The Merten Family
to
Herman Heinrich MERTEN, Jr., born 20 Nov 1795, Westerkappeln, Tecklenburg, North Rhine-Westphalia, Prussia (Westerkappeln, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Deutchland). He was the son of Herman Heinrich, Sr. and Catherine (WAHLBRINK) MERTEN. Herman, Jr. was christened 6 Dec 1795, Evangelische Kirche (Evangelical Church), Westerkappeln, North Rhine-Westphalia, Prussia. Herman died in 1839, St. Charles, St. Charles County, Missouri, United States of America.
Herman married Carolina Sybilla HULLENHUTTER in Aachen, Westphalia. She was born in 1806, Aachen, Westphalia, Republic of France. Aachen today borders Holland and Belgium and is located in Germany. It is one of the oldest and most historical cities in Europe. Sybilla was the daughter of Mathias and Anna Gertrude (STOSTERZ) HULLENHUTTER. Hullenhutter is a Jewish-Levitical name that means Guardian of the Veil.
Taken from the web page of Jerry HOFER, "Westerkappeln is a suburb of Osnabrück, about 12 kilometers (7 miles) north west of Osnabrück. The current population of Westerkappeln is approximately 11,000. Westerkappeln is approximately 262 kilometers (157 miles) from Aachen, Germany, where Herman married Caroline Hullenhutter and where his 3 children were born."
Aachen is the German and English spelling of the city. The French is Aix la Chapelle. In 1807, after the signing of the Treaty of Tilsit, Napoleon seized all Prussian possessions West of the Elbe, as well as the electorates of Hesse-Kassel and Hanover and the duchy of Brunswick. The northern section of these territories, including Münster, was directly annexed by France. The southern section was constituted as the kingdom of Westphalia, with Napoleon's brother Jérôme Bonaparte as king and with Kassel as the capital. The kingdom, which actually included only a small part of Westphalia, collapsed in 1813. In 1815, as a result of the Viennese Congress, Aachen and the major part of Westphalia proper was awarded to Prussia; and Hanover, Hesse-Kassel, and Brunswick were restored. In 1818, the three Emperors Friedrich Wilhelm III of Prussia, Franz of Austria and Tsar Alexander of Russia reaffirmed their alliances on the “Congress of the Monarchs” in Aachen. In 1825 was the opening of the theatre. In 1830, Aachen saw a revolt of its workers. Due to the introduction of steam power into the cloth industry, the increasing mechanisation and the resulting unemployment as well as women and child labour at minimal wages, workers took to the streets. The revolt was crushed violently by armed citizens and soldiers. In 1831,
The first municipal library was opened.
Herman was a prosperous merchant and a farmer in Westphalia, but being tired of living in a war torn land, constantly in battle between the Germans and the French, he decided to immigrate to America. He had hopes of securing a better life for his children.
From the book, "Beiträge zur Westfälischen Familienforschung" (Contributions to the Westphalian Genealogy), Herman Heinrich Merten is found on Page 92, No. 624 and reads as follows: "a) Herm. Heinr. MERTEN aus Seeste Ksp. Kappeln, Kötter (small farmer) b) 20.11.1795 e) Herm. Heinr. Abraham 22.7.1827, Heinr. Eduard 25.3.1829, Caroline Gert. 6.11.1830 - o 1838 p) Nordamerika - Missouri -"
In 1838 he set sail for America. He brought with him his three motherless children. He settled in St. Charles, Missouri. Tragedy struck soon after arriving in St. Charles. Herman died, leaving his children orphaned in their new homeland. Fortunately for the children, there was an uncle living close by in St. Louis, so they were able to go live with him. The uncle was Philipp Arnold MERTEN.
Ponttor: Entering Aachen city center through the "Ponttor", one of the old city gates...
Markt: This is the very center of Aachen, the market square with the fountain of Charlemagne. This picture must have been taken from up the stairs of the city hall.
Rathaus/City Hall: So here is the city hall as seen from the market square.
Rathaus/City Hall: Here it is from the other side, from Katschhof.
Aachener Dom: Over 1000-year-old Aachen Cathedral (from Katschhof)
Frankenberg Castle, Aachen, Germany: The castle was built in the 1300's as a hunting lodge for royalty of the Holy Roman Empire. Today the castel serves as the History of Aachen Museum.
Elisenbrunnen: A hot water spring built in 1822. It is one of the well-known buildings in Aachen.
This is how the State of Missouri appeared in 1836, at the time of the arrival of Herman Merten and his three children. They settled in St. Charles. After his death, his children moved to St. Louis to live with an uncle
The Meridian and East Fork Townships Yahoo Group has genealogies and many old photos of Shattuc, Illinois and many old pictures of some of the families of Meridian and East Fork Townships. There is a file section for histories and genealogies of East Fork and Meridian Townships. There are photo albums for you to place your own photos of your family. You can also place your own family genealogies in the file section.
