Tennie History from my mom's cousin David Tennie

The following was emailed from my mom's cousin David Tennie on August 26, 2009. More on the Tennie side! Joseph Tennie is my great-great grandfather.

This is Joseph Tennie's obituary taken from the Appleton Post Crescent on August 11, 1926.

JOSEPH TENNIE Joseph Tennie, Sr. 82, 212 N. Story Street died at 6 o’clock Tuesday evening. He was born February 6, 1844 at Ludge, Westphalia, Germany. In 1871 he came to America, spending the first two or three years in Appleton, after which he moved to a farm in the town of Greenville. Seven years ago he retired and again moved to this city. Mr. Tennie is survived by his wife, Mrs. Emma Tennie; eight children, Sister M. Ermelinda, Milwaukee; Mrs. Frank Nussbaum and Mrs. Martin Hein of Center; Oscar and George Tennie of Greenville; John Tennie, Ellington; and Mrs. Henry Viotto and Joseph Tennie of Appleton. A brother Henry Tennie of Appleton, and a sister, Mrs. Frances Kappe in Germany, and 27 grandchildren also survive. Funeral services will be held at 9 o’clock Friday morning at St. Joseph Catholic church in Appleton and burial will be in St. Joseph cemetery.

Two things to note: 1) the Town of Lügde was spelt wrong in our Great Grandfather's obituary which made searching for our ancestors difficult. 2) Joseph was survived by a sister living in Germany in 1926, which would be the key to finding our Great Grandfather's birthplace.

With the aid of the Internet, and the fact that most young people in Germany all speak English today, I was able to find Frances Kappe's death record.

Franziska (Tennie) Kappe died at the age of 88 years old on the 10th of May, 1935 at 1 p.m. in the afternoon. Franziska is buried at St. Mary's Catholic Church (Kath. Kirchenegemeinde) Lügde. The following is a letter I received August 21, 2009:

Dear Mr. Tennie, 8-21-2009
I am Jürgen van Elten. I am the son of Agnes Kappe, sister of Fritz Kappe, whom you wrote a letter. My mother often told me that two brothers of her grandmother Franziska left Germany, Heinrich (Henry) and Josef Tennie. Franziska(engl. Frances) was married with Franz. Franz and Franziska had a son and a daughter, Dorothee and Friedrich. Friedrich was married with Anna, the mother of five children, my mother, my aunts and uncles. Friedrich and Anna were the parents of my mother, Agnes, her brother Fritz, whom you wrote the letter, Rita, Maria and Hubert. The full prename of my mother is Agnes Franziska Kappe. My mother is 86 years old.We are glad to be able to show you some more documents about a lot of common relatives. We would be also glad to meet you in September in Lügde. In particular my mother would be happy to meet you and your wife Sue for speaking about her ancestors. She doesn’t speak English, but when I or one of my brothers translate, it will be possible to have a conversation with you and your wife.If you want to get more information before your journey to Germany you can write me or my uncle Fritz.
best greetings
Jürgen van Elten Lügde, Germany

I must have sent 30 letters out to random Tennie's and Kappe's that I found in the German phone book using the Internet and I was very excited when I got this letter sent back to me. At my niece's wedding this past Saturday (my sister Mary's daughter) I shared this letter from Jürgen van Elten with my Dad, Leonard, and Harold Urban. I have some other information on Tennie's living in Lügde, but nothing yet to report. Wish me luck on our trip to Germany. I will send you an update when I get home and get organized. Thanks for initiating the contact. Everyone take care. Dave Tennie