Indentifying Information
| Document | Indentifier |
|---|---|
| Preibisch Survey | XII |
| Preibisch Survey Owner | Gottlieb Hoffmann |
| Rezess Contract Owner | Gottlieb Hoffmann |
| First Land Record Owner | Dorothea Elisabeth Wanke |
| 1830 Blatt Number | 4 |
| 1864 Property Tax Number | 4 |
| 1921 Community Register House Number | 8 & 9 |
| Estimated Current Address | Gebiczyn 12 |
The Land Records
Land Records
Dorothea Elisabeth nee Wanke Hoffmann acquired Farm 4 from her parents, the holländer Martin Wanke and his wife, Friederike Dorothea nee Schmidt by a judicial agreement dated January 23, 1805. She paid 400 thalers and granted a life estate to her parents in exchange for the property. Her husband Gottlieb Hoffmann became co-owner pursuant to the laws of general marital community property which were acknowledged in proceedings on May 2, 1831. Based upon the contract and the proceedings the title of ownership was registered to the married couple Gottlieb and Dorothea Elisabeth Hoffmann by the decree of September 1, 1831.
Gramsdorf-Gembitzhauland Church Book 1817-1819
Martin Wanke died at the age of 74 on Friday, February 12, 1819, at 8 o’clock in the morning from old age. He was survived by his third wife, Anna Mariana nee Drode and three daughters from his second marriage to Friederike Dorothea Elisabeth nee Schmidt. The daughters were Anna Christina age 43 the widow of Adam Krüger, Anna Rosina age 38 the wife of the owner of Farm 31 Johann Gottlieb Wegner, and Dorothea Elisabeth age 36 the wife of Gottlieb Hoffmann. All the daughters were living in Gembitzhauland.
Based upon this record Martin Wanke was born in 1744 or 1745. He was likely the son of Christian Wanke who moved to Gembitzhauland in 1738.
The Hoffmann Family
Johann Gottlieb Hoffmann was born on November 4, 1783. In an interview for his 90th birthday Gottlieb’s son Friedrich Wilhelm (1834-1926) said he was the second youngest of his father’s eleven children. To date primary records have been found for 9 of the eleven children. The Hoffmann family was also a member of the Budsin Evangelical Church. Gottlieb’s death record from April 4, 1867, says that he was a widower survived by 5 sons and 4 daughters.
Gottlieb was married at least twice. Dorothea Elisabeth nee Wanke Hoffmann died sometime after the birth of her daughter Anna Rosina on March 2,1829. The death certificate of Gottlieb’s youngest son Carl (1838-1905) states that his mother was Dorothea Wegner. The death certificate for the youngest son Friedrich Wilhelm does not record a mother. It can be assumed that Friederich Wilhelm’s mother was not Dorothea Elisabeth Wanke since she would have been over 50 years old at the time of his birth.
The oldest Hoffmann son was Johann Ludwig born February 17, 1808. On February 2, 1834, Ludwig married Anna Rosina Rädel the second oldest daughter of Martin Rädel the former owner of Farm 20. In 1854 the couple immigrated to Honey Creek Township Sauk County Wisconsin. They then moved to Deerfield Township, Steele County Minnesota where he died on April 21, 1890. A death announcement in a Rochester, Minnesota newspaper confirms that Ludwig was the oldest brother of Friedrich Wilhelm and Carl.
Gottlieb’s oldest recorded daughter was Anna Christina, born August 11, 1810. She married Martin Wanke the owner of Farm 11 and the Krug.
Gottlieb Krenz Family
Gottlieb and Dorothea Hoffmann’s youngest daughter Rosina (1829-1900) married Gottlieb Krenz on November 18, 1849. While the marriage is recorded in the church located in Rogasen, Kreis Obornik, a note in the marriage record says as it did for the marriage of Wilhelm Krenz from Farm 2B that the marriage took place at a fully attended church service in Wischinhauland.
Gottlieb Krenz was born on July 24, 1825, in Steindorf (today Jaryszewo Poland) Kreis Obornik to the landowner Gottlieb Krenz and Rosine Busse.
Gottlieb and Anna Rosina nee Hoffmann Krenz had nine children. Four of their five sons emigrated to Deerfield Township, Steele County Minnesota.
Anna Rosina nee Hoffmann died on December 31, 1900 in the city of Schneidemühl where the couple moved after Farm 4 was sold. Gottlieb Krenz followed her in death in the same city on January 18, 1911.
On October 1, 1855 Gottlieb Krenz is recorded as the owner of the property.
Rentenkataster 1855 – 1920
The Rentenkataster lists only three owners of Farm 4:
- Gottlieb Krenz
- Ludwig Krenz
- Ewald and Martha nee Witt Milbradt
Ludwig Krenz (born 1860 in Gembitzhauland) was the only son of Gottlieb and Rosine to not emigrate to America. On May 15, 1897, he married the widow Emilie Elisabeth nee Gartze Glaesmer a homeowner in Lindenwerder, Kreis Kolmar. The marriage record says that his parents are living in Schniedemuhl, Kreis Czarnikau and that he is a resident of Czarnikau. The Krenz family likely sold the property earlier that year to the daughter of their neighbor, Marta Witt, ending a century of family ownership of the property.
Wilhelm Ewald Sigismunc Milbradt (born May 2, 1869, in Ostrowki) and Wanda Marta Witt (born February 26, 1877) were married on May 3, 1897. Ewald registered as a resident of the community two days later. Martha was the daughter of the owner of neighboring Farm 5, Friedrich Wilhelm Witt. A note on the Rentenkaster for Farm 4 says that Friedrich Wilhelm Witt purchased a portion of Farm 4 on December 29, 1897.
Property Tax 1863-1865
The property tax records list Gottlieb Krenz as the sole owner of Farm 4.
Church Affairs and Parish Tax 1876- 1879
The owners of Farm 4 are not listed on this tax list for any of the four years. This is potentially because the Krenz family were not members of the Gembitzhauland parish. Any primary source records for this family are found in neighboring communities.
Building Register July 31, 1890
Ludwig Krenz is listed as the owner of Farm 4 in this record.
Building Register June 1, 1907
In this record Ewald Milbradt, a farmer, is the owner of Farm 4. The farm consists of a house, a horse-cattle-pig barn, another barn and a cellar (likely a dugout).
Another residence is now also on this property. Bertha nee Westphal Spletter, a widow, has a house and a barn with a stable. She was born in 1873 on Farm 30 to August and Pauline nee Heyn Westphal. She is the widow of farmer August Julius Spletter (1862 – prior 1907). In 1908 she sells the property to Wilhelm Warneke from Briesen. At that time, she marries the owner of Farm 32, Emil Krüger.
Community Register 1921 – 1933
The community register created after Gembitzhauland (now Gebiczyn) becomes part of Poland lists Ewald Milbradt (1869 – 1951), his wife Marta (1877-1951) and his 3 children living on Farm 4 in 1921.
In 1927 daughter Erna Elise (1900-1977) marries Reinhard Papke (1900-1945) from Niewiemko. The couple then live with her parents until July 20, 1931, when they move to Nowa Wies Ujska (formerly Usch Neudorf, Kreis Kolmar).
On August 1, 1931, the Milbradt’s other daughter Charlotte (1903-2000), who is married to Friedrich Sawall (1895), moves from Nowa Wies Ujska (formerly Usch Neudorf, Kreis Kolmar to her parents’ farm with their son. Friedrich Sawall was the grandson of Martin Sawall III the former owner of the neighboring Farm 5.
Wilhelm Warnke and his wife Auguste nee Pfieffer are living on the second residence of Farm 4 with their three children. Wilhelm Warnke was born on February 2, 1871 in Briesen, Kreis Czarnikau. Auguste Pfeiffer was born on June 1, 1872, in Radom, Kreis Obornik. The couple had moved to Gembitzhauland on April 17, 1908.