Germany Connector's Challenge September 2022: Emigrants

Question

Hi all!

It's time again for a new group of people who are connected to Germany, but not connected to the Big Tree. In this month I highlight some people who emigrated from Germany to various countries.

The first one is Edward Thonen. He ended up in Australia. (Connected! Thanks to the team.)

Then we have Roy of the famous magician duo Siegfried and Roy. He has a brother in Scotland.

A man who served as politician in America is Julius Hauser. (Connected! Thanks Manu, Daniel and Flo for the work on his connections.)

Max Bielschowsky is a physician who emigrated to England.

Comments

Edward Thonen (abt.1828-1854) | WikiTree FREE Family Tree

Photos are up!

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good job

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Thanks a lot Karen

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Thanks, Karen. This wasn't the part of the monument that I meant, but it's still a nice addition! I had looked for a photo of this part, as it confirms his origin from Elberfeld.

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@Karen: May it be an idea to create a free space page about the memorial in order to be able to link Edward and potentially others to and from it?

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Maybe add it to the existing page on the Eureka Rebellion.

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Oh, there's a space page about the rebellion itself, in that case never mind.

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My attempts to connect Eduard Thönen are hindered by the fact that a lot of WikiTree profiles of people from Offenbach appear to be linked incorrectly. Compare Anna Maria Klein (1745-1747) and Anna Maria (Mary) "Mary" Swink formerly Klein.

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Eduard Thönen is now connected: 6 degrees from Willem Antonie Ramaer.

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@Jelena: Thanks for the tag. Can you please also add "(with a brother in Scotland)" after Roy's name?

Answer 1

Julius Hauser probably was from Rust. We almost only have Lang from Rust, that would be the way to go. There's a family book.

Comments

If that's the case (and I think it is, see next paragraph) then that would probably make https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Q126-VZW2 his sister (Luise Hauser, born 20 Aug 1861 in Rust, daughter of Pius Hauser and Maria Eva Scharz). Note that the 1880 census record for Julius Hauser, not yet included as a source in his Wikitree profile, mentions a sister Louise, 18 years old (born 1861 or 1862): https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MZNM-CVY

A Julius Hauser, son of Pius and Maria Eva, was baptised in Rust on 9 August 1853: https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NR85-6VH

That event, in turn, is connected to the profile https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/GM23-R4S belonging to the Julius Hauser we are looking for. Note the birth date, 7 August 1853, exactly one year off from the date given on Wikitree/Wikipedia. Additional sources can be found there.

Familysearch profile of the parents, Pius and Maria Eva: https://www.familysearch.org/tree/pedigree/landscape/LW14-Z85

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Florian, I see you are already aware of that (since you have edited that Familysearch profile yesterday). Anything else to add? I believe the identification is secure.

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It is worth noting that this was not the only Julius Hauser from Baden who emigrated to New York during the 1860s. There was at least one more: https://www.deutsche-digitale-bibliothek.de/item/2MI4VMD4QZIM3UJQ5O4OZXPAGKH4AOEU That profile, in turn, connects to https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M8X2-2TH, I believe.

Since both men were born around 1853, both lived in New York, and both arrived from Baden around the same time, we have to be careful with connecting documents to either of the two. First, we have to exclude the other one.

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I have updated Julius' profile, but it still needs a section about his political career. I did not feel competent enough to accurately interpret the sources. Someone more familiar with American politics should work on it.

The next steps are clearly laid out:

• Complete Julius' profile (the section about politics).
• Add his first wife, adjust the profile of his second wife, and add his children. Florian and I already have a sizable collection of records about the first wife, which we can use.
• Fill in Julius' extended family (there is a well sourced family tree on Familysearch, which can be carried over).
• Take the one place study for Rust, and look for a connection to the Lang family that is already on Wikitree, i.e. Lang-1809.

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Julius Hauser should be connected by tomorrow via his sister Pauline. His nearest profile with a connection to the global tree is right now https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Ohnemus-131

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Great work, thank you!

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Woohooo. Thank yooouuuu

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I put a little something in his political career section since I am familiar with both New York state and the Town of Islip on Long Island.

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Thank you, Lucy!

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Well done Manu! Thanks also to Daniel and Flo who worked a lot on him in the Discord channel. And thanks Lucy for the work on the American part of it.

Answer 2

We are not the first to search for Edward (Edmund) Thonen, see https://groups.jewishgen.org/g/main/search?p=created%2C0%2C%2C1%2C2%2C11621%2C606626&q=Edmund+Thonen. That 2009 search failed to locate any records of him in Germany, but at least it ruled out the existence of a Thonen family among the Jewish community of Elberfeld in 1848 and 1859.

Please note that, prior to 1845, the Jews of Elberfeld carried the first name of their father as a family name. It was only at that point that they adopted surnames (compare here). If Edward/Edmund emigrated before 1845, and if he indeed came from Elberfeld (neither of which is known for sure), then "Thonen" will not be the family name later carried by his relatives in Germany.

Comments

I added some recently found records to the research notes on Edward's profile. Both the Edward Thonen in Middlesex in 1851, and the Edward Thonen who requested permission to emigrate to Australia in 1853, were from Elberfeld, and both were born in 1827 (making it virtually certain that they were the same person). This is also consistent with the 1827 birth record.

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Australian English records were not able to type an umlaut. The surname Thönen would either be typed without an umlaut, i.e. Thonen, or spelled phonetically, Thoenen.

There were Australian newspapers printed in the German language. I started looking for 'Thönen' and found this story published in the Charleville Courier in 1896. https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/article/84401645?searchTerm=Th%C3%B6nen [edited later to add more information]

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Thanks Steve! Yes, the same goes for British English records. So far, the spelling seems to be consistently "Thonen" in English/Australian primary sources, but it could be interesting to have a closer look at how the spelling developed.

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Given the progress we have made, it seems quite likely to me that Edward is identical to Eduard Thönen (born 1827). In order to facilitate a link to the "big tree", I went ahead and added profiles for his potential parents and siblings. A brother Adolf Thönen (1818 - 1894) moved to Offenbach am Main and became an industrialist; a sister Rosalie (Thönen) Reinhard (1829 - aft. 1860) married a merchant from Usingen in Hesse and moved to Frankfurt am Main. Both may provide a link.

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I have added profiles for all four grandparents of the Eduard Thönen born in 1827. It turns out that none of the four was born in Elberfeld. Eduard's father's confession was reformed protestant (like both of his parents), his mother's confession was lutheran (like both of her parents).

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Withers was quoting Carboni - extracts of Carboni's book included in Thonen's profile

link to Wither's book https://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks13/1304971h.html

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I found that too - could not find a source for why they brought that up in 1896 but it was probably based on an 1852 article which is cited in Thonen's profile

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I took note that Charleville is 1,200km from Ballarat and 1896 is many years after the events of 1854. I can only speculate that the story travelled well amongst the folk who supported Federation and one more step away from the UK.

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The 1896 article is not about Eureka but about the diamond robbery Thonen perpetrated. Those sort of aricles are often syndicated from some other source but I couldn't find one for the 1890s but found most of the content in an 1852 journal

Here is a link to the 1896 article A Diamond Robber Caught. (1896, May 16). The Charleville Courier (Qld. : 1896 - 1898), p. 1 (SUPPLEMENT TO THE CHARLEVILLE COURIER). Retrieved September 9, 2022, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article84401645 and the 1852 article can be found in https://www.google.com.au/books/edition/Annual_Register/g3JdAAAAIAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1

I find the fact that he ended up with only a one year sentence of imprisonment surprising.

I have just lashed out and purchased the death certificate but it tells us nothing new - it does not say he was Jewish. I cannot find the basis of the  assertion he was Jewish or his nick name of Teddy from any contemporary sources.

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Well, it tells us a little bit new. Namely, when he came to Australia.

Answer 3

Max Bielschowsky has different parents accoording to Deutsche Biographie. Any primary sources or knowledge with Jewish Sources would be helpful here. I´ll try to find more sources for his daughter-in-law Marianna Angermann https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Angermann-9

Comments

So you also found out about his cousin ;)
https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Bielschowsky-28

https://www.bielschowsky.de/docs/alfred_bielschowsky_by_dr_kaufmann.pdf has a family tree of Alfred - no clue how he fits in, though

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I found him in the 1939 register which shows his birthdate off by a day.  I will add the England sources.

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I found birth records for four children in Berlin, and a death record for a 5th who died at 3 days old.  They confirmed his wife's birth surname.  I couldn't find a marriage record, and Berlin records are on Ancestry so they were probably married elsewhere.  

I created a profile for his son Paul's wife Lisbeth Berta Hildegard Eichstädt, but couldn't connect her to her parents or siblings.  The 2nd page of the marriage record shows the witnesses, one of which has her surname. The marriage record also gives the info for her birth registration, but she was born in 1909 and the records on Ancestry only go to 1908.  Maybe someone else can find something.  

Answer 4

I have updated Julius Hauser's profile (turns out his birth date was off by one year). However, it still lacks a section about his political career. I did not feel competent enough to accurately interpret the sources. Someone more familiar with American politics should work on it.

Answer 5

A possible route to connect Eduard Thönen is via Friedrich Wilhelm Reinhard, husband of Rosalie Thönen (married 1859 in Offenbach am Main). He was born in Usingen, Hesse, in 1821. There is a printed one place study for Usingen that covers the years 1623-1830. In addition, Friedrich Wilhelm Reinhard has an Ancestry family tree.

Another option would be via Anna Maria Klein, wife of Friedrich Adolf Thönen (married 1853 in Offenbach). Her father was an industrialist in Offenbach; the church records are available on Archion.

Comments

A first attempt to connect Eduard Thönen through Anna Maria Klein has been unsuccessful.

Her line of ancestors passes through Johann Wilhelm Klein (b.1715), who is the father of Anna Maria Klein (1745-1747), a clear duplicate of
Anna Maria (Mary) "Mary" Swink formerly Klein. Unfortunately, that person is linked incorrectly, as she cannot have emigrated to the United States, married and got children, if she passed away at age 2, meaning this once promising link is actually broken.

Answer 6

We have made terrific progress on Edward Thonen this challenge - thanks to everyone who helped and in particular Daniel.

Two more of the rebels who died in the Eureka uprising were from Germany:

• John  Hafele aka Henfield was born about 1824 in Württemberg https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Hafele-25
• Wilhelm Emmermann was born about 1835 in Petersberg, Pirmasens, Rhineland-Palatinate or Hanover https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Emmermann-3
• Friedrich Wern (Vern) was one of the rebel leaders. He survived. He was born about 1828 in Hanover. https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Wern-13 he has not yet got a profile on wikitree. Some research at http://eurekapedia.org/Frederick_Vern
• Other rebels from Germany or Prussia:
• Henry Brandt
• Johann Brandt
• William Augustus Heise
• Adolphus Lessman https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Lessman-93
• John Herman Frederich Spanake
• Herman Steinman
• Frederick William Tauschke,
•  Warnecke
• Conrad Zillies

I am working on adding the profiles and will add links here as I create them

Comments

Thanks Anne, and the others who helped working on it!

I will be on vacation for the next week, so no (little) input on WikiTree from me for the coming days. Good luck with finishing up the connection, and also with the other rebels!

Answer 7

Let's see what we can do with Roy. Like I posted at his mom's profile, his older brother Alfred Fink is interesting: he might have been an illegitimate half brother with might lead to the conclusion, what he carries the name of his mother, who might have been single back then. He was still alive when their mother died, but dead, when Roy died in 2020. Maybe he was married to somebody connectable, although we probably won't find anything, since all happened in the last 22 years.

@Jelena: Maybe tagging the post also with Scotland?

Comments

I was told there is an ancestry tree containing an Alfred WIlhelm Fink (1933-2015) with lots of sources.

He had a child with Eleanor Stewart King (1937-2013), daughter of Jerimiah King (b 1902) and Harriet Stewart King (1908-1995).

Other spouses of Eleanor that she had children with include Askolds Jakstins (1932-2009) and Pacifico Rosetti (1932-2004)

Maybe we can create a connection there somehow ...

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Link to the tree:

- https://www.ancestry.com/account/signin?returnUrl=https%3a%2f%2fwww.ancestry.com%2ffamily-tree%2fperson%2ftree%2f115234183%2fperson%2f330142188843%2ffacts

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Created a profile for the brother and tried spreading the word

Answer 8

here is an interesting notable German profile, it will show as connected tomorrow. it needs categorization 

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Von_Ketteler-15