| The Blome Family |
| The Blome family came from Hoyerhagen, Hanover. It is a very small town in the northern part of Germany. Margaret's father, I was told, was a soldier in the Napoleanic Wars, fighting with Gen. Bluechner at the Battle of the Sunken Road. Perhaps his name was Heinrich; a Heinrich Hanefeldt signed Henry's baptismal certificate. I was always told by my grandfather that the Blomes emigrated because Friederich, the father, didn't like Bismarck and was afraid his sons would be drafted into the army. The ship they sailed on was powered by both steam and sail, and my great-grandfather, Henry, paid his passage by being the ship's cook. We still have the large wooden shoes he wore over on the voyage. This is the last branch of my family to come to America, arriving on these shores in 1871. |