aka "Little Oldenburg"
Hooper, Nebraska became a central immigration hub in the 1860's. Wolfgang Grams was a professor of political sciences and German Literature at the University of Oldenburg until 1997, when he created a private research and travel institute from being an expert in migration studies for the Oldenburg area. He refers to the Hooper area as Little Oldenburg as it was primarily settled by immigrants from Oldenburg, Germany.
"The true hope and desire was to become landowners, which was unheard of in Germany. Germany was still a very class-structured agricultural system. These were tenant farmers." [Taken from the Fremont Tribune article "German details migration to Nebraska" 27 Oct 2007 by Don Bowen]
He continues to explain that the immigrants were very hard workers. They were trained farmers who knew how to drain and plot land. This was key to the success of the German immigrant farmers.
When using old local history books as reference for German immigrants, we find them somewhat lacking. These histories oftentimes omit references to German ancestry or the predominance of German settlers in the area. In "Progressive Men of Nebraska: a book of Portraits", there was no mention of St. Paul's Lutheran Church and the only mention of the Scandinavian church is "The First Scandinavin Lutheran church was organized in January, 1885", when it was actually formed in 1871. (p. 39)
For reference, Dodge County, Nebraska was formed in 1855. A boundary line was established between Washington and Dodge Counties in 1858. Nebraska was still a Territory, and not a state until 1867. The town of Hooper was platted in February 1871 and named for one of the railway officials of the Chicago & Northwestern railroads.
Many of the earliest settlers arrived between 1856 and 1859. Names we will run into again are Gerhard (Gerd) Monnich and Herman Monnich (his son), who first settled in Everett Township, Dodge County in 1857. In Logan Township, the earliest settler was Theodore Uehling.
Gerd Monnich was born 3 May 1816 in Oldenburg, Germany and died in 1878 in Hooper. His sons (Herman, John and Bernard) took over the farming and expanded into real estate and at one time owned and farmed over 960 acres. From Bernhard Grone's family lore, we know that when he immigrated to Nebraska, he worked in Hooper for "Tonyes Monig". We find both Gerd and Tonjes Monnich were Baptized in Hude, Germany, the same as Bernhard Grone.
"The true hope and desire was to become landowners, which was unheard of in Germany. Germany was still a very class-structured agricultural system. These were tenant farmers." [Taken from the Fremont Tribune article "German details migration to Nebraska" 27 Oct 2007 by Don Bowen]
He continues to explain that the immigrants were very hard workers. They were trained farmers who knew how to drain and plot land. This was key to the success of the German immigrant farmers.
When using old local history books as reference for German immigrants, we find them somewhat lacking. These histories oftentimes omit references to German ancestry or the predominance of German settlers in the area. In "Progressive Men of Nebraska: a book of Portraits", there was no mention of St. Paul's Lutheran Church and the only mention of the Scandinavian church is "The First Scandinavin Lutheran church was organized in January, 1885", when it was actually formed in 1871. (p. 39)
For reference, Dodge County, Nebraska was formed in 1855. A boundary line was established between Washington and Dodge Counties in 1858. Nebraska was still a Territory, and not a state until 1867. The town of Hooper was platted in February 1871 and named for one of the railway officials of the Chicago & Northwestern railroads.
Many of the earliest settlers arrived between 1856 and 1859. Names we will run into again are Gerhard (Gerd) Monnich and Herman Monnich (his son), who first settled in Everett Township, Dodge County in 1857. In Logan Township, the earliest settler was Theodore Uehling.
Gerd Monnich was born 3 May 1816 in Oldenburg, Germany and died in 1878 in Hooper. His sons (Herman, John and Bernard) took over the farming and expanded into real estate and at one time owned and farmed over 960 acres. From Bernhard Grone's family lore, we know that when he immigrated to Nebraska, he worked in Hooper for "Tonyes Monig". We find both Gerd and Tonjes Monnich were Baptized in Hude, Germany, the same as Bernhard Grone.
We know when Gerd settled in the Hooper area. When did Tonjes arrive?
Link to Hooper Immigrants from Oldenburg.