heartbroken - Rootseekers

Transcription


HEARTBROKEN
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The Story of
Friedrich Ludwig Carl Christian Stange
researched and narrated by
Ursula C. Krause
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©Ursula C. Krause 2011
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On the day of my confirmation, I received an ancestral chart as
my sister and cousins had before me. I looked at it, recognizing
many of my ancestors from the stories my parents and
grandparents had told me. There was my Great-greatgrandfather Adolph, the mayor of the city of Driesen, Greatgreat-grandmother Concordia, who bore 14 children in 16
years, of which 13 survived, my 5x-Great-grandfather Pastor
Abraham, who guided King Frederick the Great on his visits to
the Neumark, and Great-great-grandmother Sophia who left
her hometown in Switzerland to marry a German mechanic 16
years her senior. Then there was one more person who caught
my eye: Great-great-great-grandfather Friedrich Stange. There
were no stories about him or his family. The information on
him in the ancestral chart really puzzled me. According to that,
he had left for America, but his son, my Great-greatgrandfather
Carl
Stange,
obviously
had
remained
in
Germany. Why did Friedrich
leave? What had happened? What
became of him? Finally, I
managed to find some letters that
Friedrich’s children Albert and
Marie had written from America.
So, Carl had siblings who left for
America as well? Why didn’t Carl
follow his father? This was
getting
more
and
more
mysterious. Meanwhile, Carl’s
picture was hanging on the wall.
He smiled at me every time I went by, and I was reminded of
the mystery that needed to be solved.
Then, one day, I started my journey into the past and into an
unknown land…
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On May 1, 1855, the ship Rhein left the docks in Hamburg harbor headed for New York.
On board were Friedrich Stange, his wife Caroline, their 15-year old daughter Marie and
Caroline’s brother Friedrich Bochin.
On their way along the Elbe River to the North Sea, did they stand at the railing and cast a
last glance at their homeland, until there was nothing more to see? What must have been
going through their minds? Was it a lonely and sad farewell? Did they, as one often likes to
imagine, wave a white handkerchief to those remaining behind? But who could have been
standing there? Perhaps Justus and Carl, their two sons who had decided to remain in
Germany, were there. Did they even manage to say good-bye to their parents, uncle and
their beloved little sister? How difficult it must have been for Friedrich and Caroline to bid
farewell to everyone they knew.
Were they uneasy about spending six long weeks at sea? Were they prepared to step out
into an unknown land? Perhaps the emigrants were simply full of anticipation of what they
were expecting from their new home: To finally see their son Albert and their nephew
Gustav, who had gone to New York together the year before and would be waiting for
them at Castle Garden. A new beginning awaiting them on Congress land, which they
wanted to buy out West. Suitable work for Marie, work in which she would not be
exploited the way she was in her last position. Or did they just want to get as far away as
possible from all that had happened in the last year and the dishonor associated with it?
Albert’s letter from America in October 1854 must have encouraged them to follow him.
Although he had specifically written that they should delay leaving until he had enough
money and also more information on purchasing Congress land, Friedrich apparently could
not wait any longer. He had been anxious to decide the family’s future. Surely they were
no longer living a life of affluence as they had before the court order of April 1854. Many
things were done in preparation. They applied for approval to emigrate, Marie’s contract
was terminated and letters to Carl and Justus were written to inform them that they would
be going to America. The journey to the major port city of Hamburg was organized
quickly, by horse and carriage, railway or boat along the Elbe River from the small port of
Wittenberge. Of course, they had to come up with money to pay for the passage to
America. Or could there still be some money left from the amount they had received from
Herr Gericke?
Their remaining possessions were sorted and what they were allowed to take with them
was packed up in bundles, with those items that they would first need after arriving in
America put into a big trunk for storage in the ship’s hold. Above all, they had to say
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goodbye to relatives and friends. Surely they were aware that they would never see each
other again. But did they really know what that meant?
Friedrich and Caroline died without ever seeing one of their German relatives again, not
even Carl and Justus. They died in a foreign country. No church registers carry their
names. They were buried in the cemetery at Cottage Hill, now Elmhurst, Illinois, and their
names were put on wooden crosses. It was all Albert could afford at the time. As the
inscriptions faded with the years, so did the memories of them. Their grandson Otto H.
Stange, who was born after Friedrich died, later mistakenly named them John and Mary
Stange. In 1953, when their remains were moved and re-buried at Elm Lawn Cemetery in
Elmhurst, they were registered under these names. The family back in Germany assumed
that Caroline Stange, her brother, her children Albert and Marie and all their offspring had
died in the Great Chicago Fire. As the years went by, they were forgotten.
But one document survived. It was the proof of ancestry of their great-grandchildren,
which merely said:
Stange, Friedrich emigrated to America
This is his story.
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The district of Prignitz, Brandenburg, Prussia in 1853
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In 1796 in Putlitz, a small, aristocratic town in the northeast part of the Prignitz
district, there is a fierce dispute between the Putlitz city councilman and the aristocratic
family in the manorial farm next to Putlitz called Burghof.
It is not the first time that they are arguing about the grazing rights of the neighboring
sovereign, who allows his sheep to graze on areas belonging to the city. Although in the
years before this had been forbidden by law, they continued this practice unflinchingly and
the councilman was forced to file an action in the Superior Court of Justice in Berlin. The
court, however, decides in favor of the sovereign, despite the legal situation, and the
councilman is forced to back down. In the end, it isn’t necessarily all about the grazing
rights themselves, but rather about securing their dominance. Once again, the aristocracy
has asserted itself.
On the one side there is the city of Putlitz, a
prospering provincial town with around 900
inhabitants. There are some 150 craftsmen’s
enterprises, from cobblers, tailors, weavers
and hatters to carpenters, blacksmiths,
metalworkers, coopers and bakers, butchers
and pipe makers. The pastor is there for
soul and spirit, supported by the sexton.
There is a night watchman, an executioner
and the town piper provides entertainment.
The town council and mayor rule over the
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fate of the city; excise civil servants take care of collecting taxes for the Prussian state
headed by King Friedrich Wilhelm III and his wife Luise in Berlin, 150 km (93 miles)
south. Economically the city is prospering. The number of inhabitants is increasing and the
citizens exhibit a certain amount of self-confidence.
On the other side is the aristocratic family Ganß Edle zu Putlitz, who reside in the manorial
farms Philipshof and Burghof, both
located directly adjacent to the Putlitz
town center. Both the Philipshof and
Burghof are independent political
parishes, with some 140 inhabitants. This
family belongs to one of the oldest and
most prominent families in the Mark
Brandenburg at the time. Their name is
strongly associated with the history of the
Prignitz.
Baron Carl Friedrich Maximilian Ganß
Edler zu Putlitz lives in the Burghof with
his wife Augusta Philippina Friederica.
However, the glory of days past and
aristocratic titles do not necessarily mean
great economic strength. The castle is
falling into a noticeable state of
dilapidation. In a few years the estate will
be sold to a commoner, the castle finally torn down and the stones used to build stables.
In 1796, not only the ruling of the Superior Court of Justice gives the aristocratic family a
reason for delight. In this year, the couple’s first child is born, a daughter, Carolina Ganß
Edle zu Putlitz, on August 28th. Soon after that, there is another new resident on the estate.
On Monday, November 14, 1796, the high baron’s holländer Johann Friedrich Stange and
his wife Maria, née Höger, become the parents of a baby daughter. She is christened
Auguste Louysa Henriette Elisabeth on the following Sunday. She most likely gets her
name from her godmothers, Baroness Auguste Ganß Edle zu Putlitz, Demoiselle Louysa
Stangen and Jungfer (Maiden) Elisabeth Birgenthal. Another godmother is the master
miller’s wife Frau Pingenburg and the godfather is Herr Losthagen, who at the time is a
family tutor while preparing for his second theological exam. He will later become the
parson in Putlitz.
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Baptismal record Auguste Louysa Henriette Elisabeth Stange, Putlitz Church, November
20, 1796
At this time, Johann Friedrich is around 32 years old, his wife Maria 25. Auguste is their
second child, as their first son had been born on March 1, 1795 in Eickerhöfe in the
Altmark. Two years after Auguste’s birth, on Friday, August 24, 1798, another baby boy
is born to the Stanges. He is christened only two days after his birth, receiving the name
Friedrich Ludwig Carl Christian. His godfathers are the baron and baroness, the retired
hussar officer Herr von der Hagen and a Herr Linke.
Baptismal record Friedrich Ludwig Carl Christian Stange, Putlitz Church, August 26, 1798
The Stange Family as of 1798
Johann Friedrich STANGE b. ca. 1764 in Mecklenburg
married 1794 in Bälow/Prignitz
Maria HÖGER b. 1773 in Bälow/Prignitz
Carl b. 1795
in Eickerhöfe
Auguste b. 1796
in Putlitz
Friedrich b. 1798
in Putlitz
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In this era, when death is so common, the godparents’ role is to guard the child’s survival
and ensure their spiritual wellbeing as well as their further development. It is quite normal
that on the big estates the landlord and his wife assume the role of godparents. The other
godparents can be relatives or friends and usually reflect the social status the parents have,
ensuring that the child will be able to grow up with the same social status. Only Auguste
has a relative as a godmother. Is Louysa Stange her grandmother, her aunt, an older
cousin? Does she live with the Stanges, maybe supporting Maria Stange in her daily
routines, or is she just visiting? Auguste’s and Friedrich’s other godparents belong to the
town’s middle class. So do the Stanges belong to the middle-class as well? Who is this
family and what are they doing in Putlitz?
Johann Friedrich and his wife are the holländer and the holländerin (dairy-keepers) in the
castle court. What are holländer and what is their daily work? Johann Friedrich Stange
comes from a holländer family; his father Christian was a holländer in Mecklenburg, who
later moved to the Prignitz. For Johann Friedrich this means that he spent his life moving
around from one court to another, for the profession of a holländer is of a migratory nature.
The contract always lasts for one year, starting on May 1st. Then it means either moving on
to the next court or re-negotiating terms for another year. The holländer leases the cows on
larger estates, because at this time, agriculture and animal husbandry are kept separate.
About 50 cows are necessary to make ends meet. The larger and higher quality the cows
are, so much the better. The squire also provides stalls, grazing pastures, winter feed and
firewood. He receives in return from the holländer a certain amount of money as rent for
each cow, payable in three installments, the first payment on May 1st, the second on June
24th and the third on St. Martin’s Day on November 11th. Payment can also be made in
kind, for example with butter; all these things are fixed in the contract. The holländer
assumes care and supply of the herd, as well as taking over milking and processing butter
and cheese. He sometimes even oversees improving of the herd through breeding. The
holländer’s workers are responsible for milking. They are supervised by the dairy-keeper’s
wife, the holländerin. She is in turn responsible for processing the milk, making butter and
cheese and ensuring proper hygiene. All of the vats must be cleaned daily with hot soapy
water, otherwise the dairy products will spoil and all the work would be in vain. The
holländer takes over sales of the products in the surrounding area and on the larger city
markets. The squire is also one of his customers. The goods are transported by outside
carriers, or by the squire, who is then paid by the holländer for these services. In addition
to the leased cows, the family also has their own cattle and swine, which can be fed with
the whey resulting from cheese making. This allows the family to earn extra income.
Johann Friedrich Stange is thus a self-employed enterpriser. On the one hand he must have
a certain amount of financial means, because he needs capital to pay the lease money in
advance and also to keep his operation going in light of running costs until the first income
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is attained. To be able to process the milk, he needs several types of equipment, which
have to be purchased and maintained. He has to understand a lot about animals, for he
needs to recognize at first glance whether the herd will produce a profit, something that the
squire often doesn’t know due to his lack of specialized knowledge. If the animals are in
bad condition, it is advisable not to close a contract or at least to negotiate a low rent. The
holländer must be good in arithmetic and be able to think in a commercial way; he needs to
be able to set up an annual plan. He is a “networker” who must make contact with new
customers and squires, as well as maintain existing contacts. This is especially important,
for an ambitious holländer wants to get ahead. Perhaps he can negotiate a better contract
with another squire. He also needs his negotiating skills when the squire does not stick to
the agreement, such as not delivering the agreed amount of firewood or feed for the
animals. Johann Friedrich must have had an exceptional education and experience in order
to have achieved this level of competence. It is not unusual for holländers to have higher
education; they usually have been taught by tutors or attended better schools. They learn
their craft from the ground up, first in the parental operation, then the business aspects
from the estate manager or in other estates where they serve as helpers. A holländer with a
successful business can become rather wealthy. At the same time, he can also lose
everything within a short period of time, for example if he becomes ill. There are some
holländers who loan money to the squires and again some who live from hand to mouth.
The holländerin, or dairy-keeper’s wife, also needs a good and practical education, which
she usually gets from her parents, but also during a time of training before her marriage.
She probably does not receive any theoretical training, as this was not typical for women at
this time. The dairy-keeper’s wife is fully employed and in addition to this task, she is also
responsible for the kitchen. Not only does the family need to be fed, but also the servants
and maidservants. It is also important that she brings money into the marriage. She starts
saving her wages early on to be able to help her future husband purchase equipment or pay
the rent.
Holländers are situated in the rural middle-class and are definitely quite respected. Most
importantly, they are not subjects of the aristocracy and are more or less able to make free
decisions concerning themselves. At the time, this is something that is only possible for a
small part of the rural population.
The Stanges must have come to Putlitz on May 1, 1796. Before that, they lived in
Eickerhöfe in the Altmark, just across the Elbe River at Wittenberge, about 40 km
southwest of Putlitz. It was very close to Maria Stange’s hometown of Bälow in the
Prignitz.
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But the Stanges do not stay long in Putlitz, they move on after only three years. On May
16, 1799, Maria becomes a godmother to the daughter of the master tailor Müller. The
Stanges will leave Putlitz at the end of April the next year, when the contract expires, and
take a new position on May 1, 1800. What are the reasons? Are the herds no longer good
enough? Are there problems with the family Ganß Edle zu Putlitz? Or do they have a better
offer at another estate? It must be a very difficult time, especially for Maria. For one thing,
she has double the burden with three small children, a large household and her profession.
She surely has maidservants to support her with daily work, but they have to be directed
and monitored. In addition to the active business, the move needs to be planned and
prepared. After the move, the household and dairy must be set up and new helping hands
recruited and trained. Aside from all of this, operations had to continue running. A new
pregnancy comes about, shortly after the previous one, and adds to the burdens Maria
already has to bear. Also, there is some sad news from her twin sister, Anna Höger, who is
unwedded but pregnant. On February 3, 1800 she has to undergo a caesarean section. Anna
survives; the little girl, however, is stillborn. Maria tries not to worry too much about her
own pregnancy and the risks that go with it. She is a strong woman and manages to get
through this period. The fourth child, named Dorothea, is born on June 18, 1800. On
March 1, 1803 Maria Stange gives birth to another child, their son Christian, named after
his grandfather, the holländer Christian Stange from Mecklenburg.
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Johann Friedrich STANGE b. 1764
m. 1794
Maria HÖGER b. 1773
Carl b. 1795
Auguste b. 1796
Friedrich b. 1798
Dorothea b. 1800
Christian b. 1803
Where they live in the years between 1800 and 1805 and where the last two children are
born is not known. Either they remain in the Prignitz or at least live close by, in the
Altmark or the southern part of Mecklenburg. They probably work on the estates of
aristocratic families, firmly integrated into the feudal system still prevalent at the time.
In Prussia at this time, so-called hereditary serfdom is prevalent, meaning that the land
belongs mostly to aristocratic owners, the farmers manage the farmyards and pay rent to
the lords, with money or in services such as harvesting, processing the harvest, threshing or
spinning, or some fieldwork and transport services. Furthermore, the master can have a
high influence on their private life. He can decide if a consent to marriage is issued,
meaning that he decides if and whom the subject may marry. The lords also decide the fate
of the children, their line of work and where they will be used. In addition to the
subservient farmers, there are also day-laborers, servants and maidservants without any
noteworthy rights, let alone property. Compulsory school attendance has existed in Prussia
since 1763, but often there are no schools or they are too far away, or the children are
needed as helping hands. The children who are allowed to go to school, almost all boys,
learn only what is necessary, a little reading and writing, all catechism-oriented, as well as
the basics of multiplication. How different the education of the children of the middle class
is! The children of caretakers, holländers, huntsmen, parsons, teachers, bailiffs or millers
are taught German and mathematics, Latin, French, physics, natural history, history,
drawing, writing and singing.
The aristocratic family, who owns the estate, lives in the estate house or even in a castle.
They often have resided there for centuries like the family Ganß Edle zu Putlitz or the
family von Stavenow in West Prignitz. Their lives are more pleasant than those of their
subjects. But even they are not free of worries. They also have to fight to survive
economically, and there are some families that are forced to sell their estate. An estate
must be managed like a business enterprise. Although the estate does have a manager, the
family must make the key decisions themselves. The squire or the squiress must have some
understanding of agriculture. Some areas of the operation would be outsourced and
overseen by a specialist, as is the case with the holländer. The family has personnel,
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including the estate manager, the tutor, the governess, and house staff as well as coachmen,
servants and maidservants. Their services must be coordinated and accounted for. It does
happen that the subjects refuse to perform, or they come late and leave early, leaving the
work undone. Some employees, leaseholders and village residents receive payments in
kind, which usually are not much, but do add up to a large amount. Also, the family’s
children must be taken care of. Because aristocrats are not allowed to take up normal
bourgeois professions such as lawyer or doctor, most of them choose the career of a
military officer. Since the pay is not enough to survive on, somehow the family must be
able to finance their livelihood, or a wealthy wife must be sought. The female side of the
estate family must have a good dowry upon marriage, money which must be raised. If they
do not have enough money, then they must borrow some.
The Stange family lives in the province of Brandenburg, far away from the hustle and
bustle of the city. Work on the estate determines their everyday life. How many of the
changes taking place in the world may they have noticed? America’s newly gained
independence and the great political changes in France? After church on Sundays, they all
stand together, the holländer Stange, the managers of the estates belonging to the parish,
the miller, the bailiff and all the other churchgoers, to hear and discuss the latest news from
the capital. They do have a lot to discuss. Napoleon’s invasion in Prussia and the crushing
defeat of the Prussian army in Jena and Auerstedt in 1806. The humiliating peace from
Tilsit in 1807, the loss of half of Prussian territories, but also the French siege and the high
indemnity payments to France – which also create burdens in their daily life – until Prussia
recovers its independence in 1815 after the Napoleonic Wars. Many friends and
acquaintances are personally right in the middle of the events; they lose relatives, maybe
even their sons. The Stange family seems to have been spared; they have no losses to
mourn. Do they realize that Prussia’s defeat also means the demise of the feudal system
that they themselves have long annulled? Should they have even questioned this system, a
system in which they had found a good place, as compared with the rest of the population?
Whether they greet it or not, a period of slow change starts. It is a change that the Stange
family cannot escape.
The edict of October 9, 1807 carefully sets the course for changes in society. The goal is to
create a free farming community and an upswing in agriculture. First, hereditary serfdom is
abolished and everyone is entitled to conduct a trade. Aristocrats are now allowed to
perform bourgeois professions, and anyone, regardless of whether aristocratic or not, may
purchase land. That is the theory, but in practice it is not necessarily the case. It is often
unclear who now owns the land and some squires make rampant annexations; many of the
farmers are ultimately the losers. For this reason the Regulations Edict of 1811 is enacted,
which contains precise rules on how takeovers should be handled. It is often impossible for
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the farmer to come up with the large amount of money necessary for a takeover. In this
case, half or up to one third of the land will be ceded to the squire. Burdens associated with
hereditary serfdom are done away with, but their value is calculated and the farmer must
pay twenty-five times the amount in payments to the squire to relieve himself from this
duty. This leads to the farmer having to cede all of his land to the squire and thus he is left
completely without any means. The result is a new social underclass and the number of
unpropertied farm laborers increases significantly. Restructuring is not completed until
1850.
Around 1805 the Stange family moves to Kletzke, a
small village not far from Bälow. It seems as if they
are able to integrate quickly as Johann Friedrich and
his wife Maria are asked to be godparents six times.
In 1811, it is time to move on again, back to
Eickerhöfe across the Elbe River to the Altmark. It is
a place that is well known to them, as this was where
they had their first household after they got married.
This time they will only stay there for 4 years. In
1813 there is an incident that the Stanges never will
forget. A group of French soldiers is stationed in
Eickerhöfe, trying to re-build the small church and
its graveyard into a small fort in order to protect
themselves from possible military intervention
coming from the other side of the Elbe river. Doing that, they also enter the burial vault,
and open many of the coffins of the Ganß zu Putlitz family, who had once owned
Eickerhöfe. Not only do they open the coffins, they burn more of thirty of them! Also, they
take the pews and chancel to
build chambers from it. But
soon help arrives. In spring
1813, the allied RussianPrussian army crosses the
Elbe river in Sandkrug close
to Bälow, freeing the
Altmark from the French
occupancy. Maria’s Stange’s
cousins,
ferrymen
at
Sandkrug, have a lot to tell
when they meet the next
time! In 1814 they move
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back to the village of Grube in
the Prignitz. While living in
Kletzke, Eickerhöfe and Grube
they become closer to the
Leiffheidt and Wandmacher
families. Herr Leiffheidt, the
administrator of the big manorial
farm called Plattenburg which is
close to Kletzke, and Herr
Wandmacher, the holländer, have
children about the same age as
the Stange children. Probably
their sons go to school and to confirmation classes together. Maria Stange even becomes
godmother to the Leiffheidt’s sixth child, Henriette. The bonds that now connect these
families will hold throughout their lives and will strengthen over time.
Meanwhile, the Stange sons Carl and Friedrich attend school. Not the village school, of
course, but most likely a private grammar school in the town of Wilsnack in the Prignitz.
They only attend until the second level, since first level and subsequent examinations are
only for those who plan to study at university, which was unthinkable for the Stange
family. It is too far to travel home every evening, so they probably board there with a
family who houses schoolchildren for payment. Or maybe they have relatives living there?
All three Stange sons are confirmed in the big Wunderblut Church in Wilsnack along with
the children of the Leiffheidts.
In 1817, Friedrich is conscripted into the military. Will he go to the infantry, the cavalry or
the territorial army, a militia-type of reserve army created by the military reforms of 1807?
It is clear that he must go, because compulsory military service for young men aged 20 and
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above was introduced in Prussia in 1813. Service lasts three years, after which he will be
allowed to return home. For two years after service, he must remain available to the army
as a reservist.
After this, Friedrich resumes his training with another holländer or an estate manager. His
older brother Carl is already working as a clerk on a manorial farm in Hof Kreien in the
county of Lübz in Mecklenburg. At this time, the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin is
almost like a foreign country. Since the Peace of Westphalia in 1648, Germany consists of
numerous principalities and kingdoms, organized under the name The Holy Roman Empire
of the German Nation, but there is actually no longer a federal German state. This alliance
is dissolved when Napoleon conquers Europe. In 1815, after Napoleon has been defeated
for good and the new reform has taken place, a loosely joined federation called the German
Confederation is founded at the Viennese Congress. Both Prussia and Mecklenburg belong
to this federation.
Just a stone’s throw away from Hof Kreien is another manorial farm, Hof Karbow. On that
farm there lives a young maid named Caroline Dorothea Bochin (also spelled Buchin). She
is the sixth child of a holländer, born on the Gottin estate in Warnkenhagen, near Güstrow
in Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Not far away, in Hof Schlemmin, her older sister Friederika
Magdalena Margarete Bochin is employed as a parlor maid. Even their older brother
Friedrich Paschen Bochin is close by. He works as a holländer together with other relatives
in Karow.
Census of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 1819, Hof Karbow, Caroline Bochin, pages 1 and 2
As Carl and Caroline live so close to one another they must certainly meet somewhere,
maybe at the market or at a dance. Maybe Friedrich visits his brother one day and is
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introduced to Caroline, his future wife. Caroline is four years younger than Friedrich, but
she has quite a lot of practical experience. She worked at home as a child, and as a young
girl she worked for others. It is a hard life, full of privation.
The Bochin/Buchin-Family as of 1807
Joachim BUCHIN b. 1760 in Dobbin
m.
Elisabeth SEEDORF
Johann
b. 1789
d. 1795
Sophie
b. 1792
Christian
b. 1794
Friedrich
b. 1797
Friedrica
b. 1799
Caroline
b. 1801
Johanna
b. 1804
d. 1805
Timotheus
b. 1806
Their origins mean that Friedrich Stange and Caroline Bochin have several things in
common. Caroline’s father, Joachim Buchin is surely not as wealthy a holländer as Johann
Friedrich Stange, but they know that the dairy-keeping business is going well and that she
will therefore be the perfect holländerin for Friedrich. She is also used to moving around
and making a new start, and she will bring with her a small savings to allow them to
quickly go into business themselves as holländers. She is strong and robust, a tough young
lady who does not give up easily, pushes up her sleeves and gets down to work. It is surely
an alliance born out of practical
consideration. Friedrich needs a
holländerin as his wife, and Caroline,
through the marriage, will get her own
household and will no longer have to
work for others.
On October 18, 1825 Friedrich and
Caroline get married in Nebelin
church, where Friedrich works on a
manorial farm. Friedrich’s parents live
close by; his father is the holländer in
the manorial farm in Dargardt.
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Marriage record, Friedrich Stange and Caroline Buchin, Nebelin Church, October 18,
1825, pages 1 and 2
It is a tough time for the newlyweds, because it is getting harder and harder to get a
contract as a holländer, especially as they are young and inexperienced. Also, being
“newcomers” Friedrich and Caroline do not have so much money to buy a profitable
contract in the village of their choice. However, they are used to working hard and moving
around. They desperately need a contract. Caroline is two months pregnant when she gets
married and it is time to settle down. Finally they get a contract in Banneick, a farm in the
Kingdom of Hannover, around 50 km (30 miles) west of the Prignitz. The farm owner
Johann Justus Mylius, however, coming from an old and prominent clerical family, is not
the most competent farmer around and the farm is not going well. On June 21, 1826 the
Stanges’ first child is born and baptized only 3 days later. He is named Justus August after
his two godfathers Justus Mylius and August Friedrich Leiffheidt, his father’s best friend.
17
He will be called August but will then, after finishing school, use the much more
sophisticated name Justus.
Baptismal record Justus August Stange, Wustrow Church, June 24, 1826
The Stanges do not stay in Banneick for too long; soon it is time to move again. Now they
are lucky, they get a contract on the holländer-farm in Lindenberger Silge close to
Cumlosen, not far from the place they got married. Also there is family close by.
Friedrich’s parents, his unmarried sister Dorothea and his brother-in-law the holländer
Heinrich Wandmacher live in Dargardt. His sister Auguste Wandmacher, by now separated
from her husband, lives just around the corner in Bärenheide (Bernheide) together with her
two daughters, five year old Auguste Emilie Friederike and her newborn daughter Juliane
Friederike Caroline, Friedrich Stange’s goddaughter.
This area around the small
town of Lenzersilge had been
colonized in 1775 according to
the plans of King Frederick the
Great. Colonists from all over
Germany but mostly from
Mecklenburg had settled,
cleared the forests and drained
the swamp. The soil now is
fertile and usable for dairy
farming.
18
On September 15, 1829, a second child is born to the manorial dairy-farm lessee. Again it
is a boy. His name is Carl Friedrich Emil Heinrich Theodor Stange. Carl is christened on
September 27 in the old, dilapidated church in Cumlosen. The godparents show the social
position the family has attained in this rural society. They are the bailiff Hansen from
Lindenberg, Emil Hansen, owner of the water mill in Cumlosen, the Cantor Wolgast as
well as Friedrich’s sister, Dorothea.
Baptismal record Carl Friedrich Emil Heinrich Theodor Stange, Cumlosen Church,
September 27, 1829, pages 1 and 2
19
At that time Dorothea is seven months pregnant and is forced to marry the father of her
child, her brother’s friend August Friedrich Leiffheidt, one month later in the church of
Stavenow. The child, a little girl, is stillborn.
The dairy-keeping operation in the Lindenberger Silge is located between Motrich and
Lenzersilge. It was built in 1815, a small timber-frame house with the spaces between
timbers filled with wattle and daub, just like the other houses in this area. However, this
house is superior because it has a stone foundation rather than a wooden one, and the roof
is tiled rather than thatched. Overall, it is more sturdy, more refined.
The property belongs to the estate of Gadow, in the possession of the von WillamowitzMöllendorff family. Like the Ganß Edle zu Putlitz family, the von Möllendorffs have been
residing for centuries in the Prignitz. The last von Möllendorff, who had no children of his
own, had adopted his
great-great-nephews
Hugo, Ottokar and
Arnold
von
Willamowitz,
who
were tied more to their
family
estate
Markowitz in the
district of Posen, in the
West
Prussian
province. Because he
is the first-born, Hugo
takes over the estate
together with his wife,
Aurora, in 1830.
20
As the holländerei is
situated in the middle of
the Silge, it is quite a
lonely place to be. Of
course, they have their
maids and farm laborers.
Still, the next neighbor is
the forester Heinrich
Mollenhauer and his
family, less than a mile
away. . The Stanges
seem to have a close
relationship with them,
because
Friedrich
becomes the godfather of Ferdinand Wichardt Eduard Mollenhauer on October 10, 1831.
Heinrich Mollenhauer returns the favor in the year following and becomes the godfather of
the Stanges’ fourth son, Friedrich Ludwig Carl Wichardt Otto, born on April 14, 1832.
Two years later, on September 8, 1834, another son is born, Hans Albert August Friedrich,
called Albert. Albert has two godparents in the family: Friedrich’s older sister Auguste
Wandmacher and the forest warden August Friedrich Leiffheidt from Plattenburg.
Carl STANGE
b. 1795
m.
Caroline
SCHULZE
Ernestine b. 1827
Gustav b. 1834
Auguste
b. 1796
m. 1823 in Wilsnack
Heinrich
WANDMACHER
Emilie b. 1824
Johann b./d.1825
Friederike b. 1829
Johann STANGE
b. ca. 1764
m. 1794
Friedrich STANGE
b. 1798
m. 1825 in Nebelin
Caroline BOCHIN
b. 1801
Justus b. 1826
Carl b. 1829
Friedrich b. 1832
Albert b. 1834
Dorothea
b. 1800
m. 1829 in Stavenow
A.F. LEIFFHEIDT
b. 1800
Christian
STANGE
b. 1803
Stillborn girl b. 1830
Sophie 1831-1833
Auguste 1832-1834
August b. 1835
Is Friedrich slowly beginning to put out his feelers? Is he planning to move to another
estate? Also, it looks as if Dorothea could use some active help, or maybe only
consolation.
21
In 1835, Friedrich Christian Siegfried Ludwig von Saldern, owner of the manorial farms in
Plattenburg and Wilsnack dies
and his son Adolph Friedrich
von Saldern takes over the
estate. It seems that the son is
cleaning up the business. The
books are brought to order and
other fundamental changes are
made.
During
these
restructuring
measures,
the
holländer
changes.
Old
Wandmacher retreats to his
reserved property and in the
spring of 1836, Friedrich Stange
comes to Plattenburg. The new landlord knows the Stanges from before, since Johann
Friedrich worked for his father as a holländer on the farm in Wilsnack between 1820 and
1824. Friedrich’s brother Carl becomes his successor in the Lindenberger Silge, moving in
with his wife Caroline Schulze and daughter Ernestine and his son Gustav.
Caroline Stange, pregnant, packs the family of six’s goods and the cart takes off for their
new destination some 40 km (25 miles) to the south. In Plattenburg, again, a sturdy house
with a foundation of stone awaits the family. It has two floors. The ground floor has the
parlor, kitchen and bedrooms for the family and the servants. There are also two rooms for
working, rooms in which butter is churned and cheese made and the washing room where
the equipment is cleaned. There is an entrance to the cellar where the dairy products can be
stored. Directly behind the entrance are the stairs
up to the smokeroom, where meat products from
the slaughter of cows and pigs are smoked.
It must be cold in winter, since the only room that
can be heated is the kitchen with its large open
fireplace. Here food is prepared in large, heavy
cauldrons. There may be an oven in the parlor but
the cast-iron and tiled ovens typical for this period
are very expensive. Firewood is scarce and
strenuous to gather, it is supposed to be supplied
by the squire and must be carefully portioned over
the winter. The air is bad in the kitchen, because
part of the smoke is not extracted through the
chimney, but rather spreads out over the room,
22
something that is not good for the
health of the residents. They do have
a real wooden floor instead of the
hard-packed clay floors typical for
the time. They have fresh and clean
water from the pump just outside of
the house or they can gather water
from the Karthane river, which
flows right next to the house. The
house itself is situated next to the
castle, on the historical castle
grounds, and the barn is visible from
here. The village of Plattenburg is small and clearly laid out. There are only some 70
residents.
Will they in hindsight describe their time in Plattenburg as happy? It begins well. Caroline
gives birth to her fifth child on February 27, 1836. It is again a boy, christened with the
name Otto Gustav Ludwig. The godparents are Friedrich’s brother Christian and
employees on the estate, the gardener Fromm, the estate steward Lemm and the cook
Rohte. Their happiness doesn’t last long. Their third-youngest child, little Friedrich Stange,
falls ill with shingles and dies at the age of four on May 10, 1836. He is buried three days
later next to the church at Groß Leppin. This is not the only child’s grave in the Stange
23
family. Dorothea Leiffheidt’s children are also buried there. Dorothea had given birth to a
girl in January 1830; it was, however, a
stillbirth. The following year she again
gave birth to a little girl, who survived
and was named Sophie. One and a half
years later, the next daughter was born,
Auguste. The idyll did not last long.
Sophie died only three months after
Auguste’s birth, and Auguste herself died
one year later. Dorothea has carried three
children to term and given birth, yet she
is childless. A few months later, she is
once again pregnant and in March 1835,
her first son is born. He is christened with
the name August. In June 1836, son Carl
is born. But Carl dies one year later.
Dorothea again becomes pregnant and
brings her last child, little Dorothea, into
the world on June 11, 1838. Dorothea
does not survive childbirth.
In all
probability she bleeds to death. She only lived to be 38 years old, leaving behind a
newborn and the three-year old August. She is buried next to her children and her nephew.
These are not the last graves to be dug. Not long afterwards, her two last children follow
her in death, August nine months later and finally Dorothea in 1840. All of this must be
very upsetting for the Stange family. Is Caroline afraid when she learns she is pregnant
with her sixth child? Her long-desired wish for a girl is fulfilled, as on August 27, 1839 she
gives birth to a little girl. The boys are happy – Justus is already 13, Carl 10, Albert 6, only
little 3-year-old Otto will not have really registered the excitement. The family celebrates
the christening on October 20, 1839, in the church at Groß Leppin. The girl receives the
name Marie Caroline Henriette Stange. It is a big group that day. The child’s family is
there, including her grandparents Johann Friedrich and Maria Stange, who in the meantime
have moved in with the Stanges in Plattenburg. Godfather Uncle Carl Stange and his wife
Caroline are there with their daughters, 12 year old Ernestine and seven-month-old
Wilhelmine, called Minna, and their 5 year old son Gustav. Forest warden Leiffheidt is
there with his new wife, Henriette, and she is the godmother. Is Auguste Wandmacher
there with their common brother Christian? What about Caroline’s sister Friederike
Bochin, who lived for a while in the area? It will turn out to be the last time that they will
all be together. Do they realize this, in a time in which death is so much a part of everyday
life?
24
Johann STANGE
b. ca. 1764
m. 1794
Carl STANGE
b. 1795
m.
Caroline
SCHULZE
Ernestine b. 1827
Gustav b. 1834
Wilhelmine
b. 1839
Auguste
b. 1796
m. 1823 in Wilsnack
Heinrich
WANDMACHER
Emilie b. 1824
Johann 1825-1825
Friederike b. 1829
Friedrich STANGE
b. 1798
m. 1825 in Nebelin
Caroline BOCHIN
b. 1801
Justus b. 1826
Carl b. 1829
Friedrich 1832-1836
Albert b. 1834
Otto b. 1836
Marie b. 1839
Dorothea 1800-1838
I. m. 1829 in Stavenow
A.F. LEIFFHEIDT
b. 1800
Christian
STANGE
b. 1803
(II. m. Henriette SCHULZ)
Stillborn girl 1830
Sophie 1831-1833
Auguste 1832-1834
August 1835-1839
Carl 1836-1837
Dorothea b. 1838
The next year, Justus leaves home to attend the Francke Foundation boarding school in
Halle/Saale, a pietistic-oriented school with an excellent reputation with pupils from all
over Europe. Justus attends the Latin secondary school. He is confirmed in the Church of
St. George in Glaucha. Carl follows him three years later. Carl, however, attends the
secondary school. Slowly but surely, the house is beginning to empty and daily life
continues.
Friedrich has rented 90 cows. He pays a quarterly rent of 3 reichsthalers for each cow, that
makes 270 reichsthalers per quarter, and in total, 1080 reichsthalers per year. He and
Caroline have the dairy-worker Friederike Lemm and her hired help to assist them. He not
only sells his products at the markets in neighboring Wilsnack, or in the bigger towns of
Havelberg, Wittenberge or Perleberg, or maybe even Hamburg and Berlin, but also to the
squire himself. Butter, in ever-increasing amounts! For example on October 15, 1836, he
sells 66 pounds of butter for 13 thalers and 6 twelve-pennies. Every once in a while he also
sells a calf. He does not get rich with his business, but it is apparently enough to provide
his sons with an excellent education. It may even be enough to put a little money aside.
25
Rental payments from holländer Stange to the landlord von Saldern;
excerpt from the accounts of Plattenburg 1837/1838
The von Saldern household buys butter from the holländer Stange;
excerpt from the accounts of Plattenburg 1836/1837
26
All around him there is severe poverty. The small farmers often cannot pay their rent, and
they fight to survive. Furthermore, even 50 years after the introduction of compulsory
school attendance, a substantial part of the population still cannot read and write. If there is
something to be signed, they sign with a cross and the estate manager writes their names
after the cross.
In June 1841 there is some unusual news: On the nearby river Elbe, conservative Lutherans
are seen on their way to Hamburg Harbor. These men, women and children stand upright
on deck of the barge in their black clothing, singing hymns as they pass by. Rumors say
they are on their way to Australia to settle there and live their faith freely. It is not the first
time the community hears about people leaving Prussia and Europe. In fact, there is more
and more talk about emigration, there are advertisements in the papers and canvassers
coming into town, trying to get people to follow them. The landlords try to chase them
away, since they do not want them to lure away their farmers. There are many stories of
people having left their town, but being swindled in Hamburg and now living a dreadful
life there. Not to mention the dangers that await them at sea and in foreign places.
Friedrich Stange shakes his head when he hears about the ones who are leaving. For him, it
makes no sense. They have everything they need, Friedrich has a well-paid contract, they
have a nice house, the children get a good education and the family lives close by. Leaving
their loved ones? Not an option for him!
Caroline and Friedrich are alone with the three children Albert, Otto and Marie. The older
sons come home during school holidays, but travel between Halle and Plattenburg is not
easy to manage. A farmer takes them for a piece, then they turn to a parson who in turn
sees to it that someone else takes them to the next parsonage. It is surely a help that they
attend school together with Reinhold Staemmler, the son of the pastor in Groß Leppin.
On December 12, 1844, Friedrich’s mother, Maria Höger, dies of infirmity at the age of 73.
His father follows on September 6, 1845, at the ripe old age of 81 years. He is buried on
September 8 next to his wife and his daughter Dorothea.
Death record Johann Friedrich Stange, Gross Leppin Church, September 6, 1845, pages 1 and 2
27
Neither Carl nor Justus attend the funerals. Justus returns home soon, after he has finished
secondary level on September 29, 1845. He will learn about forestry from his uncle and
godfather Leiffheidt. Only a few days later, little Otto Stange falls from a cart and is so
seriously injured that he dies. He is only nine years old. And so once again, the hearse
moves toward Groß Leppin. It crosses the bridge over the Karthane, passes the cottages of
the day-laborers and the fishponds, goes on the winding path through the woods and the
fields to the church. There, Otto is buried on October 13, 1845 next to his brother
Friedrich. Carl cannot attend this funeral either, as he is at school in Halle.
Johann STANGE ca. 1764-1845
m. 1794
Maria HÖGER 1773-1844
Carl STANGE
b. 1795
m.
Caroline
SCHULZE
Ernestine b. 1827
Gustav b. 1834
Wilhelmine
b. 1839
Auguste
b. 1796
m. 1823 in Wilsnack
Heinrich
WANDMACHER
Emilie b. 1824
Johann 1825-1825
Friederike b. 1829
Friedrich STANGE
b. 1798
m. 1825 in Nebelin
Caroline BOCHIN
b. 1801
Justus b. 1826
Carl b. 1829
Friedrich 1832-1836
Albert b. 1834
Otto 1836-1845
Marie b. 1839
Dorothea 1800-1838
I. m. 1829 in Stavenow
A.F. LEIFFHEIDT
b. 1800
Christian
STANGE
b. 1803
(II. m. Henriette SCHULZ)
Stillborn girl 1830
Sophie 1831-1833
Auguste 1832-1834
August 1835-1839
Carl 1836-1837
Dorothea 1838-1840
The world around them begins to change. In 1842, construction of the railway between
Hamburg and Berlin is begun. The line is dedicated on December 1, 1846. It runs not far
from Plattenburg, the next station is in Glöwen, 5 km (3 miles) away. Roads are
constructed and paved, travel goes much quicker, especially for transporting goods.
Suddenly Berlin becomes a market for sales. More and more small manufacturers set up
shops, and little provincial towns flourish. There are many jobs in small industries and a
bigger need for craftsmen. Do Friedrich and Caroline already suspect that the holländer’s
time is over and that their sons will no longer find a place in agriculture?
Regardless of the prospering industry, these developments have no effect on a large part of
the population. There is poverty and stagnation in Germany, which at the time consists of
38 individual states. Two-thirds of the population live in the countryside, they are still
illiterate, and hereditary serfdom has not been done away with everywhere. The everincreasing rural underclass, overpopulation and bad harvests drive many people to leave
Germany and emigrate to America. In Silesia, not only the weavers are hungry. In June
1844, there is a large uprising which is brutally crushed by the military. Cheap labor is
readily available to manor lords and manufacturing industries, and they readily exploit
28
these workers. In January 1845, during construction of the Berlin-Hamburg railway line,
workers in Friesack in the Havelland revolt against the bad pay of 10 twelve-pennies a day.
They also are protesting the fact that from this money, they also have to pay some 90
pennies for room and board, health insurance and the foreman, meaning that they have
only 27 pennies left. But at that time 4 cups of milk cost 30 pennies and 3 bushels of
potatoes go for 132 pennies. Meanwhile, many large land owners and factory owners are
becoming richer and richer, and affluence among higher royal civil servants is increasing.
The middle class grows stronger and demands democratic rights such as suffrage and the
abolishment of censorship. There are also demands for a unified German empire. This
culminates in the spring of 1848. Thanks to the railway, news of the successful revolution
in France travels quickly to Germany, and everywhere in Germany things are brewing.
There is an uprising in Berlin on March 18, 1848, which is harshly put down by the
military; 303 people die. But something is happening. The king yields and a preliminary
parliament is convened to prepare for a national assembly.
Which side are the Stanges on? It is all about their future and the future of their children.
What will become of them? Friedrich and Caroline are most concerned about Justus. He is
currently serving his time in the military. Will be have to shoot at the demonstrators? Will
he be injured?
In St. Paul’s Church in Frankfurt, the first national assembly is convened. They constitute
themselves and after long negotiations, they pass the Imperial Constitution on March 28,
1849. For the first time in history, the German people have been given basic rights. Yet the
parliament cannot assert itself against the rigid structures and the strong power of the
individual princes and kings and so it fails. Many of the fighters in this revolution are
imprisoned, some can escape imprisonment by going into exile, some emigrate to America.
But although it might look as if things go back to how they were before, a changed country
is left behind, and the course for a democratic future has been set.
In 1850, Friedrich Stange has been the manorial holländer in Plattenburg for 14 years.
Were conditions so good that he wanted to stay there? Or were there simply no other
options for him? All around him, the agricultural microstructure is collapsing, and the
separation between agriculture and animal farming is disappearing. Many squires take over
the animal farming and processing of the milk and hire dairy workers to help them. There
are disputes about little things. Are the animals getting enough good winter feed? Is the
squire adhering to the agreed size of the grazing pastures? And very importantly, is he
supplying enough firewood? The children are growing up. Albert is confirmed in 1850 and
attends the secondary school in Perleberg.
29
During this time, Friedrich comes to the conclusion that he no longer wants to be a
holländer, but wants to buy a mill. Perhaps he just wants to become more settled, and to
buy the mill as a type of provision for his old age or as a place where he can live when he
gets old. A mill comes with land as well as a house, barn and stables. By rearing some
animals, he will be able to make ends meet. He had been informed by his brother, Carl,
who is living as a holländer on the estate of von Platens in Kuhwinkel, that there is a mill
for sale in Dergenthin. The mill itself is situated very close to this estate. What is keeping
him in Plattenburg? He has no relatives there anymore, only their graves. He sits down,
calculates and makes a decision with far reaching consequences. He signs the purchase
contract for the mill in Dergenthin on December 12, 1849. Hand-over is on June 13, 1850.
Payment of purchase price and transfer of property; Land registry entry, Land registry
Dergenthin
The family, now consisting only of Friedrich, Caroline, Albert and Marie, moves to
Dergenthin. Was this the right decision? Should he have been more careful?
30
The mill cost 4725 thalers. Had he saved so much? Another consideration is that he
himself is no miller. This is not unusual for the time, since many mill owners are not
millers and simply hire a master miller. Friedrich has a miller, the one where Albert is
doing his training as a miller after finishing school in 1851. But the harvests are not good.
There are too many mills in the area, and not enough grain to grind. No money is coming
in, and the expenses exceed the income. Apparently Friedrich does not have enough capital
to compensate. He is financially ruined. He incurs debts. In March 1852, he borrows 340
thalers at 4% interest from his sister Auguste Wandmacher. Again in November, he must
borrow money, this time 105 thalers 26 twelve-pennies and 9 pennies from the master
mason Schlungbaum from Perleberg. In January 1853, yet another debt is entered into the
registry, this time 80 thalers from widow Frau Schollohn, whose husband was a baker and
veterinarian. In April, he borrows 300 thalers from the farmer Friedrich Wilhelm Zachert
in Beetz, and master tailor Christian Martini also loans him the amount of 179 thalers and
19 twelve-pennies. To top it off, 6 thalers and 15 twelve-pennies in court costs are also
entered into the registry. At the end of 1853, the total debt is 1012 thalers and 15 pennies.
How many other debts does he have, debts not entered in the registry? It is clear that things
cannot go on like this. What to do? Is emigration the better option? Albert has no future as
a miller’s apprentice. How could such an intelligent and highly-educated young man, who
31
had learned Latin and French, be happy as a roving miller’s journeyman? Cousin Gustav,
working as a carpenter in Klein Berge near Putlitz, is also unhappy. So the family decides
that the cousins should travel to America to investigate the situation. In the spring they
leave home, first staying with Albert’s uncle Berger in Hamburg, thus saving their precious
money that they would have had to spend for a hostel. The money they have is apparently
not enough, as Albert is forced to sell his bedroll to his uncle. In doing so, he is able to
scrape together the 65 thalers necessary for the journey, and there is also something left for
their new start in America. On April 1, 1854 they embark on the ship Donau.
Albert and Gustav Stange, Passenger list Hamburg Harbor, ship Donau, leaving Hamburg
on April 1, 1854
They leave without having been granted permission by the King of Prussia. Both of them
are supposed to serve their king in the military services. In order not to be caught, they
claim that they come from Mecklenburg.
Meanwhile, the Stange family’s situation is escalating. The district court in Perleberg
orders the sale of their property. The public gazette in the journal of the Royal Government
in Potsdam and the city of Berlin publishes the announcement of the forced sale in April
1854:
Forced sale: The leasehold rights of the holländer Friedrich Ludwig Carl Christian Stange
on various properties, including a windmill and outbuildings near Dergenthin, as listed in
our book of mortgages from Dergenthin, Vol. I sub Pag. 167 and assessed according to the
charges found in our registry at 2554 thalers, will be sold to the highest bidder on August
5th at 11:00.
The advertisement is published two more times, and now the entire administrative district
of Potsdam and Berlin knows that Herr Stange the holländer is bankrupt. How he must
have suffered. He had always done well financially, he had sent his sons to a good school,
he had always belonged to the middle class. He is absolutely devastated. He also worries
about Albert. Will he survive the dangerous crossing? Does he have enough ham and bread
to last? And, once arrived in America, will he have work and a warm bed to sleep in?
32
The court hearing takes place and they are released from their burden. The mine owner and
economist (farmer) Friedrich Gericke from Perleberg purchases the property for 3500
thalers. He knows the property from earlier times, as it was in his possession once before.
Is he a property speculator? The Stanges consider him their savior. Things are settled, they
have paid their debts, but they now have no way of making a living nor a place to live.
Friedrich and Caroline are now 56 and 52 years old, their children have all left home and
they are forced to re-orient themselves. Nothing went as they had hoped. The only thing
they can do is emigrate to America. Caroline would do anything, even wash the clothes of
strangers, to ensure the family’s survival. A letter arrives from America. Albert and Gustav
arrived safely and are working as farmhands in New Paltz in upstate New York. Most,
importantly, Albert already has some ideas regarding his parents coming to America:
Excerpt from a letter from Albert Stange from New Paltz, New York, to his parents October
1854
“Actually it seems to me to be nearly impossible for you to come here already next spring. This
is because that I do not know enough about how to settle the best way. Rental is not necessary,
we take, I think, Congressland which is sold by the state, for which, I think, you pay a little fee
once a year, in this matter I cannot tell you more at this time. First I want to get more
information and tell you more in my next letter and inform you more detailed. That is my
opinion and I think that it is not wrong. If the Congressland-thing is how I think it is, we
should at least have enough to buy tools for farming and to set up our home temporarily.”
Caroline’s brother, Friedrich, wants to join them. He is already 58 and sees no future as a
holländer. Letters are exchanged, Carl and Justus write, but they apparently do not want to
go with the others. Justus is pursuing a career in the military and Carl is a mechanic. He
has more possibilities in Germany than in America.
The decision has been made. They will leave Germany and risk a new beginning in
America. But will it bring them the luck and success they are hoping for?
33
Epilogue
After the family arrived, they moved to DuPage County, Illinois, near Chicago. There
Albert worked on a farm. Friedrich died very soon after their arrival there, between
December 1857 and June 1858. Was it a broken heart? Caroline Stange and Friedrich
Bochin lived in Albert’s household. On land that he had rented from an American, Albert
built a small house for his mother and his uncle Friedrich. Here they were able to support
themselves. They had two cows and a calf, two pigs and some land on which they grew
potatoes, wheat and pumpkins. Caroline died between 1865 and 1870, and Friedrich
Bochin died in 1876 in Elmhurst. Caroline was buried with her husband, whereas Friedrich
Bochin was buried in St. Peter’s Cemetery in Elmhurst, which was co-founded by his
nephew Albert only some months earlier.
It was the end of an era. In America the occupation of holländer is unknown. Today, even
among Germans, the full meaning of “holländer” is totally forgotten, as the system of dairy
keeping was reorganized. The three Stange sons, although being brought up in the same
manner, well educated and well prepared for the life they were supposed to live, chose to
take three distinctly different paths. They became the emigrant entrepreneur, the military
career man and the skilled craftsman.
34
Albert, having been a miller, wanted to
stay working in the countryside, probably
as a miller or a farmer. However, the
situation in Germany did not give him the
chance to live the life he preferred. In
Illinois, he lived in Cottage Hill first,
working for the railroad. There, he met his
wife to be, Dorothea Bormann from
Eitzendorf in the Kingdom of Hanover,
who was introduced to him by his sister,
Marie.
Then he bought land in Shelby County,
but then returned to DuPage County. Here
he bought into a wood and seed trade,
which he later took over. He profited from
the Great Chicago Fire, as construction
materials were much needed to reconstruct the city.
He withdrew early from the business and
lived as a wealthy pensioner until his death in 1924. Both his daughters, Maria and
Caroline, died young of consumption. His son, Otto, had no children of his own. From the
marriage of his daughter Maria, Albert had 1 granddaughter.
35
Albert STANGE
b. 1834 Lindenberger Silge,
Prignitz
Emigrated in 1854
d. 1924 Elmhurst, IL
married 1859
Bensenville, IL
Dorothea Bormann
b. 1832 Eitzendorf,
Hannover
Emigrated in 1857
Caroline Stange
b. 1860 Elmhurst, IL
married 1898 to
John
HAYTHORN E
Maria Stange
married 1888 to
Franz REM M ER
b. 1858 Kadow,
Pommerania
Otto H. STANGE
b. 1864 Sigel, IL
d. 1940 Three Rivers,
MI
married 1890 to
Bertha Laude
b. 1871 Wisconsin
d. 1939 Three Rivers,
MI
Carrie Haytho r ne
1899-1899 Chicago,
IL
Caroline
Haytho r ne
1901-1901 Chicago,
IL
Irene Remme r
d. 1972 Long Beach,
CA
married 1913 to
Samue l LEM LY
Clinto n R.
STANGE
(adopted)
b. 1904, d. 1977
Stillbo r n child
b. 1867 Monee, IL
Geneva Stange
(adopted)
b. 1907
36
Marie worked as a housemaid, and married Heinrich
(Henry) Peterson from Holstein in 1865, a Civil War
veteran who was several years older than she. They
lived in Chicago, where Henry worked as a driver.
They had 4 children. The two sons died young of
consumption, their daughter Emma worked as
housemaid and died in 1911. Her sister Helene was a
worker in a candy factory. There were no offspring.
Marie died in 1914 in Chicago.
Marie Stange
b. 1839 Plattenburg,
Prignitz
Emigrated in 1854
d. 1914 Chicago, IL
Emma
Peterson
b. 1866 Chicago
d. 1911 Chicago
married 1865
Green Garden, IL
Helene
Peterson
b. 1868
d.
Heinr ic h PETERSON
b. 1826 Holstein(?)
Emigrated in 1854
d. 1905 Chicago, IL
Hugo
Peterson
b. 1869 Chicago
d. 1897 Chicago
Eduard
Peterson
b. 1871 Chicago
d. 1894 Chicago
- no offspring -
37
Justus took the traditional Prussian path and had an army career. He joined the army and
worked as a purser with the navy. When in 1865 the Prussian Navy was established, they
moved from Danzig to Kiel where he worked as an accountant, later as an accounting
councilor in a governmental ministry in Berlin. He owned a large house in Steglitz, today
Berlin-Steglitz. Justus died in 1913. He and his wife Charlotte Hoppe, daughter of the
famous actor Franz Hoppé, had four children. Justus, the youngest, died at age 2 in 1872,
their daughter Catharina married a German merchant in Manchester, England and left one
daughter after her early death in the early 1900s. Two sons, Reinhold, a businessman, and
Franz, music teacher and composer, died childless.
Justus STANGE
b. 1826 Banneick, Hannover
d. 1913 Berlin, Germany
Catharina Stange
b. 1860 Danzig, Prussia
d. bef. 1906 England(?)
married 1884 to
Herma nn
GRÄFINGHOF F
b. ca. 1848
married 1859
Charlotte Hoppe
Mainz, Rheinland b. 1835 Düsseldorf,
Rheinland
d. 1925 Berlin, Germany
Franz STANGE
b. 1863 Danzig,
Prussia
d. after 1934 Berlin(?),
Germany
unmarried
Reinho ld STANGE
b. 1866 Kiel, Holstein
d. 1932 Berlin,
Germany
married
Justus STANGE
b. 1870 Kiel, Holstein
d. 1872 Berlin,
Germany
Charlotte
Gräfin gho ff
b. 1885 Manchester,
England
married 1910 to
Ernest Joseph
WINTER
38
Carl chose a different path from his brothers. Being born and having grown up in a time of
technical invention and progress he chose a new occupation that would assure him a career
in Germany. He worked as a molder and a mechanic all over Germany. Later he was a
master mechanic, a well-respected profession. He married the Swiss girl Sophie Regula
Gubelmann. They first lived in Cologne, then in Altwasser near Waldenburg in Silesia,
where he worked in the mining industry. Probably because of problems with his health he
purchased a store in Stralsund where they sold cloth and wool. His wife and two daughters,
Maria and Antonie, took over after his premature death in 1897. They lost the business
during the worldwide economic crisis in the 1920’s. The youngest daughter, Charlotte,
died young of consumption. The oldest son, Friedrich Ludwig, became a pastor, the
younger son, Otto Emil, a ship engineer.
Carl STANGE
Prignitz
d. 1897 Stralsund, Germany
Friedr ic h
STANGE
b. 1868 Cologne,
Rheinland
d. 1948
married 1898 to
Marie Harder
b. 1870 Kollin,
Pomerania
d. 1920 Friedeberg,
Maria Stange
b. 1867 Cologne,
Rheinland
d. ca. 1925 Stralsund,
Germany
unmarried
5 child re n
14 grandc hildr e n
28 great- gr a nd c hild re n
married 1865
Wetzikon,
Switzerland
Sophia Gubelma nn
b. 1845 Gossau,
Switzerland
d. 1920 Stralsund,
Germany
Otto STANGE
b. 1870 Cologne,
Rheinland
d. 1969
married to
Marie Oetke
b. 1882 Uelzen,
Germany
d. 1968 Bonn,
Germany
Antonie Stange
b. ca. 1873
Altwasser, Silesia
d. ca. 1943
Wiesbaden
unmarried
Charlotte Stange
b. 1879 Altwasser,
Silesia
d. 1899 Stralsund,
Germany
unmarried
3 child re n
8 grandc hild re n
13 great- gr a nd c hild re n
39
Friedrich Stange’s brother Carl died from pneumonia only a few days after Friedrich’s
departure. Carl’s daughter Ernestine married a miller in Perleberg and the younger
daughter, Minna, while 8 months pregnant married a street-maker without her mother’s
consent. Later she lived in Berlin with her husband and three children. What became of
Albert’s cousin Gustav, who had joined him on his trip to America, is unknown. His trail
is lost in upstate New York.
Caroline Schulze
b.
d. after 1863
Ernestine Stange
b. 1827
married 1863 to
Wilhe lm THORM ANN
b. 1835
Wilhe lm Thorma n n
b. 1864 Perleberg, Prignitz
Carl STANGE
b. 1795 Eickerhöfe, Altmark
d. 1855 Berge, Prignitz
Gustav STANGE
b. 1834
Emigrated 1854
Minna Stange
Prignitz
married 1862 to
Carl Otto WIL(C) KE
Gustav Wilke
b. 1862 Berge, Prignitz
Emma Wilke
b. 1864 Berlin, Prussia
Anna Wilke
b. 1866 Berlin, Prussia
40
The former dairy operation in the Lindenberger Silge was demolished after 1918 due to
its poor structural condition. In the early 1960s, the last stones from the foundation were
removed and the ground was afforested. Today, the area is the Gadow Forest in the middle
of the Biosphere Reserve of the Elbe Fluvial Topography, allowing the forest to return to
the way it had been before colonization.
The mill in Dergenthin collapsed in 1932.
The cemetery next to the church in Groß Leppin no longer exists. It is gardening land
today.
41
After the Stanges left, the dairy-keeper’s house in Plattenburg was remodeled in the Swiss
style and housed the milkers (Schweizer, Swiss) on the estate. Today it is under protection
as a historical building. It was remodeled again a few years ago and is now for sale. The
original door remains, through which the Stanges entered the house.
42
Copyright
All pictures © Ursula C. Krause except for
picture Albert Stange’s Lumber store - © Elmhurst Historical Museum, Elmhurst, IL
Large black/white maps © Ursula C. Krause
Small colored maps - © Landesvermessung und Geobasisinformation Brandenburg,
Potsdam
Documents:
Proof of ancestry Friedrich Stange - © Ursula C. Krause
Baptismal record Auguste Louysa Henriette Elisabeth Stange, Putlitz Church
Baptismal record Friedrich Ludwig Carl Christian Stange, Putlitz Church
Marriage record, Friedrich Stange and Caroline Buchin, Nebelin Church
Baptismal record Carl Friedrich Emil Heinrich Theodor Stange, Cumlosen Church
Death record Johann Friedrich Stange, Gross Leppin Church
– © Landesarchiv der Evangelischen Kirche in Berlin-Brandenburg, Berlin
Baptismal record Justus August Stange, Wustrow Church - © Wustrow Church
Census of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, 1819 - © Landeshauptarchiv MecklenburgVorpommern, Schwerin
Accounts of Plattenburg 1836/1837 and 1837/1838
Payment of purchase price and transfer of property; Land registry entry, Land registry
Dergenthin
– © Brandenburgisches Landeshauptarchiv, Potsdam
Passenger list Hamburg Harbor, ship Donau - © Staatsarchiv, Hamburg
Öffentlicher Anzeiger zum Amts-Blatt der Königlichen Regierung zu Potsdam und der
Stadt Berlin, 1854 - © Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin - Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin
Letter Albert Stange - © Ursula C. Krause
43

heartbroken - Rootseekers

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