What an interesting article. Would you give permission for ECGHS to print this in "Crossroad Trails" quarterly? Eleanor ----- Original Message ----- From: <REPKINGRON@aol.com> To: <ILEFFING-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Saturday, September 17, 2005 8:05 AM Subject: Re: [ILEFFING-L] Teutopolis,Il./ Lohne,Ger. > > In a message dated 9/16/05 12:55:34 PM Central Daylight Time, > Peter917@aol.com writes: > > Does anyone have reference to an article which had appeared in a German > newspaper about 4 to 5 years ago detailing the founding of Teutopolis by > German > immigrants from the Lohne area in Oldenburg?Thanks,Peter(Chicago) > > > > The following article came from the "Oldenburgische Volkszeitung" > published > on Saturday, January 18, 1986 > > Lohne Resident a Pioneer in America > 180th Anniversary of the Birth of Clemens Uptmoor > by Franz-Josef Tegenkamp > > The 19th of January,1986 marks the 180th anniversary of the birth of a man > who did not leave any great marks in the "larger picture" of history, but > did > influence the lives and destinies of many persons to no lesser a degree > than did many more significant politicians or lawmakers. Clemens > Uptmoor was > born on January 19, 1806 as the child of the Johann Heinrich Uptmoor > (1771 - > 1936) and Anna Margaretha Nordlohne (1774 - 1856) in a small farmhouse > owned > by the farmer Bokern-Kersting in Bokern near Lohne in what was then the > principality of Oldenburg. His parents, who leased their land, were > average > farmers, neither particularly wealthy nor particularly poor. They earned > their > living by hard work. > > The young Clemens' childhood was over by the age often when he accompanied > his father for the first time to work with him on his yearly summer job > fishing > for herring, joining the many other fishing boats out for the herring > catch > on the North Sea. > > During the winter Clemens Uptmoor attended the Bokern farming community's > elementary school, where he received a basic education. The schooling > took > place only during the winter months because all the farmers' children were > needed in the summer and in most cases the teachers also worked in the > fields to > earn extra money, and this claimed all their time. So it was that their > lessons could impart only the basics of reading, writing, and arithmetic, > a > problem exacerbated by the realities that the teachers themselves often > were not > satisfactorily educated and that the schools consisted of only one class. > In > Bokern, for example, the sole teacher in the 1835 school year had to > teach > 110 children. > > The next few years passed similarly, until Clemens Uptmoor was called to > the > military by the lottery procedure that was usual at the time and was > required to spend five years as a soldier in the Oldenburg infantry. > > Up until this time Clemens' life, as with most of his peers, had followed > set tracks. After his discharge, however, he left his seemingly > predestined > life path and emigrated to America accompanied by his brother Hermann > Heinrich > and some neighbors and acquaintances (among others, the Hoying family > from > Krimpenfort, who settled later in Minster, Ohio). Of the 149 total > passengers > on the emigrant ship "Everhard", which sailed from Bremen to Baltimore, > 35 > came from Lohne, another 82 came from other area communities. > > On September 9, 1834, the ship reached its terminal port Baltimore, and > approximately two weeks Later the Uptmoor brothers arrived in Cincinnati, > the > provisional goal of their journey. Here they worked during the next five > years > mainly as carpenters. Clemens Uptmoor had learned the occupation of ship > carpenter in his youth, which served him well now. > > In the summer of 1836 Cincinnati experienced a cholera outbreak, and for > this reason the Uptmoor brothers went for several months to Missouri to > work. > On the way they traveled for the first time through the fertile, at the > time > almost completely uninhabited areas of the American Midwest, which seemed > just waiting to be settled. It is therefore not surprising that it was > at > this time that they formulated their plan to found a colony for German > Catholic > emigrants. > > After their return to Cincinnati, therefore, they founded the "German Land > Company" or "Settlement Company" at the beginning of 1837 together with a > partner, Johann Ferdinand Waschefort, who had emigrated in 1831 from > Addrup near > Essen. 141 people joined the company in a short time due to the constant > stream of emigrants from Germany. They paid in regular contributions in > order > to later acquire a larger section of land. > > In April, 1837 Clemens Uptmoor, together with Johann Ferdinand > Waschefort > and Gerhard Heinich Bergfeld (from Lastrup), made their way on a 15-week > trip > through the states of Indiana, illinois, and Missouri to look for a > suitable > section of land. They finally decided on an area approximately 100 > miles > east of St. Louis near Vandalia, the capital of Illinois at that time, > where some former residents of Hanover had already settled. After > another trip > by other members of the company to view the land, the land was acquired > in > 1838 (approximately 4000 hectares, or 40 million square meters, or 10,000 > acres) and was distributed to the members in the fall of that year. On > the > suggestion of the Bishop of Cincinnati the new colony was given the name > Teutopolis. > > In the spring of 1839 the first settlers moved to their new property. > Clemens Uptmoor married Maria Elisabeth Niehaus, born on August 23, 1819 > in Laer > near Osnabrueck, in Cincinnati on September 24, 1839. The wedding took > place > between one of his frequent trips between the new colony and Cincinnati. > On > one occasion he walked the entire way (approximately 400 kilometers) by > foot. Another time he simply left his horse, which had become sick along > the > way, and traveled the rest of the way on foot. > > Several weeks after the wedding Clemens Uptmoor made the journey to > Teutopolis with his brother Hermann Heinrich and his brother-in-law > Clemens Vahling, > the husband of his sister Maria Anna, and their families (Clemens > Uptmoor's > siblings and his mother had followed him to America in 1837). The > little > group reached its destination on December 21, 1839. Since much snow had > already fallen by that time and there was no other shelter to be found, > they drove > some sheep out of a stall which they had run into only by chance and > lived > there for the first few days. On the day after their arrival they began > building a log cabin for Clemens Vahling, where the three families lived > together > until each possessed its own home. > > The next year Clemens Uptmoor opened a small store with goods having a > value of approximately one thousand dollars. At the same time he began > cultivating a large farm and worked as a carpenter for 25 cents a day, > which seemed a > high wage to the community at that time. In 1842 he started building a > windmill with his brother, which became operational in 1845. Since the > windmill worked with a great weight, however, a strong wind was necessary > to start > it running, and it stopped working in 1860. In spite of this the > windmill > was quite a sensation in those days, and it drew settlers from near and > far to > marvel at the structure. > > In 1882 Clemens Uptmoor and his son-in-law Joseph Siemer built a > steam-powered mill which was subsequently expanded, and today the "Siemer > Milling > Company" represents one of the largest enterprises of its type in > southern Illinois. > > Clemens Uptmoor played an equally essential role in the construction of > the > new church in Teutopolis, which was begun in 1851, and at the time was one > of > the most significant church buildings in a large area, and in the > construction of the first Franciscan monastery of the United States by > some monks from > Warendorf which had begun in Teutopolis in 1858. > > In 1865 he built an imposing home in Teutopolis and a commercial building, > which, in contrast to the other buildings in the region, were built not of > wood, but of brick. In the same year he built a slaughterhouse in which > more > than 1,800 pigs were killed in the first year alone. > >>From 1842 to 1869 Clemens Uptmoor worked as the first postmaster in > Teutopolis and during this time was responsible not only for the postal > coach > station, but also for the operation of the postal coaches. There was > never any > complaint or grievance raised against him. In 1868 he founded with some > others the first fire insurance company of the region, and he also > encouraged the > establishment of the volunteer fire department in 1883. > > As one can see, Clemens Uptmoor was active in many areas. His ventures > developed well, so that in 1889, as he and his wife celebrated their > golden > wedding anniversary, he could see a flourishing small town, booming > enterprises > and businesses. The fruitful development of the wilderness by German > settlers was in no small part due to his initiative, planning and hard > work, so > that he can be considered one of the pioneers of German colonization of > the > American continent along with his many peers, for example, Franz Joseph > Stallo > from Damme, founder of the town Minster in Ohio or Johann Heinrich > Ronnebaum > from Damme and Johann Heinrich Plaspohl from Sevelten, founders of the > town > Oldenburg in Indiana. > > When Clemens Uptmoor died on August 2, 1898, three years after the death > of > his wife, he was one of the wealthiest and most esteemed citizens of > Teutopolis. He left behind, in addition to his considerable fortune, no > small > number of descendants, who today live scattered throughout the USA, > despite the > fact that of his fourteen children five had died in their youth and two > daughters became nuns; the remaining descendants married almost > exclusively > emigrants who also came from the Vechta area (Suedkamp, Thuele, Hoedebeck, > Lamping, > Siemer, Woehrmann), and looked after a large number of descendants. > > > ==== ILEFFING Mailing List ==== > If you want to subscribe to this list or unsubscribe from it, send e-mail > to ILEFFING-L-request@rootsweb.com or (for the > digest list) ILEFFING-D-request@rootsweb.com and put the word subscribe or > unsubscribe in the message body. > > >