STEMWEDE EMIGRANT DATABASE Compiled by: Wilhelm F. Niermann 32351 Stemwede-Wehdem Germany INTRODUCTION This database contains names of emigrants from the present-day district of Stemwede. Following a recent regional reorganization, in 1973, the former districts of Dielingen-Wehdem and Levern were consolidated and the district of " STEMWEDE " created. The new name was chosen because for a thousand years the area along the Stemweder Berg ( mountain ) was populary referred to as Stemwede. The villages of the former district of Dielingen were : Drohne, Dielingen, Haldem and Arrenkamp The villages of the former district of Wehdem were : Westrup, Wehdem, Oppendorf and Oppenwehe The villages of the former district of Levern were : Destel, Levern, Sundern, Twiehausen, Hollwede and Niedermehnen At the time of the emigration the three parishes were Dielingen, Wehdem and Levern. The parish boundaries coincided with the boundaries of the former three districts. Today the district of Oppenwehe is an independent parish. The forces that pushed people to emigrate! The present-day district of Stemwede is representative of the other areas as well. The information presented here comes from the old issues of " Heimat-Blaetter fuer die Grafschaft Diepholz ", ( Regional Pages for the County Diepholz ). The only reference from the 18th century cites a population of 4701 for Dielingen and Wehdem in 1785. By 1820 the population increased by about 100 individuals to 5801. Over the next 25 years, from 1820 to 1845, the population grew by 2406 individuals. With a population of 8826 the peak was reached in the villages that occupied our present-day area. The increase by 3525 people over 63 years, from 1785 to 1848, is a growth of 75 % . This development was due to a better standard of living brought on by an increased demand for woven linen. About three-quarters of the population were involved in growing flax and in weaving of linen. For most people who farmed for a livelihood the weaving of linen became an additional income. The coming of the weaving machine spelled their doom. Used first in England and later in Bielefeld, Germany, the cottage industry with its handwoven product no longer could compete with the machine-woven linen. Machine-made goods were produced faster, cheaper and their quality was consistent. The demand for hand-woven linen quickly declined. To make matters worse, about the same time cotton products entered the market at a cheaper price as well. The low price offered for hand-woven linen led to poverty and suffering among the people who had depended on this additional income. With the demand gone the " Legge " ( linen market ) closed in Dielingen in 1840. Its importance was gone. At markets such this the quality and size of the product was checked for certification by the state. Though the linen market continued in Wehdem a few more years, the statement appears in 1847 that the " Legge " there no longer attracted as many people as before. (Source : Karl Hamer, " Evidence of population movement in the Districts of Dielingen and Wehdem", in Diepholzer Heimat-Blaetter ).The distressing conditions in the area are revealed in a few numbers for the year 1847: [In Wehdem 67 poor children and two old widows received free lunch for five month. Many children were boarded. To feed the needy in Westrup 7 Reichstaler, 17 Silbergroschen and 9 Pfennig were raised monthly for six month. In Oppendorf 25 children were fed for four month and in Oppenwehe 34 children for six month. The Prussian government contributed 580 Reichstaler toward the support. 1 T(h)aler = 30 Silbergroschen = 360 Pfennig. See: Fritz Verdenhalven : Alte Masse, Muenzen und Gewichte aus dem deutschen Sprachgebiet. Neustadt an der Aisch, Germany, Verlag Degener & Co. 1968 ]. An area with thriving cottage industry of flax cultivation, spinning and weaving had become a poorhouse!!! When crops also failed in these already hard times, it only added to the discontent of the people. Many began to leave the area and emigration to America increased in the 1850's. The individual states of the US in promotial literature described their states in glowing terms and promised land to those willing to immigrate. Emigration offices opened, offered help with the required paperwork and the purchase of tickets for the passage. They were not allowed to recruit but be could of assistance if asked !!! A few examples of the emigration from the former district of Wehdem: 1841 : 23 individuals 1842 : 33 individuals 1847 : 3 families and 17 single individuals 1848 : 3 families and 45 single individuals 1856 : 44 individuals 1859 : 96 individuals 1860 : 6 families and 40 single individuals 1861 : 41 individuals In the 1880's emigration picked up again! In the 19th century the Stemwede area, governed by the Kingdom of Prussia, bordered the Kingdom of Hannover. This geographic proximity allowed many people to leave without official permission. A short walk took them to the Kingdom of Hannover where, without further difficulties, they continued to the emigration ports of Bremen and Bremerhaven. Since mandatory military service was lengthy in Prussia, men of military age had another reason to leave. The number of emigrants who left without official permission was as high if not higher than the number of those who left with official sanction. Today the lists found in the archives give mostly names of those who emigrated with permission. The names of young men obligated to military service are found in the old military records with the names of those who left illegally and who were sentenced in absentia. The total population loss from 1845 to 1864 was about 500 individuals and from 1865 to 1885 about 1100. Today it is difficult to compile a complete listing. For example, most of the young women are not listed. Had they, like the young men, been faced with a military obligation the situation would be different. And sometimes an entire family is identified only by the name of the " head-of-household" !!! Of the villages in the old district of Dielingen-Wehdem by far the larger number of people emigrated from Wehdem. The following are the sources for the documented emigrants: - Church records of the parish of Dielingen - Church records of the parish of Wehdem - Church records of the parish of Levern - Abstracts at the state archive in Detmold - Heimat-Blaetter der Grafschaft Diepholz, Niedersachsen ( Regional Pages of the County Diepholz, Lower Saxony ) - Register of individuals granted permission to leave the Districts of Dielingen and Wehdem, Archive for the District of Stemwede in Dielingen - Register of Persons Arriving and Departing the Villages in the District of Stemwede, Archive of the District Stemwede in Levern - Unpublished index in the dissertation " Deutsche Amerika-Auswanderung aus dem Altkreis Luebbecke in der zweiten Haelfte des 19. Jahrhunderts ", by Dr. Heinz-Ulrich Kammeier, Stockhausen, Germany, now Bielefeld, Germany. - Documents and other information made available by families in the United States of America - Excerpt from the " Chronik von dem Kirchspiel Wehdem " ( Chronicle of the Parish of Wehdem ) by Heinrich Strangmeier of Oppendorf published in the " Heimat-Blaetter der Grafschaft Diepholz, Lower Saxony. - Excerpt from the “ Chronik von dem Kirchspiel Levern, published by Heinz Redecker 2002 These lists could not have been compiled without the devoted help of others. My gratitude goes to all of them : Mr. Dr. Heinz-Ulrich Kammeier, Bielefeld, whose work is the foundation for this listing; he also allowed me to use the names and dates he collected for his dissertation. Mr. Egon Buettemeier, Assistant Director of Stemwede, deceased. Mr. Heinz Redecker, retired Director of Stemwede, deceased. Mr. Falk Liebezeit, archivist of the city of Diepholz, Lower Saxony Mr. Bill R. Wittner, New Ulm, Texas, USA, who wrote the first computer program, helped with the database, and made the project possible, deceased. Mr. Olaf Labitzke, Hille, who wrote the second computer program, with the Win 95 Mrs. Andrea Kracht, Hille Mr. Torsten Kroeger, Rahden, helped with the computer installation and answered all my computer-related questions. Mr. Wolfram M. Von Maszewski, Richmond, Texas, USA, who translated this appendix. Whithout their help this listing for the district of STEMWEDE could not have been accomplished. I have to thank them all ! Finally, the idea for this database came from Mr. and Mrs. Jim DeBerry with whom I visited in Houston, Texas, USA, in 1989. For this reason I wish to dedicate this work to the person responsible for its idea / concept , to my departed friend Jim DeBerry. It is my hope that everyone who uses this database is successful in his / her search and has good fortune to find the person he / she is looking for. Much information is still missing and I hope that these voids can be filled. All help in this respect will be gratefully acknowledged and I contact everyone who can add to the database. Every emigrant not on the list should be made known and added to it. It will never be possible to have a complete listing, that accounts for all persons who emigrated. One reason is that not all records survived time. Many individuals, as well as families moved to Posen, Germany, are listed here as well as people who moved to East and West Prussia and other areas of eastern Germany. Information on the “ STEMWEDE EMIGRANT DATABASE “ This database includes over 5700 records of all known emigrants from the area in Germany known as STEMWEDE. The Stemwede district is located about 28 miles ( 45 kilometers ) east of Osnabrueck in north western Germany. The records of the following villages are included in the database. The villages are listed under the church parish where the records are kept. Dielingen Levern Wehdem Arrenkamp Destel Oppendorf Dielingen Hollwede Oppenwehe Drohne Levern Wehdem Haldem Niedermehnen Westrup Sundern Twiehausen Through 1874, all records of births, deaths and marriages were maintained by the churches ( Evangelical Lutheran ).