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Archiver > GERMAN-NY > 2006-12 > 1166673040


From: Roberta Schultze <>
Subject: Re: [GERMAN-NY] Gustav & Alvina Tonn, Emil Fideleck
Date: Wed, 20 Dec 2006 19:50:40 -0800 (PST)
In-Reply-To: <003b01c724a5$31505320$210110ac@Lorraine>


Dear Lorraine,

I just finished perusing the web sites that you suggestioned. I have visited most of them before and they are excellent sites, thank you for your suggestions.

I know the home village/town/city of all of my immigrant German ancestors:

The Schultzes were native Berliners who lived on Kronenstrasse; my 3rd great grandfather's occupation was, ". . .Controller to the Military Payroll"...I guess you could say I come from a long line of "bureaucrats"!!
The Secklers came from Gundelsheim, Neckarkreis, Wuerttemberg, now Baden-Wuerttemberg (at one time, before the Napoleonic Wars, Gundelsheim was one of those very small political jurisdictions in what is now Germany, that belonged on an entity of the Catholic church; Gundelsheim was "owned" by the succesors to the Teutonic Knights from the Middle Ages.)
The Schlesingers came from Mittelsinn, then Hesse-Darmstadt, now in the extreme northwest of Bavaria; and came to Columbus, Ohio
The Loebenbergs came from Waechtersbach, Hesse-Darmstad, now in the state of Hessen; they also came to Columbus, Ohio...other Loebenberg/Labenbergs ended up in Baltimore, MD; Fredricksburg, MD; Richmond, VA; Port Gibson, MS; Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Southern California; Tennessee; Canada and Brazil.
I've searched the Germans from Wuerttemberg and the Prussian databases for exit "visas" for the Schultzes and Secklers/Seklers/Saecklers, but to no avail. They probably left without permission. I found my immigrant Schlesinger from Mittelsinn on the Bark Evert Delius, POE NYC on July 5, 1855. In fact, I have made contact with distant cousins and half cousins of him and his wife, Eva Loebenberg in various states in the U.S. and even in Brazil.

All of my immigrant ancestors left "Germany" prior to the unification of the nation state in 1871 and even prior to Ellis Island. In fact, my great great granduncle Louis F. Schultze's son, Louis William Schultze, M.D. was, at one time, head of the Immigration Hospital at Castle Garden (according to his obituary), probably the place where the Schultzes set foot on U.S. soil, since they settled in New York City. I know that my immigrant Schultze great great grandfather died in NYC in 1862. I can find him and his parents even, in Berlin, but "Scotty" must have "beamed" the family over, because none of them are listed on any lists that I've searched. LOL.

One thing that I might add to people searching for their immigrant German ancestors is not to assume that belonged to the same church/sect that they had in Germany. Yes, most of them did retain the same religion, but some did not. I found that my Lutheran Schultzes became Episcopalians in New York City. I have my great grandfather's confirmation certificate. It's from the mid-1860s and is printed in fraktur German print. I did manage to decipher "St. Georg" on the certicate and started searching for St. George's church under Lutherans. The only St. George's church was an Episcopal church. It was the second oldest Episcopal church in New York City after Trinity Church. It turns out the the rectors of St. George's (I've read a couple of church "biographies") were "low" Episcopalians, believing in ministering to the poor and immigrants. One of the missions that St. George's established was St. George's German Chapel to minister to the immigrant German population.
This is the church that my family attended. In deed, a relative of my great great grandmother, Sidonie SECKLER SCHULTZE TORBER, "Ann Sekler" was married in June , 1866 there by the Reverend "Charles" Schramm with the witnesses "Lewis F. Schultze", my great great granduncle, and "Francis" Toerber; the latter became my step great great grandfather when he married Sidonie, a widow, in October of that year. It was also the Reverend Karl Schramm, who confirmed by great grandfather, Theodor Schultze.

It's amazing what you can find with a little good information, a nose for "solving" a good mystery, and the kind help of others, on the Internet! I have had amazingly good luck! as well as some good information provided by by great aunt when I was a child.

On my dad's side of the family I have "hooked up" with one of my Schultze cousins, our grandparents were brother and sister, by doing an Internet search based on an unusual family given name and knowing where her grandmother's family settled. We've been comparing notes. I am in correspondence with a distant cousin in Columbus, our great great grandmothers were sisters; we are constantly exchanging information. He even put me into contact with two Loebenberg/Labenberg distant cousins here in the San Francisco Bay Area! On my mom's side of the family I have connected with six Dille/Dilley cousins who I did not know; one Erwin cousin, our common ancestor was my great great great grandfather, originally from Henry county, Kentucky who put me into contact with ; and two Harris cousins, our common ancestor was my great great grandfather, Ammon Harris, originally from Buckingham/Prince Edward counties, Virigina later settling in Saline county, Missouri.

Good luck to everyone on "finding" their families. Best wishes for the coming New Year.

Roberta Schultze
San Jose, California

Lorraine Degelia <> wrote:
Hello Roberta Schultz: Read your em. Don't know how much research you have
done, but have you tried the following sites??
Good Luck
Lorraine

http://hostville.com/hoelscher/gr.htm
http://www.germangenealogygroup.com/default.htm
http://home.att.net/~wee-monster/
http://www.genealogienetz.de/reg/ger1871.html
http://home.att.net/~wee-monster/emigration.html
http://www.genealogienetz.de/reg/HES/hessen.html#quellen

----- Original Message -----
From: "Roberta Schultze"
To: ;
Sent: Wednesday, December 20, 2006 6:58 PM
Subject: Re: [GERMAN-NY] Gustav & Alvina Tonn, Emil Fideleck


> Do try looking at the Brooklyn web page (sorry I can't remember the URL)
> that is connected somehow witht the Brooklyn Rootsweb mailing list. There
> is a list of churches in NYC and lots more information with links to
> surrounding counties. Good luck! I wish I could make the "jump" to
> finding relatives in Germany, but my family emigrated from Germany in the
> 1850s and I've had no such luck!
>
> Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all,
>
> Roberta Schultze,
> San Jose, California
>
> Susie Lewis wrote:
> Looking for information or relations to a Gustav Tonn and Alvina Fideleck
> who immigrated to New York in 1925, born in Poland. In 1930 they were
> living in Queens. Gustav and Alvina had two daughters: Lilly born in East
> Prussia in 1925 and Ruth born in New York in 1928. Relatives from Germany
> are looking for this branch of our tree that emmigrated in 1925 from East
> Prussia.
>
> Does anyone know of spouses of Lilly or Ruth Tonn?
>
> Other info: Alvina had a brother by the name of Emil Fideleck living in
> Brooklyn.
>
> Is there a Baptist Church in the Queens area that Gustav, Alvina, Lilly,
> Ruth or in Brooklyn that Emil may have attended?
>
> Thanks
> Sue
>
>
>
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