A THOUSAND YEARS OF FAMILY HISTORY WALTER BUTZEN AND HIS DESCENDANTS

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Collin Scott
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1 A THOUSAND YEARS OF FAMILY HISTORY WALTER BUTZEN AND HIS DESCENDANTS How many families in the USA can say with any confidence that their roots go back one thousand years? If you share DNA with Walter Butzen, you can! Two documents, a Discharge Certificate and a Ship Roster provided by a Butzen descendant, Dorothy Pape, give the bare outline of how our common ancestors, Walter Butzen and his family, left their little village, Reil, on the bank of the beautiful Mosel River in Germany, and came to America. In September, 1853 the Royal Prussian Government, Department of Interior, granted Walter s petition for a leave of absence so he, his wife, Anna Barbara Streusser, and their six children could immigrate to America. On the certificate Walter is listed as being 50 years old and his profession is vintager." His wife, Anna is 47 years old, and their children range in age from Maria Anna, 20 years old and Maria Johanna Fransiska (Frances), 18, down to little Julian (Julius), only 2 years old. With this Discharge Certificate in hand, Walter and his family embarked on a new life, in a new country.

2 Walter Butzen & Descendants, page 2 Ship Roster of the Oregon listing Walter Butzen and his family In the gray month of November, Walter and his family must have made their way to Antwerp, Belgium where they boarded an American ship, the Oregon and crossed the stormy Atlantic Ocean. The ship s roster lists this family, and describes Walter as a farmer. On December 5 th, 1853 the ship arrived at New York City harbor. These are the only two official documents in my possession that confirm where the Walter Butzen family came from, how old they were, and what Walter s occupation in Reil, Germany was. The documents don t tell us all the things we d like to know: Why would Walter uproot his family and leave one of Germany s most beautiful areas? Did he have to sell his property in Reil? Were they very poor and only able to afford passage in the steerage section of the ship? How did his wife and children feel about this uprooting of their lives? Did Walter have a job waiting for him in Amerika? Did they plan to settle in Chicago? My own connection to Walter Butzen is through his oldest daughter, Maria Anna. Some brief family history notes for Maria Anna mention that five of Walter s children married and remained in the Chicago area. The sixth child, Margaretha, became a nun and died in Memphis, Tennessee where she was helping to fight a yellow fever epidemic.

Walter Butzen & Descendants, 7-9-2003 page 3 There is a third document, entitled The Butzen-Reinhofer Family Tree.

3 Walter Butzen & Descendants, page 3 There is a third document, entitled The Butzen-Reinhofer Family Tree. It details the genealogy of one of Walter s sons, Joseph, who married Caroline Reinhofer in St. Michael s Church in Chicago. Dorothy Pape and I independently received this document. It confirms what the two official documents state, and adds some more interesting notes. 1) Walter Butzen was a winemaker from Reil, near Trier, Germany. His brother, Hans Peter, came to the US with him. Hans Peter had three children, Nick (who lived on Cleveland Avenue), Peter (living on Mohawk Street) and Barbara (who married Simon.) 2) Walter s wife, Anna Barbara Streusser, was originally buried in Lincoln Park, later reburied in St. Boniface Cemetery. Maria Anna (Marian) Butzen Hommerding Picture taken at the home of her son-in-law, August Kemmerich, Mt. Angel, Oregon, in Maria Anna was 77 years old. She passed away March 25, 1912 at the age of 78. So far, I ve not been able to add much to my knowledge of Walter Butzen and his life after he came to Chicago. I don t think there was much demand for winemakers in Chicago, but some family members speculate that he may have been employed in one of the many neighborhood breweries that flourished in Chicago. Just recently, I was given a copy of the 1880 US Census for a portion of Blackhawk Street in Chicago. Walter was living at 259 Blackhawk Street with his son, Joseph, daughter-in-law Caroline Reinhofer and their family. Walter was now 78, described as a widower and also as lame." His daughter, Maria Anna Butzen Hommerding was also listed, and apparently lived just around the corner. She was a widow with two daughters living with her. One of Maria s daughters is my grandmother, Barbara. Four years later Barbara would be married to my grandfather, August Kemmerich, in St. Michael s Church in this very German part of Chicago. August and Barbara s marriage certificate is even written in German!

Walter Butzen & Descendants, 7-9-2003 page 4 Copy of June 2, 1880 Census, Enumeration District No. 167, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.

4 Walter Butzen & Descendants, page 4 Copy of June 2, 1880 Census, Enumeration District No. 167, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois. Includes Walter Butzen, living with his son, Joseph, and Joseph s family (near top) And Mary (Maria Anna) Butzen Hommerding and her daughters, Barbara and Mary (near bottom of page.)

Walter Butzen & Descendants, 7-9-2003 page 5 In 1986 Dorothy Pape copied tombstone inscriptions at the St. Boniface Cemetery in Chicago.

5 Walter Butzen & Descendants, page 5 In 1986 Dorothy Pape copied tombstone inscriptions at the St. Boniface Cemetery in Chicago. Thanks to Dorothy, I know that Walter died eight months after that 1880 census and is buried in St. Boniface Cemetery with his wife, Anna Barbara. It would be very interesting to fill in the knowledge gaps for our mutual ancestor. While this is about the sum of my knowledge of Walter Butzen in America, I was able to learn a good deal more about our Butzen roots during a trip to Germany this past May. Before my trip I had discovered that Butzen relatives lived in Reil and still followed the centuries-old tradition of being winemakers, as Walter had been. Vineyards on the steep hillsides above the Mosel River. View from Richard Arns home, Reil, Germany Reil s winemakers cultivate the hillsides on both sides of the river. A river cruise ship sails past Reil. Rainer Arns and his son, Richard, have vineyards on the steep hillsides above the Mosel River, a winery, and not one but two wine cellars, carved into the hillside. They also have guest rooms, and my daughter, Karen, and I stayed there for three days. Rainer is now semi-retired and he and his wife, Hannalöre, were gracious and generous with their genealogical information. Thanks to my daughter s fluency in German we were able to speak easily to the Arnses. To my surprise, I learned that Hannalöre is more closely related to us than her husband! She is descended from one of Walter Butzen s sisters. One of the Arns two wine cellars comes from her side of the family.

Walter Butzen & Descendants, 7-9-2003 page 6

6 Walter Butzen & Descendants, page 6 Rainer & Hannalöre Arns With Barbara Halliday At their home Reil, Germany May 24, 2003 Rainer Arns & Son Winery And Rainer & Hannalöre Arns home Reil, Germany

Walter Butzen & Descendants, 7-9-2003 page 7 Rainer Arns in his wine cellar Reil, Germany Rainer did not know where Walter s house would have been, or why he left Reil.

7 Walter Butzen & Descendants, page 7 Rainer Arns in his wine cellar Reil, Germany Rainer did not know where Walter s house would have been, or why he left Reil. A retired banker in another Mosel area village has been researching the emigration of villagers from this part of Germany. While he has no information on emigration from Walter s village, there is a good chance that what he learned would equally apply to those who left Reil. Following is a brief condensation of a letter sent by Herr Arnold Gossler to the Chicago German-language newspaper Eintracht on February 9, Herr Gossler was trying to locate USA descendants of the 1850 s emigrants. There were no large cities here, only small towns with fewer than one thousand residents, and in the year 1852, the poverty was great. The people had little land, and other opportunities didn t exist, so many could not feed themselves. There was much theft going on, and this put a burden on the community, one that they didn t know how to handle. The mayors of five communities in the counties of Zell and Mosel developed a plan to send the poor to North America. They decided to send those who were willing to go to America, at the cost of the community, because at this time many people from all parts of Germany were going there. Delegates of these communities acquired funds from a local steel mill and arranged an all-inclusive contract with an emigration agent in Koblenz (where the Mosel River enters the Rhine River). Thus they were able to get rid of large groups of people, which they said were a burden to others and a threat to their personal property. In the wake of the euphoria of being able to emigrate at the cost of the community, most voiced approval, and no consideration was shown for the few who were less enthusiastic. Acceptance of travel money from community funds meant that the immigrants would give up their German citizenship and never again set foot on German soil. In one day, the 530 emigrants from five villages were loaded onto two ships and transported via Koblenz to Rotterdam, and the journey to North America began. Two mayors from these villages accompanied the group to Liverpool in England and ensured their departure.

Walter Butzen & Descendants, 7-9-2003 page 8 Herr Gossler said all contact and connection to their old homeland ended quickly for the emigrants.

8 Walter Butzen & Descendants, page 8 Herr Gossler said all contact and connection to their old homeland ended quickly for the emigrants. The people who remained in Germany quickly forgot all about it, and when he was in school, this part of German history was no longer mentioned. I had the pleasure of visiting with Herr Gossler while in Reil, and he did visit the USA last fall, He discovered that many of the emigrants he was researching had settled in Wisconsin. Was this the scenario for Walter Butzen s emigration? I suspect so--based on that Discharge Certificate that Dorothy Pape obtained. But, perhaps not. We need to do more historical research, that I DO know! Rainer Arns, our Butzen relative in Reil, gave Karen and me a wonderful tour of his winery, wine cellars and also took us to a beautiful Catholic church high above the Mosel River, where Walter and his family would have worshipped. In touring his wine cellars, Rainer pointed out the stone tracks on which large wine barrels could be rolled through the cellar. He said these tracks were probably laid down by the Romans! Other literature about the Mosel Valley vineyards says that it was the Romans who brought wine grapes to the area. Reil s main claim to fame is that they have been making wine for one thousand years. The Rainer Arns & Son Winery and Richard Arns guesthouse are situated on the right side of the picture The Thousand-Year-Old Village of Reil on the Mosel River. Rainer Arns insisted that his family was already living in Reil long before the Romans arrived. He had a copy of transcribed church records listing births, marriages and deaths far into the past. With this copy we were able to find the direct connections between him, his wife and Walter Butzen. Dorothy Pape had also received Reil church records from another Butzen descendant, Jack Kirchen. In turn, Jack received them from a monk who had been granted permission to transcribe them in Reil. The earliest date noted on these records is September 26, 1642 when a Peter Butzen married Magdelen. It might well be possible to trace our Butzen ancestors even farther--except for the fact that the German script in use in earlier centuries is almost impossible to decipher today.

Walter Butzen & Descendants, 7-9-2003 page 9 After my conversations with Rainer Arns, I m satisfied that Butzens

ancestors have lived there for over one thousand years.

9 Walter Butzen & Descendants, page 9 After my conversations with Rainer Arns, I m satisfied that Butzens have probably lived in Reil from time immemorial, and it is quite conservative to claim that Walter Butzen s ancestors have lived there for over one thousand years. The Porta Nigra (Black Gate) at Trier, Germany Built by the Romans in 180 AD The Imperial Roman Baths Built by Emperor Constantine In the early Fourth Century Trier, Germany

10 Walter Butzen & Descendants, page 10 Genealogy is a fascinating study--and there is always more to be discovered about the earlier contributors to our gene pool. I hope others will be able to fill in the many gaps in Walter Butzen s history. Descendant of: Alphonse Kemmerich/Barbara Hommerding/Maria Anna Butzen/Walter Butzen and back to those Romans! Written July 12, 2003

A THOUSAND YEARS OF FAMILY HISTORY WALTER BUTZEN AND HIS DESCENDANTS

A THOUSAND YEARS OF FAMILY HISTORY WALTER BUTZEN AND HIS DESCENDANTS How many families in the USA can say with any confidence that their roots go back one thousand years? If you share DNA with Walter Butzen,