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(Ver. 26. Nov 1999) written by Heinz Baumstark and Ann Justiss |
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A Little History of The Baumstarks Here in Germany for many centuries there have been families with surnames like Muller, Schmied, Backer or Schneider. Often these names reflected the professions of those people. For example the name Muller was for those who milled the grain, Schmied for those who shoed the horses, and Backer for those who baked the bread. This was most likely true in the towns and villages throughout Germany. As time passed these spellings changed partly as a result of the people migrating to other countries. Some became Americanized e. g. to Miller, Smith and Baker. Surnames sometime reflected the personalities of the people e.g. Fox, or the physical characteristics e.g. Long, Short, and also sometimes told who their fathers were such as Erickson or Anderson.The name of Baumstark seems to have come about a little differently. My grandmother Frida told me the following story. Many, many years ago during the time of the Thirty Years War (1618-1648) a young man came from Sweden to Ulm, Germany. This man worked as a woodcutter in the Black Forest. He was very strong and powerful and felled the trees very quickly and so the people called him Baumstark. Baumstark comes from the two words baum meaning tree, and stark meaning strong. Later when this man married his family name or surname became Baumstark. This may only be a legend, I am not sure, as the earliest records obtained by my uncle, Theo Baumstark started in the year 1570. This being 50 years before the Thirty Years War. While we are not sure where these people came from the records show that a Barthelome Baumstark lived in Ulm, Germany at that time. There were also Baumstarks in Sinzheim and Muggensturm as early as 1615 to 1690. Both are small towns in Baden Germany near the city of Rastaat and Karlsruhe. Most of the data collected come from early church records in the towns where these people lived. The earliest of the records at Muggensturm are hand written in Latin, making them very difficult if not impossible to read.
In 1741 living in Muggenstrurm two Fanziscus
Baumstark one is a son of Lauretius. Baumstark the other a son of
Joan Baumstark. Unfortunately, both Franziscus married in the same
year. The first marriaged on 06/01/1741 (Maria Catharina
Wesbecher) line 1_1 and second wife
Maria Eva Raub line1_2 . The second
Franziscus maried on 07/11/1741 Anna Maria Speth line
5_1. in the church register of Muggensturm at this time the
parents of the couple were not listed. So it is unclear which
Franziscus belong to the father Laurentius and which belongs to
the father Joan George.
EMIGRATION TO RUSSIA Katharina (Catherine) the Great (1729-1796) from Germany became Queen of Russia in the years 1762-1796. She wanted to populate the barren part of Russia near the Volga River and the area of the Black Sea with her own beloved and industrious people from Germany. She needed them to cultivate the soil and to build cities and harbors. She made them many promises including no military service for 100 years and no taxes. The land was barren and the winters were hard. The people walked or road in wagons to Russia and spent their first winter living in holes dug into the ground with the dirt mounded up on the sides. They somehow survived and thrived. Sometime later between 1808-1811, during Napoleon’s time, people from the Baden area, including many Baumstarks, went to the area of Odessa on the Black Sea. Many towns in these areas thus got German names such as the city of Salz whose founder was a Baumstark too. During this time period the economic, social, and political systems in Germany and Europe were very bad for the majority of the people. The people were struggling just to live and many decided to revolt against the political leaders. Wars continued in Europe to right the wrongs including the French Revolution (1789-1799). In the autumn of the year of 1812 Napoleon conquered Moscow, but was defeated by the winters, and went back to Paris. His Rhinisch Confederation west of the Rhine River collapsed. During this time there was much fighting as to which part of the former Prussia would be restored to Germany.
EMIGRATION TO AMERICA FROM GERMANY The areas around Baden had been in war continually for 100 years. The French had been acquiring much of the land close to the Rhine River. The people were either required to be bear arms, quarter soldiers, or provide food and money for the battles. Following an unsuccessful July Revolution in France in 1830 a chain reaction was set off throughout Europe. In 1832 alone 10,000 Germans emigrated to America. Mass migrations in the 1830’s were said to have totaled 152,000 Germans, and in the year 1848, 200,000 more people sought the refuge from the wars. Immigration reached 200,000 per year by 1854 and half a million by 1882. Note(1) Many Germany were encouraged to leave by a publication entitled "Report About a Journey to the Western States of North America and a Several Year Visit on the Missouri (in the years 1824,25,26, and 1827...), by Dr. Gottfried Duden, Note(2) a university-education lawyer who was concerned about the overpopulation and the poverty of his countrymen was convinced that they again should travel to unsettled areas as they had done years before to Russia. The revolutions in Germany starting in the 1830’s and then one in 1848, the German war with Austria in 1866, and the war with the French 1870-71 was the supposition for the new state or so called foundation of the "Deutsches Reich", and so Wilhelm I promulgated it on January 28, 187l. Germany was again unified this time with 4 kingdoms, 5 grand dutchies, 13 duchies and principalities and 3 free cities. Many came to America and continued to come. American had long ago won its independence from England and were in the process of building a new country. The question of slavery was going to be settled as Abraham Lincoln became president 1861-1865. The German people were certainly not in favor of slavery as they were trying to escape a different kind of slavery in their own country. When this question was answered there were more and more people coming to the United States. Many Americans were going by foot or by wagontrain to settle the "Wild West". Many of these German countrymen came to New York, Baltimore, Maryland, and New Orleans, Louisiana to start a new life. Many Baumstarks emigrated to the United States during this time. Hermann Baumstark, son of Anton Baumstark (1800-1872) from my line left from Freiburg, Germany. He emigrated in 1860 at the age of 21 to St. Louis, Missouri. He attended Concordia Seminary and became a Lutheran priest and had parishes in Quincy and Aurora, Illinois. He returned to teach at the Seminary and after 5 years he decided to return to the Catholic religion. He and his brother (Rheinhold) who still lived in Germany also returned to the Catholic Church and they wrote a book about this which was published in 1868. Later Hermann worked in Ohio for a newspaper. Another Baumstark who left Germany was Viktoria Baumstark (1823-1906). She was born in Muggensturm, Germany the daughter of Tobias Baumstark (1798-1871). Viktoria had a son, Karl, by a Russian boot maker for the Kaiser Wilhelm, but for some reason she did not marry him. Karl was born in Heidelberg. He married Monica Steppe and his first three children (Joseph Emil ( 1877-1926), Charles Albert(1878-1962), and Mary Martha (1880-1931) were born in Bushenback, Germany. The next child was born in St. Louis in 1881. Viktoria and the growing family of Karl’s soon numbered 16. They moved to Hermann, Missouri and bought a small farm where they grew grapes, made wine and had a bowling alley and dance hall. There are many fine descendents of this line living in the St. Louis area and throughout the U.S.A. Contact AJustiss@aol.com about this line. Then there is the story about Franz Baumstark born 5/2/1891, the son of Ludwig Baumstark (1851-1934) who had learned the trade of a miller. After serving in the German Army he emigrated to the U.S.A. in 1880. He became a citizen on June 18, 1891. He lived in Valley Forge, Missouri. He was employed at Giessing Flour Mill at Valley Forge and Farmington, Missouri. He & his wife Rosine, later lived in St. Genevieve, Missouri. At one time there was a park on the property that he owned known as Baumstark Park where many community activities were held. There are descendants of his living in St. Genevieve and throughout the U.S.A. Look at this list to see more Baumstark who emigrate to U.S.A and lives there. EMIGRATION TO AMERICA FROM RUSSIA In 1881 the Russian King Alexander II was killed by a bomb. Fighting was breaking out all over Russia. The Germany people who had gone to Russia at Queen Catherine urging would now be asked to fight for Russia. Many of them fled the country between the years 1870-1900. As the situation for the people in Russia worsened many people including at least 11 Baumstarks came to America. A ship’s passenger list confirms this. Many came to New Orleans and then up the Mississippi River to St. Louis. Today the names have spread all over the country. BAUMSTARKS IN OTHER COUNTRIES There are also Baumstarks living today in Switzerland, Austria, Hungary and France. On January 16, 1753 a Franziskus Baumstark married Maria Eva Raub in Muggensturm, Germany. One of his grant grant son’s Karl emigrated later to France. Since that time the Surname Baumstark is also present in France. A Baumstark from Switzerland told me that his family came from Sinzheim. Then one reported that his family came from Hungry, and another from Danzig Poland. Much information is still missing to link the lines together. The dates from the time 1750 to 1850 are missing from one line. The ships names are missing from another line and much more information about pre-1700 would be wonderful to know. If you have any information to share or want to know any more about the information I have please feel free to contact me. Notes: 1.) Mallinckrodt, Ph.D., 1988, Why They Left. 2.) Duden, Gottfried, 1824-1827, Report About a Journey to the Western States of North America and a Several Year Visit on the Missouri. |
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