Fritz and Dora Rathkamp came to Milwaukee in 1868. Dora was born Dorothee Hülsemann in 1838. She was born in Albringhausen, a 16km drive from Oeftinghausen, where the Rathkamp family lived. Albringhausen today is basically a suburb of Bassum, population 16,604 and is the home of Stiftskirche St. Mauritius und St. Viktor. This church was built […]
My Hülsemann Ancestors, and Their Brush With Napoleon Read More »
[singlepic id=17 w=320 h=240 float=left]It’s hard to imagine the conditions our ancestors faced in Europe and even harder to imagine what finally happened in their lives to ultimately get them to commit to leaving their homes and families. I’m sure there had to be the promise of opportunity, but this was a much heavier decision
Did They Come Alone? Read More »
My friend Herr Wessels from Bassum, Germany has been a great source of information over the last couple months. He’s also taken the time to teach me a lot about the region, naming practices, and has given me a glimpse into the society my ancestors lived.[singlepic id=4 w=320 h=240 float=left] Originally, his thought was that
When the Levee Breaks Read More »
Over the last couple weeks, I’ve been spending some time at the Golda Meir Library on the campus of The University of Wisconsin Milwaukee. For whatever reason, the library was chosen to archive all or most of Milwaukee’s vital records. Some of these records can be found on Ancestry.com, but are very incomplete. From what
Tapping into a New Source Read More »
I would think that every genealogist, especially the hobbyist with emotional ties to the subject, has a “Holy Grail”- that one person or family who eludes and consumes them. It’s only fitting then that my first post touches this subject. A little history first… I first became interested in genealogy at about 12 or 13
The “Holy Grail”…at least for now Read More »