30 Dec 2009

Peisker Family History

ohanna and Amelie are two daughters of Samuel and Marie Peisker who are known to have emigrated from the northern European region of Silesia to the United States. Both were born in or near the village of Schurgast in what was then Kreis Falkenberg, Prussia, before each left to settle in northeastern Kansas. They were part of a large chain migration, which is a process involving migrants who have previously relocated to a new location assisting their relatives and friends to migrate to the same destination. As many as sixty others, including a half dozen Peisker families and individuals, came from the surrounding area to Kansas.

Amelie Peisker

Steamer Germania, c.1863 Amelie "Mollie" Peisker was born 11 Apr 1843, and she emigrated to the United States aboard the ship "Germania" with almost a dozen others from the Schurgast area. These passengers included Ernst and Anna Wolff with their four children from Schurgast and Wilhelm and Rosine Handke with their son, Carl, from Nicoline, all of whom went to Kansas. They departed from Hamburg 26 May 1869 and arrived in New York on June 9. Only four months later, Amelie married Henry Ernst in St. Joseph, Missouri on 7 Oct 1869. Henry was born July 1827 in Baden which made him over fifteen years older than his new wife.

Tombstone of
Henry Ernst and
Amelia Peisker,
2006 In June of the following year, the couple was living on Henry’s farm in Center Township, Doniphan County, Kansas, east of the town of Troy. Amelia’s new neighbors were the families of Gottlieb Schwope and Charles Schwope who had also come from Nicoline. Charles' wife was Anna Marie Peisker who was most likely related to Amelie and Johanna in some way.

Henry and Amelie moved to a home at 1333 Maple Street in Atchison, Kansas, around 1883. After moving into town, Henry had various occupations including cooper and gardener. Amelie died in this home on 4 Jul 1913 of Bright's disease, now called nephritis, or inflammation of the kidney. Henry died under somewhat unusual circumstances on 8 Dec 1917. While attempting to light a heating stove in the home, he apparently suffered an apoplexy, usually meaning a stroke, and his frozen body was found two days later by a concerned neighbor. The couple had no children.

Johanna Peisker

Steamer Hammonia, bef.1877 Johanna Peisker was born on 4 Nov 1847, and emigrated to the United States three years after her sister with another family from the area. This was the family of Gottlieb and Caroline Peuker with their five children and step-children from Nicoline. Caroline was the mother of Rosine Handke née Klinnert who had arrived earlier with Amelie. They were aboard the steamer "Hammonia" when it departed from Hamburg on 18 Sep 1872 and landed in New York on October 2. The 1875 state census shows that Johanna came to Kansas from Missouri. If this is so, she probably would have been in or near St. Joseph, Missouri. However, it would have been a brief stay.

Johanna Peisker,
c.1872 On 14 Feb 1874, Johanna married Christian Glamann in Buchanan County, Missouri, and their brief marriage was to see more than its share of adversities. When they married, Christian was a shoemaker with his own shop near the town square in Troy, Doniphan County, Kansas. A year later, a major fire burned his shop to the ground on 15 Apr 1875 along with at least six other buildings in the block. Another four years later, after probably suffering for quite some time, Christian succumbed to the then prevalent disease of Tuberculosis on 4 Mar 1879. Just two days later, Johanna gave birth to their second son. Their children were:

1. William Christian "Will" (1876-1938) who married Mary Schaefer c.1900.
2. Otto Christian (1879-1943) who married Grace Faulkner 1903.

Second Marriage

Johanna Peisker,
c.1918 Johanna then remarried to Johann Christian Weik on 30 Apr 1880 in Troy in a ceremony that was witnessed by her sister, Amelie. Christian was also recently widowed with six daughters of his own, and he was living in the Good Intent neighborhood of Shannon Township, Atchison County, Kansas. This is where Christian and Johanna had their only child together, Johannes Heinrich (John Henry) (1885-1961).

[See Weik Family History for details on this child.]

The family remained in Good Intent until after Christian Weik died on 10 Feb 1911. He was buried in Mt. Vernon Cemetery in Atchison. Johanna continued to live on the farm with the family of their son, John, until moving with them into the city of Atchison in 1922. She died here 10 Dec 1925 and was buried with her second husband.

Samuel Peisker

Amelie and Johanna's father, Samuel Peisker, was born 27 Jul 1805 in Buchitz, Kreis Brieg, Prussia. He married Marie Biller who was born in Koppen in the same "kreis", which is roughly equivalent to a county. These two villages are located only about 2 and 5 miles from Schurgast, respectively.

Since the third daughter was born in Rosenthal which lies between Buchitz and Koppen, it is likely that the two older daughters, Amelie and Johanna, were also born in this area before the family eventually moved on to Schurgast. Samuel died in this city on 14 Jul 1882. He probably would have been living with his fourth known daughter, Pauline, who was living here at No. 48 Oppeliner Straße, at the time of his death, since it was her husband who provided information for his death certificate. It is not known if Marie was still living at this time. Their children included:

1. Amelie (1843-1913) previously discussed.
2. Johanna (1847-1925) previously discussed.
3. Anna Auguste (Auguste) (1850) who was born in the nearby village of Rosenthal and married Gustav Hugo (Hugo) Roemelt in Schurgast 1880. Hugo was from Kantersdorf so they may have moved there after their marriage.
4. Pauline who married Carl Plaeschke.

Gottfried Peisker

The parents of Samuel Peisker were Gottfried Peisker of Buchitz and Anna Rosine Pohl.

Peisker Homeland

Schurgast and Surrounding
Villages, c.1939 Schurgast, Kreis Falkenberg, Prussia (in German: Preußen) and its surrounding area was the homeland of the Peisker family as well as several other families who emigrated to northeastern Kansas. It was located approximately 40 miles southeast of the major city of Breslau, 15 miles southeast of the city of Brieg, and the same distance northwest of the city of Oppeln.

Schurgast lies within a historical region called Silesia (in German: Schlesien), which was originally a Polish province. It became a part of the Holy Roman Empire in 1335 and was later passed on to the Austrian/Bohemian Empire of the Habsburg Dynasty in 1526. The area already had a significant German population at this time, but under the Germanic ruling family of the Habsburgs, their settlement was further encouraged. Silesia was invaded by Prussia in 1740 and was ceded by Austria in 1742. The region, along with the rest of Prussia, then became a part of the German Empire upon German unification in 1871. Following the first World War, part of southern Silesia was divided between Poland and Czechoslovakia, but most was retained by Germany. Germany later reoccupied and annexed the entire region in 1939, beginning the second World War. After this war ended in 1945, most of the previously German portion, including Schurgast, was reassigned to Poland. This was followed by the forced expulsion of millions of German residents and the removal or destruction of many of their churches, historical records, etc. The region was then resettled by Poles from other areas of Poland. Silesia now lies mainly in southwestern Poland with small areas still in Germany and the Czech Republic.

Dozens of connected families and individuals are known to have emigrated from the Schurgast area to Atchison and Doniphan Counties, Kansas, during the 1860's-70's. They variously identified themselves in records as being German, Prussian, or Silesian (with various spellings). The following table lists the former and current names of each of the locations previously mentioned as well as other villages from which these people are known to have come. All except the three larger cities of Breslau, Brieg, and Oppeln are within approximately 6 miles of Schurgast.

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Links

• Johanna Peisker {fam group1, fam group2, lineage, fam hist, query?}
• Christian Glamann {fam group, lineage, fam hist}
• Johann Christian Weik {fam group1, fam group2, lineage, fam hist}
• Johannes Heinrich (John Henry) Weik {fam group, lineage, fam hist}