This database is an index of the names of emigrants listed in Let's Go to America: The Path of Emigrants from Eastern Westphalia to the U.S.A., published by Hermann Brackmann Kg., Löhne, the Heimatverein of the town of Löhne, and Study Group for Local Culture, Bad Oeynhausen, date unknown.
This book recounts what life was like for the emigrants prior to leaving Eastern Westphalia, during their long overseas journey, and after their arrival in the U.S.A. There is a discussion of the reasons people left their homeland, and several biographies, several of which address persons known to have come to Clinton County. Names listed in the main body of the work are not included in this database at this time; we hope to be able to add them at a later date.
Many of the persons listed in this index settled in counties other than Clinton, but almost all settled in what is called in the book, "the German belt," an area which centers on the Mississippi River around St. Louis.
We have contacted the publishers to request permission to put the entire contents of the book online, but have not yet heard back from them. Hopefully the information contained in this little gem will assist many researchers on this side of the pond to make the leap back.
Notes regarding the following databases:
The dates given are not necessarily the dates the person actually emigrated. In some cases there is a notation that the person received permission to leave, but did not do so, but this is not to say those without such a notation actually emigrated. The notes were made by the transcribers of the records from what they found when researching.
In some cases, the surnames might not be correct for some of the children. For example, in a few listings, only the children's given names are listed, but there is a note that they are "stepchildren" of the male listed. We have listed their surname as being the same as the male listed to show there is a connection, but they might not have used the same surname.
"Genant" is a German term similar to "also known as." It is probably best described as "village name." In many areas during the time (and still in some areas today), a person was called by a name in their own village that had nothing to do with how they were known outside the village, or with any "legal" name.
"Alternate" as it is used here, refers to a variant of the spelling of the surname or another surname the person used instead of the name shown on the record (which was likely the name with which they were born). It was not uncommon in some periods for a man marrying into a family of a higher status than his to take the name of the woman he married.
There are other people mentioned in the emigration records, but without a given name or surname. When possible, they have been included with the surname of the person with whom they are listed as "unknown first name" or "wife of 'surname'," etc.
Umlauted characters (ä, ö, ü) are represented with an "e" following the umlauted vowel. The German letter "ß" is indicated in the database as "ss".
Several of the parishes listed cover only certain hamlets within the parish, as follows:
Parish of Loehne: Hamlets of Loehne and Loehne-Beck
Parish of Gohfeld: Hamlet of Bischofhagen
Parish of Gohfeld*: Hamlets of Joellenbeck and Depenbrock
Parish of Gohfeld**: Hamlet of Melbergen
Parish of Mennighueffen: Hamlets of Grimminghausen and Mennighueffen
For lookups …
Please place "Emigration" in the subject line, followed by the Surname you wish us to lookup. In the body of your request, include the page number given in the index for each Given Name you are requesting.
You can send as many lookup requests as you wish, but please limit each one to one surname (you can include as many given names with the surname as you wish).
Send requests to the Clinton County Mailing List. We will reply just as quickly as possible.