Friederike Feldmann Lemke

Friederike Feldmann was the 6th of 8 children of Georg Michael Feldmann and Katharina Schmidt who were married 28 April 1846 in the little town of Helmsheim, Germany. Two days after the birth of their 8th child, Katharina Schmidt Feldmann died, leaving a large family of young children for the father to care for. Friederike was not quite 5 years old when her mother died, so probably had only a few memories of her. Ten months after her mother's death, her father remarried on 17 October 1867 to Margaretha Binig.

Why Friederike chose to emigrate to the US is not known to us, but around 1882-4 when she was about 21 years old, she came to New York City where she worked for 2 years. She had some siblings who also emigrated, so perhaps that is why she also came. Her sister Luisa emigrated and married Jacob Schumacher who was an inspector on the trolley cars in Mount Vernon, New York. (In 1925, the trolley he was riding was held up and he was shot to death. The last of the robbers wasn't caught until 1958.) Her oldest living brother, Johann Karl Feldmann also came to New York.

Why and how she ended up in Minnesota is also a bit of a mystery, but it was there, in 1886 that she married Pastor Fred Feldmann (no known relationship). Fred and Friederike met in Minneapolis after he finished college in New Ulm. They lived in Efington, Minnesota for 2 years. Then he got a call to Trinity Lutheran in Johnson, Minnesota and was there from 1888 to 1890. They lived in the parsonage there until Fred's untimely death of cancer on 22 January 1890. For a time, Friederike was allowed to stay there in the parsonage with her two sons, Fred, who was born 20 August 1888 and Carl or Charles who was born after his father's death on 8 April 1890.

Almost 2 years later, on 23 March 1892, Friederike remarried to Wilhelm Friedrich August Lemke, a widower of about a year whose wife had died as a result of childbirth and left him to raise his children alone. Wilhelm Friedrich August Lemke was also called Fred. He and Friederike had 6 children together.

During World War I, Friederike's son from her first marriage, Charles, was killed in action in France and was buried at Cemetery Aisne-Marne American, Belleau, Aisne, France.

Her family always loved it when she made what she called Lap Cakes.

Lap Cakes

2 c. molasses
2 c. sugar
2 c. shortening
4 eggs
2 c. walnuts
1 grated whole lemon peel
1 T. baking soda dissolved in a little warm water
1 T. ginger
1 heaping T. cinnamon
1 t. cardamon
about 10 cups flour (enough to handle well)

Mix and spread in at least 2 jellyroll pans. The dough is very thick. Bake at 350F about 30 minutes. Don't overbake! Use a powdered sugar frosting.

Another recipe she left was one with more questionable ingredients to our modern tastes, but was probably not uncommon in the German farming tradition:

Schwarzsauer

3 lbs. pork ribs and pork belly cut in pieces
3 c. water
3 c. vinegar
onions
salt
peppercorns
1 to 1-1/2 c. blood

Cook first 6 ingredients together until meat is cooked, then take it out and cut it into bite-sized pieces. Season the broth and then with a wire whip, beat in the blood, depending on the consistency you want. More blood equals thicker soup. Put meat back in. Let cook briefly and serve.

With Schwarzsauer, serve dumplings:

Dumplings

2 c. milk
1- 1/4 c. flour
2 eggs
salt nutmeg

Heat milk, add flour and stir into dough. Add eggs, salt and nutmeg. Drop with a teaspoon in boiling salt water and cook slowly 5-10 minutes.

Keep leftover Schwarzsauer cool. It keeps well. You can add dried fruit to make a compote. If you like it sweeter, add sugar.




Friederike died 10 May 1943, about 22 years after her second husband died.

The Big Bad Wolf - by the Woodworker

Here are some pictures from my latest carving project. Of course, I am an amateur so the carving is not perfect. This is the Big Bad Wolf from the story of Little Red Riding Hood.

In the fairy tail world almost anything goes so I don't have to justify anything. The wolf has disguised himself to look like a dapper gentleman out for a walk in order to do his con job on Little Red Riding Hood. He is quite clever but a little dimwitted. He has neglected to wear shoes or gloves. His tail is sticking out the back and of course his face is unmistakeably a wolf. In a word his disguise is a bit transparent.

I started out by finding suitable fashion pictures off the internet. I blew them up to the proper size and then traced them onto the wood I am carving (bass wood).



After tracing it goes to the bandsaw for rough shaping.



After that it is mounted on my carving vise.





After several hours of carving the body is ready for addition of the head and tail.





I decided to add a walking stick made of tropical hardwood to give him a bit of class. The pictures don't show it very well but there are marks in the right places to suggest hair.






I am a terrible painter on this type of project so I contacted a friend who has agreed to help me out on correct water coloring of the character. I also have to paint Little Red Riding Hood as well.

Someday when I get the figures painted, I'll try to remember to put them on this blog.

Wilhelm Friedrich August Lemke of Heydebreck

Wilhelm Friedrich August Lemke was born 14 November 1846 in Heydebreck, Plathe, Regenwalde, Pommerania, Germany, to Johann Friedrich August Lemke and Wilhelmine Caroline Kühl. Plathe is now called Ploty and is part of modern Poland. He was probably the oldest of at least 4 children. His known siblings are Carl August Lemke, born 28 Jun. 1849, Hanne Auguste Lemke, b. 5 Sep. 1853, and another sister whose name is unknown. Family stories tell us that he had a brother who died young, a sister who remained in Germany, and a sister who married A. Albricht and died on the way to America and was buried at sea.

While Wilhelm Friedrich lived in Germany, he worked on a sheep ranch. He was also probably in the military at some point as we have a picture of him wearing a military uniform, although a close look at the picture reveals that only the face is his. The rest is just painted on.



He married Bertha Oestreich and came to America about 1879. They had 6 children, the first two of whom were born in Germany before coming to the USA. During the 1880 census, they lived at Hollywood, Carver, Minnesota. Bertha's parents must have come to America as well, as Charles and Frederica Estrich, Bertha's parents were living with them at that time. Sadly, Bertha died in 1891, just a few weeks after the birth of their 7th child.

On 23 March 1892, he married Friederike Feldmann. They lived in Hollywood Township, Carver County, Minnesota. They lived there until 1900 when they moved back to Johnson, Minnesota. They bought a 160 acre farm and lived there until 1910 when they moved to Glencoe to a 37 acre farm.

Fred and Friederike Lemke had 6 children: Friederike Wilhelmine Louise (Frieda) b. 12 Dec. 1892, Elsie Alvina Emily b. 23 April 1895, Louisa Agnes Tabardant (Louise) b. 12 July 1897, Ernest Frank Herman (Ernie) b. 17 Oct. 1899, Paul Richard Gustaf b. 5 Jan. 1902, and Emma Juliana Pauline b. 4 August 1904.



Fred Lemke died 9 November 1920.

New things happening at the AWHC

Changes are coming to the living history farm! For years, the 1917 farm site has been divided from the pioneer site by a ravine, which means either we must go down a hill and cross a bridge then go back up the hill to get to the other sites, or we must take the long way around. The amount of walking between some of the sites has been daunting to some of our visitors.

For a couple of years now plans have been in the works to build a larger bridge that will allow our visitors to visit the site in chronological order. From the back door of the welcome center, visitors can visit the Shoshone Indian site, the mountain man site, the pioneer site and then finish up with the woodwright shop, the millinery shop and the 1917 farm.

When we visited the pioneer site just a few short weeks ago, only the concrete base for the bridge down in the bottom of the ravine was visible. Now the wooden bridge sections are awaiting a crane to put them into place. They are hoping it is in place by Baby Animal Days which are coming up in just a couple of weeks.

Here you can see 2 of the 3 bridge sections we saw out there today.





Here is one of the previously pictures sections with the welcome center in the background.



Here you can see the ravine where the bridge is to cross. One section of the bridge is visible on the other side of the ravine by the welcome center.



In other improvements, there has been a partially finished cabin on the site for several years. It was in the way of the proposed bridge, so they decided to move it and finish it so they can use it this year. Not too bad with the snowy mountains in the background.



While we were there visiting today we also spent some time cleaning up the woodwright shop so it will be ready for visitors.

George Richard Freeman of Olney, England

George Richard Freeman 1859-1943
(written by George Richard Freeman)

I was born 29 June 1859 in the town of Olney, Buckinghamshire, England. My father’s name was Richard Freeman; my mother’s name was Charlotte Emma Goss Freeman. I had the following brother’s and sisters:

John...born 22 March 1861
Thomas Charles...born 14 August 1862
William Henry...born 26 August 1863
Samuel....born 17 December 1864
Harriet Ann....born 12 July 1866
Richard Henry....born 8 May 1869

All of them were born in Olney, Buckinghamshire, England.



My parents were very poor as my father had very bad health so that he could not follow his trade as a shoemaker on account of poor eyesight. Therefore he was not able to earn very good wages, and at times they had a hard struggle to provide for their family of seven children. (Actually, only 2 of the children made it to adulthood.) On account of this condition I, being the eldest child in the family, did not get any education, only what I received at six weeks of night school after I was in my teens, which did not amount to very much. I started work soon after I was 7 years old.

I was raised in the Church of England faith, to which my mother belonged. My father did not go to any place of worship. I did not know why until after I was married. I learned that when he was a young man his father sent him to Liverpool to live with his uncle and learn the shoemaking trade. My grandfather felt that this would be a good opportunity for Father. This uncle and his wife were Latter-day Saints, and my father investigated their religion, became convinced of the truthfulness of the gospel as taught by the Latter-day Saints and joined the Church 31 May 1857.

After living in Liverpool about a year, Father was taken sick and had to return home. His mother died when he was a baby, so he did not get the best of care. After being home some time, he was married to my mother, Charlotte Emma Goss, the daughter of Enoch and Charlotte Stanley Marshall Goss, at Olney in the year 1858.

At the time I was born, Father refused his consent to me being christened, but after a time my mother’s folks persuaded him to change his mind about having his children christened, so the third boy was taken to the church and christened and as I was with them they had me christened at the same time. I was then three years old and can remember this event quite well. (Note: George Richard said he was baptized the same time as the 3rd child. Ida’s history says he was baptized the same time as Samuel, who was the 5th child. When we checked the records, George Richard is listed on page 96, line 763, just one line below his brother Samuel, and both were christened 12 March 1865. He would have been about six years old at that time, which better explains his memory of it.) My father did not go with us and my uncle was my godfather. My father did not attend church, only when a funeral service was being held, and this was something I could not understand during my earlier years, because he was a very religious man and very particular about observing the Sabbath. He would stay at home and read his Bible and another book, which I afterwards found out was the “Voice of Warning”. People used to visit him and talk with him about religion, which at that time I did not understand as I was only 8 or 9 years old.

As I grew to manhood, I courted a young lady by the name of Euphemia Jane Carter, the daughter of Henry Carter and Elizabeth Green Carter, who lived at Blisworth, Northamptonshire, England, and we were married at Blisworth 26 December 1881 in the Baptist chapel there.


George Richard and Euphemia Jane Carter Freeman


A few days after the wedding, Jane and I took a journey to London. We saw many new and wonderful things. We enjoyed the beautiful Crystal Palace, a showplace of London, where Lottie Stratton, a cousin of mine, played the violin in the orchestra. The Crystal Palace later burned to the ground and was never rebuilt. Lottie Stratton, a hunchback, daughter of Thomas and Rosetta Goss Stratton, was a sister of Richard’s wife, Charlotte. They had moved to London so Lottie could advance in her music. She had two brothers, Fred and Harry.

Our first home was on East Street near the house where I was born and where my parents still lived. Here the first 3 of our children were born, Harry, Annie Elizabeth, and Alf Lenard (my desired spelling). Alf had Lenard turned into Leonard on his birth certificate, and that is the way he spelled it.

We have been blessed with 7 children, 5 sons and 2 daughters, of whom we are justly proud. Their names are as follows:

Harry...born 18 September 1882
Annie Elizabeth....born 14 March 1884
Alf Lenard....born 12 December 1886
Wilford....born 10 September 1890
Ernest...born 1 June 1893
Ida....born 26 February 1895
James Bert Wallinger...born 3 January 1897

We raised our children in the Baptist church, as I had been investigating the various churches and thought that was the one I liked.

About the year 1887 my father received a letter from some Latter-day Saints who lived in a town called Northampton, asking if they might visit him on Easter Monday. This happened in the following remarkable manner: A man who formerly lived in Olney, a chimney sweep by trade, had moved to Northampton, and one day as he was working, the lady of the house spoke to him about the gospel. He said, “I knew a man who used to talk like that.” and so she inquired for his address and wrote to my father. Father was overjoyed at receiving this letter because he had tried to find the Latter-day Saints for upwards of 30 years, and during this time, he had been isolated, as it were, from his Church and had nobody to sympathize with him in his beliefs. At that time his family did not take any interest in what he thought so much of.

These Saints and 2 elders called on Father on Easter Monday 1887, and they had a very enjoyable visit together. I then lived about half a block from my father’s home, and as it was a holiday, I went to see my parents and made the acquaintance of their visitors. My father asked me to take them to Cowper’s Oak, which was about 2 miles from where we lived...a most beautiful walk in the springtime through fields and small forests, and all noted Americans would go and visit that oak tree. It was the tree where the poet wrote many of his wonderful poems--an old oak which would hold a table and chairs for quite a few people and was away from all noise, being surrounded by a forest 72 miles long which we called “The Chase”. Cowper became very discouraged at one time during his lifetime and tried to drown himself. He was prevented and later wrote that wonderful song, “God Moves in a Mysterious Way, His Wonders to Perform.”
I told Father that I did not want to be seen with those people as we had to go through the main street, but I finally consented and we set off--I keeping as far away from them as possible while walking through the streets. When we got out of the town, I became more sociable, and when we arrived at the oak, we sang that song mentioned above, “God Moves in a Mysterious Way, His Wonders to Perform.” After resting for a while, we started back on our homeward trip, and when we were about a mile from home, one of the elders looked down upon the place where I lived and said, “There is some of the blood of Israel in that place, and they will be gathered to the valleys of the mountains.” Little did I think at that time that I would join the Church, much less come to the mountains to dwell, as I was not very much impressed with them. I used to go and listen to them sometimes. Father joined the Church again and was rebaptized 14 May 1887 by Elder Kelly.

Some little time after my father had rejoined the Church, he was taken very sick, and the doctor said he could not live but a few days as one lung was gone and the other was affected. Mother sent for me and asked me to send for the elders, which I did. One elder came and administered to Father alone, and he soon got well and lived 10 years after that time and enjoyed better health than he had ever done previously.

After that time the elders used to visit Father, and we would go and hear them talk and sing. Father asked me if I would allow the elders to stay at my home when they came next time, as they had work to do if they could get a place to stay. I consented to let them stay at our place, and they used to hold meetings from time to time. All this time my father was alone in his faith, as my mother had not joined the Church yet, and as we did not take any interest in his religion, he did not get any sympathy from us.

Some time later my mother was called to go and visit her sister in Northampton which was about 11 miles away. This sister was very sick. The elders visited her, and Mother attended their meetings and joined the Church while she was there. We joined the Church the same night she did, 27 November 1889, and neither of us knew that the other had joined until she came home. Father was overjoyed when he knew we were going to join, and when Mother came home and told him she had joined the Church, his joy knew no bounds. We used to hold our little meetings each Sunday, and the elders visited us sometimes. When my wife’s sister came to stay with us, she joined the Church, together with her mother and sister, so you see what can be accomplished by small beginnings. When we joined the Church, however, we did not have the least idea of going to Zion.

My father died 16 November 1898, and my mother died 14 November 1900.

In the spring of 1901, we sent our two oldest boys, Harry and Alf Lenard, out to Utah, as one of the elders knew a man who needed a boy, and my wife’s sister’s husband wanted a boy to help him, so we decided to let them go. This was quite a trial for us, as at that time we had no idea when we would get out or when we would see them again, but as that wonderful song says, “God Moves in a Mysterious Way”. He surely did in our case as the way was opened in a most wonderful manner, and we came out 5 June 1902--just one year and one month after the boys left us, as we arrived at Smithfield, Utah, 18 June, where my wife’s sister lived.

During our stay in Smithfield, which was only of 6 weeks duration, an elder from Wellsville with whom we were acquainted in England, came to see us. He told me that we could do well in Wellsville, as they needed a shoe repairer there. We moved to Wellsville, and the people treated us very well. I had quite a little work to do, but did not like it very much, as I had been used to new work. I had an acre of land there.

During the summer of 1903 we took a trip to Brigham City. We borrowed a horse and buggy and drove through the canyon, the road being very narrow in some places. I had to drive on the side to let a wagon pass, and in coming onto the road the top of the buggy swerved over and caught the wagon and ripped the top of the buggy off.

When we arrived in Brigham City, we saw the first elder we met in England. At that time he was president of the Box Elder Stake. He told me his son wanted a man to work for him, and also a girl to run a machine, which our oldest daughter understood, as she had been used to running such a machine in England. So I made arrangements to move from Wellsville to Brigham City.

Some people I knew in England offered me a horse and light wagon to bring my chickens over in, and I hired a man with a team and wagon to haul my potatoes and onions, as I raised quite a lot of them. When we were about half-way through the mountains, one of the wheels of the borrowed wagon broke, so I had to leave my chickens in the canyon all night and get a man to bring them in the next day.

I experienced much disappointment after my removal to Brigham City, as the man I had arranged to work for did not keep his promise. He did not give my daughter so much as a day’s work, and only gave me such work as he and his other man would not do, so that I could not make a decent living for my family.

When we had lived there about 3 months, a man named Wooding came and offered me a small farm if I could pay him a small sum down and the balance in monthly payments. I took my oldest boy and we went to see the farm and agreed to buy it. We moved there 1 January 1904. It was quite a lonesome place; our nearest neighbor being about 6 blocks away from us, but we soon got used to it.

I had no implements to work the land with and had to get someone to plough it and fixed the place up the best I could. I bought an old horse and light wagon and had to learn to plough and milk a cow, which was quite a hard task for me at my age, never having done work of that nature up until that time. However, through the blessing of the Lord, we managed to get along fine.

We used to have terrible snow storms in that part of the country. During the 2nd winter we lived there a party was being given for the children in the meetinghouse, about a mile and a half from our farm. I started off with the children and got part of the way when we found ourselves stuck in the snow. A brother came along and brought help, so we finally arrived there all right. The children had about 2 miles to go to school, and I used to make a path with my snow plough for them, which would soon fill in, and then I would have to go and meet them when they came home. It was most beautiful in the spring, summer, and fall, but the winters were very severe.

About 1910 a new schoolhouse was built, and as I was looking after a small farm adjoining ours for some people, they asked me if I would like to get a job as janitor. I got the job and it helped us out fine, and from then on everything has gone well for us. We built a home in town that fall on 2nd North and 2nd East where we lived until 1920 when we sold that house to Ernest and Ruby, and we built a new brick house on 3rd East where we lived until July 1925, having lived in Brigham City about 22 years. We had very many experiences there, good and otherwise, which we can look back upon with wonder and surprise.

When the terrible World War broke out, 2 of our boys joined the army and we lost the youngest with the ‘flu in March 1919, the first one that we had been called to part with.

We moved to Salt Lake City in July 1925 and have lived there and worked in the Temple since that at time.

Stories of George Richard Freeman told by his daughter, Ida F. Winter

One day Father came in so happy and said, “We are going to Zion.” When mother asked where the money was coming from, he said he had sold the house. Father was still paying for our home, but the neighbor who owned the dry goods store next door wanted to enlarge his store and asked Father to sell to him. The store owner was already using some part of a building Father owned to store his surplus furniture and other commodities. That announcement would have taken my breath, so I am sure Mother was completely unnerved for a time.

With a family of four, Father wanted a picture taken of Harry, Annie, Alf and 8 month old baby Wilford. Alf, a very active boy just would not be still or cooperate in any way. Mother looks exasperated and Alf half suspicious in the picture. To get his attention the man taking the picture said, “You be very quiet and look at this little hole and see a little bird come out.” At last the picture was taken.

Vaccination was quite new while George and Jane lived on East Street. Harry and Annie were vaccinated arm to arm method. They both had very bad arms and were quite ill. Annie had three large vaccination scars on her arm. Father was quite upset. When Alf was vaccinated Mother moistened her handkerchief with saliva and wiped his arm clean. Father and Mother did not want another bad arm and sickness. In spite of knowing his mother(Charlotte Emma Goss) nearly lost her life from smallpox and her face completely scar covered from the disease, Father declared he would not have another child vaccinated. When it was time for the next child, Wilford, to be vaccinated, Father refused to have it done. The authorities insisted, but the answer was no, and he refused to pay the fine. The authorities entered the house, took furniture and other items out to the square to be sold to pay the fine. No one would buy any of the articles. Everyone was against vaccination or the suffering caused by vaccination. The articles were returned to the house, and the matter ended by giving people a choice, to be vaccinated or not. None of we other children were vaccinated.

Father and Mother, desiring to be baptized, asked Elder George Jarvis to baptize them. He, knowing of the persecution give the Saints, had them wait until midnight: then with the help of the childrens' high chair, they climbed over the rear wall and walked across the fields to the Ouse River about one mile away. Elder Jarvis walked into the cold river with his stick and felt around for a deep hole and baptized my parents. To make things more unpleasant there was a inch of snow on the ground. They all walked back to the house in their wet clothes, happy and with an inner warmth and glow. They were not seen and did not have any unpleasant results such as colds or illness from their cold walk.

Some time before the baptism the enlarging family needed more room. A home was found at No. 20 Market Place on the town square. The elders helped move the family to their new home. At that time the house had a thatched roof; later a slate roof replaced the thatch.












Four more children were added to the family here. They were Wilford, Ernest, Ida and Bert. Bert was given 3 names because no one could decide which name should be chosen. Finally Father said, “He shall have all three names and be called Bert.”


Now the family had more room than needed. Father brought his parents (Richard and Charlotte Freeman) to live in the house. They had their own rooms, one room downstairs and one upstairs. For the rest of their lives they had no worries about food or shelter. Grandfather was always helpful, doing what he could each day to help Mother or Father; then he would return to their rooms. Grandmother we saw little of. She was worn out physically and did her daily duties a little at a time. Her feet gave her much trouble in walking, so she was almost a semi-invalid. She was a slender woman, medium height, patient, quiet, sweet and long-suffering. She had known hardship and hard work all her life.

The entrance to the yard and house was through a door, or entry, from the square and next to the neighboring shop. Another door entered a front room directly from the square at the north side of the room. The yard extended from the square through to East Street, closed off at East Street by 6 foot wooden gates with spikes on top. First came the house; then a long low building (Father’s shoe shop), above the shop was a large room used by the town band (band room) then a small brick place and little yard for a few chickens and a pet rooster. (The rooster was finally killed and roasted for dinner. No one seemed to care for dinner so the bird was taken to Ann Gammon, the woman who helped Mother with the laundry or washing, and was much appreciated by her.) Beyond the chickens, there was a brick shed or rooms, rented to someone who used them for a horse and trap (carriage).

Across the walk from the kitchen door and against the wall and back of the neighboring shop was the washhouse (laundry room); a pump was outside. In the washhouse was the “copper”, a very large copper lined bowl with a lid, bricked into the corner about waist high with a place for a fire underneath. In the copper water was heated for washing and transferred to tubs for hand scrubbing or sheets, clothes, etc. Then they were boiled in the copper.

A rock wall separated us from our neighbors. In the spring, the wall was nearly covered with sweet smelling wall flowers. There was a narrow garden strip for our kidney beans (scarlet runner) and clothes lines. Father had a garden plot, or allotment, about 1/4 mile away where he grew our vegetables. Father enjoyed fishing in the Ouse River a mile away, but never ate the fish, instead, these he gave away. If the river and meadows were frozen over during the wintertime, Father and the boys enjoyed skating. They wore wooden skates with metal runners in those days.

The shoe shop was a busy place. Father and one man, sometimes two, worked every day but Sunday. The boys helped deliver the shoes to the factory for finishing or to the station (depot) for shipment to Northampton. I loved to watch Father with his awl and driver make holes in the shoe soles and then put the tacks in, rhythmic in motion. Some years later a group of townsmen asked Father to have a co-op shop in his front room. The room connected to the house by a door. It was most convenient with a door opening directly from the square. He sold the available grocery items of that day: sugar, flour, salt, vinegar, biscuits, sweets, rice, raisins, currants, jams, oranges from Spain and Africa, marmalade, bacon, potatoes, etc. Wilford was the usual one to deliver groceries on Saturday. Harry delivered telegrams after school hours. After finishing school, Harry worked at “Hind and Mann” shoe factory. Alf worked at another factory. Annie at age 14 worked at Cowley’s shoe factory running a stitching machine. Everyone was busy. Children worked as soon as they were out of school at 14 years of age (it is now 16 years), sometimes before.

Father was always busy, especially during the spring and summer season. The garden was attended to in the evening, and he often went fishing in the early morning.

As a boy, George Richard had many lean years. Before he was 8 years old, he started work to help his parents provide for the family. He was good with figures and could have been very good with schooling. As a lad he sang in the boys’ choir in the Church of England. He played Rugby football with the town team and other sports with his friends.

Tradition - Candy Canes

Samuel Freeman was born nearly 200 years ago, 4 March 1806, in Olney, Buckinghamshire, England. He and his wife, Elizabeth Ann, had three children before she died at a young age. One of these children, Richard, born in 1835, was my great-great grandfather. Samuel remarried and had another son named Thomas.
Now, young Thomas had a real fondness for sweets. He, and probably the other children, liked to hang around at their father’s sweet shop. There Samuel sold biscuits, sweets, powders for drinks, and jams. Thomas was particularly fond of hard candy, called rock candy. Because of this, he soon earned the nickname, Tommy Rock. It is unclear whether Samuel made the rock candy he sold himself, but it seems likely that he did.
Years later, Samuel’s son, Richard grew up, married, and had seven children. His health was always bad, apparently due to a bout with tuberculosis. He also had poor eyesight. This made it difficult for him to work at his trade of shoemaking. Therefore, his family was often short of money. In order to supplement the family income, Richard operated a stall at fairs and holiday celebrations in Olney and in surrounding villages and towns. In Olney, the fair consisted of “Flash George’s round horses” (merry-go-round), swishbacks (like a small roller coaster) and about a dozen stalls. At Richard’s stall, a gun was used to shoot darts at a target. Prizes for the winners were various shapes and sizes of rock candy. To insure a greater profit, Richard made the candy himself. Some prizes were square chunks, some round like marbles, some straight sticks and some candy canes. Some were plain and others were striped.
To make the candy, Richard cooked it in a large iron pot before pouring it out onto a piece of smooth slate about 30 inches square. The surface of the stone was thinly coated with butter to prevent the candy from sticking to the stone. Next he put in the flavoring before folding the candy together with a knife. He left a little candy back while he took the rest and pulled it over a large hook until it turned white and opaque. He took the remaining candy, which was clear, golden brown, and twisted the two colors together as he pulled it into long strips to form the desired shape of candy.
Richard Freeman’s son, George Richard, didn’t sell candy or use it for prizes at a stall, but his children recalled that he would sometimes help them make homemade sweets using the old family recipe. He used a few drops of peppermint or anise oil for the flavor. When he decided to bring his family to the United States in 1901, the recipe came with them. The fifth of their seven children was my grandfather, Ernest Freeman.
After coming to America at the age of seven, Ernest spent his whole life in Utah except for the time he was in France during World War I. When he returned from the war, he married Ruby Kotter and settled down to raise a family. It wasn’t long before three children were added to the family. Like all children, they loved candy, so the family recipe was carried on for another generation. Ernest usually pulled his candy into long striped sticks and then cut them into bite-sized, pillow-shaped pieces with scissors. He stored them in metal cans with tight-fitting lids.
His daughter, Roma, loved the little candies. Unfortunately for her, she suffered terribly from eczema. It seemed that her condition became worse near Christmas time. Based on this information, her doctor decided that her problem had to do with eating too many sweets. What an imposition it seemed to her to be restricted from eating any of the delicious candy! After a time, it was clear that candy was not the culprit; so, she was allowed to eat it again. Ernest’s three children grew up, married, and had families of their own. All the grandchildren knew that there was a special can up in Grandpa’s cupboard with the best peppermint candy in town. We were not allowed an unlimited supply, but we tried to make sure we got one a day. Even when great-grandchildren appeared, the candy can was always ready.
Roma grew up to become my mother. She brought her candy recipe with her when she married my dad. Every winter we made candy canes and candy pieces. Older children and adults usually made the canes while smaller children were given scissors to cut little pieces.
Dad worked for a large pharmaceutical company in an area where they did research on colorings and flavorings for various liquid medications. His lab was filled with flavoring samples provided by the numerous sales representatives who visited him to promote their products. He often brought home unneeded samples for us to try in our candy. This is when we first acquired an affinity for new and exotic flavors. At first we didn’t have a candy stone to cool our candy on, so we used two large cast iron skillets. Between batches we put the skillets out in the snow to cool off more rapidly.
When we got married, my cousin Rebecca gave us a candy thermometer. Grandpa and Grandma Freeman gave us a marble candy stone and a candy hook. It wasn’t too many years before our own children were anxious for the Christmas season to come so we could make candy canes. Because the pulling and shaping of the candy needs to be done quickly before the candy hardens too much, it is necessary to make it a group project. When the children were too young to help much, we often invited other families to help us. Now the children are big enough to be useful as well as ornamental.
People often ask us how we make candy canes and how we get the stripes on them. Usually we just answer “very carefully”. In truth, making candy canes is a process easier shown than explained. Nevertheless, I will try.
While I start mixing and cooking the ingredients, the others else set out trays and coat the candy stone and hook with a thin layer of butter to keep the candy from sticking. My kids think peppermint candy canes pretty mundane. They spend considerable time discussing the flavor and color of the candy. Recent flavor favorites include root beer, pineapple, coconut custard, tangerine, wintergreen and raspberry. Since two stripes are put onto each cane, they can both be the same color or two different colors.
The ingredients are cooked until they reach “hard crack” or 300 degrees. Then the mixture is poured onto the polished marble candy stone to begin cooling except for a small amount which is reserved to make the stripes out of later. As the candy begins to cool, the edges are lifted with a knife and turned to the middle.

When the candy cools enough to form a soft mass, a few drops of flavoring are added to the middle. After a little more cooling and turning, the candy is cool enough to be handled for brief periods of time. It is then taken to the candy hook where the candy pullers take turns pulling the candy. It is still too hot for one person to hang on to it for very long. As it is pulled, the candy turns from a translucent, golden color to a shiny, opaque white.

While everyone else is busy pulling the candy, I take the reserved candy in the pan and add food coloring to it. If two different colored stripes are desired, the candy is divided in half and put in two separate pans. After the color is mixed in, the candy is poured out in two little puddles to cool. When both parts of the candy are ready, the white portion is taken off the hook in a big blob. One stripe is placed on each side of it. Then I begin twisting and pulling the candy to form a strip as big around as my finger. I use scissors to cut off lengths about six inches long. These are given to the helpers to roll and shape into candy canes. Of course, a few pieces always get “dropped” and must be eaten.

Every year, friends are treated to bunches of brightly colored candy canes in a variety of flavors. They make great Christmas gifts.
My sister, Eileen, makes candy canes, also. Her son Scott included a candy cane in his lunch once. His friends all thought he should give it to them. Finally he told them he would sell it for a quarter. In the midst of screams of “highway robbery”, he shattered the cane and offered all the boys little tastes. The next day they were all waiting for him, quarter in hand. Until Christmas break, a faithful group met him every day as he got off the school bus. When vacation started he found he had made $75!
A couple of years ago, our candy hook disappeared. I looked for it everywhere with no success. With the candy season almost upon us this last year, I gave up. Roger made a drawing of the hook and took it to a metal shop to have a new one made. The price was so reasonable that we got one made for each of our children. I expect homemade candy canes will continue in the family for generations to come.



Candy Canes
4 cups sugar
3 T. vinegar
1-1/4 cups water
1/4 t. cream of tartar
1/2 c. white corn syrup


Stir until dissolved. Bring to a boil. Boil 2 minutes with the lid on. Then, remove lid and cook to “hard crack”. Pour on candy stone. Add flavor. Pull on hook until it springs back. Add stripes and make into canes.

The Kotter Family of Haustenbeck, Lippe-Detmold, Germany

Henry Herman Ludvig Kotter (Hermann Heinrich Ludwig Kötter) and his younger brother, August, emigrated to America from their ancestral home in Haustenbeck, Lippe-Detmold, Germany and settled in Utah where they each raised large families.

Henry Kotter

Henry married twice. After the death of his first wife, he married Wilhelmine Albertina Erickson, a Swedish emigrant. They were the parents of 9 children; Henrietta, Ruby, Victor, Herman, Homer, Gertrude, Norma, Elmer and Wendell.

The information on the family history in Germany was provided by Professor Hans Sprenger, a university professor, who was sent to be a rural village school teacher as a punishment for expressing anti-Nazi views. During his time in the village of Haustenbeck, Prof. Sprenger heard a story that said the village was originally settled by Huguenot refugees from France. Since his own ancestors were Huguenot refugees, he wanted to research to see if the village story was correct. He eventually found that he was the only descendant of a Huguenot refugee in the village. The story of the village origins were just a myth. In doing his research, Prof. Sprenger traced the ancestry of almost everyone in the village and was most helpful to our family in searching for our family origins. After World War II, when everything in Germany was very scarce, our family sent several care packages to the Sprenger family which enabled them to survive this difficult time. Here are some general results of his research:

Items Pertaining to the Family History of the Kötter Family in Lippe-Detmold by Professor Hans Sprenger (1899-1973) The Adoption of the Family Name

It used to be the custom in the state of Lippe, that the family name was attached to the owner of the estate and not to the person. If a proprietor had no male descendants and the estate was taken over by a son-in-law, he took also the name of the former owner. In such cases his former name would be found in the parish register, and later he would be mentioned under the family name of his wife. Sometimes both names were used together but usually the last name he adopted was kept on record.

This was the case in the Kötter family. The forefather's name was Töns Henrich Johanmann. This Johanmann married Anna Margarethe Ilsabein Redeker who was also named after her father's name "Kötter", which was his by-name. The young couple inherited with the estate of the wife's parents the name "Kötter". In the beginning they carried the real name "Redeker" besides the Kötter name, but soon dropped the first one. The origin of this name "Kötter" is not known as it evidently traces back onto the past centuries. Such double names of families are customary in this district down to the present days.

Localities of Kötter Ancestors

The family history of the Kötters traces back into the beginning history of the village named Haustenbeck between 1659 and 1661. The first houses were built here in the "Senne" district, which means the sandy fields south of the "Teutoburger Forest". The Count of Lippe was anxious to have habitations along the highway between Bremen and Frankfort.

The first settlers came from the town of Berlebeck, and among them were Herman Waechter and his wife. In the following decades the village grew from inhabitants who migrated mostly from Berlebeck. About 1700 the families Redeker alias Kötter and Kelle came from the same place.

The Johanmann family originated in Schlangen, a village that is centuries older than Haustenbeck. They are listed in that place already before the parish registers were started. One family by that name moved from Schlangen to Kreuzkruge, a highway inn and hotel that belongs to the Kohlstädter Heide, and was built around 1700. Then Töns Henrich Johanmann moved to Haustenbeck where he is found since 1706.

The children, eight of them, of the marriage Johanmann-Kötter were all born in Haustenbeck and their births are listed in the parish register of the reformed church. The family name is used interchangeably as Johanmann and Kötter or both together.

Töns Henrich Johanmann died 13 Nov. 1791 from pneumonia.

At the marriage entry 23 Oct. 1753 in Haustenbeck he is called T. H. Johanmann "von der Heide" meaning the district named Kohlstädter Heide. In the proclamation preceding the marriage he is called as being from "Kohlenwege". This is not a contradiction. From other documents it is evident that the parents of Johanmann were leasers of the "Kreuzkrug" Inn and that belonged to the Kohlstädter Heide located at the Kohlenwege (road) which is a crossway of the Detmold highway, from this crossway which is "Kreuzweg" the inn has received its name. The birth record could not be found. At the death he was recorded as being 63 years old, which means he must have been born 1728. In that same year there was a stillborn child born into the family so that his birth year must have been one year earlier or later, or the age at his death has not been given quite correctly (which happens frequently). It is also evident that he was entered under some other christian name than he was called in life.

The marriage took place in Haustenbeck and there Johanmann took the name "Kotter" or "Kötter".

The whole village was badly damaged during the Seven Years' War by the armies of both sides, and that also refers to the property of the Kötters. There are several claims for damages on file.

Anna Margareta Ilsabein Redeker died of dropsy after suffering of this disease for 13 weeks. She had been a midwife for three years and six months and had attended to this office and work with great diligence and loyalty. In 1728 this Töns Johanmann of the Kreuzkrug had a stillborn son born to him. Töns is the lower German form of the name Anton. It is evident that this is the father of our Töns Henrich; according to the entry in the parish register of Schlangen.

In the same register we find a marriage entry which seems to refer to this Töns Johanmann. The marriage is entered in January 1704. It is, of course, not provable that Töns Henrich is a son of this marriage.

The Johanmann lineage appears before that date in Schlangen but the family association cannot be determined.

John Anton Johanmann married 13 Jan. 1704 Anna Regina Plöger of Oesterholz, provided that the forgoing conclusions are correct.

Johan Anton Redeker also named Johan Töns was born 22 Mar 1709 in Haustenbeck and married 16 Jan 1729 in Haustenbeck. His death is not entered in the register, but occurred around 1735, because his widow marries a second time in December 1736. The added name "Kötter" is never mentioned in the parish register except at the death of his widow when she is named the "old Kötter widow".

Anna Margaretha Ilsabein Kelle was born 10 May 1711 in Haustenbeck and married Johan Anton Redeker 16 Jan. 1729. After the early death of her first husband she married a second time Johan Herman Meyer from Haustenbeck 23 Dec. 1736. She married a third time Johan Simon Kruse, a musketeer (soldier) in Bielefeld, 18 Dec 1743. She died 28 Feb. 1768 of pleurisy (in the death entry is a reference to the first marriage with J. H. Redeker "named Kötter" saying "Anna Margaretha Kruse, the old Kötter woman").

Johan Henrich Redeker (also Recker and Reker) married 3 July 1707 in Haustenbeck. Birth and death are not available. In a list of settlers from 1724-5 he is given as a small Kötter, meaning a farmer with a small property. Redeker is an old German trade name and means Radermacher (wheelmaker).

Christina Waechter, born around 1672 in Haustenbeck according to her age at death married first to Henrich Panker and second to Johan Henrich Redeker on 3 July 1707 in Haustenbeck of asthma.

Kelle, also named Wille--Herman was born around 1680, married 10 April 1708 in Haustenbeck and died 8 Nov. 1727 in Haustenbeck . He was Krueger, which means keeper of the inn.

The Kelle family settled about 1700 in Haustenbeck. Soon after the names of Carl Kelle and Herman Kelle appear, evidently being brothers. The origin cannot be clearly determined, probably the family came from Berlebeck. There we find around 1650 the names of "Johann von der Kehle (Kelle) and Dietrich Kelle". According to a reference book, "Family Names in Lippe" the name traces to "the Kehle", a declining part of the Hahn Mountains near Berlebeck.

Difficult to understand is the following note in the register of communicants in Haustenbeck in the year 1711 "Herman Kellen Papismu reliquit". It is possible that Herman Kelle has become a Catholic but that must have occurred when he was out of the state. Herman Kelle alias Wille was married 10 April 1708 to Gerdruth Bestian Tielen according to the parish register. After his death in 1727 she married Georg Heinrich Dieckwiet in 1728 and died soon after, 24 Oct 1728, being 54 years old so that her birth year may have been 1674, In the death record she is given as Anna Gerdruth Wille "the Krueger woman".

The name Bestian Tielen is taken from a man who was called Bestian Tiele. This Tiele came in 1686 to Haustenbeck and died 1707. The name is extinct with his death. He is mentioned in a document of marriage contract: --Bastian, son of Otto Thile of Zelle agrees to marry Catharine Ilsabein, daughter of Juergen Wittbracht of Haustenbeck. The groom will inhabit her property; otherwise they do not have anything to list, 28 Aug 1686.

When comparing the data it is readily seen that Gerdruth cannot be the daughter but the widow of Bastian. But as the given name is not the same as in the marriage contract we have to conclude that Catharine Ilsabein Wittbracht had died in the meantime and Gerdruth was the second wife of Bastian Tiele. Maiden name and origin cannot be obtained.

Henrich Redeker, called "the old Kötter" and in the death record, Johan Henrich, died 4 April 1720 in Haustenbeck, 73 years old.

His name is mentioned first in Haustenbeck in 1698 in court documents. He had taken contraband from a thief into another country on his cart without notification. In 1700 he had fallen into disgrace and was sent out of the country. At that time he had given his property to his daughter who later married Carl Kelle.

At his return he and his younger son, Johan Henrich, lived in the home of Carl Kelle. In 1713 the house was destroyed by fire, because he and his son had dried wood close to the stove. After that, Carl Kelle and his wife filed a suit against him because he had started to build a new house on the old homestead.

In this suit, Johan Henrich Redeker is mentioned several times as the brother and Henrich Redeker, the old Kötter, as the father of Carl Kelle's wife. This makes the relationship very plain. The origin of this first Redeker cannot be determined. Probably he came as most of the Haustenbeck people, from Berlebeck. In the parish register of Heiligenkirchen, which included the community of Haustenbeck, the following marriage is listed: Johan Redeker married his betrothed 7 Sep. 1684. In 1685 at the birth of a son the parents are given as Johan and Anna Sophia Redeker.

Herman Waechter born in Berlebeck married 1656 in Berlebeck. At his marriage he was a serf, but later must have bought himself free. In 1660 he settled with his young wife in Haustenbeck as the fourth man in the settlement. At the first dedication of houses he was distributing beer and for this reason was also named the "Krueger" Waechter.

Since about 1680 the documents only name the "Waechter" people. Herman Waechter must have been dead then.

Elisabeth Meyer, born about 1627 in Berlebeck married 1656 in Berlebeck, died May 1715 in Haustenbeck. She was the daughter of the Supervisor of lands at Falkenberge and a freeman.

In the law court documents her name is predominating. In the settlement of the village she must have played an important part. In the church in Haustenbeck they are still using the pitcher for baptisms which the 'old Waechter woman" had donated.

Johan Waechter of Berlebeck died before 1656.

The origin of Herman Waechter and Elisabeth Meyer can be determined from the marriage license entered in Detmold 20 June 1656 which reads in the present form of the language as follows:

Herman Wachter, son of the deceased Johan Waechter of Berlebeck, marries Elisabeth Meyer, daughter of Simon Meyer, supervisor of lands at Falkenberge and his step-father who is now proprietor of the Waechter property, promises him (in donatitionem propter nuptias) 80 Thaler in cash, a horse, half a bushel of grain, a milking cow, an ox, one fat and one younger hog, besides half a side of bacon; also a yearly donation of a wagon of hay and half a bushel of linseed for sowing. The cash money he agrees to pay 20 Thaler now and the remaining 60 Thaler within the following years, as well as the other items mentioned. The father of the bride promises to give his daughter 80 Thaler in money and just as much in other items as the bridegroom received except for the horse. The bridegroom is still a serf, the bride is free. ("serf") means being in bondage to an employer or proprietor for whom they had to work a certain amount of years.)

Simon Meyer was living in Berlebeck The name is mentioned in the marriage contracts stated before.

Simon Meyer was supervisor of lands at Falkenberge--that means he was officially appointed to supervise a larger district of villages. The Vogtei of Falkenberge comprised the villages of Heiligenkirchen, Berlebeck, Hornoldendorf, Holzhausen, Fromhausen, and Haustenbeck. The settlement of Haustenbeck was also done under his supervision. As a "Vogt" he was a freeman, not a serf, and so was his daughter and her later descendants, the "Waechters in Haustenbeck."

Another grandkid weekend

Daughter and son-in-law were invited to attend an out of town event this weekend. Fortunately for us, the town they were invited to is only a few miles from our house, so they came to spend the night along with their grandparent entertainment committee of 3 children.

It seems like Garrett should still just be a little person, but he is old enough that he is turning in to quite a decent chess player, according to his dad and grandpa, who both played games with him.


For his recent birthday he received a kit to make a couple of catapults, so he and the woodworker worked on those this morning. After they were completed, we decided marshmallows would be perfect to use for ammunition, but we didn't have any, so we quickly made some little pompoms from yarn. It worked great!



In the meantime, I was busy making everyone some dinner. I had an expert helper...especially when it was time to lick the beaters!



I was reminded several times that she can do things herself, because she had a birthday.



Baby sister was anxious to be included as well. She is a very discriminating eater. She prefers nothing foodlike, but tries to eat any little scrap of paper she can find. Today she found that saltines are bland and apparently taste a good deal like paper. She was somewhat shocked to find the taste of applesauce on her fingers though!



We always enjoy visits from family!