New Book on German Emigration

Udo Thoerner’s History of Emigration

from Venne, Germany to America

Thörner, Udo. Venne in America: The historical account of the emigration from a Lower Saxony Village in Germany to the Americas in the 19^th century. Rosalie Horstman Haines, tr.; 323 pp., 2008. ($32, incl pstg from Hamilton County Chapter of Ohio Genealogical Society, P.O. Box 15865, Cincinnati, Ohio 45215).

Note by "Genealogywise" member: Udo Thoerner was a wonderful friend who opened so many doors into my husband's family history in Venne. Publicizing this English edition of his invaluable work is the least I can do to thank him.

Venne in America portrays in unbelievable detail the 19^th century mass emigration from a village in Germany’s Osnabrück region to America of primarily landless tenants, or Heuerlings, who made up 80% of the immigrants. This study is an invaluable aid for anyone with ancestry from the village of Venne, but it will also greatly benefit family historians with roots in the former Kingdom of Hannover.

Udo Thoerner, historian and master genealogist from Venne, spent his lifetime documenting the Evangelical-Lutheran immigrants from neighboring farm villages until his untimely death at the age of 44 in July 2009. The detailed and well-documented work is supported by numerous photos, charts, maps, and immigrant anecdotes. Chapters cover the social, economic, and political conditions in 19^th century northwestern Germany; various reasons for emigration including poverty and overpopulation; and the organizing, financing, and difficulties of the emigration journey.

In the final section, the author profiles the German and American biographies of numerous Venne immigrant families. Thoerner focuses on specific immigrant settlements in the US: Venedy and Southern Illinois; Pittsburgh and Allegheny City, Pennsylvania; Buffalo, New York; Cincinnati and the Black Swamp settlements in Ohio; villages in Jackson County and throughout Indiana; Richfield, Iowa; and St. Louis, Kansas City, and Holstein, Missouri.

An appendix lists over 2000 Venne emigrants from 1830-1900, including spouses, birthdates, immigration years, and destinations. For additional information on the immigration and history of Venne and a partial list of emigration surnames, see http://www.venne-families.de/