My Corner Online
Brennecke Links | Brennecke Crest | German Church
Cluster 1 (Sebexen, Hanover, Germany to Gordonville, Missouri) (our line)
Cluster 2 (Austria, Germany) | Cluster 3 (Ringelheim, Germany, to St. Louis)
Cluster 4 (Goddenstedt, Germany to America) | Cluster 5 ( Heidelburg, Germany to Marshall County, Iowa)
Cluster 6 (Evansville, Indiana, to Nashville, Tennessee) | Cluster 7 (Essinghausen, Germany, to Quincy, Illinois)
Cluster 8 (Hanover, Germany, to New York) | Cluster 9 Hanover, Germany, to Walhalla South Carolina)
Descendants of Johann Heinrich Brenneke
and Juliane Caroline Herbst
Contact: Heidi Brenneke-Nunes at gibbiesmom at verizon.net or Laurie Rollins at love_a_poodle at comcast.net
Website: http://home.comcast.net/site/error/error_404.html
(old contact information not confirmed, website down)
A.M. (Gus) Brenneke of Dallas Texas started this research. He wrote letters to his cousin, Arthur Brenneke. Gus and Art have the same initials, which makes for a confusing reading of the letters below.
Augustus (Gus) Brenneke turned over his material to his nephew, Bob Brenneke, through his son, Norwood Brenneke (Bob & Norwood are cousins). Bob is now in possession of the original material. In 2007, Bob had been continuing work on this line for 22 years.
This descendant information was initially obtain from A.M. Brenneke of Dallas Texas and A.M. Brenneke of Indiana. Both men communicated with Herb Schaper (Cluster #1) and provided their information. Bob Brenneke provided additional information for this line in 2003.
PARTIAL TRANSCRIPTION OF LETTERS
BETWEEN A.M. BRENNEKE AND HERB SCHAPER (Cluster #1)
I am providing the transcriptions here as they put a little light on the research and may help us make connections. Where a dot, dot, dot (...) is seen, transcription has been skipped, leaving more pertinent communications.
Note: A.M. spells his last name without the 'c'.
Note: These letters are from two different A.M. Brenneke,
one in Dallas, Texas,
and one in New Castle, Indiana who also goes by Art.
Note: abbreviation AMB =A.M. Brennecke
******************
December 16, 1970
Messrs. William & Bud (handwritten note Theodore) Brenneke
Addieville, ILL 62214 or
Nashville, ILL 62263
Gentlemen,
I was in St. Louis over Thanksgiving, and needed some work on my car. I took it to the L.M. Steart Co., the Chrysler dealer, and the Service Manager asked if I was related to you two gentlemen. He was not too sure of the exact address, but said you were equipment dealers in one or both of the two towns to which this letter is addressed.
About two years ago I received a mis-directed invoice from the Gulf Oil Corp., which should have gone to another A.M. Brenneke, residing in New Castle, Indiana. Our correspondence developed that our respective grandfathers were brothers, and we have been engaged in recording what data we could obtain about the family. We have rather complete data on our two branches from our grandfathers this way, but there are two other brothers about which we know only that they were born and when, and that Christof did grow to manhood, as the Indiana AMB has a letter from Christof to his brother Hermann in Indiana, in which he mentioned two nephews, Otto and Rudolf, who were brothers of my father.
My father was Martin Brenneke, ...while the other AM Brenneke is a son of William Arthur Brenneke,... My father was born in or near Hannover, Germany in 1864, and came to America in the late 1880's.
We were able to obtain genealogic data from a cousin in Berlin, through a daughter of hers in Cincinnati, because Hitler required everyone, it seems, to prove they were not Jewish by a 5 generation pedigree. These data were obtained from Church baptismal records.
We have reason to think a brother Heinrich to Johann August Brenneke may have come to America sometime around 1820 or so, but are not sure. ..
For your information, I am retired, now 76, and was in private practice as a civil engineer for many years. The Indiana AMB was Chief Engineer of the Perfect Circle Piston Ring Co., and is now in private consulting work in mechanical engineering. The husband of the cousin in Berlin is also a mechanical engineer, as was another cousin in Germany, who died last January.
. ... A.M Brenneke (Dallas, Texas AMB)
**************
December 14, 1970
Mr. Clarence Brenneke
Mr. John Brenneke
St. Elizabeth, MO 65075
Gentlemen, -
....
My father was Martin Brenneke....the other AM Brenneke is a son of the William Arthur Breneke....My father was born in 1864, and all of his brothers and sisters ar now dead. He was the youngest, and came to America about 1885.
....A cousin, a daughter of Anna Brenneke, now living in Berlin, provided these data through her daughter, now living in Cincinnati, Ohio. Old baptismal records did the trick.
....There are two brothers of our grandfathers of whom we know nothing. Also, there is a record of one Heinrich Brenneke who should be a brother to Johann August B., the one born in Goddenstadt in 1793. He may have come to the USA in the era about 1820 or so.
.... A.M. Brenneke (Dallas, Texas AMB)
*************
November 17, 1971
Mr. Theodore Brennecke
Addieville Trucking Co., Inc.
P.O. Box 12
Madison, ILL., 62060
Dear Bud,
When I called on you last Spring I was not aware that I had some data about a Brenneke or Brennecke family in Haviland, Kansas, that came from Addieville, Illinois....However, I hope to spend the Christmas Holiday in St. Louis with my daughter, Mrs. Thos. E. Dean, who lives in Creve Coeur, and I shall try to get a little more complete listing...
As you will note in the letter from Mrs. Hendricks in Haviland, Kansas, Herman Wilhelm and Christopf Brenneke and their descendants are the ones I am particularly interest in running down, as they are two brothers of my grandfather about whom we have no data other than their birth record and a letter from Christof to a brother in Indiana....A.M. Brennecke (possibly Dallas, Texas AMB)
****************
(Six page handwritten letter)
September 13, 1976
Dear Cousin Herb:
Undoubtedly we are umpteenth cousins, but I doubt we will ever trace the exact connections....We live on a lake on the In/Mi border from May to October.
....I did note the name spelled without the "c" in several of your copies of immigration records, passports, and military (U.S.), service records. On the other hand, I have never encountered the "c" spelling in any of my family records. Also, in studying phone directories in 'Germany over the years, I find both spellings in about equal numbers. Incidentally, it is not a very common German name in total. Even in north German cities I have never found more than about ten listings. Another problem in identifying ancestors is forenames. These were perhaps twenty male forenames in common usage in Germany during the 18th and 19th centuries and these were applied in combinations of two or three per individual. For instance, my grandfather was only known as August and even my father didn't know that his father's full name was Hermann August until I acquired a copy of grandfather's baptismal records.
....my father, long ago, gave me another [meaning] which his father had given him. His story was that the name means cowboy or cow burner or cow brander. Bren is clearly burn in German, but to arrive at cow from eke which is corner in German, takes a lot of twisting to get cow or cattle, which is kine in German. Could be?!
The locality in which the tribe or tribes originated is definitely the same. Many of the place names in your records are familiar to me from my business trips to Germany almost every year since 1955. Most are small towns or villages within fifty miles of Hannover....
My grandfather came from Vlotho, a small town on the Weser river about 2.0 km. From Hannover. The Weser is the river immortalized by the Pied Piper of Hameln, another nearby town. My grandfather was a draft dodger. He walked from Vlotho to Rotterdam with a rake over his shoulder to appear like a field hand on his way to work. His uncle, captain of a sailing ship, took him from Rotterdam to Baltimore. This was 1859 and he hadn't been in Baltimore long until he was drafted into the Federal Army and served until the end of the Civil War, one far worse than he fled from in Europe! My great grandfather, Johann August, was a miller in Vlotho, when my grandfather in his early twentys left home. The mill was a water powered grist mill on a small tributary of the Weser. My father had a photograph of the mill taken by his Aunt Magdalene with whom he had corresponded until her death in 1926. In 1959, while on business in Hannover, I found an afternoon to look for the old mill in Vlotho. With the help of a German business collegue, I went to the village (about 5000 pop.), police department, explained what I was looking for and showed them the old photo. The desk officer looked at the picture and said "oh yes, it's just around the corner a short distance." My friend and I followed his direction and there it was just as in the photo! We went in and there was a dust covered miller making flour and all the machinery clanking away. We explained our mission and the miller said he had only recently leased the mill from the old man who owned it, but still lived in part of the living quarters. He took us to the "old man," then seventy-eight, who immediately recognized my name and guessed my mission. He said that over the years he recalled at least two Brenneke ladies who had visited the mill. He had a lot of interesting historical records of the mill including the original mill ledger showing the purchase of the mill from my great grandfather in 1860 by his grandfather! That was one of the rewarding experiences of research.
..set of charts on our tribe. These are the combined effort of myself and August Martin B. (Gus), Dallas, Tex.Gus was an architect and construction engineer during his working career, designed and built the Cotton Bowl among many other landmarks in Dallas and other parts of the world. Gus, just recently sent me most of his files and asked me to carry on our work since at age eighty-four his eyes are failing and his children aren't interested in where they came from; only where they are gong! Sound familiar?
Over the years, Gus has came across the tracks of several of the Missouri, Ill., and Kansas tribe and has corresponded with several of them.
Here is a little about me. My father came to New Castle, Inc., in 1906 as a florist, his first career. From 1918 on he was mostly a farmer. I was born, raised, and still live mostly in New Castle. I had one year of mechanical engineering at Purdue, '29' 30, and went to work for Perfect Circle Corp. (piston rings). By '62 I was V.P. Enginering (?), was reasonably independent financially and disenchanted with corporate admin. Work so I quit and have been in consulting work ever since. I am now letting this work taper off and currently have only one project gong in Switzerland. We need more time for pleasure....
Sincerely years, Art M. Brenneke (Indiana AMB)
Indiana address scratched out and replaced with Coldwater, Michigan address
********************
July 12, 1979
Dear Mr. Schafer (spelled incorrectly),
In March I wrote Dr. Marvin Brennecke in Hawaii,...(simple letter follows).
Sincerely years, Arthur M. Brenneke
Indiana address scratched out and replaced with Coldwater, Michigan address
***********
June 6, 1980
Dear Herbert
This is a late reply to your Feb. 18, letter...
I was in Switzerland and Germany last October, but did not have time for genealogical research. I did arrange for friends to send me copies of the current auto atlas. This is large scale and includes even the smallest villages...
A.M. Brenneke in Dallas has recently turned over to me the full responsibility of continuing the work of family recorder. He is having eye problems and he and his wife have moved into a small apartment....He sent me his files of correspondence with Missouri Brennekes. ...
Neither Gus nor I have been able to find a direct connection between the roots of your branch of the family and ours other than that both originated in the same area in Germany. To find the real connection would require records research in Germany that none of us will ever have time and opportunity to do....
Art Brenneke (Indiana AMB)
FIRST GENERATIONS ONLY
(later generations known, not online for privacy)
Descendants of Johann Heinrich Brenneke
1 Johann Heinrich BRENNEKE
b: Bef. 1780
Number of children: 1
+Juliane Caroline HERBST
m: in Goddenstedt, Germany
Number of children: 1
2 Johann August BRENNEKE
b: December 31, 1793 in Goddenstedt, Germany
Number of children: 6
Occupation: Miller at Fruedenbert, Waldorf & Vlotho
+Anne Margarete Sophie KREYNHOP
Number of children: 6
3 Johann Heinrich August BRENNEKE
b: August 23, 1826 in Bassum, Germany
d: April 18, 1870 in Verden, GermanyAge at death: 43
Number of children: 6
Occupation: Miller
+Charlotte Friderike SCHMIDT
b: January 20, 1823
d: December 23, 1910 in Oberbieber/NauwiedAge at death: 87
Number of children: 6
4 Anna BRENNEKE
b: September 25, 1857 in Vlotho
d: August 29, 1910 in BremenAge at death: 52
Number of children: 1
+Bruno PETERMANN
Number of children: 1
5 Else PETERMANN
b: January 17, 1886 in Bremerhaven
Number of children: 5
Residence: Berlin, Germany
+Alfred HEINRICH
Number of children: 5
4 Dorothea BRENNEKE
b: October 27, 1858
d: 1942 in Flatow, Germany
Age at death: 84 est.
Number of children: 2
+Hermann MAHNER
Number of children: 2
5 Hans MAHNER
b: 1886 in Meissen
d: 1934 in Flatow, Germany
Age at death: 48 est.
Number of children: 1
+LEISSEL
Number of children: 1
5 Willy MAHNER
b: February 12, 1889
d: 1962 in Weissenstadt, Germany
Age at death: 73 est.
Special Comment: No descendents
4 August BRENNEKE
b: March 5, 1856
d: March 18, 1938
Age at death: 82
Number of children: 2
+Anna WAGNER
Number of children: 2
5 Bruno BRENNEKE
b: June 14, 1898
d: January 5, 1970
Age at death: 71
Number of children: 2
Residence: Oberbieber/Neuwied
+Hilde MUSCHEID
Number of children: 2
5 Emilie BRENNEKE
b: April 11, 1901
d: May 11, 1924
Age at death: 23
4 Otto BRENNEKE
b: May 1860
d: 1921 in Chicago, IL
Age at death: 61 est.
Number of children: 3
Special Comment: immigrated to America about 1880
+Anna MAX
Number of children: 3
5 Charlotte BRENNEKE
b: August 30, 1894
d: January 1943
Age at death: 48 est.
Number of children: 3
+William VOLLMER
Number of children: 3
5 Martha BRENNEKE
b: April 2, 1897
Residence: Saginaw, Michigan
Special Comment: No descendents
+Max LAURISCH
5 Otto BRENNEKE
b: September 29, 1899
Residence: Chicago, IL
Special Comment: No descendents
+Sigrid THOMPSON
4 Rudolf BRENNEKE
d: in New York, New York
Special Comment: immigrated to America about 1880
Special Comment (2): No descendents
4 Martin BRENNEKE
b: November 1864 in Hannover, Germany
d: July 1946 in New Bedford, MassachusettsAge at death: 81 est.
Number of children: 4
Special Comment: immigrated to America about 1885
+Elizabeth MURTHA
Number of children: 4
5 Augustus Martin BRENNEKE
b: October 29, 1894 in Avon, New York
d: June 18, 1984
Number of children: 3
Residence: Dallas, Texas
(THIS IS THE FIRST A.M. BRENNEKE WHO
RESEARCHED THIS LINE)
+Mary Leah NORWOOD
m: June 2, 1923
Number of children: 3
5 Florence May BRENNEKE
b: November 2, 1896 in New York, New York
d: June 26, 1981
Number of children: 1
Residence: New Bedord, Massachusetts
+Henry R. DAVENPORT
d: May 2, 1991
m: April 19, 1930
Number of children: 1
5 Charles Herman BRENNEKE
b: November 16, 1898 in New Bedord, Massachusetts
Number of children: 1
Charles and Alice Brenneke are Bob Brenneke's parents. Bob Brenneke has researched this line for 22 years since he obtained the information from his Uncle, A.M. Brenneke.
+Alice DYER
d: June 18, 1966Age at death: ?
m: April 16, 1923
Number of children: 1
*2nd Wife of Charles Herman BRENNEKE:
+Doris Lyon STRAIN
d: September 8, 1986
m: January 2, 1968
Residence: Dartmouth, Massachusetts
Special Comment: No children
5 Rudolf Henry BRENNEKE
b: April 25, 1901 in New Bedord, Massachusetts
Number of children: 1
+Ruth DAVENPORT
d: May 11, 1938Age at death: ?
m: January 1, 1935Number of children: 1
*2nd Wife of Rudolf Henry BRENNEKE:
+Alvina MOELLER
d: July 31, 1992
m: April 2, 1941
Residence: New Bedord, Massachusetts
Special Comment: No children
3 Christoher Frederich BRENNEKE
b: June 7, 1828 in Bassum, Germany
3 Hermann Wilhelm Louis BRENNEKE
b: May 20, 1830 in Bassum, Germany
d: August 8, 1922 in Royal Center, IndianaAge at death: 92
Special Comment: immigrated to America in 1860
3 Johann Wilhelm Ferdinand BRENNEKE
b: June 3, 1834d: in Soldier's Home, Springfield, Ohio
Special Comment: immigrated to America about 1860
Special Comment (2): No descendents
3 Madalene BRENNEKE
b: 1842
d: 1926 in Salzuflen, GermanAge at death: 84 est.
Occupation: Red Cross nurse
Special Comment: No descendents
3 Herman August BRENNEKE
b: January 6, 1837 in Bassum, Germany
d: August 8, 1922 in Royal Center, IndianaAge at death: 85
Number of children: 9
Special Comment: immigrated to America about 1837
+Magdalena BERGDOLT
b: in Billingheim, Rhein
d: June 30, 1926 in Royal Center, IndianaAge at death: ?
m: December 8, 1867 in Dusky, OhioNumber of children: 9
4 Anna Maria BRENNEKE
b: December 30, 1869 in Sandusky, Ohio
d: April 6, 1936 in Logansport, IndianaAge at death: 66
Number of children: 4
+Julius MATTES
Number of children: 4
5 Mary Rosa Dora MATTES
b: March 2, 1892 in Logansport, Indiana
d: December 17, 1959 in Toledo, OhioAge at death: 67
Number of children: 4
+John BOWMAN
Number of children: 4
5 Sophia Magdalena Albertena MATTES
b: October 1, 1893 in Logansport, Indiana
d: April 9, 1972Age at death: 78
Residence: Logansport, Indiana
5 Albertena MATTES
5 Julius Joseph MATTES
b: September 14, 1903 in Logansport, Indiana
Residence: Issaquah, Washington
Special Comment: No children
+Edna Bible BAKER
4 Mary Bell BRENNEKE
b: April 13, 1870
d: 1907 in Logansport, IndianaAge at death: 37 est.
Number of children: 2
+Gustave H. MINX
Number of children: 2
5 Karl L. MINX
b: 1900 in Logansport, Indiana
d: 1921 in Logansport, IndianaAge at death: 21 est.
5 Arthur D. MINX
b: 1901 in Logansport, Indiana
d: 1904 in Logansport, IndianaAge at death: 3 est.
4 August BRENNEKE
b: June 15, 1871
d: 1871 in Cincinnati, OhioAge at death: 0 est.
4 Catherina BRENNEKE
b: July 20, 1872
d: September 24, 1873 in Chicago, IllinoisAge at death: 1
4 Mathilda BRENNEKE
b: December 24, 1874
d: December 24, 1875 in Chicago, IllinoisAge at death: 1
4 Katherina Matilda BRENNEKE
b: August 7, 1877
d: October 27, 1891 in Logansport, IndianaAge at death: 14
4 Lucy Pearl BRENNEKE
b: November 26, 1881 in Pulaski County, Indiana
d: October 19, 1969 in Logansport, IndianaAge at death: 87
Number of children: 3
+Daniel WOLF
Number of children: 3
5 Eva Margret WOLF
b: December 9, 1904 in Logansport, Indiana
Number of children: 2
Residence: Logansport, Indiana
+Harry Michael GIFFIN
m: August 27, 1932Number of children: 2
5 Carl Daniel WOLF
b: April 24, 1910 in Logansport, Indiana
d: June 30, 1960 in Logansport, IndianaAge at death: 50
Number of children: 1
+Evelyn GORDON
Number of children: 1
5 Walter August WOLF
b: March 23, 1918 in Logansport, Indiana
Number of children: 2
Residence: Logansport, Indiana
+Gertrude FIGLEY
Number of children: 2
4 William Arthur BRENNEKE
b: October 25, 1885 in Pulaski County, Indiana
d: February 12, 1972Age at death: 86
Number of children: 4
Residence: New Castle, Indiana
+Florence Emma MILLIKEN
d: May 1962Age at death: ?
m: November 4, 1908
Number of children: 4
5 Arthur Milliken BRENNEKE
b: March 25, 1910 in New Castle, Indiana
Number of children: 3
Residence: New Castle, Indiana
(THIS IS THE SECOND A.M. BRENNECKE TO
WHOM THE FIRST PASSED ON THE GENEALOGY RECORDS)
+Martha L. MILLER
m: June 26, 1937Number of children: 3
5 Wayne Robert BRENNEKE
b: November 24, 1912 in New Castle, Indiana
Number of children: 2
Residence: Indianapolis, Indiana
+Jospehine SUTTON
Marriage End: Divorce
Number of children: 2
5 Mildred Louise BRENNEKE
b: March 4, 1915 in New Castle, Indiana
Number of children: 2
Residence: New Castle, Indiana
+C. Ray KELLER
Number of children: 2
5 Marian BRENNEKE
b: November 26, 1920 in New Castle, Indiana
Number of children: 3
Residence: Canadian Lakes, Stanwood, Michigan
+Paul E. HARRIS
m: May 2, 1941Number of children: 3
4 Emma Julia BRENNEKE
b: December 11, 1887
d: April 16, 1960Age at death: 72
Number of children: 3
+William F. WOLF
m: May 10, 1916Number of children: 3
5 Gleelyn Wilma WOLF
b: March 14, 1917
Number of children: 5
Residence: Royal Center, Indiana
+Kenneth Arthur NEWELL
m: December 30, 1934Number of children: 5
5 Jessie Marjorie WOLF
b: August 17, 1918
Number of children: 3
Residence: Winamae, Indiana
+Dale C. FRITZ
m: October 12, 1941Number of children: 3
5 Virginia Lucy WOLF
Number of children: 3
Residence: Jamestown, New York
+John Delmont COOK
m: September 16, 1950Number of children: 3