I just signed on to this list and would like to know how to access any archives. I am interested in the surnames Kinzer and Deardorff or their variations. I believe these ancestors were from near Trier. Gilda Kinzer

Trier is divided in two cantons (counties) - one is Stadtkreis (city of Trier) and Landkreis (rural area of the city of Trier). There is no Lowenbrucke County in Saarland or Rheinland-Pfalz The closest spelling for Lowenbrucke is Lowenbruch, south of Berlin in state of Brandenburg which is a long way from Trier. W. David Samuelsen Mary Kaselnak wrote: > > I am looking for relatives of Elizabeth Betzold. Her father was Mathias > Betzold born in 1821. Her mother was Paulina Alf Betzold born in 1823. > Elizabeth was born August 12, 1854 in Trier, Lowenbrucke County > Prussia. The family moved to Cincinnati Ohio in the early 1860's. > Elizabeth later moved to Brainerd Minnesota where she died in 1941. > Please contact me with any information on this family name. Other > family names might be Paulina, Gertrude, Cornelius, or Rosalie.

The letter that Timothy J. Barron sent mentioned the information below and I was wondering if this route was common for most from Luxembourg during this time. --->Emigrants to America generally pay half fare from Cochenn to Coblenz, 10 silver from Grosehen; from Cobleaz to Coeln, 20 silver Groschen; from Coeln to Antwerp by railway, two dollars per adult person, older than 10 or 12 years, children below that age pay half fare, and babies under one year travel free. From Antwerp to New York adults pay 80 francs while minors pay 70 francs. Thanks Karen

I am looking for relatives of Elizabeth Betzold. Her father was Mathias Betzold born in 1821. Her mother was Paulina Alf Betzold born in 1823. Elizabeth was born August 12, 1854 in Trier, Lowenbrucke County Prussia. The family moved to Cincinnati Ohio in the early 1860's. Elizabeth later moved to Brainerd Minnesota where she died in 1941. Please contact me with any information on this family name. Other family names might be Paulina, Gertrude, Cornelius, or Rosalie.

I would like to know information about Platz family. I have an ancestor named Friedrich Platz and his daughter Catarina Platz, arrived in Brazil about 1845, by ship named "Pampa". If someone have some information even a small information I will be glad. Thanks in advance. Ailton Platz do Amaral Sao Paulo - Brazil. aamaral@link.com.br

No. This is the place for Neumagen. Neumagen is on the Mosel just east of Trier. James Maxeiner -----Original Message----- From: W. David Samuelsen [mailto:dsam@wasatch.com] Sent: Tuesday, September 21, 1999 8:43 PM To: TRIER-ROOTS-L@rootsweb.com Subject: Re: [TRIER-ROOTS-L] Neumagen Are you sure it's spelled Neumagen? There is no listing for it in Germany at all. Closest comparable spelling if in old writing would be Remagen which is in north part of Rheinland-Pfalz between Koblenz and Bonn. (That's the one as in famous "Bridge at Remagen" in World War 2) W. David Samuelsen John Cooper wrote: > > Is this the correct mail list for discussions pertaining to Neumagen. > Thanks, John ==== TRIER-ROOTS Mailing List ==== Going on vacation longer than 4 days? send your message to Trier-L-request@rootsweb.com subject line: unsubscribe

Hi List, St. Michaels at T12N, R19E, Section 13 is in north-central Washington County, just east of the Kettle Moraine State Forest, a few miles east of Kewaskum along Hwy 28. Source-Wash. Co. plat book. Laura B., ( registered geologist) -----Original Message----- >Hope this helps clear things up a little bit. If I had a plat map west >of the one that I have, I could pitpoint the authors location. If >anyone has access to one, maybe they can look it up. It would have been >in Washington County I believe.

Are you sure it's spelled Neumagen? There is no listing for it in Germany at all. Closest comparable spelling if in old writing would be Remagen which is in north part of Rheinland-Pfalz between Koblenz and Bonn. (That's the one as in famous "Bridge at Remagen" in World War 2) W. David Samuelsen John Cooper wrote: > > Is this the correct mail list for discussions pertaining to Neumagen. > Thanks, John

I would like to post the name MELSHEIMER. Karl Ludwig Melsheimer was born in 1837 prob. in Mainz although I cannot be sure. He died in St. Louis, Missouri in 1901. He arrived in the US in New Orleans in 1852 alone. Traveled the Mississippi River for a number of years before settling in St. Louis. He married in St. Louis, Rosalina Dau. Her marriage application says Dau but personal papers say "nee Roden". The family home was Melsheim which is very near Strasburg. Other names associated with Melsheimer are : Barbara Theobald Barbara Grobholz - Neupfalz Anna Margarethe Mergenthal prob. from Bruckhausen Maria Magdelena Peltzer - Munchwald The Melsheimers were foresters and hunt masters. They were also wine makers as the Melsheimer in Bernkastle. Looking forward to hearing from some Melsheimers. Anne Sterry Henges in St. Louis.

I read this letter with interest. Imagine how our ancestors felt having to be on a ship three to six months for the journey to Australia. They were lucky to live in such a great area also. Kay Gassan Maryborough Queensland Australia -----Original Message----- From: TRIER-ROOTS-D-request@rootsweb.com <TRIER-ROOTS-D-request@rootsweb.com> To: TRIER-ROOTS-D@rootsweb.com <TRIER-ROOTS-D@rootsweb.com> Date: Wednesday, September 1999 1:29 Subject: TRIER-ROOTS-D Digest V99 #293

Marilyn Feinberg: Thank you for the response concerning Neumagen. I am trying to find information about Barbara Thielen Kranz who requested emigration to the US around 1864. Her application for emigration was reported in an article written by Joseph Mergen - "Die Amerika Auswanderung aus dem Amt Neumagen; In Heimatkalender fuer den Krieis Bernkastel (1956) pp68-71". Haven't had any luck finding this article. Also, cannot find her on a passenger list for "Bremen to New York" ships. Any ideas? Thanks, John in California feinber2@ix.netcom.com wrote: > On 09/21/99 16:32:08 you wrote: > > > >Is this the correct mail list for discussions pertaining to Neumagen. > >Thanks, John > > > > > >==== TRIER-ROOTS Mailing List ==== > >Support RootsWeb! Help provide FREE genealogical resources on the > >Internet: http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/how-to-subscribe.html > > > > > > To: John Cooper > From: Marilyn Feinberg > > Saw your posting on the TRIER-Roots. . . I would say that it is the right > list. . . my father's family comes from Neumagen. . . it is on the Mosel > River. . . about 20 minutes downstream from Trier. . . I know. . . I've been > there. > > Hope to hear from you to share research.

This is a multi-part message in MIME format. --------------1DD60E0B1EF1813EC1304495 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit --------------1DD60E0B1EF1813EC1304495 Content-Type: message/rfc822 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Content-Disposition: inline X-Mozilla-Status2: 00000000 Message-ID: <37E7DC86.E2365A22@cnsinternet.com> Date: Tue, 21 Sep 1999 14:29:11 -0500 From: Karen De Groote-Johnson <europatb@cnsinternet.com> X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.6 [en]C-compaq (Win98; U) X-Accept-Language: en MIME-Version: 1.0 To: MLWisc@aol.com Subject: Re: [TRIER-ROOTS-L] The Town 12 Letter--not my Town 12 References: <643bfac3.251908f2@aol.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Concerning Township numbers: Township numbers correspond to how far North (or south of the baseline it is. The range will tell you how far east or west. In Ozaukee County, Belgium Township is T12 North, Range 22-23 East. The village of Belgium is located in parts of sections 14,15,16,21,22 and 23 of Township 12. Looking at the letter I would put the author directly West of Belgium Township. Maybe the writer meant NW of Milwaukee because NE would be in the middle of lake Michigan.<G> Also, keep in mind that the county of Ozaukee did not exist in 1846. According to my information it was made from Washington County in 1853. Originally I thought it was made from the North part of Milwaukee County but I was incorrect. Hope this helps clear things up a little bit. If I had a plat map west of the one that I have, I could pitpoint the authors location. If anyone has access to one, maybe they can look it up. It would have been in Washington County I believe. Happy Hunting, Karen De Groote-Johnson --------------1DD60E0B1EF1813EC1304495--

Hello, I have this letter transcriped in German at home, too. Important: I do have several emigration infos to this emigrant here from Trier region. If there is anyone interested in Michael Rodenkirch`s brother and other datas in Germany please write. I do have these informations from a notary document. It was found from me while searching all the emigrants from the Manderscheid notary office 1838-1900. There are more than 300 emigrants listed in those of documents here in Germany. Towns in this area are Schalkenmehren, Deudesfeld, Eckfeld, Bleckhausen, Strohn, Gillenfeld, Manderscheid, Oberkail, Grosslittgen, and many others more. I do have a list of the emmigrants which left this area to emigrate in 1842-1848. There are a lot of families, including the Michael Rodenkirch family. But I never knew where he settled down at the finally end. Perhaps some other families went to Wisconsin, too ? One family was Georg Scheid. He emigrated with 3 other family members in 1843 to USA. sincerely Werner Lichter Gilzem,Germany ######### Timothy J. Barron schrieb: > > I received the following from a cousin, and I thought I would share it > with the list. I have no relation to the author of the letter, but it > makes interesting reading on what it was like leaving Germany for > Wisconsin in the mid 1800s. > > A translation of a letter written by Michael Rodenkirch, one of the > first settlers in the Village of St. Michaels, describes life as it was > to the early settlers of the area, and the state. > > State of West Konsin > December 26, 1846 > > Dearest Mother, All Sisters and Brothers, Brothers and Sisters-in-law, > Relatives and Acquantances: Sincere Greetings to you All! > > Thanks to God we are all well and hope the same of you. I do hope that > by now you have received my letter of Oct. 22, telling you where we have > finally landed. Should you have received this letter, I hope that news > from you is on the way. I will tell you again briefly about our trip. > > Emigrants to America generally pay half fare from Cochenn to Coblenz, 10 > silver from Grosehen; from Cobleaz to Coeln, 20 silver Groschen; from > Coeln to Antwerp by railway, two dollars per adult person, older than 10 > or 12 years, children below that age pay half fare, and babies under one > year travel free. From Antwerp to New York adults pay 80 francs while > minors pay 70 francs. > > >From New York you should acquire passage on steamship to Albany. From > Albany to Buffalo you may travel by "Ralter," perhaps ferry or railway. > >From Buffalo you travel again by steamboat to "Milwaukee in West > Konsin." Trip from New York to Albany costs 4 shilling, or 20 silver > Groschen; from Albany to Buffalo costs 5-6 dollars, from Buffalo to > Wisconsin by steamship costs 6 dollars. At each place "veradkirdiert," > [possibly register or be recorded] anew and do not trust every German > theiving trickster approaching you as exchange agent; these people are > usually bad characters. > > We had made arrangement for passage to Chicago, however, we went ashore > at Milwaukee on Lake Michigan, 80 miles above Chicago. We live now 40 > miles northeast of Milwaukee in Town 12, Range 19, Section 13. We are > all well satisfied here, have good land, and none molest us. > > We have a good home, 20 x 22 ft., built of logs. We also have a wagon, > a yoke of oxen which cost $50.00; a cow, costing $18.00; chickens and > other domestic animals. The cattle graze night and day in the open > woods, and whenever they do come home we give them a handful of salt and > a little meal to the cows. Salt is not expensive here, it costs 12 > shilling, (two dollars in Prussian money), per tonne, a tonne weighs > almost 300 pounds. Eight shilling make a dollar or 100 cts. Ten Gulden > are worth $4.00 here. Prussian money is not good here; whoever > emigrates should exchange his money for gold. Parisian drafts on a good > New York bank are good. The drafts I had were good and I deposited them > in New York and after traveling 1,600 miles to Milwaukee sold them > without loss. > > I have bought eight times 80 acres, all in one plot, making a whole > section, for $800.00. The would be 1080 Morgen in Prussia. There are > no hills here. Whoever buys uncultivated land must be prepared to live > a year on his purse, and that is very expensive living. > > The trip across the ocean took 52 days; despite storm and high waves, > thanks to God, all went well. The trip through America to Milwaukee > took us 18 days. Whoever makes this trip had better take good care of > his money. With us there were people from Brohl on the Maihfeld who > were robbed of 2,200 dollars in Albany. Their plight was great as they > could only travel a short distance. > > Here in our woods we hear nothing of robberies; hardly any one has a > lock on his door. So far I have not seen a snake, but there are foxes, > groundhogs, deer, elk, prarie chickens, and other birds. There are also > strawberries, raspberries, blackberries, and many varieties of plants, > trees, and herbs. We have two kinds of sugar maple, four kinds of oaks, > large basswoods, nut trees, redwood, and ironwood which gets so hard > that an iron nail can not be driven into it. For fuel wood, we use the > ash. We also have many larch trees of enormous size. Many of the > fallen trees of dead timber lie crisscross in the forests making it > exceedingly difficult for travel. > > I find great joy in walking through the forests, admiring the tall trees > 40 to 50 feet high, without a branch, all even thickness; they are > beautiful. My children may pick the finest living places by lot they > may choose where they wish to locate. Children and children's children > no longer need fear Martini, (tax term day November 11). Meat we have > three times daily except Fridays or other days of abstinence. White > bread, like Wittlicher Weck, we eat every day. I wish I could wish you > here, never yet have I regretted making the trip - often I have asked > the two youngest children whether they would like to return to their old > home; they always answer, "No, not for a thousand dollars." We wish we > could have you her for several days, or as long as you might want to > stay. I would like to give you a treat, even if it were to cost me > $50.00. > > Tools are very expensive here, but good. Bring an ax for use on the > trip, bring no chains, little tinware for of that we have enough here, > and for travel across the sea iron pots and pans are best, for your > cooking, as tinware does not stand the wear and tear. For your sea > voyage make your own "zweiback" and take along sufficient oatmeal and > wheat flour. If you can obtain potatoes, use them for your vegetable. > Also carry along ham, butter, brandy, spices, coffee, sugar, and > whatever else you might like to eat on your trip across the sea, for on > the sea your money will not buy you anything. If you plan on traveling > through the woods here, bring several pairs of boots and shoes and > durable clothes; also bring waffle iron and cake pan. > > Unmarried and single people will have a good income here in America, in > a short time they may earn more than they may ever inherit from their > parents. > > Our Church affairs are still in a bad way. We hope to build a church > next year. Now, unless we wish to travel great distances, we must have > our prayers and devotions in our own home. The Gospel we find in our > books and must meanwhile be content with that. > > All of our homes are somewhat different and 400 - 600 - 1,000 steps > apart. My nearest neighbor, Tull, from Gillenfeld, lives about 500 > steps away. In adjoining homes live; I, Schneider, Theisch, Keller, > Junk, Herriges from Strohn, Tull and Hammes, from Gillenfeld, Tullen, > from Strotzbuesch, Rodermund, from Scheidweiler, and a certain Catholic, > Buckecker, from Switzerland, a few Englishmen, and also some Lutherans. > Each treats the other kindly and all visit back and forth. > > On Christmas Day we had fine weather without snow. Many have asked me > to give you all the news. Later I shall give you more detailed news. > Pass this news on to my brothers-in-law, Peter Tullen, Gerhardt Schaefer > and his wife Susanna, from Schalkenmehren, my "Vaetern" (possibly > cousins) Hilarius, John Rodermund, from Oberscheidweiler and all other > relatives from Niederscheidweiler. > > How gladly I would like to give you something from my abundance of > wood. When I see the great woodpiles burn it pains my heart and my wife > is moved to tears. All woods is burned except for rail fences to keep > the cattle out. Our cattle stays out in the open, winter and summer, > and grazes. Large bells are hung on their necks and one may hear them a > mile away. Almost throughout the year our cattle finds its lodging > places under the trees. I have erected some shelter for my cattle but > it is with difficulty that I keep them there even when the weather is > bad. They prefer to lie in the open. Our scythes are narrow but nearly > twice as long as yours, the blades are not hammered but sharpened with a > stone. > > Should you plan to undertake the trip to America, make sure that you are > on time at the depot or dock, as neither ships nor train will wait a > minute for you - they are gone like a shot. Whoever makes the trip will > be impressed with the omnipotence of God. It is still impossible for me > to describe our voyage adequately. We were enroute 75 days. Back home > we always thought that England was far, far away, but after five days of > travel we were nearing the English coast and after 10 days we were > alongside Scotland and Ireland; after that we were soon out in the open > sea. This shows the speed of our ship. On the ocean we were for 55 > days. High waves often dashed our ship. The slant of our ship often > made it impossible to stand without hanging onto something. At times > gusts of wind almost threatened to overturn our ship, but like a > floating egg, it would always right itself. The last ten days we sailed > along the American shores and then entered the world famous, beautiful > New York harbor. We remained in New York for a day. The sumptuous > meals served us in America did not agree well with these exhausted > pilgrims. The next night we traveled 45 miles by steamboat to Albany > and then on as I have already related. We reached Milwaukee in 17 days, > and our destination here, afoot, in two days. All of us who came from > Gillenfeld and vicinity are happy and well, but I do not know where all > of them finally settled. Joseph Streit went to Chicago. > > Single men, with a good job, may easily save enough money in one year > for an 80 acre farm. The government permits one to claim two 80 acre > farms for one year and at the end of the year another member of the > family, 21 years of age, many renew the claim. Insurance costs 12 > shilling, or two Prussian dollars. Having acquired a claim, one may > immediately reside on the land without additional taxes. Anyone may > establish a claim without much ado by merely selecting a desired plot on > the plat, giving his name and without dickering about a price. Price of > an acre is 20 shillings; in Prussia that would be two and one-half > pfenning a rod. There are still vast uninhabited areas available but > there are no established roads. > > I can hardly grasp the meaning of be separated from you by 7,000 miles. > Climate here is very much like yours. There are five Indian huts in our > vicinity. Indians live on game, are clothed in pelts and wear woolen > breech cloths. They sell much deer and elk meat. Each Indian has a > saddle horse. They are people like we are, somewhat colored, harm none, > visit us freely, sometimes beg, saying, "give me some." At first we > were afraid of these people but we have lost our fear. I have even > visited them in their huts, or course well protected by my double > barrelled rifle and bayonet. The were filled with fear but quite > accommodating. They lounged on the bare ground; their shoes were made > of pelts and tied to their feet. Honey they find in the woods. I have > seen them gather more than an "Ohm" from some trees. There is little > underbrush in our highland forests. I wish you also could be with us. > A few miles from here I could find very fine farm land for you. > > Should you decide to come remember that I am your friend, do not fail to > call on me. Many of our old friends back home tried to frighten us with > their fairy tales of wild beasts here. That is why I brough my double > barrelled gun and pistol and bayonet which could easily spring into > action by a touch of the left hand should danger require it. It is > quite possible that wild horses still live beyond the Mississippi, farm > from here. > > I must tell you something about our language used here. For the numbers > we use our ciphers. "Holz" is called "wood;" "fleisch" is "meat," etc. > > We pay postage on our letters to the border, the balance of postage you > are obliged to pay; deduct that from my account. > > GIve my regards to the most venerable pastor, the honorable burgomaster, > and all those mentioned in my previous letter. I send as many greetings > as there are drops of water between us. Give greetings to all relatives > and acquaintances. We shall remember you in our prayers daily and hope > you are praying for us. Remain true to the faith, hope and love in > God; do your duty. We wish you a Happy New Year. > > Give greetings also to all our neighbors, Peter Schaldweiler, Peter > Sartoris, our teacher and his family, all my sponsors, and all members > of the Congregation Strohn. I greet you a hundred thousand times and > remain. > > Your sincere brother, > Michael Rodenkirch > > -- > \\\|/// > \\ ~ ~ // > ( @ @ ) > ------- oOOo-(_)-oOOo--------------------------- > Timothy J. Barron > mailto:tjbarro@ibm.net > http://www.geocities.com/tjbarro > --------------------Oooo.----------------------- > .oooO ( ) > ( ) ) / > \ ( (_/ > \_) > > ==== TRIER-ROOTS Mailing List ==== > Sister or Brother > Can you spare $10 for Rootsweb? > http://www.rootsweb.com/rootsweb/how-to-subscribe.html

----- Original Message ----- From: Wicks Freilinger Family To: marc.lecuit@perceval.lu Sent: Monday, September 20, 1999 1:02 AM Subject: Book on Rosport Marc, You recently posted the following on TRIER-ROOTS-L: >This last book is very recent and contains information about Rosport and >the depending villages. There is also information about the families of the >Rosport region. >Check following site: www.mpk.lu. They have no online shop but you can send >a mail. I am interested in this book...unfortunately, I only speak English and was not sure what I was looking at. Do you have the title of the Rosport book? Is it safe to assume that someone on the other end will be able to read my letter in English? Now that I am starting research in Luxembourg, I suppose I should try and find some language dictionaries... -Shawn Wicks Freilinger Shawn, I think you can fairly well assume that there is somebody at the shop able to read english. I'll try to remember the title of the book, next time I am at the shop. Meanwhile, all I recall is that the book's title mainly speaks about the town of Rosport and then something like "and the depending/surrounding villages", like f.ex. Osweiler. I can't say if the book is written in french or german. Just give it a try and forward their answer to me - if I see what they are proposing I willl be able to tell if it is the right one... The book is to be found in a special corner of the shop : LUXEMBURGENSIA Good luck. Marc Lecuit Grand Duché de Luxembourg marc.lecuit@perceval.lu

Dear Tim Barron, This is an open letter to thank you for sharing Michael Rodenkirch's letter with the list. Most of us do not have this kind of documentation of the experiences of our emigrant families, yet I feel that Michael's letter could have been written by any of them. His story is the story of the vast majority of those who ventured to North America and Canada in search of a better life for their families. That is probably the reason that it is touching so many on the list. Thank you again for sharing Michael's letter will all of us! Thanks too, to Werner Lichter for his help with our research! If he hadn't posted in reply to your posting Michael's letter, I might have missed it all together!! Patt Gaetani

Is this the correct mail list for discussions pertaining to Neumagen. Thanks, John

Hi: it would seem on second review, that this letter is referring to a place from a neighboring county of ours. But that's okay with me! This is still a priceless letter of the time-period. I am wondering if the writer was referring to St. Michael's in the southern kettle moraine area? I am wondering WHY the person said they were from Town 12--the Bureau of Land Management didn't do this, did they? List towns with the same numbers in different counties? I thought they did it on an original territorial/state level? Melissa in Ozaukee County, WI

This is absolutely wonderful!! These people lived in Town 12 which is Belgium, Ozaukee County, WI, near where I live! Would it be possible to get a handwritten copy of this letter for the book I am doing on the Town 12 Belgian/Luxembourg immigrants? This is priceless!!! Melissa in Ozaukee county, WI

What a wonderful letter. Thank you for sharing it. I read every word and imagined my ancestors coming to Southern Minnesota. Joan -- Joan Schneider Born, (Rootsweb Sponsor), researching: BENESCH, BORN, BRAND, CHRISTEN, DROMMERS, GROSJEAN, HAMMES, HENGES, HERRMANN. (HEERMANN), HUNA, HUPERTZ, KNOTT, LAMBY, LENG, LIEBL, MURGES, ROSS, (ROHS), SCHNEIDER, SCHNOBRICH, TURBES, YOUNG

Thank you for sharing. This was a great story, Karen