Jacobs

[Note: most of the information I have on the JACOBS line in Germany comes from the internet; from message boards and public family trees. No census data or other documentation is cited. I usually regard such information as rumors, that need to be checked out. In this case, it is hard to resist data that takes me back 4 more generations, to my 7g-grandfather! So with an asterisk, I will post what I "know" about my JACOBS ancestors.]

Jacob CLASSEN was born around 1670 in Bollingstedt, a small town about 10 miles NW of the city of Schleswig, in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, and died some time before 1727. He was my 7g-grandfather. No spouse known.

Schwabstedt and Bollingstedt coats of arms

Schleswig-Holstein is a region that has changed hands between Germany and Denmark a few times. See Rootdigger for a brief historical account and timeline. I don't know whether Jacob spoke Danish or German, or both. For brevity, I'll abbreviate Schleswig-Holstein as S-H.

Jacob CLASSEN begat Hans JACOBS, some time before 1716. At that time it was common for the son to take his father's first name as his last name. Hand may have had a half-sister, Gertrude, b. Abt. 1708. Hans JACOBS seems to have had two wives. He married Anna JANSSEN in 1728, and Anna HANSEN in 1742. He had 6 children with the first wife and 4 more with the second. One of the sons by the second wife was my 5g-grandfather, Peter JACOBS.

1 Hans JACOBS b: Bef. 1716 in Altbau-Schwabstedt, d: 24 Feb 1784

... + Anna JANSSEN m: 17 Jul 1728

......2 Antje JACOBS

......2 Hans JACOBS

......2 Jacob JACOBS

......2 Lisbeth JACOBS

......2 Margaretha JACOBS

......2 Marika JACOBS

... + Anna HANSEN b: Bef. 1720 in Lürschau, Schleswig-Flensburg, m: 19 Jan 1742, d: 23 Jan 1798

......2 Peter JACOBS b: 14 Oct 1742 in Schwabstedt, d: 17 Feb 1778

...... + Christina Maria ZINK b: Bef. 1746, m: 04 Dec 1772

.........3 Johan J. JACOBS b: 25 Mar 1775 in Altbau-Schwabstedt, d: 24 Jan 1806 in Friedrichstadt, S-H

......... + Maria KROGER b: Abt. 1779, m: 19 Dec 1800

............4 Christina Maria JACOBS b: 14 Aug 1802 in Schwabstedt, d: 26 Mar 1864 in Davenport, Scott, IA

............ + Hans SOENKE b: 08 Aug 1803 in Holstein, m: 13 Jun 1828 in Germany, d: 05 Aug 1881 in Davenport, Scott, IA

............4 Johan JACOBS b: 30 May 1806 in Schwabstedt, d: 1878 in Sioux City, IA

............ + Catharina PETERS d: 22 Apr 1847

...... + Margaretha ASMUS m: 23 Oct 1770

......2 Hinrich JACOBS d: 07 Apr 1778

...... + Anna HINRICHS d: 28 Jun 1763

...... + Margaretha HINRICHS

...... + Catharina Maria JACOBS

......2 Anna Christina JACOBS

......2 Johann JACOBS

[For brevity, Schleswig-Holstein is abbreviated S-H. My direct ancestors are in boldface.]

Schwabstedt is another small town, about 20 miles SW of Bollingstedt. I can't find any Altbau or Lubau. In German, altbau means old house. Maybe Altbau-Schwabstedt is just an old house in Schwabstedt?

It seems likely that Hinrich JACOBS's first 2 wives were listed with last name HINRICHS because they were wives of Hinrich. They may have been the same person. His third wife is listed with her married name. I don't know the maiden name(s).

I don't have any data on any of Hans JACOBS's grandchildren, except one. The son of Peter JACOBS and his second wife, Christina Maria ZINK, was Johan J. JACOBS, my 4g-grandfather. Christina's parents were Wilhelm ZINK (or ZINCK) and Elsabe PETERSEN.

Johan J. JACOBS married Maria KROGER, daughter of Martin KROGER and Anna Magdalena HANSEN. Johan J. JACOBS died in 1806, at the age of 30. It is likely that he was killed in the Napoleonic Wars. His daughter Christina was 3, and his son Johan was born 4 months after his death.

Both brother and sister, Christina Maria JACOBS and Johan JACOBS married and had large families in S-H, and then immigrated to Iowa, with their families. I don't know if they immigrated at the same time, or if they ever lived in the same part of Iowa. They wound up on opposite ends of the state; Christina near Davenport, on the Mississippi River, and Johan near Sioux City, on the western border of Iowa.

Christina Maria JACOBS married Hans SOENKE on 13 Jun 1828, somewhere in Germany. Hans SOENKE was born on 8 Aug 1803 in Holstein. Hans and Christina immigrated to America in 1853, along with their 8 children, ages 7 to 21. They settled in Davenport, Iowa. Most of their children raised families in the Davenport/Muscatine area. They were my 3g-grandparents, and you can find them and their descendants on the SOENKE page.

The name SOENKE is sometimes spelled SONKE or SANKE. It may be another form of the name ZINK.

The rest of this page is devoted to the descendants of Johan J. and Catharina (PETERS) JACOBS. Catharina's parents were Peter PETERS and Maike MUMMENS.

Johan and Catharina had 6 children, and at least the first 4 were born in Germany. I don't know when they immigrated.

Sioux City, Iowa, at the navigational head of the Missouri River, was passed through by Lewis and Clark in 1804, but it was not until 1848 that the first European settler made his home there. By 1857 the population numbered 400. The city was on the edge of European settlement at that time, as there were no settlements to the north or west of Sioux City. Please see this interesting historical document from 1923.

Johan JACOBS and his family appeared in Sioux City in the 1870 US Census, by which time the population had risen to 4,000. If they came to America in 1853, at the same time as Johan's sister Christina, they probably didn't go to Sioux City at that time, and if they did, they would have been among the first European settlers. By comparison, the City of Davenport was incorporated in 1839, and had over 20,000 people by 1870.

1 Johan JACOBS b: 30 May 1806 in Schwabstedt, S-H, d: 1878 in Sioux City, IA

+ Catharina PETERS d: 22 Apr 1847

..... 2 Anna Catharina JACOBS b: 19 Mar 1834

..... + Jurgen NAVE

..... 2 Maria JACOBS b: 11 Oct 1835

..... 2 Johann JACOBS b: 27 Dec 1837 in Germany, d: 31 Oct 1913

..... + Christina ROCHEL b: 15 Apr 1841 in Germany, m: 08 Nov 1861, d: 07 Jun 1913

..... 2 Telsche JACOBS b: Nov 1839 in Holstein, Germany, d: 23 Nov 1904

..... + Andrew JACOBS b: Jun 1828 in Holstein, Germany, d: 16 Dec 1905

..... 2 Christina Maria JACOBS b: 25 Feb 1843, d: 13 Jun 1913

..... + Andreas HOLLMER b: 11 Jul 1842 in Germany, m: 28 Sep 1867, d: 15 Jun 1896

..... 2 Peter JACOBS b: 13 Apr 1845

I don't know anything about Anna Catharina and Maria, except their dates of birth and Anna's husband's name. Being the eldest, they may not even have made the trip to America.

Johann married Christina ROCHEL, on 8 Nov 1861. Christina was the daughter of Andreas ROCHEL and Marie THEISSEN. I don't know if the marriage was in S-H or Iowa, but they eventually made it to Sioux City, Iowa, because they were buried there, along with Johan Sr. Their gravestones are shown here, along with some very nice photos, which I also include below.

Telsche JACOBS married Andrew JACOBS. I don't know if they were cousins, or just happened to have the same last name. Curiously, they settled in Kane Township, Benton County, Iowa - the same place that Telsche's cousin, Anna Christina SOENKE, moved to after she married Friedrich HANSEN. This JACOBS family had 4 children, and is found in the US Census for Kane Township in 1870, 1880 and 1900, and in the Iowa State census of 1885.

Christina Maria JACOBS married Andreas HOLLMER, and they raised a family of 6 children, in the Sioux City area. Andreas was the son of Marten HOLLMER and Anna LESCH.

Peter JACOBS has been difficult to trace, because he has such a common name. There were several Peter JACOBSes who were born in Germany in about 1845 and immigrated to Iowa. I'm not sure which records to attribute to this Peter JACOBS.