Deja Vu

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For the last few years, Michelle and I have been mostly focused on researching the Wolff family because there’s so many complicated elements to them.  And so many mysteries.  So the Konzen have been a bit neglected.  

Sometimes during research I run across some information that I can’t believe I/we missed before.  (But, I can also see why we missed a thing or two because looking through microfilms at the Family History Center was a lot more difficult than it is to look through the digitalized parish records today.) 

In Fall 2022, I was looking through the LuxRoots website and decided to look at Theodore Konzen & Catharine Schuler while I was there.  I noticed they had a child listed for the couple that I didn’t have in my family tree.  You might think I could just make a note of it and look into it later.  Instead, I dropped whatever else I was on LuxRoots for and went hunting for Anna Catharina Konzen.

I found Anna Catharina’s birth record on 13 Dec 1778 in Lellig.  Then I found her marriage to Johann Hellers on 7 Feb 1804 in Lellig, and I found their kids.  And all kinds of things started to make sense.  When we originally looked through parish records for Theodore Konzen & Catharine Schuler’s marriage and children’s births it was on a microfilm reader at a Family History Center.  If you have never used a microfilm reader, you’ve definitely missed out, but they aren’t the clearest thing to read on and scanning images from them doesn’t produce the best images either.  In fact, I believe we originally thought that our ancestor Peter was the only child that lived to adulthood from the couple.  Then we found that his siblings Elizabeth & Wilhelm lived and had families.

Catherine & Theodore’s 2nd daughter Anna Maria Konzen was born 2 Apr 1781 in Lellig.

At some point, I think we started wondering if any other siblings survived to adulthood and looked through the parish records more for any additional deaths.  Then we started following bread combs.  Who is this Theodore Buchholz who was the witness at Peter’s marriage?  And who is this Anna Kunzen living in Niderenval that was a godparent to Elizabeth Konzen Michel’s daughter Anna Maria?  And who is this Johan Hellers in Catharine Schuler Konzen’s death record?

Catherine & Theodore’s 4th daughter Anna Konzen was born 17 Mar 1791 in Lellig.

However, when we were in the thick of things I guess I thought “oh I’ll just put this stuff in my family tree later” and that never happened.  I’ve turned into a person who does not remember any appointment if it’s not on her phone calendar.  And I recently realized I’ve also become the kind of person who does not remember any genealogical find unless I have written about it (that might even be questionable) or entered it into my family tree.

I was sending Michelle all these crazy emails while I was looking up Anna Catharina Konzen Hellers stuff (probably in the middle of the night), then I had a sense of deja vu and went to look at Michelle’s family tree.  And Michelle had Anna Catharina on her tree already!  And some other Konzen siblings’ details that I hadn’t entered or remembered.  I was spiraling.  Why wouldn’t Michelle have told me about this?  Of course she would have.  So why didn’t I remember it?  I looked in my emails and I found an email from Michelle in 2021 with a parish record attached entitled “Another Sibling?”  I’d only noticed the Schulers on the page and completely missed the Konzen! 

The “Another Sibling” record, Anna Catharina Konzen’s birth on 13 Dec 1778 in Lellig. She is Catherine & Theodore’s eldest child.

There’s nothing like realizing that you’ve been chasing your own tail and finding things that you’d really found before.  Michelle and I recently built out the family trees for the Konzen siblings further and it reminded me that I hadn’t updated the Konzen info on the blog to match any of this.  So here we go.

Theodore Konzen was born 29 Jan 1756 in Herborn, Luxembourg, and he died 29 Jan 1839 in Lellig, Luxembourg.  He married Catherine Schuler on 28 Jan 1778 in Trier, Germany.  Catherine was born 15 Mar 1756 in Lellig, Luxembourg, and she died 19 Aug 1830 in Lellig, Luxembourg.

  1. Anna Catharina Konzen was born 13 Dec 1778 in Lellig, Luxembourg, and she died 19 Jul 1869 in Lellig, Luxembourg.  She married Johann Hellers. 
  2. Anna Maria Konzen was born 2 Apr 1781 in Lellig, Luxembourg, and she died 19 Jan 1865 in Gelsdorf, Germany.  She married Theodore Buchholz.  Theodore died 7 Sep 1839 in Gelsdorf, Germany.
  3. Joannes Wilhelm Konzen was born 17 Mar 1783 in Lellig, Luxembourg, and he died 3 Sep 1783 in Lellig, Luxembourg.
  4. Peter Konzen was born 15 Nov 1784 in Manternach, Luxembourg, and he died 23 Apr 1786 in Lellig, Luxembourg.
  5. Elizabeth Konzen was born 21 Jan 1787 in Lellig, Luxembourg, and she died 26 Mar 1878 in Trierweiler, Germany.  She married Matthias Michels.  Mathias was born abt 1787 in Sirzenich, Germany, and he died 9 Aug 1863 in Trierweiler, Germany.
  6. Peter Konzen was born 28 Apr 1789 in Lellig, Luxembourg, and he died abt 1863 in Dubuque, Iowa, USA.  He married Maria Theresia Wolff in 1815 in Kruchten, Germany.  Maria Theresia was born 20 Feb 1789 in Burg-Reuland, Liege, Belgium, and she died in 1871 in Dubuque, Iowa, USA.
  7. Anna Konzen was born 17 Mar 1791 in Lellig, Luxembourg, and she died 16 Oct 1866 in Ernzen, Germany.  She married Peter Weber.  Peter was born 19 May 1785 in Dockendorf, Germany, and he died 19 Mar 1843 in Preischeid, Germany.
  8. Joannes Konzen was born 14 Jan 1794 in Lellig, Luxembourg, and he died 7 Jul 1796 in Lellig, Luxembourg.
  9. Marie Konzen was born 8 Jul 1795 in Lellig, Luxembourg, and she died 8 Jul 1795 in Lellig, Luxembourg.
  10. Wilhelm Konzen was born 23 Apr 1797 in Lellig, Luxembourg, and he died 26 Dec 1872 in Heinerscheid, Luxembourg.  He married Catharina Hoffman, then Barbara Schumacher, and then Maria Margaretha Kieffer.

Joannes Francis Georges Wolff

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Just a heads up, in this family they liked to use lots of names! Joannes Francis Georges Wolff (also known as JFG) liked names so much that five of his 12 children had three names. Only one of his kids had a single first name (what happened there?).

Where do we start with JFG? Good question. We don’t actually know where he was born. According to Beaufort Weddings 1796-1950 by Robert Deltgen, JFG is first mentioned in the Beaufort parish registers on 15 Jul 1741 as “Lord Joannes Georgius Wolff of Beaufort”. Deltgen writes that JFG was born about 1715 in Beaufort, but there are no baptism records for him in the Beaufort register. Maybe the Beaufort parish registers are incomplete? Maybe he was born elsewhere? JFG’s father Pierre was first mentioned in the Beaufort parish registers in 1730, so the Wolff family had moved to Beaufort by then.

Joannes Francis Georges Wolff was godfather to his namesake Joannes Georges Wolff – his sister Magdalena Wolff Wonner’s son on 15 Jul 1741 in Beaufort, Luxembourg.

When did JFG move to Burg-Reuland? I checked Burg-Reuland parish records and JFG does not appear in them prior to his 1750 marriage. This doesn’t mean he couldn’t have been living in Burg-Reuland; it only means that he wasn’t in any baptism, marriage, or death records during that time period. He can also be found as “Joannes George Wolff of Beaufort” as a godparent in Beaufort parish registers in 1745 and 1748, and on 14 Apr 1750. So one month before his marriage to Anna Lupus, he still appears to be living in Beaufort. According to “History of Burg Reuland, part 2: From the 15th to 18th Centuries” by W. Wittrock and K. D. Klauser, JFG was a bailiff, court judge, and lay judge in Beaufort at the time of his marriage to Anna Clara Elisabetha Lupus.

Anna’s father Johann Wilhelm Lupus had won the right to manage Burg-Reuland, but he died in Feb 1749. JFG married Anna on 19 May 1750 in Burg-Reuland and then he assumed the position of castle administrator. Sadly, Anna died in childbirth on 6 Sep 1951. There’s no record of the child. On 5 Aug 1753, JFG and Maria Regina Teresia de Massu were married in Schankweiler. Together they had 12 children:

  • Maria Carola Antonetta Wolff born in 1754 in Burg-Reuland
  • Joannes Joseph Peter Wolff born in 1755 in Burg-Reuland
  • Joannes Karl Wolff born in 1756 in Burg-Reuland
  • Maria Angela Wolff born & died in 1757 in Burg-Reuland
  • Joannes Henricus Wolff born & died in 1758 in Burg-Reuland
  • Antonius Wolff born in 1760 & died 1761 in Burg-Reuland
  • Maria Theresia Wolff born in 1761 in Burg-Reuland
  • Anna Maria Wolff born in 1762 & died 1764 in Burg-Reuland
  • Maria Catharina Josepha Wolff born in 1763 & died 1764 in Burg-Reuland
  • Joannes Baptista Wolff born & died in 1764 in Burg-Reuland
  • Damian Emmericus Haztardus Wolff born in 1766 in Burg-Reuland
  • Francis Carol Antonius Wolff born & died in 1767 in Burg-Reuland

In 1766 census, JFG, his wife, and their children Joannes Joseph Pierre, Joannes Karl, Damian Emmericus Haztardus, Maria Carola Antonetta, and Maria Theresia were living together in the castle with a servant, a hunter, and three women over the age of 14 who were probably servants.

Reuland village, parish of the same name in the 1766 census.

On 30 Sep 1782, Maria Regina Teresia died in Basbellain, Luxembourg. According to her death record, JFG was still castle adjudicator in Burg-Reuland.

JFG married Catherine Böly in 1787 in Kruchten, Germany. His marriage record makes no mention of Burg-Reuland or of him being the bidder of Reuland castle.

His marriage record to Catherine Böly makes no mention of Burg-Reuland, but it does say “Joannes Franciscus Georgius Wolff temporal lord in Kruchten.”

According to Joannes Karl’s 1788 marriage record, he had replaced his father as bidder of the castle. It states “the very noble lord Joannes Carolus, adjudicator of the castle and lordship of Reuland, legitimate son of Joannes Francis Georges Wolff, lord in Cruchten.” We wondered if that was an error, but he continues to be called “adjudicator” in the 1789 baptism record of Joannes Karl’s daughter Maria Theresia, in the 1789 marriage record of JFG’s daughter Maria Theresia (yes, I said that name twice), and in a 1790 notarial record. Maria Theresia Wolff’s marriage record says her father was Lord Joannes Frances Georges Wolff from Beaufort, lord in Kruchten. No mention of him being adjudicator in Reuland.

In a document dated 6 Nov 1790, written by notary Jacoby, it’s noted that JFG was the former adjudicatarius of the Reuland lordship and he was living in Kruchten at that time. So we can conclude that by 1788, Joannes Karl had taken over as bidder of Burg-Reuland. But, maybe Joannes Karl had replaced his father before 178? JFG’s 1787 marriage record to Catherine Böly only says this of JFG: “Joannes Franciscus Georgius Wolff temporal lord in Kruchten.” A temporal lord only holds that title for his lifetime, it’s not a title that can be passed to his descendants after his death. So did Joannes Karl become adjudicator sometime between 1782 and 1787? Maybe Joannes Karl became the castle admin because JFG chose to move to Kruchten?

We don’t know much about JFG’s final years except that he lived in Kruchten for a time and he died on 24 Feb 1798 in Holsthum, Germany.

A side note about JFG, there are two descriptions of JFG’s seal. In 1776, his seal is described as golden with a red lion with a forked tail. It’s described as a wolf rampant with a heron crest on a 1779 document. His seal on a 1773 letter has the heron crest, but it appears to be a lion and not a wolf.

Joannes Francis George Wolff’s seal, as seen on his 1773 letter to a seminary.

Maria Regina Teresia de Massu Wolff

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Maria Regina Teresia de Massu (I’ll refer to her as MRT) is kind of a mystery! Her siblings’ births are in the Beaufort records, but not hers. We’ve seen her birth listed as both Beaufort, Luxembourg, and Düren, Germany. Her marriage record wasn’t in Beaufort or Reuland. And her death record wasn’t in Reuland, Beaufort, or Kruchten; but we knew MRT was noted as deceased in her son Joannes Karl Wolff’s marriage in 1788, and in her daughter Maria Theresia Wolff’s 1789 marriage. Then we discovered that MRT’s husband had remarried in 1787. So we knew she’d died sometime between 1767 (when her last child was born) and her husband’s 1787 third marriage.

MRT is a prime example of why we need to look in more than just the expected places for records. Often, we will look at baptism sponsors and where they are from when we’re having a hard time finding a family member in records. Then we’ll check those locations. In this case, we looked through MRT’s children’s baptism records and noted that her son Joannes Joseph Peter Wolff (who became a priest) had a sponsor named Joannes Peter Massu, a pastor in Schankweiler. MRT had a brother named Jean-Pierre Massu and, according to the Penninger family tree contained in “Manual Des Fondations De Bourses D’Etude” by J P Koltz, Jean-Pierre Massu had become a priest. We started looking through Schankweiler, Germany, church records for signs of MRT or her family members and that’s where we found her 1753 marriage record.

Maria Regina Teresia de Massu’s marriage to Joannes Francis George Wolff in Schankweiler, Germany

I’m not even sure which parish (outside of Beaufort or Burg-Reuland) we first searched for MRT’s death record in – it’s a bit of a blur. But, I know our first clue to look for her in Basbellain came when we saw her son Joannes Joseph Peter Wolff’s death record stated that he had also been a pastor in Basbellain along with Weweler and Burg-Reuland. Then we began looking through the Basbellain marriage records for MRT’s marriage. Unfortunately, the Basbellain marriage records didn’t start until 1754. Since MRT’s first child was born in June 1754 we knew were probably looking for a marriage record between September 1751 & 1753. I looked through the 1754 records just in case and saw that the Basbellain priest at that time was Joannes Ignatio Klein (probably a relative of MRT’s mother).

At the time we were so focused on looking for MRT’s marriage record that it didn’t occur to me to continue looking through Basbellain for her death. But after we’d “followed the priest” to Schankweiler and discovered her marriage there, we started paying a lot more attention to which parishes family priests were serving in. Priests were very important figures in daily life during this time and because of a priest who died in the 17th century they were even more important to our family.

MRT’s mother Maria Magdalena Klein is descended from a man named Pierre Penninger. Pierre had a grandson also named Pierre Penninger who became a Catholic priest. The younger Pierre donated money during his life and in his will for scholarships to be established at the Jesuit seminary. Pierre’s relatives had first dibs on these scholarships and, as a result, the Penninger family tree was well documented. The Penninger family tree in “Manual Des Fondations De Bourses D’Etude” by J P Koltz has been extraordinarily helpful to us AND the Penninger scholarships have led to many family members becoming priests.

At this point, we were back to following around priests in hopes of finding MRT’s death record when it occurred to us that her son Joannes Joseph Peter Wolff had been assigned to her home parish, BUT not until 1785. We needed to check where he was before 1785 in case MRT’s death record would be there. That led us right back to Basbellain. And, lo and behold, we found her 1782 death recorded in Basbellain, Luxembourg, by her son Joannes Joseph Peter Wolff.

Maria Regina Teresia de Massu Wolff’s death record in Basbellain, Luxembourg. Her son was the priest in Basbellain parish and he recorded her death in the church registers.

Neither Schankweiler or Basbellain were places we would’ve expected to find MRT until we started following around family priests. We still have not come across her birth record – if you have any ideas or hints please let us know! We’re hoping to hear back on some Düren records that we’ve requested because her marriage and death records say she was from Marcodurum – also know as Düren. In MRT’s daughter Maria Carola Antonetta Wolff’s baptism record there’s a sponsor Maria Magdalena Massu of Düren (probably MRT’s mother). A history of Burg Reuland from the 15th to 18th centuries by Willi Wittrock and K D Klauser entitled “Vom Burgort zur Herrschaft:15.-18. Jahrhundert,” refers to MRT as being from the Düren area.

Maybe the de Massu family moved to Düren after her brother’s 1724 birth in Beaufort. And maybe that is where MRT’s father died. There is also a village called Dürler in the commune of Burg-Reuland. The Dürler/Düren situation has caused some confusion for us – since Durler seems more plausible due to its proximity – but we have ruled out Dürler as MRT’s place of birth.

*Please note that Basbellain, Beaufort, Burg-Reuland, Dürler, Kruchten, and Schankweiler were all part of Luxembourg during this time period. Düren was not part of Luxembourg. Today, Basbellain & Beaufort are part of Luxembourg; Burg-Reuland & Dürler are part of Belgium; and Kruchten & Schankweiler are part of Germany.*

The Wolffs of Burg-Reuland Part 2: How It All Started Again

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Genealogy isn’t for the faint of heart. You run in circles.  You run into brick walls.  You dive head first down rabbit holes.

But there’s just something about it that I can’t quit.  And I’m sure a lot of you would understand exactly what I’m talking about.

This summer Michelle was looking into Burg-Reuland and found a source that said the last castle manager was named Johann Georg Franziskus Wolf. A Wolf in the same town as our Wolffs? And our Joannes Karl Wolff (Theresia Wolff Konzen’s father) had a son named Franz Georg Wolff… Franz Georg Wolff was born in 1797 in Burg-Reuland, but the timeline didn’t work for him to be THE Johann Georg Franziskus so it seemed like there was a good chance our Wolffs were related to him.

Soon Michelle found that Johann Georg Franziskus Wolf was also Joannis Francisci Georgis Wolff (the spelling of the name depends on the language used in records – Luxembourgish, German, French, Latin, etc.), the father of our Joannes Karl Wolff. And Joannis Francisci Georgis Wolff (JFG Wolff) was the castle admin of Burg-Reuland while the French Revolution was occurring.

Burg-Reuland Castle (from https://reuland-ouren.eu/)

How did JFG Wolff come to be the admin of Reuland Castle? The last lord of Reuland was Ferdinand von Berghes until 1736 when he died without issue. After that Reuland Castle was publicly auctioned and managed. Johann Wilhelm Lupus bought the castle, but in 1749 he froze to death in a snowstorm (yes, you read that right). On 19 May 1750, Johann Wilhelm Lupus’s daughter Anna Clara Elizabetha Lupus married JFG Wolff in Beaufort, Luxembourg. JFG Wolff was a bailiff, court judge, and lay judge in Beaufort. He took over as the castle admin after their marriage. On 6 Sep 1751, Anna Clara Elizabetha Lupus Wolff died during childbirth. We couldn’t find any record of the child.

JFG Wolff later married Maria Regina Teresia Massu (MRT Massu) – we have yet to find their marriage record – and they had 12 children together. Their children are:

  • Maria Carola Antonetta Wolff born 13 Jun 1754 in Burg-Reuland
  • Joannes Josephus Petrus Wolff born 21 May 1755 in Burg-Reuland
  • Joannes Karl Wolff born 9 Aug 1756 in Burg-Reuland
  • Maria Angela Wolff born 9 Nov 1757 in Burg-Reuland
  • Joannes Henricus Wolff born 13 Oct 1758 in Burg-Reuland
  • Antonius Wolff born 27 Mar 1760 in Burg-Reuland
  • Maria Theresia Wolff born 11 Apr 1761 in Burg-Reuland
  • Anna Maria Wolff born 22 Jun 1762 in Burg-Reuland
  • Maria Catharina Josepha Wolff born 18 Jul 1763 in Burg-Reuland
  • Joannes Baptista Wolff born 17 Jul 1764 in Burg-Reuland
  • Damianus Emmericus Haztardus Wolff born 2 Feb 1766 in Burg-Reuland
  • Franciscus Carolus Antonius Wolff born 13 Jun 1767 in Burg-Reuland

JGF Wolff married for a third time in 1787 to Catherine Böly in Kruchten, Germany.

Some sources claim that JFG Wolff was the final admin of Reuland Castle, but it actually seems like his son Joannes Karl Wolff was the final admin. According to “History of Burg Reuland, part 2: From the 15th to 18th Centuries” by W. Wittrock and K. D. Klauser, Joannes Karl Wolff was named as bidder of the castle in 1779. They also state that Joannes Karl Wolff was the last admin of the castle until he fled to Trier, Germany, in 1794 before the French arrived. This is the same story about the admin fleeing that has been attributed to JFG Wolff before. I’m leaning toward Joannes Karl being the final castle admin because this history cites source documents (which I currently cannot access online) and I haven’t seen any source documents cited for the JFG version.

P.S. Michelle says I make it all sound so simple 😆 So just a heads up, in reality this was a very tangled web.

I’m Back!

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My last post was about the Wolff family and that’s actually where I’ve picked things up again. And by “I”, I mean Michelle and I. Ha and mostly it’s all Michelle’s fault. I never meant to spend so much time away from genealogy, but life happens. And this summer Michelle decided to suck me right back into it all. So it’s all her fault, but in the best way.

Getting back into genealogy has reminded me of who I really am. If you know what I mean. You know something’s been missing in your life, but you just can’t figure out why you don’t feel like yourself. Genealogy isn’t everything (ha!), but the person I am when I’m doing genealogy feels 100% percent like ME.

So stay tuned for another post coming soon. Michelle and I just have to unravel some threads to decide which story to tell and where to start with it.

Wishing you a Happy New Year!

Bailey

The Wolffs of Burg-Reuland

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Theresa Wolff and Peter Konzen married on 6 Feb 1815 in Kruchten, Germany.

We’ve been busy looking for Theresa Wolff’s birth in Reuland, Luxembourg, because Kruchten church records show she was born in Reuland.  We haven’t been successful in finding the Wolff family in Reuland, Luxembourg.  When hunting for information on Reuland, Michelle came across Burg-Reuland, Belgium.  Burg-Reuland is very close to the current border of Belgium, Luxembourg, and Germany.

Michelle ordered some microfilms for Burg-Reuland and after digging through them we found Theresa Wolff’s birth and the birth of some of her siblings: Anna Maria, Nicholas Carolus Mathaus, and Petrus.

film-0613920-wolffs-1-_001

Maria Theresia Wolff’s birth and baptism record

Theresa Wolff was born Maria Theresia Wolff in Burg-Reuland on 20 Feb 1789 to Joannes Caroli Wolff of Reuland and Margaretha Schmidt of Kruchten. According to her baptism record, her parents were married in Burg-Reuland. Theresa’s father Carl signed his name on the baptism record so he was at least able to write his name.

Her brother Nicolaus Carolus Mathaus Wolff was born in Burg-Reuland on 6 Dec 1790 to Jois Caroli Wolff and Margaretha Schmidt.

Theresa’s brother Petrus Wolff was born in Burg-Reuland on 6 Dec 1792 to Caroli Wolff and Maria Catharina Schmitz.

Her sister Anna Maria Wolff was born in Burg-Reuland on 17 Dec 1794 to Caroli Wolff and Margaretha Schmitz.

We’re still looking for a microfilm with Carl Wolff and Margaretha Schmidt’s marriage on it and for films with their births.

John Charles Konzen – One of Chickasaw County’s Bright Boys

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My great uncle Karl told me years ago that his father John Charles Konzen (my great grandfather) had gone to business college in Cedar Rapids and that he had taught at the college afterward.  I’ve never been able to find any information about him going there or teaching until Michelle found out that old New Hampton newspapers were going to be online.  For some reason, I thought I had heard that these papers no longer existed (maybe I just told myself that to feel better about never making it to the archives in Iowa to look at the papers on microfilm – who knows).

The newspapers are a treasure trove of John Charles (and his siblings)!  And yes, they talk about him going to college in Cedar Rapids.  According to the 19 Dec 1889 edition of the New Hampton Courier, John Charles was traveling to Cedar Rapids for school.

John Charles Konzen of Jacksonville started Monday for Cedar Rapids to attend school in that goodly city of railroads and business enterprise - 19 Dec 1889 - New Hampton Courier copy

“J. C. Konzen of Jacksonville started Monday for Cedar Rapids to attend school in that goodly city of railroads and business enterprise.  J. C. is a student and thinker, and will make every hour of his stay in Cedar Rapids, sixty minutes of application to study or legitimate rest.”

The 27 Mar 1890 issue of the Courier says “J. C. Konzen is making this vicinity a short visit.  He reports good success at the Cedar Rapids Business College, to which he will return in the near future.”  On 8 Jan 1891 the New Hampton Courier reports that John Charles will be attending school in another town.

John Charles Konzen, who has been attending school at Cedar Rapids now goes to Cedar Falls to school - 01081891 - New Hampton Courier copy

“J. C. Konzen, who has been attending school at Cedar Rapids for the past year, spent the holidays at home with his friends.  He goes now to Cedar Falls to school.  J. C. will reach a first class place in his chosen work, if steady industry will accomplish it.”

I had never heard of John Charles attending school anywhere but Cedar Rapids, so unfortunately I do not know the reasons behind it.  In the 3 Sep 1891 issue of the Courier, John Charles is heading westward to teach in Kansas.

John Charles Konzen was in town last week, he has been attending school in Cedar Rapids and now goes to Emporia Kansas to teach - 09031891 - New Hampton Courier copy

“J. C. Konzen was in town last week, he has been attending school in Cedar Rapids and now goes to Emporia Kansas to teach.  He intends to make his way through college.  J. C. is a worthy young man and we predict will make his mark in the world.”

A week later on 10 Sep 1891 the Courier reports that John Charles is in Emporia and “has taken charge of the penmanship department of Parker’s Business College.”  On 21 Jan 1892, John Charles is quoted in the New Hampton Courier as saying “‘I am getting along nicely with my school and am well pleased with the country.'”

John Charles Konzen one of Chickasaw county's brightest boys who is seeking his fortune in the West writes us from Emporia Kansas - 01211892 - New Hampton Courier

“J. C. Konzen, one of Chickasaw county’s bright boys, who is seeking his fortune in the West, writes us from Emporia, Kansas, where he is now located, and he says, ‘I am getting along nicely with my school and am well pleased with the country.’  We are glad to hear of his success.”

In the 16 Jun 1892 issue the Courier states that John Charles has returned him from Emporia.  The New Hampton Courier doesn’t have much information on John Charles’s whereabouts or activities.  On 7 Nov 1895 the Courier reports that John Charles has been living in Fort Pierre, South Dakota, and he is going to Cedar Rapids for a college course.

John Charles Konzen - JC Konzen, of Ft Pierre, SD, was in town the first of the week shaking hands with friends and relatives here. He goes from here to Cedar Rapids - 11071895 - New Hampton Courier copy

“J. C. Konzen, of Ft. Pierre, S. D., was in town the first of the week shaking hands with friends and relatives here.  He goes from here to Cedar Rapids, where he will take a course in the college of that city.  He is a fine, steady young man and is preparing himself for active business and we wish him success.”

Almost three years later on 23 Jun 1898 the New Hampton Courier says “Mr. Konzen has been in Ft. Pierre for some time and has made a fine reputation as a business man.”

John Charles Konzen - JC Konzen, of Ft Pierre, South Dakota came down to attend the weddign of his sister and will remain for a few weeks - 06231898 - New Hampton Courier copy

“J. C. Konzen, of Ft. Pierre, South Dakota came down to attend the wedding of his sister and will remain for a few weeks.  Mr. Konzen has been in Ft. Pierre for some time and has made a fine reputation as a business man.  He is one of many young men who have gone out from this county and started in business and made a success, but he had a good capital to start with for habits of industry, sobriety and frugality make a splendid capital for a young man and such are sure to succeed.”

So from the New Hampton Courier articles, I now know he did teach at a college, just maybe not at Cedar Rapids Business College.  After 1898, there’s not much more information about John Charles, but in 1903 he is living in Montevideo, Minnesota.  John Charles lived out the rest of his life in Montevideo, where he owned a successful furniture store.  He met my great grandmother Ella Kuske – a teacher – and they married on 20 Jan 1914 in Olivia, Minnesota.  The couple had three children: Kermit, Kathryn, and Karl.

SCAN2623

Ella holding Karl, Kathryn, Kermit, and John Charles.  Circa 1923.

The family survived Ella’s bout of Scarlet Fever and the Great Depression together.  In the 1940 census, John Charles was 70 years old and he had worked 60 hours in the week prior to the census.  He had worked 52 weeks in 1939, but he earned $0 in income during 1939.  The census did note that he’d earned some non-cash income, but it’s hard to imagine that amounting to much.

SCAN1416

John Charles, Kathryn, Ella, and Karl on Karl’s final furlough before he shipped out to Europe.  This is most likely the final photo taken of John Charles because he died soon afterward.

John Charles and Ella lived a very happy life together until he died of a heart attack on 17 Nov 1942 at his home in Montevideo.

Konzen Family Books

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Hi everyone!  I’ve been working on some Konzen family books.  One book is on the Angela Susanna Konzen & Peter Hansen family and one book is Peter Konzen & Theresa Wolff’s descendants – Theodore, Mathias, John, and Margaretha.  I am looking for more information, stories, and photographs for the books.  If you have anything you’d like to submit for the books, you can email them to me at konzengenealogy at hotmail.com.

Living people will be included in the books, but their birth dates and places will not be included.  I’ll post more information on the books throughout the process.  If you are interested in one of these books please let me know (and tell me which one) by commenting on this post or emailing me.  This will help give me an idea of how I’ll need to have the books printed and bound.  Please pass the word to relatives about the books and let them know to contact me with family information and any stories or photographs they would like included in the books.

I’m excited about this and I hope everyone else is, too!

Also, please let me know if you see any errors in the family trees on this blog and I will make the changes to them and carry those changes forward to the books.

 

What if Our Name was Schmitz Oberst?

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Sometimes you come across something that changes everything in your family tree.

I could’ve been a Schmitz Oberst instead of a Konzen (can you even imagine it?).  But, thanks to Wilhelmus Schmitz Oberst & Elisabetha Konzen, I am a Konzen.  They are the reason why many of you are Konzens, too.  I recently found out about Wilhelmus & Elisabetha from a comment by Chip Kalb and through a book he pointed me toward.

Chip’s latest hint was about my Konzen line in Herborn, Luxembourg.  My cousins and I have tried to trace our Konzens back past Theodore Konzen of Herborn, but we couldn’t find anything to connect him to any Konzens in the Herborn records microfilmed by Family Search.  I was afraid that we were never going to be able to trace our Konzen line further back and I wanted more.

I followed Chip’s information to a new relative, Robert Grosch.  Robert and I are sixth cousins once removed – his sixth great grandfather Nicolaus Konzen is my fifth great grandfather – and he wrote a book with Jean-Claude Muller called “Familienbuch und Häuserchronik der Ortschaften Herborn, Mompach, Givenich und Pfaffenberg” (translation: “Family Book and House Chronicles of towns Herborn, Mompach, Givenich and Pfaffenberg”).  This book is a great resource and it traces the Konzen family tree back three generations further than what I had before.

The furthest generation of Konzens we’d found was Theodore Konzen & Catharina Scholer (the parents of Elizabeth who moved to Trierweiler, Peter who moved to Kruchten, and Wilhelm who moved to Olingen).  According to the Herborn book, Theodore was the youngest of 10 children born to Nicolaus Konzen* and Maria-Catharina Meyers or Storck.

Nicolaus Konzen was the younger of 2 children born to Wilhelmus Schmitz Oberst and Elisabetha Konzen.  Yes, Schmitz Oberst.  And no, Nicolaus was not illegitimate.  As the eldest child, Elisabetha had the right to remain in the Konzen family house after her marriage to Wilhelmus.  According to Robert, the couple remained in the Konzen family house and during this time period the parish priest used house names as surnames.  So that is why Wilhelmus and his children had the Konzen last name in records.  After Elisabetha’s death Wilhelmus still lived in the Konzen house and had the Konzen last name.  He married Maria Lauers and had 7 more children with the last name Konzen.  Just to confuse things, of course!

Elisabetha Konzen was the eldest of Nicolaus Konzen & Susanna’s 13 children.  After Susanna’s death Nicolaus married Anna Lauers and they had 4 children together.

So the family tree looks like:

1st generation:  Nicolaus Konzen & Susanna

2nd generation:  Elisabetha Konzen & Wilhelmus Schmitz Oberst

3rd generation:  Nicolaus Konzen & Maria-Catharina Meyers or Storck

4th generation:  Theodore Konzen & Catharina Scholer

5th generation:  Peter Konzen & Theresa Wolff

The book organizes families by houses and it has a photo of the Kounzen house in Herborn.  It also has a map of Herborn that shows the location of the Kounzen house.

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The Kounzen house in Herborn (photo from Google Maps)

If you’re interested in purchasing Robert Grosch & Jean-Claude Muller’s book “Familienbuch und Häuserchronik der Ortschaften Herborn, Mompach, Givenich und Pfaffenberg,” I can pass Robert’s contact information on to you.  You can email me at konzengenealogy at hotmail.com or comment on this post with your email address.

*In Herborn, our Konzens used various spellings of Konzen, so I will stick with the current spelling for continuity.  According to the Herborn book, it was Kuntzen in 1680, and Kontzen in 1900.  Other spellings are Conzen, Contzen, and Kounzen.

 

 

The Mysterious Angela Susanna Konzen

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For those of you, who have not read the blog post “The Mystery of Angela Susanna Konzen,” you’re not missing much because we still have more questions than answers about her.  One of Angela Susanna’s descendants and I each took DNA tests a few years ago in an attempt to solve the mystery of whether or not Angela Susanna is a relative of my Konzens.  I was sure we were going to be DNA matches for each other, even if we were distant ones.  Unfortunately, Paula and I came back with no matches to each other.  It was a disappointing day and we haven’t gotten any new leads on Angela Susanna through DNA.

I just happened to look at my last post on Angela Susanna and I realized that a note I thought I added to that post years ago is not there.  So I apologize for that.  If you read that blog post, you might know that I thought Angela Susanna had to be a sister of Catherine Konzen if she wasn’t related to our Konzens.  I just couldn’t grasp the idea that there might actually be a lot of Konzens running around out there.  I live in a city without any other Konzens so I grew up thinking that Konzens were rare (and wonderful).  Now I know about so many other Konzen families and I realized that Konzens are not common, but they also are not as scarce as I once thought.

I wanted to let everyone that read “The Mystery of Angela Susanna Konzen” know that after more research, we are 99.9% certain that Angela Susanna Konzen is not the daughter of Nicolas Konzen & Anne Marie Dockendorf of Ralingen, Germany.  There is even a little bit of question about whether Angela Susanna is even a Konzen.  Right now, Angela Susanna remains a mystery because we have not been able to find a Konzen family for her.