Adrians of Keokuk County, Iowa The Adrians of Keokuk County are descended from Lorenz Adrian and Magdalena Hammes. The Saarland Archives, Saarbru"cken, supplied a copy of the birth certificate of Magdalena Hammes. She was born on 22 May 1823 in Oberperl. Parents were Georg Hammes and Susanna Pauly. Witnesses Johann Weiland & Peter Braunshausen. The Archives did not find a birth record for Lorenz Adrian. Family members remember that the couple were married in St. Maria Chapel, Sehndorf. Perl is at the juncture of Luxembourg, France and Germany. Sehndorf is adjacent to Perl. Oberperl is the upper part of Perl. At the time the lower part was called Niederperl. Today the signs read Perl and Oberperl. Many German Catholics emmigrated to the U.S. and settled near Dubuque Iowa. Later emmigrants, on their trip up the Mississippi, would hear that the land in the Dubuque area was taken. However areas such as Keokuk County were just being opened. A Mr. Besser emmigrated from Perl on 4 May 1844 and heard about the open land in Keokuk County. He and his family settled in Keokuk County. Notes say that Mrs. Besser "often wrote letters to her friends in Germany" On 22 February 1847 Johann Blaise signed Maria Adrian's birth certificate. Maria was the first born child of Lorenz Adrian and Magdelena (Hammes) Adrian. 22 March 1847; Johann Blaise departed Antwerp for on the "Charlemagne". With him were 5 of his older children. He purchased land in Keokuk County and built a cabin for his family. In May of 1849, Johann returned to Perl for his wife and younger children. In 1852 Johann Blaise again emmigrated to the U.S. with the remainder of his family. The Adrian family also emmigrated. The "Tirrell", sailing from Havre, arrived in New Orleans 18 May 1852. According to Germans to America, the Tirrell's passenger list included: Lorenz Adrian, 32, male, from Prussia Madelaine " , 26, female Marie " , 7, female Susanne " , 5, female Missing from the list was Johann? Born in the U.S. were Nicklaus, Mary Magdaline, Peter and Michael. Lorenz (Lawrence) Adrian settled in Clear Creek Township, Keokuk County, Iowa. Most of the first generation married others who had emmigrated from Perl. Maria married John TRIERWEILER Susanna married John SALM Johann married Margaretha SCHILTZ Nicklaus married Mary PAULUS Mary Magdalena "Lena" married Peter SIEREN Peter married Margaret BRAUNSCHAUSEN Michael married Matilda Helen RUNG A number of these descendants have high cheekbones and an olive complexion. There are Roman ruins near Perl: It is not difficult to imagine the Roman/Italian influence. Another trait is be longevity, at least among the women. Several of the women have reached 100 years old. Peter J. Seaba Iowa City