John and Anna Maria Spiekermann Green FamilyJohn and Anna Maria Spiekermann Green FamilyCatherine "Nan" Holland Crowther, Richard Drueke, Mary Kay Drueke Groening, Mariana Kopacz, Toni Wurzburg Viertel, and Father Dennis Morrow contributed to this family history.
Index Census Directories Descendants Home Page
John Born in 1799
Schönholthausen is in Westphalia, Germany, 68 miles east of Cologne. It is in a chain of hills called the Sauerland. It is in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia, or Nordrhein-Westfalen. North Rhine and Westphalia were combined into one state after World War II. When Anna Maria was born, it was part of Prussia, which acquired Westphalia at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. The Sauerland is mostly Roman Catholic. Schönholthausen is in the district of Olpe, in postal code 57413. |
Anna Maria Born in 1801
Schönholthausen is in Westphalia, Germany, 68 miles east of Cologne. It is in a chain of hills called the Sauerland. It is in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia, or Nordrhein-Westfalen. North Rhine and Westphalia were combined into one state after World War II. When Anna Maria was born, it was part of Prussia, which acquired Westphalia at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. The Sauerland is mostly Roman Catholic. Schönholthausen is in the district of Olpe, in postal code 57413. | ||
John and Anna Maria Married in 1831, Have 4 ChildrenJohn Green and Anna Maria Spiekermann were married on November 23, 1831, in Schönholthausen.Schönholthausen and Heggen, 1831-1846. John and Anna Maria lived in Schönholthausen and Heggen for the first 15 years of their marriage. How long they lived in each town is not known. Their first child was born in Schönholthausen in 1831. The passenger list said they were from Heggen when they emigrated to America in 1846. During this period they had four children. In 1831, John and Anna Maria had their first child, Regina. Regina was christened December 31, 1831, in the Catholic church in Schönholthausen. In 1834, John and Anna Maria had their second child, Dina. This is based on the passenger list for their voyage to America in 1846. In 1839, John and Anna Maria had their third child, Elizabeth. This is based on the passenger list for their voyage to America in 1846. In 1846, John and Anna Maria had their fourth child, John. This is based on the passenger list for their voyage to America in November 1846, where John was listed as nine months old.
The family settled in Detroit, Michigan. In 1851, John and Anna Maria's daughter Regina married Franz Berles in Detroit. Franz was a harness maker. He was from Dorlar, a town 16 miles east of Schoenholthausen. He had come to Detroit two years before the Greens. In 1852, Regina and Franz had the first of their eight children, Frank. Grand Rapids, 1853-1860s. In 1853, John and Anna Maria and their family, including Regina and Franz and their son Frank, moved to Grand Rapids, 160 miles west northwest of Detroit. The biography of Regina's husband, Franz Berles, in the 1881 History of Kent County. Michigan, states that they moved to Grand Rapids in 1853. It is assumed that John and Anna Maria and their family moved at the same time. In 1854, Franz opened a grocery store in Grand Rapids. The grocery store was in a building on the west side of the Grand River called the Berles Block, where the family also lived. The Berles Block was on the northeast corner of Bridge Street and Turner Street, at 57 W. Bridge Street (347 Bridge Street NW after 1912). The Berles Block was on the site of what is now an expressway, US 131. On June 12, 1855, Regina and Franz had the second of their eight children, John A.
In 1857, St. Mary's Church was established to meet the spiritual needs of the German population in the Grand Rapids area. The first pastor was Father Mathias M. Marco. The 1907 History of St. Mary's Parish in Grand Rapids, Mich., lists Franz Berles as one of the founding parishioners in 1857. In 1858, John and Anna Maria's daughter Dina married John Goebel in Grand Rapids. In 1859, Dina and John had the first of their seven children, Louisa. In the 1870 census, John was a shoe maker. In the 1880 census, John had a boot and shoe shop, and the family lived at 15 Turner Street (415 Turner Street NW after 1912) in Grand Rapids, which was probably the site of the shop. It was a half block away from the Berles building. In 1858, Regina and Franz had the third of their eight children, Elizabeth. In 1861, Dina and John had the second of their seven children, Anna. In 1861, Regina and Franz had the fourth of their eight children, Anna. In 1864, Regina and Franz had the fifth of their eight children, Theresa. In 1867, Dina and John had the third of their seven children, John Harold. In 1868, Dina and John had the fourth of their seven children, Frank. In 1867, John and Anna Maria's son John married Josephine Berles in Grand Rapids. In 1868, they had a child Anna. Josephine was the younger sister of Franz Berles. So, a Green son and daughter had married a Berles daughter and son. | |||
John Widowed in the 1860sGrand Rapids, 1860s-1870s. John was widowed upon the death of his wife Anna Maria in the 1860s. In 1867, John Green was listed in the Grand Rapids directory for the first time. He was shown as a partner with Franz Berles in the grocery store and living in the Berles Block at 59 W. Bridge Street. Around 1867, John and Anna Maria's son John married Franz Berles' sister Josephine Berles . So, a Green sister and brother were married to a Berles brother and sister. The year of marriage is based on the year their child Anna was born. In 1869, Regina and Franz Berles had the seventh of their eight children, Caroline. In 1870, John and Josephine Berles Green had a child, Anna. In 1872, Dina and John had the fifth of their seven children, Theresa. In 1873, Regina and Franz had the last of their eight children, Abigail. In 1873, Dina and John had the sixth of their seven children, Joseph.
In 1875, Dina and John had the seventh of their seven children, Frederick. Sometime before 1877, Franz and Regina's son Frank married Mary Schenkelberg. Mary died in 1877 at age 22. In the 1878 Grand Rapids directory, John was living with his daughter Regina and her husband Franz in the Berles Block at 59 W. Bridge Street. On September 17, 1878, Franz and Regina's son John A. married Catherine Rademacher in St. Mary's Church. On July 4, 1879, Josephine Berles Green died at age 36 of heart disease. Josephine was the wife of John and Anna Maria's son John and the sister of their son-in-law Franz Berles. She was survivied by her husband John and their child Anna, 11. In the 1880 census, John and Anna were living with Franz Berles' cousins at 321 Straight Street. |
Anna Maria Dies in the 1860sAnna Maria Spiekermann Green died sometime in the 1860s. She was buried at St. Andrew's Cemetery. | ||
John Dies in the 1878-80John Green died sometime between 1878 and 1880. He is buried at St. Andrew's Cemetery. John and Anna Maria are buried there with their daughter-in-law Josephine Berles Green. Also buried there is a Regina Green, b. Feb. 23, 1890; d. Apr. 1, 1899. | |||
John and Anna Maria: 4 children, 9 grandchildren, 21 great grandchildren
| |||
Schönholthausen, 1799-1831. John Gruene (Gruhne, Green) was born in 1799 in Schönholthausen. The year of birth is based on John's age in the 1860 and 1870 U. S. censuses. The place of birth is based on the place of his daughter Regina's birth.
Detroit, 1846-1853. In 1846, John and Anna Maria and their four children immigrated to Detroit, Michigan in the United States. In 1846, there were 27 states in the Union. 
