Charles Theodore Gutknecht (1852 - 1912)

Born 7 Jan 1852 in Oldenstorf, Großherzogtum Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Deutscher Bund

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 20 Oct 1912 at age 60 in Hampton, Nebraska

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Biography

This profile is part of the Gutknecht Name Study.

Carl Fritz Theodor Cords was born 7 Jan 1852 in Oldenstorf, parish of Lohmen, district Goldberg, in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin as an illegitimate child to the farmers daughter Maria Sophia Christiana Cords. He was baptized the next day in the church of Lohmen by the local midwife Mrs. Möller and with some farmhands and serving maids as witnesses. The entry reads:

Oldenstorff: On Jan 7th 1852 was born and baptized on the next day Carl Fritz Theodor Cords, illegitimate son of the farmers daughter Maria Sophia Christiana Cords of Oldenstorff, born in Oldenstorff. The father is said to be, and has also confessed to be the father at the baptism by the midwife Möller in Lohmen, the farmhand Joachim Theodor Wilhelm Frantz Kruse of Oldenstorff, born in Klein Grabow. Godparents were: 1.) the farmhand Carl Meyer of Oldenstorff, born in Klaeden; 2.) the farmhand Friedrich Cords of Oldenstorff, brother of the child's mother; 3.) the serving maid Dorothea Krause of Dobberti, represented by the midwife Möller of Lohmen. ^[1]

The young mother married the next year (1853) a tailor named Johann Adolph Christian Gutknecht of Lutheran, near Lübz. He also adopted the little boy as his own child. Since then his name changed from "Cords" to "Gutknecht".

Emigration to America

The family emigrated in 1870 to America and wanted to start a new life in Minnesota. They left Gemany on October 3rd 1869 via the port of Hamburg on board the sailing ship "John Bertram", and reached New York on January 15th 1870. The ship's manifest lists the father Adolph Gutknecht (50), mother Marie (37) and three sons, Carl (17), who turned 18 during the passage, and his brothers Heinrich (12) and Paul (6). ^[2] It must have been a terrible trip, taking much, much longer than usual. The "New York Times" from 19 Jan 1870 on page 2 gives a good description of it:

The Case of the Ship John Bertram. - In the morning journals, yesterday, there was made a great mistake in narrating the case of the ship John Bertam, Captain H. Petersen, from Hamburg. The story that there were 448 passengers in the steerage is untrue. The occupants of the steerage numbered only 102, the remainder being first and second cabin passengers. The passage from Hamburg occupied, in all, 102 days, the ship having met with most tempestuous weather in the North Sea, carrying away spars, and tearing her sails into ribbons. The John Bertram left Hamburg for New York on the 3rd of October last. After having survived the terrible tempest which overtook her in the North Sea, Captain Petersen, being provisioned only for a sixty days' voyage, deemed it advisable to put into the nearest port, Queenstown, Ireland, which he reached on the fifty-eighth day out, where he provided his vessel with fresh water and abundant provisions, under the direct superintendence of the Consul for the North German Confederation, and set out for New York, making the passage hither in thirty-four days. During the passage, from Oct. 3 to Jan 10, there were nineteen deaths on board, (seven of these being children,) and five births – not an extraordinary mortality, considering the terrors of the voyage, and also that many were sick when they embarked. When the vessel arrived here, the passengers, without a single exeption, signed a document thanking Captain Petersen for the care and assiduity he had manifested in their behalf, and declaring their belief that, but for his able seamanship and the discretion he manifested in putting into Queenstown, the ship and all on board must have perished. They declare also that they wanted nothing during the voyage that could contribute to the comfort either of the sick or well; that Captain Petersen freely supplied wines and other creature comforts to the sick from his own private stores without hesitancy. The condition of the ship as to cleanliness, as she now lies at Pier No. 46 East River, is most creditable to the Captain and his officers, considering the fact that it is now 111 days since she left Hamburg, and bears evidence of the utmost care and attention. - The following are the names of those who died on the passage: … [list given] … - Captain Petersen has been a seaman since 1842; has been in the employ of his present firm since 1853, and has made (as Captain) thirty-three voyages across the Atlantic; but declares that he never met with such weather as that of this last voyage. Never before has he been more than fifty-eighth days in making the trip from Hamburg to New York. He attributes his safety after this terrible trip to the solidity and staunch character of his noble vessel, which he now, more than ever, takes pride in saying is of American (Boston) build. ^[3]

Shortly after arrival Adolph Gutknecht (the father) fell sick and ultimately died in a hospital in New York, leaving the mother and her three sons alone in this new world. Maybe he even was already one of the mentioned sick people on board during arrival.

1st Marriage: Carl Theodor Gutknecht married ca 1878 in Minnesota Mary Sauer. The family lived in Houston, Minnesota, together with his wife's parents. The following children are known:

1. Clara Wilhelmina Gutknecht; born 1879 in Houston;
   married Michael Dietrich Leininger.
2. Ida Marie Louise Gutknecht; born 1881 in Houston;
   married Martin Johann Friedrich Leininger.
3. Lydia Henriette Margaretha Gutknecht; born 1885 in Houston;
   married 1909 Harry Ralph Phalen.
4. Paul Theodore Gutknecht; born 1887 in Gaylord, Minnesota;
   married Elsa Maria Koeneman.
5. [[

2nd Marriage: After the death of his wife in 1895 he married a second time Louisa Horst.

1. [[

In the 1880 census Charles (age 28), Minister, was the married head of household in Union, Houston, Minnesota, United States.^[4]

Death and Burial: The Reverent Carl Theodor Gutknecht died on 20 October 1912 and was buried in Salem Cemetery, Hamilton County, Nebraska, United States. ^[5]

Research Notes

It is important to keep in mind that Carl Theodor Gutknecht most likely was a Gutknecht only by adoption. Any genetic study that will be conducted in future following the male Gutknecht Line (Y-DNA) might therefore find a new line starting with him.

Sources

1. ↑ Birth of son: Landeskirchliches Archiv der Evangelisch-Lutherischen Kirche in Nordeutschland;
   Kirchenkreis Mecklenburg; Kirchenbuch Lohmen; Taufen 1816-1856; page 194.
2. ↑ Passenger List: "New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957"
   The National Archives and Records Administration; Washington, D.C.; Passenger and Crew Lists of Vessels Arriving at and Departing from Ogdensburg, New York, 5/27/1948 - 11/28/1972; Microfilm Serial or NAID: M237, 1820-1897
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 7488 #16775620 (accessed 30 November 2023)
   Name: Ad Gutknecht; Gender: Male; Ethnicity/ Nationality: German; Age: 50; Birth Date: abt 1820; Place of Origin: Germany; Departure Port: Hamburg, Germany; Destination: Minnesota; Arrival Date: 15 Jan 1870; Arrival Port: New York, New York, USA; Ship Name: John Bertram.
3. ↑ The case of the ship John Bertram; Article in the "New York Times" from 19 Jan 1870, page 2.
4. ↑ 1880 Census: "1880 United States Federal Census"
   Year: 1880; Census Place: Union, Houston, Minnesota; Roll: 623; Page: 301C; Enumeration District: 109
   Ancestry Sharing Link - Ancestry Record 6742 #33139322 (accessed 30 November 2023)
   Charles Gutknecht (28), married, Minister, head of household in Union, Houston, Minnesota, USA. Born in Mechengburg.
5. ↑ Burial: "U.S., Find a Grave® Index, 1600s-Current" Find A Grave: Memorial #70192159
   Ancestry Record 60525 #31240733 (accessed 30 November 2023)
   Rev Charles Theodore Gutknecht burial (died on 20 Oct 1912) in Salem Cemetery, Hamilton County, Nebraska, United States of America. Born on 7 Jan 1852.