Heinrich Goertz
Born: October 29, 1824
Place: Grossweide Village
Died: May 1899
Place: Marion County, Kansas
MOTHER:
Elizabeth Sommerfeld (born approx. 1805)
Daughter of David Sommerfeld (born approx. 1755)
and Maria Schroeder (born approx. 1779)
FATHER:
Peter Goertz (5/3/1805 - Unknown)
SIBLINGS:
No known siblings
SPOUSE:
Eva U. Janzen
Married: July 10, 1843
Place: Ukraine
CHILDREN:
Heinrich Goertz (6/6/1844 - 8/15/1919)
Elizabeth Goertz (7/28/1848 - 12/17/1926)
Jacob Goertz (2/17/1851 - 6/26/1940)
Eva Goertz (10/22/1852 - 4/24/1918)
Agnetha Goertz (10/31/1857 - 8/30/1933)
Franz (Frank) H. Goertz (2/19/1860 - 2/23/1942)
Anna Goertz (7/22/1863 - 7/24/1940)
Johann Goertz (1/18/1867 - 7/25/1939)
Franz Goertz (? - ?; died in youth)
Maria Goertz (? - ?; died in youth)
BIOGRAPHY
Heinrich Goertz was born on 29 October 1824 in Grossweide village to Peter and Elizabeth Sommerfeld Goertz.
A Previous pedigree of Heinrich traced his ancestors back to the Vistula river and delta region of the province of WestPrussia in a nation that the descendants of Frederick the great had called Prussia after conquering and occupying Poland.
After growing up learning all the details of farming in that time, Heinrich Goertz was baptized on confession of faith on the 8th of June 1842. His future wife, Eva Janzen had similarly been baptized on confession of faith the 12th of June 1841. On 10 July 1843 Heinrich Goertz married Eva Janzen who had been born 15 September 1823 in Kronsweide village, Chortitza colony, South Russia the daughter of Simon and Anna Unruh Janzen. Some time later the family moved into the house immediately next door to the one occupied by Peter and Anna Pankratz Hiebert in the village of Alexanderwohl, Molotschna colony of the then province of Taurida in Southern Russia about a hundred miles north of the Black Sea.
Farming as it was done in the 1800's was a family affair. The husband or eldest son would do the hardest labor, operating the hand scythe from sunup to sundown during harvest. Everyone else would join in tying up bundles and stacking them on end in schocks.
In about 1870 the Russian government started talking about taking the Mennonite's privileges of non-participation in the army away from them. As a result large numbers of them immigrated out of Russia to the United States. The Heinrich Goertz family and most of the children came in 1874, boarding the ship CIMBRIA August 12, 1874 arriving in New York Aug 27, 1874. They are listed as follows (includes misspellings);
Geertz,Hrch (49) farmer, Eva (52) wife, Peter (27) sons, Jacob (24) sons, Agneta (11) dau, Franz (13) sons, Anna (9) dau, Johann (7) sons, Geertz,Hrch (29) farmer, Anna (22) wife, Hiebert,Peter(22) farmer, Eva (24) wife, Eva (4 mo) infant
The next day after arrival they went through customs. Their baggage was then hauled across the Hudson River to Castle Gardens where several days later they boarded trains leaving for Lincoln, Nebraska. From there they boarded trains traveling through Topeka to Peabody. From Peabody they took wagons to the immigrant houses, which had been built three quarters of a mile outside of what is the community of Goessel, KS today.
Everyone initially lived in the immigrant houses while they scouted the surrounding countryside for good farmland that they might wish to claim as homestead. After choosing a good piece of land they would build a house and barn on the land and begin to farm that land.
"The Family Tree of The Heinrich Goertz-Eva Janzen Family"
