The Nehrenz Network
Newsletter
Volume 7. Number 1
January 2003

From Dave Nehrenz:  Greetings to all of you! The “Nehrenz Network” is alive and well, even though a newsletter was not sent out in 2002.  The new year is a great time to start reconnecting and sharing updated Nehrenz family history and news.

As a reminder, recall that nearly all these newsletters since 1995 are on the Nehrenz Network web pages. Check the addresses on the third roster page -TNN Home Page 1 and  TNN Home Page 2.

Also, a brand new website called “My Genealogy Home Page” is now available! The address is also on the third roster page. This is the “Home Page 3” and it is the whole Nehrenz Family Tree Maker database! Try all four links on the page. Follow the additional links there to access the large database.

Also, one exciting development was an extensive renovation of the Trollenhagen church.  It now has a new roof, repaired walls, reconditioning of the inside of the sanctuary as well as the altar, pulpit and baptismal font. Pictures of the newly completed work were sent to the Wolcotts and me. 

So here we go! Some of  you have written to me wondering when the next newsletter was going to be published. Hope you enjoy this one and gain valuable insight  into who we are as “Nehrenzs!”

I.  GRISCHOW

A town in  old  Pomerania / Pommern

This is a picture of the church in Grischow. Our ancestor Daniel Friedrich Nierentz lived there and this is the church he attended. Later, some of his children moved a few kilometers south to the smaller town of Trollenhagen.

Both are now in Mecklenburg in northern Germany.

On this map, Trollenhagen would be located just a few kilometers northeast of Neubrandenburg, with Grischow located further north.  The border with Poland is not very far to the east.  Another research project will be attempting to discover our connection to the other Nerenz / Nierentz lines which can trace their people to just across the border in modern Poland.  We are part of a much larger Nierentz clan than at first we realized!

 This is an aerial view of Grischow.

It is a farming community and has a long history. The records we have indicate the following about our Nierentz ancestors:

1794 [Grischow], [Sterberegister]

[Nierentz] on September 1, is the [Einlieger] Daniel [Nierentz]’s daughter [Catharina Sophia] of a heated fever at an age of 16 years deceased.

1796

[Nierentz] on 12. April of the [Einlieger] Daniel Friedrich [Nierentz] at an age of 47  many-years old [Engbrüstigkeit] of the breast-fever deceased.

1805

[Nierentz] on 17.August in the evening about 11 o'clock is here deceased [Einliegers] Daniel [Nierentz]’s daughter Maria [Eleonore] of the dropsy -age old 15 years 9 of 1/ 2 month.

It isn’t much to go on, but there is more information here than one realizes.  Since Daniel Nierentz died in 1796 at the age of 47, he was then born in 1749. We do not know if he was born in Grischow or somewhere else. This is as far back as we can go in our lineage.

Daniel is listed here as having two daughters named Catharina Sophia and Maria Eleonore. He also had sons, and the one in our lineage was Christian Matthias who was the father of Johann Christian Theodor.  Johann is the Nehrenz who was born in Trollenhagen and  immigrated to the USA in November 1869. ALL the Nehrenz people come from him, every single one!

(Remember: Our named evolved from Nierentz to Nerenz to Nehrenz)

Researchers in Germany have verified this information, since they sent copies of the actual church records to us.  The Wolcotts have visited both Trollenhagen and Grischow.

 During a town anniversary (675 years), there were parades and speeches. Native dress was worn and farmers showed off their tractors! 

Here are some modern views of Grischow.

There is a web page for this town: http://www.grischow.de.vu/   Check it out for your own curiosity about one of our ancestral towns.

Here is my rough translation of some city history from the German webpage:

The 675 years history of the scene to illuminate: Of its time of 600 years  was interconnected with city of Altentreptow. With the year 1325 tread [Grischow] into the highlight of history and simultaneously into a tight relationship with the  city [Treptow]. Duke Otto i. Von [Pommern] gave as a sign of his thanks for giving war-help from the village [Grischow] to the city [Treptow]. This ?[schenkung] put the city into the possesion of considerable revenue. Now which name it is carrying. It is clear, that filling was the valley with water [angefüllt], into the tube-like structure and it helped little by little the peat allow to form. Then one could reach with flat-building ships from the Baltic Sea  this [werder] and the adjoining land property. Certainly the natives of our locality have come earlier on these routes. Since then these forests on the parties’ acreage by train bearings(tracks?) impossible made. Later a swamp strip arose instead of the water-bound, which the [werder] surrounded. Thereby it became with ships impossible here to come. The [werder] became a refuge-place. That against enemies it is  possible a most secure protection furnished.”

This is the wedding picture of William and his first wife Christine Bates

This is Noyes Street now called West 12th Street in Cleveland, Ohio