURL(Carolina GABRIEL), who built all of these buildings. This place is on the Colorado Historic register. The ranch was in our family 50+ years and is where my grandmother, Ida WURL JOHNSON, was raised. A teacher lived with them for the first few years of their education plus the family owned a home in

Laramie at 202 Cedar where the children received more education.

 

 

Ferdinand Christian Johann MATTHES, aka Fred. aka Johann Ferdinand and Christian Ferdinand.

Born: 24 Oct 1835at Alt Rüdnitz/Rüednitz, Brandenburg, Germany Died: 4 Jan 1921, Tabatha Home in Lincoln, NE.

Buried 6 Jan 1921: Wisner, Cuming, NE. 

Married: Marie aka Marea WOLLIN (spellings found in Cuming County records: WOLLIN, /WOLLEN, & WOULIN by Lois Schultz).Gravestone lists her name as Marea WOLLIN

Born: 26 August 1835 at Kronheide, Pommern, Germany.

Married: 17 April 1856 at Kronheide, Pommern, Germany

Buried 1913: Wisner, Cuming, NE. 
They came to the US in 1867 with three of the following children born in Germany:
1. Auguste Wilhelmine MATTHES, born 24 January 1859, Kronheide, Pommern, Prussia. Augusta married Charles Schulz/Schultz on 14 Oct 1878. Their child was Anna Augusta (1884-1888). Another child may have been Ida Schulz. 
2. Franz Julius Herman MATTHES born 6 Dec 1862 at Kronheide, Pommern, Germany. He married Ida Matilde Terese HELLER on 4 Jun 1888. She was the daughter of Fred HELLER and Marie DABERKOW.
3. Louisa (Louise) Marie MATTHES born 23 Aug 1866 . . . Louisa is my great grandmother and I have not discovered exactly where she was born. One record here in the United States she put down she was born in Castrenika, Germany, and I have not been able to find out of anything about this place.
NOTE: The Castrenika was written by later years by Louisa so am wondering if she meant Cüstrinchen??? Louisa was only 6 months old when they left Germany and came to the United States probably around Feb of 1867, but I have not found a passenger list with them on it. Louisa married August WURL who was born in Alt Cüstrinchen, Prussia on 16 April 1885 at Wisner, Cuming, NE.
NOTE: It is believed the WURL and MATTHES families knew each other in Alt Cüstrinchen and/or Alt Rüdnitz prior to coming to America. The WURL family attended the Lutheran church in Alt Rüdnitz where they were confirmed. Dicksie KNIGHT MAY has the WURL church records in her collection.
4. August Ludwig MATTHES born 24 Jan 1869 at Cuming County, NE. He married Pauline WERBLOW. August died 3 Jan 1951 at Altona, Wayne, NE.
5. Eda “Ida” Helene MATTHES was born 1 Aug 1871 at Cuming County, NE. She died 5 Jun 1888 at Wisner, Cuming, NE. 
6. Otto E. MATTHES born ca 1875 at Cuming County, NE. He died on 5 Jun 1888 at Wisner, Cuming, NE. FOLLOWING ARE NOTES ON THE MATTHES FAMILY OF CUMING COUNTY, NE.
It is stated in Wisner newspaper articles about Ferdinand and Maria’s 50th wedding anniversary and their obituaries that they came to the United States in 1867. According to statements by my great grandmother, Louisa MATTHES WURL, she was 6 months old when they traveled to the United States.
Ferdinand MATTHES had a brother named John MATTHES of Bloomfield according to their 50th Wedding Anniversary newspaper article which appeared about their 50th Wedding Anniversary on April 17, 1906 at Wisner.
The following information is from Wisner News-Chronicle, July 9, 1959 to me by Lois SCHULZ (Ida and Otto died as a result of a tragedy near Wisner).

The date of the tragedy was June 5 1888. On that day five people drowned in the Elkhorn River, south of Wisner. It was the day following the marriage of Frank and Ida HELLER MATTHES which had occurred at the Fred HELLER farm. The bridge had collapsed on the river so Mrs. Ferdinand MATTHES, Mrs. Augusta MATTHES SHULZ and her daughter, Annie, who was about 5 years old , August, Otto and Lena MATTHES and Frank MARX. Fred KOEHLER manned the boat and he had asked Andy PETERSON, then a small boy to accompany him. Nine persons were on the boat which was guided across the river by a rope cable but in some way the rushing waters caught the boat off balance and capsized it, throwing the entire occupants into the torrent. . . . Mrs. MATTHES . . . was rescued. Fred KOEHLER . . .was saved. Augusta SCHULZ and August MATTHES . . . and there rescue parties got them. Lena MATTHES and Frank MARX drifted further down the river. The little girl (Ida) and Otto MATTHES were lost and their bodies never recovered. Andy Peterson swam to the south shore . . . .

 

According to newspaper accounts on Ferdinand and Maria they had 12 children, but there is only proof of the 6 children who lived at and settled in Cuming County, NE where Ferdinand owned a farm that is still in the family.
Through discussions with other family historians in the US I have came up with the idea that my WOLLIN/MATTHES family may have taken a ship from Stetten as according to the history I have learned about that time period many traveled from Stetten to the United States, but I have not found any records yet. It is believed the WURL family in Wyoming and MATTHES family who settled in Cuming County, NE, knew each other in Alt Cüstrinchen and/or Alt Rüdnitz prior to coming to America.
The WURL family attended the Lutheran church in Alt Rüdnitz where they were confirmed. Dicksie KNIGHT MAY has the WURL church records in her collection. My great grandfather, August WURL, traveled 500 miles from Laramie, WY, to Cuming County, NE to claim his bride, Louisa MATTHES. Even though the MATTHES family came to the US in 1867 when according to my family Louisa was 6 months old it appears that the families knew each other before either one came to the United States . .

 

There is a chance that my MATTHES family is connected to the MATTHES families that are ancestors of Linda WASCHER. We suspect this, but have no proof as of yet.
DOCUMENTATION IN THE COLLECTION OF DICKSIE KNIGHT MAY. Lois E. SCHULTZ of Wisner, NE, did the research and provided me with Family Group Sheets and all of the church information from Cuming County pertaining to Ferdinand and Maria WOLLIN MATTHES and their descendents in June of 1983.

My name is David KNECHT, born Fayette County, Illinois, now living in East Lansing Michigan.

 

I am interested in exchanging information with anyone who has background about Alt Rüdnitz or Alt Kustrinchen, Prussia. My Great-Great-Grandmother, Johanna Wilhelmine PRUEGEL was born in Alt Rüdnitz on 30 August 1829 and my Great-Great-Grandfather Johann Friederich MALCHOW was born in Alt Kustrinchen on 13 July 1821, (see photo below).

 

Shown at right are Wilhelmine PRUEGEL and J. Fred MALCHOW, who were married in 1851.

 

Prior to their marriage he served in the Prussian Army, (two of his military documents are included below, one dated 1846, the other 1849).

 

After they married, they lived in Alt Kustrinchen, where three of their five children were born, (photos of three youngest follow).

 

In February of 1859, they immigrated to Dodge County, Wisconsin and settled on a farm in Theresa Township near Mayville.

Military Document 1

Military Document Two

 

In the spring of 1864, they were one of seven families to migrate by wagon caravan 350 miles south to what would later become known as the German Lutheran farming community called St. Paul, Illinois, (in Fayette County) which is where they are buried. Some other surnames from neighboring villages along the River Oder who settled in or around rural St. Paul, Illinois were as follows: BRANDT, HAGEN, KASTNER, SCHROEDER, RIEDLE, RUBIN, WOLLIN, WUEHLER and WURL.

 

From other nearby Prussian towns (Bernickow and Nahausen) came the following families to St. Paul, Illinois, namely;  FELLWOCK,  MAGNUS,  OERTWIG, SASSE and  SCHUKAR.

       Tombstones for Wilhelmine (PRUEGEL) and Johann F. MALCHOW 

(St. Paul Lutheran Church Cemetery, St. Paul, IL.)

 

 

Children of Wilhelmina (PRUEGEL) and J. Friederich MALCHOW

Their first three children were born in Alt Kustrinchen, Prussia namely; Augusta Wilhelmine MALCHOW, (April 1851- March 1934). Frederick John MALCHOW (February 1854 – July 1879) and Ludwig August MALCHOW, (March 1858 – March 1938).

We only have photos of their youngest three children, which follow.

Photos of Three Youngest Children

 

 

Ludwig A. MALCHOW
Born Alt Kustrinchen, Prussia
on 25 March 1858
Died St. Paul Illinois
on 27 March 1938

 

August H.  MALCHOW
Born Dodge County, WI.
on 27 April 1861
Died St. Paul, Illinois
on 06 May 1916

 

Bertha Anna MALCHOW
Born St. Paul, Illinois
on 03 March 1866
Died St. Paul Illinois
on 07 August 1952

 

I am a Great-Grandson of August H. MALCHOW

 

               Thank You           

 

My contact information follows:

E-Mail: Saluki1963@aol.com

David E. KNECHT

 

 

Backe backe Kuchen, a traditional German nursery rhyme about baking a cake, unites distant cousins across the seas and generations.

 

Backe, backe Kuchen,
Der Bäcker hat gerufen!
Wer will gute Kuchen backen,
Der muss haben sieben Sachen:
Eier und Schmalz,
Butter und Salz,
Milch und Mehl,
Safran macht den Kuchen gel’! (gelb)
Schieb in den Ofen ‘rein.
(Morgen muss er fertig sein.)

 

In the late 1920’s, early 1930’s, Don KLEMKE, a young boy in western Nebraska, learned this nursery rhyme from his father who was born in Scribner, Dodge County in eastern Nebraska and raised in a German-speaking community. The rhyme is said to originate around 1840.

 

M. Constantin, 6, a little boy in Brandenburg, Germany, sang the same nursery rhyme on his mother’s lap in 2016. 

 

Don, 89, in the USA, and M. Constantin, 6, in Germany, are cousins.

 

Both descend from the common ancestors, Johann Friedrich KLEMKE (1782-1845) and Dorothee Louise WEGENER (1793-1860) who had four sons and one daughter. This was a family of weavers and tailors from the Prussian town of Zäckerick in Kreis Königsberg, in the Neumark area of East Brandenburg east of the Oder River. Their fourth son, August Ludwig KLEMKE (1826-1903), is Don’s great-grandfather. He left Zäckerick in 1880 with his second wife, Caroline HERSE (1829-1923) and their three sons, Friedrich Constantin (1863-1943), Emil Herman (1866-1954) and August Theodore(1872-1948). Marie RICHNOW (1824-1870)was the mother of Constantin and Emil).Johann and Dorothee’s third son, Karl August (1822-1900), is little M. Constantin’s great-great-great grandfather.

 

While Don grew up hearing his father speak German with siblings and cousins in Nebraska and Wyoming, his father, Erich Hugo (1896-1967) (who was completely bilingual) did not speak German to Don nor intentionally teach him German. Don did not learn German in school. Nursery rhymes like Backe, backe Kuchen and words heard at family gatherings in Nebraska or Wyoming or learned from his readings are the extent of his German knowledge.

 

German communities in the USA often kept their German language in schools and in churches. During WWI and WWII, however, that changed and younger generations were encouraged to speak English and to integrate more and show their loyalty to their new country. Ties with families in their countries of origin became weaker in some cases.

 

There remains one photo of Don’s great-uncle, Friedrich Constantin, Emil Herman’s older brother, during a visit to Berlin and presumably visiting the towns of Zäckerick and Alt Rüdnitz in 1911 at age 48. Having left Zäckerick at the age of 16 in 1880, Friedrich Constantin would have had cousins, aunts and uncles still living there to meet.

 

 

The last KLEMKE tailor, Heinrich, was living in Zäckerick until 1945.

 

When the Soviet Union made its way toward Berlin and all Germans east of the Oder River fled west across the river and subsequently, the area east of the Oder River became western Poland with town names changing from German to Polish. The town of Zäckerick became Siekierki. Another town they had ties with, Alt Rüdnitz, became Stara Rudnica.

 

From 1945 until 1989, Germany was divided between West Germany and East Germany (GDR) where the connections were cut between the descendants of the 19th Century emigrants to other lands and their friends and family living behind the Berlin Wall. (Some families may have kept in touch somehow). Lives in both countries went on with children being born, attending school, parents working hard, birthdays, graduations, weddings and funerals. Travel between other Communist nations took place with cultural exchanges. Until 1961, when construction of the Berlin wall started, limited travel was possible between the two Berlins at least. That ceased upon completion.

 

In 1989, with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the opening up of communications with former East Germans, many people scrambled to find connections with long lost family. Genealogy groups sprang up and the Internet played a huge role in connecting people and finding ancestors. It was truly exciting.

 

In 1998, Don and his wife Betty (also from the same town of Minatare, Nebraska), and their daughter, Amy (married and living in Japan), set off on a genealogical adventure. Gathering names and information, they gained new insight to the history of their own family as well as those of other immigrants and both countries.

 

Don and Betty became genealogical detectives and went on a road trips to meet new cousins and see the towns in the USA they had read about. Much of their information came from descendants who had long been collecting letters, photos and data in nearby towns in the USA. Amy got much of her information from the German and US genealogical websites and through correspondence with knowledgeable researchers.

 

In November 1999, Amy had an opportunity to visit the Oder River and the former towns of Zäckerick and Alt Rüdnitz. She met Tobias and Ute KLEMKE for the first time in Berlin. (No direct connection has been found as of this writing) in Berlin. They drove across the Oder River where they held a small memorial ceremony and burned copies of photos of the ancestors from that area in the river near Alt Rüdnitz. It was very moving as Tobias’s family was also originally from areas east of the Oder. 

 

Jump to 2015, Amy (living in Japan) received an e-mail from Ron GLANDT of Denver, Colorado. He is a grandson of the youngest of the three immigrant brothers, August Theodore KLEMKE. Don and Ron are both great-grandsons of August Ludwig KLEMKE. They had not met each other at this point. They did finally meet in 2017.

Having grown up in Wyoming with many cousins from this line (and his paternal line) Ron, was planning a September trip to Bad Freienwalde in Brandenburg, along the Oder River. This is the largest town before crossing the Oder River into Poland. Many small towns dot the area.
Ron succeeded in connecting with our line. Finally, a connection!

Many of us in the US now have known living cousins in the eastern region of Märkische-Oderland in Brandenburg!

 

August Ludwig KLEMKE’s great-grandson, Ron, met Karl August’s great-granddaughter, Anita! She is little M. Constantin’s grandmother.
Ron visited again in September 2016. 

 

 

In 2016, Amy asked Don and Betty to mail an oil painting by Don’s grandfather Emil Herman to a friend in Schwedt/Oder. He had given it to them as a wedding present in 1953 shortly before his death. Amy and her daughter Mina, left Japan in August to meet Dr. SCHMOOK and deliver Emil Herman’s painting to the Oderland Museum in Bad Freienwalde and to meet these new cousins in Germany. It was very exciting. His painting hangs there permanently.
 

 

This is where we come full circle in this story. The timing was just right to meet many of the descendants at the home of Anita and her husband Kurt.

 

During a family dinner in Bad Freienwalde in 2016, we showed the video of Don reciting Backe backe Kuchen as he remembered it upon his father’s knee as a small boy in Nebraska. Don’s eldest son, Sam had recorded it in Denver and sent it to Amy in Japan. Little M. Constantin, 6, watched the video intently in Germany and crawled onto his mother, Peggy’s lap to sing the song which appears in the video. Peggy is Anita’s daughter. 

 

In 2017, Amy and Mina were able to visit the USA in August where we met many KLEMKE descendants in Wyoming at the family reunion that has been held annually for about 100 years. This is the first time Emil Herman’s descendants attended since Don and Betty attended in the late 1990’s. We hope it continues for many years to come.

 

 

We also visited cousins in South Dakota, Nebraska and Colorado. Some we had met after a long separation and others we had met for the first time and enjoyed getting acquainted.

 

 

Knowing that the Solar Eclipse would pass through the area where Don and Betty were born and raised, their second son, Joe, had arranged a second reunion for children and grandchildren of Don and Betty to gather in the prairie town of Minatare where they camped at Lake Minatare.


 

While in Denver, we showed Don the video of M. Constantin watching his recitation, and of Constantin singing it with his mother, Peggy, just as Don had done 89 years before with his father, Erich Hugo.
Don was impressed and said,

“I did not realize it was a song. That’s precious.”

Don and M. Constantin will never meet in person but through this video the little German nursery rhyme Backe, backe Kuchen learned upon the knee of their parents has united a little boy with his cousin in a far away land that is much closer now.

 

For further reading, see:

http://www.wanderingoderites.com/2017/05/02/cycling-along-the-wriezener-alte-oder-river-by-ron-glandt/

http://www.wanderingoderites.com/2016/09/20/135/

[All photos courtesy of Rosemarie]

On one fine July day, nine members of the Low German Language group, Plattfische (named for the flatfish like flounders, halibut, and turbot that are commonly found in the Oder/Odra river) in Schwedt/Oder went on an excursion to the Valley of Love.

The Valley of Love is a landscape and nature park in the Lower Oder Valley in Poland between Krajnik Dolny, Krajnik Górny and Zatoń Dolna, and just a bicycle ride across the Oder River from Schwedt/Oder. The group met with friends to enjoy a walk through the woods, climbing up the now-restored hiking trails to the numerous viewpoints overlooking the river, and taking in the beautiful nature around the famous Adam and Eve pond sculptures. The excursion ended with good coffee and cake at the nearby café.

History of the Park

 

 

At least 150 years old, the location originally belonged to the Humbert family of the Hohenkranig estate, since the early 19th century. The foundation legend is that Anna von Humbert built the park as a gift to her husband, Carl Philipp von Humbert, in loving memory of where they fell in love. Today, there is a sign at the entrance of the park that reads, “Wilkommen im Tal, das die Liebe schuf” (Welcome to the valley where love was born). During the expansion of the Oder Valley between 1872 to 1933, the park became a popular tourist destination, complete with hiking trails, sculptures, and restaurants with Alpine-style carvings, the trend in architecture at the time. The Valley of Love enjoyed park guests from Stettin and Berlin – many coming to the park to get engaged – and held Easter egg hunts for the school children. The park was abandoned in 1945, and over the next forty years most of the buildings and bridges would be destroyed by vandalism and neglect.

Restoration

 

 

Looking toward Schwedt/Oder in Germany from the park in Poland.

Since the 1990s, following the reunification of Germany and the democratic transition in Poland, German-Polish cross-border structures were put into place with the hopes of forming a common identity between the bordering cities and regions. Among the programs conducted during this time were environmental conservation projects, which include the establishment of the Lower Oder Valley Landscape Park in Poland, and the German Lower Oder Valley National Park. Residing within the Lower Oder Valley Landscape Park, the Valley of Love was given a new life when a joint restoration project between Germany and Poland worked to restore the old hiking trails, benches, railings, and viewpoints. Today there are many events held in the Valley of Love annually, and the park is a beloved excursion spot for both local Polish people and Germans alike.

 

We at Wandering Oderites had the pleasure of visiting the landscape and nature park in 2016, and highly recommend putting it on a list of places to visit.

Sources

https://reiseziel-uckermark.de/tal-der-liebe-schwedt-oder/ 

http://seaofadventure.eu/?page_id=755

http://pomorzezachodnie.travel/en/Discover-Nature-Landscape_parks/a,4947/Cedynia_Landscape_Park_EN

http://www.espaces-transfrontaliers.org/en/bdd-borders/frontiers/frontier/show/allemagne-pologne/

http://seaofadventure.eu/?page_id=753

http://www.wanderingoderites.com/2016/10/02/242/ 

 

Sunday, September 3, 2017 a ceremony for the unveiling of the Dr. KOENUMA monument was held in his home town of Hachioji in western Tokyo. The Hachioji Dr. KOENUMA Committee had worked on this particular dedication since 2015 raising awareness and collecting donations. The relationship between the two cities of Hachioji and Wriezen has been continuing since 2009 and this year, 2017, the two officially became sister cities. 

 

The weather was perfect as the marching band from Hachioji High School kicked off the celebration. The traditional red and white cloth used for celebratory events hung behind the stage and speakers.

 

The site of Naka-cho Park was chosen as the permanent location as it is where Dr. KOENUMA’s father’s hospital once stood. The monument is in the center of the city, along an outdoor pedestrian shopping mall You Road with local restaurants and shops, easily accessible from Hachioji Train Station on the Chuo Line. 

 

Members of his extended family, including the niece of Dr. KOENUMA, Natsuko MATSUO, attended the ceremony, organized by the Hachioji Dr. KOENUMA Committee ,Kaiko TSUKAMOTO, Mayor, Takayuki ISHIMORI, and City Council Head, Yuji ITO, and House of Reprensentative Member, Kouichi HAGIUDA. The German Ambassador to Japan, (Dr. Hans Carl von WERTHERN ), sent a letter of congratulations.

The beautiful monument is decorated with his portrait that was taken before Dr. KOENUMA left Tokyo for Berlin. Pink cherry blossoms, Sakura, fall gracefully on the side depicting his last wish to see the blossoms one more time before dying in Wriezen.

 

 

Several members, including Kaiko TSUKAMOTO and Mayor Takayuki ISHIMORI attended the dedication at the grave of Dr. KOENUMA, earlier in Wriezen along with the Japanese Ambassador to Germany, Takeshi YAGI, in July of 2017.

At the Hachioji event, Kouichi ITO recalled in his speech how moved he was when Wriezen Mayor, Uwe SIEBERT said that he would maintain Dr. KOENUMA’s grave for the rest of his life. It is a testimony of the love that the people of Wriezen have for this man who, though he left with different purposes of studying in Berlin, at Humboldt University, ended his life after being given orders by the Soviet military in 1945 to care for the German refugees staying in the Wriezen Town Hall and suffering from Typhus. Dr. KOENUMA refused to take the medicine from patients for himself and thus died at the young age of 37.

 

Since his death in 1946, in Wriezen, in former East Germany, his family in Japan, especially his mother, never knew what had happened to him until a group from Wriezen began to look for his home in Japan once the Berlin Wall came down. It is significant that the monument says, Willkommen zu Hause or Welcome Home and gives him a permanent resting place.

 


This monument is meant to symbolize selfless devotion to helping others with the hope of inspiring the younger generation to put others before themselves.

 

Wriezen and Hachioji have many activities planned to ensure the continued warm relationship between these two sister cities. Wriezen Mayor, Uwe SIEBERT, Town Councilor Wolfgang SKOR and the Japan Commissioner Nils NESTLER will visit Hachioji beginning October 1.　

 

 

 

[Personal account written by Kaiko TSUKAMOTO, representative and founder of the Hachioji Dr. KOENUMA Committee] 

[Photos courtesy of Dr. Reinhard SCHMOOK. Please do not copy.]

 

On July 10th, 2017, marking 71 years after Dr. KOENUMA Nobutsugu’s death, the Hachioji mayor, Takayuki ISHIMORI, and those of us in the delegation including members of Dr. KOENUMA’s family, were fortunate enough to attend the signing ceremony of the Sister City pact between Hachioji, the place where Dr. KOENUMA was born, and Wriezen, where he passed away.
Wind turbines dotted the vast landscape as we pulled up to the beautiful streets of Wriezen. Our delegation received a warm welcome by the Mayor Uwe SIEBERT and the members of the City Council, in front of the city hall. We were treated graciously during our two day stay, and we were touched by how deeply the citizens felt about Dr. KOENUMA.

 


The Japanese Ambassador and minister from the Japanese embassy in Germany also attended the signing ceremony. In his speech, Mayor Uwe SIEBERT thanked us for all the ground work our group had done, citing it as the driving force that made today’s ceremony possible. The mayor said he hopes to have many more student and cultural exchange programs between the two cities in the future. Furthermore, Ambassador Takeshi YAGI stated that not only did this ceremony represent a bond between Hachioji and Wriezen, but one between the two countries as well.

 


Surrounded by green trees, we each paid our respects and thanks at the beautiful gravesite of Dr. KOENUMA, on behalf of the citizens of Hachioji.

 


It was a pleasure for us to be joined by Johanna FIEDLER , now 90, who had worked as a nurse alongside Dr. KOENUMA during his time in Wriezen. She was happy that the Sister City pact was signed within the lifetime of those who knew Dr. KOENUMA personally, and we shared her sentiment.

 


With the support of everyone who had made this possible, we hope to continue our newfound friendship for a long time to come.

[Original Text]

Ｄｒ．肥沼の縁でつながったドイツと日本

Dr.肥沼の偉業を後世に伝える会代表　　　　塚本　回子

肥沼信次博士の生まれた地・八王子市と亡くなった地・ヴリーツェン市との間で没後７１年を経て、やっと友好交流協定が結ばれることになり、７月１０日の調印式に市民訪問団として同席させていただきました。

ヴリーツェン市の面積は八王子市の２分の１ほどですが、人口は八王子市の約７０分の１という小さな市です。風力発電の風車がまわる広々とした草原を走りぬけ、美しい町並みのヴリーツェン市に到着。市庁舎の前で市長や市議会議長さん等の歓迎をうけました。
滞在中の二日間は市を挙げての大変なおもてなしを受け、ヴリーツェン市民の皆様のＤｒ．肥沼にたいする深い思いを感じました。

調印式には在ドイツ日本大使館から大使、公使もご出席下さいました。ジーベルト市長は長年にわたる私達の市民活動が原動力となって今日の調印式があることに感謝され、今後は若者の交流を盛んにしたい、日本の文化を市民に沢山伝えて欲しい等と述べられました。また八木大使からはこの調印は単に八王子市とヴリーツェン市のことではなく、日本とドイツとの絆の象徴になっているという力強いお言葉をいただきました。

緑の木々に囲まれた美しい肥沼博士の墓地に花輪をそなえ、肥沼博士に対する八王子市民の感謝の気持ちを伝えるために心からのお参りをして参りました。

Dr.肥沼の病院で看護婦さんとして働いていた、ヨハンナ・フィードラーさん（９０歳）
がお元気で出迎えて下さり、とても喜んでくださいました。肥沼博士を直接知っている方がまだご存命の内に、八王子市と友好都市になれたことをほんとうに喜んでいただけたと嬉しく思いました。

これからも皆様の御協力を頂きながら、末永く交流を続けていけたらと願っています。

 

 The city of Hachioji, Japan, and the city of Wriezen, Germany, will be officiating their agreement to become Sister Cities this up-coming Monday, July 10th. The signing of the agreement will take place in Wriezen, and Japan will send a delegation of 14 selected members to attend the occasion. The 14 members of the delegation will include Takayuki Ishimori, the mayor of Hachioji city, Kaiko Tsukamoto, who is the founder of the Hachioji Dr. Koenuma committee , and several members of the Koenuma family. They will be joined by the Japanese Ambassador to Germany, Takeshi Yagi.

 

 

 

 The delegation from Japan will depart on July 8th until the 14th.
 

 

 

 A press conference was held to announce the members of the delegation at the Hachioji City Hall, on June 27th. The delegation was presented with special gifts from the local schools to bring with them and offer to the city of Wriezen, as an act of friendship. Number 3 Elementary School donated an array of Origami crafts made by the students, while Number 6 Junior High contributed a handcrafted music box which played their school anthem. Hachioji High School in turn gifted the delegation with a DVD of their brass band, souvenirs of their home team, and a video introduction of their school, translated into English. The students at Chuo University presented the footage from the Koenuma documentary, which they had translated into German. The Hachioji Dr. Koenuma committee will be handing the city of Wriezen a miniature replica of the Dr. Koenuma monument that will be placed near his birthplace, made from the same stone as the original. The delegation were happy to receive a surprise gift of handmade cloth owls and Hachioji honey cookies (Hachi can mean the number eight but also bees) to take with them, as well.

 

 

Ms. Kaiko Tsukamoto and Hachioji Mayor Takayuki Ishimori, holding the miniature replica of the monument in Hachioji.

 

 In order to participate in the experience, the cafeterias in Hachioji junior high and elementary schools will be adding typical German dishes to the menu while the delegation is in Wriezen.
 

 

 This historic agreement between the two cities coincides with the 100 year anniversary of Hachioji.
 

 Wriezen will be the 4th city to become a sister city with Hachioji, after Qin’an, China, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and Siheung, Korea. An exhibition celebrating these friendships will be displayed at the Hachioji JR train station during the same time.
 

 The city of Hachioji has vowed to deepen their friendship with the city of Wriezen through many more such personal exchanges, as well as continue to spread Dr. Koenuma’s contribution and legacy further, in both countries.

 

 

Photos and information courtesy of Rosi.

 

My father raised honey bees in the 1970’s. He borrowed a bit of space from a farmer north of where we lived in Colorado. He ordered the bees and it was a great moment to get them all set up in their new hives and we would check out the hives, smoke them to calm them and bring home the combs to spin them into delicious honey. Some loyal bees would chase our car. We were stealing from them.

Moving to Japan, we have been fortunate to buy locally produced honey here, though as in the rest of the world the  lovely honey bee is threatened by pesticides.

 

 

The Honey room.

 

On our trip to the Oder areas of Uckermark and Märkische-Oderland, we came across allotment gardens with bee hives. We also found that some of our ancestors seem to have been Bee Keepers in former Neumark. So, that was a thrill.

 

 

Our friend Rosi has sent us a few photos of the machines used in processing the honey in her home town of Schwedt/Oder. Creamy or Whipped Honey is preferable for spreading on bread.

 

Honey-mixing machine.
Honey-filling machine in action!

 

Kornblumen-Honig aus der Uckermark.

 

Some of the flowers used at different times of year are:

Raps/ Rapeseed/ Nanohana （菜の花）

Ｋornblume/ Cornflower/ Yagurumagiku (矢車菊）

Mehrblütigen / multifloral blend/ Hyakka (百花）

Sanddorn Frucht/ Sea Buckthorn Fruit/ Umikuroumemodoki (海クロモドキ）

Imker/ Bee Keeper/ Youhouka (養蜂家）

 

A field of Rapeseed flowers.