Halvelagen - Gästebuch
Ihr Gästebucheintrag
Please note that my e-mail address, accessed by clicking my name, has changed.
I'm the son of Elaine Schulte, whose message is below, and wanted to add a bit more information. I apologize for writing in English, but the family's German was eventually lost after coming to America.
Katherine Bogeschdorfer (my great-grandmother) was born on February 20, 1889, in Halvelagen. Katherine's parents were Martin Bogeschdorfer, a farmer born in 1849, and Sara Schotsch, born in 1855. While her parents were born in Halvelagen, the family name suggests that the father originally came from the small village of Bogeschdorf.
Katherine was the sixth of seven children, one of whom died at birth and another at 16. In 1905, alone at the age of 16, she took the Main from Bremen to Ellis Island. On the ship's manifest, she listed her occupation as a servant. She went to Homestead, Pennsylvania, where her older brother Johann and older sister Anna lived after having come to the United States in 1902 and 1903 respectively. Many immigrants from southeastern Europe came to Homestead to work at the large steel mills.
In Homestead, Katherine met my great-grandfather Georg Mathiae, who had been born in Katzendorf on August 22, 1885, and had come to the United States in 1903 at the age of 17. They married in 1909 and then settled in Gary, Indiana, in 1911, where Georg got a job at the American Bridge Company.
Many other Bogeschdorfer family members came to the United States, where the name was shortened to Bogesdorfer.
Katherine Bogeschdorfer (my great-grandmother) was born on February 20, 1889, in Halvelagen. Katherine's parents were Martin Bogeschdorfer, a farmer born in 1849, and Sara Schotsch, born in 1855. While her parents were born in Halvelagen, the family name suggests that the father originally came from the small village of Bogeschdorf.
Katherine was the sixth of seven children, one of whom died at birth and another at 16. In 1905, alone at the age of 16, she took the Main from Bremen to Ellis Island. On the ship's manifest, she listed her occupation as a servant. She went to Homestead, Pennsylvania, where her older brother Johann and older sister Anna lived after having come to the United States in 1902 and 1903 respectively. Many immigrants from southeastern Europe came to Homestead to work at the large steel mills.
In Homestead, Katherine met my great-grandfather Georg Mathiae, who had been born in Katzendorf on August 22, 1885, and had come to the United States in 1903 at the age of 17. They married in 1909 and then settled in Gary, Indiana, in 1911, where Georg got a job at the American Bridge Company.
Many other Bogeschdorfer family members came to the United States, where the name was shortened to Bogesdorfer.
I'm sorry that I have to write in English, but perhaps someone can help me. I'm a novelist and have written 36 novels and hundreds of articles and short stories. I would like to write a Saxon historical novel with an accurate background. My grandmother emigrated from Halvelagan in the early 1900s. Her name was Katherine Bogeschdorfer. She married Georg Mathae, who also emigrated in the early 1900s, but from Katzendorf. They met at a Saxon picnic in Pennsylvania, USA. For years, they attended Saxon Hall activities in Gary, Indiana. I'd appreciate any help. Thank you. Elaine Schulte
