WHAT IS THIS?

I am not quite sure what this is.  The above document was given to me by Susanne while I was visiting Munich.  At first, I thought it was some organization that my grandfather belonged to while he was living in Germany.  However, Peter Joseph Nebgen came to the US at age 20 and he definitely looks older than that in the photo.  So, my next guess (I always like to have several options) is that is some group he was the President of while living in Chicago. From what I can tell (with my limited knowledge of German) that it was a group that was either planning a trip to Europe or one that was encouraging people to visit Germany. ( I did figure out that there is a Secretary, Financial Secretary, Treasurer and 2 Board of Directors also listed on the photo.)  Obviously it was aimed at German speaking Americans since it is in German.  Perhaps my Great Grandfather belonged to some civic group, like Kiwanis or Rotary, and was encouraging travel to Europe.

So, here is what I do actually know -- I have found documentation of his travels to the US from Germany on three different dates.  He came to the US on 8 Dec 1888 (still trying to figure out if this was his initial visit) on the ship Waesland.  The trip was from Antwerp, Belgium to New York.  The second trip was in 1914 -- he arrived in New York from Rotterdam on 18 Aug 1914.  He traveled with his wife Theresa aboard the ship Nieuw Amsterdam.  The last trip that I found happened in 1929.  On 1 Sep 1929, he arrived in New York from Bremen.  He, along with his wife Theresa, sister-in-law Helen, and niece Rose Roemer were aboard the ship Muenchen.

So back to my research because the more I find out, the more questions that I have ...

TRAVEL TUESDAY

While visiting Munich on my Austria/Germany trip, my cousin's wife Susanne gave me a copy of the above document.  I brought the document home and did some research.  Hamburg-America Line was a transatlantic shipping enterprise established in Hamburg, Germany in 1847.   Did my German ancestors use one of their ships to immigrate to the United States in the late 1800's?

The SS Imperator was launched on 23 May 1912 and began its maiden voyage from Cuxhaven to New York in June of 1913.  Both the Imperator and the Vaterland were in service before World War I.  The Vaterland was caught in port in Hoboken, New Jersey at the outbreak of World War I and was interned by the US.  The Vaterland was seized, renamed the "Leviathan" after war was declared on Germany in 1917 and served as a troop ship. The Imperator was handed over to the allies as war reparations to Britain and sold to the Cunard Line.

My great grandfather Peter Joseph Nebgen did immigrate to the US in 1888 but he wasn't aboard a ship from this shipping line.  So, I still need to find the connection (if there is one) between PJ Nebgen and Hamburg-America Line.

NOT AS IT SEEMS

I have had this photo for about 12 years and always thought that it was the photo of my great grandfather (Peter Joseph Nebgen) with his siblings and his parents.  Since I knew his brother Nicholas was older than him, I assumed that he was the tall fair haired young man in the back row (the taller one).

I have another photo of 4 siblings with some names written on the back.  It read, "Uncle Clemenz, Uncle Emil, Uncle Pete and Aunt Maria.

Since my great grandfather was Peter Joseph, again, I assumed that he was "Uncle Pete" with his siblings. Only two of the siblings, Nicholas and Peter, immigrated to the US so they are the ones that I have the most information about.  The obituary for Peter's mother Anna Wittayer does mention that she had 7 children, but 2 of them died before she did in 1919.  I assumed that the 2 children died as babies.

I have a cousin Bernd, who lives in Germany, and his wife Susanne not only does family research but she graciously shares the information with me (otherwise I would be totally lost on the Nebgen family history).  So, with the information from the 1890 census of Duisburg that she sent me, I realized that I had been mistaken about my photos and my assumptions!

According to the 1890 census, there were 5 children living with Anna and Balthazar --
1. Peter (born in 1863) -- making him the oldest
2. Peter (Clemenz) -- born in 1867
3. Emil - born in 1876
4. Maria - born in 1880
5. Joseph Laurentius - born in 1884.

They have 2 other sons -- Nicholas who immigrated to the US in 1885 and my great grandfather Peter Joseph, who immigrated to the US in 1887.

So, let's re-visit that 1st photo -- Nicholas and Peter Joseph are not in that photo.  It was probably taken some time between 1886-1887.  Nicholas was in the US and Peter Joseph was either serving on a naval ship or also in the US.    Now, photo #2, that Uncle Pete in this photo is the eldest brother Pete, not my great grandfather Peter Joseph.  They could have made it easier by not naming all the boys Peter!   My last assumption about two of the boys dying as babies.  Incorrect, too!  You are probably not surprised by now!Nicholas died in 1915 (at age 50) so he was one of the children who died before his mother.  The other one was Joseph, who probably died in 1917 during World War I (found some records on this).

Lesson learned is "don't make assumptions without all the facts!"

PLAYING DETECTIVE WITH PHOTOS

      I spend a lot of time staring at old photos, some how wishing the names of the people in the photo will magically become known to me. Yes, I have read those articles on how to decipher clothing and other tell tale signs that will let you know what year/era the photo was taken.  Personally, I prefer the "staring" method.  Look at this photo and then look at another photo.  Do the people look the same?  Would they look the same 20 years sooner or later?   Where is that age progression software when you need it?  More importantly, why couldn't my ancestors write the names on the back of the photos?   Of course, this photo had the names written on the back and I am still confused!

     You see when someone writes "Aunt Therese" and "Aunt Helen" and "Uncle Josef Nebgen", I assumed the Aunts were from the Wittayer family and had no clue who they were.  All I knew for sure was that the man in the 2nd row to the far right was my great grandfather Peter Joseph Nebgen (or Uncle Josef Nebgen).   I knew that the woman next to him was his sister Maria Rosina, even though the photo lists her as Mrs. Haus.

        So, after many stares at the photo, some discussion with Suzanne in Germany and a little research on passenger lists I discovered that my great grandmother and her sister were in the photo, too.  A 1929 passenger list shows that my great grandfather Peter Joseph Nebgen traveled with his wife Theresa [Homrich] Nebgen back from Germany to the US.  Suzanne had already told me that this photo was taken in Germany in 19129 and she had a matching photo.  So, that "Aunt Theresa" was actually my Great Grandma Theresa.  She is in the 2nd row standing to the left of Maria.

        Also, on that passenger list, it shows that Theresa's sister Helen Homrich Nebgen (yes, Helen had married Peter Joseph's brother Nicholas but he had died in 1915)  and her daughter Rose Nebgen Roemer were sailing back from Germany.  This means that "Aunt Helen" is actually my Great Aunt Helen Homrich Nebgen.  She is the lady sitting in the front row to the far right.  I won't even ask where Rose is.  Perhaps, she took the photo.

         I do know the names of the rest of the people in the photo but haven't figured out their exact relationship to Peter Joseph. I'm guessing cousins!  Their last name is Wittayer (Wittaner) -- the same as Peter and Emil's mother's maiden name but I need the connector to our tree (probably a sibling of Peter's mother).  Confused already?  I guess I need to do a bit more "staring" and a lot more research!

THOSE PLACES THURSDAY

      My 2nd great grandparents (Baltazar Nebgen and Anna Maria Wittayer) both lived their entire lives in the municipality of Dernbach in Germany.  Dernbach is located in Westerwaldkreis in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany or more simply put, it is in the western central part of Germany.  My great grandfather Peter Joseph Nebgen was born in Dernbach on 12 Dec 1869 and lived there until he immigrated to the US in 1888.

      The above photo is a picture of the old Dernbach homestead of Baltazar and Anna Maria.  It is rather exciting to see a photo of the house where my great grandfather grew up.  I wonder if this house is still standing.  I am thinking that I am putting "Dernbach" on my bucket list of places to visit.

AMAZING DISCOVERY

       I love finding people who will talk about genealogy with me!  I am not talking about my family members who listen carefully for the first few minutes and then wonder when the conversation will be over but those who love family history research as much as I do.  I also love finding "long lost relatives" while I am doing my research.  Okay, most of them are not "long lost" because I never knew they existed in the 1st place but it does give me great joy to find "new" members of my family.  So, you can imagine my joy when I discover "new" members of my family who want to talk genealogy with me.  Yes, I put that in my "almost too good to be true" category!

      A few weeks ago, I received a comment and then an email from Bernd and Suzanne. So, yes, they really discovered me rather than me discovering them  It turns out that Bernd's great grandmother is this lovely lady in the above photo (Maria Rosina Nebgen) and my great grandfather is the handsome gentleman standing in the back (Peter Joseph Nebgen).  Okay, how great is this?  Not only are we related, but we have shared photos and information back and forth. They had the matching photo of one that I already had.  I thought this was amazing since this has never happened to me before, except perhaps with my siblings!  Oh, and one more thing -- they live in Germany, which makes it even more exciting to me!  They translated our 2nd great grandmother's "dying card" for me.

    I love sharing my stories and photos of my ancestors on this blog. I hope, in the process, I am preserving their stories for generations to come. Yes, I will be creating a family history book with these stories, photos, and memories.  Most of all, however, I will be cherishing the "new" relatives and genealogy aficionados I meet along the way!

AMANUENSIS MONDAY

         I love making genealogical finds and when they are done accidentally, it is even better!  So this weekend, I was stuck at home with my car in the shop for repairs.  It was a perfect time to scan old photos -- childhood, wedding, and the kids when they were babies.  Well, as I was going through one of my daughter's scrapbooks she had done on family history for a middle school project, I found a copy of a letter.  I guess if I was organized I would know exactly where the original one is!  It is on my "to do" list to find.  Anyways, the letter is in German and is addressed to (I thought) my 2nd great grandfather Baltazar Nebgen.

        For years, I was just happy to have this letter in my possession and didn't care that I had no idea what the letter was about.  I could try translating in online but it being handwritten would cause me more problems -- is that an s or a k or a t?  I have a friend name Sabine, who I knew from my daughter's high school band days and my PTA days.  She is from Germany so perhaps she could translate it for me. Okay, so now you are probably asking why I hadn't thought of this earlier, say perhaps 5 or 6 years ago.  Well, my life was so crazy with kids' activities and mine that who even had time to breathe back then, never mind do genealogy research and translate German.

      So, this is what I found out -- the letter is actually to Mrs. Baltazar Nebgen, my 2nd great grandmother.  It is from a captain of a Dutch ship. I think I mentioned in a previous post that my great grandfather Peter Joseph Nebgen was a midshipman.  I also want to mention that even though my great grandfather's first name was Peter, it seems doing research that he often went by his second name Joseph.  I guess this is common for Germans in those days (something about taking a saint's name for the 1st name).

      It is my understanding that Mrs. Baltazar Nebgen (Anna Maria Wittayer) had written the captain of the ship because she had not heard from her son since he got on the ship and she was worried.  Okay, I can totally relate to this.  Sons do seem to have a problem calling home (or writing home in those days).  So the concerned Mom wanted to know where her son Joseph was.  This letter is from the captain of the ship reassuring Anna Maria that Joseph is doing well and working hard (exactly what all mothers want to hear) and that he would be on the ship a bit longer.  It seems though, that Joseph wanted to go back home as soon as he got off the ship.

      I love that my Grandma kept this letter all those years and that she passed it on down to my father and now to me.  It is a true treasure!

WEDDING WEDNESDAY

       My great grandfather Peter Joseph Nebgen and my great grandmother Theresa Homrich were married on 3 Feb 1891 in North Dorr, Allegan, Michigan.  According to the marriage license, Peter was 21 years old and Theresa was 20 at the time of the wedding.  Peter was born in Germany but resided in Chicago, Illinois while Theresa was a native of Michigan -- her birthplace and a resident of Byron Center, Michigan.

        Peter's occupation is listed as "boat header" -- not sure what that means.    Well according to Merriam Webster's dictionary it is " one that is in charge of a whaleboat or a small boat putting off from a larger boat in the cod or halibut fisheries; esp : an officer who stands in the stern sheets of a whaleboat and manipulates the steering oar and lances the harpooned whale".

        The official at the wedding was an Art Joseph Buchensenmann and was listed as a rector.  Theresa's sister Josephine was married to a Robert Buchensenmann.  I wonder if they are related.  Also, I find it interesting that they got married in North Dorr, rather than in her hometown of Byron Center.  The witnesses were William Homrich (she had a brother named William) and Mary Homrich (she also had a sister named Mary).    

THOSE PLACES THURSDAY

                 This is the house that my Grandmother Theresa Nebgen grew up in Chicago.  It is located on North Oakley. At the time of her birth in 1899, her parents Peter Joseph Nebgen and Theresa Homrich Nebgen and her siblings were living in a house on Noble Avenue in Chicago.  Some time before 1910, they moved 8 miles north to this house on North Oakley.  Theresa lived here with her parents until she moved in with her husband Charles Sherlock, probably about 1921.
             Theresa and Charles eloped when Theresa was 18 years old and Charles was 17 but then their parents made them live at their separate houses for a few more years.  In the 1920 census, Theresa is living with Peter and Theresa Nebgen while Theresa's husband Charles is living with his mother Bridget and his stepfather Joseph Gary and little brother Joseph Gary.  Peter and Theresa Nebgen (Theresa's parents) lived in this house until their deaths.

MILITARY MONDAY

               


            Peter Joseph Nebgen served as a midshipman on a German vessel prior to immigrating to the US. I have two photos of him in his uniform.  However, I like this one the best because while the other one is a close up, this one shows the background and gives a better glimpse into those times.

PETER JOSEPH, MARIA AND EMIL NEBGEN

    

       Who are these people and why are they on my blog?  I thought I would switch gears a bit and discuss some of my German ancestors.  This photo was passed down to me from my Grandma Theresa.  On the back, it is written “Aunt Mary, Dad and Uncle Emil”.   Dad refers to her father Peter Joseph Nebgen, who was born in Dernbach, Germany in 1869.  Sitting in front of him are two of his siblings – Mary (or Maria) and Emil.

          My great grandfather Peter Nebgen served as a midshipman and arrived in the US in either 1887 or 1888 at the age of 18 or 19 years old.  I will discuss him in more detail in a future post.   Since both Mary and Emil did not immigrate to the US but rather stayed in Germany, it is harder to find information on them.  I did find some information that Maria Rosina Nebgen was born in 1880.  She married Anton Peter Haus on 10 Oct 1904 in Duisburg, Germany.  They had 3 children – Anna, Willy and?

          Of course, even though I have several photos of “Uncle Emil”, I cannot find any information on him – no birth date, death date or anything in between.  I think he lived his entire life in Germany but I can’t say for sure.  I do know that Peter Nebgen named his only son after his brother Emil. 

          There are also two more siblings – Nicholas Nebgen and Clemenz Nebgen.  Again I have some photos of Clemenz but no information.  I have fared much better with Nicholas Nebgen since Nicholas was the oldest brother and immigrated to the US first.  He also married the sister of Peter Nebgen wife.   Actually I think it was the reverse, in that Nicholas married Helen Homrich in 1888 – 3 years before Peter married Theresa. 

          Well, I guess I need to do some research on how to research German records and then I can find out more of the story!