DISCOVERING OUR GERMAN ANCESTRY & American Immigration Story
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 มิ.ย. 2024
- Like 7 million other immigrants, our families left Germany in search of a new life in America. But what happened before they boarded the boat? Who were they? And how do our families connect together in Ostfriesland? Come along with us as we rediscover our German #ancestry.
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Episode 63 | #genealogy #germany and #dna in Ostfriesland, Germany | Filmed June 4-7th, 2022
👉Quick Jump to Your Favorite Topic:
00:00 Intro
02:19 Our Family Tree & German Ancestry
07:02 They left from... Bremen?!
09:11 Departure to Bremerhaven, Germany
10:44 An Important Tool for Ancestry Research
13:02 The German Emigration Center (Deutsches Auswandererhaus)
16:48 Family Research Center in Bremerhaven
17:48 What do we do now?
19:52 Breakthrough!!
22:21 We never do this....
24:19 On the Next Episode
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Originally from the Midwest of the USA, we moved to the #blackforest in 2013 and quickly embraced #expatlife. As American expats living in #Germany, things weren't always easy, but we've grown to love our life in Germany. We started this #travelvlog to share our experiences with friends and family, and to help those who are interested in moving overseas! Whether you are interested in moving abroad, working abroad, studying abroad, raising a family abroad, or just want to #traveleurope, we're here to give you a first person look at what lies ahead. 😊🎥🌎
Hi Everyone! We are BLOWN AWAY at all of the kind comments and heartfelt stories you have shared with us because of this video. Although we normally make a big push to comment back to everyone, we are in the midst of moving to our new home in the Black Forest (yay!) and life is a bit chaotic at the moment. Please know that we are reading 100% of your comments are so appreciative of you watching the video and then sharing your thoughts and stories with us in return. ❤
Habt Ihr Euch verdient! ;-)
I keep my fingers crossed that everything goes well with your move. madness besides all the stress and a doctoral thesis and a constantly growing little miracle to knock out a video like this. Crazy! Question: Do you sometimes sleep in between? Michael/Hanover
We are “pressing the thumbs” for your your move. That’s always a big change in one’s life. Much success! ❤️ Cheers, Doc.
On a side node:
Da es im Englisch kein ö, ä oder ü gibt sollte man vorsichtshalber auch immer nach oe, ae oder ue suchen (falls man partout nichts findet). Die Schreibweise stammt aus der Blockschrift/ Versalschrift und meint generell das Selbe. Könnte bei der Ahnenforschung manchmal den entscheidenden Hinweis bringen.
Unfortunately Haferkamp ( Oatfield ) is quite a common name .
Same goes with names like Claasen which means Claas son or son of Claas ( Klaus).
Im sobbing! This series of videos you've made recently couldn't have come at a better time. I'm traveling to Germany in Aug '22 for the first time to visit my ancestral homeland. My last name is extremely rare and has always been a huge mystery to me. My grandfather was always very nonchalant and never shared much about our family history. I've always felt like a piece of me was missing. I got annoyed with the lack of help from my close family and last year i started researching on my own. I found out my 4th ggf immigrated to southern Michigan from Bavaria in the early 1850's with his 8 children. I found the small town where my last name originated and traced the line back to the 1500's in that area of Bavaria. There are a handful of people still living there with my last name and seeing this video has made me so hopeful that i too will be able to meet some of my distant relatives. I've done both lines of my family tree and every single connection on the ancestry map in europe is within Germany. The more i reseached the more my heart yearned to JUST GO FOR IT! I cant express how much joy this brings me and how fulfilling my ancestry journey has been so far.
I think you should try to talk to them. Maybe the family history is lost (bummer that happens often...), but maybe, just maybe, someone is, as for Jonathan's family, "keeping the fort", keeping the family home and photos and family trees ! Imagine the journey, very emotionnal, to go this path having no end, but favoring encounters like no other ! Just in case something good come out of your attempt ?
Live long and prosper ❤👍🖖
Have you found same roots...?
This is riveting stuff! Hope it gets renewed for a 2nd season! LOL No kidding, the production value here is off the charts for a little personal TH-cam channel. Your filming, editing and moderating skills have reached a professional level. I work in media and it's exciting to see how content can look like this, if done by ordinary people who love what they are doing and are putting in the work to improve every day. Congrats, Jonathan & Ashton for reaching a new milestone in video production!
Yep, this could air on TV.
Hahah ah wow, thank you SO much. This channel really has become Ashton's passion project and as her partner, I have really enjoyed seeing her take this one and learn. We are just thrilled that others enjoy the content we create.
@flomoe Hab da mal 'nen Kommentar hinterlassen. Mal gucken, was passiert.
"done by ordinary people" I liked that joke. Dr. Ashton is by no means 'ordinary' I'd say. To be good (or excellent) at something you do not have to study it (as in 'Eine Ausbildung machen'), you just have to set your mind to it and do a deep dive. It is not that common that people are good at the facts and proficient at explaining them. In school and at the university I was lucky to have teachers like that, but generally it is very hard to find this people. And most of them do not (want to) realize how exceptional they are. They consider themselves just 'ordinary'. But the older ones know better ...
@@TypeAshton I'm from England and I discovered that I have German ancestry through a DNA test) 17th or 18th century time) I am Also Irish aswell as English
Was für eine faszinierende Reise und Geschichte. Sehr gut präsentiert. Gänsehaut pur. Sehr emotional und berührend. Geradezu schicksalhaft. Ich bin sehr gespannt auf den zweiten Teil.
Stimme 100% zu!
Oh wow, ich freue mich sehr, dass dir das Video gefallen hat! Wir freuen uns darauf, am Sonntag das nächste Kapitel zu teilen!
Es gibt nur eine kleine Anmerkung: Die Stadt, über die ihr sprecht, heißt bestimmt: Bremen, with a long e und nicht Bremmen. Und es heißt Bremerhafen, with long e and long, open a and with f and not v. ☀️
@@dankarubarth7678 Nein. Die Stadt heist Bremerhaven. Es wird mit einem v gescrieben.
@@Mildemike Genau, es heißt Bremen und Bremerhafen, wird aber im Video falsch ausgesprochen.
My close relatives live in Belgium for the last 200 years, but we are also from the Bremen area around 17th century. In that time, we started moving to build churches all around Europe. Verbeemen stands for “Von Bremen”, and you can find our last name in several different versions in The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France… my uncles traced back my family to the 14th century (1456). It took them the better part of 40 years in non digital time. Respect for your journey and the patience for taking the time to do so.
That's amazing! I love learning about family trades and professions. For example, Jonathan's family used to make wagons (more on that in the next episode) but now makes cabinetry today.
I am not really a genealogist, but almost 35 years ago or so, I tried to find out the origin of my mothers Dutch Frisian maiden name and asked "Ostfreisische Landschaft" in Aurich. They gave me loads of information, ... at least almost all persons with my mother`s maiden name are Dutch and related. ;-)
Thats impressive, little note:1456 is the 15th century.
Great Video, I've enjoyed every minute . Thank you for sharing your family story with us.
My family has almost similar story. They immigrated from south of Germany Pfalz and Kurpfalz to Russian Empire in the 18th century. They settled first in Crimea und went later to the Charkiw Area, it is Ukraine today. During WW2 they were abandoned to Kasachstan, where I was born.
My family moved back to Germany in the 90s, so I live now 30 year in the Pfalz again, where my relatives came from.
Looking forward to see part 2.
My parents met at university in Berlin (both also born in Berlin). When they married, they placed their grandmothers next to each other, because the old ladies were from the same region, Posnan, which is now in Poland. It turns out, they lived in neighbouring villages and knew each other when they were teenagers and young adults.
Waren das Polen oder Deutsche?
@@BaluDerBaer933 offiziell Deutsche, aber mich würde es wundern, wenn da nicht eine gute Portion Polen dabei wäre
@@kilsestoffel3690 Von wegen gut! ;-)
@@BaluDerBaer933 Das war bei vielen Leuten damals tagesformabhängig.
@@kilsestoffel3690 Sie waren Deutsche und deswegen mussten sie die Region Posen wohl verlassen.
Und natürlich hatten viele Deutsche im Osten auch slawische Vorfahren ...
I am first generation American with a German Immigrant mother from Niedersachsen. My husband is from Niedersachsen also. We now have a house in North Germany too. Our daughter is planning on going to University in Germany. We have my mother's family tree on her father's side back to 1642. We also have 2 sides of her fathers family tree back even farther. I loved the way that Jonathan's family tree was in a painting on the wall. I would love to have someone do that for us. I love the history segments, although all of your segments are good.
I'm Dutch but my mom found out, many years ago, that my ancestors came from Köln. Back in the1600's, they sailed the Rhein between Germany and the sea ports in the Netherlands.
In the Lower Saxon or Low German dialect, in the north east of the Netherlands, where my family is from, my last name has a German pronunciation.
It's a small world. Very interesting video. Thanks a lot.
Brought me to tears from the very first minute…My father's hobby since his retirement was genealogy. He found out so much, we lived in Bavaria and our ancestors were from Baden-Württemberg. He also organized a meeting of all the family members who were still alive, there were dozens. Now he has been dead for six years, and I miss him. But through his granddaughter he lives on.
Ah wonderful. I am so happy that this video could bring back such heartfelt and happy memories for you.
Baden or Württemberg? I suspect the modern Baden-Württemberg didn't exist in the times of the mentioned ancestory is why I'm asking (and these parts are rather different, even in their culture).
(Oh, and Bavaria is of course not as homogeneous as many "non-Southerners" think either… so, Bavaria, or Franconia, or maybe even Swabia?)
(Yes, I'm a very curious person ;D)
My father's family came from what today is the Czech Republic. They also departed from Bremen. They homesteaded in North Dakota. If you look at a map of North Dakota, in the north central part of the state you will find a small village named Bremen. My great grandfather name it after the last place he saw in Europe.
@Albert Hartl your family might have been in Czech Republic, but your last name is being found in southern Bavaria and Austria. Before WW 2, there were a lot of Germans living in Czechia.
Jonathan: "Jack is okay!" 😂 So funny...
Wow. As a German I love the passion and the interest in your German roots and ancestors. I think many Germans also had a tough time in the US while the two world wars being a German or an American with german roots and many documents get lost. Keep up the good work and I would love to see more.
Pro-tip: Always search for all possible spelling variations of your ancestors' names - Oltmanns, Oltmans, Oltmann, Oltman, etc. Old records are chock full of spelling errors!
there was no Rechtschreibung in those days.
Loved every second of it and can't wait for part 2. As a genealogist and archivist living and working in Northern Germany (hundreds of my ancestors also migrated to the USA, Canada and Brazil)I hope that your passion for genealogy stays with you. For me it's a life time obsession and also my job.
Totale Spannung❗️
Dramaturgisch sehr kunstvoll präsentiert. Ich bin begeistert 👍
I am from Aurich, living now in Portugal. Very nice to see all this stuff from home. Part of my family also migrated to America in the same years as yours, but after their landing in New York there is until now no real link about what happened to them.
With frisian ancestors you chose the more complicated way of genealogy, due to their special way of building the last name. This is quite challenging to start with.
With quite a bit of ancestors, that are coming from Strackholt and the villages around, Jonathan a I might be related in some way. Which is exiting for me, because when I read about brothers and sisters of my ancesters leaving their homeland, I always was courious, if they made it, if eyerything turned well for them and if their descendants, my distance cousins, are doing fine. Perhaps one of them showed up by chance🙂
Can't wait for part two.
I was born, raised and lived in Terheide for 18 years just 7 km from Bloomberg, where your great, great Grandfather used to live. and the last names Oltmanns and Janssen are so familiar there in "deep" Ostfriesland. So this episode of your channel is so interesting to me.
Thank you for sharing. 😀
As always, you dive very deep into the subject. Genealogy is a very interesting thing. I use the opensource software Gramps to manage the data. In Germany it is possible in most cases to go back to the time of the 30 years war (1618-1648). In that terrible war many church records with the baptismal registers were destroyed. If someone has 0.1% noble ancestors, which is more or less normal in Germany, you can go back much further. You might find Harald Bluetooth as an ancestor, because the distance from East Frisia to Denmark is not long. The Danes often came to East Frisia to rob and plunder. This ended with Harald Bluetooth. With 0.1% of nobility, theoretically you have to go back about 10 generations to find one. But because of the frequent inbreeding in the villages, the ancestors do not double with every generation you go back. In the end, when you do your genealogy, you discover that you are a unique and irreplaceable individual. Along the way, you learn a lot about history. It was a divine punishment if you had the misfortune to become king.
In Germany there's the adage: "Die Welt ist ein Dorf" (= "the world is a village").
And that's true. In the end we are all related to each other over so many corners.
Keep in mind: For 100+ year old documents in Germany (and much of Europe really), they had to survive 2 World Wars including bombing campains that erased entire Cities including their churches and archives, had to survive times were people tried to forget the past or the new political order tried to forget the past and times when it was just more important to get something to eat for your children (not neccessarily yourself) instead of caring for old papers in old buildings.
I wonder what generations past us, will think about us digitizing a lot of documents and not having or throwing away paper copies. Will they be able to open these file formats in 100 years? Do these hard drives even still exist?
And a BIG Thanks for sharing your experiences and stories not only tracing back your familiy roots but also your experiences relocating to Germany and pointing out all these things, that we as Germans so often take for granted.
Honestly, your filming and editing skills increased to a high level, first of all you found the right balance in presenting a fascinating but on the other side very personal and emotional topic. This video can easily keep up to most of the TV documentary films, and I can't wait to watch the next one.
(Ashton, are you sure you chose the right profession ?😉 )
Ah wow thank you so, so much. That is such a nice compliment!
I love how full circle this story is.
In a way the homeland of your ancestors failed to provide for them. To provide enough reasons to want to stay, in their home, with their people and enough perspective to thrive or eventually come back.
So how poetic is it that the subjectively bleak environment of your great-grandparents revitalized to a point that 3 generations later their great-grandchildren could be inspired to come (back), build a life and even that a member of the 4th generation was born on German soil once more and ~150 years after they left? That's so cool. Such stories inspire optimism in the bigger picture.
As farmer's sons, their ancestors were probably fairly well off. At 17/18 years old, they likely have had a journeyman ticket of some kind and the travel fare was paid for by their families (they may have lied to the immigration official about having no money - tiefstapeln is a German trait). In Northern Germany, primogeniture was the standard for farming families, and younger sons would learn a trade to support themselves (opposed to the Swabians the video family lives amongst, where the older way of chopping up the farms more or less equally between the sons was common for much longer).
"Der Kreis schließt sich" and "Der verlorene Sohn kehrt zurück." we say in Germany. It's funny that you both are so much "related" to eachother and that Germany is one big part of your family history and your own future! I have a lot family parts in the US I don't even know, also in Argentina, according to my mom and grandmom (fathers side). Would be funny for me to find out where they live and who they are.
And thumbs up for this great video! I know that was a lot of work for you. Much appreciated!
I can't imagine what kind of adventure this must be. My uncle made a family tree once and my whole family has lived in the same province in the Netherlands. The most interesting story is that one of my ancestors was forced to fight in Napoleons army with which he went to Moscow and was one of the few that returned.
Because there were so many deserters and so many people who died in the retreat and the only documents we have is from when he came back we are not 100% sure he has actually been there or if those were just stories he told.
We have often said that we wished we could sit down at the dinner table with our ancestors. We would have SO many questions and would have loved to hear their stores.
Because of the French, Frisians got a permanently family names. Previous to the French occupation, family names were created by a combination of ancestors names, Frisian style. Complicated stuff, the French civil servants did not accept!
Even today, the cities of Bremen and Bremerhaven are part of the german federal state called Bremen. So calling the ship documents "doctored" seems a bit strong ;)
This is a very interesting story! My mom was German, and I grew up billingual (technically my mother tongue is German), and I was very close to my grandparents, etc... I am American, by the way.
Just a note of caution: if you use genetics/ethnicity tests to find relatives and figure out your ethnicity, you can have problems--since companies like 23andme or MyHeritage interpret the data according to their own algorithms. German descent is particularly tricky, apparently, because it is in the middle of Europe so it can seem to be like the genetic profile of neighboring countries--in other words, it tends to be very difuse and undefined. In my case, I come up as having no German ancestry (despite my mom being from there). Since my German ancestry is from Northern and Eastern (now in Poland) areas, it is all classified as Scandinavian and/or Eastern European/Slavic. I guess, to a great degree, being German is more of a cultural identity than anything else.
There was a lot of migration and changing borders in central Europe for thousands of years. For example France and the western part of Germany have a similar genetic makeup, because both are basically a mix of Celtic, German and Roman ancestors with varying degrees depending on the region. Meanwhile the more to the east you went the higher the percentage of Slavic ancestry went. Especially in these provinces that were annexed by Poland and the USSR after WW2 a huge percentage of the people had Slavic ancestors that were often culturally assimilated centuries ago and therefore identified themselves as German.
That moment at family research in Bremerhaven when there was no data... I was just "Oh Noooo! Why is that old data not there? This can't be the end!". So happy to see you found them!
The main reason why your ancestrors (and many other) emigrated is usually the following. They have not been the 1st born son. Only the 1st born son inherited the family business or farm. The younger sons got some cash as legacy. With that cash they had to decicede were to start a life. They could invest it into a local future or they heard that they coud get a lot of cheap land for it in the USA and start there a own farm or business. In the South of Germany the farm was often split among the sons, this caused very small farms and poor farmer, as they could not realy live from that little farm.
This is one of the most beautiful stories I’ve heard lately. Thank you for sharing it with us. It always made me sad to know that a lot European-Americans cannot trace their story l before their arrival. Also the disconnect with their cultural roots.
I know many Americans are now mixed but there are some like you and Scandinavians in Minnesota that still have a lot of the genetic makeup. It’s important for groups of Americans that are like you guys to learn their ancestor’s language and keep traditions alive in America ❤️ Congratulations with reconnecting.
Thank you so much, this was such a wonderful experience for us. ❤️
For a while I was really watching a lot of foreign TH-camrs with topics of Germany, including some of your videos. I'm living in the South, not as southern as you guys, but relatable, landscape wise. But now discovering your ancestors are from the region I come from for some reason gave me chills and tears. Edit: Wow! I knew some Schöttlers and was once thinking about an apprenteceship there!
So glad you enjoyed this video. For us, this was a really special one. ❤️
What a beautiful and emotional video about the history of your ancestors. One can really feel your involvement. For your American viewers, this is certainly even more interesting than for the German viewers. As an East Frisian, I can confirm that the surnames of your ancestors are absolutely typical East Frisian surnames, especially Bruns, Behrends, Janssen and Oltmanns :-). Lübben and Janssen also occur on my home island. And yes, they are all related somehow...haha. East Frisia was geographically somewhat "isolated" for a long time (due to moors and remoteness). But you don't have to separate yourself from Jonathan now (that was a long time ago)...haha. That was exciting again and I'm looking forward to the next episode. Greetings from Oldenburg (you must have passed through this city by train, right?). Oldenburg is the Freiburg of the North.
What a crazy, beautiful, and exciting story.I'm sitting here in Iceland in my camper, watch this video and have tears in my eyes.I already know that this story won't go out of my head all week long. I hope from the bottom of my heart that you will succeed and that this adventurous journey will be a dreamlike experience for you. With best regards and crossed fingers,Kelsea
What a fascinating subject, and to you, your very own family history research. This made me emotional, since it must have been a difficult decision for millions of Germans to leave everything they ever knew and loved, to start a new life so far away, in a foreign land. My husband's family is from Ohio, and when I came over here from Germany to marry him, one of the first things I noticed, was every other mailbox we drove past in the countryside had a German name on it. I pointed it out to him, and he said he never really noticed it, since that seemed to be normal to him, while growing up there. Some church services were held in German, all the way up to the early 1970ies. My extended American family here, also has German roots and I was recently asked to translate an old German newspaper article written in Frakturschrift (German newspapers were pretty wide spread in those days, in the U.S.) and it turned out to be an entirely new element to their family tree, that had been unknown to them until now. They were thrilled to find this out. Another stranger than fiction true story from friends of my sister-in-law, have German ancestry also and the husband was diagnosed with lymphoma. His first round of treatment didn't take, so they started looking into stem cell treatments. His sister wasn't a good match and others neither, so the doctors told him, if they would find a matching stem cell donor, it most likely would come from someone in Germany, just based on their last name and ancestry. Astonishingly, the doctors were right, and he now will receive stem cells from a 29 year old in Germany. Hope, that his stem cells are from strong German stock, and will help heal him. Can't wait to see part two of your search. Good luck!
My maternal grandmother loved to tell an enthralling story of her father stowing away on a ship to go to America from Germany. Unfortunately, she had no idea where he had left from or where he had landed. When her sister (i.e., my great-aunt) died and my parents were closing the house, they found my great-aunt’s birth certificate and discovered that her father was born in - wait for it! - Hamburg! This was years after I had come here, and I never saw the birth certificate.
Unfortunately, my grandmother did not know what her father’s name had been. By the time she was growing up, the family was called “King”, but that is certainly not the original German name. Possibly a translation of the German “König”, but also possibly a mishearing by an immigration official or simply a simplification by the family. My great-grandfather would not be on any manifest, of course, as he was a stowaway, but his mother and siblings, who were traveling legitimately, would be. To make tracing the family even more difficult, the courthouse of the town where my grandmother was born burned down many years ago. She had a difficult time getting a driver’s license because she couldn’t produce a birth certificate.
In other words - doing research on this side of the family is a hopeless undertaking. But at least I know that I have come back to live where my great-grandfather was born. Full circle.
Me and my wife have actually been visited by my American family in law (her family) in Germany for the first time last week. Being from Bremen we also went to the Auswandererhaus. I've never been there before and was pleasantly surprised by the immersion factor. They also enjoyed it a lot. Despite their ancestors being from Emden, we couldn't find them in the database though.
Glad you enjoyed your stay. Bremen has always been my favorite city in Germany. It's not the most eventful one but definitely the bicycle capital of Germany and small enough to still have village vibes while remaining large enough to have everything you need. Bremen and Bremerhaven are btw. the only Bundesland with exactly two cities.
It was SUCH a nice museum. Jonathan and I also have some family from Emden... But it was 200+ years ago.
Thank you for your emotional and interesting scavenger hunt! We learned about immigrants to Alberta Canada that after an at least 3 week ocean crossing they boarded the train for another 3 weeks. There were two stoves in each wagon where the passengers cooked. The stoves were running 24 hours for all to be able to cook. They stopped to feed the Love stock but the kids weren’t allowed to leave the train as they were concerned they might loose a kid. And after that journey they still had to find the place where they homesteader and had to build their cabin etc. I can’t even imagine what that experience was.
I am so happy for both of you. This stuff makes life worth living. Keep searching and stay happy! Hello from the Ex-Black Forest guy in Canada.
Are you sure Jonathan's grandfather was called Brune Schöttler? Unless that's a Northern German variation of the first name Bruno I'd recommend to search again with both Bruno Schöttler, Bruno Schottler and variations thereof (lost in translation, mishearing, forced or voluntary americanization, illiteracy - sometimes undersigning with three crosses or a thumbprint with ink, the immigration officer taking the name down as he heard it), were not uncommon at that time.
So the first name could be:
Brune
Bruno
The family name could be:
Schöttler
Schötler
Schottler
Schotler
Shottler
Shotler
You see the tiny differences? You will have to take these into account to have success.
Umlauts could be a problem as well as double letters. A T might have been written down as a D or a P as a B. I think the name Rika beneath the photo could be an abbreviation of either Erika or Marika. (I had a grandmother who most people called "Oma Rickele" - her real first name was Frederike).
If you can trace your families further back you may find a huge obstacle with very few records still available due to the 30-Year-War (Dreißigjähriger Krieg; 1618-1648) which raged all over what is now Germany. There were lots of territories like fiefdoms, kingdoms, duchies/dukedoms, archbishopries, bishopries Free Cities Hanse Cities and what not. All those territories were pretty much independent and alliances changed. There were no standing armies yet but mercenaries were hired instead. You could even hire them if you had no money: if they conquered a enemy city they were given free reign for three days. They were free to loot the city, rape the women, kill the citizens and set houses, churches and monasteries in flames (hence the term "setz auf's Dach den roten Hahn"/put the red cock on the roof). These three days were their "pay". During that time of turmoil many churches were plundered or set aflame so many records were lost. Births, baptisms, marriages and deaths were recorded in church's archives which fell victim to the flames or vandalism.
There are two novels relating to that time which can give you a very good insight into that period of history:
Jacob Christoph von Grimmelshausen: Simplicissimus
Bertolt Brecht: Mutter Courage und ihre Kinder
As Bremerhaven was a colony of Bremen shipping lines were required by law to have their company registered in the mother town of Bremen. Their main office had to be there as well. Even today both cities act as one entity: the Bundesland (state) of Bremen. Emigrants were first processed in Bremen and then transferred to Bremerhaven where they stayed until they could board ship.
Back in the days you had to have a clean criminal record, a ticket for the journey, finished your military service, paid all your debts and publish an announcement in the local newspaper 30 days prior to your departure from the village or town you were living in. Without your military service done you wouldn't obtain permission. The public announcement was meant to alert everyone of your creditors so they could collect their money in time. The only way to make it with debts or no military service done was to emigrate in secret, maybe under a fake name. Interesting fact is that some towns/villages paid for your ticket just to get rid of you, like if you were in jail, old, ill or unemployed. It was more cost-effective to pay for a no-return ticket than for food, housing or firewood all the time.
What a wonderful project! What amazing coincident that the two of you have ancestry from such close proximity in Ostfriesland! And what great storytelling!
I can relate to how emotional this must be for you! Every time in visit Ellis Island and see the movie about ships leaving from Hamburg (my hometown) I get choked up.
Hi guys, nice to see your amazement exploring your German roots and ancestry :) Regarding finding common names while doing so: Germany always was a (rather) small and (in most parts) densely populated country, so it's not uncommon to find the same names in the ancestry of two randomly picked people, provided they have a sufficiently long German ancestry. Although most of the common names may be Müller, Schmi(d/t)t, and Meier (in all the possible spelling variants), many family names are derived from professions or regions, so there's a good chance to find similarities. And I guess one also has to consider that many people living in those times were not exactly highly educated, so there easily could have been misspellings even of names, which sometimes also lead to similar results.
One of my former girlfriends was also a bit into genealogy as a minor in her history studies, and she found out that we shared at least seven (I believe) common family names in our ancestry, some even from the same region in Germany, although she was born in a completely different part, several hundred kilometres away. However, relations were not close enough to make this an issue ;) And aren't we eventually all related, at least via Adam and Eve (that is, if you believe the myth). But there may actually be one single male in the history of all people. I read or saw something (can't remember, been a while) about the history of mankind where they had a (somewhat controversial) theory that in the far past, it may have come to a bottleneck where only a single human male survived. But I'm pretty sure his name was not Schöttler ;)
The fact that there are variations of a last name does not necessarily mean that people were uneducated. There simply wasn't a fixed spelling. Even for poets and chronists there was no right or wrong orthography, it was simply spelled as you heard it and considered it correct (the Brothers Grimm started the Deutsches Wörterbuch as late as 1838). In my genealogy research I have found many variations on last names, sometimes even within one church record. And the priests often had studied theology and Latin and could be considered "educated". And don't forget that there was no centralized authority that issued passports with a fixed name. You "knew" your name and how the priest wrote it down was up to him.
Agreed that many of us are related if you only go back long enough!
We are from the same area - that's so cool. I was born in Ostfriesland in 1982 and lived there until 2009.
Tolles Video, spannendes Thema, Emotionen und ein Cliff Hanger - 👍
Eure Geschichte ist echt wunderschön und interessant! Ich bin wirklich sehr dankbar das mich mein Schicksal auf eure Seite gebracht hat und das ihr eure Geschichte, die Familiengeschichte, mit uns allen teilt! DANKESCHÖN, ein ❤️liches Dankeschön! Hoffentlich geht die Zeit bis zum nächsten Video schnell rum!
Welcome to Bremerhaven 🤗 I hope enjoyed your stay and "Haus der Auswanderer" got all answers you were looking for
Großartig! Ich freue mich schon auf die Fortsetzung. Woher man kommt, wohin man geht. Es beschäftigt einen. Ihr seid klasse. Eure Beiträge haben Substanz, sind ganz und gar nicht oberflächlich und helfen auch, US Amerikaner besser zu verstehen. Ihr tragt so in gewisser Hinsicht zur Völkerverständigung bei! Hoffe auf viele weitere tolle Beiträge von euch.
Haferkamp or Haverkamp is a common surname in northern and western Germany. It also occurs in the Netherlands.
This brings back many memories. I immigrated from Bremerhaven in 1954 at the age of 13 on the MS Gripsholm, the ship built in 1924 had some historical importance as the first ship built for transatlantic express service as a diesel-powered motor vessel, rather than as a steamship. The ship was later renamed the 'Berlin'. My name in Germany was written Böß, and like you have been searching for my father's background with little success.
During a company outing we drew random people for hiking groups, so we met other people form the company.
During one of those I talked to a coworker and it turned out his grandmother lived in the same village in the country that is now Georgia as my grandfather.
After I got home I called my grandfather and asked him about it and he only went "Sackmann? Yes, they even lived in the same street as I did, though on the other end and I had not much contact to them."
And more than 75 years later my coworker and I started working in the same company in Germany.
You generally have interesting and well presented content on your channel but this video really is something else. Can't wait for part two.
There was not only a depression in Germany at this time then, but also political and religious reasons for people to leave Germany.
As a kid, I read "der lange Weg des Lukas B" by Willi Fährmann, a book on a coming of age story, but also a book on the history of people leaving Germany for going to America. Maybe you'll find this book somewhere, it is not only a children's book, but also a nice "Story for a rainy weekend".
Wow that was so exciting! Can't wait for part 2!
Ostfriesland my Home 😇
I Hope you both and Jack have a Great Time up here, stay healthy 🙂
We LOVED our time up north. Kind of wishing we were still up there enjoying the much cooler weather. We are baking in Freiburg today. 🥵
@@TypeAshton Proposal: Do it like migratory birds. During the hottest days in Germany (Hundstage) spend your holidays at the cooler Baltic Sea shores, or move up to mountain high located wellness- and family resorts. . . .😊😊
Immigrants in America were subjected to absolutely brutal pressure to assimilate to the dominant culture. This is why most American family histories basically start with their ancestors' arrival in the US. Little to nothing is known about their ancestors' lives back in their countries of origin because their ancestors were convinced that in order to assimilate properly, they had to abandon all vestiges of their home countries, cultures and languages, and one manifestation of this was the steadfast refusal to even speak of their pre-American lives. I had a great aunt who emigrated to the US in 1912, at age 15, and some 75 years later she still refused to say a single thing about her country of origin or her family or life there!
Love the video - thanks for sharing with us!
Hallo, viele Grüße aus Blomberg!
Wow wirklich?! Ich bin so froh, dass jemand in Blomberg dieses Video gesehen hat. In der nächsten Folge besuchen wir deine Stadt!
Great episode, thanks.
Can't wait so see the 2nd Part ...
Great video!
It'll be a long wait for the next episode to come out, it's so thrilling and exciting to find out! Thank you so much for taking us along on your journey!!!
Some of our family that came from German towns on the old German/Polish border are now in Poland. Schidermuhl, Germany 🇩🇪 is now called Polsen, Poland 🇵🇱. They originally moved to Canada 🇨🇦 then later some of the family members emigrated to the United States 🇺🇸. I took a break from family ancestry research. I plan on getting back into it now that I have grandchildren.
Much love to you guys ☺️
Awesome video ! Cant Wait for the second part 👌🏼☺️
This is soooo interesting. I always had interest in such things. This is the first time I see it in a video done in this way. Not just only paperwork and research but actually going to different places made this a so nice story.
I would love to see the reactions of booth your families on the outcome of this because I believe it was mind blowing for them as well.
Thank you btw. You two are so much different than other US/German YT channels so far with the content. It is really refreshing.
Our families are really excited for this video! They haven't been awake for very long yet to give it a watch- but we are eager to hear their thoughts too!
Amazing story! Can't wait for part2!
A fascinating journey to your roots. Welcome back home!
This is such an amazing video, one of your best ones ever! I can’t wait till next week!
Ein großartiger Vlog! 😍
I live close to your "home" towns in Germany. Wonderful to see you reconnect with us North Men 😁👋
One of my great-great-uncles joined the Ringling/Barnum Circus before 1900 in Munich. He could handle a giant bull/steer and i still have a photograph with him and his new workmates, including that giant animal. He is wearing Lederhosen and southern german Tracht. Last thing my family heard from him was boarding a ship to the US that sunk on its way and men and animals drowned. I tried to find more about this incident but could not find any. So the old photograph is the only remaining piece of his immigration. Have a nice sunday.
Great video! Can't wait to see the next!
Wow thy for this deep dive on your family history, such a pleasure to watch your journey. Cant wait till the next part. Great job on editing and story telling
When you said that there has been a depression causing the people to leave their farms and homes behind I had to think about the "Grapes of wrath". History actually repeats itself constantly
Yes that is a great comparison!
I live in Bremen....Bremerhaven belongs to Bremen, eventhough it is about 60 km away...As a child of the sixties one of my very distinct memories is that of waving Good- bye to a good friend of my parents who left Germany for good in order to immigrate to the US right there in Bremerhaven at that Port where you were standing.....It was a very emotional experience with lots of people waving and crying.....both on land and on the ship as well. Later on I learned that some of the siblings of my Greatgrandfather also left for America by ship in Bremerhaven....and I always found it fascinating that I would have some relatives overseas. As a youngster I spent my exchange-student year not far away from N.Y.city during the mid-seventies...Of course I went in a boats Trip around the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island with the view on Manhattan....how those passengers would have seen it...It got me emotional...As an adult I discovered the Museum in Bremerhaven ' das Auswandererhaus' where you went to, which is one of my favorite Museums here .. and ever since I went there already a couple times...every Single time there I get goosebumps walking through...Also registered on an ancestry site...I wanted to find relatives overseas....was not so successful yet....but maybe I should more effort to it like you did. You both did an amazing Job with this Video...Thank you!
This video is incredible. It really feels like a high quality TV :D I can't wait for part 2
This must have been so exiting to find out more about your ancestors and actually be at the very place they took off from. Can't wait for part 2.
Oh man, you've got me intrigued. Can't wait for the second part...
This was very interesting. Looking forward for the second part. Greetings from Bremen!
Aaaaah! The suspense!!
outstanding! Thank you!
Wooooow…. THAT was a really interesting content. Thank you so much for sharing this to all of us.
Gday BFF, pure and simple, this was a joy to watch. It has all the elements of a good novel. Can’t wait for your next chapter📖📚thank you for sharing your story 💕
I am so emotional right now! ♥! so happy for you two & little Jack!
lovely content
Danke, dass Ihr diese Geschichte mit uns teilt. Großartig ☺️
Absolutely fascinating!! can`t wait for part II Michael/Hannover
I'm officially watching this channel to learn more about my own country. Your videos are always so well researched!
what a cliffhanger ..... ^^. great vid again and i really wish you success in your journey.
greetings
Great job, guys! The Hartsburg, Illinois Centennial book has Jacob Oltmanns' hometown as Blumenberg, Germany, so thank you for verifying Blomberg as the correct place. Ashton's mom let me know this video was coming and had shared bits about it, and the video answered my questions on how you found a lot of the history. You obviously put a lot of effort and passion into this, and I'm grateful for that. As far as why folks were leaving for America (Land of Opportunity), you mentioned a recessionary time back then, but these families were also huge (10-12 kids each a lot of times) so they needed land to spread out and the fledging U.S. needed settlers - at least that's what sticks out to me. My mom (an Oltmanns/Haferkamp) said many times that Grandpa Haferkamp (Ashton's Great-Grandpa) had to sign away his land inheritance in Germany when he left for America. As far as finding a common lineage between you two (far back in the family tree as it would be), my dad would say the following to me when asked about family history... "don't dig too deep - you might not like what you find." Anyway your mention of that made me think of him saying that, which I like to share because it's funny, and they always say there's a little bit of truth is every good joke - LOL. Anyway - it's really impressive how you've immersed yourselves into the family history, learning the language, traveling, standing where our forebears stood, meeting with people there, and making the professional videos - really outstanding! Thank you so much! -Cousin Cliff
Hi Cliff! Yeah I think there is just a mis-translation happening there. 'Blumen' is german for "flower".. but 'Blomen' is the same word in Dutch. Given we are so close to the border with the Netherlands, it makes sense how Blumenberg and Blomberg kind of fluctuates as they both roughly mean Flower Town. Also, in the area of Ostfriesland they speak Plattdeutsch (rather than Hoch-Deutsch), so the word "flower" in platt deutsch is also "Blomen". We hope you enjoy tomorrow's video as well. I actually got to visit the "original" family farm!
Can't wait for part 2. Besides the video about Ashton's medical journey this was by far your most captivating video. I hope, you will find all the answers, you were looking for.
Klasse - das ist richtig spannend! :)
Thank you for sharing this video I can only imagine how much time and research has gone into this so can't wait to see part two..
Having knocked on a "strangers" door ourselves like during a holiday in Wales (it was the house my wife's grandmother grew up in) I can relate to some of the nerves doing it but (at least in our experience) we have always been met with kindness and found people really helpful..
Very touching!!! ♥️♥️♥️
Have you given Family Search a try as well?... They have a huge database.
Good luck! 🤗🍀
Wow, this story is very interesting and also exciting. It's a pleasure to follow you on your way. The 26 minutes were gone so quick. Your editing is so professional, you should do documentations for TV. Can't wait to see part 2.
I was born in German to a German mother and American father. However I would love to learn more about my mother's and father's family
I am from Bremen. Nice to see the "Teerhof" as one of the first pictures.
Well you know Ostfriesland is known for inbreed between the farmers in the old days
Bot no worries😃
Fascinating story. I've tried to imagine how it must feel to investigate on your family history, to find out their paths might have crossed.
Best wishes from Hamburg - the pearl. 😊
This was SUCH a fun journey for us. We are excited to see how our family members react to this video too.
How cool is that? what a great experience to discover your family history in your new home.
You can now rely on the fact that your videos always contain content with substance. Very exciting and I wish you the best of luck in further researching your family history 150 years ago in Germany.