|
March
31, 1990
Dear Cousins, I hope you are pleased with the Fifth Edition of the Rottkamp Family Tree. If there are any errors, they were not made intentionally, and I will be happy to correct them for the next edition. Please have your page photo-copied and mail it to me with any changes or additions. In the 139 years since the marriage of Caroline and Bernard, there have been 2, 025 descendents. Of these 1,819 are living. Add to this figure 661 living husbands and wives for a total of 2, 480 living relatives of the Rottkamp Branch. Did you know that Caroline had a sister, Sara, and a brother who I believe was Otto Moritz Engel? Their parents died during a smallpox epidemic in New York City and all three children were brought up by an "Irish Family". Sara married Joseph Tennies in 1852. Joseph was also from Westphalia, Germany so it would seem he could have been a friend of Bernard Rottkamp. The story goes that the girls couldn't speak German and the two young men didn't speak English. Both men came to the United States in 1844. Both families lost their first two children at birth in New York City. Joseph and Sara then went to Wisconscin, where Joseph became a farmer and an auctioneer. Sara had thirteen children and chose some of the same names as her sister - Anton, Anna, Caroline, Henry and Joseph. She only had 56 grandchildren compared to Caroline's 103. Otto Engel was a Private in the Civil War in Company I of the 41st Regiment. It was called the Dekalb Regiment and was exclusively German. He was mustered into the Army on June 9, 1861 under the command of Lt. Colonel Detleo Von Einsiedel and was later killed in the Battle of Gettysburg. Otto's name is on one of the Monuments at Gettysburg. We should all be proud of our heritage, both German and American, but especially our Christian Faith that I am sure was strenghthened by the "Irish Family". Sara's family cannot boast of 2,025 descendents but they can boast of more members of the Clergy. My thanks to all of you who responded promptly in giving me the information needed to bring this book up-to-date. My heartfelt gratitude to Teresa Schmitt and Bill Rottkamp and all the others who helped with the Reunion and the tremendous (or horrendous?) job of getting all the letters mailed. A special thanks to Josephine Seidler for starting this whole series of Family Tree Books and Reunions. With God's help we will be able to continue this wonderful tradition for many years to come. I would like to continue hearing from all of you especially when there are changes in your families so that this book will be a living document with all the information as up-to-date as possible. My dream is to enrich our book with stories about Caroline and Bernard's children, to add an address directory and a recipe section of all the old recipes our grandmothers used. "And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand." "Cousins forever", Carol
Hintze |
|