On the German end or stateside Carol, or both?
Both - but I believe I've found just about everything stateside, and that's
why I wrote to the Hannover list.
If it is stateside, have you attempted to locate Adam, Maria and Anna's
respective obituaries, since you have their dates of death? As you may know,
some areas - other than generally the largest American cities - produced or
allowed substantially more in depth newspaper accounts of deaths and
funerals than other places. Always worth checking, and remember larger hubs
often ran multiple newspapers concurrently, even 100 years ago (so check all
if possible).
I did find their Death Notice in the Newark News, but there was no Obituary
or larger account. I will take your suggestion and try some of the other
local news papers.
How about Adam's will or probate record in Newark?
My original thought was that he probably did not have a Will, but now, I
have no idea why I thought that way. So, I have just now sent off my
request for a copy of his Will from the New Jersey Archives. If there's a
Will to be found, I know Bette Epstein will find it! I have also asked her
to look for a Will from another RAHENKAMP family that lived in Newark, in
the same neighborhood, and buried in the same cemetery. Finding the
"connection" is driving us all crazy!
I have not checked for any land deeds or title transfers. Again, I don't
know why. I guess because the earlier census did not include questions
about the owning or renting of the dwelling.... Thank you - I will add that
search to my list.
And yes, I concluded that Adam and Maria must have had other children before
Anna, because of their age. Starting a family that late in life, and/or not
having more than one child just doesn't seem to "fit tradition". As you
say, it could suggest that any additional children did not make it to
adulthood (or America). However, where the 1860 U.S. census did not show
"relationships", it's probably safe to assume that the additional 3 year old
boy born in New Jersey and listed in the household, was their son. [Which
brings me to a whole other research project - neither the son nor the father
are shown in the 1870 census, but the father is back in the 1880 census. I
haven't found any death information on the son, nor does he seem to be in
the cemetery with the rest of the family. And since the father is back in
the 1880 census, I'm wondering if perhaps he made a trip back to Germany -
perhaps to bury the son there, or just to see that he was included in the
family church records.... or maybe Adam just went back to bring other
children to America....?]
As for Adam having siblings.... I'm sure you're correct - the church records
should have the answer. I'm just sorry that the other researcher only made
note of Anna's christening. I will, of course, pursue those church
records!!
The reason we suspect/assume other siblings is because we need a
"connection". At this point, there are three distinct Rahenkamp branches
who have immigrated to America, and we are all lacking "the common
denominator".
THANK YOU for your response to my query. It definitely helped to clear my
thinking and provide additional avenues for further research!
Regards, Carol Payne SnowWhite@Lakewebs.net