The Family and Descendants of Georg Rodenmayer and Anna Martha Kolb
With the assistance of a several cousins, we have had good luck tracing
and putting together the family and descendants of Johan Georg
RODENMAYER and Anna Martha KOLB. Our research affirms Georg and
Anna Martha were married during the year 1815 in the village of
Appenheim, Kreis Bingen, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany. Appenheim is
about 15 miles west southwest of the city of Mainz on the Rhine River
in central Germany. Georg RODENMAYER was born on 6 Jan 1792 in
Appenheim and passed away on 15 Dec 1874 in Fairview Township, Mercer
County, Pennsylvania. On his tombstone is the surname
RODENMAYER. Anna Martha KOLB was born on 7 Mar 1795 in the state
of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany and passed away on 17 Feb 1881 in Fairview
Township, Mercer County, Pennsylvania. On her tombstone the
surname is RODENMOYER. They are buried side by side in the
cemetery at the Jerusalem Reformed Church of Christ on the southern
edge of Otter Creek Township, a few miles north of Fredonia, Mercer
County, Pennsylvania. They had seven sons (John, Georg, William, Henry,
Peter, Philipp, and Jakob) and two (or three) daughters (Barbara and
Magdalena [Lena]) all in Appenheim. Peter was born on 12 Feb 1827
died 12 days after his birth on 24 Feb 1827. We have been unable
to determine what became of Elisabetha, possibly another daughter of
theirs, after her birth in 1837. In the late spring of 1844, the
family left Germany for Rotterdam, emigrating to America.
Georg
is spelled George in English. Johann is John in English.
Wilhelm is William and Heinrich is Henry in English. Magdalena
often went simply by Lena. Men in Germany normally used their
middle name as their official name. The New York Port records
show the surname spelled ROTHEMAYER, which usually comes from their
emigration documents from their home town, county, state, and
country. German officials affirmed to us during the summer of
2000 that the correct spelling in English today is RODENMEYER.
More details on the various American spellings will be discussed later.
The ROTHEMAYER family, George, Anna Martha, seven sons, and two
daughters boarded the Brig named The Proteus in Rotterdam. It was
in late June 1844 or early July 1844 that they sailed for America, with
another 98 German passengers. They arrived in New York on August
23rd, 1844. The complete Passenger List has been microfilmed and
is on file in the National Archives. We are not sure, but they
may have traveled up the Hudson River to the Great Lakes and west to
Erie, Pennsylvania, or more likely, across land to Mercer County,
Pennsylvania, where Georg settled into farming. By 1850, except
for Lena, Philipp, and Jakob, their children were grown, married, and
moved to pursue their separate lives. The 1850 Census reflects
that Georg and Anna Martha had settled in West Salem Township,
farming. It also reveals that their son, Heinrich (Henry) had
married Elizabeth KLINGENSMITH and they were living in the south
central part of Salem Township in Mercer County, with her
parents. Georg and Anna’s eldest son, Johann (John) had married
Mary KLINGENSCHMIDT and they to were living on a farm in the eastern
part of Salem Township. Census records also indicate that Georg was
firm with their sons Philipp and Jacob attending school.
As for the spelling of the surname and the American varieties that have
evolved, Census records, court records, marriage records, church
records, newspapers, et al, reflect all sorts of spellings for our
surname; including RODENMAYER, RODENMEYER, RODEMOYER, RODENMOYER,
RODDENMEIER, ROTHEMAYER, ROTHENMEYER, ROTHENMAYER, RODAMIER, ROADMEYER,
RATHMEIER, RHODYMOYER, RADAMEIER, and GROTEMEYER. Simply stated
though, Henry and Jacob lived their lives in Mercer County,
Pennsylvania, adopted the spelling of the surname RODEMOYER, and took
it to their graves with them. Both Henry and Jacob, along with
their wives, are buried in the same Jerusalem Reformed Church Cemetery
as are their parents. It is on the southern outskirts of Otter
Creek Township, in Mercer County. Their descendants carry
on the surname RODEMOYER today. In the event you are a RODENMEYER
or a RODENMAYER and you meet a RODEMOYER, you can be confident you are
related. Naturally, vice versa.
Submitted Feb 2002 by John Rodenmayer
7389 Sabre Avenue
Reynoldsburg, OH 43068
|
Georg and Anna Martha RODENMEYER/RODEMOYER/RODENMAYER Voyage to America | | Country of Origin: | Deutschland | Family Number: | 30156475 | | | Ship Name: | PROTEUS (A Brig) | Port of Departure: | Rotterdam | Port of Arrival: | New York | Arrival Date: | August 23, 1844 | | National Archives Series No.: | M237 | Microfilm Number: | 55 | | NAME | GENDER | AGE | Point of Departure | Date of Arrival | | Rothemayer, Anna Martha | F | 48 | Rotterdam | Aug 23, 1844 | | | | | | | | Rothemayer, Barbara | F | 24 | Rotterdam | Aug 23, 1844 | | | | | | | | Rothemayer, Georg | M | 26 | Rotterdam | Aug 23, 1844 | | | | | | | | Rothemayer, Georg | M | 52 | Rotterdam | Aug 23, 1844 | | | | | | | | Rothemayer, Heinrich | | 21 | Rotterdam | Aug 23, 1844 | | | | | | | | Rothemayer, Jacob | M | 10 | Rotterdam | Aug 23, 1844 | | | | | | | | Rothemayer, Johann | M | 28 | Rotterdam | Aug 23, 1844 | | | | | | | | Rothemayer, Magdalena | F | 16 | Rotterdam | Aug 23, 1844 | | | | | | | | Rothemayer, Peter | M | 19 | Rotterdam | Aug 23, 1844 | | | | | | | | Rothemayer, Phillip | M | 11 | Rotterdam | Aug 23, 1844 | | | | | | | | Rothemayer, Wilhelm | M | 23 | Rotterdam | Aug 23, 1844 | | The
above data and information was extracted from the Family Tree Maker’s
Family Archives CD# 273 entitled Passenger and Immigration Lists: New
York, 1820-1850. | | Notes: The American name for Heinrich is Henry. The American name for Johann is John. The American name for Wilhelm is William. The correct spelling for Phillip is Philipp. |
|
|