There are some things in life that we love to hate and hate to love. I’d probably tell you that Konzen mysteries are one of those things for me. But it would be a lie, because I secretly love that there are always more mysteries to be solved with the Konzens. I hate leaving any stone unturned and I’ve always wanted the answer to every single question.
Sometimes, I have to put a mystery on the back burner because there are so many of them and only so much time available to look into these mysteries. One of these back burner mysteries is Jacob Konzen. My cousin Michelle pointed out that Jacob’s “story” should be told, so here it is.
Jacob was born about 1840 in Luxembourg and he came to America sometime in 1860 or earlier. The census taken on August 10, 1860, states that he was living and working as a farm laborer on Theodore Konzen & Marie Demuth’s farm in Iowa Township, Dubuque, Iowa, USA on June 1, 1860. After 1860, we have no idea of what happened to Jacob. He could have died, but most likely he left Theodore’s farm and probably moved out of Iowa.
We’ve found some Jacob Konzens who could possibly be our Jacob. One Jacob marries Anna and lived in Ohio until his death on 23 Sep 1916. They had at least three children: John H Konzen (born about 1881), Jacob Konzen (born about 1876), and Peter Konzen (born about 1872). I received a copy of this Jacob’s death certificate and it states that his father was J Konzen who was born in Germany. It also says Jacob was born on 23 Nov (presumably in 1842) in Germany and he was 73 years old at his death. I also found a naturalization index record in Family Search for this Jacob and it says he didn’t immigrate until 1867, so he’s probably not our Jacob.
Another Jacob lived in South Bend, Indiana, and he died in 1920 leaving behind a wife and four children. It looks like this Jacob was born about 1852 according to census records, so he’s also probably not our Jacob. The third Jacob married Rosina and lived in Wisconsin. If our mystery Jacob could only be one of these three – my bet’s on this Jacob.
There’s also a Jacob Konzen who arrives in New York in 1843 from Antwerp, Belgium. He’s 3 years old and he arrives with Johan Konzen, 45 years old; Anna Konzen, 38 years old; Magdalena Konzen, 15 years old; Franz Konzen, 12 years old; and Cath Konzen, 8 years old. This could also be our mystery Jacob. It seems that this family lived in Hinterweiler, Germany, because Tom Pick’s index shows a Konzen family with the same names and approximate birth dates living there.
And, Wilhelm Konzen – brother to Peter Konzen and son of Theodore Konzen and Catherine Schuler – and his third wife Maria Margaretha Kieffer had a son named Jacob/Jacques Konzen born in Olingen, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg, in 1842. This Jacob/Jacques would have been Theodore Konzen’s first cousin and that makes him a possibility for the Jacob Konzen in the 1860 census.
I’m hoping that somebody will read this and have a lead for us. Maybe we’ll be able to find Jacob and connect him to our Konzens one day.
Konzen Genealogy 