Understandably, Charles Johanningmeier had no recollection of his native country. Born Carl Friedrich Johann August Drahn in Grabow, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, at age one he accompanied his mother, grandmother, aunt and future uncle to America aboard the ship HAMMONIA II in 1867. After a fourteen-day voyage, the group arrived at the Port of New York and proceeded to Clayton County, Iowa where his mother's brother, Henry Drahn, had settled in 1866.
Within a year Carl's mother, 1867 immigrant Maria Drahn of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, married 1860 immigrant Henry Johanningmeier of Westfalen, Prussia. Between their marriage in 1868 and Henry's death in 1874, Carl's surname became Johanningmeier. (See Footnote.) Despite being documented "Charles" in the 1870 census, his given name "Carl" had not yet been used consistently as Charles. The 1880 census finds him "August," one of his baptismal names. In 1885 he is "Charley" (his nickname), and from that time forward is Charles in deeds, other documents and references.
With stepfather Henry and mother Maria ("Mary"), "Carl" lived along Buck Creek in scenic Buck Creek Valley in Garnavillo Township, Clayton County, where Henry farmed. He was age eight when Henry died in 1874. It is possible the boy had attended Buck Creek School built in 1870, a brick one-room building in the woods near the creek, but earliest records do not exist. More likely he had always attended Eagle School two miles south of Garnavillo where he is documented a student in 1874. A year 1879 record at St. John American Lutheran Church, Guttenberg, Jefferson Township, documents "Carl Johanningmeier" among nineteen confirmed but with no month or date cited.
About seven months before his marriage to Sophia Maria "Mary" Schrader, as "Charles Johanningmeier" he signed an 1887 deed for a property in Monona Township to which he took his February, 1888 bride upon possession of the land and house in March, 1888. The Victorian farmhouse is the location of births of their eleven children between 1888 and 1905. (See the Sophia Maria "Mary" Schrader Johanningmeier memorial at this site.) The farm site was their home for almost thirty years before they retired to the town of Monona in 1916. Through those years Charles acquired twelve other farms in Monona, Giard and Wagner townships, plus two farms in Sheridan County, North Dakota. Known as risk-taking and forward-looking with up-to-date machinery, production of quality crops and one of the first automobiles in the county, it is recalled he proudly liked to say, "Every direction I look I own a farm."
As a widower after wife Mary's death in October, 1939 Charles remained in their house in Monona until June, 1943. He died in McGregor Hospital, McGregor, Mendon Township, Clayton County, Iowa on June 20 at 72 years 2 months 6 days. He was taken to his former farm then owned by son Alvin Johanningmeier where families paid respects, then to St. Paul Lutheran Church, Monona, for services. Described as a son of Henry Johanningmeier and Mary Drahn in his obituary, he was buried at Eno Cemetery in Wagner Township near his wife and three infant daughters amid cornfields such as ones that provided his livelihood for so many years.
Entry #8, Deaths/Burials, St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, Monona, Iowa, documents him "Carl Fred. August Johanningmeier," using three of his four baptismal names (Carl Friedrich Johann August) but with an incorrect age at death. He was 77, not 78. His date of death (June 20) and date of burial (June 22) are accurate.
Engraving on the JOHANNINGMEIER stone at Eno Cemetery reverses years of birth for Charles and Mary. Charles was born in 1866 (not 1865), Mary was born in 1865 (not 1866).
Charles' birth/baptismal record is at Eldena Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Born in Grabow (Eldena parish) on April 14, 1866, he was baptized on April 28.
Footnote: Although no formal record has been located, a granddaughter and granddaughter-in-law of Henry Johanningmeier's sister Florentine maintained "the Johanningmeiers adopted Charles." Permanently thereafter the surname was carried by his descendants to various parts of the United States.
--DeeAnna Allum Granston, author
JOHANNINGMEIER, DRAHN, SCHRADER, Clayton County, Iowa
Within a year Carl's mother, 1867 immigrant Maria Drahn of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, married 1860 immigrant Henry Johanningmeier of Westfalen, Prussia. Between their marriage in 1868 and Henry's death in 1874, Carl's surname became Johanningmeier. (See Footnote.) Despite being documented "Charles" in the 1870 census, his given name "Carl" had not yet been used consistently as Charles. The 1880 census finds him "August," one of his baptismal names. In 1885 he is "Charley" (his nickname), and from that time forward is Charles in deeds, other documents and references.
With stepfather Henry and mother Maria ("Mary"), "Carl" lived along Buck Creek in scenic Buck Creek Valley in Garnavillo Township, Clayton County, where Henry farmed. He was age eight when Henry died in 1874. It is possible the boy had attended Buck Creek School built in 1870, a brick one-room building in the woods near the creek, but earliest records do not exist. More likely he had always attended Eagle School two miles south of Garnavillo where he is documented a student in 1874. A year 1879 record at St. John American Lutheran Church, Guttenberg, Jefferson Township, documents "Carl Johanningmeier" among nineteen confirmed but with no month or date cited.
About seven months before his marriage to Sophia Maria "Mary" Schrader, as "Charles Johanningmeier" he signed an 1887 deed for a property in Monona Township to which he took his February, 1888 bride upon possession of the land and house in March, 1888. The Victorian farmhouse is the location of births of their eleven children between 1888 and 1905. (See the Sophia Maria "Mary" Schrader Johanningmeier memorial at this site.) The farm site was their home for almost thirty years before they retired to the town of Monona in 1916. Through those years Charles acquired twelve other farms in Monona, Giard and Wagner townships, plus two farms in Sheridan County, North Dakota. Known as risk-taking and forward-looking with up-to-date machinery, production of quality crops and one of the first automobiles in the county, it is recalled he proudly liked to say, "Every direction I look I own a farm."
As a widower after wife Mary's death in October, 1939 Charles remained in their house in Monona until June, 1943. He died in McGregor Hospital, McGregor, Mendon Township, Clayton County, Iowa on June 20 at 72 years 2 months 6 days. He was taken to his former farm then owned by son Alvin Johanningmeier where families paid respects, then to St. Paul Lutheran Church, Monona, for services. Described as a son of Henry Johanningmeier and Mary Drahn in his obituary, he was buried at Eno Cemetery in Wagner Township near his wife and three infant daughters amid cornfields such as ones that provided his livelihood for so many years.
Entry #8, Deaths/Burials, St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, Monona, Iowa, documents him "Carl Fred. August Johanningmeier," using three of his four baptismal names (Carl Friedrich Johann August) but with an incorrect age at death. He was 77, not 78. His date of death (June 20) and date of burial (June 22) are accurate.
Engraving on the JOHANNINGMEIER stone at Eno Cemetery reverses years of birth for Charles and Mary. Charles was born in 1866 (not 1865), Mary was born in 1865 (not 1866).
Charles' birth/baptismal record is at Eldena Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Born in Grabow (Eldena parish) on April 14, 1866, he was baptized on April 28.
Footnote: Although no formal record has been located, a granddaughter and granddaughter-in-law of Henry Johanningmeier's sister Florentine maintained "the Johanningmeiers adopted Charles." Permanently thereafter the surname was carried by his descendants to various parts of the United States.
--DeeAnna Allum Granston, author
JOHANNINGMEIER, DRAHN, SCHRADER, Clayton County, Iowa
Understandably, Charles Johanningmeier had no recollection of his native country. Born Carl Friedrich Johann August Drahn in Grabow, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, at age one he accompanied his mother, grandmother, aunt and future uncle to America aboard the ship HAMMONIA II in 1867. After a fourteen-day voyage, the group arrived at the Port of New York and proceeded to Clayton County, Iowa where his mother's brother, Henry Drahn, had settled in 1866.
Within a year Carl's mother, 1867 immigrant Maria Drahn of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, married 1860 immigrant Henry Johanningmeier of Westfalen, Prussia. Between their marriage in 1868 and Henry's death in 1874, Carl's surname became Johanningmeier. (See Footnote.) Despite being documented "Charles" in the 1870 census, his given name "Carl" had not yet been used consistently as Charles. The 1880 census finds him "August," one of his baptismal names. In 1885 he is "Charley" (his nickname), and from that time forward is Charles in deeds, other documents and references.
With stepfather Henry and mother Maria ("Mary"), "Carl" lived along Buck Creek in scenic Buck Creek Valley in Garnavillo Township, Clayton County, where Henry farmed. He was age eight when Henry died in 1874. It is possible the boy had attended Buck Creek School built in 1870, a brick one-room building in the woods near the creek, but earliest records do not exist. More likely he had always attended Eagle School two miles south of Garnavillo where he is documented a student in 1874. A year 1879 record at St. John American Lutheran Church, Guttenberg, Jefferson Township, documents "Carl Johanningmeier" among nineteen confirmed but with no month or date cited.
About seven months before his marriage to Sophia Maria "Mary" Schrader, as "Charles Johanningmeier" he signed an 1887 deed for a property in Monona Township to which he took his February, 1888 bride upon possession of the land and house in March, 1888. The Victorian farmhouse is the location of births of their eleven children between 1888 and 1905. (See the Sophia Maria "Mary" Schrader Johanningmeier memorial at this site.) The farm site was their home for almost thirty years before they retired to the town of Monona in 1916. Through those years Charles acquired twelve other farms in Monona, Giard and Wagner townships, plus two farms in Sheridan County, North Dakota. Known as risk-taking and forward-looking with up-to-date machinery, production of quality crops and one of the first automobiles in the county, it is recalled he proudly liked to say, "Every direction I look I own a farm."
As a widower after wife Mary's death in October, 1939 Charles remained in their house in Monona until June, 1943. He died in McGregor Hospital, McGregor, Mendon Township, Clayton County, Iowa on June 20 at 72 years 2 months 6 days. He was taken to his former farm then owned by son Alvin Johanningmeier where families paid respects, then to St. Paul Lutheran Church, Monona, for services. Described as a son of Henry Johanningmeier and Mary Drahn in his obituary, he was buried at Eno Cemetery in Wagner Township near his wife and three infant daughters amid cornfields such as ones that provided his livelihood for so many years.
Entry #8, Deaths/Burials, St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, Monona, Iowa, documents him "Carl Fred. August Johanningmeier," using three of his four baptismal names (Carl Friedrich Johann August) but with an incorrect age at death. He was 77, not 78. His date of death (June 20) and date of burial (June 22) are accurate.
Engraving on the JOHANNINGMEIER stone at Eno Cemetery reverses years of birth for Charles and Mary. Charles was born in 1866 (not 1865), Mary was born in 1865 (not 1866).
Charles' birth/baptismal record is at Eldena Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Born in Grabow (Eldena parish) on April 14, 1866, he was baptized on April 28.
Footnote: Although no formal record has been located, a granddaughter and granddaughter-in-law of Henry Johanningmeier's sister Florentine maintained "the Johanningmeiers adopted Charles." Permanently thereafter the surname was carried by his descendants to various parts of the United States.
--DeeAnna Allum Granston, author
JOHANNINGMEIER, DRAHN, SCHRADER, Clayton County, Iowa
Within a year Carl's mother, 1867 immigrant Maria Drahn of Mecklenburg-Schwerin, married 1860 immigrant Henry Johanningmeier of Westfalen, Prussia. Between their marriage in 1868 and Henry's death in 1874, Carl's surname became Johanningmeier. (See Footnote.) Despite being documented "Charles" in the 1870 census, his given name "Carl" had not yet been used consistently as Charles. The 1880 census finds him "August," one of his baptismal names. In 1885 he is "Charley" (his nickname), and from that time forward is Charles in deeds, other documents and references.
With stepfather Henry and mother Maria ("Mary"), "Carl" lived along Buck Creek in scenic Buck Creek Valley in Garnavillo Township, Clayton County, where Henry farmed. He was age eight when Henry died in 1874. It is possible the boy had attended Buck Creek School built in 1870, a brick one-room building in the woods near the creek, but earliest records do not exist. More likely he had always attended Eagle School two miles south of Garnavillo where he is documented a student in 1874. A year 1879 record at St. John American Lutheran Church, Guttenberg, Jefferson Township, documents "Carl Johanningmeier" among nineteen confirmed but with no month or date cited.
About seven months before his marriage to Sophia Maria "Mary" Schrader, as "Charles Johanningmeier" he signed an 1887 deed for a property in Monona Township to which he took his February, 1888 bride upon possession of the land and house in March, 1888. The Victorian farmhouse is the location of births of their eleven children between 1888 and 1905. (See the Sophia Maria "Mary" Schrader Johanningmeier memorial at this site.) The farm site was their home for almost thirty years before they retired to the town of Monona in 1916. Through those years Charles acquired twelve other farms in Monona, Giard and Wagner townships, plus two farms in Sheridan County, North Dakota. Known as risk-taking and forward-looking with up-to-date machinery, production of quality crops and one of the first automobiles in the county, it is recalled he proudly liked to say, "Every direction I look I own a farm."
As a widower after wife Mary's death in October, 1939 Charles remained in their house in Monona until June, 1943. He died in McGregor Hospital, McGregor, Mendon Township, Clayton County, Iowa on June 20 at 72 years 2 months 6 days. He was taken to his former farm then owned by son Alvin Johanningmeier where families paid respects, then to St. Paul Lutheran Church, Monona, for services. Described as a son of Henry Johanningmeier and Mary Drahn in his obituary, he was buried at Eno Cemetery in Wagner Township near his wife and three infant daughters amid cornfields such as ones that provided his livelihood for so many years.
Entry #8, Deaths/Burials, St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church, Monona, Iowa, documents him "Carl Fred. August Johanningmeier," using three of his four baptismal names (Carl Friedrich Johann August) but with an incorrect age at death. He was 77, not 78. His date of death (June 20) and date of burial (June 22) are accurate.
Engraving on the JOHANNINGMEIER stone at Eno Cemetery reverses years of birth for Charles and Mary. Charles was born in 1866 (not 1865), Mary was born in 1865 (not 1866).
Charles' birth/baptismal record is at Eldena Evangelical Lutheran Church in Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Born in Grabow (Eldena parish) on April 14, 1866, he was baptized on April 28.
Footnote: Although no formal record has been located, a granddaughter and granddaughter-in-law of Henry Johanningmeier's sister Florentine maintained "the Johanningmeiers adopted Charles." Permanently thereafter the surname was carried by his descendants to various parts of the United States.
--DeeAnna Allum Granston, author
JOHANNINGMEIER, DRAHN, SCHRADER, Clayton County, Iowa
Family Members
Parents
Siblings
Children
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Elen Johanningmeier
1888–1889
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Wilhelm Carl Heinrich Johanningmeier
1890–1977
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Wesley Carl Georg Johanningmeier
1891–1971
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Alvin August Heinrich Johanningmeier
1892–1987
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Elmer August Friedrich Johanningmeier
1894–1974
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Emma Johanningmeier
1895 – unknown
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Roy Heinrich Friedrich Johanningmeier
1897–1967
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Ann(e) Johanningmeier
1899–1899
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Arlo Heinrich Johanningmeier
1901–1991
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Werner Carl Heinrich Johanningmeier
1904–1970
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Florence Carolina Emma Henrietta Johanningmeier Scheffert Schnepp
1905–1961
