Hello, Herr Schabbehard --
I had hoped to be able to find helpful information for you, but I have not had much luck. I searched the online databases for the U.S. Census records available through my local library and was not surprised when I did not find the
family "Toenjes" because the spelling of many names changed once they reached the U.S., especially those with the umlaut.
Although I did locate individuals under various other spellings (Tonjes, Tonies, Toens, Tones, Toenes, and Tonnies), none of them were of the ages which your young men should have been at the time. For example, there was an August
Toens in St. Louis, Missouri, age 21 in 1860, born in Brunswick and working as a laborer. George Tonjes, age 25, was living in New York City in 1860 and was employed as a milkman. Carolina Toenjes, from Hanover, was living in
Cincinnati, Ohio, in 1870. And, there was also a Henry Toenes in Mobile, Alabama also in 1870, but he was too young (age 35) to be either Peter Heinrich or Heinrich August, which is unfortunate because his family was still there in
1920.
The U.S. Census Indexes are not 100% reliable because the census documents were handwritten and often are misinterpreted. On many occasions, also, the person taking the census was unable to properly understand the accent of the
people they met, and wrote the names as their ears heard them. That is why I searched the lists with a variety of spellings. I am sorry to bring you disappointing news.
Best Wishes --
Judy (Pehle) Davis
San Diego, California
Werner Schabbehard wrote: