Embedded Files
The Family of Christian & Caroline Prange
Karl Diedrich Prange was born on December 29, 1794, at Stehbrinke 10 in Lahde, Germany, a small farming village northeast of Minden in Lower Saxony along the Weser River. His future wife, Anne Marie Christine Louise Vincke, was also born in Lahde on August 21, 1789. They were married at the Evangelical Church there on January 13, 1818.
To this young couple was born Heinrich Friedrich Christian Prange on January 19, 1823, at number 43 in Raderhorst, a few miles east of Lahde. Their son was baptized at the Lahde church on February 2. Baptismal records indicate that he was the third of seven children, the others being:
Carl Diedrich, born April 29, 1818, and baptized May 3
Johann Friedrich, born October 16, 1820, and baptized October 22
Christine Frederike, born April 11, 1825, and baptized April 17
Hanne Marie, born November 21, 1827, and baptized November 25
Carl Fredrich, born August 22, 1831, and baptized August 28
Heinrich Carl, born July 24, 1836 and baptized July 31
Caroline Bruns was born on August 21, 1825. Her father was Christian Bruns, born December, 6, 1802; no records for her mother appear to exist. The Bruns family likely came from the Schaumburg-Lippe area where their surname is common, but records indicate that her sister Hanne Christine Wilhelmine (b. September 9, 1834) was baptized at Lahde. The Bruns were said to have moved to the village of Bierde in 1836, halfway between Lahde and Raderhorst. They lived at number 35, and she worked for a time as a servant in a home at Bierde number 15.
On Monday, December 15, 1851, Christian Prange and Caroline Bruns were married in the Lahde church. The couple had two children while still in Germany. A son, Carl Heinrich Christian (Henry), was born in Raderhorst on August 30, 1852, and baptized at Lahde on September 12. A daughter, Hanne (Anna) Christine Caroline Wilhelmine, was born on September 25, 1854, and baptized on October 8.
Christian Prange
1823-1912
Christian Prange
1823-1912
Caroline (Bruns) Prange
1825-1907
Caroline (Bruns) Prange
1825-1907
Evangelical Church, Lahde, Germany
Evangelical Church, Lahde, Germany
Professor C.F.W. Walther
Professor C.F.W. Walther
Walther at the Lahde Church
It is interesting to note that on Sunday, December 7, 1851, the Lahde congregation hosted a guest preacher from America, Professor Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm Walther, the father of the Missouri Synod. Presumably, Christian and Caroline heard his sermon as members of the congregation. A rather unique set of circumstances surrounded Walther's preaching there since Lahde was an evangelical (union) congregation made up of both Lutheran and Reformed Christians who were not in doctrinal agreement. Being a strictly confessional Lutheran, Walther refused to accept the local pastor's invitation to preach. However, he was eventually persuaded after the pastor made a necessary concession, as Walther explained in a trip report later published in Der Lutheraner, the Missouri Synod's newspaper.
"I finally explained to the Superintendent that I would only be able to preach from his pulpit under one condition, which he of course would have to reject (because I myself would never open my pulpit to anyone under a similar condition put to me, apart from that I would actually assign only an orthodox Lutheran preacher to preach as my substitute). My condition was namely this, that he give me explicit permission to condemn the Union Church in my sermon. I expected that this tutor would by all means reject my request as prohibited to the highest degree. But, to my great surprise, he himself finally agreed to this condition! Thus I was then ensnared and now, on the Second Sunday in Advent, bore a Lutheran witness before the congregation in Lahde. I think that the dear reader can answer from this easily enough how many there might be in the Union Church who are convinced in their conscience of the sole truth of the Lutheran doctrine and Church, but either do not know how they should find their way out of the labyrinth of the Union or do not have the courage to leave this Babylon and then to leave the implications such a move would have for them and their congregation to God."
-- C.F.W. Walther, “The Trip Report of the Visit to Germany,” Matthew Harrison, ed., At Home in the House of My Fathers (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2011), 98
Pranges Emigrate to the United States
In 1855, Caroline Prange's father emigrated to America, arriving at the New York City harbor on August 24. He settled outside Fort Wayne, Indiana, in a small farming community named Friedheim, where his daughter Wilhelmina Eickhoff lived with her husband Ernst.
On February 9, 1857, Christian Prange petitioned the regional German authorities to emigrate to the United States as well. He explained that he was seeking out a better living and that his wife's family already lived in America. His petition was granted on the condition that he fully understood that he was renouncing his German citizenship and rights.
A transcription and translation of the entire entry:
In Quetzen, on the 9th of February 1857, appeared the settler Christian Prange, house No. 43, born on 19 January 1823 in Raderhorst, and gave the following statement:
I have sold my place and am willing with my family, namely:
1) my wife Caroline née Bruns, 33 years old
2) my children
a) Carl Heinrich Christian Prange, born August 30, 1852
b) Hanne Christiane Caroline Wilhelmine, born September 25, 1854
to emigrate to America, in the hope of better earnings there, and to follow my parents-in-law who already live there. I hereby request the permission to emigrate.
It was explained to the applicant that by emigrating with his family he would lose his rights as a citizen and subject in this country and would be completely excluded from the state, that he could never demand his return as a citizen, and that if he were to be found here, he would have to expect to be transported across the national border.
The applicant was also informed of the contents of the Berlin Central Committee's appeal to all emigrants. Finally, he was given a copy of the Association of the Emigration Commission of New York from 1856.
The applicant also explained that the settler Prange from Cammer, who is well known in Bremen, had written to a ship owner on his behalf regarding the crossing.
[signatures]
To the settler Prange, #43 Raderhorst – February 21, ‘57
With regard to your application for emigration to America, you will receive enclosed for your instruction, in accordance with the regulations, a copy of the handbook of the Emigration Commission in New York.
[signature]
To the County Commissioner
Emigration concerning the settler Christian Prange, No. 43., born in Raderhorst on January 19, 1823, who is not bound by any military contract and has sold his place. He intends to emigrate with his family as there are:
1) his wife Caroline née Bruns, 33 years old
2) his children:
a) Carl Heinrich Christian Prange, born August 30, 1852
b) Hanne Christiane Caroline Wilhelmine, born September 25, 1854
to the United States of North America and has therefore requested the permission to emigrate.
As a justification for his emigration, he states the hope of better earnings and the desire to see his parents-in-law, who have been living there for a long time already.
The applicant is informed of the prescribed formalities regarding the citizenship consequences. He has also been provided with a copy of the 1856 Emigration Commission of New York booklet for his information and, as far as I know, nothing stands in the way of emigration.
In submitting the application to the court, I also note that the applicant has asked the settler Prange of Cammer, who is known in Bremen, to contract for him with a ship owner for the crossing.
The stamp costs of 15 Kreuzer are enclosed.
[signature]
The farmer Christian Prange was issued a certificate of citizenship dismissal by the royal government on March 3 of this year, after he was again informed of the legal consequences of emigration.
Quetzen, March 11, 1857
[signature Prange]
The Pranges departed from Bremen on the C.J. Borgstedt and arrived at the New York City harbor on May 22, 1857. Christian registered as a farmer, and the young Prange family settled just east of Fort Wayne, Indiana.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse