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About the life and stories from families leaving the village of Taben-Rodt (back then consisting of three
independent villages of Taben, Rodt, Hamm) towards a new future in the United States of America.
In the second half of the 19th century, almost 15% of the inhabitants (approx. 75 out of 550) of the villages of Taben, Rodt and Hamm emigrated to the USA. Although already over 150 years have passed, the descendants of the emigrating families still have a great interest in their German roots. Many have already revisited their old homeland and are interested in the village history dating back to the 634.
Although visitors from the States and Canada usually are more interested in the reasons for the emigration, the
interest of those who did not emigrate are curious about the stories of the emigrating families and first generations to live abroad. Typical questions concern the travel rout, the atlantic passage but as well the
settling in the new homeland.
Who was emigrating?
Drawing from different sources, I could make a list of emigrants from Taben to America from 1800 to 1899. According to that list, 75 people (thereof 32 children) emigrated.
However, I believe that the list is still incomplete.
What occurred to the emigrating families?
The fates of many remain largely in the dark.
So far, I only have information on four families, all distant relatives of myself.
1.) The life history from family John Klein (* 1820 Taben) and Catherine Herber (* 01.19.1828 Rodt), which immigrated to Iowa in 1854, was preserved in detail thanks to the recordings of Father Aloysius Schmitz, a Jesuit priest who unfortunately deceased in 2012. He collected all these information in the US, Canada and Germany. His visits to Taben-Rodt are kept in good memories.
2.) A few first information are known from Matthias Gansemer (* 1863 in Rodt), an emigrating bachelor. He travelled along with his girlfriend Maria Oswald (* 1870 in Saarhölzbach). They married and settled then in the area of Ashton, Osceola/Iowa. They had 10 children.
3.) The family Faha, including several siblings,
immigrated to America and settled in the area of Dubuque/Iowa.
4.) Frank Matthias Neises (* 1827 in Hamm) and his wife Anna Maria (*1838, maiden name Faha) immigrated together with their 3 children. I already obtained a partial family tree from
their descendants.
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2. überarbeitete und ergänzte Auflage April 2022
336 Seiten, 312 Abbildungen, 77 Stammbäume Hardcover, A 4
in deutscher Sprache bestellen
Einen Auszug des Buches können Sie hier lesen.
The book was written in German, but many documents are printed in the original English language. The book has 336 pages, 312 illustrations, 77 family trees and the format is 11,7 x 8,3 inch.
You can read a book extracts here.
America Emigrant Neuses Jakob and Hurth Elisabeth |
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The goal of this project?
I want to gather all available stories of the emigrating families of Taben, Rodt and Hamm. Further, I want to
preserve the stories for posterity and, therefore, publish them in a book.
Above all, my interest lies within the life stories of the first and second generations of emigrants. To
illustrate their lifes I would also like to be incorporated copies of pictures, letters, or other documents in the book.
To accomplish this, I need your support. Please help me to
ensure that these memories are preserved for future generations.
The current interim status of the project will regularly be published here on the Internet.
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America Emigrant Kettenhofen/Kettenhoven |
