Looking for Ernst Heinrich BOSTEL birthplace

hannover-l
1

Hello All,

Thank you for adding me to the list. I come here in hopes of finding

the town where my great, great grandfather was born in Hannover if in

fact it was the region of Hannover and not the city of Hannover, so I

can go back further in my research.

His name: Ernst Heinrich Bostel, born June 18, 1849. His place of

birth was listed as the Kingdom of Hannover in the 1880 U.S. Census.

I have literally hit a dead end finding his birthplace. His children

filled out his death certificate and they only put Germany as place of

birth. I found the church in St. Louis, Missouri where he married his

wife but I couldn’t find any information in those records about place

of birth. I believe he emigrated from Bremen to NY on the ship Hansa

that arrived in NY on August 30, 1869 listed as Ernst Bastel from

Hannover. Listed with him is who I believe to be his mother, on the

passenger list as Betti Bastel. I heard that emigration records in

Bremen were destroyed so I think I also hit a deadend there.

Is Hannover on this passenger list the region of Hannover or the city?

It seems like the passenger list had a mix of towns and regions listed

as the place of birth for the passengers. Here is a link that has a

transcribed passenger list.

http://www.immigrantships.net/v12/1800v12/hansa18690830_02.html

Someone on here was talking about citizens leaving during this time

period to avoid the Army draft. I wonder if something happened to his

father and that is why he came to America with his mother only. I am

making assumptions. Any help or advice greatly appreciated. I have

been trying to figure this out since 1997.

~Sandy

2

Hello Sandy,

surname distribution maps show that the name Bastel occurs mainly in the Southwest of Germany around the city of Karlsruhe.

Kind regards

Karsten

3

Hi Karsten,

Does the spelling Bostel show up in the same area? Thank you!

4

Hello Sandy,

have a look to Familiedatabaser Celle-West: Emilie Antoinette SCHLARBAUM *1809

In the family book of Celle-West, there is Ernst Heinrich Bostel, born 18th of June 1849 in Winsen/Aller which is in the region of Hannover.

His parents were also from Winsen, and he had a brother which died 1861 in Steinförde. His mother is named Anna Marie Elisabeth. Betti is short for Elisabeth.

Hope it helps

Paul

5

Paul!

There is no doubt in my mind this is him! Buried at his gravesite in St.
Louis is Elizabeth Bostel. I could just hug you if only we lived closer! I
was crying tears when I told my boyfriend that you found my Great
Grandfather!

Does this database search other places in the entire country of Germany?
His wife was Maria Elise Ostermann born December 18, 1851 (or 1852) and the
1880 census for her said place of birth was Sachs-Meiningen. I have also
been trying to locate her birthplace in Germany. I have no information
about parents for her. I do believe she came over here alone. I found an
Elise in the passengers list that is possibly her.

As for Bostel and the Winsen area in Germany, where do I go from here to
find church records for that area to further my research?

Again I cannot thank you enough! You found that information so quickly,
something I have been trying to find out for 16 years!

Thank you!
Sandy

6

Hello Sandy,

Bostel is the name of a small village North-East of the city of Celle (my
place of birth) in the Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen) region. This area was
formerly part of the Kingdom of Hannover and then became a province of
Prussia. There are many villages with "bostel" in their name such as:
Egenbostel, Bendingbostel, Regesbostel, Berenbostel, Sandbostel,
Drögenbostel, Süderbostel, Bostelwiebeck, Fallingbostel, ... Someone with
the family name Bostel may have originated from one of these places. Bostel
apparently comes from old Lowgerman"bur" and "stal" which means the
place/house where you settle or a sheep shelter.

Have a look at the website of the Bostel family in Benzen:
http://www.hof-bostel.de/wir.html

Do you know this genealogical database:
http://www.online-ofb.de/famreport.php?ofb=celle_west&ID=I9656&nachname=BOST
EL&lang=de

Kind regards

Karsten Tolle

7

Paul!

There is no doubt in my mind this is him! Buried at his gravesite in
St. Louis is Elizabeth Bostel. I could just hug you if only we lived
closer! I was crying tears when I told my boyfriend that you found my
Great Grandfather!

Does this database search other places in the entire country of
Germany? His wife was Maria Elise Ostermann born December 18, 1851 (or
1852) and the 1880 census for her said place of birth was
Sachs-Meiningen. I have also been trying to locate her birthplace in
Germany. I have no information about parents for her. I do believe she
came over here alone. I found an Elise in the passengers list that is
possibly her.

As for Bostel and the Winsen area in Germany, where do I go from here
to find church records for that area to further my research?

Again I cannot thank you enough! You found that information so
quickly, something I have been trying to find out for 16 years!

Thank you!
Sandy

8

Hi Karsten,

How interesting that you were born in Bostel. Thank you for the
background information on the name.

The link to the German database is something I have come across before
but was unable to navigate around. I am so grateful for this list and
being able to find information on my great grandfather's birthplace
and parent's names!

I was reading online that parish records for the Winsen/Aller area
were destroyed. Do you know if this is true? Is there any possible way
of finding church records for the Bostel family in the Winsten/Aller
area?

Thank you so much,
Sandy