Chapter 4: Our Troester Origins Meet three of our Troester family patriarchs. Our earliest direct Troester ancestor we’re aware of is Georg (GAY-ork) Troester, born 1603 in the Duchy of Württemberg, now in southwest Germany. (1) (2) For now we’ll call him our German Patriarch. In the 1806, The Duchy Wurttemberg became the Sovereign Kingdom of Württemberg. Shortly after, his Great-Great Grandson Johann Georg Troester settled in Hoffnungstal, South Russia. (3) He is our Russian Patriarch. In 1874 his grandson Jakob Friedrich Troester, Sr. emigrated to America. We’ll call him our American Patriarch. (4) Current coat of arms for Badan-Württemberg. The stag and griffin are holding up the shield of the three lions, the coat of arms when our Troesters ancestors lived in Württemberg. (A) A. Jakob Friedrich Troester, our American Patriarch It was May 13th in the year of our Lord 1874. Jakob had just left behind his German colony in South Russia to embark on the SS Herman from the major interior port of Bremen in the newly formed nation of Germany. (5) (6) From there the vessel of steel, steam, and sails brought them up the Weser River to the North Sea. (7) After having now crossed the Atlantic, he disembarked in Baltimore, MD, from where he led his family to Hamilton County, Nebraska. (8) (9) As his extended family of 13 first stepped across Jakob’s new homestead, he was leaving behind a mixed heritage of struggle and hope that had been played out by Troester patriarchs in the past. (10) He had just passed a phase of struggle in his own life in Hoffnungstal, South Russia, and now he was beginning to imagine a life of hope, freedom, and (through some hard work) maybe some prosperity. After all, this new land, not even a century old, was billed as a land of promise. His part in his Troester family history in America now lay before him. He set his sights on the hopes of the future. Although the past would always be with him, as years and generations would pass, some of his rich heritage would become muddled facts or forgotten altogether. (11) It is our objective to bring this heritage back to life and create a narrative that is as accurate as we can make it—and in some respects, more complete than Jakob, our American Patriarch, ever knew it. In this portion of our family history, we will try to reach back as far as we can into our Troester heritage. We will take the reader to times before a united Germany, to the days under the dukes and kings, to the German-Russian colony of Hoffnungstal, for a moment in Palestine, and finally to America. (12) (13) B. A Short Course on Jakob’s Origins in Wüerttemberg According to Dr. Otto Michael Troester and the Ehrmann record, our earliest known Troester ancestors originated in what today is southwest Germany. (14) (15) The first recorded people to inhabit the region were the Suevi and Celts. (16) If you remember, the Celts conquered and settled Britain.(17) In the first century A. D., the Romans conquered these tribes of central Europe and in that same century (70 A. D. to be exact) destroyed Jerusalem on the eastern side of their empire. (18) 19) It wasn’t until the 200s A.D. that the first Germans , the confederation of Alamanni, swept into place. Next, a second group of Germans, the Salian Franks from the Rhine River in Gaul (France) overthrew the last Roman governor of that province in the late 400s A.D. Their king was Clovis I. In 496 A.D, he went on to conquer the Alamanni, declaring the region to be Clovis I (B) the Duchy of Swabia. When he converted to Christianity, a close relationship began between the Frankish monarchs and the Roman papacy. (20) In the 1000s, the Franks demoted the dukes to counts, who didn’t regain their status until 1495 A. D., three years after Columbus sailed for America. (21) The Baptism of Clovis I (C) During the days of Martin Luther and the Reformation of the 1500s, much of Württemberg became Protestant, that is, Lutheran and Calvinist. (22) In the 1600s, the 30 Years’ War ravaged the district, ravaged the area and reduced the population of Württemberg from 450,000 to 100,000. (23) In this century we first catch sight of our first known ancestor, Georg Troester, our German Patriarch. (24) Towards the end of the 1700s ,Wurt- Martin Luther, Reformer (D) -temberg felt the benefits of the Industrial Revolution when it became a manufacturing and textile center. (25) The dukes were raised to the ranks of electors (1803) and finally (puppet) kings by Napoleon (1806). (26) The first of these kings of Württemberg was Friedrick I, who now ruled the region by a new name, the Sovereign Kingdom of Württemberg. (27) (28) This brings us up to the time of Johann Georg Troester, our Russian Patriarch, (29) His grandson was Jakob Friedrich, our American Patriarch. It would be instructive now to take a closer look at this land of our earliest Troester patriarchs. Today this region is now part of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. (30) To my ear, the Germans pronounced Württemberg as VOHR-tem-berk. (31) Germans spell it Württemberg and Wuerttemberg. (32) The kingdom was noted for its Swabian Alps, its famed Black Forest, and its Swabian German dialect, which my Gramdpa Herman Troester could still speak until the day he died in 1954. (33) (34) The Swabian dialect is still alive and well in Baden-Würtemberg today, and its inhabitants have a good sense of humor about it. They recently adopted the following motto for their state: “Wir konnen alles. Ausser Hochdeutch,” which translates, “We can do anything accept speak standard German.” (35) Standard German is High German, created by Luther for his German translation of the Bible. (36) Roughly, before the consolidation of the German states in 1871, Württemberg was surrounded by Baden to the north, west, and south; Bavaria to the east, and in the south by Lake Constance, which is partially claimed by its Swiss and Austrian neighbors. (37) Dr. Troester says the Troesters lived near the Württemberg capital of Stuttgart, situated on the Nekar River. (38) Sources: While still compiling, editing, and creating this website, I am reviewing previous and current notes as I verify my citations. When that is completed, I will post them. Your patience is appreciated. Thank you. DB Unsolved Mysteries: 1. During the Protestant Reformation, did Württemberg cling to Lutheranism or Calvinism? C. Stuttgart Dr. Troester indicates that the ancestors of our American Patriarch, Jakob Friedrich Troester, originated near Stuttgart, the capital of the former Sovereign Kingdom of Württemberg. (1) (2) Stuttgart (600,000 in 2008) is located in north-central Baden-Württemberg (10.7 million). (3) (4). In 1871 the Kingdom of Wűrttemberg and the other 15 independent Germanic states unified, creating the German empire. (5) Württemberg amalgamated with Baden in 1952 under the new name of Baden-Württemberg. (6) Coat of Arms for Stuttgart Stuttgart, capital of Baden-Württemberg, Germany (A) Baden in orange & Württemberg in white Centrally located Stuttgart in red (B) History Mysteries: What were the populations for Württemberg and Stuttgart around 1820? Sources: This information has been compiled over the course of several years. While still compiling, editing, and creating this website, I am reviewing previous and current notes as I verify my citations. When that is completed, I will post them. Your patience is appreciated. Thank you. DB.