• Catherine Furst from Aschaffenburg in Bavaria immigrated circa 1850.
• Julius Lindemann from the duchy of Braunschweig (Brunswick) immigtrated circa 1850
• The Blancks and related families were from Lehe (now part of Bremerhaven) and surrounding villages in Norther Germany. Henry Blanck immigrated to the USA circa 1870
• The Erxmeyers from Walsrode, Honover immigrated in the 1870s.
• Peter Goehle from Worms in Hessen-Darmstadt immigrated in 1873
• Johann Bernard Petermann and Sophie Steuer Petermann from the Duchy of Oldenburg in northern Germany immigrated to the USA circa 1880

Types of houses depended on country or town location and on regional variation. Half timber construction was very popular in both the countryside and city in Germany in the middle ages and later. The frame of the building was made of timber, usually oak. The timbers were morticed and pegged together. Triangular bracing was used to give additional support. The spaces between the timbers were filled with waddle and daub, brick, stones or plaster. The timber remained visible both inside and outside the building.

Roofs were thatched with straw or reed, tiled or slated.

Bricks were used in conjunction with half-timber or by itself. All brick constructions were more popular in areas where there was a lack of timber.

In town houses the brick was frequently covered over with plaster to present a smooth surface which was painted.

Another early method of construction was field stone. The only two examples we saw were churches.

This beautiful old church of St George in Wichmannsburg shows several different types of construction. The tower is half timber, the center is field stone, and the back is brick.

Where wood was plentiful some structures were made out of wood alone.

Lehe

Oldenburg

Elsfleth