The Behnke Family

Hannah Behnke Dauber about 1891

My grandfather was Clarence Dauber of Cleveland, Ohio. His mother Hannah Behnke married Henry Dauber in 1891. But Hannah died when Clarence was two years old in 1906. Two years later his father married Adelaide Behnke from Detroit, Michigan, who took over raising Clarence and his siblings. Adelaide was described as Hannah’s cousin but information passed down in our family neglected to say how they were related. Adelaide lived well into her 80s and from her our family knew a good bit about her parents and siblings in Detroit. But we knew almost nothing about Hannah or her life in Cleveland. We didn’t even know her parents’ names. However, Hannah and her family have become one of my most rewarding families to research. In the last few years I have discovered how Hannah and Adelaide were related, have been in touch with cousins I never knew existed and have traced Hannah’s family back through multiple generations into the 1700’s.

South Side of Rehberg's Church

Born on 26 November 1870 in the village of Rehberg, Hannah was baptized Johanna Caroline Wilhelmine Behnke. Today Rehberg is a part of the town of Woldegk, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany. It is located about 50 miles south of the Baltic Sea in northeast Germany. Woldegk is known as the “City of Windmills” and windmills still dot the surrounding landscape. Hannah was baptized in Rehberg’s simple, half-timbered, Lutheran church on 18 December 1870.

When Hannah was nine years old her family emigrated from Rehberg to Cleveland. After traveling to Hamburg the family sailed on the ship Westphalia for 14 days to New York City before continuing on to Cleveland.

Hannah’s parents were Johann Carl August Behnke and Christiane Dorothea Caroline Beier. Her father went by the name Carl and later in Cleveland was called Charles. Her mother used the name Christiane and then the more Americanized Christina. Hannah had an older brother, Carl Friedrich Heinrich, and two older sisters, Wilhelmine Dorothea Friederike and Caroline Johanna Friederike. They went by the names Charles, Minnie and Lena.

Christina Beier, Hannah’s mother, only lived a few more years after the family settled in Cleveland and died when she was 46 years old. She was buried on 22 July 1884 in Woodland Cemetery. Carl Behnke, Hannah’s father, was an Arbeitsmann or workman in Rehberg and followed the same profession of laborer in Cleveland. He became a U.S. citizen on 25 October 1890 and lived to be 75 years old. He died on 23 July 1907 and is buried in Woodland Cemetery as well.

Hannah’s siblings lived out the remainder of their lives in Cleveland too. Charles married Hannah Kulow in 1885 and they had 10 children. He died in 1945. Minnie married Fred Wilk in 1885 and they had 7 children. She died in 1939. Lena married Fred Bohnsack in 1886 and they had 1 child. After he died she married William Funk in 1890 and they had 7 children. Lena died in 1949.

Carl Behnke, Hannah’s father, was the son of Johann Friederich Behnke and Sophie Christiane Kopperschmidt. Carl had three brothers and the youngest Ludwig who later called himself Louis emigrated to Detroit about 1866. He married Amelia Wurtzel in 1867 and they had 10 children. Their second child Adelaide Behnke became Clarence Dauber’s step-mother in 1908. So Hannah and Adelaide were indeed first cousins although Hannah was born in Rebherg and Adelaide was born in Detroit.

Clarence and Adelaide (Behnke) Dauber about 1914

Through DNA tests I have found some distant Behnke cousins too. I've been in touch with my 3rd cousin who is a great-granddaughter of Lena Behnke, my 3rd cousin once removed who is Ludwig Behnke’s great-granddaughter and a 4th cousin who is Ludwig Behnke’s 2nd great-grandson. It has been fun to trade emails with them and learn a bit more about my different Behnke lines.

Using German church records on microfilm I have also traced my family's Behnke line back into the 1700s. I had to learn to read old Gothic German handwriting but it was exciting to move back through the generations.

For more pictures of Hannah you can also check out my Pinterest page for her.

An Ancestor's Life on Pinterest

Pinterest can be a great place to chronicle an ancestor’s life. Recently I've been researching my Great-Grandmother, Hannah (Behnke) Dauber, and decided to create a Pinterest board with a timeline of her life. I started with her birth in Rehberg, Mecklenburg-Strelitz, Germany, and included information about her parents and her family's immigration to America. Then I added her marriage to my Grandfather, Henry J. Dauber, in Cleveland, Ohio, and details about their children and their life in Cleveland. I ended with her untimely death at age 35. For many of the pins I uploaded family pictures. The rest were copies of records (after checking the terms of use), copyright free images or Creative Commons licensed photographs. I think it turned out great and love how visual it is.

Next I created a board for my Grandmother, Catherine Mary (Yeagle) Dauber. I did something different for her. Her lengthy obituary contained an amazing amount of organizations and events she was involved in during the course of her life. Using the obituary as a guide I chronicled almost all of them.

And for my husband’s Grandfather, Patrick John Kearney, I told the story of his life through pictures and words. There is a great family tale about how Patrick met his wife, Margaret Moroney, at a holy well in Castletown, County Limerick, Ireland. Using a variety of my own pictures and other found images I recreated his life.  The main focus is the story of Patrick and Margaret meeting.

You might also like Using Pinterest for Genealogy and Mapping Genealogy Locations on Pinterest.