Genealogy
and Immigration History
of the
Jacobs/Jacoby Family of
Posen, Prussia
1800-2000
|
Rhaetia |
"As you look toward the future, always remember the treasures of our
Past. Every generation stands on the shoulders of the generation that
came before. Jealously guard the values and principles of our
heritage. They did not come easy."
-Ronald Reagan-
George Kobernus
6296 Red Fox Run
Traverse City, MI 49686-6133
Ph: 231-933-9321 Fx: 501-325-8102
http://www.kobernus.com/jacoby/index.html
1 May 2002 Revision 4
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER I: The Jacobs/Jacoby Family of Posen
CHAPTER II: A Short History of Posen
CHAPTER III: Where the Jacoby Family Lived
Return to the Netze Valley: 1859
CHAPTER IV: Immigration of the Jacoby siblings
Appendix 1: Jacoby Family Photo Album
Appendix 2: Immigration Ship Rhaetia
Appendix 3: Jacobs/Jacoby Family Tree
Appendix 4: Castle Garden - Immigration Portal For The Jacoby Family
Appendix 5: Random Notes and opportunities for further research
TABLE OF FIGURES
Figure 1: The German Empire 1871
Figure 2: Jacobs Family Villages
CHAPTER I: The Jacobs/Jacoby Family of Posen
A Brief Overview
Carl Jacobs (1804-?) [1] and Louise Ulrich (1814-1853) [2] were probably ethnic Germans who lived near the Polish city of Bromberg. [3] They were married in 1835 near Neudorf Mühle and Exin on the south bank of the River Netze in the Prussian Province of Posen, now part of Poland. They had 10 Children; at least three died in infancy. [4] Soon after they married, they moved to Schokken, near the city of Wongrowitz about 25 miles South West of Exin where their first two children were born. They then moved to Grocholl, (now merged with Thalheim) a small village just outside the city of Bromberg, where three more children were born. The family then moved back to Schokken where the remaining children were born. Louise Ulrich Died in Schokken in 1853, but we have not found the death date of Carl Jacobs. The family probably moved back to the Nakel River basin near Exin after Louise’s death because several of the couple’s children were very young, and Carl does not appear to have any family in Schokken. Carl’s daughter Carolina was married in Exin in 1858 and son Leopold was married in Rudky Mühle and resided in the village of Wilhelmseichen both villages on the North bank of the Netze. Three or more of the Jacobs children immigrated to Wisconsin and Illinois between 1862 and 1884. This family is listed in various church and civil records as Jacobs, Jacobi and Jacoby.
Figure 1: The German Empire 1871
Jacobs Family Villages
This map gives an overview of the location of the villages where Carl and Louise Jacobs and their children lived from about 1835 to 1884. The size of the villages is exaggerated for emphasis.
Figure 2: Jacobs Family Villages
CHAPTER II: A Short History of Posen
Posen’s boundaries have remained generally intact, being generally defined by the watersheds of the rivers Warthe / Warta in the South, and the Netze / Notec in the North. See the 1871 German Empire map.
This area has been “liberated” by its neighbors many times and was the historical center of the Polish Nation in the 10th century and has always been one of the richest and most developed provinces of Poland. This part of Greater Poland was annexed by King Friedrich II of Prussia in 1772 and renamed Netze-District during the first partition of Poland. King Friedrich Wilhelm II of Prussia annexed the remainder in the second partition of Poland in 1793 and renamed it South Prussia. After the Prussian defeat by Napoleon Bonaparte, South Prussia was united with the Grand Duchy of Warsaw, 1807-1815. The province of Posen received its name from the capital city of Posen. After Napoleon's defeat most of the Posen district of South Prussia reverted to Prussia when the Kalisch and Warschau districts became part of Russian-Poland (Congress-Poland). From 1815-1919 the Prussian province of Posen comprised the two districts of Posen and Bromberg. The Prussians split the province in two administrative parts, giving the city of Posen jurisdiction of the southern part and assigning Bromberg as the administrative center for the northern part.
Although Posen was really a Polish land, also known as “Wielkapolska” (Greater Poland) the German culture gradually became more pervasive in the 1800’s. When Posen became part of the Kingdom of Prussia, German migration into the captured territory increased. Most of the settlers were Lutheran and many Protestant parishes were established. It is likely the Jacoby family originated from Germany and was part of this migration.
Before WWI, the German-speaking inhabitants were about 35% of the total population of Posen. The majority of them lived in the western and northern districts. The central and southern part of Wielkopolska retained its Polish and Catholic identity. Both ethnic Germans and Poles lived side by side in Posen. The 1890 Prussian census in Posen indicated 697,265 spoke German and 1,047,409 spoke Polish as a first language. The 1895 census counted 542,013 Evangelicals (German), 1,164,067 Catholics (Poles) and 44, 346 Jews. The larger cities had a predominantly German-speaking population. [5]
The number of Lutheran communities in Posen reached 300 by the beginning of World War I. This growth was fueled by the Prussian government's generous support of German (mostly Lutheran) colonization throughout the province that included building new churches. After 1920, number of Lutheran communities in Posen began to drop as people migrated back to Germany where employment opportunities were better. [6]
Posen again became part of the new Poland after World War I. This freedom was short lived when Nazi Germany invaded Posen in 1939, extended it and named it Reichsgau Wartheland.
At the end of World War II, the Allies met at Potsdam to settle the question of partition of the former Nazi controlled areas. West Pomerania became part of Mecklenburg in East Germany, and Posen became part of Poland. Part of the agreement was to resettle an estimated fifteen million ethnic Germans who lived in areas east of the Oder River. It is estimated that over 2 million Germans died from exposure and starvation when the Soviet Army drove Germans from Poland. In the post war period most of the German place names have been converted to their Polish equivalent; e.g. Posen = Poznan, and Bromberg = Bydgoszcz. Today, there are only a small number of ethnic Germans in Posen and few Lutheran churches.
CHAPTER III: Where the Jacoby Family Lived
The Netze River Valley
The ancestors of Carl Jacobs probably immigrated from somewhere in Western Germany to the Netze River Valley in Posen where we know they lived on and off from about 1835 to 1884. We don’t have birth records for Carl Jacobs and Louise Ulrich; however, we know that prior to 1835 they lived mainly around Neudorf Mühle, a small mill community on the Netze / Notec River in Schubin County, Posen. This village was in Exin Parish. Carl Jacobs was a “Mühlenpäachter” (Holder of a Mill Lease). In February 1835, at the age of 31, he married 21 year-old Louise Ulrich, the daughter of Gottleib Ulrich, a Mühlenbesitzer” (Mill Owner) who owned the Mill in Neudorf Mühle. [7] The banks of the river are a floodplain containing many farms that provided grain for the Mill operated by Carl Jacobs. There was an extensive canal system in the area that provided water for the mill and irrigated the farms.
Neudorf Mühle: 1835
The Meyers Gazetteer doesn’t list Neudorf Mühle as a place with it’s own name, just that Neudorf had a mill on the Netze River. [8] The map shows it as being quite removed from the village of Neudorf on a bluff overlooking the river.
Schokken: 1835-38
After their marriage, Carl and Louise left Neudorf Mühle and Exin Parish and moved about 25 miles South East to the Parish of Schokken (Now Skoki) a small town near Wongrowitz. [9] There the couple had two children, Anna Caroline Jacoby in 1835 [10] and Friederich Gustov Jacoby in 1837 [11]. Church records indicate Carl was working as a Grain Miller in “NadMühle” near Schokken.
Grocholl: 1838-41
Sometime about 1838 the family moved to Grocholl, a small village on a canal about 25 miles northeast of Neudorf Mühle. Grocholl (Now merged with Thalheim) was about 150 people, 5 miles (8km) Northeast of the center of Bromberg. The children born in Grocholl were Emilie (1838) [12], Mathilde (1839) [13] and Louise (1841). [14] Because of it’s location on the edge of a large farm area and proximity to a canal system we assume Carl Jacobs was working as a Miller there. Daughter Emilie died in this village in 1839.
Return to Schokken 1842-53
About 1842, The Jacobs family returned to Schokken where five more children were born. Carl Johann (1843), [15] Pauline Wilhelmina; (1844), [16] Reinhold Alexander (1846) [17] Leopold Hermann (1849),[18] & Alexander Rudolph (1851) [19]. The Schokken church records reflect that children Louise Auguste and Carl Johann died in this village. Louise Ulrich also died in there at age 38 in 1853. It’s not known if Carl Jacobs remarried.
Return to the Netze Valley: 1859
The death of Louise left Carl with seven children, the youngest being only two years old. It is possible, but not certain, that Carl returned to Neudorf Mühle to work in his father-in-law’s Mill and where members of Louise’s family still lived. [20] The best proof that the family may have moved back to Neudorf Mühle is the 1859 marriage of eldest daughter Caroline to a young Miller from Kazmierzewo named Christian Kuehn. The parish record indicates both were from Neudorf Mühle and the father of the bride was “Miller” Jacobs from Neudorf Mühle. Our guess is that Christian also worked in the Mill and that’s how he met Caroline. Caroline, her sister Pauline, and maybe Mathilde, immigrated to the US in 1862. Leopold remained in the area until he immigrated in 1884.
Rudke (Rudki) Mühle - 1873
The next mention of the Jacobs family is in the village of Rudke Mühle, a small Mill community just outside Nakel, 24 kilometers East of Neudorf Mühle on the Netze River. This is where Leopold Jacoby married Augusta Frase in January 1873 and their first child Clara Emilie Jacoby was born in July of that year. [21] The Church records indicate the Jacoby name is very rare in Nakel although there is mention of a few possible Jacoby relatives living in Nakel. In addition, Augusta’s father and four siblings are identified in the parish church books. We also found a large number of Frase family members listed in Lobsens Parish just a few miles North of Nakel. [22]
Wilhelmseichen: 1884
Sometime between 1873 when Clara
Emilie (Amelia) was born in Rudky Mühle,
and their immigration in 1884, Leopold and Augusta moved to Wilhelmseichen
just a few miles down river. During this nine years, three more children were
born; Mathilde Ottilie "Tillie" (1875), Helen Bertha (1877), and
Wilhelm “Bill” (1879). We know the birth dates of these children from US
records, but there is no information yet as to where these children were
actually born. The records for Nakel stop at 1873, so it’s possible the later
records for Nakel Parish were lost or destroyed. It’s also possible they were
born in a Parish somewhere near Wilhelmseichen because the Jacoby immigration
record indicates they were living in that location when the family departed for
the US in 1884. This village was located almost directly across the Netze River from Neudorf
Mühle. There is a small bridge that
connects the two villages. The map indicates Wilhelmseichen was the location of an
Obstgut (Fruit Orchard/Estate). Our guess is that Leopold worked on this
Orchard, or in the fields on either side of the river. See the Neudorf Mühle
Map.
CHAPTER IV: Immigration of the Jacoby siblings
As economic conditions in Posen deteriorated In the latter decades before 1900, there was a strong migration from Posen Province back to Germany and to the Western Prussian provinces, most notable to Rhineland and Westfalen, where the booming Ruhr area and its coal and steel companies were the main attraction to the new labor force. This was also the period where strong immigration to the US was taking place. At least three of the Jacoby children immigrated to the US between 1862 and 1884. A number of people related to the Jacoby family also emigrated from the Exin area and settled in the same counties in Wisconsin and Minnesota.
Anna Caroline Jacoby – 1862
Don Burke has done extensive research on the family of Anna Caroline Jacoby–Kuehn after she immigrated to the US with her husband. Caroline married Christian Kuehn, a Miller from the nearby village of Kazmierzewo in 1859. [23] The marriage probably took place in Exin. The circumstantial evidence suggests Christian worked for Caroline’s father at the Mill in Neudorf Mühle. Their first child Augusta Louisa Kuehn was born in 1860. [24] According to Don Burke, Christian Kuehn first immigrated to the US on the “Elise and Mathilde” arriving 18 September 1861. He then spent time with his brother Johann and sister who had previously immigrated to Beaver Dam Wisconsin. Caroline, pregnant with their second child Gustov, departed Bremen Germany on the Bark “Peter Rohland” arriving in New York on 16 May 1862. It is believed Gustov was born during the voyage. Caroline and Christian remained in Beaver Dam until about 1868 and then moved to Silby County MN where they lived with their extended family for the rest of their lives. [25] Check this link for more information about Mathilda Julianna Kuehn (1865 - 1949) daughter of Christian Kuehn and Anna Caroline Jacoby of Silby MN.
Mathilde July Jacobs
The family bible of Mathilde Jacobs and Hermann Fix contains extensive birth, death and marriage information about the families of her brother Leopold and his descendants, but no information about the Fix family other than they were married in 1881 in an unknown location. We don’t know why there is so little information about Mathilde Jacobs and Hermann Fix, if or when she immigrated,, or how the bible came into the possession of the descendants of Leopold’s daughter Martha Jacoby. We did confirm however, that Mathilde’s date of birth noted in her family bible is the same as that recorded in the Bromberg parish church record. In addition, since Mathilde was married to Herman Fix at the age of 42, it’s likely this was a second marriage and it’s possible they married in the US.
Pauline Wilhelmina Jacoby
Don Burke has also done extensive research on the family of Pauline Jacoby-Brandt. She would have been 17 years old when Caroline and brother-in-law Christian left Neudorf, but apparently did not travel with them. A number of other family and friends immigrated from Exin Parish to Minnesota, so it’s likely she emigrated with them sometime between 1861 and 1867 because she was a sponsor at the christening of Caroline’s son Alexander in 1868 in Beaver Dam, Dodge County, Wisconsin.
It’s also likely that Pauline was living with her sister when Caroline and Christian Kuehn moved from Wisconsin to Nicollet County Minnesota in the late 1860’s. It was there that Pauline married William Brandt in 1869. A number of friends and relations from Exin Parish also settled in the same area in Minnesota. Michael and Emilie Koenig (Christian Kuehn’s sister) moved to St. Peter, Nicollet County before anyone else and purchased land. The Brandts then moved to Sibley County where the Kuehns were living. The Brandt and Kuehn families farmed adjacent sections in Sibley Township and attended the Trinity Lutheran Church there. William and Pauline Brandt are listed in the 1875 Silby County Census.
Leopold Hermann Jacoby -1884
Leopold Jacoby married Augusta Frase in Rudky Mühle near Nakel in July 1873 [26] and they were living in Wilhelmseichen just a few miles away on the Netze River when they immigrated to the US in 1884. With them were their four children, Clara, “Tillie”, Helen, and Wilhelm. The family boarded the vessel “Rhaetia” on 28 May 1884 and arrived in New York Harbor 11 June 1884. Augusta was about 5 months pregnant with fifth child Martha at the time. This was some 20 years after Caroline and Pauline had emigrated, so it’s possible that Leopold and his family spent time with his siblings in Minnesota before settling in the Austin Illinois/Oak Park area near Chicago. However, since we know that Martha was born in Austin in September 1884, it’s not likely they spent much time in Minnesota.
CHAPTER V
Post Immigration History
Martha Jacoby and her sister Amanda Jacoby were born soon after Leopold and Augusta settled in the Austin Illinois area near Chicago. The Jacoby family is mentioned in the 1900 & 1910 US Census as living at 5939 Iowa St. This is where they met the Milkau family. Austin was also close to the village of Oak Park where the Kobernus family lived. Cook County Coroner Inquest files indicates Leopold died in March 1911 in an accident at the C&N.W. Railway yard in Chicago. He is buried in Concordia Cemetery in Forest Park, IL. His wife Augusta, daughters Amanda and Helen, and grandson John Kobernus are also buried in the same plot.
We know very little about the children of
Leopold and Augusta Jacoby. Here’s a short summary of what we do know. We would
like to know more about these families.
Clara married Anton Milkau in 1895 and lived in Oak Park Illinois until her death in 1932. Clara is buried in Concordia Cemetery with her husband.
Mathilde married Emil Cook and died in Cook County in 1942. We know very little about her.
Helen married Henry Kobernus in 1894. Henry died in 1909 and is buried in the Kobernus plot in Concordia Cemetery. Helen died in 1921 and is also buried in Concordia with her parents, sister Amanda and son John.
BillJacoby moved to Minnesota about 1900 and married Ida Briest in 1908. He died in Wood Lake, Yellow Medicine County Minnesota in 1970 and is buried in St. Paul’s Lutheran Cemetery, Arlington, Sibley, Minnesota.
Martha was born in the US in September 1884 just a couple of months after the family arrived. She married Harry Decker in 1903 and lived in Mason City, Cerro Gordo, Iowa where here husband was in the meat business. Harry Decker died in 1945 and Martha in 1975. It’s not known where they are buried, but assume it’s in the Mason City area.
Amanda, the second child born in the US in 1886, married Frank Kerrigan in 1907 but died from complications of childbirth in 1909. Her child Myrtle outlived her mother by only a few months. Both are buried in the Jacoby plot in Concordia. Apparently Frank Kerrigan remained close to the Jacoby family after he remarried.
Please help us fill in the blanks and expand these family histories.
Appendix 1: Jacoby Family Photo Album
We don't have many pictures of the Jacoby, Cook, Decker, Kobernus and Milkau families yet. Here are a few we've received from family members. We're always looking for more. Computer scans sent by e-mail work great, but we'll gladly pay for costs associated with having us scan and post them in this Album. Family stories about them are welcome. In addition, birth, marriage and death certificates contain important information about these families.
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A: Augusta & Clara Jacoby |
B: Clara Jacoby |
C: Bill & Ida Jacoby |
D: Bill & Ida Jacoby |
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E: Catharine & Milt Decker |
F: Jacoby-Cook |
G: Emil Kobernus |
H: Elsie Carlson?? |
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I: Decker Family? |
J: Jacoby-Decker-Cook Families |
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K: Leopold & Augusta Jacoby |
L: Helen Jacoby |
M: Amanda & Myrtle Kerrigan |
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N: Kobernus Plot
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What treasures! If there are any more pictures like this we’d appreciate a copy so we can share them with others. We're gradually building a collection that will be added to the family history. Once we get more information about these people and other’s we’ll build an album for each family with narrative.
We've done quite a bit of research on the Kobernus family but would like to know more about the connections between the Decker, Jacoby, and Milkau families.
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PHOTO KEY |
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A |
1915: Mother-Daughter Augusta Frase Age 69, Clara Jacoby Age 43 sitting on the porch steps of the Milkau home at 629 N. Parkside in Austin, Illinois (Xerox Copy) |
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B |
Abt 1885; Clara Jacoby Age 13; As a young girltaken a year or so after she emigrated from Germany.(Xerox Copy) |
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C |
1908: Wilhelm (Bill) Jacoby & Ida Briest Wedding picture. Bill was the son of Leopold Jacoby. The family immigrated in 1884 and lived in Oak Park Illinois. Bill moved to Silby County MN 1900. |
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D |
Abt. 1948: Bill and Ida Jacoby. This might be their 40th Anniversary picture. |
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E |
Abt. 1900: Catharine & Milton Decker |
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F |
Tillie Jacoby-Cook, Emil Cook, and daughter Adeline. |
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G |
Emil Kobernus. Not sure if this is Emil Sr. (1896-1944) or Emil Jr. (1926-1996 |
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H |
Elsie Carlson. Don’t have anything in our database on this person. Is this Elsie Hulda Milkau daughter or her daughter? |
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I |
Decker family gathering? Not sure who these people are |
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J |
Three Jacoby siblings and their spouses: Back row; Bill & Ida Jacoby, Martha & Harry Decker, Emil & Tillie Cook. Children: Clarence Jacoby, Myrtle Jacoby, and Adeline Cook. |
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K |
Jacoby Plot, Concordia Cemetery; Leopold & Augusta Jacoby |
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L |
Jacoby Plot, Concordia Cemetery; Helen Jacoby-Kobernus |
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M |
Jacoby Plot, Concordia Cemetery; Amanda Jacoby-Kerrigan & Dau Myrtle |
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N |
Kobernus family plot, Concordia cemetery, Carl, Sophie, Marie, Henry Kobernus |
Appendix 2: Immigration Ship Rhaetia
Ship's Name: Rhaetia, Manifest ID Number: 37783
Date of Departure 28 May 1884
Date of Arrival Jun. 11, 1884
Country of Origin: Hamburg Germany
|
Name |
Age on Manifest |
Remarks |
|
Jacobi, Leopold |
35 |
Actual DOB 09.May.1849 |
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Jacobi, Aug., (Augusta Frase) |
30 |
Actual DOB 28.Jan.1846 |
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Jacobi, Clara |
08 |
Actual DOB 22.Jul.1872 |
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Jacobi, Ottilie (Tillie) |
07 |
Actual DOB 01.Mar.1875 |
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Jacobi, "Wilh". (Bill) |
06 |
Actual DOB 25.Oct.1877 |
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Jacobi, "Lene" (Helen) |
03 |
Actual DOB 24.Dec.1879 |
The steamship RHAETIA was built by Reiherstiegwerft, Hamburg, for the Hamburg American Line, and launched on 23 November 1882. 3,553 tons; 107,11 x 13,07 x 8,86 meters (length x breadth x depth of hold); straight bow, 1 funnel, 3 masts; steel construction, screw propulsion, service speed 12 knots; accommodation for 96 passengers in 1st class and 1,100 in steerage. 4 April 1883, maiden voyage, Hamburg-Havre-New York. 4 November 1894, last voyage, Hamburg-Havre-New York. 1895, taken by Harland & Wolff in part payment for the PENNSYLVANIA; sold to J. H. B"ogel, Hamburg. 24 May 1898 sold to the U.S. Navy and renamed CASSIUS. 1900, SUMNER (U.S. Army transport). 11 December 1916, wrecked on Barnegat Shoals, New Jersey Pictured in Michael J. Anuta, Ships of Our Ancestors (Menominee, MI: Ships of Our Ancestors, 1983), p. 280, courtesy of the Peabody Essex Museum, East India Square, Salem, MA 01970. Links where the Rhaetia vessel is mentioned:
http://www.geocities.com/mppraetorius/com-rh.htm
http://pages.prodigy.net/berryman2/_wsn/page5.html
http://www.nrc.ca/imd/ice/bergs2_01e.html#R