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Descendant of Sebastion Frett
Married on 15 January 1820 in Langenfeld. Civil Marriage Record, 2 February 1820, Virneburg, Mayen, Rhineland, Prussia
"Nicolaus Frett along with Nicolaus Adams and Jacob Schmitt, were the founders' of Johnsburg in McHenry County, Illinois. The three families arrived at Port of New York on 2 August 1841aboard the ship Albany. They established, and had built, the first St John the Baptist Catholic Church. All three families lived and farmed near where the church was built. Until the church was built, the Nicolaus Frett cabin served as a church. In the fall of 1841, a Catholic priest who had gotten lost when returning from Wisconsin, was guided by Indians to the Nicolaus Frett cabin, where he the next morning, said Mass there. The first marriage was on 8 May 1843, when John FREUND married Maria WAGNER, in the Nicolaus FRETT cabin. Nicolaus is said to be the first burial in St John's Cemetery, 10 July 1844."
Shortly after their arrival, Nicolaus Frett wrote a letter on 30 August 1841, which he sent to friends and family back in Germany, praising the new land and encouraging them to come to America. The letter written in 1841(published in the Chicago Tribune and The McHenry Plaindealer and the McHenry County History 1832-1968 book) is known today as The Frett Letter, and was responsible in large part for the great migration from the Eifel area of Germany. The letter has been reproduced in many local history books. There is also a German account in the book, Homeland Book From Mayen, published in 1957, which many relatives today may not be aware of." [Has this book been digitized for on line viewing ?]
Space:Founders_and_Early_Settlers_of_Johnsburg,_McHenry_County,_Illinois.
Burial: Saint John the Baptist Cemetery in Johnsburg, McHenry County, Illinois
Find A Grave: Memorial #120409956 Nicolaus Frett
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St Quirinus Catholic Church records, Langenfeld, Mayen, Rhineland, Germany
Ships list records from Ships Passenger List, microfim, The Genealogy Center at Allen County Public Library, Ft Wayne, Indiana
St John the Baptist Catholic Church records, Johnsburg, McHenry County, Illinois. NOTE: Volumes I II and III of Early Records of St John the Baptist Catholic Church are available at local libraries including Johnsburg Public Library, McHenry Public Library, Crystal Lake Public Library, Richmond Public Library and Woodstock Public Library
Booklet, 2017: "The Immigrant Founders, Members and Associates of Saint John the Baptist Catholic Church, Johnsburg (Est Aug 1841), McHenry County, Illinois" This booklet can be viewed at the Johnsburg Public Library upon request, phone ahead to verify the booklet is still available.
8 July 2016, 175th Frett Reunion: https://www.shawlocal.com/2016/07/01/175th-frett-family-reunion-to-celebrate-one-johnsburgs-earliest-settlers/awo4wd4/
EARLY MCHENRY FAMILY GATHERING UP ITS ROOTS https://www.chicagotribune.com/1991/08/11/early-mchenry-family-gathering-up-its-roots/
German Heritage in Letters https://www.ghi-dc.org/research/digital-history/german-heritage-in-letters
Acadian heritage connections: Nicolaus is 18 degrees from Beyoncé Knowles, 16 degrees from Jean Béliveau, 16 degrees from Madonna Ciccone, 16 degrees from Rhéal Cormier, 15 degrees from Joseph Drouin, 16 degrees from Jack Kerouac, 17 degrees from Anne Langstroth, 16 degrees from Matt LeBlanc, 14 degrees from Roméo LeBlanc, 11 degrees from Azilda Marchand, 16 degrees from Mary Travers and 16 degrees from Clarence White on our single family tree. Login to see how you relate to 33 million family members.