Tracing for the ancestors in the Internet

How Paul William Godt from Wright City, USA found his relatives in Brockhagen

from Friedrich Wilhelm Dickenhorst

The eldest brother of my grandmother, August Friedrich Adolph Godt, born April 21st, 1857 in Brockhagen, followed the great wave of emigration in the 19th century and the call “Go to America” and emigrated to the United States in 1883. He settled in the formerly Midwest, in the state Missouri nearby of the town Wright City

Although the organisation of registry offices has been installed in Prussia in 1875 the pastor at that time Friedrich Wilhelm Ellermann from Brockhagen gave him the birth document, which is shown below, for legitimation and declaration of identity. Friedrich Wilhelm Ellermann was pastor in Brockhagen from 1868 to 1891

Document from the ownership of Paul William Godt, the grandson of the emigrant

Text of the document:

German:
August Friedrich Adolph, ehelicher Sohn des Colon Nro 21 hier Johann Heinrich Godt genannt Wissmann und Katherine Ilsabein Niederfahrenhorst, ist geboren am 21. April 1857 eintausendachthundertsiebenundfünfzig und getauft am 2. Mai des Js

Extrahiert aus dem hiesigen Kirchenbuche

Brockhagen 23. Januar 1883

(Siegel der Kirchengemeinde                    Der Pfarrer
Brockhagen)                                                Ellermann

English:
August Friedrich Adolph, legitimate son of Colon Nro 21 here Johann Heinrich Godt named Wissmann and Katherine Ilsabein Niederfahrenhorst, is born at April 21st 1857 onethousendeighthundredfiftyseven and baptised at May 2nd of the year

Extracted from the local churchbook

Brockhagen 23. January 1883

(Seal of the church community Brockhagen)                 the priest
Brockhagen)                                                                   Ellermann

Why the addition „named Wissmann“ was used? May be it was formerly use, when a man married into a farm, that he gave up his own name and took the name of the farm. The children then used the farms name.

This wasn’t done here.

The parents of my grandmother and the emigrant A. F. A. Godt, Johann Heinrich (Rudolph) Godt and his wife Katharine Ilsenbein Niederfahrenhorst had bought the colonat Wissmann in 1848 from the last heir, Heinrich Wilhelm Wissmann, for 5000 Reichstaler and built a new house, how in the inscription in the gatebalk shows:

Inscription in gatebalk of the nowadays farm Dickenhorst, Brockhagen No. 21
now Gütersloher Straße 58

Inscription:

German:
Johann Heinrich Wissmann geborener Gott und Katherine Ilsabein Wissmann geborene Niederfahrenhorst haben dieses Haus durch Hülfe Gottes bauen lassen. Aufgerichtet am 26. ten Juli 1856.

Ich bin die Thür so jemand durch mich eingehet der wird selig werden und wird ein und ausgehen u. Weide finden.    Joh.10.9    L. Holste

English:
Johann Heinrich Wissmann born Gott and Katherine Ilsabein Wissmann born Niederfahrenhorst have built this house with Gods help. Erected at Juli 26th 1856.

I am the door, if someone comes in through me he will become salvage and will go in and out and find willow.    John 10.9    L. Holste

This place “Brockhagen No. 21” was in the ownership of the family Wischmann, how she was called in 1556 (or later Wissmann) for centuries.

This old name of the farm must have been so important, that it was added to the name of the new owner. The name “Godt” was written in different ways in the church books and documents for years ( God, Gott, Got, Goth, Goht )

My grandmother, Catherine Eleonore Godt, born August, 1st, 1866, the youngest sister of A. F. A., married my grandfather, Johann Heinrich Dickenhorst from Joellenbeck at November, 12th, 1887. The became owners and gave their name to the farm at the Gütersloher Str. 58.

The emigrant A. F. A. Godt was accompanied to America by his or a friend, Heinrich Wilhelm Astroth, born in Kölkebeck, who worked and lived in Brockhagen as well.

That this may be true, may be shown by the fact, that A. F. A. married his sister, Johanne Marie Wilhelmine Astroth, born Oct., 18th, 1863 in Kölkebeck at March, 4th, 1885 in Wright City.

There was an extensive correspondence between the emigrant and his brothers/sisters in Brockhagen. Unfortunately this letters are lost. This letters would have given information’s, how the emigrant lived in the new world.

In 1927, in the age of 70 years, A. F. A. Godt made the long travelling to Germany to visit his sisters in Brockhagen. He made this hard journey by ship and railway, being shure, that this will be the last visit with his relatives in Germany
The following picture shows him with his younger sisters Charlotte Karoline and Catherine Eleonore, my grandmother in the garden of his parents house in Brockhagen.

The emigrant A. F. A. Godt with his younger sisters
Charlotte Karoline and Catherine Eleonore,

When the couple August Friedrich Adolph Godt and Johanne Marie Wilhelmine Godt celebrated their golden wedding in 1936, they sent a memory photo to Germany.

On this photo they are seen with her granddaughter Doris Clara Godt.

The house in the background may be easy recognised as a typical American woodhouse.

The golden wedding couple August Friedrich Adolph Godt and Johanne Marie Wilhelmine Godt her granddaughter Doris Clara Godt.

They both died in high age:

August Friedrich Adolph Godt died at July, 12th, 1945 in the age of 88 years and his wife Johanne Marie Wilhelmine Godt died at May, 5th, 1944 in the age of 80 years, how the gravestones on the graveyard of Wright City show us.

     

The 2. Worldwar then cut all connections

Researching my family in 1999 I found out, that there are about 62 people with the name Godt in the American telephone books.

Because of this large number it was obvious for me that not all of them may be descendants of A. F. A. Godt. An extract of the German telephone books showed me, that there were 128 people with the name Godt. And I recognised that there where accumulations of the name in the north – Schleswig-Holstein, Hamburg, Nieder-sachsen – and here in east Westphalia. The distribution was about 50% to 50%.

I knew, that the family estate of the Godt's, is the nowadays farm Strakerjahn Hoerste Nr.12, now Zum Niederdorf 2. In 1897 a Strakerjahn married in the farm Godt. All people, having the name Godt here in east Westphalia may think it is clear, that their ancestors are coming from this farm, if they are going back enough.

I will return to the Godt's in the high north at the end of this article

Because I searched for descendants of A. F. A. Godt without success, I got the hint, to search the Internet, where I got more information’s.

On the homepage www.godt.de, which is administrated by Hans-Jürgen Godt from Meine near Braunschweig I found many information’s and 145 charts of the Danish and Westphalian Godt branches.

After I send him an email about my search for the descendants and he forwarded it to Godt family researchers in America, I got mail by Internet from America. It was Paul William Godt from Wright City, the grandson of A. F. A. Godt. He wrote: “Friedrich Wilhelm, your grandmother ( Catherine Leonore Godt ) and my grandfather ( August Friedrich Adolph Godt ) are brother and sister. You are my closest relative in Germany or Europe that I been able to contact. Without Hans-Jürgen’s help this would not happened. Dank ... Dank.”

In the year 2003 there was a family reunion in Copenhagen.

Paul William Godt, who joined this reunion, made a trip to Brockhagen, but did nit found the parents house of his grandfather. He wrote:” We were in Brockhagen this past summer about August 7 or 8. We saw the church grandpa had on a 1927 postcard. It was hot that day. We ate lunch at the Duck Tower and it was very good. We went back another day, but the town was closed for a rock concert or something like that.”

He made the village Brockhagen to a town. In which this weekend the Future parade took place. Because this reason – he only speaks English – and because there was no one, who could help him, he wasn’t able to find his relatives and the parents home of his grandfather.

After I sent him pictures of the farm with the inscription on the gatebalk, he was very excited and promised to come to Brockhagen again this year.

The Godt family reunion shall take place this year 2005 at July 16th and 17 th in Hoerste/Halle. All Godt’s shall mark this date in their calendars.
 A written invitation will follow later.

The grandson of the emigrant, Paul William Godt (left) with Hans-Jürgen Godt, who runs the family website Godt in the Internet, at the family reunion 2003 in Copenhagen.

Now at the end I will return, like promised before, to the Godt in the high north

In the charts in the Internet there are a Danish and a Westphalian line. I got more information’s, when Hans-Jürgen Godt from Meine near Braunschweig gave me the family chronic written by Earl W. Godt II. Earl. W. Godt is American and the title of the book is: A HISTORY OF THE GODT FAMILY FROM SCHLESWIG 1549-1992. In this chronic is said, that for all people with the name Godt, as well for the people in Westphalia,, the family estate is in Rinkenaes in southern Denmark. Because the border between Denmark and Germany – Schleswig-Holstein – changed oftenly in the past centuries, the Godt’s settled and reproduced on both sides of the border.

But how did it happen, that there are Godt’s here in Westphalia, in Hoerste near Halle, or how did they came here?

In this point Mr. Earl W. Godt II, a professor of informationstechnologie, who’s ancestors are coming from the north, made the following thesis, using the history of that time, but without any proofable historical facts.

This thesis made it possible to build an eventually bridge between the descendants of the Danish and Westphalian Godt’s in America, who found together with their interest in researching their family history.

In E. W. book is written:

“In the thirty year war the Danish King Christian IV and his army went from Juetland to Westphalia. Hans Christensen Godt? from the Godt farm in Rinkenaes, southern Denmark joined this army. On June, 21st, 1925, the army went from Nienburg to Minden. Here, crossing the Weser river, the king fell from the bridge with his horse and was comatose for some time. Over 1,000 of his troops should have deserted thinking that the king had died.

And as well Hans Christensen Godt? from Rinkenaes may have deserted and may have settled in Hoerste.”

He continues: “ The town! of Hoerste is approximately 40 kilometers south and west of Minden. It would have been very easy for a soldier, (Hans Christensen?) Godt, to walk to Hoerste from Minden. The rural churches of Schleswig routinely alternated between Danish and German for Sunday services. People in Schleswig could generally speak both languages. (Hans Christensen?) Godt would have had very little trouble fitting in with the local people in Hoerste/Westphalia.”

I don’t think, that it was like this, because in the year 1556 in the Urbar of the county Ravensberg, in the farmers community of Hoerste, a “de Gott” is named, who belonged to Gerhard Steinhaus and his brothers. The farm estate Steinhausen near Halle/Westphalia has been the family estate of the extincted Ravensberg family from Steinhaus. After many changes of ownership since the 17th century in the 19th century the estate came into the ownership of the Tatenhauser count family.

The church books of Halle are starting after the 30 year war at about 1653. Until 1707 Hoerste belonged to the Halle church community. After that Hoerste was able to release  from Halle and started their own Hoerste church books.

In the first church book of Halle, starting in 1653, I was able to find some early died Godt’s and some woman and man, where I found not only the date of their funeral but as well the ages, they died. And these ages gave birth years between 1593 and 1621.

I think, with this, the thesis of Mr. Earl W. Godt II from America is disproved.

But there are Godt’s from southern Denmark / Schleswig and as well from east Westphalia, especially the descendants in America, who feel as a great family. Even after my new researches, this shall stay as it is. If there nevertheless is a connection between the two groups, should be researched and proofed. Until now, there is no proofed connection, but perhaps there are documents from older times, who may proof this thesis.

The family members of both groups, who are interested in family research will keep their contact, take care for the pedigree or the pedigrees and meet each other at the reunions for the people with the name Godt. In the moment these meetings are held alternating in Denmark/Germany and in the USA/Canada.