Christian Friedrich Konrad Junkermeier II

Christian Friedrich Konrad Junkermeier II was born Feb. 9, 1843 at Stemmen 58, son of Christian Friedrich Konrad and Wilhelmine Henriette (Lennier) Junkermeier I. Christian II was baptized at the Varenholz church, Feb. 17, 1843. His godfathers were Peter Lennier of Bentorf (his maternal grandfather) and Johann Konrad Junkermeier of Stemmen (his paternal grandfather). He was confirmed in the Varenholz church, Apr. 5, 1857; his future wife was in the same confirmation class.

Contents

Life

Christian II was a farmer, and he also owned a sand pit. He was in the army in 1866 and 1870/71 and for that service he received a pension of 10 marks per month.

Mary Junkermeier, wife of Christian II’s son Herman Junkermeier, in a letter written to her niece, Henriette Junkermeier, in 1896, said that of the four sons of Christian Junkermeier I, it was Christian II who resembled Christian I the most in appearance.

Marriage

Christian II married at Varenholz, Aug. 4, 1867 Henriette Sophie Justine Bökemeier, born May 24, 1843 at Stemmen 7, daughter of Friedrich Konrad and Sophie Elisabeth (Siekmann) Bökemeier, farmers at Stemmen.

Children

The nine children of Christian II and Henriette, all born at Stemmen 58, were (1-9):

  1. Friedrich Christian (“Christ”, referred to as Christian III) Junkermeier, born July 9, 1868.
  2. Friedrich Wilhelm (“Fritz”) Junkermeier, born Dec. 26, 1869.
  3. Charlotte Henriette (“Henriette”, “Nettie”; “Jette”) Junkermeier, born Feb. 23, 1873.
  4. Caroline Sophie (“Lena”) Junkermeier, born Nov. 20, 1875.
  5. Caroline Auguste (“Augusta”) Junkermeier, born Oct. 3, 1876.
  6. Hermann Wilhelm (“Bill”) Junkermeier, born Nov. 25, 1878.
  7. Charlotte Caroline (“Lottie”) Junkermeier, born Nov. 2, 1880.
  8. Luise Henriette (“Louise”) Junkermeier, born July 19, 1883.
  9. Marie Henriette Junkermeier, born Nov. 18, 1887.

Children's emigration to the United States

Of Christian II and Henriette’s nine children, five came to the United States (Christian III, Henriette, Bill, Lottie and Louise); the other four children remained in Germany. When the time came for the five to leave Stemmen for America, Christian II took them to Rinteln and then by train from Rinteln to Bremen. He paid for their clothes, food and boat ticket, and gave them some money for the arrival in America. In those days, it was required that boat passengers arrive at the port and purchase their ticket five days before departure. At Bremen, Christian II stayed with his children the five days, and then he saw them off on the boat. The children always remembered that Christian II cried when the time came for the boat to leave. They remembered him as a good and hard-working man. The many letters which Christian II and his wife Henriette wrote to their children in Iowa (letters which were preserved by their son-in-law and daughter, Friedrich and Henriette Fritzemeier, and now by the daughters of these latter two, Marie Lang and Esther Satre) reveal in their handwriting and in their words beautiful, dignified, loving spirits.

In a letter written to her son-in-law, Friedrich Fritzemeier, in 1897, Christian II’s wife, Henriette, told of her great wish to go to America in 1885, when her son Christian III emigrated. She felt that she, her husband, and their other children would have been better off in America. But Christian II did not want to leave his home. He preferred to remain at Stemmen to farm his land, work his sandpit, and gather and sell firewood. Those who left Stemmen expressed in their letters their longing for “our beautiful wooded Weser hills” (the Weser River flows by Stemmen).

Ownership and burning of Stemmen 58

As the oldest child, Christian II was the inheritor of Stemmen 58. In the summer of 1908, the building, a combined house and barn of the old style, burned. Christian II had gone to Rinteln that day. His wife had cooked barley groats and plums for lunch. The meal was ready at 11:00 AM, so she took the children out for a walk. People yelled to her “Your house is on fire!” She had time to carry out the clothing from the closets. (She told these details to Rieke Fritzemeier, who retold them in a letter to Christian’s daughter, Henriette Junkermeier Fritzemeier.) While the new house and barn were being rebuilt, the Junkermeier family lived on the Bökemeier farm.

Death

Three weeks before his death, Christian II fell from a wagon which he was filling with rye in the field. He also suffered from asthma. After 5 days in bed, he died at Stemmen 58, September 4, 1912. As he lay dying, he said “Yes, now I must die. How quickly the years have flown!” In the preceding months, he had read the Bible and his prayer book morning, noon, and evening.

Henriette died at Stemmen 58, May 30, 1917.

On the tombstone of Christian II is the inscription: “Durch die Gnade Jesu sind wir gerecht und erben des ewigen Lebens” (“By the grace of Jesus we are justified and inherit eternal life”). Henriette’s stone had the inscription: “Selig sind die da Leid tragen, den sie sollen getröstet warden” (Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted”). The original tombstone for Christian II is in the possession of his grandson, Fritz Uhlenbock. When the old Stemmen cemetery was plowed under in 1922, a new cemetery was prepared further up the hill at a new site. Fritz saved the tombstone of his grandfather’s grave.

Letters and writings

Letter to Friedrich Fritzmeier from his brother Heinrich regarding his intent to marry Henriette Junkermeier

When Friedrich Fritzemeier told his family that he planned to marry Henriette Junkermeier, daughter of Christian II, Friedrich’s brother Heinrich wrote him the following about Christian Junkermeier II in a letter of Dec. 6, 1896:


“ I am happy that you want to get married this spring. ‘A start is half the endeavor.’ Many people think about it too late. However, you won’t have anything in common with old Junkermeier. I like seeing Mrs. Junkermeier and the children. This spring we were doing some field work around Shiernburg two half-days. Father took the cows up to Schiernburg when he went, and left them graze. Later, a complaint was filed against us. We found out afterwards that Junkermeier turned in the complaint. Schepmann, of course, made the complaint, but it was Junkermeier who reported us. Father hadn’t even seen Junkermeier there when the cows were grazing. Junkermeier swore that Father had let the cows graze. I don’t know whether he saw it or not. Junkermeier didn’t like to see our cows grazing. In a word: he is thoroughly spiteful. Since that time, we haven’t said a word to old Junkermeier. His wife was here once this autumn. She visited and brought a basket of apples, because this autumn we didn’t have any. Have Junkermeiers written to you? If so, what did they write? And who wrote? Friedrich Junkermeier just returned yesterday evening from brick making in Jüttland. ”

As a matter of fact, Christian II, his wife and his son Friedrich— each of them wrote a warm, cordial letter to Friedrich Fritzemeier, expressing happiness over the forthcoming marriage, and no mention was made of the dispute with the Fritzemeiers in Stemmen. Heinrich Fritzemeier, in an earlier letter to his brother Friedrich, wrote:


“ You no doubt will have a frugal wife in Henriette. The Junkermeiers are not known as spenders, but are absolutely thrifty and hard-working (düstig sparsam und fleissig). ”

Letter from Christian Junkermeier II and his wife to Friedrich Fritzemeier regarding his engagement to their daughter, Henriette Junkermeier.


“ Stemmen, October 11, 1896
Dear friend Friedrich,

  Last week we received your letter. My wife and I have been amazed that you have been so good about writing, so far away in America. The first years after the group of you left, I thought about you often, because you always had stayed at home, and it must have been hardest on you to be alone in a strange world. Our Christian stayed close to his cousin, August Kuchsohn. And our brother-in-law Plöger did not stay long at the place where he was at first. You both can be glad that the dear God gave you the idea to travel to America. You would not have been able to accomplish here what you have done there. Here, anyone who earns or has earned must pay a tax on it. Here we now have a self-evaluating system, whereby each person must say how much he has earned. These years our Friedrich has earned a lot. Now he must pay a tax of one mark per month. In addition, two marks each month are deducted from what he earns.
  With God’s help, we are well so far, and quite content. This summer I have had frequent headaches and toothaches, and they still continue. We are in the midst of a depression here. We have to make do with porridge and potatoes. It is raining a lot, and it rained a lot during the harvest, and a lot of grain spoiled. But I believe that must happen in America, too, when the rainy season sets in. But there the farmers have more grain than they need, whereas here the peasants do not have so much. And we have to work harder for it. If a dry day comes, a peasant gathers in most of one crop, because the crops ripen one after the other.
  Next Sunday, October 18, at Hausbergen near Minden, the monument to Kaiser Wilhelm will be dedicated. The Kaiser and his wife will come. There will be such a large crowd that, even if we go, we won’t be able to see much.
  Dear Friedrich, our Henriette has written us already, that you visited her between Christmas and New Years, and that it was a great joy to see you again. We thought so, too. If you now have decided to marry, then we give you our consent, in God’s name. May the dear God give you much happiness and blessing in your marriage. Many greetings from me and our children. Write again soon.
  —[Christian] Junkermeier

Dear friend Friedrich Fritzemeier,
  The Lord bless you and keep you. I must let you know that I think about you very often. It is not easy to be separated from one another forever, especially someone we always saw and who went through school with ours. Every time that I receive a letter from Christian or Henriette, I weep for joy. Our Wilhelm returned home two weeks ago. Friedrich will stay in Jüttland until Christmas. Karoline is in Bünde at the home of W. Rumbke, and Auguste and Charlotte are working in Bükeburg. Now, my dears, I wish you God’s rich blessing for your engagement. Let us know what day you will be married. We want to celebrate it here, too. Farewell. Sincere greetings,
  —Mrs. Junkermeier and children
Your father and your brothers and sisters greet you. Write again soon. 		”

Junkermeier Lineage