Martin Halfmann (1852 - bef. 1922)

Born 5 May 1852 in Nohn, Germany

Husband of Margretha (Gilles) Halfmann — married 7 Feb 1877 in Nohn, Germany

Husband of Anna Maria Baltes — married 1918 in Trier, Germany

Descendants

Died before 1922 before age 69 in Germany [uncertain]

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Biography

Martin Halfmann was born in 1852 in Nohn, Germany. He was the son of Josef Halfmann and Gertrud Jaxen. ^[1]

He married Margaretha Gilles in 1877, in Nohn.^[1] They had 2 children.
Anton, born in 1877
Anna Maria, born in 1879

In 1888 some of the family emigrated to the United States aboard the ship Werra, arriving at the port of New York on March 15, 1888. ^[2][3]They settled in the Grand River Township of Sedgwick County, Kansas.

Martin & his family settled in the area west of Wichita, Kansas where many German farmers & some of his relatives had immigrated to. He likely purchased land in the area and became a farmer. ^[4] By 1904 he was mentioned in the newspapers as selling off land. In May of 1904 he sold land in section 6-27-5 of Kingman County, Kansas to his son, Anton Halfmann, for the sum of $1700. ^[5] Also in 1904 Martin sold land in Section 4-27-7 in Sedgwick County, Kansas to B.H. Bergkamp for $5,500. ^[6]

It is unknown if Martin and his wife returned to Germany around 1904. An article in The Andale Globe (Andale, Kansas) reports that MC Hilger (Martin's step-son and Margaretha's son from a previous marriage, living in Kansas) received a letter from a friend in Germany in 1919, letting him know that Margaretha, his mother, had passed away about one year previous, about 1918. ^[7]

The Family book of Nohn says the following: "Scheinbar kehrt Martin Halfmann aus Amerika zurück, denn er heiratet 1918 in Trier die Anna Maria Baltes, Witwe von Wimbach" which translates to "Apparently Martin Halfmann returns from America, because he married Anna Maria Baltes, widow von Wimbach in Trier in 1918". The marriage to Anna Baltes is around June of 1918 in Trier, Germany.^[1] This makes it possible that Martin and Margaretha sold off their land in Kansas in 1904, returned to Germany, and lived together until she passed away in 1918. Martin remaried and remained in Germany. According to the book, Martin passed away before 1922.^[1]

Sources

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3} Petra Greis, Local family book of the Catholic parish of St. Martin in Nohn (Eifel) with the branches Borler (Heyer), Dankerath, Senscheid and Trierscheid (Cologne, Germany: Petra Greis, 2007) page 218
2. ↑ National Archives Catalog (https://catalog.archives.gov/id/290812)
3. ↑ 1888 immigration document: New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 (https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/4905086?mark=7b22746f6b656e223a225a35622b78594c304a6b4f6f6d6b64746f747361596b4967544977474a50673770596244444447597632633d222c22746f6b656e5f76657273696f6e223a225632227d)
4. ↑ The Saturday Evening Kansas Commoner (Wichita, Kansas) Thursday, August 25, 1904, page 5 (https://kansashistoricalopencontent.newspapers.com/image/382866909/?terms=Halfman&match=1)
5. ↑ The Leader Courier, (Kingman, Kansas), Thursday, May 12, 1904, (https://kansashistoricalopencontent.newspapers.com/image/152914558/?terms=Halfmann&match=1)
6. ↑ The Wichita Eagle (Wichita, Kansas), Sunday, November 06, 1904, page 19 (https://kansashistoricalopencontent.newspapers.com/image/63977620/?terms=Halfmann&match=1)
7. ↑ The Andale Globe (Andale, Kansas), Thursday, January 9, 1919 (https://kansashistoricalopencontent.newspapers.com/image/483815499/?terms=%22M.%20C.%20Hilger%22&match=1)