Chapter
1: Overview
This genealogy outlines
the research done between 1996 and 2000 on the
Sanftleben family of Alt-Gaarz, Mecklenburg. This
family immigrated to the USA in 1881 and settled
in Oak Park Illinois near Chicago. It provides
historical and background data that will be
valuable to researchers seeking to expand on, and
correct this work.
The earliest Sanftleben
document we’ve reviewed is the 1835 birth Of [Friederich]
Johann Vollrath Sanftleben in Peenhauser, Kirch
Grubenhagen Parish, Mecklenburg. We have not gone looking
for Sanftleben family in German records, but when
we encounter the name in other villages we make a
note of it. These notes may provide a clue as to
where other members of Friederich’s family
lived. For example, people with the Sanftleben
family name have been noted in Teterow and
Thuerkow. These towns are about 15 Kilometers
north of Peeheauser. One entry is especially
interesting. Levin Joachim Heinrich Sanftleben
married Eva Catharina Friederike Genz on 04 Aug
1838 in Teterow and had two children there born in
1839 and 1842. This Levin Sanftleben is the right
age to be an Uncle to Friederich.
Our research disclosed
that the Sanftleben family lived in two villages
close to each other, Kirch Grubenhagen Parish and
Kirch Luetgendorf. Friederich married Carolina
Dorothea Friederike Elizabeth Kobernuss in
the adjacent Parish of Kirch Luetgendorf on 24
November 1865. Friederich and Friederike
lived in Alt-Gaarz, Luetgendorf, where they had
six children between 1876 and 1876. A little
background on this area might be useful.
Mecklenburg: Located between
Schleswig-Holstein and Pomerania, the Mecklenburg
region was
conquered by Henry the Lion in the latter half of
the 12th century. In 1348 it was
elevated to a duchy. The duchy was
subdivided in 1621 into the duchies of
Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz,
both of which were elevated to grand duchies in
1815 and governed with identical flags. They
joined the German Empire in 1871 and, after World
War I, were made states of the new German
Republic. In 1934 the two Duchies were
united into the State of Mecklenburg. After World
War II, Mecklenburg became part of the Soviet Zone
known as East Germany or the German Democratic
Republic (GDR). The state of Mecklenburg was
dissolved in 1952, when East Germany was
reorganized into districts. In 1990, with Germany’s
unification, the State of Mecklenburg-West
Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) was
created.
Peenhauser, Kirch Grubenhagen Parish:
Birthplace of
[Friederich] Johann Vollrath Sanftleben in 1835. Three of Friederich’s
siblings were born here but we believe a close
look at the Kirch Grubenhagen parish will probably reveal more
members of his family. This is a small village of
less than 100 people about 11 Kilometers south of
Teterow on what is now highway 108 in Mecklenburg.
Peenhauser was one of several villages that were
part of Kirch Grubenhagen Parish. Other villages in this parish were:
Barz, Beek , Bockholt, Botterberg, Buchenberg ,
Schloss Grubenhagen, Hallalit, Heller Muehle,
Kirch Grubenhagen, Klien Luckow, Klien Rehberg,
Klocksin, Klocksin Neu, Krevtsee, Lallingshof,
Luckow, Gross Luckow Gross Neuhof, Gross Rehberg,
Klein Rehberg, Steinhagen and Vollratsruhe.
Alt-Gaarz, Kirch
Luetgendorf Parish; Members of the
Sanftleben and Kobernuss clan are documented as
having been born, married, and died in and around
this village. Alt-Gaarz village is about 6
Kilometers from Peenhauser. The Hamburg port
records list Alt-Gaarz as the point of departure
for the Sanftleben family in 1881. The 1819
Mecklenburg census lists 167 people living in this
village. The villages in Kirch Luetgendorf Parish
were: Alt-Gaarz, Bluecherhof, Gaarz Krug, Neu
Gaarz Krug, Hof Luetgendorf, Kirch Luetgendorf,
Sapshagen, Alt-Sapshagen, Neu Sapshagen and Sophienhof. Click on
the images to see them full size.
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Mecklenburg: Located between
Schleswig-Holstein and Pomerania, the Mecklenburg
region was
conquered by Henry the Lion in the latter half of
the 12th century. In 1348 it was
elevated to a duchy. The duchy was
subdivided in 1621 into the duchies of
Mecklenburg-Schwerin and Mecklenburg-Strelitz,
both of which were elevated to grand duchies in
1815 and governed with identical flags. They
joined the German Empire in 1871 and, after World
War I, were made states of the new German
Republic. In 1934 the two Duchies were
united into the State of Mecklenburg. After World
War II, Mecklenburg became part of the Soviet Zone
known as East Germany or the German Democratic
Republic (GDR). The state of Mecklenburg was
dissolved in 1952, when East Germany was
reorganized into districts. In 1990, with Germany’s
unification, the State of Mecklenburg-West
Pomerania (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) was
created. 