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Hey - There are other Hagedorns here!
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(S) I don't think Wedel is on the typical tourist track through Germany. But, it turns out Oldenburg and Chad's ancestral home is not far from somewhere I have always wanted to go.
My grandfather (yes, grandfather) came to Pumpkin Creek, Montana from Wedel, Germany (just outside Hamburg) around 1920 in search of the great American dream. In those days, immigrants were just so happy to be in America, they gave up close ties to their home countries, learned English, and became Americans. He died when my dad was only 9 so no one could ask him much about where he was from. So to Wedel we went, knowing finding anything would be like a needle in a haystack. Chad was patient while we went to the cemetery (where we found my grandfather's sister) and to the Rathaus (courthouse in German) where a very nice lady looked through censuses from 1860, 1864, and an address book from 1904. We found a few things - mostly regarding my great great grandparents, but not much on my great grandparents or my grandfather. But that was a great start as we didn't even know their names beforehand.
It was an emotional trip for me, as not surprisingly, we were the only Hagedorns around and it felt like we had no ties, so to find some was great. Standing on the street in Wedel, I realized just how far it was from our little ranch on Pumpkin Creek and what amazing courage it must have taken a man in his 20's to set off alone for America. Sure glad he did... Sara out More thumbnails ...
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| 75. | Hey - There are other Hagedorns here! - Wedel, Germany Jun 14, 2007 (  5 ) |
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