I have been in touch with our cousin, Lenchen Gericke, born Thaden, who lives in Germany. She has informed me of some family history I never knew before. I must study this more, but for now, if I have the story straight, we descend from the Frisians, an ethnic group in northern Germany. Descendants of Frisians have managed to maintain much of their culture and language and continue to live in the northern part of Holland and neighboring Germany in the region of the North Sea. They were the first of the peoples inhabiting Germany to gain their independence from the Vikings. They valued freedom with a passion and were the first foreign group to support the American colonies’ move toward their own independence. The region in which our Thadens lived was Ostfresia, or East Fresia, now located in Germany.
Cousin Lenchen tells me that around 1100, the tribes got together and formed a farming cooperative called the Theelacht. Each clan was represented at the coop meetings by a clan chief. This honor was passed down to the oldest son, I believe. In case there were no sons, the oldest daughter bore the title. Although the necessity for such a coop does not exist today, the tradition of clan chiefs does, and it is still considered quite an honor. Lenchen is presently the clan chief in our family.
Further study into the emigration of Ostfresians to this country sounds like passages I have read about Syrian emigrants and Italian emigrants. Sometimes half the population of a village packed up for America, and the greatest influx was from 1850 to 1900. The reasons were usually a bad economy, corrupt politics, and lack of opportunity.
Our Thaden ancestors, Herman and Bernard were here by 1860. Most immigrants embarked at the port of New Orleans. I know this is true for Bernard. Then, most new arrivals headed up the Mississippi River to settle the farmlands of Illinois and Iowa and even Wisconsin. There are still some towns in Illinois and Iowa with a strong Frisian culture. I do not know yet why Herman decided on Atlanta and why Bernard settled on Washington, D.C.
I find this subject fascinating and intend to research more.
Note: There was an adoption between our living generations and our immigrant, Herman Thaden. Therefore we probably cannot claim a biological link to the Frisians. However, the legacy passed on from our Thaden ancestors is ours, just the same.
(Map from Wikipedia Commons at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ostfriesland_de.svg )
Cousin Lenchen tells me that around 1100, the tribes got together and formed a farming cooperative called the Theelacht. Each clan was represented at the coop meetings by a clan chief. This honor was passed down to the oldest son, I believe. In case there were no sons, the oldest daughter bore the title. Although the necessity for such a coop does not exist today, the tradition of clan chiefs does, and it is still considered quite an honor. Lenchen is presently the clan chief in our family.
Further study into the emigration of Ostfresians to this country sounds like passages I have read about Syrian emigrants and Italian emigrants. Sometimes half the population of a village packed up for America, and the greatest influx was from 1850 to 1900. The reasons were usually a bad economy, corrupt politics, and lack of opportunity.
Our Thaden ancestors, Herman and Bernard were here by 1860. Most immigrants embarked at the port of New Orleans. I know this is true for Bernard. Then, most new arrivals headed up the Mississippi River to settle the farmlands of Illinois and Iowa and even Wisconsin. There are still some towns in Illinois and Iowa with a strong Frisian culture. I do not know yet why Herman decided on Atlanta and why Bernard settled on Washington, D.C.
I find this subject fascinating and intend to research more.
Note: There was an adoption between our living generations and our immigrant, Herman Thaden. Therefore we probably cannot claim a biological link to the Frisians. However, the legacy passed on from our Thaden ancestors is ours, just the same.
(Map from Wikipedia Commons at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ostfriesland_de.svg )
No comments:
Post a Comment