Daniel J. Kortenkamp (April 28,
2007)
e-mail: dkortenk@uwsp.edu
The earliest documented Kortenkamp in this history is Johann Christoph Korttenkamp. [ See Heinrich
Kortenkamp Ancestor Tree in the Appendix
] It is not known where he was born,
but he was born about 1707. The name of
his father is not known; however, his mother’s name was Christina [maiden name
unknown]. Where she was born is not
known, but she was born about 1670, and died sometime after 1748.
Johann Christoph Korttenkamp married Anna Maria Westhuss on November 5, 1745, in St. Lucia
Church, Harsewinkel, Kreis
Wiedenbrück, Prussia
[now Harsewinkel, Kr. Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany]. Anna Maria Westhus was born about 1725, but
where is not known. She did not live in
Harsewinkel before her marriage.
Johann Christoph and Anna Maria [Westhuss] Korttenkamp lived in the Bauershaft Oester at Marienfeld
(near Harsewinkel), Westphalia, Prussia
[now Harsewinkel-Marienfeld, Kr. Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany]. A Bauerschaft is a group of farms treated as
a village, but with no village center (perhaps, more correctly, a “farm
collective.”). Johann Christoph
Korttenkamp was an “Eigenhörig” (“serf”) to the Cistercian “Kloster”
(monastery) at Marienfeld (established 1185).
Johann Christoph Korttenkamp is also listed as a “Kötter.” Typically, a Kötter was a man on a farm with
a little cottage and a little land to help feed his family. They and their family usually had side jobs
to supplement their income. Many wives
and children spun and wove flax into linen.
Some would make brooms and brushes, and some would knit socks. They were peasants, very poor and desperate
people.
While living at Harsewinkel, Johann Christoph and Anna Maria [Westhuss] Korttenkamp had several children:
Johan Christoph, baptized March 19, 1748. Died May 3, 1797, Herzebrock, Westphalia. Burial in
- married Anna Maria Gnegel, August 7, 1782, St. Lucia Church,
Harsewinkel.
- children:
Catherine Elisabeth (died age 3 weeks), Everhard ( ), Otto Henrich ( ), Jacob ( ), Johann Henrich (Elisabeth
Strothoff), and Peter Henrich ( ).
[ Mrs. Johann Christoph (Anna Maria Gnegel) Kortenkamp was baptized March 13, 1763, Herzebrock, Westphalia,
Prussia (Germany); daughter of Johann and
Anna Catharina (Kerstien) Gnegel. She
died July 14, 1798,
at Herzebrock; burial in . ]
Johann Friderich, baptized January 10, 1751. Died December 26, 1768?, at Harsewinkel?
- married
- children:
Anna Christina, baptized November 26, 1752. Died
- married
- children:
Jacob, baptized August 16, 1756.
Died
- married Anna Maria Johanfrans, October 28, 1783, St. Lucia Church,
Harsewinkel.
- children: Anna
Catharina (died in infancy?), Anna Maria (Mrs. ), Anna Catharina
(Mrs. ), Johann Everhard
( ), Ann Elisabeth
(Mrs. )
Anna Maria, baptized July 25, 1759. Died
- married
- children:
Johann Christoph Korttenkamp may have died January 28, 1764, at Harsewinkel. It is not known when or where Anna Maria
[Westhuss] Korttenkamp died.
On October
30, 1770, after the serfs marched on the monastery protesting
burdensome taxes and other abuses, the new enlightened abbot of the monastery
signed an agreement freeing the serfs.
Two-hundred and forty-four serfs signed the agreement. They were now free to hold public offices,
join guilds, bake their own bread, brew their own beer, sell their possessions,
and move elsewhere. One of the serfs
signing the agreement was “Eberhard Kortenkamp.” It is not known if or how he is related to
the Kortenkamps in this history.
Johan Christopher Kortenkamp, son of Johann Christoph and Anna Maria [Westhuss] Korttenkamp, married Anna Maria Gneigeler/Gnegel, August 7, 1782, St. Lucia
Church, Harsewinkel (witnesses: Jacob Kortenkamp & Anna Catharina
Holtshöt?). Anna Maria Gnegel was born
at Herzebrock, in the Bauerschaft Groppel, and baptized on March 13, 1763, in St. Christina
Church, Herzebrock, Kreis Wiedenbrück, Westphalia,
Prussia [now Herzebrock-Clarholz,
Kr. Gütersloh, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany]. Her parents were Johann and Anna Catharina
[Kerstien] Gnegel.
While living at Harsewinkel, Johan and Anna Maria [Gnegel] Kortenkamp had several children:
Catharina Elisabeth, baptized September 16, 1783. Died October 11, 1783, Harsewinkel.
Everhard, baptized September 8, 1784.
Died
- married
- children:
Otto Henrich, baptized December 22, 1786. Died
- married
- children:
Jacob, baptized December 18, 1788.
Died
- married
- children:
Johann Christoph and Anna Maria [Gnegel] Kortenkamp then moved about 5 miles south to the
Bauerschaft Bredeck at Herzebrock, where he was a hired man. They had at least two more children:
Johann Heinrich, born August 29, 1791.
Died October 17,
1856, at Münster, Westphalia. Burial in St. Lambert Cemetery.
- married Elisabeth Strothoff, July 6, 1830, in St. Mauritz Church, Münster.
- children:
Gertrude (Mrs. Ignatz Summer), Stephen Anton (Catholic
priest), Caspar Heinrich (died in infancy), Caspar Heinrich (Joesphine Schermer), Herman Anton (single),
Franz Joseph Ignatz (single).
[ Mrs. Johann Heinrich (Elisabeth Strothoff) Kortenkamp was born ,
1803?, at Füchtorf, Westphalia,
Germany,
daughter of . She died.December 6, 1856, in her “52nd
year”; burial in St. Lambert Cemetery,
Münster. ]
Peter Heinrich, born March 23, 1794. Died ,
at Burial in
- married
- children:
Johann Christoph Kortenkamp died May 3, 1797, at “age 48”; and his wife
Anna Maria [Gnegel] died July 14, 1798, at “age
27”(??). Both died at Herzebrock.
Johann Heinrich Kortenkamp, son of Johann Christoph and Anna Maria [Gnegel] Kortenkamp, eventually moved
to Münster, Westphalia, Prussia [now Münster, Kr. Münster.
North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany]. He married Elisabeth Strothoff on July 6, 1830, in St. Mauritz Church, Münster. Elizabeth Strothoff was 27 years old and had
been born in Füchtorf, Kreis Warendorf, Westphalia [now Füchtorf, part of
Sassenberg, Kr. Warendorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany]. Her father was a “Heuermann” (hired man).
Johann Heinrich Kortenkamp, a “Tagelöhner” (day
laborer), lived with his wife, Elisabeth [Strothoff], on a farm at Bauerschaft
Mecklenbeck Nr. 2, about two miles SW of Münster. This farm area is now a suburb of Münster,
and there is a street here named “Kortenkamp.”
Johann Heinrich
and Elisabeth [Strothoff] Kortenkamp had six
children:
Gertrude T., born ,
1832. Died June 19, 1884 ["in her 52nd year"],
at Dyersville, Iowa.
Burial in
- married Ignatz Summer, May 4, 1869, in St. Francis Xavier Church, at
Dyersville.
- children: none.
[ Ignatz Summer was born December 4, 1845, Weiler, Voralberg, Tyrol, Austria;
son of Frank Joseph and Barbara (Peter) Summer.
He was the eighth child in a family of fifteen. His father was very wealthy -- engaged in the
mercantile business, owning a hotel and a large estate. He spent much time hunting, and was
accidently killed during one of his hunts.
At the age of sixteen, Ignatz went to Switzerland to learn fine art
painting. He immigrated in 1867. Several of his brothers also immigrated. He spent three years in Dubuque following his profession of painting
and decorating. He then came to
Dyersville, where he became a prominent business man -- operating a carriage,
wagon and plow factory (Eagle Point Plow and Wagon Works), owning a grocery store,
being a member of the School Board, and being Alderman. After his wife Gertrude (Kortenkamp) died, he married Elizabeth
Holscher on January 7, 1885,
Dyersville. They had several
children -- Henry J. (Millie Brockman), Caroline T. (Mrs. Al Gaynor), Ida M. (Mrs. Charles Lippert), Coletta (Mrs. Frank Ryan),
Hilda K. (Mrs. Lester Schuster), Marcella M. (Mrs. Herman J.
Lott) and Clarence (Lucille Biwer). Ignatz Summer died October 24, 1905, in Dubuque. Mrs. Ignatz (Elizabeth Holscher) Summer died January 28, 1932. Burial for both was in St. Francis Xavier Cemetery,
Dyersville. ]
(Stephen) Anton, born March 13, 1834.
Died September 14,
1889, at Dyersville. Burial
in St. Francis
Xavier Cemetery.
- ordained a Catholic priest, November 4, 1861, Dubuque, Iowa.
Caspar Heinrich, born September 2, 1836.
Died in infancy.
(Caspar) Heinrich/Henry, born July 7, 1839.
Died December 14,
1926, at Dyersville. Burial
in St. Francis
Xavier Cemetery.
- married Josephine Schermer, April 17, 1866, in St. Francis Xavier Church,
Dyersville.
- children:
Dorothea (Mrs. Henry Heiring), Anton (Catherine Stoeckl),
Henry, Jr. (Catherine Barrington), Simon (Catherine Stoeckl),
Gertrude (Mrs. John Jaeger), Anna (Mrs. John Holscher), Josephine (Mrs. Adolf
Stoeckl), Joseph (Clara Meyer), and August (died in
infancy).
[ Mrs. Heinrich/Henry
(Josephine Schermer) Kortenkamp was born October 26, 1848, Charleston, South
Carolina; daughter of Simon and Dorothea (Empting-Grawe) Schermer. She died July 1, 1888; burial in St. Francis Xavier Cemetery,
Dyersville. ]
Herman (Anton), born August 9, 1842.
Died February 14,
1912 ["age 70"], at Petersburg,
Iowa. Burial in St.
Francis Xavier.
- single.
(Franz Joseph) Ignatz, born July 8, 1845.
Disappeared about 1873, in New
York City.
- single.
(Caspar) Heinrich/Henry Kortenkamp, son of Johann Heinrich and
Elisabeth [Strothoff] Kortenkamp, grew up near
Münster and worked in a brickyard as a brickburner. According to his daughter, Josephine, he told
her that his name is stamped on bricks used to build a “cathedral on the Rhine.” He also
told her that he and Ignatz placed fish traps made from willow branches in a
river by Münster, getting up at 4 a.m.
to empty their traps and sell the fish in the morning market before going to
their other work.
Henry Kortenkamp's father, Johann Heinrich,
died October 17, 1856,
and his mother, Elisabeth [Strothoff], died less than two months
later on December 6, 1856,
in her “52nd
year.” Burial for both was in St. Lambert Cemetery, Münster.
In 1848, Henry Kortenkamp's older brother, Anton, at
the age of 14, entered the Gymnasium at Münster for study of the classics. He graduated on August 19, 1858. Anton then entered the Academy/University in
Münster on October 20 to study philosophy and theology in order to become a
priest. With both of their parents deceased, it was
Henry's earnings in the brickyard and fish market that helped pay for Anton's
studies. In 1861 Anton came to America and was ordained by Bishop Clement Smyth
in Dubuque, Iowa,
on November 4, 1861. After three months as Assistant Pastor at St.
Mary's Parish (the “German Church”), Dubuque,
Rev. Kortenkamp was assigned as pastor to St. Francis Xavier Parish, Dyersville, Iowa,
on February 4, 1862. The first Mass he celebrated in St. Francis
Xavier Church was attended by twenty families.
Eight years later the parish had grown to two hundred and forty
families.
Rev. Kortenkamp is described as “a man of powerful physique
... soft-spoken, reserved and tactful.”
He lived in the homes of his parishioners for the first year and a half
before building a rectory. His first duties
as a priest were to furnish the new brick church whose floors and walls were
completely bare. He also started a
parochial school in a rented building in the fall of 1863, and in 1865 built a
frame schoolhouse.
In addition to being pastor at St. Francis Xavier,
Dyersville, Rev. Kortenkamp also attended to missions near Dyersville --
at Worthington, Delhi and Luxemburg. In 1868 he organized the Worthington
Catholics into a parish, served as pastor, and began the building of a church --
St. Paul’s. When the church was finally completed about
1871, Rev. Kortenkamp read Mass at Worthington
one Sunday of every month, winter and summer, until 1875 when St. Paul’s received its first resident
pastor. He also established the church
at Luxemburg.
Rev. Kortenkamp often drove many miles visiting sick
parisheners. One spring he was called to
Buffalo Creek about 20 miles SW of Dyersville, and almost drowned attempting to
cross a swollen stream. The water was so
intensely cold, that as a result he developed a severe rheumatic disease. During the following years his rheumatism
became severe. In 1885 he began to
suffer from “dropsy” (edema, i.e., fluid retention, often due to kidney or
heart disease). For two years previous
to his death, Rev. Kortenkamp was confined to his room, sitting in a chair day
and night.
By 1886 the Dyersville parish had outgrown the old church --
there were 260 persons confirmed that year.
Despite his failing health, Rev Kortenkamp began formulating plans to build a larger
church. He patterned this new church
after the Cologne Cathedral in Germany. The stone foundation for the new church was
begun in September, 1887. Rev.
Kortenkamp's brother, Henry, used his expertise at brickmaking and selected the
brick for the church.
At this time, Rev. Kortenkamp's illness was so severe that
he requested and was assigned an assistant priest. In the autumn of 1887, Rev. Joseph Brinkmann took over the duties of the parish, including
supervision of church construction. The
new St. Francis Xavier Church was completed in 1889 and dedicated December 3, 1889. Sadly, Rev. Kortenkamp did not live to see
this dedication. He had died that autumn
on September 14. In fact, the last
service to be held in the old church was the funeral of Rev. Kortenkamp. Burial was in St. Francis Xavier Cemetery,
Dyersville. In 1956, because of its
great size and beauty, Pope Pius XII proclaimed St. Francis Xavier Church a
Basilica (among only nine other Basilicas in the USA at that time, and it is still
the only Basilica in a rural area).
When Rev. Kortenkamp finished his studies for the priesthood in Germany and went to America, Henry left his job in the
brickyard. On November 9, 1861, he joined the
Prussian Army and became a drummer in the 9th Company, 5th Westphalian
Infantry, Regiment #53. He served during
the Danish-Prussian War of 1864 (also called the “Schleswig-Holstein War of
Succession”, or the “Second War of Schleswig”).
For his service in this war he received three medals – a campaign medal
for combatants in the battles of Wielhoi, Düppel, Alsen, Friedericia, and
Rackebuell; the Düppel Cross for “brave participation in the Battle of
Düppel, April 18, 1864” (accompanying certificate signed by Col. Von Treikov,
Regiment Commander); and the Alsen Cross “for brave participation in the
Battle of Alsen, June 29, 1864” (accompanying certificate signed by General
Hermarth Von Bittenfeld).
The Battle of Düppel (“Dybböl” in Danish) involved the heaviest artillery bombardment in
history to that time – 126 guns and mortars fired thousands of shells at the
Danish positions for weeks. At 4 am, April 18, the final bombardment
began. In 6 hours 8,000 shells fell on the
Danish positions. At 10 am the Prussian soldiers left their trenches
and to the sound of the York
melody attacked the Danes (37,000 well equipped Prussians against 11,000 tired
Danes). By 11:30 am the surviving Danes
had retreated to the island
of Alsen.
The battle of Alsen was one of the last battles of the
war. Most of the Danish Army had
retreated to a fortress on the island
of Alsen off the east coast of Denmark in the Baltic Sea. The following is a summary translation from Spamer's
Illustierte Weltgeschieste (Spamer's Illustrated World History), 3rd Ed., 1898:
From the high fortifications on the island the Danish
soldiers could fire down on any boats trying to reach the island. The night of June 28/29, 1864 was dark and
foggy. At 2:00 a.m. in the morning, 2,500 Pussian infantrymen, with
oars wrapped in cloth so they would be soundless, started rowing silently
across the 800 yard channel to the island.
Just halfway across, in the earliest gray of the morning, the Danish
sentries spotted the boats and immediately opened fire. The Prussian soldiers began to give war cries
and row faster. Then the Danish cannons
began their thunderous bombardment of the defenseless boats. The Prussian cannons on shore answered, their
shells flying high over the boats into the Danish fortification. With bullets and cannon shells hitting the
water around them, the Prussian boats finally reached the shore, stormed the
fortifications and captured the island.
Henry had his picture taken in his military uniform with his
drum and helmet, with a couple army friends.
In Henry’s photo album are several other pictures of Prussian
soldiers. One picture has the name and
address of the photo studio on the back – “F. Brandt, Photographisches Atelier,
Flensburg”. Flensburg
is the northern-most German town on the Danish border. Friederich Brandt took many pictures of the
Danish-Prussian War.
Henry was discharged from the army on December 18,
1864. In his discharge paper he is
described as 6' 2" tall, of slender build, and blond. He was very proud of his military service and
his combat medals, and he wore them in later years for several portraits.
The following year Henry left for America. He arrived September 27,
1865 . He supposedly worked for awhile in a
brickyard in Dubuque,
but soon went to Dyersville to join his brother, Rev. Anton Kortenkamp. Rev. Kortenkamp actually financed Henry's
immigration to America,
and also helped Henry purchase a farm 2 miles NE of Dyersville, on the south
bank of Hewitt Creek, January 11, 1866. [
See Dyersville Area Map in the Appendix
] Rev. Kortenkamp did this as
repayment for the years Henry worked in the brickyard paying his brother's
expenses while studying for the priesthood.
However, for a short time after arriving in America, Henry worked as a
brickmaker.
Following Henry to America was his older sister,
Gertrude. According to Josephine
[Kortenkamp] Stoeckl, Gertrude
worked in Germany as a cook
for Prince Solms “at Frankfurt.”
Gertrude left Germany
from the port of Bremen
on the clipper steamship Hermann, and
arrived at Castle Garden, port
of New York, on April 30, 1866. She
married Ignatz Summer in 1869 in Dyersville.
Ignatz Summer was
born in Weiler, Voralberg, Tyrol,
Austria, on
December 4 (10?), 1845. He was the 8th
child in a family of 15. His father was
a wealthy merchant and owner of a hotel and large estate. Ignatz studied painting in Switzerland
until immigrating to the U.S., landing on April 20, 1867. He worked as a painter three years in Dubuque before moving to
Dyersville where he established a painting and decorating business. About 1876 he founded the Eagle Point Plow
and Wagon Works on the east side of Dyersville known as Eagle Point. He employed 20 or more men. Gertrude died in her 52nd year in
Dyersville on June 19, 1884. They had no children.
Ignatz Summer remarried, to Elizabeth Holscher on January 7, 1885, and they had several
children – Henry (Millie Brockman), Caroline (Mrs. Al Gaynor), Ida (Mrts. Charles Lippert), Coletta (Mrs. Frank Ryan), Hilda (Mrs. Lester Schuster),
Marcella (Mrs. Herman J. Lott), and Clarence (Lucille Biwer). In 1889, Ignatz added a large grocery store
to his business. He served as an
Alderman in Dyersville. Ignatz died October 31, 1905, at Mercy Hospital,
Dubuque. According to his obiturary he was survived by
brothers John and Alois in Colorado, Michael,
George and Henry in Germany,
and Jacob in New Vienna, Iowa, and by sisters Barbara, Celistine Mary and
Josephine (Sr. Mary Martha) in Germany. Mrs. Ignatz [Elizabeth Holscher] Summer died January 28, 1932.
Burial for both was in St. Francis
Xavier Cemetery,
Dyersville.
In 1872, Henry Kortenkamp’s younger brothers, Herman and
Ignatz, left Germany from
the port of Bremen
on the clipper steamship Nemesis, and
arrived at Castle Garden, port
of New York, on July 12, 1872. Herman declared for citizenship on August 10, 1891, Dubuque County.
He never married, and was considered somewhat retarded. He worked as a farmhand and gardener, and as
a painter for Mr. Summer in his Dyersville wagon shop. ,erman died at Bear Grove, Petersburg,
Delaware County, Iowa, on February 14, 1912. Burial was in St. Francis Xavier
Cemetery, Dyersville.
According to a story told by Raymond Kortenkamp, Henry's
youngest brother, Ignatz, stayed for a short time in Dyersville, but didn't
like it and went back to New York City,
intending to eventually return to Germany. He worked in New York
City for a hotel as a roof gardener to make enough money for the
return trip to Germany. However, one day about 1873 he disappeared,
leaving his cloths and possessions in his hotel room. Some
investigation by Henry through correspondence with the hotel concluded that
perhaps Ignatz was murdered and his body sold to a medical school.
Henry Kortenkamp married Josephine Schermer, daughter of Simon and
Dorothea [Empting-Grawe] Schermer, on April 17, 1866, in St.
Francis Xavier Church, Dyersville. [
Note: The name "Grawe" was
pronounced "grave." ]
Josephine Schermer was born in Charleston,
Charleston County, South Carolina, on October 26, 1848, to Simon and
Dorothea [Empting-Grawe] Schermer.
Josephine's father, Simon Schermer, was born August 2, 1804, at Wormerveer, North Holland, The Netherlands. He was the only son of Pieter Jan and Maria
[Koorn Groen] Schermer.
His mother had been married before to
;and they had one son – Klaas Groen.
The Schermer family has been traced back in Holland to an Adriaan
Jansz Schermer, born about 1640. Other
surnames in this ancestry are Appel, Elberts, Groen, Grootewal, Grootsant, Kistemaker, Koorn, van der Kruijse/Cruysse, Pieters, Prins, van Scherpenhof, Simons, and Spoelder. [ See Simon
Schermer Ancestor Tree in the Appendix]. The given name Simon appears already as the
name of Adriaan Schermer's grandson (1695-1770) who worked for the Simon
Schermer & Zoonen firm in Holland. This firm was founded by Simon’s father, Jan
Adriaansz Schermer, on May
22, 1703. The firm consisted
of merchants, ship owners, and owners of oil mills and snuff mills. This Simon's grandson, also named Simon
(1747-1810), served as a member of the Dutch Parliament from 1796 to 1801. It was his grandson, Simon, who immigrated to
Charleston
about 1835.
It is said that Simon was educated at a Jesuit College
in Lier (French: Lierre), Antwerp
Province, Belgium
(then the southern part of The Austrian Netherlands), the same college his
father had attended. After college he
was a member for five years of the Simon Schermer & Zoonen firm. However, the firm was ruined and lost in 1835
by the irresponsibility of Simon’s half-brother, Klaas Groen.
About this time, Simon immigrated to Charleston (perhaps on the Barkship Sophia Cecelia). He worked with a railroad company as a
supervisor of trains, going inland with passengers and merchandise, and doing
some trading with the Indians. The first
railroad in Charleston
began scheduled runs on Christmas Day in 1830.
The entire 176-mile route inland to Hamburg, South Carolina,
was completed by October, 1833, to become the longest continuous railroad in
the world at that time. Later, Simon
worked in an office for a Mr. King.
Simon eventually started a cotton and cheese import-export
business with his cousin Theodorus Schermer (1805-1871), a member of the Haantjes &
Schermer firm, founded 1770. This was a
firm of cheese merchants and ship owners.
Simon exported cotton to Holland, and
imported cheese to Charleston.
Simon Schermer (1804-1854), who immigrated to the United States about 1835, filed notice for
naturalization to become a U.S.
citizen on December 28,
1844, in Charleston. On December 30, 1845, he married Anna Dorothea [Empting] Grawe at St. Patrick Catholic Church, Charleston, South
Carolina. She
was the daughter of Ferdinand and Anna Elizabeth [Wals] Empting. She was a widow.
Anna Dorothea Empting was baptized in St. Cornelius & Cyprianus Church, St. Mary Magdalena Vicary, on September 6, 1812, at Westbevern, Westphalia, Prussia
[now part of Telgte, Kr. Warendorf, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany]. Her parents were Anna Elizabeth [Wals] and Ferdinand Empting. [ See Dorothea
(Empting) Grawe Ancestor Tree in the Appendix ]
Dorothea’s father, Ferdinand Empting, worked as a
"Förster" (forester) and "Jäger" (hunter) at Westbevern,
probably in the service of the Beverförde family.
Ferdinand Empting was born about 1772 (place unknown, but he was not
born in Westbevern or Münster). On October 22, 1803, he
married Elisabeth Wals at St.
Servatii Church, Münster, Westphalia,
Prussia [now
Münster, Kr. Münster. North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany]. It is not known where or when Elisabeth Wals
was born, but she was not born in Westbevern.
While living in Westbevern, F