Re: Henry Martens + Marie Koch, late 1800s, Iowa > South Dakota
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In reply to:
Henry Martens + Marie Koch, late 1800s, Iowa > South Dakota
Mark Heiman 11/11/03
Hello,
My great-grandmother is Anna Elisa Martens who married Alfred Martin Gill(Sørensen). Anna's parents, Henry Martens and Marie Koch had 15 children total, although 6 of the 8 boys died in infancy. Henry and Marie had Ulinka (b. 1898), Nora, Hazel, Marie, Esther, Edmond (Edmund possibly), Allen, Amanda, and Anna. Anna and Alfred had five children, and I believe all but one (my grandfather, Dean) are still alive.
I've had some difficulty tracing both Marie Koch and Henry Martens. Someone in the family wrote a brief history of what they knew, and it states that Marie had five siblings: Henry, Fred, Carl, Lewy, and Lizzy. Marie was born in 1875 in Holstein, Germany and immigrated to the U.S (Iowa) as a little girl. Her parents were Henry Koch and Anna Cole. Anna's mother was apparently a German gypsy. This document states that she may have immigrated to the United States at some point.
Henry Martens (1866-1950) had six siblings - Charlie, John, William, Herman, Mary, and Annie. Their parents were John Martens and Anna Mailens. John died in 1875 when Henry was 9 years old. The document states that John and two older siblings, a brother and sister, took over the farm duties after their father died.
I would be very interested in communicating with both of you. I'm not sure if you are still active with this website, but I will try e-mailing you.