Indentifying Information
| Document | Indentifier |
|---|---|
| Preibisch Survey | X |
| Preibisch Survey Owner | Marcin Krüger |
| Rezess Contract Owner | Michael Lehmann |
| First Land Record Owner | Gottlieb Erdmann and Anna Rosina Kienitz |
| 1830 Blatt Number | 1 |
| 1864 Properety Tax Number | 1 |
| 1921 Community Register House Number | 1 |
| Estimated Current Address | Gebiczyn 1 |
The Land Records
The höllander Martin Krüger acquired title to this property through a deed of conveyance on June 19, 1818, from the married couple Martin Krüger, his parents, in exchange for a life lease and the release of his siblings’ claims.
On March 8, 1824, Martin Krüger and his wife Anna Christina Hoeft partitioned a portion of their 30-morgen property and sold it to Michael Lehmann and his wife Anna Catharina Rieske. This 10-morgen partition becomes Farm 1.
This transaction is not shown on the Preibsch Survey but is recorded in the Recess Contract. A document available at the Poznan archive, “Dismembrierung bäuerlicher Grundstücke zu Gembitz-Hauland“, partially explains a reason for this. The government office in Czarnikau wrote on January 13, 1832, that the transaction between Martin Krüger and Michael Lehmann had not been properly recorded because Martin Krüger had been bedridden for a period of time. This was during the period when the recess contract was being negotiated and the failure to record this transaction was complicating the process. The office in Czarnikau threatens to impose a fine if the transaction was not concluded.
There are no definitive primary sources available for Michael or Anna Catharina nee Rieske Lehmann. However, there are several secondary sources that would suggest that Lehmann was a member of one of the original families of Gembitzhauland. The original contract from 1735 lists one of the negotiators as Christoph Lehmann. On April 12, 1819, a life-estate owner, Gottfried Lehmann (1738-1819), died in Gembitzhauland. Based upon his year of birth Gottfried may have been Christoph’s son. Also, within this record a son Michael, born in 1792 or 1793, is living in Gembitzhauland. Other survivors listed include an older daughter, Anna Rosina age 56, who was married to a Krüger.
The early ownership of this property was further complicated when the Lehmanns sold the property on a contract to Gottlieb Erdmann (died prior to 1858) and his wife Anna Rosina Kienitz (died prior to 1861) on April 13, 1836, for 289 Thaler. Previously, according to an addendum to the recess contract the property was sold to Christoph Dumke on December 14, 1835, but he had not legitimized the sale. It was not until May 21, 1840, that Gottlieb Erdman and Michael Lehmann finalized the sale and recorded the transfer. For the land records of Farm 1 Gottlieb and Rosina Erdmann are recorded as the first owners.
Gottlieb and Rosina Erdmann transferred the property to their son Ludwig Erdmann (1828 – 1885) and his wife Henrietta Ponto (1832 – 1892) prior to October 1, 1855, when the Rentenkataster records begin.
Rentenkataster 1855 – 1920
The Rentenkataster list only three owners of Farm 1:
- Ludwig Erdmann (1828 – 1885)
- August Zellmer (1835 – 1908)
- Ernestine Emilie nee Wanke Zellmer (1843 – 1934)
Ludwig Erdmann sold the property prior to 1864 when he was the owner of Farm 17.
Property Tax 1863-1865
The ground tax records of 1864 lists Anton Dahms as responsible for the tax that year. There is a note on this record written in pencil that August Zellmer has become the owner of Farm 1. This transaction likely reflects August Zellmer returning that year from the Danish-Prussian War. In subsequent records August Zellmer owns the property until his death in 1908.
The Zellmer Family
Ernestine Wanke and August Zellmer (family photo)
August Johann Zellmer was born in neighboring Gembitz to Gottlieb Zellmer and Julianne Stiegemann (1810-1882). The biography of his son Emil in the Lincoln County Washington history states that August was soldier in the Prussian army fighting in the Danish-Prussian War of 1864, the Austro-Prussian War of 1866, and the Franco-Prussian War of 1870. Previously he married Ernestine Emilie Wanke on November 24, 1861. Ernestine was born on Farm 34 to Christoph Wanke (died prior to 1848) and Anna Wilhelmine Dahlke (1811-1886). The couple had 11 children, seven of whom emigrated to America, primarily living in the state of Washingtion.
Building Register June 1, 1907
Per the building register of June 1, 1907, August Zellmer’s farm consisted of a house, a shed, a barn for horses and cattle, a barn for pigs and a barn for wood.
Community Register 1921 – 1933
Karl, Ernestine and Louise Zellmer (family photo)
The community register created after Gembitzhauland (now Gebiczyn) becomes part of Poland lists August and Ernestine’s son Karl Albert Zellmer (born 1881) as the owner of the property in 1922. Karl, a bachelor, lives on the property with his mother, Ernestine, and his sister Louise Marie (born 1877). Also living on Farm 1 is Louise’s daughter Martha Hulda (1902-1976) and her husband Albert Gustav Ihnofeld (1889 – 1963).
No record to date has been found as to how long Karl Zellmer owned the property.