Dear List:
I have been searching for more information on my gggrandparents for many years. My great-grandfather, William John (Wilhelm Johann?) Bartels, was born 12 Jan 1871 in Martfeld, Kreis Hoya Provinz, Hanover, Germany. He came to the US in 1885 with another family, the Fastenaus, and settled in Clarinda, Page County, Iowa. This was verified with information I found on the GTA CDs.
Many years later he wrote a short family history, which stated that his parents were J. H. Bartels and Dorotha Meyer. They were born circa 1840 in Martfeld. J. H. was a farmer who owned and operated about 6 acres of land. They had 6 children:
1. Henry, born 1862, came to the US in 1888 and settled in Columbus, Nebraska;
2. John, born 1865, was crippled; he married a woman named Meier, learned to be a tailor, and stayed in Germany;
3. Doris, born 1867, married Ditrich Koster and had 3 children. Their son Henry was killed in WWI, their daughter married a man named Buhrhop and settled in Heiligenfelde, and the third child died young;
4. William (my great-grandfather);
5. Herman, born 1874, died at age 5; and
6. Meta, born 1878, came to the US and married Henry Rolf in 1899; they ended up in the Aliceville, Kansas area. I have been in contact with her grandson, and he has no other information either.
My great-grandfather's death certificate lists his father as "John H. Bartels" and his mother as "Dorthy Meyer." There seem to be many Bartels families in the region, but so far I haven't found any connection to my family. The LDS Family History Library does not show any records for Martfeld.
I would like to find birth, marriage, & death dates for J. H. and Dorotha, as well as any other information about their siblings, ancestors, and lives in Germany. Does anyone know if there is a Lutheran Church in Martfeld, or where the nearby Lutheran Churches are so I can try to contact them? Is there any other central records authority where I could try to get information? Does anyone have any other suggestions or connections to this family? My German is very rusty, but I have my well-used German/English dictionary.
Thank you in advance for any help you can offer!
Kathy in Ohio
Volga-German: Feit, Fromm, Ehrlich, Schmunk, Haffner, Winter, Blehm, Seibert
Germany/Netherlands: Bartels, Herzberg, Herzog, Rippe, Wagoner, Sunderman, Grieme, Busing, Hedebrinks, Moening, Goecker, Ralker
New England/England: Partridge, Brock, Woodruff, Lewis, Wright, Woodward, Rose, Tracy, Wyman, Stanley, Dennis, Savage
Pennsylvania/Ohio: Stahlman, Callen, Armstrong, Paul, McCrory, Wallace, Daniels, Goodenough, Davidson, Snodgrass, Burris, Brady, Phillips