PROLOGUE
Ciracus Ciriacs Ciriacks Ciriacus Ciriaks
Cirjacks Cirjacs
Cyriac Cyriacs Cyriacks Cyriacus Cyriaks
Ziriacks Ziriacus Main Bloodline Family Tree
(Each of those spellings has been found in the Bremem area.)
N I E D E R S A C H S E N
(Greater Bremen Area) Bremen, Germany's oldest and now 2nd largest port city, was the egress point for many Germans coming to the Americas. A visit to the Ellis Island web site to search for any of the numerous and various surnames used by (or ascribed to) people coming to the USA from numerous and various foreign countries will show that Bremen was an often cited embarkation point for many immigrants. Bremen strides the Weser River which flows into the North Sea past Bremerhaven to the north. Bremen is also the area from whence most of our Cyriac (but not Cyriax) ancestors came and in which many of our present day Cyriac relatives still reside. (See the Erfurt page for our Cyriax cousins.)
Much of the earliest genealogical work regarding our Bremen area ancestors was accomplished during 1971 and 1972 by professional Genealogist Carla Mittelstaedt-Kubaseck of Hamburg, a member of the Genealogische Gesellschaft Hamburg who was also listed among the genealogists of the American Generalconsulate in Hamburg. She responded to an inquiry letter sent on January 30, 1971 by John Alfred CIRIACKS, interviewer/genealogist/PhD/et al, to Herr Karl Egbert Schultze who unbeknownst to us had died the previous May 9, 1970. Most of John's letter is quoted herewith:
Our family is writing a "Cyriacks Family History", which is presently up to seventy pages. Enclosed are several pages from the "History". Would you be so kind to direct us to more information about the Cyriacks families in Germany, particularly in the area of Bremen? (Over 400 pages in 2008!)
There are 195 persons descended from Hinrich Cyriacks, 1847-1914, who came to the United States about 1870 from the area of Baden and Achim near Bremen. (Over 500 descendents in 2008!)
Questions that need answering include:
- When and from where did people named Cyriacks come to the province of Hanover? (We still have no answer.)
- What is the origin of the Cyriacks name? (Click Genesis for the answer.)
- How many families with the Cyriacks name were there in Northern Germany around 1870? (We still have no answer.)
- Are there any families named Cyriacks living in Germany in 1971? (Yes, very many.)
Click 1824 Claus Hinrich & Metta in any of the menu boxes on this page to read about the other genealogical research done in Germany in 1972 by John's youngest brother Ben.
PATERFAMILIAS
Hinrich Ciriacs
1632 - January (18), 1695
& Gesche last name unknown
1632 - 1702
Baden-Etelsen Bauleute
Died 1695 Etelsen, buried Daverden Jan 18
Hinrich Ciriacs, Baumann in Etelsen, with a sermon in the church
Died 1705 Etelsen, buried Daverden Oct 31
Gesche, wife of the late Hinrich Cirjacs,
old 70 years, with a sermon in the church The earliest surname discoveries made by our genealogist were detailed in her final 6 page letter of Dec 17, 1972. In it, she indicates that the surname was not found in 1531-1603 nor 1602-1603 records. The first surname appearances are in the 1610-1625 Musterrolle (a copy of the original of which was attached as the 6th page), which reflects that on Feb. 4, 1625 both Bauleute Brüning Ciriacus (1 Langrohr) and Schlechte Köter Hinrich Ziriacus (1 ?) are in Baden. Either of them could have been the father of our earliest known ancester Hinrich born around 1632 or 1625. The appearance of the 'C' and 'Z' spellings on the same page in the same handwriting is a mystery not yet resolved - as is the meaning of Schlechte Köter.
Although we have yet to discover her last name, we know that Gesche married Hinrich around 1660 to begin our Main Family Tree. The most common surnames in the area before ours appeared may have been FRÜCHTENICHT, ROWOLDT and OELKERS - meaning one of those may have been the family from whence our ancestor Gesche came. Daverden had four (4) Bauleutes (Hinrich & Burhardt FRÜCHTENICHT [FRUCHTENICHT] and Harmen & Christoff ROWOLDT) to Baden's one (Brüning Ciriacus). Burhardt and Harmen don't yet appear as given names in our extended family tree, and Christoffer doesn't appear until the mid-18th century; and, although Hinrich predominates much more than Brüning, I'd guess that Bauleute Brüning Ciriacus saw to it that his son Hinrich married fellow Bauleute Hinrich FRÜCHTENICHT's daughter Gesche to thus begin our 'known' family tree - and make the combined family connection and bauleute enterprises that much stronger - a common power maintaining technique common throughout human history.
Hinrich was indicated to also have been a Bauleute in the Etelsen community just down the Weser River from Bremen. Bauleute is presently interpreted as building people or building contractors, but we had been thinking that it was equilvalent to Baumann or important farmer. More research is needed to determine what the term meant back in the 1600s. (It would make sense to have had a whole lot of builders in areas newly opened to settlement to build the farms that subsequent immigrants would purchase and operate as their own. Equally likely is that those Bauleutes would move from place to place as settlements/farms were completed and their services were needed elsewhere.
Given the tendency toward more rather than fewer children and that we
only know of two of Hinrich and Gesche's children, Warner born in 1672
and Johann born in 1675, it's likely there were more children as yet
unfound who were born between the 1660 marriage and Warner's birth in
1672. There may be more than 100,000
individuals living throughout the world who can trace their lineage back
to this Hinrich.
9/18/08 update: Upon perusing the
Dec 17, 1972 correspondence from our professional Genealogist, it became
apparent that a 3rd possible child of Hinrich & Gesche may have been one
Brüning Ciriacks. The bottom of the 3rd page of
5 attached to the correspondence from Carla Mittelstaedt-Kubasek
has:
74-Achim, Fach 4-15:
1692, 16.5.: Rolle des Gericht Achim bey beschreiben der Königl.Huldigung
auf Befehl des H.Am-ptmans Kükens aufgesetzet:
Etelsen Bauleute: Hinrich Ciriacus
Caspar Früchtenicht
Söhne: Brüning Ciriacus
Brüning Früchtenicht
Daverden Köthers: Harm Rowolt
Hinrich Bischof
Johan Böling (Behling)
Warner Bischof
Söhne: Christoffer Rowoldt
Peter Behling
Johan Ciracus
What hinders the leap to the assumption that the Söhnes are associated
with the presumed fathers above and to the left of them is the lack of a
Ciracus Köther above and to the left of Söhne Johan Ciracus in the
Daverden portion of the listing.
An unknown Claus Hinrich, father of the godfather of Peter Cyriaks, a great-grandchild born on August 27th, 1746, is another person probably born around the same time as the children of Hinrich & Gesche. [ Claus Hinrich may be the predominant name in each generation of this main branch of our family. ]
One of the more interesting aspects of the bloodline emanating from Hinrich and Gesche is the age of the parents at the birth of their first child. While I'm in the 10th generation on my father's side, the bloodline on my French mother's side, going back to Claude Terriot (1637 ~ 1725) and Marie Gauterot (1647 ~ 1732) of the same time period in Port Royal, Acadia (now Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia) places me in their 12th generation.
Warner Ciriacs
1672 - February 1729
& Ann Alheit FRUCHTNICHTS
1676 - November 6, 1740
Married November 16th, 1702, son of late Hinrich CIRJACS,
Etelsen & daughter of Caspar FRUCHTNICHTS, Etelsen.
buried Daverden Feb 16, 1729, husband from Etelsen,
old 66 years with a sermon in the church
widow of the late Warner CIRIAKS in Etelsen,
in the morning at 9 o'clock, old 64 years, with a sermon in the church
(The detail sent to us in November 1971 indicate the birth and baptism
code symbols instead of the death and buried symbols for her.)
Not much is yet known about Warner, so we will attempt to reflect here what is known about his environment in the late 17th and early 18th centuries. His wife Ann Alheit FRUCHTNICHTS was from one of the other more predominant Bauleute families in the area. We are assuming that the Bauleutes built the large farm buildings that can still be seen in Germany and some areas of the United States - they having animal barn, work sheds, exercise areas and family housing all within one very large structure in order to survive the winter with their animals still alive and thriving.
We also assume that the Baumanns bought and operated those farms. The CIRIACUS and FRUCHTNICHTS families were both Bauleutes and Baumanns - most likely building the large structures for sale to others and to give to their children to get them started on a sound financial foundation. The Roman Empire derived system of Primogeniture where the eldest son inherited everything probably had a lot to do with this familial economic system and brought families with daughters but no sons closer to families with younger sons competent enough to marry and subsequently inherit their family enterprise.
(Still a work in progress as of September 19th, 2008.)
Johann Hinrich Ciriaks
1675 - January 12, 1742
& Ahlke LUSEN
? Schaphusen - December 20, 1745
Etelsen Bauleute
Marriage #2 of 2 to Ahlke on 16 Nov 1702 in Achim
(Helmut Cyriacks of Bremen provided the information
for this branch in February of 1974.) In 1733, Claus Hinrich (1703~1784) helped his Uncle Johann Hinrich (1675~1742) and others build a Schmiede (forge) in Etelsen. Paster Willenbrock's book (of that era) reflects the Zieriacks spelling of the name. In 1770, the same book credits Brüne Cyriacks (?1737~1808?) as the donor of the land upon which the new Etelsen school was built.
Christopher Cyriaks
7/2/1783 Etelsen - 1862
& Helena HELMKEN
9/4/1779 Oberende - 6/13/1848
Frankenburg Innkeepers
born 2 July 1783 Etelsen, Baptised Deverden July 6 as Christoph
godfathers: Albert Wortmann and his wife Mette from Mahndorf
Arend Ettmanns (?), Kother from Hagen
Married 8 Dec 1815 Sankt Jurgen Church Christoph and Helena settled in the Scharmbeck area after their marriage in 1815. Hinrich (6/29/1816~?), their eldest son eventually settled in Turfmoor. His sister Beke MEIER (1818~?) settled in Kleinmoor. The third child, Helene FRESE (12/24/1819~?) settled in Lilienthal, as did Christopher (1/27/1824~?) the 5th child. The 4th child, Gesche (12/26/1821~?), may have been Gesche (Cyriacks) Bock of Scharmbeck who was the godparent Christian Friedrich Cyriacks born on July 20th, 1862 - in the branch not yet connected to the main bloodline.
This was the most extensive discovery of my 1972
trip to the Osterholz-Scharmbeck
area. Most of the records were discovered out in the moors in
the files of a small church whose pastor had retired along with the
church itself. His son, who was fluent in english, helped me peruse
the records of the Sankt Jürgen church. The small cemetery
thereat didn't have any Cyriaks buried there, though.
Johann Cyriacs
June 6, 1812 Etelsen - October 6, 1899 Baden
& Catherina JÄGER
1819 Baden - November 14, 1881 Baden
Baden Kothner
Born Johann, son of Harm Hinrich Cyriacs in Etelsen
and Anne Margrethe born Oelkers
godfathers: Johann Oelkers Johann Luers
Died 6 Oct 1899 Baden, buried Oct 10 old cemetery,
widower in Baden, 87 years, 4 months with sermon in the church
Died 14 Nov 1881, buried Nov 18 old cemetery
Catharine Cyriacs, born Jager, wife in Baden
62 years with sermon, husband Johann Cyriaks, Kothner
Married 9 Oct 1840, Johann Cyriacs, son of the late Hinrich
Cyriacs, Baumann in Etelsen, with Catharine Jäger, daughter of the
late Johann Jäger, Kothner in Baden, (married in the parsonage) Johann was the eldest of the 6th generation of farmers/builders in the Bremen area. At the time of his marriage to Catherina on October 9th, 1840, he was indicated to have been a Kothner in Baden. Kothner is "little" as opposed to Baumann or "BIG" farmer. Johann's ancestors going back 3 generations were Baumanns with the 2 generations prior to that being Bauleutes.
In other words, Johann, toward the middle of the 19th century, no longer had possession of sufficient property to be considered a Baumann. This was probably a result of the conflicts and/or economic depressions ongoing throughout Germany and the rest of the world and is what motivated most of his children and nephews to emmigrate to the then current land of opportunity - the United States of America. Some, like our cousins, the descendants of Claus Hinrich Cyriacks (1824 - 1885) of the Scharmbeck area and those of John Gottfriet Ciriack (1709 - 1867) of the Reichenbach-Vogtland area, managed to migrate before our own Civil War began - Claus to New York and John to New England. The New England CIRIACK branch has yet to be connected to our main bloodline. Claus Hinrich's was connected to the main blood line on August 11, 2008.
Johann is our (John & Ben's 10th generation) great great Grandfather. His oldest son, also named Johann, stayed in Baden to continue the family farm, marry thrice (with children from each marriage) and live 89 years 11 months to see his youngest daughter from his 3rd marriage marry the eldest grandson of his sister Beta's eldest daughter - they were 2nd cousins, once removed, she being in the elder generation. He also lived long enough to see his grandson and great great grandson Herman born in 1927 - the one who eventually took over the family farm from his father Herman. (A more recent color picture with side view.)
(Still a work in progress as of September 19th, 2008.)
Claus Hinrich Cyriaks
December 12, 1824 - May 23, 1885
& Metta Elisabeth MEHRTENS
May 31, 1829 - February 11, 1879
Married 13 Dec 1850 Scharmbeck church
Claus migrated from Etelsen to Scharmbeck to marry Metta
1972 researched and created family tree
local (old) Claus Hinrich page Ben's 1972 trip page
http://www.ortsfamilienbuecher.de genealogy sources in Germany August 11, 2008:
The link to this branch, discovered during a 1972 trip to Germany, can 'now' be found online at: www.ortsfamilienbuecher.de.
In September 1972, Ben Ciriacks spent several days at the Bahnhofs-Hotel next to the train station in Scharmbeck, Germany. Scharmbeck shows up on the map as Osterholz-Scharmbeck and is just northwest of Bremen. Ben rented a Volkswagen and commuted a few miles along the empty moors west to the Sankt Jurgen church in the Teufelsmoor area. He spent a few days perusing the various church record books with the retired pastor's son - the church, cemetery, home and records retired with the pastor. [ It's one among many fortunate happenstances in Ben's life that the pastor's son just happened to be at the pastor's home at the time and just happened to be an english speaker - Ben spoke no german. ]
Ben transcribed into spiral notebooks all data regarding anyone with the CYRIACKS surname. Much of it is reflected in the 1824 Claus Hinrich CYRIACKS & Metta Elisabeth MEHRTENS branch tree that had been unconnected to the (former) main blood line family tree reflected on this page until August 2008. That LONG PREDICTED & LIKELY connection was made thanks to the www.ortsfamilienbuecher.de ofb=lesum id=23861 page for Ortsfamilienbuch Lesum und Bramstedt that shows Claus Hinrich CYRIACKS' parents as Hinrich CYRIACKS 14.11.1779-14.12.1829 & Anne Margrete OELCKERS 21.08.1791-27.06.1831. (The same information, without the parents, is duplicated at ofb=teufelsmoor ID=15828 nachname=CYRIACKS.)
As we have just discovered, Claus Hinrich is the younger(est) brother
of John & Ben's great great grandfather Johann
6.6.1812, making him our (John & Ben's 10th generation) great great
grand Uncle and his New York descendents our 4th cousins.
