Carl Hintz, circa 1912.
Carl (or Charles) Hintz was born on Feb 14 1836 in Pomerania, Prussia. He died on Apr 24 1927 in Caledonia, Racine County, Wisconsin. He was buried in Caledonia Cemetery, Caledonia, Racine County, Wisconsin. He married Friderike Keske.
Carl Hintz, circa 1912.
The German state of Saxony, where the distinguished surname Hintz arose, is renowned for both its beauty, industry, and economic power. However, in the medieval era, Germany was fragmented and inhabited by numerous Barbarian tribes, who fought amongst themselves for control of the land. The ancient dukedom of Saxony derived its name from the Germanic tribe name the Saxons who inhabited the territory after the fall of the Roman Empire. The name Hintz originates as a short form of the personal name Heinrich: for instance, Heynczel, Heyncze and Heinzeman are all variations of Heinrich. The surname refers to "a son of Heintz."
Spelling variations include: Heintz, Heinz, Heinze, Heintze, Heinzer, Heintzer, Hainz, Haintz, Hainze, Haintze, Haintzer, Hainzer, Hintz, Hinz, HInze, Hinzer, Hintze, Hintzer, Hyntz, Hynz, Heinse, Heintse, Heinttze, Heinttz, Heintzel, Heinzel Heinzelmann, Heinzelman, Heintzelmann, Heintzelman, Heynz, Heyntze, Heincze and many more.
First found in Saxony, where the family gained a significant reputation for its contributions to the emerging mediaeval society.
It is believed that our Hintz clan originated in Neustettin, Pomerania, Prussia.
Pomerania, or Pommern as it was called in Germany, was a Prussian province in northern Germany bordering on the Baltic Sea. It was surrounded by Mecklenburg-Schwerin on the West, Brandenburg on the South, and West Prussia on the East. It had a land area of 11,654 square miles, roughly the size of Delaware and Maryland combined. The Oder River divided the country into two parts, Hither Pomerania (Vorpommern), the area west of the Oder and Farther Pomerania (Hinterpommern), the area to the east. Stettin, a port city 40 miles inland on the Oder, was the capital of Pomerania. The province was further divided into about 30 administrative districts or counties (Kreise; Kr.). In 1945, Stettin and all of Hinterpommern were given to Poland and the two million German inhabitants were driven or fled from their homeland.
A Brief History of Pomerania
The earliest inhabitants of Pomerania were Germanic tribes that migrated southwards from Scandinavia prior to 100 B.C. By the fifth century A.D., these tribes, known as the Goths, Vandals, Germanii, and Teutoni, had migrated westward and the area was settled by Slavic tribes that entered from the east. The Slavic tribes included the Pomerani and Polani, who settled in the areas that became Pomerania and Poland. The German name Pommern comes from the Slavonic word, Po more, meaning "along the sea". The Pomeranian Slavs were later referred to as the Wends. In about 995, Pomerania was conquered by Boleslaus I, the first King of Poland. However, wars between the Poles, Danes, and Germans for possession of the area were fought with varying results for more than a century. In 1122 the Poles were victorious over the pagan Wends and Duke Boleslaw III introduced Christianity to Pomerania. He also invited the first German settlers into the area.
Pomerania became a duchy of the Holy Roman Empire in 1181 when Bogislaw I swore his allegiance to Frederick I (Barbarosa), the German King and Roman Emperor. Thus began a Greif dynasty that continued for the next four centuries, with the crown passed down from generation to generation through inheritance. The last Pomeranian Duke was Bogislaw XIV who reigned until his death in 1637. With no one to inherit the crown, the electors of Brandenburg assumed control of Pomerania. During the 13th century, surnames began appearing and by 1400 they were in fairly common use throughout Germany.
In the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, tens of thousands of immigrants from the Rhineland, Westfalen, Niedersachsen, Holstein, Mecklenburg and Holland colonized Pomerania, establishing German villages among the Wend inhabitants and introducing trade. The immigrants, who were welcomed by the Pomeranian Dukes, provided the necessary skills and tools needed to clear the forests, drain the marshes, build dikes and roads, and farm the land. They introduced the iron plow and the 3-field rotation system of farming. Eventually, the German language and culture dominated the country and by the 1400's the Wends of Pomerania disappeared completely as a result of intermarriage.
The Church figured prominently in the early colonization with various ecclesiastical institutions receiving or buying vast areas. The Cistercians, the most prominent monastic order, established monasteries as early as the 1170's in Pomerania. One, the monastery of Kolbatz, acquired huge land holdings in Hinterpommern and by 1313, owned 53 villages. Intermixed among these possessions were the large estates of the princes and nobles, including both the native Slavs and the German knights who began arriving about 1235. One of the most important noble Slavic families, the von Wedel, owned huge estates including many towns, villages, and castles in Brandenburg and Pomerania beginning as early as 1269. These estates remained in the family for centuries. One of the descendants, Hugo von Wedel, owned the estate at <Braunsforth_photos.htm> in the latter half of the 1800's when Julius Maass, my great grandfather, served as his head shepherd. Another large land holder was the von Borcke family who founded the towns of Regenwalde and Labes. Their holdings also included the village of Ornshagen.
Pomerania, like the other German states, was greatly affected by the Reformation. Lutheranism took root in Pomerania in 1525 when Stralsund adopted Martin Luther's teaching. Nine years later, the Lutheran Church of Pomerania was established when the Diet at Treptow on the Rega prepared the basis for its formation. A plattdeutsch (low German) version of the bible was printed the same year and in 1536, the dukes of Pommern accepted the Lutheran faith. However, the hostility between the Catholics and the Protestants continued unabated despite the Peace of Augsburg in 1555 which was intended to settle the religious issue in Germany. In 1618, the Thirty Years War began primarily as a civil war between the two religious factions. In the summer of 1630, the war took on a political objective when Sweden entered the war. King Gustavus Adolphus, a Protestant, was concerned about the growing power of the Roman Emperor Ferdinand. The war continued for another 18 years until 1648 when the Treaty of Westphalia was signed. As compensation for its role in the war, Sweden was awarded control over Stettin and Vorpommern. Brandenburg retained control of Hinterpommern.
The Thirty Years War took a heavy toll in Pomerania with possibly one-third of its people killed and whole villages and farms completely destroyed. In the early 1700's, Pomerania again became the battleground for conflicts between Russia and Sweden. It ended in 1720 with the Treaty of Stockholm, which ceded part of Hither Pomerania as far as the Peene to Brandenburg-Prussia. Following the defeat of Napoleon, the Congress of Vienna gave the remaining part of Swedish Pomerania to Prussia in 1815.
When King Wilhelm I became the first emperor of a united Germany in 1871, Prussia had become a powerful military nation that occupied the northern two thirds of Germany. It extended from the Netherlands and Belgium on the west to Russia on the east. In 1945, after World War II, Prussia ceased to exist as a German state and Pomerania was partitioned again at the Oder River. Hinterpommern and Stettin (now called Szczecin) became part of Poland and all of the Germans fled or were expelled from their country. Vorpommern, the area west of the Oder-Neisse Rivers, became part of East Germany. In 1990, Vorpommern became part of the reunified Germany and was included in the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Life in 18th and 19th Century Pomerania
During the centuries following the colonization of Pomerania, the life of the commoners depended upon the dictates of the noble lords and ruling class who were in power at the time. Much of the land was under the control of the Junkers, the landed gentry of Prussia’s eastern provinces. The Junkers, who lived on and farmed the Ritterguts with the help of peasants, exercised nearly absolute power on their lands. Moreover, they were a powerful political force who dominated both state and society.
Originally, the Junkers (literally "young lord") were descendants of the medieval German Knights who established large feudal estates on the Slavic lands they had conquered in the Middle Ages. Over time many large estates were subdivided into smaller ones as a result of inheritance, partitioning, and sales. By the year 1816 there were 1883 knight’s estates (Ritterguts) in Pomerania.
Beginning in the15th century, the peasantry, which had been relatively free up to then, progressively began to lose their rights and freedom. Peasants were evicted en masse from their land and were forced to provide services of labor, horses and tools to the noble landlords who extended their demesne farming. Their situation only became worse in the16th century when serfdom was imposed. In 1616, the Peasant Ordinance declared that all peasants in Pomerania-Stettin were serfs. They were no longer free to leave their master’s estate; their land became the sole property of their master, thus usurping their hereditary rights; and they were subject to unlimited labor services. Children had to serve the manor as menials. The plight of the peasants remained basically unchanged for the next 200 years.
Peasants were provided housing, small garden plots, a few animals, and a share of the surrounding fields in return for their labors. The commoners generally fell into one of three economic categories: 1) those who occupied enough land for their personal needs and supplied both horses and laborers to the landlord, 2) those whose land was insufficient to sustain them and were compelled to provide manual service, and 3) those without any land who served the manor lords directly and lived on his premises. Life was difficult for the peasants as they had no say in their destiny and were exploited by the nobles. Workers were required to work six days a week, basically from sunup to sundown. Conditions in Hinterpommern began to change for the better in the mid 18th century. Friedrich the Great, who reigned from 1740 to 1786, recognized the contribution of the peasantry and took steps that markedly affected their lives. He reduced the labor obligation of the peasant from six to three days a week. Peasants were allowed to voice complaints against the landlords and were given recourse against injustice. Education was made mandatory for all children between the ages of 5 and 14. In 1740, freedom of worship was decreed throughout Prussia. However, these and later reforms did not become effective in Vorpommern until 1815 when Sweden relinquished control of the territory.
Friedrich also actively promoted immigration into the less populated areas with the goal of increasing agricultural production. The population of Pomerania grew from 309,700 to 438,700 during his reign. He offered special privileges to the settlers and tried new methods of land sharing and distribution. In 1745, he introduced the potato and forced its production upon the farmers. Although it wasn't widely accepted until the 1800's, potatoes eventually became one of the major crops in Pomerania.
Unfortunately, Friedrich the Great was succeeded in 1786 by his nephew, Friedrich Wilhelm II, a weak ruler who undid many of his good works. Friedrich Wilhelm opposed the agrarian reforms and nearly doubled the number of nobles who seized much of the peasant's land. At the beginning of the 19th century, the commoners owned less that 10% of the land and in most cases the amount of land owned by individual families was inadequate to support their family. Moreover, the peasants could own land only during their lifetime, after which it reverted back to the state.
The peasants fared better under the leadership of his son, Friedrich Wilhelm III, who became King in 1797. Between 1808 and 1816, agrarian reforms were once again instituted that provided even greater freedoms to the peasants. On September 14, 1811, serfdom in Pomerania was abolished and the serfs who had been under hereditary bondage to the estates were now free to move from village to village, choose their own trade, and marry a spouse of their choice. However, tenants were still responsible for rent or labor services to the estates. To become free owners of their land, they had to cede part of the land to their masters – one-third in the case of hereditary holdings and one-half if they had no hereditary rights to the land. These changes were not without their downside, however. Many peasants were unable to survive after relinquishing part of their land and often were forced to sell the remaining land and/or become day laborers. Futhermore, landlords were no longer obligated to support peasants who were no longer in their servitude and could evict them at will. Nevertheless, after the Prussian reforms, many knight’s estates were acquired by commoners and by 1868 they owned nearly 40% of them.
Although freedom of worship was decreed in Prussia in 1740, Friedrich Wilhelm III in 1817 ordered the merger of the Lutheran Church and the Calvinist Reformed Church to form a single State church, the Evangelische Kirche, and required every person to attend the church closest to him. Many staunch Lutherans revolted and formed their own churches. Consequently, when the states were given full power to enforce the union in 1830, many "Old Lutherans" chose to emigrate rather than comply..
In the rural countryside, everyone lived in small villages often centered around the landed estates (Guts). The Guts generally consisted of a large manor house, several huge barns and stables and often a flour mill or distillery. A majority of the villages had one church, the Evangelical Church, with an adjoining cemetery. Most had less than a few hundred inhabitants living in a few dozen houses or households. In some villages, homes simply lined both sides of the road (a plan followed by the Wends); in others, homes were clustered around a central commons with the manor house at one end and the church at the other (Germanic plan). These communal villages not only provided protection for the residents but facilitated easy access to the fields that radiated outward from the village. In the 3-county area where our Maass ancestors lived, the villages were within walking distance of each other, no more than 3 or 4 miles apart.
It is difficult to find much information describing what life was like for our ancestors in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the book, "Our Forgotten Past", Jerome Blum concludes that European villages must have had a familial quality considering the propinquity (in both space and kinship) of the residents. Their social activities centered around family, church and community. They worked, played, celebrated and worshiped together. There is little evidence that they ever ventured very far from their villages. Their daily activities were consumed by long hours of hard work. Even children were required to work at an early age and after confirmation, the boys usually left their homesteads to work elsewhere, some even earlier (see box below). In 1839, the Prussian government set a minimum age of nine for working children.
Houses were generally constructed of a framework of posts and beams that were filled in and plastered with a mixture of clay and straw. Roofs were thatched with a thick layer of reeds and floors were packed clay. Usually the house and barn were connected, with only a wall between them. The peasants homes were likely quite barren with few furnishings.
Like today, farmers encountered the usual problems of bad weather, crop failures, and falling commodity prices. In 1825, crop failures caused such marked drops in land values that even manor houses on the estates were put up for sale. It is worth noting that the noble lords, though they had large land holdings, were often not much better off than the peasants. They were often cash poor, but they had the advantage of receiving the "first fruits" of the land. In the 1830's, grain prices fell when England placed high tariffs on imports causing economic distress for landlords and peasants alike. Potato blight in 1845 caused widespread famine. This was followed by disastrous weather conditions in the mid 1850's. Steep declines in grain prices in the years 1880-1886, caused by imports of cheap cereals from America and Russia, and an accompanying drop in wool prices severely reduced farm revenue.A first hand account by Charles John Ludwig Karnopp who was born in 1842 (published in Die Pommerschen Leute, 1991):
At the age of nine years I was obliged to leave home to herd cattle in the wilderness for four families. I became very homesick and prayed to God that I might find a way to get home to see my folks. One evening I went home but my father, not knowing the intensity of my homesickness, sent me back the same evening. My wages were five dollars for the summer. That fall my father bought my first boots. The next summer my father had me work for a butcher, watching cows and sheep; this was five miles from our village. My wages were a complete outfit consisting of coat, vest, trousers, two shirts, cap, stockings and one pair of boots. The next summer I did the same work for which I received the same wages. I was now twelve years old. At this age all children were required to go to the pastor for religious instruction. Our pastor lived five miles away from our village where I hired out to watch cows and went to the pastor for religious instruction. My wages were the same as before. During the winter I was at home, but in the spring I went back to the same place. At this time I was fourteen years of age and was confirmed. The pastor made a great impression upon my young mind; I thought I could stay with him and it would be easy to live a Christian life. Then I hired out to another farmer for one year. During the winter I had to feed the cattle and sheep and during the summer watch the sheep. I had a little hut to sleep in at night and how frightened I was at times. I had a sheep dog and a bayonet for a weapon. One night the dog barked fearfully. I sat up in my bed with fright and in my great fear, I imagined I saw a man near the sheep fold. I was too frightened to investigate, but in the morning I found all of my sheep there. I arose at four in the morning without being called to move the sheep to another place so that the land might be evenly fertilized. ........while tending sheep I knit mittens and stockings, which I sold; this gave me a little spending money. I could knit as fast as any woman. Then came a change in my life. My father was a laborer in Koldemanz, Greifenberg who had to provide for a helper. My oldest sister did this work for my father for two years. Then I took her place. I was now seventeen years of age; then I hired out to work for Herr Gloxin to work on his farm. I was young but almost full grown: we were obliged to carry sacks of grain containing 160 to 200 pounds up to the second story which made me tremble so that I could not sit still. This work I did for three years receiving $28 per year. At the end of three years, I had saved $75 of my earnings. At this time I was called to be examined for the military service found to be sound and chosen for the heavy cavalry class."This personal account of life in Pommern by Charles John Ludwig Karnopp, who was born in 1842, gives us a good idea of what life was like for Charles Hintz during his early years. Charles was born in Pommern in 1836, 6 years before Mr. Karnopp.
Charles, Friderike, Gustav, and infant son Carl Hintz immigrated to the United States, arriving in New York aboard the ship "Henry" in May 1872 from Bremen, Germany. In the column titled "The country in which they intend to become inhabitants" is listed "Wisconsin".
The 1880 Federal Census lists Charles and Friderike Hintz's family as follows: Address 882 12th Avenue
Name, Relation, Marital Status, Gender, Age, Birthplace, Occupation, Father's BP, Mother's BP
Charles Hintz Self M Male 44 PRUS Brickyard PRUS PRUS
Friderike Hintz Wife M Female 39 PRUS Keeps House PRUS PRUS
Gustav Hintz Son S Male 13 PRUS At School PRUS PRUS
Reinhold Hintz Son S Male 6 WI (none listed) PRUS PRUS
Louise Hintz Dau S Female 4 WI (none listed) PRUS PRUS
Auguste Hintz Dau S Female 1 WI (none listed) PRUS PRUS*(Infant son Carl Hintz is not listed; it is assumed that he died in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, before 1880. The youngest daughter, Matilda Hintz, is also not listed; she was not born until 1881.)
Source Information:
Census Place Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Family History Library Film 1255438
Film Number T9-1438
Page Number 292AAccording to a newspaper story about Reinhold Hintz's death, the family moved from Milwaukee County to the Hintz Homestead in Husher, Caledonia, Racine County, Wisconsin, about 1887. (The article stated that Reinhold had lived on the farm for 71 years; he died in 1958.) This home is where Charles and Friderike spent the rest of their lives; Friderike for only 10 years until 1897, when she died of consumption at the age of 55; and Charles for 40 years until 1927, when he died at the age of 91.
Friderike Keske was born in 1841 in Prussia. She died on Jan 30 1897 in Caledonia, Racine County, Wisconsin. The cause of death was consumption (tuberculosis). She was buried 1 in Trinity Ev Lutheran Church Cemetery, Caledonia, Racine County, Wisconsin. She married Carl (or Charles) Hintz.
They had the following children:
M i Gustav Hintz M ii Carl Hintz was born about 1871 in Pommerania, Prussia. He died before 1880 in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin.
Carl Hintz is included in the ship manifest with the rest of the family on the "Henry", arriving in New York in May 1872. His age is listed as "Infant". He is not included with the family in the 1880 Federal Census. Therefore, it is assumed that he died before 1880 in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. No additional information is known about Carl Hintz at this writing.M iii Reinhold Richard Hintz F iv Louisa Wilhelmine Hintz F v Auguste Hintz was born 1 about 1879 in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin.
Auguste Hintz is listed with the family in the 1880 Federal Census for Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. However, it is not known if she died, or married, before 1900, since the 1890 Federal Census was burned in a fire at the National Archives in the 1930s, and she does not appear in the 1900 census with the rest of the family in Caledonia, Racine County, Wisconsin. No additional information is known about Auguste Hintz at this writing.F vi Mathilda Hintz
Walter Henriksen [Parents] was born on Dec 30 1865 in Nakskov, Lolland, Denmark. He died on Sep 13 1954 in Strongs Prairie, Adams County, Wisconsin. He was buried in Henriksen Cemetery, Arkdale, Adams County, Wisconsin USA. He married Annastena Larson on Mar 12 1889 in Adams County Wisconsin.
Walter decided to come to the United States, with a loan of $35.00 or $50.00 from Uncle Ole Olsen (his father's half brother). After working as a hired man on the farm for two or three years he decided the loan was paid, and left for the lumber camps in northern Wisconsin. While at Olsen's he had a cold room in winter, where snow often blew in between the logs. His meals were often not of the same amount or caliber that the regular family had. From the lumber camp, he got work on the farm of a widow lady by the name of Annastena Johnson, whom he later married.
Walter was active in local politics in Adams County, Wisconsin. He was elected as a Strongs Prairie Supervisor in April 1914, and then as their Chairman for the County Board of Commissioners April 5, 1921, and was a member of the board at least until 1924.
Annastena Larson [Parents] "Stina" was born on Sep 29 1859 in Moens Clint, Denmark. She died 1 on Apr 2 1949 in Arkdale, Adams County, Wisconsin. She was buried in Henriksen Cemetery (aka Edwardson/Danish/Eggum Cemetery), Adams County, Wisconsin, USA. She married Walter Henriksen on Mar 12 1889 in Adams County Wisconsin.
Walter & Annstena Henriksen, circa 1914
Walter & Annstena Henriksen, circa 1939
Other marriages:Johansen, Jorgen P
Annastena was born near Moens Clint in Denmark. This clint is a carry over and like the white cliffs of chalk of Dover, England.
This picture was taken in 1934 when the Henriksens held a reunion at their farm. Pictured on this photo are:
(Top L to R): Helen Henriksen (later Stoller), Harold Henriksen, J.C. Ellis, Rev. Joe Steen, Herbert Koenecke, Arthur Warshauer, Wallace Henriksen;
(2nd row L to R): Irene (Jensen) Zellmer, Selma (nee ?) Johnson, John Jensen, Ida (Henriksen) Ellis, Marie (Henriksen) Steen, Ethel (Henriksen Thorson) Keonecke, Esther (Henriksen) Warshauer, Walter Johnson, Clara (Swenson) Henriksen; (3rd row L to R, seated): Jorgen Johnson, Hannah (Johnson) Jensen, Walter Henriksen, Annastena (Larson-Johnson) Henriksen, Jens Jensen (Annastena's brother from Denmark), Mathea (Johnson) Johnson, William Henriksen;
(Front row, seated): Mildred Henriksen (later Hood), Robert Warshauer, Lowell Steen, Donald Warshauer, Gerald Thorson, Kenneth Henriksen, John Ellis, Rodger Warshauer, Ruth Ann Steen (later Costin), Phyllis Steen (later Sancya).
They had the following children:
(back, l to r): Marie, William, Hannah, Jorgen, Thea. (front) Ida, Walter, Esther, Annstena, Ethel. (circa 1905)
M i Hans-William Henriksen F ii Camilla Marie Henriksen F iii Ida H Henriksen F iv Ethel A Henriksen F v Esther Arvilda Henriksen
Ole H Svendsen [Parents] was born in Sep 1850 in Norway Township, Racine County, Wisconsin. He died after May 1910 in Strongs Prairie, Adams County, Wisconsin. He was buried in 1910 in South Arkdale Cemetery, Arkdale, Adams County, Wisconsin. He married Helvene Maria Eberlin on Dec 16 1877 in Strongs Prairie, Adams County, Wisconsin.
Ole & Helvene's gravestone
Adams County Jury List June 1887 -- From the Adams County Press, May 28, 1887 Page 4
The following are the names of the persons drawn to serve as petit jurors at the ensuing June Term of the Circuit Court for this county: . . . . SWENSON Ole H. Strongs Prairie
Election Returns April 1893 -- From the Adams County Press, Saturday, April 8, 1893, Page 4
The following is a list of the officers elected in the towns of the county at the election held last week and reported to the Press:
Township Officers Elected in April 1893 . . . . SWENSON Ole H. Treasurer Strongs PrairieBoard of Supervisors of Adams County, November 1902 -- From the Adams County Press, November 15, 1902, Page 1
The County Board of Supervisors met in Annual Session at the Court House in this village Tuesday last, all members being present. Mr. Orlando MATTHEWS of Big Flats was elected Chairman. The full board is constituted as follows:Adams County Board, November 1902 . . . . . SWENSON O. H. Strongs Prairie
Helvene Maria Eberlin [Parents] was born in Mar 1856 in Norway. She died in 1904 in Strongs Prairie, Adams County, Wisconsin. She was buried in 1904 in South Arkdale Cemetery, Arkdale, Adams County, Wisconsin. She married Ole H Svendsen on Dec 16 1877 in Strongs Prairie, Adams County, Wisconsin.
They had the following children:
M i Henry-Martin Swenson F ii Anna M Swenson M iii Albert Swenson was born on Mar 28 1882 in Strongs Prairie, Adams County, Wisconsin. He died about 1901 in Strongs Prairie, Adams County, Wisconsin. The cause of death was pnuemonia.
Albert never married; no children.F iv Inga M Swenson was born on Oct 5 1884 in Arkdale, Adams County, Wisconsin. Inga never married, and had no children. She was not yet 20 when her mother died. When older sister Anna married, Inga was charged with raising the younger siblings. When her father died in 1910, she took over running the family farm and caring for the younger children. However, upon Martin's marriage, Martin & his wife took over the farm, and Inga moved to Minneapolis, MN. She found work as a nanny & housekeeper for one or two families. These were the happiest, most carefree years of her life. When her Aunt Rachel became ill, Inga moved back to Adams County to care for her aunt, until Rachel's death, and then her Uncle Mons, until her death. She died on Aug 17 1953 in Riverview Hospital, Wisconsin Rapids, Wood County, Wisconsin. She was buried on Aug 19 1953 in South Arkdale Cemetery, Arkdale, Adams County, Wisconsin.
Inga is buried next to her brother John.
F v Helen O Swenson was born about 1886 in Strongs Prairie, Adams County, Wisconsin. She died 1 on Jul 11 1887 in Strongs Prairie, Adams County, Wisconsin. The cause of death was pnuemonia. M vi Hilbert Swenson F vii Clara Iverina Swenson M viii Johann R Swenson was born on Mar 3 1894 in Strongs Prairie, Adams County, Wisconsin. He died in 1952 in Strongs Prairie, Adams County, Wisconsin. He was buried in 1952 in South Arkdale Cemetery, Arkdale, Adams County, Wisconsin.
John never married. He worked as a hired farm hand at various farms around Strongs Prairie, including for his sister, Clara, and brother-in-law, Willie Henriksen (my great-grandparents).
John is buried next to his sister Inga.
M ix Thomas Swenson was born in Sep 1896 in Strongs Prairie, Adams County, Wisconsin. He died about 1920 in Alaska. He was buried in lost at sea.
Thomas went to Alaska for the gold rush in the early 1900s. His sister Clara (my great-grandmother) said that the family heard he had married an eskimo woman, around 1920. Thomas disappeared in Alaska; he and a few other men went out on a fishing boat and never returned. He may or may not have had a gold mine, and one of the other passengers on the boat may have been a partner, or someone who wanted to take over the mine.
Henry William Pinekenstein Sr [Parents] was born on May 17 1886 in Bangert, Russia. He died on Apr 11 1970 in Sturtevant, Racine County, Wisconsin. He was buried in West Lawn Cemetery, Sturtevant, Racine County, Wisconsin. He married Christine Huber in Dec 1912 in Bangert, Russia.
My mother, Mary Ellen, recalled that her grandfather lived for years in fear of Russian soldiers coming to take him back to Russia. It is not known if he, his wife, his brother and his wife left Russia under different names in order to escape that country during or before the Bolshevik Revolution, but I was unable to locate any "Pinekenstein" name in the database for Ellis Island 1890-1920, which would include the period when they arrived in the United States. (Henry and Christine's oldest daughter, Marly, was born in Wisconsin USA in 1913.)
Christine Huber was born on Feb 11 1894. She died on Mar 11 1944 in Racine, Racine County, Wisconsin. The cause of death was choked to death in surgical post-op. She was buried in West Lawn Cemetery, Racine, Racine County, Wisconsin. She married Henry William Pinekenstein Sr in Dec 1912 in Bangert, Russia.
Henry & Christine Pinekenstein, circa 1933.
They had the following children:
The Pinekenstein Children, circa 1933. (l to r) Henry, Mary, Marly, Bill.
F i Amalia Pinekenstein M ii Henry Pinekenstein was born in 1915 in Racine, Racine County, Wisconsin. He died in 1915 in Racine, Racine County, Wisconsin.
Henry died as a baby, about 1 month old, in 1915, in Racine WI.F iii Mary Pinekenstein M iv William Pinekenstein M v Henry William Pinekenstein Jr
George William Pinekenstein was born in Bangert, Russia. He married Anna Margaret Flemming.
George was a blacksmith by trade, which was a lucrative trade of the times. However, the family was often poor because George liked to drink quite often. According to his daughter-in-law, Renata (my great-great aunt) he often had men over to the family house and would have his wife dance for the guests.
After Henry and Philip emmigrated to the United States, George wrote to his sons several times, but the family lost contact after George's death. There is very little history or genealogical record on any of the family except Henry and Philip.
Anna Margaret Flemming was born in Bangert, Russia. She married George William Pinekenstein.
They had the following children:
F i Katherine Elizabeth Pinekenstein M ii William Pinekenstein M iii Henry William Pinekenstein Sr M iv John Pinekenstein M v Philip Pinekenstein M vi August Pinekenstein M vii Adam Pinekenstein M viii Christian Pinekenstein F ix Marie Pinekenstein
Robert Raymond Lentz [Parents]
Marilyn Margreth Hintz [Parents]
They had the following children:
F i Holly Marie Lentz F ii Amber Ellane Lentz
Marlene Mari Hintz [Parents]
Other marriages:Lechner, Clarence John Jr
Marvin Walter Hintz [Parents]
Other marriages:Henriksen, Mary Ellen
Marcia Mariann Hintz [Parents]
Other marriages:Potter, Randy Michael
They had the following children:
M i Zachary Jordan Schilling F ii Veronica Grace Schilling F iii Natalie Diana Schilling F iv Abigail JoDiMarie Schilling
Frederick Joseph Baumeister was born on Jan 13 1928 in Rochester, Racine County, Wisconsin. He died on Mar 11 1998 in Burlington, Racine County, Wisconsin. He married Evelyn Clara Hintz on Nov 27 1949 in Illinois.
Evelyn Clara Hintz [Parents] was born on Sep 26 1927 in Milwaukee, Milwaukee County, Wisconsin. She died on Apr 18 1997 in Burlington, Racine County, Wisconsin. She married Frederick Joseph Baumeister on Nov 27 1949 in Illinois.
Other marriages:Dennison, Fredrick
They had the following children:
M i Michael Joseph Baumeister F ii Joy Ellen Baumeister F iii Cheryl Jean Baumeister F iv Dawn Marie Baumeister F v Elaine Frances Baumeister M vi David Frederick Baumeister
