Saturday, April 27, 2019

Wolterman Genealogy - Week 16

My husband’s 5th great-grandfather was Mathias Woerdehoff, who was born in Hegensdorf, Westphalia, Germany in 1709. At this time I do not know anything about his parents or siblings. On 25 January 1735 he married Anna Maria Rinschen in Hegensdorf.

Mathias and Anna Maria had the following children: Johannes Georg born 1735; Johannes Antonius born 1737; Johannes Theodorus born 1739; Adam Joseph born 1742; Anna Maria Catharina born 1744, died before 1750; Franziskus Henricus (whom I wrote about last week) born 1747; Anna Maria Catharina born 1750; and Maria Elizabeth born 1752.

On 18 October 1775, Mathias passed away in Hegensdorf at the age of 66. Anna Maria lived the rest of her life in Hegensdorf, and was 76 when she died on 24 April 1787.

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

Saturday, April 20, 2019

Wolterman Genealogy - Week 15

Franziskus Henricus Woerdehoff was born in Hegensdorf, Westphalia, Germany on 14 March 1747. He was the youngest son of Mathias and Anna Maria (Rinschen) Woerdehoff. On 24 January 1775, Franziskus married Catherine Margaretha Bickmann in Hegensdorf.

Franziskus and Catherine had the following children: Johannes (whom I wrote about last week) born 1775; Alexander born 1777, Angela born 1779; and Anna Maria born 1783. Catherine died in Hegensdorf on 1 November 1808 at the age of 56. Franziskus was 62 when he died the next year on the 26th of July.

Saturday, April 13, 2019

Wolterman Genealogy - Week 14

My husband’s 3rd great-grandfather was also named Johannes Woerdehoff. He was born to Franziskus Henricus and Catherine Margaretha (Bickmann) on 10 March 1775 in Hegensdorf, Westphalia, Germany. Located in a wooded and hilly area in northwestern Germany, this village may also be referred to as Hegensdorf, Paderborn, Nordrhein-Wesfalen. Paderborn indicates the administrative district that Hegensdorf is located in, and Nordrhein-Westfalen refers to the state. Hegensdorf is one of the oldest villages in the district, and was first mentioned in a document in 975. The local Catholic church is St. Vitus, which dates back to at least 1353.

St. Vitus Catholic Church

In the 1800s, the average population in the village was 450. About 100 of those residents left in that century to head to America and other locations. Included in that number were Conrad Woerdehoff, whom I wrote about last week, and his wife and children.

On 24 November 1808, Johannes married Anna Maria Isabella Josepha Ruether in Hegensdorf. They had the following children: Johannes Conradus (Conrad) born 1810; Vitrus Everhardus born 1812; Johann Herman Aloysius born 1816; and Anna Maria Christina Theresia born 1820.

Having lived his entire life in Hegensdorf, Johannes died at the age of 53 on 7 May 1828. His youngest child was only 8 years old at the time. His wife Anna Maria died 13 April 1835 at the age of 48.

Saturday, April 6, 2019

Wolterman Genealogy - Week 13

As recorded in the records of Holy Cross Parish in Hegensdorf, Westphalia, Germany, Johannes Conradus Woerdehoff (AKA Conrad) was born 6 December 1810. He was the oldest child of Johannes and Anna Maria (Ruether) Woerdehoff. The Woerdehoffs of Wesphalia were farmers, not landowners. That fact most likely contributed to Conrad’s later decision to emigrate to America, though he was the only one in his family to leave Germany.

St. Birgitta, Weiberg
He married Catharina Margaretha Wübbeke (whose name also may be shown as Wibbeke)) on 18 November 1843 at St. Birgitta in Weiberg, Westphalia. He was 33 and Margaretha, as she was known, was 22.

Their first 5 children were born in Germany: Johann Wilhelm in 1844; Aloysius Louis in 1848; Elizabeth in 1851; Mary in 1853; and Herman Conrad in 1855.

On 13 April 1857, a travel pass from the Royal Prussian government was issued to Conrad, granting permission for him and his family to emigrate to the United States. The pass indicated that Conrad was 5’6” in height with blackish hair and blue eyes, and was only valid for 40 days. The Woerdehoff family of 7 sailed from Bremerhaven aboard the sailing packet Ernestine the latter part of April 1857. There were 309 passengers on board the ship, which arrived in New Orleans on 17 June 1857.

Ernestine sailing vessel

The Ernestine began its life as the U.S. ship Columbus, built in New York in 1834. These boats were called packets because their original purpose was for shipping mail and freight. In 1847, the Columbus was purchased by a Bremen firm, which renamed her the Ernestine.

Ernestine passenger list

While the passenger list showed that the final destination of the Woerdehoffs was St. Louis, the family instead continued traveling up the Mississippi River to Dubuque. Many German immigrants entered the United States through the port of New Orleans and traveled by boat on this same route because they had heard of German settlements in Iowa, with the additional attraction of Catholic churches being built there.

possible photo of Conrad ~1860
Conrad purchased 40 acres of virgin land from the U.S. government in July of 1857. It was located in Section 9 of Bremen Township, Delaware County, Iowa. He built a log home and planted crops, gradually increasing his holdings to 120 acres.

While the family became some of the first members of St. Boniface Church in New Vienna, they joined St. Francis Xavier Parish in Dyersville when that church was completed in 1862. They worshipped at St. Francis until Saints Peter and Paul parish was constructed in Petersburg in 1868.

Margaretha and Conrad had 5 more children who were born on the family farm: Margaretha in 1858; Anton in 1860; Bernadine in 1860 (Anton and Bernadine were twins); Catherine (whom I wrote about in Week 12) in 1862; and Henry in 1866.

Conrad and Margaretha's children 

Conrad died of pneumonia on 1 May 1870 at the age of 60. He is reportedly buried at St. Francis Cemetery in Dyersville, though there is no tombstone for him. Quite probably there was no money to purchase a stone. His widow, with 9 children still at home, managed to keep the farm and even pay off the mortgage. Margaretha died on 7 March 1893 at the age of 72. She is buried in the cemetery at Saints Peter and Paul.

Margaretha Wübbeke Woerdehoff