This is the picture of Maria Herr and her husband Christian Scharenbroch when they were young.

This is the picture of Maria Herr and her husband Christian Scharenbroch when they were elderly

Christian Scharenbroch (cont'd.)

As the days lapsed during the two-month journey, Christian, or “Christ” as he was called, undoubtedly saw his fantasies become realities of sea sickness, the stench of human waste and vomit, eating less than desirable food, and enduring unending boredom. The longest two months of his life had passed, when land and New York harbor came into view. A thrilling sight that he may have thought he was never going to see. He was not able to see the Statue of Liberty, as it was not dedicated until October 28, 1886. Of course, the trip was not over, just different. Now, after leaving the August, he would be experiencing traveling by steamers and canal boats, on the long trip across the unknown land called America, to the recently admitted state of Wisconsin, and the brand new community of School Hill in Manitowoc County that would be, forever after, his home.

Even though he was but a child, he would have been expected to work, along side his brothers and sisters, helping the family to establish a home and farm. Whenever he could escape into a boy’s world of adventure there was plenty to excite his imagination. The woods at the back of their land had much to explore, including badgers, deer, squirrels, and much more. Wisconsin presented new friends, who had also come from Prussia and Bavaria. These friends came from areas of the old world that were as foreign to him as this exciting place, called America.

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In one respect, School Hill was just like the old land, there was school. Also, on Sundays, he would have dressed in his best and gone with his family to St. Fidelis Catholic Church services that were first held in a log building in Spring Valley. This primitive log building was a stark contrast to the well-built, refined church building of Eil, Prussia. Going to church provided a break from farm work and another opportunity to meet up withhis young friends.

At age fifteen, Christian witnessed his sister, Elizabeth “Lizzie”, marry Franz Herr. She was the first of his siblings to marry. Christian was to marry Franz’s niece, Maria Magdalena Herr, eleven years later, on June 15, 1871. They would be married at St. Fidelis Catholic Church, Spring Valley, Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Christian and Maria lived with Christian’s parents, for another seventeen years, when in 1888 both Katharina and Heinrich Scharenbroch died. Christian inherited the farm even though he was not the oldest son. His oldest brother, Gerhard, who had fought in the Civil War, lived nearby with his wife, Ada Steudt, in Town Meeme, Manitowoc, Wisconsin. Gerhard died ten years before their father, Heinrich. Brother John owned his own farm in Town Meeme. John married Catherine Forster. Brother Heinrich married first Franciska Forster. Then after her death, he married her sister, Theresa Forster. He had moved to St. Could, Stearns, Minnesota where he had homesteaded land. Brother Paul married Amelia Gutman and moved 24 miles away, to Brillon, Calumet, Wisconsin.

Christian had learned carpentry from his father and helped build Holy Trinity Catholic Church in School Hill, which was only one mile from their farm. Once this new church was finished, the family attended church here instead of St. Fidelis Catholic Church in Spring Valley. The Catholic Faith was an integral part of Christian and his family’s life, as it had been for his parents, grandparents, and more than likely many generations before back to the introduction of Catholicism in Germany about 300 CE. Over the next nineteen years following their marriage, Christian and Maria had eight children, four girls and four boys. Together, they not only raised a fine family, but continued to operate the dairy farm, and to sell their milk to the Coop Cheese Factory a mile away in School Hill. They were to see their daughter, Mary, age 41, die before them in 1922. Another daughter, Margaretha, died in 1930 at age 57, only two years after her mother, 74-year-old Maria, had died.

Life would not have been only hard work and no play. The Scharenbrochs lived in a community with a large number of Germans, and there would have been community dances and potlucks along with social activities sponsored by the church. Often, a wedding celebration would be held in the family’s barn that had been scrubbed clean. As children grew and established their own families, they would have visited one another and celebrated family gatherings with food, singing, and dancing. The women may have learned the American folk art of quilting, which would have been another way of gathering for socialization as well as productivity. In 1888, both Katharina and Heinrich Scharenbroch died. Christian inherited the farm even though he was not the oldest son. There is some logic as to why Christian inherited the farm and not his other brothers. His oldest brother, John, already owned his own farm close by in Meeme. Gerhard had died before his father’s death. Fifteen years earlier, Heinrich had homesteaded land in Minnesota. And Paul was younger than Christian. It would please Christian to know that the homestead, that he loved and helped his father establish, is still in the family. Although five generations of Scharenbrochs have lived in this home, the original house has been remodeled, but the basic structure still stands as it has stood for more than 150 years.

Seventy-four years had elapsed from the time the seven-year-old boy climbed aboard the ship, August, in Antwerp, Belgium. Undoubtedly, that trip across the Atlantic Ocean to a new country had been the most exciting adventure that Christian (Scharrenbroich) Scharenbroch had encountered in his eighty-one years of life. Trying to imagine if he had ventured far from School Hill, one may wonder if he had traveled to Chicago, Illinois, which was about 150 miles away; more than likely he had not. Did he travel to St. Cloud, Minnesota, to visit his brother, Heinrich “Henry”? The distance was 400 miles making this trip even less likely than a trip to Chicago. Time for travel and adventures would have been very unlikely as Christian not only had a wife and eight children to provide for, but he had a dairy farm to operate; there are no holidays for dairy owners. His other brothers and sisters lived close by and visiting them would have been the closest thing to a vacation that he would have experienced. An occasional trip to Sheboygan, twenty miles away, or to Manitowoc, Wisconsin, seventeen miles away, would have been made for supplies not available locally. Christian’s father, Heinrich, had made a wise decision by coming to America. The move had afforded Christian a good life exemplified by his owning land, successfully continuing the family’s dairy business, and not being threatened with mandatory twenty-five years of military service that he undoubtedly would have had to serve in Germany. Christian, along with so many other immigrants, was one of the strong threads that had been woven into the beautiful fabric of America.

Christian Scharenbroch 

(1845-1926)

Christian Scharrenbroch and his wife, Mary Magdalena Herr

This story applies to all of us who descended from Heinrich Scharenbroch. Christian came to America with his parents and siblings at the same time.

Christian Scharenbroch, son of Immigrant Heinrich Scharenbroch, is from whom I descend. As a young boy, only seven years old, he came with his family, from the small community of Eil, Prussia, on the most exciting adventure of his life. The trip, from Eil to Antwerp, Belgium, would have been the first time that he had travelled away from his home and all that was familiar. With wide eyes, he would have gazed upon the ocean-going ship, August. Never before would he have seen anything, as large as the August, on the Rhine River that ran near his home. The August was a new ship, and the smells of wood, ropes, and sails would have delighted and stimulated his young nose. Most likely, as the ship pulled away from the dock, the sails would have been raised to their full glory, catching the wind, snapping and billowing, thus further amazing the young boy. At this point of the journey, he may have been imagining himself as the Captain of such a ship adventuring forth to exotic, mysterious, foreign places.

Scharenbroch, Scharenbrock, Scharenbroich, or Scharrenbroich?

Why is Heinrich's last name spelled Scharenbroich and his father, brothers, and sisters all spelled their last name as Scharenbroch? When in Germany, Heinrich's father (Heinrich Scharenbroch 1804-1888,) spelled his name Scharrenbroich. However, when he came to America it was changed to Scharenbroch. I imagine that when pronounced the ending sounded more like "ch" not "ich." However, Heinrich obviously wanted the German spelling. Somehow, he must have forgot about the double "r" in "Scharren." In Germany, our relatives all spell their name Scharrenbroich.

Heinrich's brother's son, Anthony, and his descendants spell their name "Scharenbrock."

Heinrich Scharenbroich

1839-1910

Heinrich Scharenbroich 1839-1910 (Second part) Heinrich Scharenbroich, better known as Henry, established a homestead through the New Ulm land office in Minnesota on October 15, 1873. The land was granted through the government's May 20, 1862 Homestead Act. The number was 206, total acres: 74.48, and the land description was: 1 W1/2 SW 5th PM No 109 N 33 W3. This location is probably near (if not in the present day city limits) St. Cloud, Minnesota. Being the third son, it would have been unlikely that he would have inherited his father's land. To be able to acquire land, with a stipulation of improving the land by farming for five years, would have been very attractive to a 34 year old man with a young family. He was married to his second wife, Theresa Forster, and at this time, they had four children to feed and cloth. He arrived in Minnesota somewhere between 1867, when he married Theresa in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and 1870 where he is found listed in the 1870 census. Anna was the only child born to his first wife, Franciska Forester, as she died from childbirth. Heinrich had 14 additional children by his second wife, Franciska's sister, Theresa. They were: Maria, Charles, Henry, Philomena, Joseph, Helen, George, Clara, Maria, Josephine, Eugene, Mary, Estella, and Leona--all born between 1867 and 1891. Heinrich died between 1905 and 1910 probably in St. Cloud, Minnesota.

Heinrich (Henry) Scharenbroich

Heinrich (Henry) Scharenbroich

Theresia's Funeral Card

Theresia Forster Scharenbroich with son, Eugene

Heinrich (Henry) Scharenbroich was born December 8, 1804 in Prussia. He joined the growing family of Heinrich and Katharina Scharenbroch. Heinrich was born with the family last name spelled, Scharrenbroich, and when he came to the United States, at age 14, with his family, the spelling was changed to Scharenbroch. However, as an adult, he changed the spelling to Scharenbroich. Somehow the double "r" was left out.

In January of 1866, Henry married Franciska (Frances) Forester in St. Nazianz, Wisconsin. They had one daughter, Anna Margaretha b. January 9, 1867 in Meeme, Wisconsin. Franciska died nine days later, January 18, 1867 in St. Nazianz.

On July 20, 1867 in Manitowoc, Wisconsin Henry married Franciska's sister, Theresia Forster. Theresia was born on October 28, 1851 in Schneiderhof, Kreis, Plzensky, Czech Republic to Martin and Margaretha Forster. She came to America as a small child with her parents who eventually settled in Brown County, Minnesota.

Henry and Teresa had fourteen children born from 1867 to 1891.
The photos are of Theresia and her son, Eugene Scharenbroich. Also, attached is her funeral card.

Next time, I will tell about Heinrich Scharenbroich's move to St. Cloud, Minnesota.

Gerhard S. Scharenbroch

Gerhard S. Scharenbroch

Heinrich And Catharina Scharenbroch’s third child was Gerhard S. born May 22, 1838 in School Hill, Meeme Township, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin. On Aug 21, 1862, he enlisted in the Wisconsin 27th Volunteer Infantry Regiment-Company D and mustered out on July 31, 1863 due to disability. He fought in the War of the Rebellion better known as the Civil War. He was the only one who had to enlist.

On May 20, 1872, he married Anna Katharina Steudt and they lived in Menominee, Michigan where their four children were born. There were three girls: Anna Catherine b. 1873—married Andrew Joseph Leonhard, Elisibeth
b. 1874—never married, Mary b. 1877—never married, and Peter b. 1878—married Theresa Jackle. Gerhard died in Menominee almost seven months after Peter’s birth, leaving Catharina with four children under five years old to raise. According to the 1880 US Census, Catharina moved in with her father-in-law, Heinrich Scharenbroch, in School Hill, Wisconsin. For some reason, Heinrich’s wife, Catharina, is not listed nor is she listed in any other location. Yet, she lived until 1888, the same year that Heinrich died.

Gerhard’s widow, Anna Katharina, is listed in the Wisconsin State Census of 1905 as living with her daughter, Anna Leonhard, daughter’s husband, Andrew Leonhard, and their family in Centerville, Wisconsin. In 1910, she is still living in Centerville, but this time she is living by herself. She died November 6, 1917 and is buried in St. Wendel Catholic Cemetery in Cleveland, Manitowoc County, Wisconsin.

Gerhard’s body was brought back to School Hill and buried in the Holy Trinity Catholic Cemetery.

Gerhard probably has the fewest descendants of all of Heinrich’s children because he had only four children where the others had eight or more children. The other exception was Mary, who had 5 children.

This will give you a clue as to why there are so many people with the name Scharenbroch. And this doesn’t even figure in those of us whose last name is not Scharenbroch.

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