On my recent trip to the Family History Library, I looked up a few birth, marriage, and death records for the Drees Family. Frances Drees Grilliot was my husband's great-grandmother on his Dad's side of the family. Her grandfather, Johann Michael Drees, was born in 1812 in Garrel, Cloppenburg, Niedersachsen, Germany, and immigrated to America in 1833.
Johann Michael, a blacksmith by trade, was one of the first settlers of Minster, Ohio, and actually served as the town's first mayor. Because he was quite an influential person at the time, a short biography was published in the book, History of Western Ohio and Auglaize County by C.W. Williamson (1905). This biography is great, because, among other information, it states Johann Michael's hometown, tells me when and how he came to live in Ohio, and says who he traveled with. (His hometown is also listed on his gravestone, which is shown below.)
Using their online catalog, I discovered that the Family History Library does have Catholic Kirchenbuch records for Cloppenburg going back into the 1600s, so I was excited to look through them. Here is Johann Michael Drees' baptism record below. His father's name is also Johann Michael, which I already knew, because the biography I mentioned above referred to him as 'Jr.' He was baptized 19 May 1812 (second record from the bottom). His mother's name was Maria Catherine Högemann.
Johann Michael, a blacksmith by trade, was one of the first settlers of Minster, Ohio, and actually served as the town's first mayor. Because he was quite an influential person at the time, a short biography was published in the book, History of Western Ohio and Auglaize County by C.W. Williamson (1905). This biography is great, because, among other information, it states Johann Michael's hometown, tells me when and how he came to live in Ohio, and says who he traveled with. (His hometown is also listed on his gravestone, which is shown below.)
Using their online catalog, I discovered that the Family History Library does have Catholic Kirchenbuch records for Cloppenburg going back into the 1600s, so I was excited to look through them. Here is Johann Michael Drees' baptism record below. His father's name is also Johann Michael, which I already knew, because the biography I mentioned above referred to him as 'Jr.' He was baptized 19 May 1812 (second record from the bottom). His mother's name was Maria Catherine Högemann.
Baptism Record for Johann Michael Drees (b. 1812)
Johann Michael died 18 Feb 1878 and is buried in St. Augustine's Cemetery in Minster. Interestingly, his gravestone (below) states that he was born 19 Jun instead of 19 May. Now, I am pretty certain that that baptism record says '19 May.' April is clearly right before May, but then if you look at the top of the next page, it says 'July.' So, either there weren't any baptisms in June, there was some mistake by the priest or scribe who entered the records, or Johann Michael (or his descendants) was (were) just mistaken about his birth month.
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Gravestone Photo Source: FindaGrave.com; photographed by A. Chronicler.
Baptism Record Source: FHL Film 909936, Kirchenbuch, 1613-1875, Katholische Kirche Cloppenburg
©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder
Baptism Record Source: FHL Film 909936, Kirchenbuch, 1613-1875, Katholische Kirche Cloppenburg
©2014, copyright Emily Kowalski Schroeder
