Saturday, March 30, 2019

Wolterman Genealogy - Week 12

In the first 11 weeks of this year I have written about what I know of the Wolterman and Determan families. Next I will cover Frank Conrad Wolterman’s mother and her family.

Catherine Woerdehoff, my husband’s paternal great-grandmother, was born 8 June 1862 in the area that was later to be called Petersburg, Delaware County, Iowa. She was the 9th of 10 children born to Johannes Conradus and Catharina Margaretha (Wübbeke) Determan.

The farm where the family lived was located in Bremen Township. It is always interesting to me to see the German roots of the early settlers reflected in the naming of geographic areas. In 1864, Bremen Township had 95 dwellings with a total population of nearly 550 people. The Woerdehoff land is indicated by the red outline and arrow on the map below.

Conrad Woerdehoff land 1869

As the post office was not established until 7 March 1874, Petersburg did not technically exist when Catherine was born. Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church and school were also completed in 1874, and by 1877 there were 50 pupils and just one teacher! Prior to 1874, the settlers attended religious services at Louvain and then at Dyersville.

Catherine (also called Katie) was just 7 years old when her father died in 1870. Her family continued to live on the farm, however. The 1880 census indicates that she was still residing in Bremen Township, Delaware County. Sometime shortly after that, she left Petersburg to join one of her siblings in western Iowa. Her brother Aloysious and sister Mary both lived in Carroll County Iowa by 1880.

On 6 February 1883 at the age of 20 Catherine married Gerhard (George) Wolterman in Breda, Carroll County, Iowa. Together they raised 13 children on their farm. George and Catherine’s story was covered in Week 2, which can be found here.

Catherine and George Wolterman

Catherine died in Breda of cardiovascular disease on 15 August 1935. She was 73 years old, and was buried alongside George (who had died in 1921) at Saint Bernards Cemetery in Breda.

Saturday, March 23, 2019

Wolterman Genealogy - Week 11

Johann Hermann Bernard Determan, my husband’s 4th great-grandfather, was born about 1745 in Lower Saxony, Germany. I have no information regarding his parents or any siblings he might have had. On 30 April 1777, he married Anna Gertrude Knoop in Lengerich. He was 32 and since Anna was only 17 it is possible that she was not his first wife.

Their son Johann Wilhelm, who was the subject of my last post, was born 24 August 1778 in Lingen. The only other child I have a record of is Johann Gerard Jakob, who was born 25 July 1780 in Lingen.

Johann Hermann died in Lingen on 19 September 1802 at the age of 57. His wife Anna was just 52 when she died on 30 March 1812, presumably in Lingen.

This marks the end of the Determan line in terms of documentation that I have found on the family.

Saturday, March 16, 2019

Wolterman Genealogy - Week 10

In the last post I talked about Bernhard Clemens Determan. This week his father, Johann Wilhelm Determan, is the topic of discussion. Johann was born 24 August 1778 in Lingen, Germany. Lingen dates back to 975, and today has a population of about 57,000. It is the largest town in the district of Emsland in Lower Saxony.

Johann was the son of Johann Hermann Bernard and Anna Gertrude (Knoop) Determan. He married Anna Maria Koelker on 24 September 1801 in Recke, Germany, which is about 39 km (or 24 miles) from Lingen. Johann was 23 and Anna Maria 20 at the time of their marriage.

They had the following children: Christina Elisabeth born 25 April 1803; Johann Henrich born 28 June 1804; Hermann Bernard born 6 November 1807; Anna Maria born 13 August 1808; Bernhard Clemens (whom I wrote about last week) born 17 May 1815; Kathleen Friederike born in 1816; Benedict Richard born 14 June 1821; Herman Bernard 8 July 1823; Maria Caroline born 30 October 1826. Of the 10 children, at least 8 of them came to America and lived and died in Iowa.

Johann died in Germany 18 March 1837 at the age of 58. It is unclear when his wife Anna Maria passed away.

Sunday, March 10, 2019

Wolterman Genealogy - Week 9

Bernhard Clemens Determan, my husband’s 2nd great-grandfather, was born 17 May 1815 in Hestrup, a parish in Lengerich which is a municipality in the Emsland district of Lower Saxony, Germany. His parents were Johann Wilhelm and Anna Maria (Koelker) Determan. He was their 5th in a line of 10 children.

Lower Saxony region, with Lengerich indicated
by the red star

Clemens, as he was commonly known, married Maria Anna Sander in Lengerich on 3 February 1841. They came to America aboard the ship Leontine in 1845, departing from Bremen and arriving in New Orleans on 7 January 1845. The Leontine was a three-masted ship of 758 tons built at Vagesak for D.H. Watjen & Co. She was first launched on 19 April 1844. The ship master was Wilhelm Johann Ariaans. Traveling with them were their children: Johan Bernard Joseph born 9 August 1841 in Lengerich; and Johan Clemens born 29 August 1843 in Lengerich. There were other Determan relatives onboard the ship as well, and a 19-year-old man named William Wolterman. I’m not sure if he fits anywhere in the Wolterman tree or not.

The family first settled in Galena, Illinois. The family grew by two more children in Galena: Mary Caroline born 13 April 1846; and Friedrick Wilhelm born 5 November 1847. By 1849 the family had relocated to Hampshire Township in Clinton County, Iowa, where Clemens established a farm. The following children were born here: Rosanna born 28 May 1849; Benedict born 18 October 1850; Mary born 1 February 1853; Heinrich born 10 June 1854; Herman born 9 Jan 1856; and Steven Bernhard born 14 December 1859.

Hampshire Township 1865
Determan land 1865

The Clemens Determan farm is noted above by the red star. It was northwest of the original settlement of Lyons. Lyons was established by Elijah Buell, who arrived in the area on 25 July 1835. It was then platted as a village in 1837, a few years before Clinton County was officially created. It grew into a city, and in 1894 was included in the northern portion of the city of Clinton. The 1860 census for Clinton County was 18,938.

Determan home and barn

Clemens donated some of his farmland for St. Boniface Church to build a Catholic school in order to ensure that German would be taught. Later a dance hall, a saloon, and a shed for the horses were constructed as well. At one time 30 children attended the school, most whom were Determans or relatives of them.

Maria died 1 January 1860 at the age of 43 in Lyons, Clinton County, Iowa, just a few weeks after giving birth to Stephen. Her death certificate indicates Dropsy as her cause of death.

A few short months later on 29 April 1860 Clemens married Maria’s niece, who had the same name - Maria Anna Sander. Talk about confusing! Reportedly, Maria #1’s brother Johann Heinrich Sander, his wife Maria Anna (Vanderhar) and their daughter Maria #2 had been working on the Determan property at the time. Maria #2 was 22 and Clemens was 45 when they married. Clemens fathered 10 more children with his second wife. They were listed in the previous blog post, which can be found here.

Clemens and Maria #2 Determan's children

Clemens died at the age of 66 on 23 May 1881 in Clinton County, Iowa. He is buried in St. Boniface Cemetery in Lyons, Iowa. Maria #2 died 8 July 1884 when she was just 47 years old. Her youngest child was only 5 at the time. In the 1885 Iowa census Louie, Anthony, John, Maria Catherina, and Leo were all living with their older half-siblings, with Rosanna being listed as the head of household. She was 36 and had never married, but indeed became a mother nonetheless with the passing of her step-mother.

Saturday, March 2, 2019

Wolterman Genealogy - Week 8

Theresa Kathryn Determan was covered in my last post. This one will talk about her father, Johann August Determan. Johann, who went by his middle name August, was born 11 September 1867 in Lyons, Clinton County, Iowa to Bernhard Clemens and Maria Anna (Sander) Determan. His siblings included Marie Elizabeth born 1861, Johann Gerhard born born 1862, Theresa born 1864, Anton born 1866, Leo born 1869, Maria Catherina born 1871, John born 1874, Anthony John born 1876, and Louie born 1879. All of the children were born in Clinton County, Iowa. August also had at least 7 older half-siblings, but I will get into that story in my next post when I talk about his father.

At the age of 23, August married Mary Anna Luchtel. She was 17 at the time, and was the daughter of Herman Bernard and Sophia (Grote) Luchtel. The wedding took place in Breda, Carroll County, Iowa on 27 January 1891. August and Mary had 10 children, all of whom were born in Mount Carmel, Iowa. The children were listed in last week’s blog post, which can be found here.

Determan land in Iowa

August farmed in Carroll County until 1908, when he moved his family to land in Butte, Nebraska. On 18 March 1910, August died in Butte. He was only 42 years of age. He is buried in Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery in Butte.

Johann August Determan's
headstone