Heinrich Friedrich Ribbke (1868 - 1945)

Born 13 May 1868 in Röbbel, Uelzen, Hannover, Preußen, Deutscher Bund

Ancestors

Husband of Anna Catharina Marie Dorothea (Gause) Ribbke — married about 8 Mar 1899 in Rosche, Uelzen, Hannover, Prussia, German Empire

Descendants

Died 14 Apr 1945 at age 76 in Ableman, Sauk, Wisconsin, United States

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Steven Greenwood [send private message]

Biography

Fred Ribbke migrated from the German Empire to the United States.

This profile is part of the Röbbel, Niedersachsen One Place Study.

This profile is part of the Ableman-Rock Springs, Wisconsin One Place Study.

Heinrich Friedrich "Fred" Ribbke was born at 1 am on 13 May 1868 in Röbbel, Hanover, Prussia,^[1] despite later documents indicating it was the 12th.^[2][3] He was the third child of six of Johann Heinrich Ripke (Ripcke) and Catharine Margarethe Elisabeth Stolte.^[1]

He was baptized 16 May 1868 in the Three Kings Church of Bevensen. His sponsors were Heinrich Stolte of Jastorf and Heinrich Friedrich Niebuhr of Röbbel. According to his baptism record, his last name was Ripcke at the time of the ceremony.^[1]

On 1 Apr 1885, the area surrounding Röbbel became part of Landkreis Uelzen.

Later in life, he would take on the given name of Fred. He had a first wife, Dorothee Schröder, whom he married around 1890 but she died sometime after. Fred had a son named Heinrich Ribbke, born in 1898.^[4] It is currently unclear if Dorothee was the boy's mother.

Fred married his second wife, Anna Gause, in 1898 or 1899.

Fred immigrated to the United States on board the Phoenicia and made port in New York on or about 24 Feb 1900^[2] or 25 Feb 1901.^[5] At the time of his immigration, he was aged 32 and was a farmer. His last residence before leaving Germany was Bevensen. His destination was Wonewoc, Wisconsin to meet up with his uncle Carl Talg. He had never been to America, but he had twenty-five dollars and a ticket to his final destination.^[5]

Soon after giving birth to their first son Herman, Anna and the child came to America in May 1901. Fred, Anna and Herman lived in Chicago, Illinois for the first few years before moving to outside Loganville, Wisconsin and finally settling in the Town of La Valle, Sauk County, Wisconsin (R-3) in 1905. Fred would continue as a farmer at this location until 1925 when the family moved closer to Ableman.^[6]

They had six additional children after Herman born from 1900 to 1914:

• William Ribbke (1902-1983)
• Walter Henry Ribbke (1904-1986)
• Carl F Ribbke (1909-1991)
• Emma Ribbke (later Horstmann) (1912-1988)
• Anna Ribbke (later Horstmann) (1914-1995)
• An unnamed child who did not survive.

At the time of his official naturalization on 28 August 1918, he was 50. It was on this document that he formally denounced Kaiser Wilhelm II, German Emperor.^[2]

On 7 Jun 1921,^[7] (in Aug 1921), Fred Ribbke became an American citizen, at age 53.^[8]

In 1940, per the Sixteenth U.S. Census, Fred was aged 72, widowed, and living in enumeration district 56-12 within the Town of Excelsior, Sauk County, Wisconsin with his son Carl Ribbke (aged 30). He reported working 50 hours a week.^[9]

Fred Ribbke passed away on 14 Apr 1945 in either Ableman or Baraboo, Wisconsin at age 76. He was buried in Saint Johns Cemetery (Section 2, Row 10) outside of Ableman, Wisconsin (now Rock Springs).^[10]

Notes

Fred's surname is misspelled in various documents, accidentally as "Libbke" on his Declaration of Intent form, and as "Ribble" in the Baraboo Weekly News.

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} Baptism: Baptism Record of Heinrich Friedrich Ribbke (spelled Ripcke) from Three Kings Church of Bevensen.
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1 2.2} Naturalization: Declaration of Intention document for Frederick Ribbke (misspelled Lippke) from the Department of Labor, Naturalization Service, signed and completed 28 Aug 1918, No. 343.
3. ↑ Naturalization: "Wisconsin, County Naturalization Records, 1807-1992", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:ZFVG-WLPZ : 1 March 2021), Fredrick Ribbke, 1920.
4. ↑ Immigration of first son: Heinrich Ribbke at The Statue of Liberty―Ellis Island Foundation, Inc
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Immigration: New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 for Friedrich Ribbke. Date: 25 Feb 1901, Ship: Phoenicia. Ancestry.com
6. ↑ Obituary of Anna (Ribbke) Gause, December 1938
7. ↑ Naturalization: "Illinois, Northern District Naturalization Index, 1840-1950," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:XKGP-1H7 : 2 March 2021), Fredrich Ribbke, 1921; citing Baraboo, Wisconsin, NARA microfilm publication M1285 (Washington D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), roll 143; FHL microfilm 1,432,143.
8. ↑ Citizenship: Certificate of Citizenship #1005582 for Fredrich Ribbke
9. ↑ 1940: U.S. 1940 Census (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K7V3-F3Q): FamilySearch. Fred Ribbke.
10. ↑ Burial: Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/43723599/friedrich-heinrich-ribbke: accessed 05 September 2022), memorial page for Friedrich Heinrich “Fred” Ribbke (13 May 1868–24 Apr 1945), Find a Grave Memorial ID 43723599, citing Saint Johns Cemetery, Rock Springs, Sauk County, Wisconsin, USA; Maintained by mmel (contributor 47686399).

• Monumental inscription. Saint Johns Cemetery, Excelsior (Rock Springs), Wisconsin, United States. 1945 (b. 1865) RIBBKE, Fred H. Photographed by: Steven Greenwood: taken 30 Jun 2021.
• Second-hand knowledge by Steven Greenwood, his second great-grandson, using Ribbke family history.