AMERICA THE GREAT MELTING POT

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Direct descendant is highlighted in red

FATHER

Heinrich Gröninger

MOTHER

Anna Amalia

WIFE

Anna Margaretha Rummel

CHILDREN

 Friedrich Gröninger Sr.
by Susan Brooke
July 2015

Friedrich Gröninger Sr. was born 24 Jan 1758 in Kleinfischlingen, Südliche Weinstraße, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. (1)  He was "of Hermersberg" when he married Anna Margretha Rummel on 24 Jan 1786. (2) We also know that his father's name was Heinrich Gröninger because Friedrich was a sponsor for the children of three of his sisters and each of the sisters in their marriage records recorded that their father was Heinrich.  And in 1791 Friedrich Gröninger was a sponsor for Margaretha Rumlin in which he was named as an "uncle of the child." (3)

He was born about 1755 in the Rhineland.  But but by 1801 Napoleon had annexed all the land west of the Rhine, and the League of the Rhine was formed with Napoleon as their "protector."  French rule brought the Napoleonic Code which established religious toleration and the abolition of feudal rights. Even though there was mandatory military service, the Bavarian farmers were happy enough to fight with Napoleon against the Russians.  But as the war deepened, the losses grew.  Of the 33,000 men from Bavaria who fought in 1812 only 4,000 returned.  And the men who did survive were often gone for such long periods that they could not tend their crops.  The number of illegitimate births was way up.  There was a lot of poverty and illness.

All of the Gröninger children had been born by this time.  The first two had married before the battle of Leipzig in 1813, but the others were young adults living in a very turbulent time.  After the 1813 campaign against Russia failed, Bavaria was ceded back to the German states.  The men were now being conscripted into the German (Prussian) army.  There was a series of mediocre harvests from 1828-1832 bringing up the price of food.  There were even some riots with crowds shouting "long live Napoleon,"

It is impossible to know exactly what was going on in the Gröninger household at this time.  Friedrich Gröninger Sr. had moved from Hermersberg to Vorderweidenthal by 1798.  He was a farmer on the Lindenbrunnerhof, an estate or farm within the municipality of Vorderweidenthal.  In 1825 most of his children were farming on the Lindenbrunnerhof.  Only Christina who was married to Michael Helfer and his son Conrad Gröninger were "of Vorderweidenthal" in the baptismal records.  Friedrich's wife died in 1826 and after that both Andreas and Mathias Gröninger were listed as "of Vorderweidenthal."  Perhaps they had left the farm seeking employment within the city. 

The four youngest sons all fathered children out of wedlock.  Perhaps they were off doing military service and unable to get home in time.  It is interesting to note, however, that a brother or sister was present at the baptism although the child's father was absent.  His son Andreas had an illegitimate son in 1825.  The sponsors were Andreas' brother Friedrich and his future bother-in-law, Jacob Becker.  Friedrich's son Georg had an illegitimate son in 1826.  One of the sponsors was his sister, Christina Helfer.  Mathias had a daughter in 1820 but he had married her mother only one month before the birth.  One of the sponsors was his sister Katharina (Groninger) Becker.  Friedrich's son Friedrich is not even listed as father on the birth of Barbara in 1830, but his brother Andreas Gröninger is one of the sponsors.

There was obviously talk of America.  The oldest son, Conrad, died in 1832.  That was the year Friedrich's youngest son, Friedrich Gröninger Jr left for America.  He was 28 years old.  He had just married Margaretha Veiock, who had given birth to an illegitimate child two years early.  She was pregnant again at the time of the marriage and they left for America two months after the wedding.  He eventually became a prosperous farmer in Vanderburgh County, Indiana.

Anna Maria Gröninger married to Conrad Zimmerle may have left about the same time.  They appear in the Smithfield United Church of Christ records in Pittsburgh by December of 1834.  They stayed in the Pittsburgh area settling in Marion, Beaver County, PA.

Then in 1837 two more Gröninger children left for America.  Christina Helfer and Mathias Gröninger travelled on the same ship and are found in the Smithfield church records up until the early 1840's.  They both settled in the Louisville area.  Mathias did well as a farmer and lived on the Indiana side in Harrison County Indiana.  Christina Helfer outlived three of her children.  By 1860 she was living in Louisville in the home of her son-in-law Jacob Dutt raising the three youngest children.  Her daughter Barbara had just died.

The twins Andreas and Georg were still back in Vorderweidenthal.  By 1840 Georg had moved to Pittsburgh where his children are found in the Smithfield records. By 1850 Georg, a farmer,  had settled in Harrison County, Indiana near his brother Mathias.

Andreas Gröninger moved to Vanderburgh County, IN around 1853.  His brother Friedrich was a farmer in German township just outside Evansville.  Andrew Gröninger lived in Evansville and was probably a carpenter.  He died shortly after his arrival.  His children were carpenters.  One of his grandsons, J. J. Gröninger, started his own company in Evansville, of tin and galvanized iron works, and was quite successful. 

So, of Friedrich's eight children, six moved to America.  Conrad had died before the exodus began.  Friedrich, Anna Maria, Christina and Mathias all left after the death of their mother but before the death of their father.  Georg and Andreas left a few years after his death.  The only one of his children to remain in Germany was Maria Katharina who married Jacob Becker and remained in Vorderweidenthal.

Friedrich Gröninger Sr died Nov 9, 1838 at the age of 83. (4)

Sources

(1) Birth record

The baptism of Johann Friedrich Groninger on Jan 26, 1758

Johann Friedrich Grueninger was born here (Kleinfischlingen) on 24 January to Heinrich Gruninger, a pig man, from here and his wife Anna Amalia. He was bapt on 26 Jan 1758. The sponsor was Johann Friedrich Hartman, a citizen and resident from here. film  #247625 

(2) Marriage Record
FHL film # 193773

"on  the 24th of January were married Joh. Friedrich Groninger from Hermersberg and Anna Maria Rumel." 

(3)
Margaretha Rummel, daughter of his sister Maria Katharina Gröninger
    Margaretha Rummel
    b. 7 Dec 1791 Hermersberg
    sponsors were Friedrich Gröninger, uncle of the child, and his wife Margaretha   

 Maria Katharina Müller, daughter of Christina Maria Groninger
    b. 6 Sep 1792
    sponsors were Wilhelm Rummel and wife Catharina, and Margaretha, wife of Friedrich Gröninger

Margaretha Dittmann, daughter of Katharina Groninger
    b. 12 Jun 1792
    Sponsors, Friedrich and Margaretha Gröninger

(4) Death Record
LDS film 193201

The death record  in 1838 reads:

"They declared to me that Friedrich Groninger, farmer, 80 years of age, native of Kleinfischlingen, resident of Vorderweidenthal, widower of Anna Margaretha nee Rummel, resident and late thereat, during her life without particular trade, legitimate son of Heinrich Groninger, who during his life was a farmer and resident and late of Kleinfischlingen, and his wife Anna Amalia N. - her last name is unknown - likewise resident and late of Kleinfischlingen, died in Vorderweidenthal at house # 62 on the 8th November in the current year, at noon."

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