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| Format | Book Whole |
|---|---|
| Author, Monographic | Hansen, Greg |
| Title, Monographic | Agnes Melcher Family History |
| Extent of Work | [94] |
| Abstract | In July of 1843, Friedrich Melcher, his parents, and four siblings emigrated from Alt Ruednitz on the Oder River to North America, settling first in a new German Lutheran community near Buffalo, New York. "After arriving in Buffalo, Pastor Ehrenstroem's congregation wanted to continue to Wisconsin, where they had connections with other from the Ukermark region. Pastor Grabau asked that they stay, at least until Pastor Ehrenstroem could join them. The group decided to purchase three large areas of land that would suit their needs, based on the skills they brought with them from home. These became the communities of Bergholz, Walmow (later Walmore), and Martinsville [these three towns are now part of Wheatfield, New York]. Those that worked larger farms in Prussia formed Bergholz. The Walmore residents were farmers also, and being able to afford a bit more, purchase developed lots previously owned by Mennonite families. The Martinsville folks were craftsmen and river people, 'Oderbruchers' like the Melchers who had lived and worked along the Oder. They chose land along Tonawanda Creek so they could both farm and continue working river-based trades of fishing, net making, and boatbuilding." In 1855, Friedrich's parents, Johann Friedrich and Elisabeth Melcher, moved to Watertown, Wisconsin, joining a large community of Oderbruchers there. Friedrich and his wife Augusta remained in Martinsville through the Civil War, but in late 1878 or early 1879, they and their four surviving children moved to Grand Haven, Michigan. ["Slightly less than a century later, Friedrich Melcher's great-grandson Robert Bickel and his wife Louise would return to western New York and raise their own family of nine children."] Louise Lessien, the mother of Agnes Melcher, was born in Wheatfield, New York, but lived the majority of her life in Grand Haven, Michigan. She married Martin Melcher in 1888. Agnes Melcher was their third child, born in 1892. Agnes married Otto Johann Bickel in 1922. Provides impressions of the German communities in Grand Haven, Ionia, Grand Rapids, and Saginaw, Michigan. |
| Notes | Donated by Greg Hansen of Albuquerque, New Mexico, 2013. |
| MKI Terms | Family history/ Lutherans/ German Americans -- New York/ German Americans -- Michigan/ Pomerania, Prussia/ Atlantic crossing/ Melchor/ Lessien |