Paul Ludwig Heinrich Wilhelm Gutknecht (1863 - 1933)

Born 9 Jun 1863 in Plau am See, Großherzogtum Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Deutscher Bund

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 23 Jul 1933 at age 70 in Milltown, Polk, Wisconsin, United States

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Biography

This profile is part of the Gutknecht Name Study.

Paul Ludwig Heinrich Wilhelm Gutknecht was born 9 Jun 1863 in Plau am See in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin to the skipper Adolph Gutknecht and his wife Maria Sophia Christiana, née Cords. ^[1]

Emigration to America

The family emigrated in 1869 to America and wanted to start a new life in Minnesota. They left Germany via the port of Hamburg on bord the sailing ship "John Bertram". Bording was on September 30th 1869. The manifest lists him as skipper (Schiffer) together with his wife Marie (37) and three sons, Carl (17), Heinrich (12) and Paul (6). ^[2]. Due to bad weather they only departed on October 3rd reached New York on January 15th 1870. ^[3] It must have been a terrible trip, taking much, much longer than usual. The "New York Times" from 19 Jan 1870 on page 2 gives a good description of it:

The Case of the Ship John Bertram. - In the morning journals, yesterday, there was made a great mistake in narrating the case of the ship John Bertam, Captain H. Petersen, from Hamburg. The story that there were 448 passengers in the steerage is untrue. The occupants of the steerage numbered only 102, the remainder being first and second cabin passengers. The passage from Hamburg occupied, in all, 102 days, the ship having met with most tempestuous weather in the North Sea, carrying away spars, and tearing her sails into ribbons. The John Bertram left Hamburg for New York on the 3rd of October last. After having survived the terrible tempest which overtook her in the North Sea, Captain Petersen, being provisioned only for a sixty days' voyage, deemed it advisable to put into the nearest port, Queenstown, Ireland, which he reached on the fifty-eighth day out, where he provided his vessel with fresh water and abundant provisions, under the direct superintendence of the Consul for the North German Confederation, and set out for New York, making the passage hither in thirty-four days. During the passage, from Oct. 3 to Jan 10, there were nineteen deaths on board, (seven of these being children,) and five births – not an extraordinary mortality, considering the terrors of the voyage, and also that many were sick when they embarked. When the vessel arrived here, the passengers, without a single exeption, signed a document thanking Captain Petersen for the care and assiduity he had manifested in their behalf, and declaring their belief that, but for his able seamanship and the discretion he manifested in putting into Queenstown, the ship and all on board must have perished. They declare also that they wanted nothing during the voyage that could contribute to the comfort either of the sick or well; that Captain Petersen freely supplied wines and other creature comforts to the sick from his own private stores without hesitancy. The condition of the ship as to cleanliness, as she now lies at Pier No. 46 East River, is most creditable to the Captain and his officers, considering the fact that it is now 111 days since she left Hamburg, and bears evidence of the utmost care and attention. - The following are the names of those who died on the passage: … [list given] … - Captain Petersen has been a seaman since 1842; has been in the employ of his present firm since 1853, and has made (as Captain) thirty-three voyages across the Atlantic; but declares that he never met with such weather as that of this last voyage. Never before has he been more than fifty-eighth days in making the trip from Hamburg to New York. He attributes his safety after this terrible trip to the solidity and staunch character of his noble vessel, which he now, more than ever, takes pride in saying is of American (Boston) build. ^[4]

Shortly after arrival Adolph Gutknecht (the father) fell sick and ultimately died in May 1870 in a hospital in New York of Diarrhea, leaving the mother and her three sons alone in this new world. (see also the mother's profile for more information).

In the 1875 census of Minnesota Paul (age 12) was in St Lawrence, Scott.^[5]

In the 1880 census Paul (age 17) was the single son of Mary Bauer in Saint Lawrence, Scott, Minnesota, United States.^[6] The census has his name wrongly as "Paul Bauer".

Marriage: He married 16 Dec 1890 in Spring Lake, Scott, Minnesota Wilhelmia Dubbe. ^[7] From this marriage came the following children:

1. Olga Marie Gutknecht; born 1893 in St. Paul, Minnesota;
2. Clara Wilhelmina Gutknecht; born 1894 in Redwood Falls, Minnesota;
3. Laura Gutknecht; born 1896 in Vesta, Minnesota;
4. Henry Gutknecht; born 1897 in Vesta, Minnesota; died young 1897.
5. Hellen Margaret Gutknecht; born 1899 in Vesta, Minnesota;
6. Harold Gutknecht; born ca 1918

In the 1900 census Paul (age 37), Farming, was the married head of household in Vesta, Redwood, Minnesota.^[8]

In the 1910 census Paul (age 46), Farmer, was the married head of household in Cottonwood, Brown, Minnesota, United States.^[9]

In the 1920 census Paul (age 58), Farmer, was the married head of household in Linden, Brown, Minnesota.^[10]

In the 1930 census Paul (age 68), Farmer, was the married head of household in Bone Lake, Polk, Wisconsin, United States.^[11]

Death and Burial: Paul died on 23 July 1933 in Milltown, Polk, Wisconsin and was buried in Saint Paul's Lutheran Cemetery, New Ulm, Brown County, Minnesota, United States.^[12]

Sources

1. ↑ Baptism: "Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1500-1971"
   Germany - Projects Without Contracts; Author: Evangelische Kirche Plau (Ag. Plau); Reference Number: 191/1
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 61229 #14008224 (accessed 13 December 2023)
   Paul Ludwig Heinrich Wilhelm Gutknecht baptism on 28 Juni 1863 (born 9 Jun 1863), child of Johann Adolph Christian Gutknecht & Maria Sophia Christiane Gutknecht, in Plau am See, Mecklenburg, Deutschland (Germany).
2. ↑ Passenger List: "Hamburg Passenger Lists, 1850-1934"
   Staatsarchiv Hamburg; Hamburg, Deutschland; Hamburger Passagierlisten; Volume: 373-7 I, VIII A 1 Band 023 B; Page: 962; Microfilm No.: K_1715; Volume: 373-7 I, VIII A 1 Band 023 B
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 1068 #5256086 (accessed 12 December 2023)
   Name: A Guthknecht; Gender: männlich (Male); Departure Age: 50; Birth Date: abt 1819; Residence Place: Plaue, Mecklenburg; Departure Date: 30 Sept 1869; Departure Place: Hamburg, Deutschland (Germany); Arrival Place: New York; Occupation: Schiffer; Ship Name: John Bertram; Captain: Petersen; Shipping Clerk: Gustav Böhme & Co.; Shipping Line: Rob. M. Sloman; Ship Type: Segelschiff; Ship Flag: Deutschland; Accommodation: ohne Angabe.
3. ↑ Passenger List: "New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957"
   The National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, D.C.; Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at and Departing from Ogdensburg, New York, 5/27/1948 - 11/28/1972; Microfilm Serial or NAID: M237, 1820-1897
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7488 #16775620 (accessed 30 November 2023)
   Name: Ad Gutknecht; Gender: Male; Ethnicity/ Nationality: German; Age: 50; Birth Date: abt 1820; Place of Origin: Germany; Departure Port: Hamburg, Germany; Destination: Minnesota; Arrival Date: 15 Jan 1870; Arrival Port: New York, New York, USA; Ship Name: John Bertram.
4. ↑ The case of the ship John Bertram; Article in the "New York Times" from 19 Jan 1870, page 2.
5. ↑ 1875 Census: "Minnesota, U.S., Territorial and State Censuses, 1849-1905"
   Line: 37; Roll: MNSC_15
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 1058 #4203106 (accessed 13 December 2023)
   Paul Gutknecht (12) in St Lawrence, Scott.
6. ↑ 1880 Census: "1880 United States Federal Census"
   Year: 1880; Census Place: Saint Lawrence, Scott, Minnesota; Roll: 633; Page: 48B; Enumeration District: 111
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 6742 #33287085 (accessed 13 December 2023)
   Paul Bauer (17), single son, in household of Mary Bauer (48) in Saint Lawrence, Scott, Minnesota, USA. Born in Mecklenburg.
7. ↑ Marriage: "Minnesota, U.S., Marriages Index, 1849-1950"
   FHL Film Number: 1379416
   Ancestry Record 2561 #74775 (accessed 13 December 2023)
   Paul Gutknecht marriage to Wilhelmine Dubbe on 16 Dec 1890 in Spring Lake, Scott, Minnesota.
8. ↑ 1900 Census: "1900 United States Federal Census"
   Year: 1900; Census Place: Vesta, Redwood, Minnesota; Roll: 786; Page: 6; Enumeration District: 0237
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7602 #27043497 (accessed 13 December 2023)
   Paul Gutknecht (37), married, Farming, head of household in Vesta, Redwood, Minnesota. Born in Germany.
9. ↑ 1910 Census: "1910 United States Federal Census"
   Year: 1910; Census Place: Cottonwood, Brown, Minnesota; Roll: T624_691; Page: 4a; Enumeration District: 0038; FHL microfilm: 1374704
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7884 #12856943 (accessed 13 December 2023)
   Paul Gutknecht (46), married, Farmer, head of household in Cottonwood, Brown, Minnesota, USA. Born in Germany.
10. ↑ 1920 Census: "1920 United States Federal Census"
    Year: 1920; Census Place: Linden, Brown, Minnesota; Roll: T625_825; Page: 5B; Enumeration District: 44
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 6061 #26569861 (accessed 13 December 2023)
    Paul Gutknecht (58), married, Farmer, head of household in Linden, Brown, Minnesota. Born in Mecklenburg.
11. ↑ 1930 Census: "1930 United States Federal Census"
    Year: 1930; Census Place: Bone Lake, Polk, Wisconsin; Page: 1B; Enumeration District: 0008; FHL microfilm: 2342339
    Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 6224 #58027633 (accessed 13 December 2023)
    Paul B Guthknedt (68), married, Farmer, head of household in Bone Lake, Polk, Wisconsin, USA. Born in Germany.
12. ↑ Burial: "U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current" Find A Grave: Memorial #70208100
    Ancestry Record 60525 #31712812 (accessed 13 December 2023)
    Paul Bernand Gutknecht burial (died on 23 Jul 1933) in Saint Paul's Lutheran Cemetery, New Ulm, Brown County, Minnesota, United States of America. Born on 9 Jun 1863.