Johann Leyendecker

Johann Leyendecker (Leiendecker) was born in the community of Kadenbach (Duchy of Nassau, Prussia), on 17 October 1794. His parents were Franz Leyendecker and Anna Elizabetha Backhauss. 

 

Johann did his time in the Prussian army - among others, he fought in the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. The man became a school teacher. On 18 May 1825, at about 31, he married Maria Magdalena Zirvas, the daughter of Matthias Zirvas and Anna Maria Herbel (1). The bride was a bit younger than Johann, she was born on 19 June 1803. Their marriage ceremony took place in the Catholic church in Niederelbert, Unterwesterwaldkreis (2).

 

St. Joseph Catholic Church, Niederelbert*

 

 Johan and Maria Magdalena's children were:

• Anna Maria, born 1825,
• Johann, born on 10 September 1827/baptized on 15 September 1827 (3),
• Franz Josef, born on 21 December 1829,
• Katharina died on 1 April 1834/buried on 4 April 1834 (4),
• Matthias Jakobus, born on 12 January 1835 (5),
• Johann Karl, born on 25 June 1837 (6),
• Johann Adam, born on 27 October 1839 - died on 30 September 1841/buried on 2 October (7, #8),
• Johann Adam, born on 16 July 1842, was baptized on 19 July in the same year (9).

In November, Johann, his wife, and children left Prussia and went to Antwerp where they boarded the ship Riga. The vessel departed from the port of Antwerp on 🚢 11 November 1845. 138 emigrants were on the sip. On 8 January 1846, they reached Galveston (10).

On the passengers manifest, the members of the Leyendecker family were listed:

• 51-year-old Johann, wife Maria and children,
• Johann (Johann Zirvas) Leyendecker, son of Johann and Maria, age 18,
• Matthias Leyendecker of Kadenbach, age 71,
• Catherine Leyendecker, her husband Friedrich Metzger of Kadenbach, and their 5 children (11).

Indianola records give the names of Johann and Maria's children who arrived in Texas: Anna, Johann, Franz, Jakob, Karl, Maria (12).

The latter child was probably born at the sea or in Galveston. There is a record of Maria Magdalena Leyendecker, daughter of Johann and Maria Magdalena, who was christened on 20 January 1846 in Galveston, at St Mary's Catholic Church (13).

 

 

They all went to Gillespie county, nowadays the Fredericksburg area. Only Johann Zirvas didn't. The young man probably went straight to the Texas garrison in Matamoros, Mexico, and joined the army to fight in the war with Mexico. At that time, many German volunteers did a six-month or a year-long term, serving in the army for the same cause. Later (by 1847), John Z. went to Laredo, where he settled (14).

 

 

Johann Sr. became a teacher of the newly created school in the building of Vereins Kirche in Fredericksburg. He worked in the school until 1847, when another teacher, Jakob Brodbeck, succeeded him. His home was a place of the Catholic church service before the church building came into being (15).

 

1847 - 4 town lots in Fredericksburg belonged to Johann Leyendecker #224, 313, 337, and 380 (16). In the same year, daughter Ellen was born to Johann and Maria Magdalena Leyendecker.

 

 

In 1850, during the census, Johann and his family were registered. They had a boarder, a 14-year-old Gertrude Knapp, born in Germany as well (17).

Another record (18) mentions Johann Sr. in 1869 (Texas Voters List). The man served as the first Gillespie County Treasurer and also Justice of the Peace.

Mary Magdalena Leyendecker lived 70 years. She passed on 1 July 1873.
Professor Johann Leyendecker died at the age of 80, on 19 June 1876, in Fredericksburg.

Prof. Leyendecker's eternal resting place, St. Mary's Catholic Church Cemetery, Fredericksburg.

* Photo of St. Joseph Church: Dieterwick, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

 

Resources:

1. "Deutschland, Hesse-Nassau, Diözese Limburg, Katholische Kirchenbücher, 1601-1919", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:D4W7-63PZ : 2 October 2020), Johann Lagendecker, 1825.
2. "Deutschland, Hesse-Nassau, Diözese Limburg, Katholische Kirchenbücher, 1601-1919", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:D4W6-P6ZM : 2 October 2020), Johann Leyendecker in entry for Johann Adam Leyendecker, 1842.
3. "Deutschland, Hesse-Nassau, Diözese Limburg, Katholische Kirchenbücher, 1601-1919", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:D47T-K4ZM : 2 October 2020), Johann Leiendecker in entry for Johann Leiendecker, 1827.
4. "Deutschland, Hesse-Nassau, Diözese Limburg, Katholische Kirchenbücher, 1601-1919", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:D4WX-7K3Z : 2 October 2020), Johann Leyendecker in entry for Katharina Leyendecker, 1834.
5. "Deutschland, Hesse-Nassau, Diözese Limburg, Katholische Kirchenbücher, 1601-1919", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:D4WX-SMPZ : 2 October 2020), Johann Leyendecker in entry for Mathias Jakobus Leyendecker.
6. "Deutschland, Hesse-Nassau, Diözese Limburg, Katholische Kirchenbücher, 1601-1919", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:D4WF-7P6Z : 2 October 2020), Johann Leiendecker in entry for Johann Karl Leiendecker.
7. "Deutschland, Hesse-Nassau, Diözese Limburg, Katholische Kirchenbücher, 1601-1919", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:D4WN-FG2M : 2 October 2020), Johann Leiendeker in entry for Johann Adam Leiendeker.
8. "Deutschland, Hesse-Nassau, Diözese Limburg, Katholische Kirchenbücher, 1601-1919", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:D4W8-D62M : 2 October 2020), Johann Leyendecker in entry for Johann Adam Leyendecker, 1841.
9. "Deutschland, Hesse-Nassau, Diözese Limburg, Katholische Kirchenbücher, 1601-1919", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:D4W6-P6ZM : 2 October 2020), Johann Leyendecker in entry for Johann Adam Leyendecker, 1842.
10. Ships from Europe to Galveston
11. "A New Land Beckoned: German Immigration to Texas, 1844-1847" by Chester Geue, Chester William Geue, Ethel Hander Geue, 1966,
12. Indianola Immigrant Database
13. "Texas Births and Christenings, 1840-1981", database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:VRS5-75Y : 13 February 2020), Johann Leyendeker in entry for Maria Magdelena Leyendeker, 1846.
14. The Children of John Z Leyendecker" by Felix Garcia, 1984.
15. "History of the German Element in Texas from 1820 - 1850 And Historical Sketches of the German Texas Singers' League and Houston Turnverein from 1853-1913", Moritz Tiling, Published by Moritz Tiling, 1913.
16. 1847 Fredericksburg townlots: https://sites.rootsweb.com/~txgilles/townlot.htm
17. "United States Census, 1850," database with images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:MXLK-GM4 : 23 December 2020), Gertrude Knap in household of John Leyandecker, Gillespie, Texas, United States; citing family , NARA microfilm publication (Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.).
18.  "Texas, Voter Records, 1867-1918", database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:48S9-3HMM: 15 December 2020), Johann Leyendecker, 1869.
Findagrave.com

Photos included in the post were taken during our walk on 10 August 2020.