Hinrichs / Henrichs / Henricks , Lottman and Wilken Families of Moundville

Mary Fischer shared the infomation about the Hinrichs and Wilken families who lived near Moundville. They attended the Lutheran Church.

First we have to mention spelling - In an 1899 Moundville Lutheran Church document, Arend Hinrichs signed his name as Hinrichs - the "i" was plainly dotted. However from that point on the name was rather consistently spelled Henrichs (although occasionally Henricks). So we have done this web page with Hinrichs. We assume that the name was Americanized along the way. Visitors can decide how they feel it ought to be spelled.

A word about the name: The Hinrichs family was from an area in North Germany called Ostfriesland. That is an area where they spoke Low German and often used the patrynomic naming system. Patrynomics means that the last name of the child was taken from the first name of the father. So in this instance the father's name would be Hinrich, so his sons last name would Hinrichs. Thus the last name of the family changed every generation perhaps. Napoleon tried to put an end to this practice when he conquered the area but prior to about 1800, patrynomics was commonly used.

This is the Arend Hinrichs family on their Moundville farm. See the close-up below with their identifications. The original photo is a sepia tone but has been converted to black and white here for contrast.

Mary writes that the Hinrichs' are all buried in Danforth, Illinois as are the Wilken's and most of their descendants. Arend and Marie Hinrichs were only in Moundville for about 6 years between 1897 and 1903. Arend saw the rich prairie lands of Missouri on a trip to San Antonio and decided to move his family from Chatsworth, Illinois (Germantown township) to Moundville. He lost his shirt on that venture because he hadn't realized that the prairies looked good in the spring but the hot dry winds that came in the summers made growing certain crops impossible. Mary believes he had been a beet farmer, but can't prove it other than his brother-in-law was listed as such on the 1870 census.

Hinrich Janssen Hinrichs and his brother Gerd Julius Hinrichs were listed on the very early confirmation list of the Moundville Lutheran church.

It is interesting to note that the Hinrichs family had come from near Chatsworth, Illinois in 1897. The Saathoff family came from near Chatsworth about the same time. Both families had orginally come from Ostfriesland as had the Post family.

Arend and Marie are the middle age couple seated in the front. Mary thinks the child may be Ina Lottman, daughter of Jennie and Claus Lottman (Jennie was Arend and Marie's daughter) who stayed with the Henrichs' for a short time at Moundville. Claus and Jennie are the couple on the back. The two young boys in the back to the left are Henry and George or Hinrich and Gerd as they are listed in the confirmation register of the Lutheran church. They were Arend and Marie's two sons and their two youngest children.The tall woman on the far right is another daughter, Anna Hinrichs (see below).

Photo taken on the Hinrichs Moundville farm. Notice that the photo was taken by C. A. Gibbs of Bronaugh. He was Bronaugh's Boy Photographer. The two men appear to be Arend Hinrichs and Claus Lottman and the little girl appears to be Ina Lottman.

Jack Allen, who decends from the Gibbs family, has Chet's ledger. He found the following ledger entry:

1900 November 6th Hendricks 1 1/2 doz $1.60

Although the name is mis-spelled (common in Chet's Ledger), this dates the above photo as being taken in the fall of 1900. Its possible that the photo taken of the family in front of their house was taken the same day since Ina Lottman is wearing the same dress and her hair is fixed the same way.
This is probably the home of Jennie and Claus Lottman.

George E. Wilken and Kate Hinrichs were married in the Moundville church on February 9, 1898 by Christian Schuler. The Lutheran Church records refer to them by their German names - Gerhard Wilken and Gretje Hinrichs. Gerhard was age 25 and Gretje, age 20. Witnesses were Heinrich Haunschild and Anna Hinrichs. Note the spelling of Henricks in two instances.

Kate Hinrichs before her marriage, taken in Nevada, Missouri. She is younger than in her wedding photo (below), probably about 19 or 20.

 

Taken at Moundville. Mary's great grandfather, George Wilken, knew Kate (daughter of Arend and Marie Hinrichs) from when the Hinrichs' lived in the Danforth, Illinois area. He decided to pursue her to Missouri and married her. The same thing happened between her sister and George's brother (see below). George E. Wilken and Kate Hinrichs were married in the Lutheran church on February 9, 1898
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Ida Hinrichs and Dietrich Wilken married in the Moundville Lutheran church in 1902. Their sponsors were Anna Hinrichs and Arnold Wilken. Ida was a sister to Kate and Anna. Dietrich was a half first-cousin to George and Arnold. In other words, Dietrich's father, Swittert, was a half-brother of George and Arnold's father, Gerd Wilken.

Paul Wilken shared this photo of his grandparents.

This is the wedding photo of Anna Hinrichs and Arnold Wilken. Arnold was a brother to George Wilken above.

Mary sent this scan of George and Henry Hinrichs, the two sons of Arend and Marie who were confirmed in the Lutheran Church of Moundville where their names were listed as Gerd Julius Hinrichs and Hinrich Janssen Hinrichs. This scan was taken before the family moved to Missouri in 1897. It was taken by a photographer in Gilman, Illinois.

Contact Mary Fischer if you have questions about the family or Lyndon Irwin if you have pictures or information about other early Hinrichs that we can add to this web page.

Go back to the Moundville page.

This genealogy page was designed and is maintained by Lyndon Irwin