Our Great-Grandparents
All of the Oklahoma Brunken Cousin great-grandparents immigrated to the USA from Germany and eventually lived in Nebraska.
- Carsten Petersen Sr. (1849–1921) was born 19 Sep 1849 in Joldelund, Schleswig-Holstein, Denmark. He immigrated in 1869 via New York first to Wisconsin and then to near Columbus, Nebraska.
- Margarete Hollmann (1852–1886), wife of Carsten Petersen, was born 3 Feb 1852 in Oldenburg, Germany. She immigrated with her sister in 1871 via Baltimore to near Columbus, Nebraska.
- Johann “John” Diedrich Brunken (1844–1925) was born 5 Dec 1844 in Westerstede, Oldenburg, Niedersachsen, Germany. He immigrated in 1866 via New York to New Jersey, then moved to near Columbus, Nebraska.
- Johanna Wilhelmina Plath (1853–1949), wife of John Brunken, was born 22 Feb 1853 in Ratzebuhr, Neustettin, Pommern, Prussia. She immigrated in 1870 via New York to New Jersey, then followed her husband to near Columbus, Nebraska.
Ancestral Homes
This 1871 map of Germany points to the ancestral homes of our great-grandparents.
One observation is that our great-grandparent’s ancestral homes were in the north of Germany near Scandinavia.
Ancestral Hometown Histories
A review of the histories of the ancestral hometowns of our great-grandparents finds that over the centuries they were under various state ownership and rulers.
Joldelund, Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig and Holstein have at different times belonged in part or completely to either Denmark or Germany, or have been virtually independent of both nations. The exception is that Schleswig had never been part of Germany until the Second Schleswig War in 1864. For many centuries, the King of Denmark was both a Danish Duke of Schleswig and a German Duke of Holstein. Essentially, Schleswig was either integrated into Denmark or was a Danish fief, and Holstein was a German fief and once a sovereign state long ago. Both were for several centuries ruled by the kings of Denmark. In 1721, all of Schleswig was united as a single duchy under the king of Denmark. In the church, following the reformation, German was used in the southern part of Schleswig and Danish in the northern part. The administration of both duchies was conducted in German, despite the fact that they were governed from Copenhagen.
The promulgation of a common constitution for Denmark and Schleswig in November 1863 prompted Otto von Bismarck to intervene and Prussia and Austria declared war on Denmark. This was the Second War of Schleswig, which ended in Danish defeat and Denmark lost Schleswig (Northern and Southern Schleswig), Holstein, and Lauenburg to Prussia and Austria. After the annexation of Schleswig-Holstein by Prussia, a country parish was formed from the area of the parish Joldelund. It included the four villages Goldebek, Goldelund, Joldelund and Kolkerheide .
The northernmost part and west coast of the province saw a wave of emigration to America, while some Danes of North Schleswig emigrated to Denmark. It was a