Herman August FREDRICK (FREDRICH)
Updated: 29-July-2005
Herman August FREDRICK was my great-grandfather, who immigrated to the US in 1902 according to the 1910 Census for Holyoke. He applied to be naturalizated in 1917. According to a ship manifest where he travelled on the Grossen Kurfurst in 1911, Herman and his wife (my great-grandmother) Wilhilmina Emma FREDRICK (maiden name DIETRICH) were from the Posen Province of what was then Prussia (Germany); from the little town of Debenke. The town today is in Poland, called Debionek. The town was small, near Lobenz (currently called Lobzenica). The county was then called "Kreis Wirsitz".
Wilhilmina immigrated in 1905 according to the 1910 Census for Holyoke, Carlton County, Minnesota.
According to my Grandmother (Laura FREDRICK who married and then divorced Herman's son Fritz FREDRICK), the name in Germany was spelled FREDRICH (She said Fritz's first name was spelled "Friedrich") Here is what she wrote, August 5, 1979 (she didn't know about the origin from the Posen Province at the time).
Letter from Laura FREDRICK to Grandson Shawn FREDRICK, August 5, 1979
Now on the Fredrick side I don't know much about them. They came from the area of Essen, Germany. The name in Germany was spelled Fredrich rather than Fredrick. Your great grandmother's maiden name was Dietrich and her first name was Wilhelmina. She was the only one of her family who came to America. Her husband (your great grandfather) was Herman Fredrick (that's where your father got his second name). He was the kind of person the whole world loved - a small man with a big mustache. We have some pictures - I'll show you some time. One of his brothers and two sisters also came to America. (I don't have birthdays or dates of death on these people. You can get them from Ervin Fredrick (your father's uncle) in Holyoke, Minnesota. Now back to Herman Fredrick. His brother's name was William. He had two children. One was Alice and I don't remember the boy's name. Herman Fredrick's sisters were Martha (Majerle) and I can't think of the other one's name. Martha Majerle had 3 boys: William, Herman and Edward. Don't know whether they had children or not. You can get all this from Ervin Fredrick. The Majerles lived in Duluth, Minnesota. Your grandfather (my husband) was Fred Herman Fredrick - most people called him Fritz. Ervin Fredrick is his brother. Gertrude (Fredrick) Fricke lived in Chicago and was married to Ernest Fricke. They had 3 boys and a girl.
According to my Great Uncle William SPENCER who had also lived in Holyoke,
Minnesota, many of the residents of Holyoke immigrated from the same villages
in Germany -- therefore it's likely that other families in Holyoke have
their origins in Debenke or in the Kreis Wirsitz county of the Posen Province.
Now on the Fredrick side I don't know much about them. They came from the area of Essen, Germany. The name in Germany was spelled Fredrich rather than Fredrick. Your great grandmother's maiden name was Dietrich and her first name was Wilhelmina. She was the only one of her family who came to America. Her husband (your great grandfather) was Herman Fredrick (that's where your father got his second name). He was the kind of person the whole world loved - a small man with a big mustache. We have some pictures - I'll show you some time. One of his brothers and two sisters also came to America. (I don't have birthdays or dates of death on these people. You can get them from Ervin Fredrick (your father's uncle) in Holyoke, Minnesota. Now back to Herman Fredrick. His brother's name was William. He had two children. One was Alice and I don't remember the boy's name. Herman Fredrick's sisters were Martha (Majerle) and I can't think of the other one's name. Martha Majerle had 3 boys: William, Herman and Edward. Don't know whether they had children or not. You can get all this from Ervin Fredrick. The Majerles lived in Duluth, Minnesota. Your grandfather (my husband) was Fred Herman Fredrick - most people called him Fritz. Ervin Fredrick is his brother. Gertrude (Fredrick) Fricke lived in Chicago and was married to Ernest Fricke. They had 3 boys and a girl.
My great grandfather Herman Fredrick worked on the railroad line, maintaining the track on the route between Duluth, Minnesota and Minneapolis. Holyoke is near Duluth, on that line.
References and Images
- My page on Herman's wife, Wilhelmina Adeline DIETRICH-FREDRICK
- Annotated map of kr. Wirsitz showing Debenke and Kazmierowo
- Herman Fredrick: 1917 Declaration of Intent for Naturalization -- from the Minnesota State Archives
- Shows that Herman arrived aboard the Deuthschland at Baltimore, Maryland, May 1, 1902.
- Herman Fredrick: 1921 Petition for Naturalization -- from the Minnesota State Archives
- Herman Fredrick: 1921 Oath of Allegiance -- from the Minnesota State Archives
- Debenke Church record recording Herman's birth and baptism (LDS Microfilm 234298) -- see line 21.
- Marriage record of Herman's parents (LDS Microfilm 234298)
- 1910 Census Image: Holyoke, Carlton County, Minnesota
- 1920 Census Image: Holyoke, Carlton County, Minnesota (1 of 2)
- 1920 Census Image: Holyoke, Carlton County, Minnesota (2 of 2)
- April 1902 Ship Manifest: Hannover
- See line 18
- didn't travel with Minna on this trip
- Ernest Albert Zinter (cousin?) was living in Holyoke, MN at this time
- 12-Apr-1905 Ship Manifest: Deutschland (1 of 1)
- Shows that Herman had an Uncle named "Wilhelm Fredrich" born in 1883. (I think) He may be the Wilhelm Fredrich who lived in Holyoke with his mother, Augusta Fredrick -- listed on the 1910 Census for Holyoke, MN.
- 1911 Ship Manifest: Grossen Kurfurst (1 of 3)
- 1911 Ship Manifest: Grossen Kurfurst (2 of 3)
- 1911 Ship Manifest: Grossen Kurfurst (3 of 3)
- Cemetary listing showing the Fredricks -- Holyoke, Carlton County (copy)
- Rootsweb post indicating the availability of records on LDS microfilm (also researching the name FREDRICH)
- Carlton County Historical Society
- Modern map of Carlton County showing location of Holyoke
Possibly unrelated tidbits
- Ship's manifest -- 1856 sailing included a Johann Börger sailing with his 5 children, Justine (17), Rosine (14), Michael (11), Paul (5), and Johann (34). Johann may be from a different marriage. I listed them here because in my records for Lobsens (Microfilm LDS 0245521), I discovered a Michael Boerger who had two kids, Rosine (born 2-June-1847), and Michael (born December 1845). The dates don't quite match up, but the common first names for the Börger family do. Anyway, something to look at later.
