Our first stop in Oldenburg was Elsfleth. This is the birthplace for Bertha Koester (Bernhard Grone's wife), 4 of her siblings, and her father, Johann Heinrich Koester.
The name of the Church is St. Nicolai. The origin of the Church dates back to 1500. The first think that we were surprised at is that there were graves surrounding the Church! It was apparent that they were not going along with the "leasing" of burial plots that the German government has put into law.
Oh, and if you had any question that this area of Germany was instrumental in settling Northeast Nebraska, check out these names we found in the cemetery (I have photos if anyone is interested): Koopmann, Wiegmann, Hermann, Wichmann, Kopp, Luschen, Wessels, Kruse, Helmers, Suhr, Sturm, Giese, Koch, Harms, Wragge, and Burmeister.
The name of the Church is St. Nicolai. The origin of the Church dates back to 1500. The first think that we were surprised at is that there were graves surrounding the Church! It was apparent that they were not going along with the "leasing" of burial plots that the German government has put into law.
Oh, and if you had any question that this area of Germany was instrumental in settling Northeast Nebraska, check out these names we found in the cemetery (I have photos if anyone is interested): Koopmann, Wiegmann, Hermann, Wichmann, Kopp, Luschen, Wessels, Kruse, Helmers, Suhr, Sturm, Giese, Koch, Harms, Wragge, and Burmeister.
The next stop we the town of Berne. Berne is where Bertha Koester's oldest 4 siblings were born. On the original list of Grones from the Oldenburg Archive website were Gerd Grone, baptized in Berne 1797, Margrethe Grone, baptized in Berne 1802, and Rebecca Grone, baptized in Berne 1833. All three were born in Neuenkoop (which is probably neer Neuenmoor). My guess is that before there was a Church in Hude, they had their children baptized in Berne. The Church does appear to be much older.
Surnames found in this cemetery (I have photos) include Stolle, Maciejewski, Martens, Doscher, Niebuhr, Lindner, Erdmann, Baake, and Koopmann.
Surnames found in this cemetery (I have photos) include Stolle, Maciejewski, Martens, Doscher, Niebuhr, Lindner, Erdmann, Baake, and Koopmann.
The biggest excitement at the Church in Berne, is this memorial to WWI veterans (at least that is what we deduced). On this list is "Bernhard Grone". I have yet to track this one down. I might need to research some other names on this memorial to correctly identify the WWI veteran named Bernhard Grone.
I have more headstone surnames and photos from the Hude Cemetery in case anyone is interested: Wessels, Koster, von Seggern, Tonjes, Stolle, and Kruger.