NOVEMBER 1995 NEWSLETTER
Research Report from Trudy Schenk
23 September 1995
Dear Jerry,
Just wanted to let you know what I have been doing on the Briehl research these last couple of weeks.
1) I made a list of all the places that are shown on the IGI where Briehls come from. Almost all of the showings are in Hessen, Germany. I copied a map and marked the towns which I have checked at this point and where church records have been filmed. So far, no luck.
2) Went through another set of books on Hessen family histories and found one interesting entry on a Martin Briehl born in the year 1701. It concerns the area around Eschwege where no records have been filmed. This Martin Briehl is from Grebendorf, no records have been filmed, yet the nearby Abterode was filmed many years ago and the records extracted. The IGI shows the names Briehll/Brill/Priehl from this place. In fact, a number of them.
3) I checked the church records for Abterode anyway and found that the given names Martin and Herman are being used frequently by the residents in the early 1700's. I feel very good about this area for the origin of your Briehls.
I am sending a letter to the parish Grebendorf right away. Let's pray the pastor will respond. For most of them can't read the early handwriting.
4) I'm also searching marriages of Philadelphia German churches. We now have these films. St. Michaels and Zion Lutheran Church beginning in 1745. They start just a few years too late to find Johann Michael MAURER. I will continue the search.
5) Enclosed is a letter I received in return to my writing to Stuttgart. It looks good. They do not have enough records to find possible connections at the Hohenlohe-Zentralarchiv for the district around Kupferzell, but have Lager and Gueltbuecher (guild) for the time period we need which may lead to earlier MAURER records. the letter I sent to Stuttgart was sent to this archive. It's very encouraging. I feel that Michael's mother came from Jungholzhausen, was probably a Schweinshart by maiden name.
Thank you for the check. Currently, there are still $1250 in your account.
Freundliche Gruesse, Trudy Schenk.
Continuation of the wagon trek across of plains of Henry Mower Jr., son of Henry Mower Sr. and Mary Amick as taken from the journal of Silas Richards...
July 21--- Morning cloudy, some rain. Camp started at 9 o'clock. Cloudy all day, road very bad. Reached the Platte at 6 o'clock and camped, having traveled 12 miles. Rain through the night.
July 22--- Sunday raining. Did not travel. Cattle restless some of them got off 6 miles.
July 23--- Morning and day cloudy. Traveled 11 miles and camped on the South Fork of the Platte near Sarpses old trading post, now not occupied. A beautiful place and good for camping. Here we sent a detachment of men to examine the river to see if a ford could be found. One of the men, Marshall Rockwood, came very near being drowned. They reported no chance of fording.
July 24--- Morning cloudy. We traveled about 5 miles and encamped on the prairie, near a long pond on the south side of the road. 15 miles.
July 25--- Morning foggy, but soon cleared. We started at 8 o'clock. Encamped on the prairie near Pioneer Ford. Made 13 miles. Heavy rain tonight.
July 26--- Started at 8 o'clock. Some rain about 9. Crossed Cedar Creek which was very deep, blocked up the wagon beds, and was over by 10 o'clock. Encamped at old Pawnee village, having traveled 13 miles. No wood except willow bushes.
July 27--- Morning fair, we sent several men to examine for a ford. About 7 o'clock they returned to camp and reported that the bottom of the river through the deepest water was rock, and that the fording was the best known on the river though it had never been used. The bank being about 40 feet high, this river, like the Platte is very broad, though not deep. The quick sands making crossing very dangerous. We concluded to did the high band down enough to pass our wagons down and avail ourselves of the advantages of the rock bottom. The men went to digging the bank down, and by 11 o'clock began to let the wagons down with one yoke of oxen on the tongue only and holding on by ropes. We put four or five yoke of oxen to each wagon with two teamsters who had to wade, holding to the ox-bows to keep on their feet. The water was very cold and river rising rapidly. It was getting dark before we got all over. My 3 waggons and carriage, I kept to the last, having to raise the wagon beds by placing yokes under them to keep the water out.
The camps of Bro. G. A. Smith and E. T. Benson came up to the ford.
July 28--- The above named companies, 115 wagons all crossed.