Hello List Here's this week's column, You may have seen the old news included before, but I had not shared it with the newspaper readers yet. Please continue to send in your family stories, memories, queries and reunion information on your Bosque County families, to be included here and in the Bosque County News, our local newspaper. Good luck to everyone researching Bosque County Roots. Thank you to all who have contributed. Have a great week! LaDawn Garland Bosque County, Tx garland@htcomp.net Out Of Our Past Tracing Our Bosque County Roots March 27, 2002 We have found a family for the Oswald photo that was in last week's column, Annelle Wells the grand-daughter of the couple in the photo emailed to let me know it was of her grandparents. She seemed very happy to get it back, her father was really happy as well, his mother in the photo had died when he was five years old and it was very special to him to have this photo that had been lost. Thanks again to PJ Holman for locating and saving the photo, I'm so glad we were able to find the right family. Please continue to send in your family stories, queries, memories and reunion information, they will be here in the newspaper column and on the internet as well. You never know what old friends or distant cousins you might locate. Sommerfeld-Behnke family in Bosque County I am still searching for early information on my paternal great-grandfather, his siblings, and parents. What I do know is that in the 1860's, Michael Sommerfeld and his wife Pauline nee Schulz immigrated from Posen Province, Prussia to Washington County, Texas. The area of what was Posen is now within the borders of Poland. My paternal grandfather, Gustav Sommerfeld was their youngest son, one of either 8 or 9 children. Grandpa Gus was born December 14, 1880, in Washington County. Family stories, records and headstones reveal that when Gus was about 9, his mother died, and his father soon remarried. At age 14, Grandpa Gus left home to live with some family friends who came from the same area of Posen and had settled nearby. This was the Gustav Behnke family. Documents, including ship's passenger manifests, prove that Gustav Behnke immigrated from Schokken (Skoki) Wrongowitz Kreis, Posen, Prussia, in 1875 with his wife Augusta nee Baier, arriving May 31, 1975, in Michigan, after first landing in New York. Entry through the Ellis Island system probably explains why their immigration was better recorded than the Sommerfeld side, who are believed to have come to Texas through Galveston, possibly after initially landing elsewhere. Because the Behnke's and Sommerfeld's were apparently neighbors in Posen, I am led to believe the Sommerfeld's also came from Schokken or nearby. Grandpa Gus was engaged to the Behnkes' daughter Marie, born in 1882. Unfortunately, Marie died in February, 1901, of malaria at the age of 19, reportedly shortly before the scheduled wedding. Subsequently, in 1902, Grandpa Gus married Marie's older sister Bertha Behnke, who was born in Washington County, Texas in 1878. They produced 12 children, with one infant, Anna, dying in her first year of life. Anna is buried in Bismarck Cemetery in Bosque County, off SH 56 on CR412. Gus Behnke had a brother Heinrich who immigrated to America in 1881, also initially coming to theWashington and Fayette County area. In 1896 Heinrich moved his family to Bosque County. He and his wife Augusta nee Winkelmann are buried in the Bismarck Cemetery. Many of Gustav Behnke's children followed, including Grandpa Gus Sommerfeld, and his bride, Bertha nee Behnke, after they married in 1902. They initially settled in the Walnut Springs area. My father, Rinert F. Sommerfeld, the 6th child and second son of Gus and Bertha, was born there April 7, 1910. In 1911, the family moved to the Clifton area, between Smith Bend and Cayote. Bertha Behnke Sommerfeld died unexpectedly on May 16, 1936. She was known to have a bad heart. Gus had taken Bertha to see the doctor in Clifton, and afterward they stopped off at their daughter Frieda's home. Frieda had married Fred Ludwig, and the family lived outside of Clifton near Womack. While sitting in the yard, admiring baby chicks, Bertha had a sudden attack and fell dead. Grandpa Gus still had 6 children at home. On March 10, 1937 he married married Emma Knuppel Naumann, who brought 7 children of her own to the marriage, with 5 still at home. Together, they had Ralph, born 1938, married Irene Riley; and Margaret, born 1939, married Raymond Klaehn. Children of Gus Sommerfeld and Bertha Behnke were: Ella, (1903-1954), married Joseph Urban; Adolph, (1904-1984), married Mary Urban; Frieda, (1905-1996), married Fred Ludwig; Alma, (1907-1998), married Peter Urban; Selma, (1908-1998), married Emil Schwartz; Rinert, (1910-1996) married Anna Urban.; Anna (1912-1913); Rudolph, (1914-), married Christine Mihlhause; Hilda (1916-2000), married Otto Zelmer; Leroy(1919-1977), never married; Lawrence, (1920-1978); married Sidonia Zander; Regina (1924-), married Richard Green. Much family information has come from Zion Evangelical Church records at Womack, and surviving records from St. John Evangelical Church, which once stood across the road from the cemetery at what was known as Bismarck Community. They are full of Behnke and Sommerfeld family baptisms, confirmations and weddings in the late 19th and early 20th century. St. Paul Lutheran Church was established in 1942 at Pleasant Hill, southeast of Clifton on FM 708, with Gus Sommerfeld as a founding member. Those records are now stored at Trinity Lutheran Church in Clifton, after St. Paul merged with Trinity in 1960. The Behnke and Sommerfeld family are mostly buried in the various cemeteries around Bosque County, primarily the Clifton Cemetery. Some family members are buried in Washington County. I continue to follow the trail of records and uncover more details all the time. I am hopeful that I will be able to identify the family roots in Posen. Pat Lyon patsroar@htcomp.net Old News From Around Bosque County The Bosque Citizen Thursday, Dec. 22, 1886 Married Johnson - Smith at Clifton, Monday evening, Dec. 20, 1886, Mr. Stewart Johnson of Albany, Texas and Miss Carrie Smith of Clifton were united in wedlock. Miss Delia Spears and Mr. O.D. Cheatham of Albany, accompanied the groom. The bridal party left for Albany, Wednesday morning where the couple will make their future home. Clifton Letter Clifton, Dec. 20 The funeral of Mr. Carl Questad took place Monday, 15th inst. Mr. Questad was 73 years old and was one of the earliest settlers of Bosque. He settled here 38 years ago and lived an honorable life. His funeral testified the esteem in which he was held by the people who knew and loved him. It was the largest concourse that ever assembled in this locality to pay the last sad tribute to the dead. Mr. Questad was stricken down on Monday 6th and died Monday 13th, 1886. Mrs Brisco was buried at 10 in the morning and Mr. Questad at 4 in the afternoon on the same day. On the following day the 16th, Christina, the ten year old daughter of Mr. and Mrs Nelson, of Clifton was buried in same cemetery. On Thursday morning last, Mr. DeHart, father of our Justice of the Peace, had the misfortune to lose his stable, corn crib, hay and horse by fire. It is supposed the hay caught from a spark from the stove pipe. Improvements S.F. Ozburn has purchased the Frank Gaston house on the hill near the cemetery and will occupy it as soon as Mr. Cornelison can vacate. Col. Morrell is progressing finely with the work on his residence. V.H. Iley will build cottages on his new purchase. P. B. Ward's cottage is nearly ready for occupancy. Sam Harris has completed and is living in his new residence Be sure to visit the Bosque County site at http://www.rootsweb.com/~txbosqu2/ there's a wealth of information on Bosque County and it's families provided by volunteers and other researchers. Contribute your family information, you might just find something on your ancestors there. You're quite likely to find others researching your family line as well. There you can check out the new project for the TxGenWeb archives, you can submit Texas Family Group Sheets, be sure to submit your Bosque County family. The Bosque County Collection in Meridian has a treasure trove of history just waiting to be explored. From the many newspapers covering the county through the years, census, death and marriage records to the old deeds. There is sure to be something there for every researcher, for more information visit their website at http:www.htcomp.net/bcc Good luck to all who are researching their Bosque County roots. If you would like to submit a query, family story or reunion information on your Bosque County family, please email me at garland@htcomp.net, or mail it to Bosque County News, P.O. Box 343, Meridian, Tx 76665 or fax it to 254-435-6335.