Wolterman Genealogy - Week 17

So far I have covered the Wolterman, Determan and Woerdehoff families in my husband’s tree. The next series of posts will focus on Theresa (Determan) Wolterman’s mother and her family.

Theresa’s mother was Mary Anna Luchtel. Mary was born 17 June 1873, the first child of Herman Bernard and Sophia (Grote) Luchtel. Though Mary was born in Dyersville, Dubuque County, Iowa, by the time the 1880 census was taken, the Luchtel family resided in Wheatland Township, Carroll County, Iowa. That’s a distance of nearly 223 miles!

Iowa map

It is interesting to think that if the Luchtel family had not made the move, Mary would have never met Johann August Determan, whom she married in Breda, Carroll County, Iowa on 27 January 1891 when she was just 17 years old. Their marriage and a listing of their children was covered in Week 8, which can be found here.

Mary and August’s story was also covered in Week 7, which can be found here. Seven years after the death of August on 18 March 1910 in Butte, Boyd County, Nebraska, Mary married Bernard Clemens Schulte (known as Clem) and moved with 4 of her children to the Schulte farm in Breda, Carroll County, Iowa. The 1920 census for Wheatland Township indicates that Clem and Mary were living on the farm with Clem’s children Sarah, Mary, and Edward, and Mary’s children Clement, Theresa, Martha and Joseph.

Clem died in Breda on 11 March 1930 at the age of 81, leaving Mary a widow at only 56 years of age. The 1930 census shows her renting a home that is not located on a farm. Her son Joseph is living with her. By the 1940 census, Mary was living alone in a home in Breda that she owned on Artz Street. This is a relatively short street that runs between N. 1st St. and N. 2nd St., within easy walking distance of St. Bernard’s Church. Further information on the census shows that Mary was living in the same house in 1935, and that the highest grade she had completed in school was 6th grade.

Mary was 82 when she died in Fairfax, Renville County, Minnesota on 25 November 1955. It is probable that she had relocated to the Fairfax area to be close to her daughter, Theresa (Determan) Wolterman, and her family. Mary was buried by her first husband, August Determan, at Saints Peter and Paul Cemetery in Butte, Nebraska.

Mary's stone

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.

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.

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.

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

Wolterman Genealogy - Week 7

In my last post, I took the Wolterman male line back as far as I can at this point. This week I will begin with Theresa Kathryn Determan, my husband’s paternal grandmother, and work back through the Determan side of the family.

Theresa was born 17 May 1903 in Mount Carmel, Carroll County, Iowa to Johann August and Mary Anna (Luchtel) Determan. She joined older siblings Caroline born in 1891, Mary born in 1892, Frank born in 1894, Laura born in 1896, Elizabeth born in 1897, Edward born in 1899 and Clement born in 1901. Two additional children were born after Theresa: Martha in 1905 and Joseph in 1907. All of the children were born in Mount Carmel, Iowa, where they lived on a farm.

The Determan family traveled by train to Butte, Nebraska in 1908 when Theresa was 5 years old. Johann (who went by his middle name August), established a farm in Butte. Two years later August died at the age of 42. Mary was only 37, but she continued to hold onto the farm with the help of her children and hired hands until 1917. At that point, so the family story goes, 68-year-old Bernard Clemens Schulte came from Breda, Iowa to visit Mary in Butte. His wife, Marie Elizabeth Determan, had died in 1913. Marie was the older sister of August Determan. She and Bernard had 12 children, and she was 51 when she died.

Clem Schulte farm

Bernard proposed to Mary, and she moved back to Breda with the following children: Clement, Theresa, Martha, and Joseph. (August and Mary’s son Edward had died in 1900.) Her son Frank remained on the farm, and her daughters Carolyn, Mary, Laura, and Elizabeth had all married and stayed in Nebraska.

On 14 November 1917, Bernard and Mary married in Breda, Iowa. Mary was 44 years old at the time of her second marriage. At least 4 of Bernard’s children would have still been at home at this time.

Theresa was in 9th grade when they relocated to the Schulte farm in Iowa. She later said that she and her siblings were happy to have a shorter walk to school in Iowa. In Nebraska it was 3 miles from the farm to their school.

Theresa worked in a dry goods store. I've been corrected since my post about Frank Conrad Wolterman regarding how she met her future husband. She and Frank met at a dance, not a shower. They married on 6 June 1922 at St. Bernard Church in Breda, Iowa. From this union came 11 children, and as I explained in my first post, I am not listing the birth years of the children because some of them are living and I want to respect their privacy.

Frank and Theresa's wedding day

During their marriage, Theresa and Frank lived in Maple River, Iowa, Breda, Iowa, Fonda, Iowa (on Moore's farm and later the Lampe farm, moving into the town of Fonda after a tornado damaged the house and 22 buildings on the Lampe farm), and their final move was in 1950 to a farm west of Fairfax, Minnesota.

Frank died in 1964, and Theresa lived with her son Stanley on the farm for a while. Later she lived in a mobile home before moving to an apartment. Her last year was spent in a nursing home in Mapleton, Blue Earth, Minnesota. Theresa died in Mapleton on 28 January 1988 at the age of 84.

So as not to be redundant, you can read more about the life of Theresa and Frank by going to my first post, which can be found here.

Theresa on the right, with her
mother Mary before 1955

52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks - Week 8

This week’s writing prompt, Heirloom, is one that I am really excited about. In my husband’s family is a dresser that has been passed from generation to generation. It is known to have been in the family since at least 1891. That is a lot of history!

It was first owned by Johann August Determan and his wife, Mary (Luchtel) Determan, my husband’s great-grandparents. Johann was born 11 September 1867 in Clinton County, Iowa to Bernhard Clemens Determan and Marie Anna (Sander) Determan. Bernhard and Marie Anna had emigrated to the United States from Germany, arriving in New Orleans on 7 January 1845. Six members of the Determan clan were aboard the Ship Leontine, which had departed from Bremen, Germany. These families farmed in Clinton County, Iowa.

Mary Luchtel was born 17 June 1873 in Dyersville, Iowa to Herman Bernard Luchtel and Sophia (Grote) Luchtel, both of whom were born in the United States. Mary and Johann married in Breda, Iowa on 27 January 1891 when Mary was just 17 years old. Johann was 23 at the time. The couple went on to have 10 children. In the 1900 census, taken in April of that year, the family was living in Kniest Township, Carroll County, Iowa. By then they had been married 9 years and had 6 children: Caroline, Mary, Frank, Laura, Elizabeth and Edward (who died in September of 1900). They were living on a farm that they owned. Four additional children, Clement, Theresa (my husband’s grandmother), Martha and Joseph, were born in Iowa between 1901 and 1907.

In 1908, when Theresa was 5, the family decided to homestead in the Butte area of Nebraska. They traveled by train with their possessions, including the above-referenced dresser along with some farm machinery and animals. They completed the distance of about 300 miles in one day. But Johann died on 18 March 1910 in Butte at the age of 42, leaving Mary alone with their children. She continued to work the farm with her sons and hired help until 1918, and then she moved back to Iowa. The 5 oldest children married in Butte, and they remained in Nebraska with son Frank working the farm. Mary left with the 4 youngest ones, bringing the dresser and her other possessions back to Iowa.

In the meantime, Johann’s sister Maria Elizabeth died in Breda, Iowa in 1913. She had been married to Bernard Clemens Schulte, and they had 12 children. Sometime between 1918 and the beginning of 1920, Bernard married Mary (Lutchel) Determan. They were together by the 1920 Iowa census, along with 3 of Bernard’s children and 4 of Mary’s children.

Mary Determan Schulte
and Theresa Wolterman

When Mary died in 1955, the dresser went to her daughter Theresa (Determan) Wolterman, and from her to Theresa’s daughter Jeanette (Wolterman) Krebs. Jeanette was the mother of twins and only had one chest of drawers. Jeanette then passed the chest to her daughter Kay (Krebs) Bailey as she had two boys and could use it for them.

In 2011 Kay offered to bring the chest from Illinois to a family reunion as she no longer had a need for it. Interested family members put their names in a hat, with the understanding that the lucky winner had a vehicle large enough to take it home with them. We were fortunate to end up with the dresser, and we in turn gave it to my father-in-law as he had expressed an interest in it but was unable to attend the reunion.

Determan dresser

He refinished the piece, repairing some parts that had been damaged over the years, and gave the dresser back to us to be given to our son and his wife in Springfield, Virginia. The dresser has seen a lot of miles, and no doubt would have a lot of stories to tell. It is great to have a tangible item that connects 5 generations over more than 127 years!