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.