Peter Preusser Sr. and Walburga Euteneur (Frances' Paternal Grandparents)

Peter Preusser Sr. and Walburga Euteneur

Peter Preusser Sr.
Born: April 8th, 1816 Freusburg, Altenkirchen, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany
Death: Unknown
Married: February 19th, 1844

Walburga Euteneur
Born: September 8th, 1822 Wallenburg, Miesbach, Bayern, Germany
Death: Unknown

Children of Peter and Walburga:
1) Maria Theresa Preusser
Birth: 29 Dec 1845 Germany 
Death: 27 May 1896

2) August Preusser
Birth: 8 May 1848 Germany
Death: 16 Dec 1915 Peterburg, Boone, Nebraska, USA

August Preusser sailed to America from Freusburg, Germany on May 23, 188_. He homesteaded on 80 acres two miles north of Petersburg, Nebraska. How or when he got to Nebraska is not known. The Petersburg paper "Index" listed August and Charles Preusser as homesteaders and early settlers in 1889. The Plat Book of Boone County, Nebraska published by the Northwest Publishing Co. in 1899 listed August Preusser as the owner of the West 1/2 of the Northwest 1/4 of Section 13, Township 22, North Range 7 West of the 6th Principal Meridian. He never married. He died at 67 years of age and is buried in Petersburg, Nebraska. (Credit: Joe Preusser)


3) Alvina Preusser
Birth: 13 Jun 1850 Germany
Death: 2 July 1867

4) Peter Preusser Jr.
Birth: 1 Dec 1852 Germany
Death: 1 Oct 1879

5) Charles Preusser (Frances' Father)
Birth: 3 Nov 1855 Bedsdorf on the Rhine, Germany
Death: 18 Mar 1934 Petersburg, Boone, Nebraska, USA

Charles made his first Communion at Nieder Fishbach, Germany and was confirmed in 1869. Charles immigrated to America in 1879. 

6) Maria Preusser

Birth: 1 Mar 1858 Germany
Death: 22 Jul 1909 

7) Frank Preusser
Birth: 11 May 1860 Germany

Death: 24 Jan 1942 Stearns, Minnesota, Albany, USA

Married: Theresa Vonderweyer 8 April 1887 

Frank Preusser sailed to America from Freusburg, Germany on February 13, 18__. He married Theresa Vonderweyer of Wright, Minnesota on April 8, 1887. They had six children. They lived in Albany, Minnesota. Frank died at 81 years of age.

8) Philomena Preusser

Birth: 20 May 1863 Germany

Death: 17 Apr 1887

9) Arnold Preusser

Birth: 13 Sep 1865 Germany
Death: 28 Sep 1952 Morrison County, Minnesota

Arnold sailed from Freusburg, Germany on October 15, 1883. He stayed with August a few years on a farm north of Petersburg, Nebraska, then he bought a saloon in Peterburg, Nebraska. He sold the saloon to Ferdinand Cordes and went to Albany, Minnesota. He married Elisabeth Klein on April 14, 1910 of Avon, Minnesota. They did not have any children. They lived in Albany, Minnesota. Arnold died at age 87.

The Prussian Connection

by Joe Preusser (son of Louis J. Henry Preusser)

I have only included excerpts of his 30-page history. 

The name Preusser translated means "from Prussia". Thus, it is believed that the early Preussers were from Prussia. 

Beginning of Prussia

Prussia can be traced back into the Middle Ages. The cradle of Prussia is the "mark" or march of Brandenburg, founded in the tenth century. It was confined in the main between the rivers Meuse and Elbe. The mark of Brandenburg was created as a German outpost to provide protection from loosely organized tribes of Slavs that constantly threatened the mark on the exposed Elbe frontier to the east. The hostile raiders were perceived by the recently Christianized Germans to be blind and stubborn heathens.

Christianity

In the thirteenth century the Teutonic Knights, one of those monkish-military orders which owed their origin to the prevalent crusading spirit, undertook to serve the cause of religion and the church by conquering Prussia and converting its inhabitants to Christianity. Either the Prussians accepted the Cross or were wiped out in bloody encounters and replaced by German colonists. This could well be the time to which the Preussers' Christian roots can be traced.

Work Ethic

King Frederick William I (1713-1740) had a particular abhorrence of idleness. Even the apple-women, while waiting in their booths for customers, were ordered to busy themselves with knitting. The police were empowered to pick up homeless vagrants and impress them into the army.

German Empire

At the battles of Jena and Auerstadt (October 14, 1806) the Prussian army was defeated by Napoleon's French troops.

In a war with France, in 1870, the German defeated the French and seized some French territory west of the Rhine called Alsace-Lorraine in which Strasbourg was situated.

At the Peace of Frankfort (May 1871) Frace ceded to Germany Alsace and the eastern section of Lorraine. The completed union was called the German Empire and at its head was the King of Prussia, with the title German Emperor. William I was the German emperor (January 18, 1871).

Life in Prussia

Personal life in Prussia (Germany) was very orderly. People enjoyed their families. Mealtimes and holidays were important to them. The father was the boss of the family and earned the money and the mother kept things clean and took care of the children. Sons looked to their fathers to see what their own lives would be like. 

If a family had ten children, perhaps only two grew to be adults. They would die early of disease or neglect. Most children worked as soon as they could. Young children helped with farm chores and could earn a few coins by shooing away crows from the wheat crop or spinning hemp into cord or rope, while the older kids earned wages to help support the family. Usually all members of the family- grandparents, aunts, uncles, and cousins- lived in the same town. They took pride in keeping their homes clean and garden well tended.

Germans often wished each other "Guten Appetit", which means, "happy eating!". German families would likely have six chances to eat in a given day. The first mean was breakfast. At midmorning there would be a second breakfast, which was often a slice of bread with butter and a piece of "Wurst" sausage. The main mean was at noon. in the middle of the afternoon were coffee and a pastry. The evening meal was simple, usually just buttered bread with cheese, sausage or other meats, and fruit or salad. Fruit juices for children and adults were popular. The national drink, though, was beer. The last meal of the day was a little snack before bed, with a nice cup of warm milk or a glass of wine.