Churches of the Schochenmaiers (New World, part 3b)

Today, I'm going on with making list of churches which could be attended by the Schochenmaiers.

I stress one more time as I don't know about every moving into various places around New World, the easiest way for me is to follow the "first" Schochenmaiers where they got children (birth places) and where they were registred (national and state census).


Jacob Schochenmaier (1861-1923) 

In May 1886 Jacob had immigrated to the United States through New York. He was 24 years old. Eight months later his son Jacob (1887-1975) was born in Alexander (McKenzie county, North Dakota). He was Jacob's first child (first Schochenmaier who had been born in America). 

 

I don't understand how it would have been possible because on Wikipedia you read as follows: 

Alexander is a city in McKenzie County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 223 at the 2010 census. Alexander was founded in 1905 and is named after early North Dakota politician Alexander McKenzie.

If the town had been found in 1905, how could he have born in 1887 there??? But maybe he had lived around that place))) 

I've found four churches in Alexander, ND: 

1. Alexander Church of the Nazarene

2. Highland Lutheran Church

3. Our Lady of Consolation Catholic Church

4. Trinity Lutheran Church

But there is only one photo of a church (which one???) next to the school building 




 

















In November 1893 Mary (Maria) was born. I haven't found any precise information on where she had been born. Sometimes it was noticed just "Canada"... Well, we've got nothing.  However, it sounds pretty strange ... in 1887 Jacob was born in the U.S., 6 years later his sister is to be born in Canada and then 4 years later Paul and Samual were born in the U.S. again... It means within 10 years they had relocated twice with two little children... From Alexander (ND) to Canada there are only 120 miles by car.

In 1897 Paul and Samuel, 1898 -Emanuel were born in Lynch, Nebraska. With Paul we can be sure, but there are some doupts concerning Samuel (if Paul wasn't born earlier! for example, in 1896). By the way, from Canada to Lynch (NE) they count up to 600 miles!!!

There are five churches: 

Lynch Wesleyan Church

Christ Lutheran Church

Assumption Blessed Virgin Mary Church (Catholic) 

Lynch United Methodist Church

Adventist Church 

Wesleyan Church

Lutheran Church 

In 1900 David, 1903 Charlotte and 1904 Lydia were born in Goodrich (Sheridan County, North Dakota). It's in 410 miles away from Lynch (Nebraska). About Charlotte and Lydia we cannot be absolutely sure, we just know they were born in North Dakota. Sometime for the last daughter it's noticed "Canada". According to other data, David was born in Harvey (Wells County, North Dakota). What a mess((( But it's important to point out that between Harvey and Goodrich there are about 30 miles. 

 

Harvey is a city in Wells County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 1,783 at the 2010 census. Harvey was founded in 1893 as a division point by the Soo Line Railway. According to the book published in 1981 on the 75th anniversary of the town's incorporation as a city in 1906, Harvey, ND is believed to have been named for a director of the Soo Line Railway: Col. Scott William Harvey of Minneapolis, Minnesota.

 

 

There a lots of churchs in Harvey. Below you'll find some of them whose pics are on the net: 

 

Harvey Mennonite Brethren Church, 1948

 

St. Cecelia Catholic Church

 

Bethel Church east of Harvey

 

Wesley United Methodist Church

 

First Lutheran Church

 

Victory Baptist Church

Let's switch to Goodrich:

 

 Goodrich is a city in Sheridan County, North Dakota, United States. The population was 98 at the 2010 census. Goodrich was founded in 1901.

 Have you noticed? It's the same situation as with Jacob (1887)))) David was born in 1900 in the township that would have been founded one year later. I start sugessting it's OK. 

I've found five churches therein: 

 

• Butlers Chapel United Methodist Church
   
• First Baptist Church
   
• Goodrich Adventist Church
• Peace Lutheran Church

 

and Church of God

  

After having discussed with some of the Jacob's descendants, I can conclude that most of them are Adventists. I do realize that the subject is more than just delicate but ceveral persons made suggestions that the split between Michael (1859) and Jacob (1961) had been caused by that religious reasons. The descendants of Michael are mostly reformed Protestants (among others Baptists plus several Catholics, etc.) The question is since when Jacob was converted to Adventism? I've found the Jacob's immigration certificate from year 1923 where Jacob noticed that he was Baptist. Actually, it doesn't fit very well because at that time the brothers were not in the narrow communication anymore((. So I do not rely 100 per cent upon these thoughts. 

All corrections are welcome!!! 

Photo on the Jacob Schochenmaier's farm (1916-1917)

Today I have had a great tea-meeting with Walter Wahler, whose mum was Elisabeth Schochenmaier (1926), daughter of Jacob Schochenmaier (1896-1937), "first cousin at one remove" of Michael (1859) and Jacob (1861) Schochenmaiers who had left for the New World. Under that I mean that Walter's grandfather Jacob was son of Gottlieb Schochenmaier (1862), cousin of Michael (1859) and Jacob (1861) Schochenmaiers who had left for the New World.

As I found out, Walter collected lots of materials about his grandfather's line, namely photos from the past. However, today I would like to start with an epic picture that his relative Eduard Schochenmaier got from the U.S. 20 years ago, that Eduard was contacted by Jerald (1939-1999) and Sharilyn Schochenmaiers. Jerald is son of Albert (1913-2007), son of Fredrick (1888-1950), son of Michael (1859-1937). As a special gesture, Jerald was so kind that he had sent a picture of 1916-17. I am so excited! Finally, I can see faces materialized out of the shadows))).

Let's have a closer look!

This picture was taken on Jacob Schochenmaier's farm in Boyd County, Nebraska, U.S.A. around 1916 or 1917.

Here it is in high resolution, it's clickable:

Left to right - back row: 

1. John Klein (1875-1936, husband of Katherine nee Schochenmaier; on Ancestry he's recorded as Johann Klien, I think the right version should be Johann Klein or Americanized John Klein);

2. Jacob Schochenmaier (1890-1971, son of Michael, b. 1859). Just for convenience of the actually living Schochenmaiers, he is grandfather for Barry Dean (1949), Lorie Jan (1957), Ross Lee (1954), Dallas (1959), Jodene (1957), Elisabeth (1950), Walter Glenn (1951), Ricky John (1953), Richard Alan (1957), Terry David (1962);

3. Lizzie Schochenmaier  (Elisabeth nee Wuest, 1893-1988, wife of Jacob Nr. 2);

4. Katie Klein (Katherine nee Schochenmaier, 1884-1966, wife of John Klein Nr. 1). By the way, on Ancestry I have found a picture of her when she is much old than here, I was really impressed, she had prominent Schochenmaier's nose and chin, like my great grandmother Annetta (1918-1998). I couldn't even imagine that genetics can be so persistent;

5. Christina Schochenmaier (1895-1920, daughter of Michael and Christina Schochenmaier). Do you know anything about her? Did she marry Gottlob Ulmer (1883-1963) or it was another Christina? 

6. Minnie Odenbach (Wilhelmine nee Schochenmaier, 1885-1963, wife of Christ Odenbach). By the way, she was the last who had been born in Russia from the American Schochenmaiers)));

7. Katie Schochenmaier (Katharina nee Wuest, 1890-1977, wife of Fred Schochenmaier Nr. 8). By the way, Katie and Lizzie Nr. 3 are sisters. 

8. Fred Schochenmaier (Fredrich / Friedrich, 1888-1950). He was the first who had been born in America!; Jerald was his grandchild. 

9. Christ Odenbach (Christian, 1886-1962, husband of Minnie Nr. 6);

In the middle: Grandparents Michael and Christina Schochenmaier (nee Winkler).  We know about them from precedent postings how they came to U.S. 

Front row: 

1. Martha Odenbach (1912-1999) - daughter of Christ Odenbach and Minnie Schochenmaier. She will marry Roy Charles Allison (1901-1982) and they will have 7 children in Rimbey (Alberta, Canada); She's about 3-4 in the picture);

2. Albert Schochenmaier (1913-2007) - son of Fred Schochenmaier and Katie Wuest. He's about 3-4 years old here. He will marry Amanda Vetter (1913-2008). As far as I researched, they will get 3 (?) children, one of them will be Jerald, who had sent this brilliant photo);

3. Martha Klein (1913-1980) - daughter of Johann Klein and Katie Schochenmaier. She will marry Ted Korb. No information about their children. 

4. Reinhold Odenbach (1911-1985) - son of Christ Odenbach and Minnie Schochenmaier. He's about 5 years old in the picture. He will marry first Gertrude Hawkswood then Gertrude Logen. I think he liked name Gertrude). 

5. Sarah Schochenmaier (1910-2008) - daughter of Fred Schochenmaier and Katie Wuest. She's about 6 years old in the picture. She first married Adolph Klein and together they had 4 girls and 1 boy.  After Adolph's death, she married Adolph Truatman.  After his death, she married James Brown. 

6. Ben Odenbach (Benjamin, 1908-1989) - son of Christ Odenbach and Minnie Schochenmaier. He's about 8 years old in the picture. He will marry Nellie Fairmond. 

Well, I have some questions. Jerald wrote that this picture was taken on the farm of Jacob, but on the photo we can see only Michael... Why ? Do you know it? 

Does anybody have a picture of this house how it looks today like? It would be great to compare. 

We are so lucky today. We may see these faces from the past. I am looking for the photos like that. If you have old photo albums, please check them, maybe there are some precious pictures in them...  Those persons can't talk anymore, let pictures do it... Thank you in advance for your help. 

First theory on the origins of the Schochenmaiers' family name

Where do the family names come from?

http://forebears.co.uk/surnames

Surnames and family names have arisen throughout history as civilisations advance and become increasingly useful to distinguish people when they are recorded in written records, particularly tax records.

The earliest surnames in Western Europe grew out of existing methods of distinguishing people. Thus, a noble ruling from Savoy may have been known as Umberto de Savoy, a blacksmith may have been known as John le Smith and a bald man may be known as William the Bald; much in the same way we refer to people in similar ways today, such as John the Gob or Rachel the Bean Counter. These names were not necessarily hereditary, but were dictated by circumstance. The son of the noble, Umberto de Savoy, may rule at Lorraine and be known as Lothair de Lorraine, the son of John le Smith may be a cheese-maker and known as Dominic Cheeseman and the son of William the Bald may have a head shaped like an onion and known as Darren Onionhead. Surnames only arose when families decided they were going to stick to a 'pseudo-surname''. This change occurred at different periods in different regions. For example, surnames were largely adopted between the 11th and 16th centuries in England, between the 16th and 19th centuries in Wales and between the 11th and 19th centuries in Scotland. Each family has to be taken on a case by case basis. Though it is not possible to prove the origin of most surnames, it is possible to make educated guesses in some cases.

A surname's origin is influenced by the progenitor's social class and the culture they lived in. Those of higher social status often took surnames that are uncommon today; whereas people of lower social status often took what are today common surnames. It is also clear that people of lower social status had less control over their surnames, no doubt handed to them by aldermen, lords and other authorities. Thus we find numerous insulting surnames, such as 'Tew', Welsh for fat; Tardiff, meaning sluggish and Dullard, meaning a hard and conceited man. 

Types of family names

 There are four general types of family names:

Patronymic Surnames

The majority of surnames are derived from the name of a male ancestor. These evolved from pre-existing non-permanent naming customs whereby an individual was identified by reference to a male ancestor or ancestors. Some example are: Bedo ap Batho ap Heylin (Welsh: Bedo, son of Batho, son of Heylin), which would become Bedo Batho; Lars Andersen (Scandianvian), Andrew MacDonald (Scottish: Andrew son of Donald) and Henry fil. Grimbald (English: Henry son of Grimbald). Such names are essentially the name of the father, sometimes with a suffix or prefix to denote the name as a patronym. 

      Occupational Surnames

Surnames derived from the occupation of an ancestor are also common, with Smith being the most common surname in the UK. This category of surnames is divided into two groups: standard occupations and titular occupations, such as Stewart, derived from an ancient clan title in Scotland.

Topographical Surnames

Topographical surnames can be derived from features of a landscape (Hill, Ford) or from place names (London, Aston, Eaton, Molyneux). Those surnames derived from place names were initially adopted by families that held land. However, later such adoptions of surnames derived from place names occurred when people moved from one place to another.

Descriptive Surnames

Descriptive surnames are less common, partly as they were often derived from unflattering characteristics such as: stupidity, girth, baldness and sometimes outright insults like Blackinthemouth. Many of these surnames have disappeared. There is on the other hand good survival of surnames derived from positive or neutral characteristics; Trow & Triggs (meaning trustworthy), Young, White and Good.

What about the Schochenmaiers? What aren't we all?

1. Our family name doesn't come from any patronym. There is no first name related to "Schochenmaier".

2. Our family name doesn't come from any common word. That is why it's not descriptive surname.

3. All in all, we may have either topographic or occupational origin, additionally thereto we can be either of mixed origin or of any specific emergence based on any special events.


First theory of Schochenmaier's origin

According to the Occam's razor, which states that among competing hypotheses, the one with the fewest assumptions should be selected, we should start with the theory advocated by the Schochenmaiers themselves. To my knowledge, there is only one story put into writing, that of Jacob Schochenmaier (1861-1923). The scan of the story can be found on Facebook page of Janet Schochenmaier:

Transcript of it:

"In Germany, many years ago, there was a wagon and buggy company formed. There were two families involved in this company, the Schoch's and the Mair's, and in some way, these two names were rolled into one, and that is the way that the name Schochenmaier came into being. 

When Jacob reached early manhood he became a wheelwright in the company. This trade, for the rest of his life, didn't appeal to him and after his marriage to Barbara Ellen Martin, they made their home on their first homestead in Odessa, U.S.S.R. From Odessa they traveled on a sailing ship to America..."

It was noticed by Clarence Schochenmaier (1920) - grandson of Jacob. As we can see, the familial tradition gives over such an interesting version of the Schochenmaier's origin. One the one hand, it's reliable: the Germans were keeping their traditions and stories for many years. But, on the other hand, it could be a sort of interpretation, a legend or a myth, a pop etymology like eggcorn or something like that. As for me, I do believe in this legend. Only one question is then arisen: what time in the history is it about? If Jacob meant the beginning of the 19 century, then we may consider the story being historically true. However, if it's about 16 or 17 century, then I would be very careful in determining the likelihood ratio... We must confess that we have no idea what Jacob meant by "many years ago"...

By the way, how do you understand this text?

First: Jacob became a wheelwright in the company... but he was born in Russia in 1861 (St. Petersburg Archives under the name of "Jacob Schochenmeier"). Does it mean that they re-founded their company in the Russian Rohrbach?

Second: "after his marriage ..., they made their home on their first homestead in Odessa". I don't get the chronology of these events. Both of them were born in Ukraine, but it's after the marriage that they made their first homestead in Odessa... Why "after"? If "first homestead" means Russia after Germany, then where had they been before?

So, my opinion is that it's a bit mixed up, but it doesn't trouble the theory of the Schochenmaiers' origin)))

In order to define the time period, let's find out what's the first mention of the Schochenmaiers at all. It will be our next post.  

Ship which Jacob Schochenmaier came on

As we know Jacob Schochenmaier arrived in New York on May 3, 1886, from Bremen (Germany). Among the copies of the passangers' list, I found the main page contaning the name of the ship:

The ship ALLER was belonging to the North German Lloyd Company.

In German: Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL). 

It was a German shipping company. It was founded by Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann in Bremen on February 20, 1857. It developed into one of the most important German shipping companies of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and was instrumental in the economic development of Bremen and Bremerhaven. 

Headquarters of North German Lloyd in Bremerhaven in 1870

The emblem of the firm is:

At that time, this Company was one of the biggest companies which brought immigrants to the New World from all over the world: You could see their ads in the American towns and villages as posters:  or in the German newspapers:  Well, what about the ship:

Name : Aller Description : Norddeutscher Lloyd steamship built 1886 at Glasgow by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Eng. Co. Ltd. Credit : Louis Koch Source : Old photograph

Aller, Norddeutscher Lloyd steamship
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The Aller was the first of 3 sisters built for the North German Lloyd by Fairfield Shipbuilding & Eng. Co. Ltd. In 1886. The other sisters were theSaale and the Trave. The Aller had accommodations for 244 first-class, 94 second class, 850 steerage passengers in addition to 170 officers and men. Her upper deck was of oak and the deck houses of teak and steel. Strongly built turtle backs at each end protected her from heavy seas. Her dining saloon was a spacious apartment 50 by 40 feet, and was lighted by an open well from the ladies' saloon on the upper deck. Special attention had also been paid to the ventilation of the Steerage. Her machinery was considered to be first class in every particular. She was fitted with the largest triple expansion engines yet constructed. The high-pressure cylinder was 44 inches, the intermediate pressure cylinder 70 inches, and the low-pressure cylinder 108 inches in diameter, each adapted for a stroke of 6 feet. All the cylinders were provided with equilibrium piston valves. The boilers were six in number, multitubular, and fired from each end. Each was 14 feet 2 inches in diameter and 18 feet 9 inches long, and had 6 corrugated furnaces. The boilers were entirely of steel, and sustained a pressure of 150 pounds to the square inch. The propeller had four blades of man bronze. 

Aller - Norddeutscher Lloyd steamship
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The next post will be dedicated to the ship which Michael Schochenmaier came on)))

When did the first Schochenmaiers come to the New World?

Such an interesting question can be answered with a high precision )))

On the website of Ancestry you can find Passengers Lists of those who came to Ellis Island from Bremen between 1820-1957. Among others the date of arrival of Jacob Schochenmaier (1861-1923) is to be seen. That's it on May 3, 1886.  The only one problem is that his surname was written lake that: Jacob Schockomeyer. It seems to be that the writer had a bad penmanship. 

http://sharing.ancestry.ca/3824883?h=903cea 

He had been accompanied by his wife Barbara Schochenmaier (née Martin, 1861-1944) and their first daughter Maria (1885-1976). Below you find a clicable fragment of that Passengers List: 

It's interesting to discover that Jacob had been a "smith" and not "farmer" as it was noticed for his brother Michael!

The whole page therefrom:

The first page of that list with date and additional info:

Well, the 3rd May could be a day of commemoration or even a holiday of the New World Schochenmaiers)))