A Memorable Christmas

by Gertrude Graupner

This is the story of a very special Christmas in the lives of the Graupner family. Carl and Gertrude and their five children (Ken, Phil, Jim, John and Cathy) farmed just outside the village of Spencer, Wisconsin. Chuck was not yet born.

Carl’s mother, Anna, and his sister, Johanna, lived in a small German village in the Taunus Mountains called, Schlangenbad.

In July 1951, Anna and Hanni came from Germany by steamship to visit the three families in America. What was to be a three month’s visit was extended to be actually nine. They chose to come first to us, on the farm, and then for Christmas.

Anna and Hanni came from Germany by steamship

Long before, Hanni had made special plans, such as baking and assemblying a Knusperhauschen, or cookie house. She worked at it evenings after the five children were asleep.

Hanni assembled a Knusperhauschen

Oma was busy knitting mittens, scarves, and sweaters. She baked several large Stollen and stored them away and I made my usual supply of cookies and breads.

Oma was busy knitting

We had invited my brother’s family and other friends and day by day excitement grew. Alas! All invitations had to be cancelled, except for the grandparents, as the oldest three boys, one by one, came down with the mumps.

Nevertheless, Hanni was determined to continue with her plans. She insisted we trim the tree on the afternoon of the 24th, so we could celebrate on Christmas Eve. This was no easy task, since all the boys’ beds had been moved to the “blue” room next to the living room so they could be warmer. The upstairs then was hardly heated. Sliding doors could be closed for privacy, but little noses pressed against the crack until paper covered it. Going to the bathroom meant being covered with a quilt and promising not to peek as they were carried out through the living room.

Little noses pressed against the crack...

At last the doors opened to reveal a prettily decorated tree, all the old favorites hanging there, and new ornaments from Germany glistening!

Five-year-old John managed to attend the Christmas program at church and was brought back by Grandpa and Grandma Boock, excitedly carrying the generous Christmas sack, to the envy of the rest.

John brought back the generous Christmas sack

Boxes were opened and happiness reigned. Perhaps each child can still remember what the gifts were. I only remember Ken’s box revealing his long-awaited b.b. gun and a coonskin cap. We all laughed heartily (except the three boys, for it hurt too much) to see Oma discover three nightgowns. Each family knew she needed one.

Later when the children were asleep, and we grown-ups sat down to enjoy good wine and Stollen, we peeked into the “blue” room. There they lay with cheeks as fat as chipmunks”. On Ken’s face an expression of pure bliss lay. In his arms the b.b. gun was cradled and on his tousled head was the coonskin cap!

On Ken's face an expression of pure bliss lay

"A Memorable Christmas" was written by Gertrude Graupner for the Christmas 1983 edition of "The Settler." Introduction and drawings by Jim Graupner accompanied the story.

The Malchines: Carl's Other Family

I'm just going to introduce this topic and hope you will help me write the story of the influence that the Hilda and Albert Malchine Family had on our dad, Carl Graupner, both as a person and in shaping Carl's dream of having his own farm that began when he was 9 years old in Germany. Of course, the influence of the Malchines was far reaching, even to the point of shaping our own lives.

This is timely not only because the Frank Oelrich farm of the previous story bears a resemblance to that of "Pine Crest," the Malchine farm, but also because this impressive areal photo is also a Christmas greeting to our family from over a half century ago.

For 152 years, this magnificant farm has been continuously operated by the same amazing family and continues even still. There are many stories that we will remember; but, for me, the fact that they had their own family history museum, called the "Hunky-Dory," was both romantic and inspirational--even to the point of building one in our own garden.

Jim Graupner

Wilhelmine "Minnie" Korth Oelrich: Birthday Anniversary

December 20th is the birthday anniversary of Wilhelmine "Minnie" Korth Oelrich, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Korth. Minnie was the matriarch of a large, prominent farm family in Spencer, Wisconsin. Her husband was Frank Oelrich, son of Gustav and Emilie Ernstine Schwantes Oelrich. The Oelrichs and their Korth, Schwantes, Neumann, and Oelrich branches populated many of the farms that spread in all directions around the small Village of Spencer.

Minnie and Frank Oelrich farmed a beautiful stretch of land to the east of Spencer. Their farmstead had a large, handsome barn and lovely home. It became a compound of three farms, located in close proximity, run by their children. Their family included seven children: Lillian, Eleanor, Elmer, Wilmer, Marian, Ted, and Bonnie. As the Oelrich family grew, their family celebrations became amazing events.

The Boock - Oelrich Connection:

Although the Minnie and Frank Oelrich families were established in Spencer for generations, Marian met young Norbert Boock, pretty much a newcomer to Spencer, and they fell in love. Norbert, who lived in Minneapolis, was visiting his parents, Emma and Arthur Boock, in Spencer.

Art was the cashier of the Spencer State Bank; actually, this was the second time the Boocks lived in Spencer, because in 1908, as newlyweds, Art and Emma came to Spencer, where Arthur founded the bank. The three Boock children: Norbert (1909), Gertrude (1912), and Esther (1914) were born in Spencer. However, shortly after Esther was born, the Boock family moved back to New Ulm, where Art headed the Farmer's and Merchant's Bank, a business interest of Emma's father, Fred Aufderheide.

In 1930, there was an opportunity for Art to return to Spencer; Norbert was in college at the University of Minnesota and Gertrude attended Dr. Martin Luther College in New Ulm.
But both Norbert and Gertrude spent some of their vacations in Spencer, where they met many friends. Basically, that's how Norbert met Marian.

On April 3, 1937, Marian Oelrich married Norbert Frederick Boock, son of Arthur Lincoln Boock (born in New Ulm, 1881) and Emma Aufderheide Boock (born in New Ulm, 1884). Art Boock was the son of Christian Friederich Boock and Wilhelmine Plath Boock, German immigrants who settled in New Ulm.

[Photo: Norbert and Marian Oelrich Boock with their attendants Ted Oelrich, Gertrude Boock, and Bonnie Oelrich, flowergirl, after the reception at the Oelrich home.]

Norbert and Marian began their married life in Minneapolis; their daughter Marilyn Jane was born there on July 21, 1938. Gertrude and Carl were about to be married in August. Since Marian and Norbert were in the wedding party, perhaps this is the occasion for the Oelrich gathering at the Boock house, in the photo below.

[l - r: Emma and Arthur Boock, Minnie Oelrich, Marian Oelrich Boock with Marilyn, Frank Oelrich, Eleanor Oelrich, Norbert Boock, Lillian Oelrich, Bonnie Oelrich, Carl Graupner. Perhaps Carl's betrothed, Gertrude Boock, is taking the photograph. Photo: Summer 1939]

In addition to Marilyn, the Boock family grew with the arrival of David Frederick, born on July 20, 1942, in Minneapolis, and Gerald Allen, born on October 13, 1948 in Marshfield, Wisconsin, after the Norbert Boocks had moved back to Spencer, where Norbert worked in the bank.


This photo shows both the Norbert Boock family and the Carl Graupner family in the summer of 1948, just as significant changes were underway. Actually, the Graupner family is about to return to their current home in Burlington, when the early morning photo was taken.

Norbert and Marian built their new home in Spencer, in 1948, just in time for Jerry to start his young live there. Carl and Gertrude would move their family to Spencer from Burlington in December of 1948, to begin farming there. [Photo: Jim Graupner with Gertrude Boock Graupner, Uncle George Gieseke behind, Norbert Boock with son David, Marilyn Boock with John Graupner, Arthur Boock, Emma Boock with Philip Graupner, Cathryn Graupner being held by Marian Oelrich Boock with Ken Graupner in front with the jump rope.

The Oelrich farm is still farmed by Oelrichs, but the Boocks and Graupners live elsewhere.

Jim Graupner

Who ARE we? More than Photo-Chemical Visiages

Sometimes a photo portrait, in this case of a family portrait, percolates up from the bottom of the "unidentified" pile, as if desperately pleading for resurrection up from the photo-chemical netherworld, back to identity and meaning.

As it turns out, a combination of three words from Emma Aufderheide Boock; the photographer's embossed logo; Olivia Raabe's March 1961, "The Family Tree;" and Jim Aufderheide's genealogical notes [found on the right side-bar of this blog], provide important information that lead close to a complete answer. First, the three words are "Landwehr," "Otis," and "Harold." Since Olivia Raabe's family chart draws out many family names from the Schapekahm trunk of "The Family Tree," the "Landwehr" branch on her tree was the second clue.

Actually, the name "Landwehr" occurs twice in her records: Johann Schapekahm Sr. married Margareth[e]a Adelheid Landwehr in Germany, before emigrating to the United States. And, interestingly, their son, John Hermann HeinrichSchapekahm, married Maria Westphal and they had a daughter, Emma S. Schapekahm who married William J. Landwehr. It remains unclear what family connection, if any, there might have been between Emma's grandmother and her husband.

Jim Aufderheide's genealogical chart for that Schapekahm line shows that Emma and William Landwehr had two sons: Ottis G. and Harold W. Which of the two of them would be the gentleman on the photo was easy to resolve: Harold died before he reached his first birthday (11 May 1898-29 March 1999). So, from his chart it may be concluded that the gentleman is Otis G. Landwehr, born 10 October 1896, and married to Louisa A. on about 1902.

The photo taken by "Gooe, Milwaukee" provides the final clue, because John Schapekahm "moved to Milwaukee where all of his children lived in 1920, when he was 80 years old and died there in 1922, which is his notation #9, with its source, "Farewell for Mr. and Mrs. John Schapekahm," New Ulm Review. New Ulm, MN. 15 Sep 1920, Microfilm, Brown County.

Yet to be determined would be Louisa's maiden name and the names and dates for their children--and, of course, their story.

Coincidentally, this detail from a photograph taken on the occasion of an Aufderheide family Easter picnic in New Ulm, on April 20, 1919, a year and five months before John and Mary Westphal Schapekahm headed to join Otis' family in Milwaukee, shows both John Schapekahm (second from left, standing next to Emma Aufderheide Boock) and his wife, Mary Westphal Schapekahm (on the extreme right of the photograph). Young Norbert Boock is standing tall in the center of the detail.

I said "coincidentally," because I've just been passing the picnic photo around to see if we could clearly identify everyone in the larger photo for future reference. Jim Graupner

William Ruemke Sr.?--Not!

by Julie Lynne Humes

William Ruemke Sr.? Not. It's Really Hermann Heinrich Wilhelm Rümke

[Photo Right: aka "William Ruemke, Sr." jfg pic][ Below: William Ruemke (nee Hermann Heinrich Wilhelm Rümke) with son Christ, ca. 1880, Courtesy Julie Humes]

In all the documentation I have seen about the Ruemke patriarch, William Ruemke, he has always been referred to as William Sr. Or maybe, better yet, his son, William Frederick Ruemke (my great-grandfather), was referred to as William Jr. Finding documentation with the help of my cousin Chris Rümke in Amsterdam has brought new meaning to "you can run but you cannot hide." Well, almost. I have found William to be elusive up until he arrived in New Ulm. He was an illegal emigrant who probably stowed away to get to America. Family lore has it that he was one of three brothers who decided to make their way into the New World.

Back in the 1850's, as industrialization made its way across Europe, many farmers left Germany in search of a better life for their families. Typically the oldest son was sent as a scout to America to find work and establish a place to bring the rest of the family. We don't know if William actually accomplished this, but we do know that his brother, Christian Friederich Rümke, b. 1843, did end up in New Ulm as well. There are actually two New Ulm Ruemke lines from these brothers. The family story is that William stiffed his brothers and never sent the money home. We don't know the truth, but I'd like to think he didn't do something like that. If he did, why would Christ (his brother) end up in New Ulm with him?

What I have learned its this. While turning over the rocks of family history is an exciting endeavor, sometimes we don't like what we find. It is not proven, but most likely probable, that the Ruemke line of William and his brother are not even Ruemkes by blood. In Prussian towns and villages, the family names often stayed with the farms and villages they established. William's grandmother, Marie Dorothee Redeker (1774-1847) married into the Rümke family and lived on the Rümke farm. Her husband died early on and she married Gerd Heinrich Vahrenkamp. Gerd took the name Rümke as he made residence on the farm. Since DNA testing is no longer an option -- the line has disappeared -- we think we'll just go on being Ruemkes. Here's the William Ruemke "Sr." story.
Julie Humes


[Photo: William Ruemke (1838-1908) & first wife Fredericka Schröer (1836-1876), Courtesy of Julie Humes] [Photo Below: Johana Margarethe Maria Schapekahm (Maria), jfg pic]

William Ruemke was born Hermann Heinrich Wilhelm Rümke at Oppenwehe 28, Wehdem, Westfalen, Germany. His death notice and marriage certificates only give the name Wilhelm; however, a documented entry was found for him in the German book Beiträge zur Westfälischen Familienforschung, with his full name and parents defined:

Hermann Heinrich Wilhelm Rümke aus Oppenwehe Kirchspiel Wehdem, Ackersmann, b. 22 December 1838 (this birth information is in error), parents: Johann Heinrich Rümke and Caroline Henriette Spreen, year of emigration: 1859, to Amerika.

William emigrated from Germany in 1859 without permission, perhaps a stowaway. He was first found in the U.S. in Cincinnati, Hamilton, Ohio, but could not be found on the 1860 census there. According to his obituary, he was married in 1862 in Cincinnati. His wife, Fredericka Charlotte Schröer, born abt. 1836, was the daughter of Johann Heinrich & Wilhelmine Catharine Büsemeier Schröer of Ledde, Westfalen, Germany.

In 1864, William & family moved to New Ulm. He was a member of the Turner Colonization Society, and made the journey from Ohio to Minnesota. He did travel with the original Turners, and escaped the ravages of the Sioux uprising that occurred two years prior.

William was a carpenter and contractor by trade. Once in New Ulm, he formed a partnership with Louis Buenger building houses. The business was dissolved in 1875 and William again formed another trade partnership, this time with Herman Schapekahm. Along the same lines, William and Herman constructed residential dwellings in a successful venture for about 20 years. William built a reputation of being one of the best-known contractors and builders in the Brown County area.

William purchased 80 acres of Sioux Indian Trust Land in New Ulm on 10 Jul 1868, and another 80 adjacent acres on 1 Apr 1872.

Four children were born to William & Fredericka, two of which died in infancy. Christian F. was born 15 Jun 1863 in Cincinnati, Hamilton, OH, and William Frederick, Jr. was born in New Ulm on 27 Aug 1866. Both sons established themselves as solid citizens of New Ulm and raised their families there.

Fredericka died on 14 Feb 1876, leaving William to raise their two sons, then 13 and 10 years old. However, William quickly remarried the sister of his partner, Herman. Johanna Margarethe Maria Schapekahm (Maria) became his bride on 4 Jul 1876 in New Ulm. Maria was born 13 Jun 1852 in Ruesfort near Gehrde, Westfalen, Prussia to John Gerhard and Maria Adelheit Kaiser Schapekahm. Maria came to the U.S. in about 1871 with her father and five siblings, 8 years after the death of her mother.

[Photo Above: William and Mary Schapekahm Ruemke Family: Caroline "Lena" Ruemke (Gustav) Hillemann; Mary Schapekahm Ruemke; Emma E. Ruemke (Albert Peter) Boock; Mrs. Christian Ruemke; and Bertha Ruemke. jfg pic]

To this union three daughters were born in New Ulm: Carolina "Lena" Mary (married Gustav Hillemann); Emma E. married Albert Peter Boock; and, Bertha, b. 6 Jan 1887, d. 23 Aug 1972, New Ulm, Brown, MN (never married).

Emma Theresa Boock: Interconnected Families

by Jim Graupner, with Julie Humes

Among the first attempts at broadening out the rudimentary Boock genealogy provided by Albert Peter Boock, was to search through family correspondence, including letters from A.P. Boock, Esther Solsrude, and Minnie Broecker for information about the families of Christian Friederich Boock and Wilhelmine Plath Boock.

Along the way, I published my notes as "The Boock Genealogy" in my first edition of "The Settler." Since we now have several Keepers who are interested in the Boock and Plath family lines, perhaps it would be interesting to begin with a call for additional information on the Cordes and Ruemke families of Emma Theresa Boock. The following diagram is a simple sketch of Emma Theresa's family put together with Julie Humes, who provided authoritative genealogical revisions and whose mother, Carol, and I would be second cousins. Julie has offered to write a separate article on the William Ruemke Jr. family for a future edition of The Keepers.

Christian Friederich Boock (1826) m. Wilhelmina Ernstine Boock (1855)
Seven Children: Ida (1872), Emma Theresa (1874), Albert (1877), Frieda (1879), Arthur (1881), Wilhelmina (1883), Oscar (1886)

Emma Theresa (1875) m. William C. Cordes (b. 1873 d. 1897)
1. Elmer (1894) m. Nelle Rae in 1953
2. Estella (1896) m. Ervin Schmidt (ca. 1892)
a. Shirley (1926)
b. Renee (1929) m. Phil Sessions

Emma Theresa (1875) m. William Frederick “Wills” Ruemke, Jr. (1866)
1. Olivia (1901 died as a child)
2. Ruth (1902-1924) m. Fred Schapekahm (1899)
a. Elaine (1923) [Indexed as Elainie R. Schapekahm, 26 May 1923 Ref. DKB]

3. Edgar (1904) m. Gladys Bille (1904)
a. Carol (1936) m. William Harris (1935)
1: Julie (1957) m. Floyd Humes (1953)

Emma Theresa, born on May 16, 1874, was the second of seven children born to Christian Friederich and Wilhelmine Plath Boock: Ida (married Adolph Klause), Emma Theresa (married William C. Cordes, then William Ruemke Jr.), Albert Peter (married Emma E. Ruemke, sister to Bertha), Friedricka (married Hermann Hardt), Arthur Lincoln (married Emma Aufderheide), Wilhelmine O. (married Louis Frederick Broecker), and Oscar M (married Cora Gustman). [Note: Portrail of Emma Theresa Boock Cordes]

Two children were born to Emma Theresa and Wm Cordes: Elmer and Estella. According to my notes, Elmer was married four times, the only one I have listed was to Nelle Rae in 1953.


Estella Cordes, born October 13, 1897, married Ervin Schmidt on June 14, 1920. They had two children: Shirley, born in 1926, and Renee (1927).

About the turn of the century, Emma Theresa married William Ruemke Jr. of California, born May 16, 1874). William's father was William Ruemke Sr.

[William Ruemke Jr. and Emma Teresa nee Boock]

Here's where things get complicated and interconnected:

William "Wills" Ruemke Jr. was the son of William Ruemke Sr. and ___Hellmann. As a young man, Wills was in partnership with Herman Schapekahm, the brother to both Maria and Elisa Schapekahm, in the contracting business. Later William and and his brother, Christian (married George Gieseke Jr.'s sister, Alwina; George was married to Hertha Aufderheide) had the Ruemke Grocery on Third and Minnesota.

Edgar Ruemke and his father William Ruemke Jr. at the Ruemke Grocery in New Ulm

After William Jr.'s mother died, his father, William Sr., married Maria (Mary) Schapekahm on July 4, 1877. To that union were born Lena Ruemke (Mrs. Gustav) Hillemann, Emma Ruemke (Mrs. A. P. ) Boock, and Bertha Ruemke (unmarried). [William Sr.'s nephew Fred Schapekahm (son of his wife's brother, Gerhard Jr.) married William Jr.'s daughter Ruth.]

The union between Emma Theresa Boock and William Ruemke Jr. exaccerbated the interconnections because Emma Theresa was a sister to both Albert Peter (A.P.) and Arthur Lincoln (A. L. ) Boock. Emma Ruemke (A.P.) Boock was Emma Aufderheide (A. L.) Boock's first cousin (mothers were sisters) and sisters-in-law by virtue of their marrying Boock brothers. But, Emma Ruemke was also a half sister to William Jr., whose daughter Ruth, married Emma's first cousin and his nephew, Fred Schapekahm. William's niece Olga Klause (through his marriage to Emma Theresa) was married to Walter "Dan" Hellmann, his mother's grand nephew.

In addition to Elmer and Estella from her first marriage, the marriage of Emma Theresa Boock Ruemke and William Oscar Ruemke, Jr. was blessed with three children: Olivia (died as an infant 1901), Ruth (March 21, 1902), and Edgar (June 9, 1904). Ruth married Frederick Schapekahm, son of Gehard Jr. and Weddendorf. Ruth gave birth to Elaine, who died as an infant in 1924. Ruth died in 1925.

[Emma Theresa's children: Elmer and Estella Cordes; Ruth and Edgar Ruemke]

Edgar married Gladis Loretta Bille of El Monte, California; they had one child, Carol Wilhelmine Ruemke, born December 19, 1936. Carol's marriage to William Harris produced one child, Julie Lynn, born September 25, 1957 in Arcadia, Los Angeles. Julie married Floyd G. Humes (b. November 14, 1953) and they have two children: Lauren Christine (b. March 1, 1986) and Kenneth Ryan (b. February 27, 1990), both born in Carmichael, Sacramento, California.

[Father's Day 1933: Edgar Ruemke, ?, William Ruemke, Emma Theresa Ruemke, Estella Cordes, and Gladys (Edgar) Ruemke.]

The William Ruemkes lived in California. These photos show a wonderful Father's Day al fresco dinner on June 18, 1933 at Griffith Park in Los Angeles and a greeting from "Bill and Em" at Shady Point, California, in 1935.

I was telling my brother, Philip, on the phone that the rest of the Boocks sort of missed the boat for California. Emma Theresa's family, except for Estella, who stayed in Chaska (where I visited her with my mother, Gertrude, and Granda Emma Aufderheide Boock), migrated to California. Such is life.

Boock Cousins (ca. 1911); Grandchildren of Christian Friederich and Wilhelmine Plath Boock: Back Row, l to r: Estella Cordes Schmidt, Edgar Ruemke, Olga Klause Hellmann Stoltenburg and twin, Olivia Klause Gluth, Ruth Ruemke Schapekahm. Front Row, l to r: Elmer Cordes, Norma Klause Ford with Norbert Boock, Dorothy Broecker Atcheson, Aurelia Klause Walker (holding Esther Broecker Solsrud.

All I Can Say Is...."Hooray for John!"

The inaugural week of "The Keepers" celebrates smatterings of postings on people who research family history (Jim Aufderheide and Darcy Kleeman Boock), whose birth or death anniversaries give us pause to remember (Friederich William Aufderheide, Karl Herman Aufderheide, Herman John Aufderheide, Esther Sannwald Aufderheide, Aurelia Klause Walker, George Gieseke Jr., and Wilhelmina Plath Boock), and whose lives in the present reflect an extraordinary spirit (Professor Patricia Aufderheide).

Comments are the life force of blogs. Without an engaged readership, blogs aren't providing what they ought. That's a challenge for The Keepers, so we invite you to use the comment feature to connect, correct, suggest, inform, celebrate, inquire, entertain, and encourage.

If you would like to see a great comment, take a look at the one John Graupner posted for the article on Aurelia Klause Walker! To mimmic our dad, Carl Graupner, on the occasion of John and Kathy Kangas Graupner's wedding dinner, "All I can say is....HOORAY FOR JOHN!" We've come to enjoy John's sparing, but keen sense of observation and wry wit.

How I Became a Genealogy Geek: Darcy Boock Interview

Darcy Kleeman Boock, married to Gerald "Jerry" Boock (Norbert and Marian Oelrich Boock's son), has a surprising penchant for researching her husband's side of the family, as well as her own. Her competence, enthusiasm, and driving sense of inquiry are simply the essence of Darcy as a person. Jerry and Darcy have enjoyed adventuring out with their daughters during their summers, free from the encumbrances of the school year, on road trips across the United States and Canada. They've also traveled to Europe, where they became friends with Ute and Wolfgang Boock, ardent genealogists, themselves. When I mentioned to Darcy that she "just had to connect with Jim Aufderheide," the next thing I knew, they already had met in New Ulm and gotten deeply into family history with Jim Aufderheide and Herb and Dorothy Schaper. Darcy is clearly a catalyst for taking action, and I appreciate her for it. (jim)

How I Became a Genealogy Geek

by Darcy Boock

How was it that you developed an interest in family history?

It was in 1978, right about the time that Alex Haley’s book Roots had been broadcast, that I sat with my beloved grandmother, Esther Seffens (nee Hottmann), and together we looked at old photographs. She told me who the people were in the photos and I started writing things down, which helped me to see the relationships from one family to another and how I was connected. She sparked my interest. She was 84 years old at that time and died six years later at the age of 89. Since then all of those wonderful photographs have disappeared.

Shortly after that I took some genealogy classes offered through adult education and then I was hooked. Once we moved to this area I joined a local genealogy society, St. Croix Valley Genealogical Society, which meets here in River Falls. I have been the treasurer (not president) for that organization for the past 20 years. Even though I have no ancestors who ever lived in this part of the state, this group was and still is a wonderful inspiration. We research together, go to regional and national genealogy conferences together, and meet once a month with our genealogy society and four times a year with the Germanic Genealogy Society, based in St. Paul. Now I teach beginning genealogy classes with two other members of SCVGS to help others in the adventure of finding their own ancestry.

Where do you belong in the genealogical lines?

I am actually an “outlaw” when it comes to the Boock, Aufderheide, Schapekahm, and Plath family lines. After researching my various family lines for many years, I decided it was time to get started on my husband Jerry’s lines, even though he isn’t the least bit interested in family history. I saw just a wee spark of interest in him though this past summer when we visited his great-uncle Christian Oelrich’s grave in Silver Cliff, Colorado. Christian had settled in the Wet Mountain Valley with a group of German immigrants from Chicago in 1870. They actually formed a German colony there called Colfax Colony, which failed within the first year. I think Jerry feels much like his mother did when she often expressed to me, “Why do you want to know about all of those old dead people anyway?” My knowing that Jerry’s sister Marilyn and also nephew Mike Schmidt, as well as, some of the Oelrich cousins, are very interested in this family history, keeps me going on his side of the family.

What areas of family history are most intriguing to you?

I am most intrigued by the information I find on families in the “old country”. By using the church and civil records microfilmed by the Church of Latter Day Saints (LDS-Mormons), I have been able to trace some families back several generations. I also enjoy the new friendships I have gained through family research, several through email contacts, and others whom I have actually met, like Jim Aufderheide, Herb and Dorothy Schaper, and Elaine Schapekahm.

How have you organized your work?

I have gathered my information on families into 3-ring binders, as well as vertical files. I also use the genealogy software program Personal Ancestral File (PAF), which is a free download from the LDS Web site http://www.familysearch.org./ It is thus very easy to share information with others who also use a genealgoy software program, even if it is not the same program.

What successes and frustrations have you experienced in your work?

Not all records have been microfilmed by the Family History Library (LDS) and this causes great frustration for all researchers. Most of the Catholic church records in Bavaria, for instance, are not filmed because permission has not been granted by the churches. My Wiedel line comes from this area.. I have not been able to obtain the birth/baptismal record for my grandmother, Amanda Kleemann (nee Reinke), who came from the village of Bresin, Kreis Lauenburg in Pomerania and thus have not been able to research her line. I believe her birth record is in the archives in Gdansk, Poland. Unfortunately, I do not know any Polish, but my cousin’s friend is working on this for us.

Another frustration for me has been my great-great-grandmother Barbara Stierli. She was born in Switzerland and immigrated from there in 1855 dying two years later, so I know nothing about her other than her mother’s name (she was illegitimate). I believe she came from Canton Aargau for which the records have not been filmed, so I will need to write to the archives there to obtain her birth record.

I have also had many successes using the microfilmed records of the Family History Library. I have been able to trace Jerry’s Schwantes line in Pomerania (now Poland) back several generations, my Hottmann line in Grunbach, Württemberg, Germany back several generations, my Wolf and Hildebrand lines in Brandenburg and Pomerania to some extent, and the Aufderheide and Schapekahm lines as well.

In correspondence I met my father’s first cousin (whom he never knew), who first lived in East Germany, but is now living in the West. Through Renate I have learned so much about our common ancestors who lived in former East Germany and along the Oder River in villages on both sides of the river. She wrote many letters and one Werner Kleemann answered, who is also a genealogist living not too distant from Berlin. Through him I have discovered my Kleemann ancestors.

Through use of message boards on the Internet I have also met others who have helped me in my research. Wolfgang Boock, living in Bordesholm in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, not only has a tremendous database of Boock names that he has shared with me, but also was so kind to help (with his wife Ute) in researching Oelrichs in the church archives in Schelswig-Holstein.
I have also had luck with my early New England families through the wealth of records that have been published over the years. My Cox, Harding, Marston, Myrick/Merrick, Watkins, and Seffens family lines, however, are still challenging for me.

What standards guide you?

I use Elizabeth Shown Mills’ book Evidence! Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian for documenting my sources. When I first started my research so many years ago, I didn’t know the proper methods of documentation, so some of my early research is not very well documented.

What goals are you working toward?

One of my main goals has always been to locate the ship passenger lists for all the families I am researching. I have found a few, but I have a long ways to go. I have not been able to find ship lists for Christian Friederich “Fritz”Boock or Friederich Aufderheide or the Johann Gerhard Schapekahm family. Recently however, I did locate the ship passenger list for the Carl Ludwig Plath family with daughter Wilhelmine, who immigrated to Quebec in 1864 and my Johann Gottlieb Hottmann and Barbara Stierli and daughter Elisabeth, who immigrated to New York in 1855. With the help of Web sites such as http://www.castlegarden.org,/ http://www.ellisisland.org,/ and the Ship Transcribers Guild, there is still hope and I will continue to search until I find all the passenger lists for whom I search.

Some day I hope to write a book or two on the families that I am researching, but I lack the stories on my side of the family that are so prevalent on the Boock and Aufderheide sides.

There you have it!

Wilhelmine Plath Boock Obituaries & Passenger List

Obituary - Wilhelmine Boock

Rites for Mrs. Boock Mark Close of Life of Pioneer Who Braved Early Privation
Started Out Living In Home That Was Hole in Prairie Soil

The life of Mrs. Wilhelmine Boock, 84, for whom funeral services were held today, was a sage of wilderness reclaimed and transformed within three-quarters of a century into one of the most productive agricultural regions on the continent; a life caught up from old Prussia, where many of the "49'ers" left warlike Europe for a country beyond the Atlantic which promised liberty, religious freedom and opportunity.

Born in Prussia, January 16, 1855, the daughter of Carl and Wilhelmine Plath, she came to America with here parents in 1862. The family resided for a time near Montello, Wis., and then lured by the reports of the success of the German colony in New Ulm, Minnesota, came here about 1864. The father homesteaded in Prairieville township, near the present village of Evan. Two Years After Uprising This was a virgin region, unbroken by the plow, and Indians roamed about, the memorable Indian uprising having ravaged the territory but two years before.

Undaunted by the privations that confronted them, Mr. and Mrs. Plath set about as best they could to carve out a home. Their first home was in a crude hole dug in the prairie with a wagon box and sod for the roof. They lived int his primitive home until the father had hauled lumber from Eagle Lake by ox team to erect the first house. Life on the open prairie during the severe winters, which harrassed this region in the days of the early settlement period, was rigorous, but the hardy prioneers withstood the privations and rapidly transformed the prairies into productive agricultural fields.

The women assisted the men in arduous tasks. The children carried the burdens of older folk, but in the main they were happy for they had left Europe, its wars and its set ways behind and entered into the life of this new country, where the humblest could become great, through his own efforts in a few years. Attended School In New Ulm Mrs. Boock spent the early years of her girlhood on the farm in Prairieville township and later attended school in New Ulm and was confirmed in the Lutheran faith in St. Paul's Evangelical church here by Rev. G. Reim.

She was married to Frederick Boock when 16 years of age. Rev. Mr. Reim performed the ceremony in the Lutheran church. Mr. and Mrs. Boock took up thier residence in New Ulm, where the former operated a blacksmith shop for many years, which later was enlarged into a machine shop. This was about where the Wichtel monument works is located and was a pretentious business in the early days. Husband Died Years Ago Mr. Boock died years ago and the widow was left with the care of a large family.

She was a resourceful woman and did not falter in her duties to her family and instilled in them the precepts of frugalness, honesty and fairness. She is survived by the following children: Mrs. Ad. Klause, St. Paul; Mrs. Wm. Ruemke, Hollywood, Calif.; A. P. Boock, New Ulm; Mrs. Herman Hart, Milwaukee, Wis.; Arthur L. Boock, Spencer, Wis.; Mrs. L. S. Broeker, Milwaukee, Wis.; Oscar Boock, Waterloo, Wis.; and George Boock, Huntington Park, Calif. Twelve grandchildren and nine great grandchildren also survive. Fractured Hip Oct. 3 On October 3, Mrs. Boock had the misfortune to fall and fracture a hip, while at Waterloo, Wis., visiting her son, Oscar Boock.

She was later taken to Milwaukee, where she was given attention in a hospital. So rugged was her constitution that it was thought she would recover from her injury. But a few days before her death she began to weaken and gradually her condition became more alarming until death ensued Tuesday morning. She is the last member of her family, as brothers and sisters all preceded her in death. Funeral services were held from St. Peter's Evangelical Lutheran church this afternoon. Interment was made in the Lutheran cemetery.

Obituary - Wilhelmine Boock

Boock Rites Will be Held in Minnesota

Funeral services will be conducted at the Lutheran Church of New Ulm, Minn., at 2 p.m. Thursday for Mrs. Wilhelmina (sic.) Boock, 84, who died at Milwaukee Tuesday. The body lay in state at the Co-operative Funeral Home here until 11 o'clock this morning when it was taken to Spencer. Mrs. Boock, nee Wilhelmine Plath, was born in Posen, Germany, in 1855. She was married at New Ulm in 1871 to Christian F. Boock.

Surviving are seven children and one stepson. They are: George Boock, Huntington, Calif.; Mrs. Adolph Klause, St. Paul, Minn.; Mrs. William Ruemke, Hollywood, Calif.; A. P. Boock, New Ulm, Minn.; Mrs. Herman Hardt, Milwaukee; Arthur L. Boock, Spencer; Mrs. L. G. Brocker, Milwaukee; and Oscar M. Boock, Waterloo, Wis. There are also 15 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.


Hamburg Passenger List – Direct List – Band 18 – LDS Microfilm #472895, Page 257

Ship Washington embarked from Hamburg 1 Jun 1864 headed for Quebec

Plath, Carl Ludw. Age 49 Birthplace/Residence: Raczyn, Prussia Occupation: Arbeiter (laborer)
“ Wilhelmine “ 40 Frau
“ Amalie “ 16 Daughter
“ Gustav “ 18 Son
“ Daniel “ 14 Son
“ Wilhelmine “ 8 Daughter
“ Carl “ 3 Son
“ Louise “ ½ Daughter

This family came with several other families from Friedrichshorst, Prussia

Wilhelmine Plath Boock (1855-1939)

by Jim Graupner*

Wilhelmine Plath Boock was an extraordinary woman. It is to Wilhelmine, my great-grandmother, who embodied the virtues of the early prairie settlers: faith, courage, hardwork, sacrifice, and an independent spirit, that I have dedicated my family research. We celebrate her long life, almost 85 years; she died on December 9, 1939 in Milwaukee, visiting her daughters.

Wilhelmine was born on January 16, 1855 in Friedrichshorst, Posen, Germany. Her parents were Carl Ludwig Plath and Wilhelmine Kromrey, Posen, Germany, who immigrated to the United States in 1862, when Wilhelmine was eight years old. Carl Ludwig first brought his family to Montello, Wisconsin, to farm.

In a letter to Gertrude B. Graupner on 16 April 1968, Wilhelmine "Minnie" Boock Broecker wrote, "Grandpa Plath thought that the children would have a better chance in the United States, so they came over in the stearage of a sailing vessel and you can figure that it toook a long time to make the trip. My mother was 8 years old and they did go to Montello and the grandpa was a farmer--but what his objection to that site was that they had to clear the land. [My brother, John, and I looked up the location of their farmsite and drove out towards the river between Princeton and Montello to see it. Immediately, one could understand how dire their situation was in trying to make a living there, in Aldo Leopold country.]

"[So], they traveled to Minnesota via oxen and covered wagon and the first winter was spent in the dugout with the over-turned wagon over it. The location was Prairie Ville and they had to drive to Mankato to purchase the lumber. [Family lore has it that young Christian Friederich loaned Carl Ludwig the money to build their house.] I saw the house as a child. just a plain frame one--but it was much better than to do the clearing in Wisconsin.

"Mother [Minnie's mother, Wilhelmine] was confirmed in New Ulm and when she was 16 years old--married our dad. He [Chr. Fr.] was 45 and had 4 children [from his first marriage with Marie Albrecht, who died soon after their son, Gustav]: 3 boys and a girl. Mary married August Raabe, Fredie died when about 14. George & Gust. were in California where they both died. (That was many years later) Mary was a fine person and would come to our house once a week."

[Boock Family Portrait: (Sept. 02, 1928) dated from a similar photo from Julie Humes. Top left to right: Louis Broecker, Emma Aufderheide Boock, Arthur Boock, Emma A. P. Boock; Albert Peter Boock; Emma Theresa (William) Ruemke; William Ruemke Jr.; and Hermann Hardt. Bottom left to right: Minnie Broecker; Ida Boock Klause; Wilhelmina Plath Boock; Oscar M. Boock; and Frieda Hardt]

The marriage of Wilhelmine and Christian Friederich Boock (May 7, 1871 in New Ulm) produced seven additional children to the family: Ida (1872) married Adolph Klause; Emma Theresa (1874) married Ed Cordes, then William Ruemke Jr.; Albert Peter (1877) married Emma E. Ruemke; Friedricka (1879) married Hermann Hardt; Arthur Lincoln (1881) married Emma Aufderheide; Wilhelmina "Minnie" (1883) married Louis Broecker; and Oscar M. (1886) married Cora Gustman.

Christian Friederich fell ill and died in 1888, at age 62. He left behind his young wife (age 33) with 11 children. Wilhelmine went on to raise the children, manage the blacksmith and wagon building, took over The WindsorHouse on North Minnesota Street and made it into a boarding house and later her home. [It's the brick building in her Family Portrait, above.]

Gertrude Boock Graupner remembered: "Grandma W. Boock moved into The Windsor House then [after her daughter, Emma Therese married William Ruemke, Jr.], where she had roomers and boarders.

"After Aunt Frieda left to live and work in Milwaukee, and later married Hermann Hardt, a widower, Grandma spent the winter months with her children, coming back to New Ulm only a short time in the summer. The house was later sold and taken down.

"In her last years, Grandma was almost blind. She had a cataract removed while visiting in Spencer--at the Marshfield hospital.

[Left Photo: Wilhelmine in Spencer, with her grandson, Norbert Boock, in 1935.]

"Grandma had a spooky habit of whispering, or half-talking to 'spirits' and 'devils.' With bad eyesight, a vivid imagination, and old European superstitions she often, when alone, talked like that; and later, even when we were around her. She died in 1939 in Milwaukee, almost 85, after breaking a hip while visiting in Waterloo. I was teaching in Burlington at the time and visited her a few times. Carl and I were engaged to be married in '39--he also go acquainted with her.

"I still remember her determination, her convictions, and her success in raising a good, gifted family, all of whom were well-known to Norbert and me, and loved by us."

* [Hopefully, I'll learn how to link from this posting to a number of letters and narratives written by Wilhelmine Boock Broecker and her husband, Louis Broecker, as well as letters from Great Uncle A. P. Boock, Gertrude Boock Graupner, and also Plath Family research from Darcy Kleeman Boock. Photo portrait at top of article is a beautiful rendering of Wilhelmine Plath Boock, perhaps in her 40s (ca. 1890s). Information for this piece was taken from work by Gertrude Graupner, Minnie Broecker, Louis Broecker, and Laurie Campbell's "Ancestors of Wilhelmine Ernstine Plath. jfg]

Jack Aufderheide: 90th Birth Anniversary

by Jim Graupner

(Note: I'm hoping to have this posting on the 90th anniversary of the birthdate of John "Jack" Herman Aufderheide replaced by one from his son, Jim Aufderheide. For now, the following is a brief sketch of the life of this important family and community figure.)

Jack Aufderheide was the second of four children born to Karl Herman and Clara Weddendorf Aufderheide, which included: Carl "Carly" John (1913), [Jack], Robert George and Ruth Helen--twins-(1919).

Jack married Norma Joyce Stephenson (born 30 June 1920, in Lake Wilson, MN) on 23 November 1941, in New Ulm. Jack and Joyce had four children: Steven John (1943), Kay Anne (1946), James Melvin (1949), and William Robert (1957).

[In the family portrait above, from left: Jim, Kay, Joyce, Jack, William, and Steven].

There was always this aura about Jack Aufderheide: World War II serviceman, great familyman, sports enthusiast, hunter extraordinaire, collector of old automobiles, community leader, steward of the New Ulm historical museum, operations manager for the Aufderheide Brickyard, to name only a few of his many endeavors.

The homes in which the family lived were all amazing. I visited Jack and Joyce once in their residence on 300 South Broadway, the home that Joyce lovingly furnished with an array of period antiques and family heirlooms, including a restored tool chest brought from Germany by Jack's grandfather, Frederick Aufderheide. The bricks of the house and public sidewalk (the only one of its type remaining in New Ulm) were produced by Fred Aufderheide at his brickyard, founded in 1975.

[Note: for a wonderful story of the Jack and Joyce Aufderheide home, The New Ulm Sunday Review Journal, March 12, 1967, ran a feature filled with photos, entitled: "This Old House Is Full of Antiques." ]

Aurelia Klause Alm Walker: Born 12 December 1894

by Jim Graupner

Aurelia nee Klause was born 112 years ago on 12 December 1894, the second of five children born to Adolph and Ida Boock Klause in New Ulm. Aurelia was the granddaughter of Christian Friederich and Wilhelmine Ernstine Plath Boock and Ludwig and Wilhelmine Krumvei (Kromrey) Plath. Her siblings were: Adolph (died young), Aurelia (1894), Olga Klause Hellmann, then Stoltenburg (1899), Olga's twin: Olivia Klause Gluth (1899), and Norma Klause Ford (1901).

Aurelia made a strong connection with her cousins, Norbert Boock and Gertrude Boock Graupner, despite the fact that they were almost a generation older. When the Arthur and Emma Boock returned with their family (Norbert, Gertrude, and Esther) to New Ulm, Gertrude and Esther became special friends of the Klause sisters, eventually receiving some of the older girl's toys. Among the toys was a large doll house built by their Uncle William Ruemke, which passed along four generation from Ruth Ruemke to the Klause girls, then to Gertrude Boock, Marilyn Boock , Cathryn Graupner, and finally to Emily Graupner.

When Norbert Boock was quite young, maybe a young teenager, he traveled out West one summer to visit Aurelia and her husband, Jim Walker, on their ranch in Wyoming. Much later, in the 1970s, Norbert and Marian Boock and Gertrude and Carl Graupner traveled out to visit their first cousin, Aurelia; they enjoyed hearing about life on a 3,000-acre ranch, many miles from the closest town, where most of everything the Walkers needed, beyond food stuffs, was purchased out of mail-order catalogues.

A further connection with Aurelia came from my father's side of the family, when our first cousin, Else Dauer Eickstedt and her husband Raymond and their six children moved to Lander, where Raymond worked at the airport with small aircraft.

Aurelia died on September 12, 1980 in Lander, Wyoming, preceded in death by her first husband, Clarence Alm, as well as Jim Walker.

Christian Friederich Boock (1826-1888)

A History of the Boock Family: Memories

In the late 1970's, I became interested in organizing my family history bits and pieces into some form that could be distributed to relatives as a base upon which future family historians could develop a more authoritative history of the family. Indeed, Darcy Kleeman Boock has supplanted these efforts with significant genealogical work, both in the United States and in Germany. My nascent effort was a quarterly journal called, THE SETTLER.

In the very first edition, I dedicated my work to an extraordinary woman, Wilhelmine Plath Boock, the second wife of Christian Friederich Boock. Their grandchild, Gertrude Boock Graupner (my mother) wrote her recollections in "History of the Boock Family: Memories by Gertrude B. Graupner." I am reprinting a portion of that history as a celebration of the life of Christian Friederich Boock, born on November 15, 1826 in Ostdorf, Germany, and died 118 years ago, today, December 12, 2006. He was preceded in death by his first wife, Marie Albrecht Boock, who died in 1870, leaving Friederich with four young children: Mary (m. August Raabe), George (married Schriefer), Fred, and Gustav.
On May 17, 1871, Christian married Wilhelmine Ernstine Plath, in New Ulm. To that union, seven children were born: Ida (m. Adolph Klause), Olga (Dan Hellmann, then Stoltenburg), Emma Theresa (m. Ed Cordes, then William Ruemke Jr.), Albert Peter (m. Emma Ruemke), Friedricka (m. Hermann Hardt), Arthur Lincoln (m. Emma Aufderheide), Wilhelmine (m. Louis Broecker), and Oscar (m. Cora Gustman). Jim Graupner



A History of the Boock Family: Memories

by Gertrude Graupner

Our family tree on the Boock side has been traced back four generations from Norbert's and my generation, as Jim's records will show.

A clipping from the New Ulm Journal reports that Grandpa Christian Friederich (born Nov. 15, 1826 in Ostdorf, Germany) died in New Ulm, in the winter of 1888, at the age of 62. He had been caring for a seriously ill friend during an epidemic and caught the disease himself. His wife and some of his children also were sick, but recovered.

At that time, his son, Arthur, our father, was only 7 1/2 years, and Uncle Oscar was a bit more than two. We, therefore, know only about him [Christian Fr.] from his family. Aunt Ida, the oldest was 16.

Born in 1826, he had come first to Chicago from Germany. Then, in 1855, came to Lafayette, Minnesota, and in 1863, he came to New Ulm. The clipping calls him an "original founder of New ulm, one who was prominently connected with its affairs." he was also a founder of St. Paul's Lutheran Church and a member of a group who started D.M.L.C. [Dr. Martin Luther College in New Ulm].

Chr. F. had first married Marie Albrecht. Four chilren were born to them: Mary, Geroge, Fred, and Gust. When Marie died, our grandmother Wilhelmina Plath, who had been working for them, soon became the second wife, at age 16! She bore him seven children, cared for his four earlier children, and became at widow at 33! His profession was wagon maker and blacksmith wheelwright and model maker.

Karl Herman Aufderheide (1889-1956)

by Jim Graupner
[Based on an article by Hubert H. Walter, Contributing Editor, The Daily Journal, December 11, 1956.]

Karl Herman Aufderheide, born on 18 August 1889, was the third child of Fred and Elise Schapekahm Aufderheide. His siblings included: William (died at age 17, in 1900), Emma (Mrs. A.L. Boock), [Karl], Herman (married Esther Sannwald) and Hertha (Mrs. George Gieseke).

Karl passed away on December 10, 1956 and was interred in the New Ulm Cemetery 50 years ago, today (December 12, 1956). He was survived by his wife, Clara Weddendorf Aufderheide, and four children: Carl John (1913), John Herman "Jack" (1916), Robert George and Ruth Helen--twins--(1919), and eight grandchildren: Karl John "Casey" (1948), Steven John (1943), Kay Anne (1946), James Melvin (1949), William Robert (1957), Dale (1951), Diane (1955), and Susan (1954).

Karl attended the Lutheran Parochial School in New Ulm, completed a course at DMLC and later tooka business course at Mankato Business College. Early in life, Karl worked with his father, Fred (proprietor), and brother, Herman, at the New Ulm Brick & Tile Yards. In 1917, father and sons became partners; in 1924, the brothers pruchased their father's interest in the brickyard. In 1936, Karl took over his brother's interests. later, a corporation was formed in which Karl continued as president until his death.

[Photo from Jim Aufderheide; Karl H. and Clara Weddendorf Aufderheide at home in New Ulm, with Ruth and her twin, Robert (in front), John Herman "Jack" and Carl John "Carly"]

Karl was sports-minded; a founder of the Concordia Bowling Club; one of the original backers of the Brewer's Baseball Club, and he loved camping and hunting. Karl was an organizer of the Concord Singers, an avid photographer, served on the City Council for a number of terms, and an automobile enthusiast. He was an early advocate of paved roads. He is said to be the first in New Ulm to drive a car in winter.

Celebrating George Theodore Gieseke's 120th Birthday Anniversary

by Jim Graupner

George Theodore Gieseke was born on December 11, 1886, in Rural Courtland, Minnesota. George Jr. was the ninth of ten children of George Gieseke Sr. (b. 26 April 1846, Barsinghausen, Hanover) and Wilhelmine Marie Lange (b. 2 December 1849, Addison, Illinois). His siblings included: (Emily (1870), E[A]lwina (1872), Herman (1874), Heinrich (1876), Henrietta (1878), Alfred (1880), Samuel (1881), Sophia (1884), George Jr. (1886), and Frieda (1892).

George worked for the Chicago & Northwestern Railroad as cashier in the Freight Depot in New Ulm. Earlier he worked in the Burg Cigar Factory in New Ulm; the Rib Lake, Wisconsin, bank; and in the Fred Aufderheide Brickyard office.

George married Hertha Margaret Aufderheide (20 April 1894), fifth child of Fred and Elise Aufderheide, on 9 October 1917, in New Ulm. George and Hertha had a daughter, Carol Gieseke (Mrs. George) Baer, born on 26 October 1923, in New Ulm, and one granddaughter, Pamela Baer (Mrs. Robert) Schmutzler, born 6 October 1947, in Calabar, Nigeria. George died in Watertown, Wisconsin in March 1985.

Patricia Aufderheide: Embodying the Spirit of Our Generation

by Jim Graupner

At some point in last weekend's inspirational ceremony at the Univerisity of Minnesota's Northrup Auditorium, where we celebrated the graduation of Christopher John Graupner (music), I found myself thinking of family members who had commenced their life's journey from that great institution. Almost immediately, Pat Aufderheide came to mind. While at the University, Pat distinguished herself in the field of journalism; she also wrote a popular column in the campus paper reviewing media and writing commentary.

Coincidentally, her father, Dr. Arthur Aufderheide, University of Minnestota Medical School-Duluth, Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, and renown paleo-pathologist, sent me a link to an article from the December 5th edition of, AMERICAN WEEKLY, American University's Newspaper, announcing that the School of Communication's professor Patricia Aufderheide's documentary film scholarship had earned her the International Documentary Association's (IDA) top career achievement award. [Photo of Pat Aufderheide taken from AW.]

I decided to conduct a Live Search on Pat Aufderheide to develop a resume of her many acheivements in cultural journalism and as the director of AU's Center for Social Media. After browsing through 104 pages of links to sources in many different languages, the best approach might be to invite the reader to appreciate the scope of her important work on-line.

We celebrate Pat's distinguished career, even as she is in the midst of it, hoping that The Keepers might connect us and help us appreciate the remarkable journeys of the fascinating children of this great family to which we belong. Pat is the oldest of three children (brothers Tom and Walter) born to Dr. Art and Mary Buryk Aufderheide.

From a Freezer Paper Sketch

by Jim Aufderheide

I am from the fourth generation of the Aufderheide family founded by Fred Aufderheide that has lived their lives in New Ulm. I live in the history of my family, seeing the people who knew my parents and grandparents every day, passing by buildings built with Aufderheide brick as I go about my life. It is hard not to be interested in those that went before!

I was motivated to document family history by my mother’s work. During World War II while my father was in Europe, my mom and paternal grandmother sketched a rudimentary family tree on a piece of freezer paper. I saw that from time to time as I grew up, and, when my mother died in 1991, the freezer paper came into my possession. That darned piece of freezer paper fascinated me, and on my retirement I started haunting the cemetery, the museum and the courthouse to learn more.

Frederick Wilhelm Aufderheide was my great-grandfather. He was a founding partner of New Ulm Brick and Tile Yards, the business that stayed in the family until the early 1980s. Fred’s son, Karl, was my grandfather. He owned and ran the Brickyard until he died in 1956. The concern was then operated by my father, Jack Aufderheide, my uncle Robert (Buddy) Aufderheide, and my uncle Bill Salter (married to my aunt Ruth Aufderheide). I worked at the Brickyard from a very young age, and continued working summers (I was a teacher) until the sale of the business. I basically grew up down there, and grew up on stories of the early days of the Brickyard. Again, history was all around me.

On the death of my folks, I tried to grab all their boxes of papers and notes, and some family pictures, and make sure they did not inadvertently get thrown during the housecleaning (every family historian’s worst nightmare!). Those boxes of scattered papers became a part of my family history collection. Having spent two thirds of my working life in computers (I was a media specialist and then a district technology director for a public school system), I put the freezer paper family tree on computer. As I began to add to the tree, initially I tried to just document names and dates; who was married to whom, when, birth dates, death dates. While that was really intriguing, I became more interested in who my ancestors were. What drove them? What were their interests? What were their stories?

The next step was to purchase a genealogy program for the computer where I could document not only dates and places, but include anecdotes, information about what they did during their lives, how they impacted their world. (Note to all who read this: if you buy a program, be sure it outputs files that can be read by other programs, so you can share information with other family members on a similar quest.) Having all the data on computer has really streamlined my organization. I can quickly search for information, compare people and families, quickly produce charts, basically manage the family history data.

The paper organization is more problematic. Currently I am using file drawers, and organizing in a mixture of family files and/or topic files. For instance, my family has a real history tied to the Brickyard that goes across single family groups. So I have a set of files of Brickyard data, notes, and pictures. Fred started several banks, so I have a set of files on banking concerns. The key for the organization is so I can easily find the materials I need. Eventually, I hope to digitize much of the pictures and files to insure that the information and pictures are not lost in time.

I am digitizing as I have opportunity, for achieving the quality I want takes time. To date I have digitized several hundred family photos, and tried to do it at a quality level such that anyone with the file could go to a photo place and get a quality picture made (I have tested several quality levels by scanning pictures, putting them on CD, and running down to the photo place to get a print to see what works best). I have scanned in a variety of obituaries and stored those for later inclusion. I have digitized newspaper articles and family notes for inclusion.
Of course, I wish I had more...more pictures, more stories, more information. While some families have been more than willing to contribute to a family history, there are, of course, some families who have no interest in family history.

One family I contacted had a family history box that a grandparent had gathered and they were on the verge of discarding it. The family agreed instead to send the box to me. What a treasure trove! The box included old family pictures, letters, notes on family history that the grandparent had made and gathered over the years. I am overjoyed at obtaining these treasures, which really added to that particular branch. During the course of time, for every success there is a disappointment. Having been involved in research of one kind or another most of my life, I realize that the research road is not straight, and it is full of surprises and dead ends. Such is life!
Through this research process I have tried to document my sources always so that anyone who follows could again find the primary sources I used to discover information. In an earlier time I was a debate coach, and ingrained into my students the value of documenting sources. I also taught the value of having two sources for data whenever possible, so I try diligently to do that as I document family history.

Hopefully, when I am done, if I ever get done, I will be able to print a book that includes family information, family trees and descendent charts, and a wealth of information on those that have gone before me. My plan is to include a CD with digitized copies of pictures, notes, my entire family history file in GEDcom format, and copies of articles and obituaries. I have talked with the people at the Brown County Historical Society and they are interested in a copy for preservation; the Aufderheide family was part of the fabric of the early days of New Ulm.

Too lofty? I don’t know. My thought is that if enough of this information can be reproduced, and given to enough people, the possibility of it being lost will be reduced. If enough people have the stories, know about the history of the family, perhaps that will be an immortality for Fred, Karl, Jack and the others.

Family History and The Art of Inquiry

by Jim Graupner

We begin this endeavor on the 153rd anniversary of the birth of Friederich William Aufderheide, born in Laengerich, Westphalia, on December 8, 1853. Fred emigrated from Germany to America when he was 17 years old, first to Cincinnati, in 1870, and then to New Ulm in 1875.

Fred was a well-known manufacturer of brick and tile, president of the Farmer's and Merchant's Bank of New Ulm, and a very enterprising businessman. Fred married Elise Maria Schapekahm on May 25, 1881, in New Ulm. To this union were born five children: William, Emma, Karl, Herman, and Hertha. Fred died on May 11, 1926, in New Ulm.

Friederich William Aufderheide
The Keepers is but one step in the process of preserving and communicating a family’s history. Creating the actual blog is a big step for me because I consider myself fairly technologically-challenged, so the viewer will experience a number of changes as we go along. The intention is to have frequent postings on family-related topics of interest; these postings are meant to be dynamic and discussion is encouraged. The viewer may join in the discussion much as they would with e-mail banter, because there is an opportunity at the bottom of each posting to submit comments. Comments may be of any length.

Then, again, the blog is a shared, cooperative endeavor among all who have an interest in experiencing and sharing information on the lives and times of our relatives. We encourage you to submit articles, stories, anecdotes, genealogical information, artifacts, photographs, links, narratives, etc., in digital form to facilitate postings.

The first series of postings will include accounts of family historians and others currently interested in exploring family history, like Jim Aufderheide, Darcy Boock, Marilyn Boock Schmidt, Philip Graupner, Tom Aufderheide and myself, to name a few.

But, one cannot jump into this adventure without recognizing the pioneers of our of family’s story who created genealogies, archived family photographs, wrote stories of their recollections, translated letters, and saved important family documents and artifacts. In my experience, these people have included: Emma Aufderheide Boock, Albert Peter Boock, Gertrude Boock Graupner, Fritz Glaser, Johanna “Hanni” Graupner, Gerald Liepert, Carol Gieseke Baer, Natalie Rosenfeldt, Janet Larson, Esther Solsrude, and others.

The Art of Inquiry:

Worthy endeavors seem to follow a path from compulsion to philosophy, method and review. Sophocles observed that reason is Man’s crowning achievement; and so, it is the essence of Western Civilization.

As in scientific endeavors, the Greeks applied reason to human experience to produce the first histories, written by Herodotus and Thucydides. These pioneering historians developed a discipline to record events based on observable, reliable information and communicated in written form, as distinguished from the oral traditions of mythology and lore.

Still, reporting upon the human experience is replete with subjectivity; questions of bias, intent, interpretation, meaning, purpose, validity, reason and sufficiency of information inherently challenge professional historians. Family historians understand how central the application of the forensic method is when working with the quality of the information before them, much of it derived from stories, lore, anecdotal information, interviews, obituaries, letters, photographs and accounts.

We shall see how the use of an on-line blog helps to facilitate inquiry and communication, generate evidence and understanding, and produce a level of archival durability that will secure for future generations the story of our family. Such is the work of The Keepers.