Tena Henrichs b. 1880

/ Kirstin Miller

Tena Henrichs 2nd great aunt on RootsMagic tree

Tena or Trientje was born October 1, 1880 in Germany. At 5 years old she and her family sailed from Bremen, Germany to Baltimore, from Baltimore they traveled to Butler County, Iowa. Tena grew up in Butler County, the 2nd youngest of 5 daughters and 4 sons of Hinrich and Maria Rodenbeck Henrichs.

On February 20, 1907 Tena married John Jacobs. John also migrated from Germany with his parents and 8 siblings. Tena’s brother Fred and sister Mattie were witnesses to the marriage and included on the marriage record. Tena and John lived in Jefferson Township, Butler County Iowa, in a community of German immigrants, farmers, Lutherans. Tena and John had a daughter who died very young and 3 sons: Henry, Jacob and John. Tena’s husband John died December 16, 1916, in an automobile accident. There are no records on how or where Tena and her three young sons lived, whether they stayed on their farm or moved in with relatives.

Soldiers of the 34th Infantry DivisionMeanwhile John Jacobs’s younger bother William had enlisted in the army for World War 1. He was a private in the Minnesota 34th Engineers, with men from Minnesota, Iowa and Nebraska. They trained at Camp Cody, New Mexico and were in the war until the 1920s. Marvin Cone, Iowa artist and friend of Grant Wood was in this same unit and designed the insignia. William returned from World War 1 in 1920 and Tena and William married at Ebenezer Lutheran Church on February 22, 1920.

Each of Tena’s 3 sons married, had children and farmed in the Butler County area. Oldest son Henry married Alma Constein at Vilmar Church on February 18, 1936. Tena died May 9, 1959. She was 79 years old and is buried at Butler Center Cemetery with the Jacobs and Henrichs families.

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