Week 4:

#52Ancestors

Amy’s prompt for this week is “Invite to Dinner”.

Brief answer:  Dinner on Christmas the last year the full Amandus Künnmann family was together.

On Christmas in 1921, the Künnmann family probably gathered for dinner.  They were baptized Lutherans and so perhaps went to services together and gathered later for dinner.  I wish I had been there to learn about our family before three of the male children left Germany for America.

Who would have been there? Perhaps: Amandus and Ernestine (parents) and seven children (Charles (27) and his wife Berta, Emma (one day short of 26), Wilhelm (24), Ferdinand (23) and his
wife Ella, Ernst (21), Carl (19) and Otto (18).

Did the family know at this time, that Ferdinand and his wife Ella would be emigrating to the USA in October? Or that two brothers (Carl and Wilhelm) would follow them later?

Why did they leave? 

According to an article on Wikipedia:

“Peace with the United States was signed in Berlin on August 25, and was ratified by the German Reichstag on September 30 and by the American Senate on October 19. 

“The year 1921, like every year between World War I and Adolf Hitler's rise to power, was for Germany one of gloom, redeemed only by a few bright spots. Political life had not yet recovered from the shock caused by the overthrow of a form of government deeply rooted in the history of the people. The newly empowered Reichstag was prey to wild party strife, which made the formation of a stable government difficult. The political troubles in addition to the continuing economic strife caused by the Treaty of Versailles's economic provisions (especially war reparations) caused a fatigue in the German psyche. However, in spite of assaults, both from within and from without, the Weimar Republic survived despite its many troubles.

“Almost all of the most important events in Germany in 1921 were connected with questions arising out of the provisions of the Treaty of Versailles, disarmament, reparations, trials of war criminals, and the plebiscite in Upper Silesia - questions that, from their harassing nature, kept both government and people in constant suspense and agitation.”

So, how did these conditions effect the family? Did these relate to Ferdinand, Wilhelm and Carl emigrating from Germany to America? What did they hope to find? Ferdinand and Ella would the first to leave in the new year.  What were their plans? Did they know anyone in the USA?

And finally, Carl would have known Ferdinand's wife Ella. Would he have know her brother Johannes (John) Georges Koster? He would turn out to be Carl's father-in-law in seven years. How about John's wife Minna who would be his mother-in-law?

January 16, 2018

This is week 3 of my #52ancestors challenge and the prompt is “Longevity.”  I took this to mean who lived longest.

Of course, I am not counting all the living ancestors today as I hope they will all exceed 150 years!

I am also discounting a possible ancestor of Nancy’s who may have lived for 110 years, but I cannot confirm her as an ancestor.  She would have been Nancy’s 10^th great grandmother Jane Whitehead who lived from 1603 – 1713. I cannot confirm the relationship nor the dates but a nice thought.

There are many identified ancestors for whom I do not have both birth and death dates and, finally any as of yet unidentified ancestors.

Nancy’s 2^nd grandmother however is much better known.  Much of the information comes from New York State and United States censuses.  Censuses are not perfect sources of information, but in Agnes’ case, the many censuses from 1892 until 1940 are very consistent.

Agnes Mildenberger was born on 15 Jun 1874 in Germany and immigrated to the U.S. in about 1886 at 11years old.

Agnes married Adolph Schineller on 27 Sep 1892.  They were married until his death on 14 Jan 1913, about twenty years. They had four children, including Nancy’s grandmother Barbara.

Agnes died on 05 Oct 1981 at the age of 107 years, 3 months, 20 days.

Week 2:

#52Ancestors

Amy’s prompt for this week is “Favorite Photo”. I don’t think I can pick just one, how about three? Even that is hard. I am envious of people who have pictures of ancestors going back many generations. Let me start by saying if you have pics of our ancestors, please send me a copy.

Kunnmann – Koster family

Minna, Anna, John Koster

This one is a favorite for several reasons including who’s in it, and how I found it. In December, 1921, John Koster (my great-grandfather) applied for a US Passport.  The purpose was to travel from the US to Germany with Minna (wife) and Anna (daughter) “to visit relations.” It wasn’t until several years after finding that record that I looked at the back of the application and found the passport photo that showed the three of them.  While I had seen a picture of my great-grandmother while elderly, I had NEVER seen a picture of my grandmother Anna. In this photo, she was 12 years old.

Basso – Canning Family

I have quite a few great pictures going back in this family. 

One of these was provided by Carol (McLaughlin) Neilson, who I “now” know is my fourth cousin.  (We have the same 3^rd great grandparents, John Canning – Catherine McGley). 

 In 2014, Carol sent a picture from her mother’s wedding.  At the time we weren’t sure how, or maybe if, we were related.  The two people on the front right are obviously my maternal grandparents (George Basso and Genevieve Canning).

Hoffman – Denton family 

George and Nancy Hoffman around Barbara Schineller

Some of the most precious photos are the ones where not many photos exist of the person. This picture from the early 1950s shows Nancy and George with their maternal grandmother, Barbara (Schineller) Lutz.