FINALLY...FINDING THE FRIEDRICH-WILHELM COLBERG, JR. FAMILY
The amazing story of my Kolberg ancestors continues with Part Eleven. It is hard for me to fathom that I have been able to have as much success with this line as I have and to have been able to continually find information to allow this series to grow.
One of the roadblocks in this research has always been the varying way that the surname has been spelled. There has been no rhyme or reason as to why sometimes the name will be spelled with a "C" as in Colberg and other times with a "K" as in Kolberg. I have found old records, from the late 1700's and early 1800's where children in one family have been listed with both spellings. While I originally thought the name was always with a "C" and was changed when my great-grandfather and his brothers, Heinrich, Otto, Paul and Ferdinand immigrated to the US, that wasn't accurate. These variances in spelling have made the search more difficult but certainly not impossible.
As my story has unfolded through the past 10 episodes I have shared how I was able to successfully research my great-grandfather, August's, life and those of 5 of his 6 brothers, Heinrich, Johann, Otto, Paul and Ferdinand. However brother Friedrich-Wilhelm, Jr. and his family have eluded me.
In the sequence of children born to my 2nd great-grandparents, Friedrich-Wilhelm Colberg, Sr. and Henriette Amalie Kautz, son Friedrich-Wilhelm Jr. was their second son and the first child to survive childhood. From family documents here in Michigan it seemed that Friedrich-Wilhelm, Jr. had inherited the Colberg family farm in Klein Tuchen and he had remained there for his life. This practice was quite common with the eldest son inheriting the family property and that story seemed logical. It made sense as well that 5 of the brothers would take their chances by immigrating to the US while brother, Johann, chose to settle in Berlin. However, family stories while helpful and interesting are not always accurate and the story of the life of Friedrich-Wilhelm, Jr. did not include a life on the family farm in Klein Tuchen nor a life in Klein Tuchen at all.
To flesh out this story and find further data on Friedrich-Wilhelm, Jr. was a journey that I could not take all on my own. Without the unbelievable help of three researchers, two in this country and one in Germany, I would not have been able to finally fill in most of the gaps on this brother of my great-grandfather.
Special thanks must go to a wonderful researcher in Germany, Marion H, who helped me find more than I could ever hope to find on my own as well as researcher and cousin, David M, in Arizona and a long time research friend, Steve M, in Illinois.
As I began this next step in my research I reviewed the information that I did have on Friedrich-Wilhelm, Jr.:
1. Friedrich-Wilhelm, Jr. was born September 28, 1852 in Klein Tuchen, Kreis Bütow, Pommern, the second son of Friedrich-Wilhelm Colberg, Sr. and Henriette Amalie Kautz. At the time of his birth their first born son, Albert Johan Carl Colberg, was still living but he would pass away in 1863 at the age of 12.
2. Friedrich-Wilhelm, Jr. was baptized on October 3, 1852 at the Evangelische Kirche, Groß Tuchen, Kreis Bütow, Pommern.
3. Friedrich-Wilhelm, Jr. remained in Klein Tuchen his entire life with his family which included a wife and 7 children and he inherited the Colberg family farm upon the death of his father in 1900.
4. A photo, taken in Bütow, Pommern, was shared with me with the caption on the back which read "Friedrich-Wilhelm Colberg, Sr. and wife, with son, Friedrich-Wilhelm, Jr. and wife, standing behind, 1898".
5. Friedrich-Wilhelm, Jr. passed away in 1918 in Klein Tuchen.
Some of the above information (1 and 2) proved to be accurate while parts of 3, 4 and 5 were not. These are common occurrences with written memories; so helpful to have as starting points but not something that can be used as primary sources.
With the interest in genealogy growing and the use of the Internet, a huge ongoing project began with the goal to transcribe the church books from the Pommern counties of Bütow and Stolp and any other Pommern church books that could be discovered. The researchers, most in Germany, had a mission to transcribe these records but also to aid researchers in learning more about their ancestors. Over the years this "Stolp Global Index" has grown with a huge database of their transcriptions and the ability for people around the world to discover information on their ancestors has been successful.
With the assistance of members of this Stolp group I have been able to discover the following new and accurate information on Friedrich-Wilhelm, Jr. and his family:
1. On January 7, 1881 Friedrich-Wilhelm Colberg, Jr. married Hermine Augusta Melchert. They were married in Reinwasser, Kreis Rummelsburg, Pommern, a neighboring county to Bütow which was the county of birth of Hermine. Hermine had been born on May 14, 1848 in Friedrikenfelde, Kreis Rummelsburg, Pommern to Gottlieb Melchert and Henrietta Winkel.
2. Friedrich-Wilhelm and Hermine began to create a family of their own but tragically each of their children died either at birth or shortly thereafter including the two eldest that I had hoped had lived to adulthood. Birth, baptismal and death information was found in the church books being translated by the Stolp group and shared with me.
Sponsors for all of their children were listed as well and were helpful in proving other familial lines. It was common in those days, in those particular church books to list descriptive data on sponsors such as "uncle of the child", "brother of the father of the child" and in many cases "grandmother of the child", etc. I learned as well that a male child would have three sponsors with two being godfathers and one godmother while a female child would have three sponsors as well but two godmothers and one godfather. It was very interesting.
In the records of the children it was noted that father, Friedrich-Wilhelm, Jr. was a farmer or landowner or tenant farmer depending on the year. Here are the 7 children of Friedrich-Wilhelm, Jr. and Hermine Colberg:
Martha Marie Franziska Colberg, born May 28,1882 in Klein Tuchen and died July 19,1882 in Klein Tuchen.
Paul Willy Colberg, born December 25, 1883 in Klein Tuchen and died August 3,1886 in Zemmen (which was a neighboring village to Klein Tuchen). This also showed that between 1883 and 1886 the family had moved to Zemmen.
Fritz Wilhelm Colberg, born May 27,1885 in Zemmen and died April 21,1886 in Zemmen.
Erich Ernst Franz Colberg, born November 12,1886 in Zemmen and died January 24,1887 in Zemmen.
Ernst Friedrich Paul Colberg, born January 17,1888 in Zemmen and died February 5,1888 in Zemmen.
Max Friedrich Adam Colberg, born November 1,1889 in Zemmen and died November 20,1889 in Zemmen.
Clara Marie Emilie Colberg, born about 1893 in Zemmen and died February 10,1893 in Zemmen.
3. Hermine Melchert Colberg passed away on January 5, 1898 in Zemmen with the following notation from the church books of Groß Tuchen:
"Died 5, Jan 1898 in Zemmen, Death Nr. 1 of 1898, Hermine Kolberg, geb. Melchert, 49 Years, 9 Months and 9 Days old, buried on 9 Jan 1898." (Note the spelling of Kolberg in those church books for this record).
With the death of Hermine in January of 1898, and the fact that none of her 7 children had survived, I felt this indicated the end of the line of this family. My hope that I would be able to find descendants of Friedrich-Wilhelm, Jr. still living today was thwarted. While reviewing this information around in my head I remembered the photo I had of Friedrich-Wilhelm, Jr. and "his wife" and his parents which was dated 1898. Upon further examination of the photo I found it hard to believe that "the wife" indicated was a 49 year old woman as in this photo Friedrich-Wilhelm, Jr.'s wife certainly looked much younger. A thought came into my mind. Could Friedrich-Wilhelm, Jr. have remarried? He was 46 at the time of Hermine's death and it could have been possible he would have married again even though he had no children to raise that he needed help with.
I posed this question to my Stolp researcher cousin, David M, who quickly sent me back the following information.
From the church books of Groß Tuchen, Kreis Bütow, Pommern was found the following records exactly as transcribed:
Marriage Nr. 12 of 1898 on 25 Mar 1898, Friedrich Colberg of Zemmen, born on 28 Sep 1852, First Wife Deceased, To Jungfrau Therese Lewitzke of Zemmen, born on 31 Jan 1867, Never Married, Daughter of Carl.
Baptism Nr. 13 of 1867 in Groß Tuchen on 7 Feb 1867, Therese Louise Mathilde, daughter of Carl Lawitzke and Albertine Gaul, baptized 7 Feb 1867, Godparents: Mathilde Lawitzke, Mathilde Lawitzke (two people with same name), Ernst von Domarus, all from Groß Tuchen.Children for this couple were found as follows, exactly as transcribed:
1. Max Erich Colberg, son of Friedrich-Wilhelm and Therese, nee Lawitzke, Colberg, born 4 Mar 1899 in Zemmen and baptized 17 Mar 1899 in Evangelische Kirche of Groß Tuchen. Sponsors were Amalie Kolberg, geb Kautz, grandmother of child, Carl Lawitzke, grandfather of child, Ferdinand Kolberg, uncle of child. Confirmed 1913 in the Evangelische Kirche of Groß Tuchen.
2. Anna Meta Therese Colberg, daughter of Friedrich-Wilhelm and Therese, nee Lawitzke, Colberg, born 1 Mar 1901 in Zemmen and baptized 14 Mar 1901 in Evangelische Kirche of Groß Tuchen. Sponsors were Helene Colberg, geb Mielke, wife of Ferdinand Colberg, brother of child's father, Albertine Spitzak, geb Kühn, Emil Lawitzke. Confirmed 28 Mar 1915 in the Evangelische Kirche of Groß Tuchen.
3. Paul Otto Colberg, son of Friedrich-Wilhelm and Therese, nee Lawitzke, Colberg, born 29 Jun 1903 in Zemmen and baptized in Evangelische Kirche of Groß Tuchen (date of baptism not given). Sponsors were Theodor Stegman, Carl Lawitzke, Anna Lawitzke, geb Venzke. Confirmed 1 Apr 1917 in the Evangelische Kirche of Bernsdorf, Kreis Bütow. Confirmation number 31 of 1917.
4. Helene Martha Minna Colberg, daughter of Friedrich-Wilhelm and Therese, nee Lawitzke, Colberg, born 21 Mar 1905 in Zemmen and baptized 7 Apr 1905 in Evangelische Kirche of Groß Tuchen. Sponsors were Emil Kühn, Martha Lawitzke, Minna von Spitzak. Confirmed 13 Apr 1919 in the Evangelische Kirche of Groß Tuchen, 1919, Nr. 61.
With the confirmation dates for these 4 children indicated in the church books, it was hopeful information that these children did live to adulthood, marry and possibly have children of their own.
The following death information for both Friedrich-Wilhelm and his wife Therese were also found as follows:
Death Nr. 63 of 1918, 7 November, Friedrich Colberg, Pächter (tenant farmer) of Zemmen, Age 66 Years, 1 Month, buried 10 Nov 1918.
Death Nr. 25 of 1928 in Zemmen, Therese Kolberg, geb. Lawitzke, 61 Years, 5 Months Old, died on 23 Jun 1928 and buried at 3PM on 30 Jun 1928.
It only took 30+ years of research to finally fill in the blanks on Friedrich-Wilhelm, Jr. to add to the information on his 6 brothers, August, Heinrich, Johann, Otto, Paul and Ferdinand. To have the actual excerpts from the church books gave me primary source data and to have made connections with generous researchers willing to search these records for me and share them was phenomenal. I cannot thank these researchers enough.
But what about the 4 children born to Friedrich-Wilhelm and Therese Colberg? Did they marry and have families of their own?
The research is still ongoing!
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Paul and Augusta (Zuhl) Kolberg Family Photos:
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