Left: Kirche St. Marien, Osnabruck
Immigrant: Frederick Delbrugge Immigration Year: 1846 Religion: Lutheran Occupation: Tailor Origins: Osnabrueck, Germany Relationship: My g g grandfather
The Delbrugge name is found in several areas of northern Germany, mostly in the Westphalian cities and villages of Lengerich, Bielefeld, Brockhagen, Borgholzhausen, Halle, Melle, Ladbergen, Bockhorst, Osnabrueck and in Lippe-Detmold. "Brugge" is the German word for bridge, in the Low German or Plattdeutsch dialect.
Left: Kirche St. Marien, Osnabruck
Frederick Arnold Delbrugge was born 3 July 1825 probably in Lengerich, Germany. This is in northern Germany, southwest of Osnabrueck. His parents were Hermann Ehrich Delbrugge (born 1800 in Hellern, Osnabrueck) and Catherine Marie Mutert. They were married in Lengerich. Hermann Ehrich's parents were Johann Adolph Delbrugge (born 1764, Ringel, Lengerich) and Anna Marie Elsabein Hackmann (or Heggemann).
I have information on 3 more generations (though absolute proof has not yet
arrived from the Lengerich church records): Father of Johann Adolph was Johann
Everd., born 1706, Ringel. His father was Heinrich, born 1674, Ringel, and Heinrich's
father was also Heinrich Delbrugge, born about 1649, Ringel.
The Delbrugge family were Markotters (small farmers) and Heurmann (tenant farmers) in Ringel, and later in Osnabrueck. Often the tenant farmers in this region of Germany would supplement their meager income by doing seasonal work in nearby Holland, and by growing flax to spin and weave into linen. However, the cottage linen industry began to decline in the early 1840's due to industrialization, leading to mass emigration. Often, it was the children of the tenant farmers who chose to emigrate, as it was becoming more difficult to acquire or inherit land, and the farms were being divided into smaller and smaller sections.
It was probably these same conditions that caused Frederich, a journeyman tailor, to apply to the Royal Bailiwick in Osnabrueck for permission to emigrate in August of 1846. Permission was granted and he left on August 12 for Bremen in order to board a ship for Baltimore on August 15. He arrived in Baltimore on Sept 24, and eventually settled in Wheeling, WV. There he married Johanne Catherine Lisette Wessel (born 1 Jan 1825 in Hellern, Osnabrueck). Her parents were Johann Rudolph Wessel and Catherine Elisabeth Piepmeier.
Frederick became a very successful merchant tailor in Wheeling, where he lived for the rest of his life. He and Hannah had 9 children:
* William F. (1848) married Dora E. Schaub moved to Indiana * Frederick Jr.(1849) * Louis J.(1852) married Louise Schaffer * Elizabeth(1854) married Charles Asmus * Louisa(1856) married Harvey Frazier * Matilda (1859) married 1) James Driller 2) William Jiinke * Laura (1859) (twins) * Emma(1861) married Charles Amick * Katie(1864) married 1) John Cruse 2) Henry Kain Frederick died in 1891 and Hannah died in 1885; both are buried in Mt. Zion Cemetery in Wheeling, as are most of their children.
William F. Delbrugge (my g grandfather), was one of the first in the family to move westward. Sometime before 1869 he moved to Indianapolis, and there on 11 Aug 1869 he married Dora Elizabeth Schaub, from Monroe County, OH (near Wheeling). They had 9 children, all born in Indianapolis:
* Katie L. (1870-1925) never married * Clara (1871-1948) married Frank Fuller * Elizabeth (1874-1961) married Henry Woods * Walter F. (1875-1941) married Gertrude Jackman * Effie (1878-1940) married George Renner * William H. (1880-1951) married Pearl Cromwell; moved to CA, AZ * Emma May (1884-1961) married Frank Lichtenberg * Bessie J. (1886-1915) never married * Dorothy (1888-1963) married 1) Julius Helft, 2) John Rector
Indianapolis had a large German population, and German culture was thriving in the 1870's and 1880's. There were several German language newspapers, singing societies and political clubs, plus German language instruction in the schools. The Delbrugge family lived in a working class German neighborhood, where William was a fireman, and later a bartender. During WWI, as Germans faced increasing discrimination, some branches of the family americanized their name to Delbrook.
Frederick Delbrugge (the immigrant) had 7 other siblings, 5 of whom also emigrated to the U.S. They include:
* William (1827-1890), and wife Christina Brandstrof or Branstrupp
(1834-1912).
This family left Bremen, Germany aboard the Bark Amy and arrived
in NYC 14 June, 1849. They had 8 children, and also settled in
Wheeling, WV. Occupation: carpenter.
* Bernhard Heinrich (1836-1900), and wife Wilhelmina Wulverkump. They had
6 children, and settled in Wheeling, WV. Bernard was a laborer.
* Ehrich or Edward (1842-1920) and wife Louisa Wieneke. They had 6 children
and settled in Wheeling, WV and Belmont County, OH. Edward worked in
the iron mill.
* Johanna Dorothea Julia Elise (1829-?). She stayed in Germany. A son,
Heinrich Friedrich Anton Delbrugge was born in 1851.
* Bernhard Heinrich (1832-?)-most likely died in infancy
* Gerhard Friedrich Rudolph (1834-1894). He died in Germany
* Christine Friederike Elise (1840-1886?). She is most likely the
Christine Delbrugge who is buried at Mt. Zion in Wheeling, 1886.
There are also known Delbrugge/Delbruegge/Delbrook families in the U.S. who
lived in Somerset County, PA; Allegany County, MD; Hamilton County
(Cincinnati), OH; and also Missouri. The Missouri families were also from
north Germany, especially around Melle and Hamlingdorf. I am searching for
possible connections to any of these families.
Much more information is available on this family by contacting the author Rebecca
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