Although his descendents know him as J. Heinrich Klusman, his name is listed in the church record books in Buer as Caspar Heinrich Klussmann. Elsewhere in those books his name is listed as Johann Heinrich, his last name is spelled Klusman, and his birth date is 1810. So I have called him Johann Casper HEINRICH Klussmann. Roger Klusman refers to him as J. Heinrich and believes he died in 1873 or 1875.

J. Heinrick was married twice, first to Clara Elisabeth Depner. They had three childern. Shortly after Clara's death, he married Maria Elsabein Brandhorst and they had seven children. After his death, Maria may have come to the USA and passed away on Sept. 29 1905, possibly in Illinois.

In 1976, Elsa and John Windh, with Rolf and Maria, visited Buer where Elsa’s great grandfather, J. Heinrich Klussmann, and her grandfather, Charles Friedrich Klusman, were born.

A Visit to Buer - August 11, 1976

Buer is a quiet farming village of about 2000 people located 5-6 miles northeast of the larger town of Melle, related to Buer somewhat like an American county seat. These are decidedly not tourist towns. Little English is spoken here. Both towns are 50-60 miles west of the modern metropolis of Hanover, a city of a half-million in Lower Saxony in north Germany. Elsa’s mother vaguely said her father was from Hannover but had documents showing his birthplace as “Buer Amt Melle Stadt Hannover” which really meant he was born in the village of Buer in the township/county of Melle in the German state of Hannover, not in the city of Hanover.

The church in Buer is a lovely, large, typically Lutheran-looking building and fairly new, built around 1852. It sits on a shady square surrounded by old buildings and a hotel, some of which are half-timbered. Over time, many church cemeteries in Germay have been cleared periodically, in effect recycled, including the one in Buer, most recently about the time of WWI. In the older part which was not leveled then, we could find no Klusman grave markers.

The local pastor, who spoke a little English, was happy to look through church records with us to locate Elsa’s grandfather, Charles Klusman, who was born in Buer on August 11, 1863, exactly 113 years earlier to the day of our visit. We saw the page where the birth of Charles’ father, Elsa’s great grandfather, was recorded in 1810 as Caspar Heinrich Klussmann (known as Heinrich). Here’s what we learned:

Caspar Heinrich Klussmann
born July 20, 1810 (here in Buer) and died (here) Dec. 8, 1873.
his father was Johann Friedrich Klussmann, a “heuerling” or landless farm laborer, born in Buer in 1779.
his mother was Maria Elisabeth Knepper or Knäpper, also born 1779

Caspar Heinrich married twice
(1) married first to Clara Elisabeth Depner on Oct. 21, 1836, in Buer.
She was born August 23, 1810, in Düingdorf, 1-2 miles from Buer.
Her parents were Johann Heinrich Depner and Catharina Elisabeth Steffes.
The records did not mention any children or the date of her death, though we’ve seen elsewhere she had three children and died February 1, 1849.
(2) then quickly married to Maria Elsabein Brandhorst on May 5, 1849, in Buer.
She was born Jan. 23, 1821, also in Düingdorf.
Her parents were Heinrich Wilhelm Brandhorst and Clara Maria Hambürger.
Elsewhere in these records, Maria Elsabein is named Maria Elisabeth and born January 3, 1824.
Elsewhere Caspar Heinrich is named Johann Heiinrich.
Other sources suggest Maria Brandhorst died Sept 29, 1905 in Illinois.
Caspar Heinrich and Maria Brandhorst had three sons, William, b. 1850, Fredrick, b. 1861, amd Charles, b. 1863, and two daughters, Karloline, b. 1857, and Margaret, b. 1859.
We saw and documented only Charles’ birth.
Freise family records show another son, Johann, b. 1852, and another daughter, Catharina, b. 1854, who assumedly lived and died in Germany.

Others
We spent four hours in Buer, two of them with the pastor, who found the names and addresses of these three possible Klusman relatives. He drew a simple map to help us find the first one, Heinrich, but we were unsuccessful.

Heinrich Klussmann
Buer #342
born 1911
wife Ida, born 1913
children Helmut (b. 1940) and Ingrid (b. 1951)

Karl Klussmann
Wetter $69
born 1914
wife Joanne, born 1916
son Erich, born 1943

Karl Stratemeyet (of the Brandhorst family)
Düingdorf #31

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A History of Buer - click the icon by the marriage date above to see four photos of Buer

Buer is a rural, hilly countryside in northern Germany (near Melle and Osnabrueck). The first settlements date back to the bronze and iron age (700 - 500 BC). The Romans tried to expand their empire to the north in 9 AD and were defeated by German warriors. About 500 - 700 AD the Saxons (farmers) spread around northwest Germany. The Saxons lived with their cattle in rectangular wooden houses. With their families they cleared the woods and settled in tiny hamlets.

From 772 until after 800 the Christian Franks fought the heathen Saxon tribes. The Franks established churches in Osnabrueck and Melle and converted the Saxons to Christianity. And later more woods were cleared to enlarge the farming communities.

The first church of Buer may have been a wooden one, perhaps built about 1000 AD. A fortified stone church was said to be built in 1111.

In earlier times there were numerous boundary disputes. There were also times when Buer farmers suffered from the feuds of the local landlords and knights. The farmers were dependent on their landlords and only 10% of Buer peasants remained free farmers.

A 1593 tax register shows a total of 298 farmsteads in Buer and vicinity and were categorized according to their status.

About 1550 the parish of Buer completely converted to the Lutheran faith.

In the 1600’s the population grew rapidly and many of them were from the new class of Huerlinge (farm laborers). They had no land but rented a cottage from the owning farmers.

Since 1671 a church book was kept in Buer. Complete marriage and death records were preserved, birth records only since 1711.

In 1831, the Kingdom of Hanover enacted a redemption law. Now the farmer of Buer were able to buy their farms from the landowners.

In 1852 the old place of worship in Buer was pulled down. The present St. Martini Church was completed in 1855. Its 220 foot tower called “Sharp Pencil” became the symbol of Buer. (Recently, an addition was built a block or two from the old church. It became too expensive to heat the old church and there was a need for a fellowship hall and Sunday School rooms).

The 19° century saw a large population growth. In 1842 the parish had 5800 inhabitants. About two-thirds of these inhabitants were Heuerlinge and day laborers with little income. From the 1840s to 1900 immigration became very popular in Northern Germany. Approximately 3000 people from the parish of Buer moved to America.

Buer is still rural today. It has no big industries and no major tourist attractions. It has stayed somewhat isolated and quiet. In the words of Buer residents, “Perhaps it's better that way.”