Ruppichteroth is a place in Sieg District, Rhein area, situated about 30km/19 miles south of Bonn, nowadays Germany. After the Napoleon wars, in 1815, it became part of the Kingdom of Prussia.
In 1830, 3848 people lived in the town of Ruppichteroth. There were grain and oil mills, ironworks, brickworks, shops and inns (2 of each), 30 taverns, moorland, and many ponds. The main source of income and work source in the town area was related to forestry and farming.
Johann Daniel Bickenbach, born in about 1794, came from the family which had lived in Rippichteroth for over 300 years and was well established in the town. His father, Wilhelm Heinrich Bickenbach (b. 1754/d. 1828), was the pastor of the local Evangelical church during the years 1785/1828.
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| Evangelical Church in Ruppichteroth |
On 25 January 1822, Johann Daniel married Anna Regina Sophia Willach (1) who was born about 1876.
Soon, children were born to the couple:
According to the ship passenger list, Daniel's surname was spelled Bückenboth (9). Another source gives it as Bueckenbach.
Anyway, the Bickenbach family were listed on the passenger manifest as follows
Bickenbach Daniel, wife Anna Sophie, children Wilhelmine, Friederica, Friederic - planned destination Gillespie County.
Henriette and Lisette were not recorded there.
Grown-up sons of Anna and Daniel's were recorded individually -
Peter (age 24) traveled with Catherine (age 18) - planned destination Gillespie County and Mason County;
Wilhelm - planned destination Mason County (10).
Peter Bickenbach and Catherine Lorenz were younger than it was given in the passenger records. The man was 21 and, if the information on her memorial account is correct (11), she was born on 2 January 1833 in the same Sieg-Rhein area, where the Bickenbachs lived. So at the time of their immigration, Katherine was 12. Friedrich, who was registered with Daniel and his wife was Katherine's brother. He was born on 24 November 1838 (12). A reason for that age misinformation and the entire family arrangement might have been the Prussian emigration rules. The head of a family was permitted to get only a limited number (4) of passports for his immediate family and, at the same time a limited number of ship passages. The Bickenbach family traveled altogether, but they had to be listed separately.
Anyhow, Colchis reached Galveston after about two months, on 29 October 1846 (13). Then, the family went by ox wagon to Fredericksburg. Daniel and his sons got the lots in the town area. Johann Daniel owned lot no. 57, Peter and William were co-owners of lot no. 21. Besides, Peter had one more, lot #20 (14).
The 1848 Tax Rolls of Gillespie County reads that at that time, Daniel Bickinbach owned 30 acres of land and town lot no. 30. Moreover, the man had 1 horse which was worth $15, and 4 head of cattle worth $55 (15).
A year later, on ♡ 19 October, Peter and Catherine got married (16). The groom was 24 and his bride was 16. In the same year, Lisette (Elisabeth) married a widower, Mr. Ernst Jordan.
Next year, on 17 September, the census found the members of the Bickenbach (Bueckenback/Bückenbach) in Fredericksburg, Gillespie County, Texas. Peter (24) and Catherine (18) lived in household no. 109, next to their parents and siblings (17).
Peter and William worked as bricklayers and Daniel was a laborer.
In 1855, Johann Daniel had 20 acres (worth $60) in Gillespie County, his son Peter owned 10 more and his land was more valuable (worth $150). The father still had one horse but his cattle heard had grown to 20 head. Peter owned 8 head of cattle (18).
At that time, the Bickenbach men were finally granted land (Fisher-Miller grant) in the Llano River area. Married ones got 640 acres and single men got 120 acres. The newspaper note which I have come across informs that Daniel Bickenbach a misfortune happened to him. Apparently, he lost his land grant certificate (19).
Whether the paper was found or its duplicate issued, it is not known, however, the family still lived in Gillespie County most of 1856. Peter had 40 acres of land there, Daniel and William 20 acres each. Peter had 10 head of cattle, Daniel 20, and William 4. The father of the family still owned a horse as well (20).
The Bickenbach joined the charter of the German Llano Charge, Methodist Episcopal Church South on 8 March 1856 (21).
On ♡ 9 September 1857, in Gillespie County, Wilhelm married Miss Dorothea Alberson (22).
The Gillespie County Tax Rolls for 1857 tell more about what the family owned - Peter farmed on 190 acres altogether including 160 by Threadgill Creek and 30 in the Fredericksburg area. He also had 8 head of cattle. Daniel Bickenbach owned 20 acres in Gillespie, owned town lot no. 56, and 18 head of cattle. William also was the owner of some land (160 acres) at Threadgill Creek and he raised 8 head of cattle (23).
Around that year, the entire family moved to the Llano area. They built log cabins there which were rather poor dwellings comparing to what the family used to own in Ruppichteroth. The family members did not despair, though, just worked hard to make their living conditions as comfortable as it was possible. Wilhelm (William) sold all the land he had in Gillespie County. Peter and his father kept only 50 acres there, which they co-owned (24).
♡ 5 September 1858 - Friedericke married Henry Hasse in Gillespie County (25).
When the Civil War started, William joined Capt. Herman B Biberstein's Mason County Minute Men (26).
He also served with Company C, the Eighth Taylor's Battalion and Company E, the 1st Regiment, Texas Cavalry, Yeager's Mounted Rifles (27).
Meanwhile, grandchildren were born to Johann Daniel and Anna Regina Sophia. There was also another wedding in the family (28) - on ♡ 8 April 1867, in Hilda, Mason, Fritz Lorenz married Annie Simon (born 1842). She was the daughter of Phillip Jakob Simon and Suzanne Weiss.
In 1870, Daniel lived with his wife Sophie in Mason County, post office Hedwig's Hill. Johann Daniel had retired from farming and all the children left the parents' home already. Peter, his wife, and children lived in the household next to his mother and father's place (29).
The children were:
♦ August - born 1853,
♦ Sophie - born 1855,
♦ Emilie - born 1857 (30),
♦ Anna Auguste - born on 24 July 1858 (31),
♦ Daniel Henry - born on 3 July 1860 (32, 33),
♦ Julius (Friedrich Julius) - born on 5 May 1862 (34),
♦ Peter - born on 1 May 1864, in Hilda, Mason (35),
♦ Minna (Friederica Wilhelmina) - born in 1866 (36),
♦ Henry Edwin - born on 16 December 1877 (37).
There was also ♦ Friedrich Wilhelm born on 3 May 1870 (38).
Peter Bickenbach was taking care of the family farm, August was registered during the census as a cattle raiser.
In the same month of June 1870, Wilhelm and his immediate family were listed by the census clerk Mr. Francis Kettner (39). According to that data, William was 42 then, Dorothea 52. The children were
♦ Anna - born in 1849 in Mexico,♦ Hermann - born in 1851 in Texas,
♦ Edward - born in 1853 in Texas,
and ♦ Auguste - born in 1857, Texas.
At that time William Bickenbach boarded a 57-year-old Methodist teacher Mr. Caumen Fritz Pforden (von Pfordten?).
Fritz and Annie Lorenz, together with their 2-year-old son Gottlieb lived in the area as well (40). Gottlieb August Lorenz was born on 15 February 1868 (41). The couple had seven children but only Gottlieb was still alive by 1900 (42). The birth records which I have found
♦ Anna Lorenz - born 19 October 1875, Hilda, Mason (43),♦ Ida Marie Henriette Lorenz - born 6 December 1878, Hilda, Mason (44),
♦ Fritz Lorenz - born 22 February, Hilda, Mason (45).
♦ Mrs. Anna Regina Sophia Bickenbach passed in 1874. She was buried in the family estate area by Beaver Creek. After his wife's death, Daniel moved into Peter's place. The 1880 census found him there (46).
♦ About a year later, Johann Daniel Bickenbach died. He was buried at Beaver Creek next to his wife Sophie.
PS
I have not found anything on what happened to Daniel and Sophie's daughters Henriette and Wilhelmine. Additional information regarding the two ladies will be appreciated.
Resources:
"Mason County Historical Book", Mason County Historical Society, Mason County Historical Commission, 1976.
Geneanet.org
Photo: Rheinlausitzer, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, Wikimedia Commons, https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fd/Evangelische_Kirche_Ruppichteroth_Westturm.jpg
1. "Deutschland Heiraten, 1558-1929", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JHZK-XYV : 22 February 2020), Johann Daniel Bickenbach, 1822
2. "Deutschland Geburten und Taufen, 1558-1898", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NDK9-229 : 25 March 2020), Lisette Bickenbach, 1822.
3. "Deutschland Geburten und Taufen, 1558-1898", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N89S-4HL : 25 February 2020), Peter Bickenbach, 1825.
4. "Deutschland Geburten und Taufen, 1558-1898", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N89S-4C9 : 25 February 2020), Daniel Bickenbach in entry for Wilhelm Bickenbach, 1828.
5. "Deutschland Geburten und Taufen, 1558-1898", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N89S-ZV6 : 25 February 2020), Daniel Bickenbach in entry for Wilhelmine Bickenbach, 1830.
6. "Deutschland Geburten und Taufen, 1558-1898", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N89S-DRD : 25 February 2020), Daniel Bickenbach in entry for Friederica Bickenbach, 1833.
7. "Deutschland Geburten und Taufen, 1558-1898", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NRLM-YZ1 : 25 February 2020), Daniel Bickenbach in entry for Henrietta Bickenbach, 1839.
8. List of ships from Europe with Verein immigrants to Texas 1844-1847
9. German Ships Passenger Lists
10. "A New Land Beckoned: German Immigration to Texas, 1844-1847" by Chester Geue, Chester William Geue, Ethel Hander Geue, 1966
11. Findagrave.com
12. "Texas Deaths, 1890-1976," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K37M-NLF : 20 February 2021), Fredrick Lorenz, 09 Feb 1927; citing certificate number 6230, State Registrar Office, Austin; FHL microfilm 2,114,274.
13. List of ships from Europe with Verein immigrants to Texas 1844-1847
14. 1847 Town Lot Owners, Fredericksburg, Texas
15. "Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJ85-R642 : 20 February 2021), Bickinback, 1848.
16. Findagrave.com
17. "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXLK-VXP : 23 December 2020), Daniel Bueckenback, Fredericksburg, Gillespie, Texas, United States; citing family , NARA microfilm publication (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
18. "Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJ85-RJ94 : 20 February 2021), Dan Bickenbach, 1855.
19. The San Antonio Ledger. (San Antonio, Tex.), Vol. 5, Ed. 1 Thursday, January 25, 1855, newspaper, January 25, 1855; San Antonio, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth179397/: accessed May 11, 2021), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting The Dolph Briscoe Center for American History.
20. "Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJ85-RJWN : 20 February 2021), Daniel Bickenbach, 1856.
21. Llano County Texas, German Methodist Episcopal Church South
22. "Texas Marriages, 1837-1973", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VK1T-5VD : 22 January 2020), William Bickenbach, 1857.
23. "Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJ85-RJK5 : 20 February 2021), Daniel Bickenbach, 1857.
24. "Texas, County Tax Rolls, 1837-1910", database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QJ85-RJK5 : 20 February 2021), Daniel Bickenbach, 1857.
25. "Texas, County Marriage Index, 1837-1977," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VXGC-VHH : 10 March 2021), Henry Hasse and Friederike Bickenbach, 05 Sep 1858; citing Gillespie, Texas, United States, county courthouses, Texas; FHL microfilm 982,801.
26. "Texas, Confederate Army and Commanding Officer Card Index, ca.1861-ca.1865", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:Z46R-182M : 18 June 2020), Wilhelm Bickenbach, 1861.
28. "Texas Marriages, 1837-1973", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:V2MM-FX8 : 22 January 2020), Anna Simon in entry for Fritz Lorens, 1867.
29. "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXGQ-SRC : 2 January 2021), Daniel Bickenbach, 1870.
30. "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXGQ-SR8 : 2 January 2021), Peter Bickenbach, 1870.
31. "Texas Births and Christenings, 1840-1981", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:4L27-82PZ : 14 February 2020), Peter Bickenbach in entry for Anna Auguste Bickenbach, 1858.
32. "Texas Births and Christenings, 1840-1981", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:4LGD-9HMM : 14 February 2020), Peter Bickenbach in entry for Daniel Bickenbach, 1860.
33. "Texas Deaths, 1890-1976," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:KSBK-K6N : 20 February 2021), Peter Bickenbach in entry for Daniel Henry Bickenbach, 10 Sep 1920; citing certificate number 29928, State Registrar Office, Austin; FHL microfilm 2,073,863.
34. "Texas Births and Christenings, 1840-1981", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:4L27-XFPZ : 14 February 2020), Peter Bickenbach in entry for Friedrich Julius Bickenbach, 1862.
35. "Texas Births and Christenings, 1840-1981", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:4L2Q-RNZM : 14 February 2020), Peter Bickenbach in entry for Peter Bickenbach, 1864.
36. "Texas Births and Christenings, 1840-1981", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:4L21-ZP2M : 14 February 2020), Peter Bickenbach in entry for Fridarica Wilhelmina Bickenbach, 1866.
37. "Texas Deaths, 1890-1976," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K394-5P9 : 20 February 2021), Peter Bickenbach in entry for Henry Edwin Bickenbach, 21 Oct 1941; citing certificate number 47067, State Registrar Office, Austin; FHL microfilm 2,138,747.
38. "Texas Births and Christenings, 1840-1981", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:4L27-44N2 : 14 February 2020), Peter Bickenbach in entry for Friedrich Wilhelm Bickenbach, 1870.
39. "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXGQ-XRW : 2 January 2021), William Bickenbach, 1870.
40. "United States Census, 1870", database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXG3-1M1 : 2 January 2021), Gottlieb Lorenz in entry for Fritz Lorenz, 1870.
41. "Texas Deaths, 1890-1976," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K3DD-58N : 20 February 2021), Fritz Lorenz in entry for Gottlieb Aug Lorenz, 26 May 1919; citing certificate number 16604, State Registrar Office, Austin; FHL microfilm 2,073,633.
42. "United States Census, 1900," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:M3PK-KDB : accessed 17 May 2021), Anna Lorenz in household of Frederick Lorenz, Justice Precinct 6, Mason, Texas, United States; citing enumeration district (ED) 52, sheet B, family 134, NARA microfilm publication T623 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1972.); FHL microfilm 1,241,658.
43. "Texas Births and Christenings, 1840-1981", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:4L27-CKMM : 14 February 2020), Fritz Lorenz in entry for Anna Lorenz, 1875.
44. "Texas Births and Christenings, 1840-1981", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:4L2Q-X63Z : 14 February 2020), F. Lorenz in entry for Ida Marie Henriette Lorenz, 1878.
45. "Texas Births and Christenings, 1840-1981", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:4L27-C7PZ : 14 February 2020), F. Lorenz in entry for Fritz Lorenz, 1883.
46. "United States Census, 1880," database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MFJM-GR2 : 20 February 2021), Daniel Bickenbach in household of Peter Bickenbach, Mason, Mason, Texas, United States; citing enumeration district ED 103, sheet 491D, NARA microfilm publication T9 (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.), FHL microfilm 1,255,319.
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