Entje Frerichs b. 1871

/ Kirstin Miller

Entje Frerichs 3rd great aunt on RootsMagic tree.
Entje was born March 26, 1871 in Aurich Lower Saxony Germany also called East Frisia, Ostfriesland, Germany. She was the 4th of 5 children of Casjen and Kunna. Entje was 12 when she and her family sailed on the ship America, to America. They landed in Baltimore on October 10, 1883 and went straight to Iowa.
In 1890 in Parkersburg, Iowa, Entje and her sister Hilka were confirmed at Ebenezer Lutheran Church in Butler Center, Iowa. On March 12,1891 Entje married John Henrichs, His family was also from Germany, and Entje’s brother Enno married John’s sister Antje. Entje and John farmed in Jefferson Township near Butler Center and Ebenezer Lutheran Church, both the church and town are no longer around. Entje and John had 5 children. A daughter was named Kunna after Entje’s mom. All were baptized in the Ebenezer Lutheran Church. Kunna’s baptism record and Entje’s confirmation record are mix of written German and English words.

  • Entje and Hilka Frerichs confirmanden!!
  • Kunna Henrichs 1892 baptism

The Ebenezer Lutheran Church congregation talked through the years about which language to use in church services. In 1921 they voted for German language services, by 1930 services were alternate Sundays one in German, one in English. A pastor resigned: he’d been a pastor for 40 years, he spoke both High and Low German, but didn’t speak much English. By 1940 the church held one German service and two English services.
Entje died at age 65 and is buried at Butler Center Cemetery with her husband. They have a large Hinrichs [Henrichs] stone and a smaller Mother and Father stone. Entje’s 1936 obituary in the Clarksville (Iowa) Star newspaper included her husband, 2 sons, 3 daughters and 14 grandkids.

Sources

  • U.S. Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Church Records, 1781-1969. Congregational Records Iowa Parkersburg Bethel page 10 image 16 of 173. Ancestry . com
  • U.S., Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Records, 1875-1940. Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, Iowa Parkersburg Bethel page 60 image 35 of 298. Ancestry . com
  • Clarksville (Iowa) Star, 1872-2017, 1936 Jul 2 page 1 of 8 column 4 top.
  • Find a Grave memorial 111232991