Windh/Freise/Maurstad genealogy - Person Sheet
Windh/Freise/Maurstad genealogy - Person Sheet
NameDorothea Sophia DOEPKE
Birth25 Nov 1863, village of Wehe, township of Raten, 15 mi. n. of Buer, state of Hannover, Germany
Death24 Jun 1943, at home of her son William in Laura, Peoria County, Illinois
FatherCarl Friedrich DOEPKE (1830-1896)
MotherCarolina Louise (Caroline) KUHLMANN (1837-1881)
Misc. Notes
Dorothea came from Germany to America at age 19, first briefly to Cincinnati where a brother (unnamed) lived, and then to southern Illinois to her uncle (unnamed), working hard on a farm picking corn, etc. Then relatives in St. Louis found work for her in a private home there. Her cousin Fred Doepke, in Mexico, Missouri, invited her for a holiday visit, and Fred Klusman was there at the same time visiting his sister Margaret (Fred Doepke's wife). After he left, he courted Dorothea Doepke "by mail" and only met her twice before they were married. Her wedding dress was of black velvet, but later she had to make it over into a child’s coat.
Fred and Dorothea established a farm near Mexico, MO. It was a time of change .. their older children were confirmed in German but the three youngest ones in English. World War I brought cricitism of the German people and language and by WWII the language was heard no more.
The Doepkes brought other members of their family over from Germany, including, lastly, their father.
Dorothea died in 1943 at the home of her son in Laura, Illinois,
Fred and Dorothea established a farm near Mexico, MO. It was a time of change .. their older children were confirmed in German but the three youngest ones in English. World War I brought cricitism of the German people and language and by WWII the language was heard no more.
The Doepkes brought other members of their family over from Germany, including, lastly, their father.
Dorothea died in 1943 at the home of her son in Laura, Illinois,
Spouses
Birth30 Mar 1861, Barkhausen near Buer, State of Hannover, Germany
Death18 Dec 1928, at his farm near Mexico, Missouri
FatherJohann Caspar HEINRICH KLUSSMANN (1810-1873)
MotherMarie Elsabein BRANDHORST (1821-1905)
Misc. Notes
Fredrick came to America at age 19 perhaps because at age 20 he would be required to serve two years in the army. Others who had the money paid someone else to serve in their place.
He came with his younger brother, Charles. They sailed out of Bremen on the ship Rhein and arrived in New York on July 10, 1880. Fredrick spent a winter cutting railroad ties in Illinois, then apparently moved to Missouri (perhaps as early as 1882) where he farmed north of Mexico, Missouri, before he was married in 1888. Both Fredrick and Charles (and others?) saved money to bring their mother to America. At least three of his siblings later moved to North Daota but Fredrick did not.
His wife, Dorothea, was the cousin of Fred Doepke, who married Fredrick’s sister Margaret.
He came with his younger brother, Charles. They sailed out of Bremen on the ship Rhein and arrived in New York on July 10, 1880. Fredrick spent a winter cutting railroad ties in Illinois, then apparently moved to Missouri (perhaps as early as 1882) where he farmed north of Mexico, Missouri, before he was married in 1888. Both Fredrick and Charles (and others?) saved money to bring their mother to America. At least three of his siblings later moved to North Daota but Fredrick did not.
His wife, Dorothea, was the cousin of Fred Doepke, who married Fredrick’s sister Margaret.
Marriage23 Feb 1888, Plum Hill, Washington County, IL
ChildrenWilliam Charles (1889-1954)
Henry Ernest (1890-1971)
Edward Carl (1892-1959)
August Louis (1894-1985)
Dorothea (Dora) Anna (1896-1986)
Fredrick Christian (1899-1970)
Hulda Marie (1901-1985)
Clara Margaret (1904-1988)
Walter Adolph (1906-1996)