Tenant's house

Passport

German Church in Schluersburg, MO

Church book of St. John Lutheran, Sauers, Jackson Co., IN

German Quarter 'Over the Rhine' in Cincinnati

Boat on the Mississippi River

Tombstone of 'Margaretha Vennemann from Venne', Dudleytown, Jackson Co., IN

Map of Venedy, Washington County, IL

From Dishwasher to Millionaire: Friedrich Wilhelm Nölker

Cincinnati, OH

German cemetery in the Midwest


www.venne.de

Venne - emigration history

Between 1832 and 1900 about 2.000 people from Venne emigrated to the USA. What made them go? Most of them had economical reasons. Farming was the main source of income, but the land could not feed all its people anymore. From the times of the 30-Years-War (1618 to 1648), when Venne had 650 inhabitants, the population had grown to 2.000 in the year 1848.

Only one child could inherit the farm. The sisters and brothers had to marry on other farms or stay unmarried at home unless they wanted to descend to the lowest class of the rural society of the 19th century: to become a cottager, the so called "Heuermann (hireman)". Hiremen rented little farmhouses, cottages, from the biggers farms. The rent had to be payed in money and, even more important, by working for  the farmowner in his farming business.  Children of these hiremen only had one single fate: to become hiremen like their parents. If they did not find a house and land to rent, they were not allowed to marry.

Living standard of the rural society of Venne was extremely low. From an average family with 6 children only 4 reached maturity. A poor harvest in 1846 even caused a famine the next year. Everyone tried to make some additional money: the hiremen jobbed as taylors, wooden shoe makers, carpenters, wagonmakers, smiths or joiners.

Venne belonged to the principality of Osnabrueck, one of for a time more than 300 small states in Germany. In 1815 Osnabrueck was incorporated into the kingdom of Hanover which in 1866 itself was incorporated into Prussia. Many young men tried to avoid beeing drafted to military service.

We don´t know who the very first Venne emigrant to the USA was, but once emigration had started it soon became a mass movement. Good news from the new land caused a chain reaction; more and more came: sisters and brothers, other family members, relatives, friends and neighbours were given the letters written by their predecessors telling about ten times higher income and cheap land to purchase. A dream, never really dared to be dreamed in Germany, looked to be realizable: to become a selfstending farmer on your own property.

The class of the hiremen and their children saw a big chance for their lives. Consequently they produced 80 % of the emigrants. The others were farmers or their children. In nowaday terms in Germany we call these kind of people economical refugees. From the former principality of Osnabrueck it were 90,000; from Venne itself about 2,000 within a period of 70 years (1830 - 1900).

About 50% of the Venne emigrants went to the big cities like Pittsburgh PA, Buffalo NY, Cincinnati OH, St. Louis MO, Louisville KY, Kansas City KS, Terre Haute IN and Jersey City NJ. The second half of the emigrants homesteaded in rural areas of the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Kansas.

You can learn more about the Venne emigration history in this book:

title

You can order the English editon of

Venne in America

($ 28,-- plus shipping) from the author Udo Thoerner: Udo.Thoerner@Campemoor.de.

Members of these Venne families who emigrated to the United States of Amerika can be found in the book:

Abke
Ahlbrand
Andrees
Beckmann
Bergmann
Bettenbrock
Bonenkamp
Borrenpohl
Böschemeyer
Bosse
Brinkmann
Brockschmidt
Bruning
Bücker
Buhr / Buer
Büning
Bünte
Burlage
Castrup
Dierker
Dinkelmann
Donnerschlag
Dunker
Düsterberg
Ebke
Eggemann
Ellermann
Evers
Fangmeier
Fissbecke
Frische
Gering
Grautmann
Grave
Hachmann
Hackmann
Hagemann
Harmeyer
Havekotte
Hehemann
Hinnenkamp
Hockmann
Holland
Hollenbecke
Hollewedde
Holtkamp
Hurrelbrink
Imbusch
Imsieke
Jakob im Busch
Jösting
Kalmey
Kettler
Klausing
Kleekamp
Knollhoff
Knostmann
Koch
Köster
Krone
Laumerich
Linnenschmidt
Meyer zu Broxten
Meyer zu Darpvenne
Meyer zu Venne
Meyer zum Vorwalde
Meyerholz
Miefert
Minning
Möhlenkamp
Möhlmeyer
Mönk, Mönnich
Niederschmidt
Niehaus
Niemann
Nölker
Nordmann
Ostendorf
Otte
Peter
Peterschlingmann
Pleggenkuhle
Probst
Pruss
Rasche
Riesmeyer
Rittmann
Rölker
Rotert
Rottmann
Rückin
Sander
Schepmann
Schevemann
Schlarmeyer
Schleibaum
Schlingmann
Schmalge
Schmalgengerd
Schmersal
Schnieder
Schomaker
Schröder
Schütte
Schwarze
Schwegmann
Siebert
Siegmann
Sieksmeier
Sielschott
Siepmann
Sievering
Sollmann
Spielmeyer
Stagge
Steinkamp
Stockhowe
Strobecke
Strunk
Stuckwisch
Stüve
Surenkamp
Tepe
Terkhorn
Thelmann
Thörner
Tiemann
Tiemeyer
Topie
Tormöhlen
Trentmann
Uhlenborg
Ulland
Vallowe
Vennemann
Vette
Vinke
von der Becke
Vornholt
Wahlbecke
Waldkötter
Waldmann
Wamhof
Wessel
Wiedöwer
Wilke
Winter
Wissmann
Wortmann
Wrampelmeier
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