Johann Ahrens
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Johann Melchior Ahrens (1803 - abt. 1857)

Johann Melchior Ahrens
Born in Heersum, Kreis Marienburg, Hannovermap
Ancestors ancestors
[sibling(s) unknown]
Husband of — married 26 Nov 1826 in Evangelische Kirche Heersummap
Descendants descendants
Died about at about age 53 in Olive Twp Madison Co. ILmap
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Profile last modified | Created 26 Jan 2017
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Biography

Born 11 AUG 1803. Heersum, Kreis Marienburg, Hannover.

Died ABT 1857. Olive Twp Madison Co. IL. Age: ABOUT 53-54.

Sources



Notes for JOHANN MELCHIOR AHRENS: Melchior and Christine Witte Ahrens We are fortunate to have an oral history of Melchior Ahrens and his family and their journey from Hannover to America in 1857. This history was passed down to us by Melchior and Christine's oldest grandchild, Dorothea Wolf, who was 4 years old when the Ahrens family immigrated to America. From Dorothea's story we learned that she and her parents (Andreas and Johanna Ahrens Wolf) lived in her father's home town of Wendhausen in Hannover. We also have Dorothea's 150-year old baptismal document, still with the red seal of the church in Wendhausen and from this document we were able to trace her mother's family, the Ahrens, to the nearby village of Heersum. The Ahren's Roots in Heersum In the "Kirchenbuch" (or churchbook) at the Evangelische Kirche (Evangelical Church) in Heersum, in what was then called Kreis (county) Marienburg (now called Kreis Hildesheim), we have found the record of Johann Melchior Ahrens' birth and baptism. He was born August 11, 1803, the son of Johann Zacharias Arens and his wife, Dorothea. His godparents were Johann Melchior Meihe and the "Jungfrau" (young, married woman) Elisabeth Arens. The churchbook also records Melchior's marriage in 1826 to Johanne Christine Dorothea Witte from Hackenstedt. According to this record, at the time of their marriage both Melchior's mother and Christine's mother were no longer living. It further states that both fathers had agreed to the marriage. Melchior and Christine were blessed with six children, but only five of them survived to adulthood. The births and baptisms of these six children are recorded in the churchbook at Heersum. In a carryover of the medieval tradition, the churchbook always recorded the status of the child's father. One was either a landowner or a "häusling". Melchior Ahrens' status was that of a "häusling". A "häusling" was a cottager or landless farmer who resided in a rented house typically located on the grassy embankment dividing farm fields. Melchior was also sometimes listed in the church records as a "tageloehner" or day laborer. The Journey to America Sadly, we know very little else about Melchior and Christine Ahrens, but we do have a story handed down to us that attests to the strength of their character. According to Dorothea, the whole Ahrens family immigrated to this country together from Hannover. The family included her parents, her baby sister, her grandparents and all of her aunts and uncles. According to Dorothea, they all traveled together on the same boat to America, and they all traveled together up the Missippi by riverboat to Illinois. Corroborating this part of her story is the passenger manifest for the S/S D. H. Waetjen, that arrived in New Orleans from Bremen on May 18, 1857. It lists the ten members of the Ahrens family from Hannover in the order that they boarded the ship in Bremen: Dorothea's parents, Andreas Wolf (37) and Elizabeth (Johanna) Wolf (30); Dorothea herself 2 November 5, 2007 2:21 PM (4); her baby sister, Christine (9 months); Dorothea's grandparents, Melchior Ahrens (50), and Christine Ahrens (53); and Dorothea's aunts and uncles, Lenore Ahrens (24), Dora Ahrens (29), Heinrich Ahrens (19), and Christian Ahrens (13). There is one more young person named Ahrens traveling with the family. He is believed to be Melchior's nephew. Nothing more is known about him. Like so many other immigrants from Hannover and Prussia, the Ahrens family group certainly left for America because of the difficult economic times in their native country and the promise of greater opportunity in America. But according to Dorothea's story, the two Ahrens brothers, the youngest of the five Ahrens children, were approaching the age of military conscription. The primary reason, she said, that the family group left Germany was that these two brothers might avoid the military conscription. By their actions the ageing Melchior and Christine may have preserved the lives of their sons and they certainly gave all of their children the opportunity to start new lives in America. Sadly, both Melchior and Christine died during that first winter in Illinois. They did not live to see their children and grandchildren prosper in America. But from this single story we learn much about the strength of their love for their family. Melchior and Christine settled in the DeCamp area, north of Worden. They are most likely buried in nearby Spangle Cemetery, but no church records or grave markers have been found to confirm this. The New Life in Illinois Lastly, Dorothea's story told us something of how the rest of her family fared in America. According to Dorothea, all of her aunts and uncles settled in Madison County. One aunt, she said, married a man by the name of Phillips and they settled near what is now Granite City. The Phillips, she continued, were fortunate to later sell their farm to a large company for a large sum of money. The other aunt, she said, married Henry Albrecht, a farmer there in Omphghent township north of Worden. And one of her uncles also settled on a farm in Omphghent township. We know now that it was Dorothea's Aunt Dora who in September of 1857, just four months after arriving in the US, married another recent immigrant, Fred Phillips, and they settled in the rich farming country of Nameoki township in the southern part of Madison county. It is thought that after the death of his parents during the winter of 1857-58, 14-year old Christian Ahrens went to live with his older sister Dora and her husband in Nameoki township. In time, Christian went on to buy a farm of his own in nearby Venice township. In 1892, both Christian Ahrens and the Phillips' sold their land to the Niedringhaus brothers of St. Louis (St. Louis Stamping Company) for their new manufacturing facility. This brought a financial windfall to both families. In Omphghent township, we know now that it was Dorthea's Aunt Eleanor who in 1859, at the age of 27, married the 45 year old Henry Albrecht, a widower with a large farm and eight children. And it was Dorothea's Uncle Henry Ahrens who purchased a farm in Omphghent township and became a highly respected and lifelong resident there. Lastly, Dorothea's parents settled on a farm in Olive





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