New info on Johannes August Rödiger that I have recently found.
I stumbled across his marriage while researching records in the village of Liedersdorf (AKA Lüdersdorf) near Bebra.
So, first off, let me orient you on how Johannes August fits into the family tree. He was the son of Justus Rödiger, the older brother of George and Conrad Tobias, all three being the children of Johann Tobias Rödiger and Anna Margaretha Eichenauer. George and Tobias emigrated to Ohio, but Justus stayed in Germany, and became Bürgermeister (mayor) of the village of Tann from 1880-1887.
Justus was born on 10 September 1850. He married twice. First, to Anna Margaretha Lotz on 27 April 1773 at the Lutheran Church in Tann. They had seven children. The oldest was Johannes Heinrich (AKA John Henry) who emigrated to Ohio in 1893 and married Anna Christina Eschmeyer. After his first wife died (8 April 1886), Justus married Anna Katharina Ernestine Hornickel on 17 October 1886. John Henry later related to his own children that one of the reasons that he left home and came to America was the treatment he and his siblings received at the hand of his new stepmother. She fed them less and poorer quality food than her own children received and they were forced to sleep in the barn which was attached to the house.
Justus and Anna Katharina Ernestine Hornickel, his second wife (the “wicked step-mother”) had two children that I have been able to identify. The first was Barbara Katharina Ernestine (7/30/1887-12/18/1940). And the second was the subject of this blog post, Johannes August. He was born in Tann on 9 July 1889, and baptized in the Evangelische Kirche on 4 August 1889. That was all I had been able to discover about him before I recently discovered his marriage record:
To summarize what is found in this record, the second column reveals that Johann August Rödiger was a Landwirt (farmer, cultivator of the soil), son of Justus Rödiger (also a Landwirt) and his wife, Katharine Ernestine, whose maiden name was Hornickel. Johann(es) August was born 9. July 1889, reformed confession (Lutheran) in Tann.
The third column gives the particulars concerning his bride: Anna Katharina Brehm was the daughter of Konrad Brehm and Anna Maria, whose maiden name was Claus. Anna Katharina was born on 15 April 1889, reformed confession in Lüdersdorf.
The fourth column records the place and date of the required registration to marry (like a marriage license here in the US. They registered to marry in the village of Breitenbach on 16 October 1920. They were both 31 years old. While we, here in the USA, are used to marriages taking place at much younger ages, based on my research, this was a relatively "normal" age to marry during this period of time in Hesse. And though it does not specify in this record, it does appear that this was the first marriage for both. I was going to go through all the reasons for this conclusion, but after writing it all out it got rather verbose, so I scratched it.
The fifth column is the Kirchliche Aufgebote, which we might know as "Banns" in which the couple's intention to marry are proclaimed before the congregation on two or three separate occasions prior to the marriage. In this case the Aufgebot was proclaimed on 26 September and again on 3 October.
Finally in the sixth column, is the date and place of the wedding. The wedding of Johann(es) August Rödiger and Anna Katharina Brehm took place on 17 October 1920 in the church [of Lüdersdorf].
Below is a Google Map showing the proximity of Lüdersdorf to Tann, just a nice 4 mile hike through the woods and fields:
I have been searching for children of J. August and A. Katharina, but have been stymied in that attempt, because the last Lüdersdorf Church Book, which covers the years 1830-1937, only has baptismal records up through 1920, the year they were married.
I also have not found a death record for J. August yet. However, I did find his wife's government issued death record on Ancestry.com. She died 13 June 1956 in House #16, Lüdersdorf (the same house she was born in). And according to the record, J. August appears to still be living. So, for now, the date of his death is unknown, but placed some time later than 6/13/1956.
So, now you know all that I know about John Henry Roediger's half-brother, Johann August Rödiger. Just another piece of Eichenauer-Roediger puzzle I am putting together.
No comments:
Post a Comment