Hi Wilfried,
Thanks so much for the reply. My Gr Grandfather was Christian Marhenke,
according to burial records here in the US he was born 15 Dec 1925.
Christian and three others came to Ft. Wayne Indiana in the 1850's. I
have been told they were brothers. If so Christian is a brother to
Friederich bn 15 Jul 1820, August 2 June 1821, Heinrich bn 18 May 1836.
This is if you use dates from the US records. From August's death record
comes the only clue to Marienhagen. It states he was born in
Marienhagen, Lauenstien, Hannover, Germany
I had a man named Horst Stueben who lives in Thuste and has the church
records and he found a Marhenke family that he thought was my line.
Trouble is, only Heinrich's birth matches up. If he is correct then the
history looks like this: Heinrich Christoph Marhenke born about Nov
1789, died 7 Apr 1844, Buried 11 Apr 1844 in Marienhagen. He was married
to Marie Christine Sophie nee Meier, who survived him at death.
Heinrich and Marie had 4 children : Heinrich Friederich Christoph bn
July 8 1821, Heinrich Conrad Christian bn Dec 22 1825, Heinrich Conrad
Ludwig bn July 31 1829 and Heinrich Conrad bn May 18 1836. The
information from Horst Stueben also says that the father to Heinrich
Christoph was Hans Wilhelm Marhenke from Banteln who was married to Ilse
Engel nee Steinecke. The problem I have with this research is there is
no brother August mentioned and it is he who gave the clue to
Marienhagen.
In the 1852 ship records we find three Marhenke's on the ship with a
mother. These were Friederich, August, Heinrich and a Sophie listed as
mother. we find my Gr Grandfather Christian coming two years later.
Over the years I have received much Marhenke information from several
living in Germany. In addition I have read LDS films of church records
from several of the towns near Marienhagen. There were many Marhenke
families in that area. The problem is LDS did not film the Marienhagen
records for the years that I need them. It is my understanding that this
Horst Stueben is the recognized historian in the area and he is a old man
not too well. Please share with me your Marhenke Line if you can. thank
you for your kind reply---Bob Marhenke
.