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E-Mail Letter from Peter Seaba on 24 Aug 1996------------------------------------------------- Roger, I've dug out an faint copy of a Snakenberg History. Anna Maria Sophia Snakenberg came to the U.S. about 1838with her husband and three kids. Dietrich (Johann Dietrich) andJohann were already in the U.S.. She died in Keokuk County (75 yearsold). Born Dec. 25, 1778, she probably died in 1854. There were 3 sons and 4 daughters; you have one too many daughters andnot enough sons. Lewis, born 3 July 1822, is not on your list. Thehistory mentions only that the oldest daughter was twice married inthe old country, the first husband not living very long (with daughterMargaret) and the second husband being Abraham Meyers. One of thefirst two you have listed; Gretje and Anne Trine, may have died in infancy? You might also send a note to the Keokuk County Historical Societythat you'd like to talk with whoever is working on the SnakenbergHistory?! Here's my attempt at late night typing. I copy in the early part ofthe history. HISTORY OF THE SNAKENBERG FAMILY WRITTEN IN 1912 John Snakenberg Sr., who was the ancestor of the Snakenberg family inthis country, and who blood flows in the veins of a large majority ofthose gathered at this reunion, was born in Deutschland in the year1769. Abraham Lincoln said "God must love the common people, because he madeso many of them." to this class our Grandfather Snakenberg belonged.There was nothing remarkable about him so far as the writer of thissketch knows. He was simply an average man. His best inheritance wasa strong and vigorous body, and iron constitution physically, and aheart and mind lent to good and noble principles, which impelled him to perform the dutiesdeveloping upon him on life as he saw and recognized them. Of his childhood or boyhood, little or nothing is known, however,living in a country where education was compulsory it is fair topresume that he attended the schools during his school age, which wasfrom six to fourteen years. Of his father and mother or brothers andsisters, if he had any, the writer knows nothing. The probability is that after his school age he assisted inproviding a living for the family of which he was a member. Living in a country in which military duties were compulsory he wasobliged to enter the army when he attained the proper age. During orimmediately following the French Revolution, in the years 1791 and1792, he was a prisoner of war in Kurfürstentum Hannover for a periodof about a year and a half. His prison life, however, was not a greathardship. He was allowed some privileges and liberties. He was not confined in a stockade and compelled to endurestarvation and the horrors and tortures which our soldiers weresubjected to in Libby Andersonville and other prisons during theRebellion. Some time after completing his military services he married. the dateof this important event of his life is not known, but it was in thevery early part of the nineteen century, perhaps about 1803. Neithercan I give you the name of the woman he married. (We now know she wasMary Enkelton). However, we may rest assured that she was a good andtrue woman, judging by the character of the sons and daughters shegave to the world. The issue of this marriage was three sons and four daughters, all ofwho attained the age of manhood and womanhood, married and rearedfamilies. The eldest of these children was a daughter who name I donot recall. She was twice married in the old country. The name of herfirst husband I am unable to give you. He lived only a few yearsafter their marriage. Their one child a daughter who was cousin Margaret and who died some thirteen years ago.Her second marriage was to Abraham Meyer, who all the older ones of usremember as Uncle Meyer. This issued of this second marriage wascousin Eliza, who died in California a year after the death of herhalf sister, Margaret. The next oldest daughter, Aunt Ann, was also twice married in the oldcountry. The name of her first husband was Schroeder, who died soonafter their only child was born. This child was Deitrech Schroeder,father of Henry and John. Aunt Ann's second marriage was to ClausAllen. They came to this country about 1848 and were the last of thefamily to leave the old country. They had three daughters, Gasha,Mary and Margaret. Gasha, the oldest, was born in Deutschland. Shemarried Geo. Hahn and died over thirty years ago. Mary and Margaretwere born in this country where their parents settled, about fivemiles Northwest from this place. Mary married John Seaba and died nearly twenty years ago. Margaret,married Dick Bakehouse and is now living in Oklahoma. I told you inanother part of this sketch that John Snakenberg Sr. and wife andseven children. I referred to the eldest of these children adaughter, and told you I could not recall her name. I will now giveyou the names of the other six in the order of their birth. They wereas follows: Dietrich, Ann, Margaret, John, Mary and Lewis. Dietrich was the writer's father. He was born in Deutschland,December 6, 1805 and died on the farm where he lived the lastfifty-five years of his long life, on November 25, 1898, at theadvanced age of 93 years, less 11 days. He was the pioneer of thefamily. His childhood and boyhood are uneventful in 1836 he bidfarewell to the old home and embarked for the United States with thedetermination to seek his fortune in the new World. He brought hisbrother John with him. They crossed the Atlantic in a sail ship and it took them 70 days tomake they voyage. They landed at Baltimore and from there went inlandand settled in Wheeling, Virginia now West Virginia. The same year inwhich D. Snakenberg and his brother John came to this country oldUncle Henry Seaba and family also came to this country. He broughtwith him his youngest sister, Marie F. Seaba. They were morefortunate in making the ocean voyage, as they crossed in five weeks,just half the time it took father and Uncle John to cross. They alsolanded at Baltimore and went to Wheeling. It so happened thatDietrich and Marie Seaba soon met and became acquainted, and in thefollowing year August, 1837 were married in Wheeling. Their firstchild John, was born in July 1938. I think it was about two years after father and Uncle John came tothis country they induced their parents to come with the threechildren still remaining at home. These children were Margaret, Maryand Lewis. Lewis was about sixteen years old when he came to thiscountry with his parents. <<1903 bio - born July 3, 1822>> Margaret, who was the fourth of grandfather's children, was marred toCarl Wolfe in Virginia soon after arriving in this country. Inperhaps a year or two after their marriage they left Virginia soonafter arriving in this country. They settled near Saint Louis, Mo.,and remained there a few years. In 1845 they came to this county and settled on a farm where Henry Wolfe now lives.They had four children Catherine, Mary, Rachel and John. Mary who isMrs. Miller is the only one of the family now living. Catherine, whowas the mother of Joe and Ben Korf, died some forty years ago in SaintJoe, Mo. Rachel died about August 1, 1863, at the home of UncleLewis, and lies buried in the cemetery in the south-west corner of his farm. John died in Saint Louis ayoung man, in about 1866. In 1839 D. Snakenberg decided to leaveVirginia and push out to what was then the Western frontier. At that time there was only a fewmiles of railroad along the Atlantic coast, none west of theAllegheny. He packed up his belongings and with his family which atthat time consisted of only wife and one child came to the territoryof Iowa and settled in the southwest part of Washington County, in a settlement called Dutch Creek. To this placethe rest of the family consisting of grandfather, grandmother andtheir unmarried children, John, Lewis and Mary soon followed. About four years after D. Snakenberg came with his family toWashington county a large portion of the territory was opened forsettlement by the government, the exact boundaries of which I amunable to describe, however it contained what is now Keokuk county,except a small part of the southeast corner which was contained in theOld Blackhawk Purchase. The New Territory, which was designated at that time as the NewPurchase was opened for settlement on the 1st day of May 1843. D.Snakenberg whom I have called the pioneer of the family in anotherpart of this sketch, at once decided to sell his improvements inWashington county and push further west into the New Purchase. Beforethe date fixed for settlement arrived, which was May 1, 1843. He incompany with sever other men, left their homes in Washington countyfor the purpose of exploring a portion of this New Purchase. Theparty travelled up the south side of Skunk River until they arrivednear where Martinsburg is situated. From there they north, crossedthe rivers and arrived near the place where Sigourney was located thefollowing year, viz 1844. At that point Uncle Henry Seaba becamedisgusted with the country, and declared they would never get anymarkets and that he had about decided to go back to Cincinnati wherehe come from. This threat he failed to carry out however, for withthe balance of the party he came a few miles further east where thecountry evidently looked fair to him and staked out his claim about a half mile south from this spot, where he lived the balance ofhis life and died in March 1866. D. Snakenberg staked his claimimmediately north of the one now owned by Michael Reinert. As stated before, these men selected their claims before May 1, thedate fixed for settlement. On the morning of that day D. Snakenbergwas on his claim and began erection of his log cabin about half miledirectly north of this spot, in the woods which you see by lookingnorth. The ground was then covered with a magnificent white oak forest, interspersed with hickory, red oak andblack oak. After completing his cabin he returned to his home in Washingtoncounty where he had put in some crops, as it was too late in theseason to break up the soil on the new possession. In the early fallhe moved to his new home with his family, which at that time consistedof wife and three children, John, Henry, and William. About two years after D. Snakenberg moved to the NewPurchase, John Snakenberg Sr. also sold out in Washington county andwith his family, consisting of wife and three unmarried children,John, Mary, and Lewis came to this county. John and Lewis selectedtheir claims near together, about five miles northeast of this place.It is the impression of the writer that John Sr., having arrived at an advanced age, decided totake no land for himself, but to live with his two younger sons. This brings us to the year 1845, at which time we find John SnakenbergSr. with his three sons and two daughters residing in German township,in Keokuk county. Between this date, 1845 and 1848 his remainingthree children were married. Mary married John Beinhart and lived theremainder of her life about one mile north-east from this place. Theyhad six children: John, Mary, Christina, Lewis, David and Louise. Mary died in August 1869, andDavid and his mother died on the same day twenty years ago. John andLewis Snakenberg were married to the Schonhorst sisters, Dorothea andMary, who we are all glad to have with us today, at the advanced agesof 87 and 83 years respectively. I will venture to say that they areenjoying this happy occasion as genuinely as anyone here. The family of John and Dorthea consisted of ten children: Lewis, JohnW., Henry, Nicholas, Mary, Catharine, Minnie, and Dedrick, twinsGeorge and Emma. The family of Lewis and Mary consisted of John J.,Detrich, Christian, Abraham, Lewis C., Henry L., Charles, Frank,Joseph, Annie and William F.. Two in each of these large families ofchildren are dead; Henry and John in the family of John and Dorthea,and Dick and Abraham in that of Lewis and Mary. The family of Dedrickand Mary Seaba consisted of nine children. I mentioned the names ofthe three oldest: John, Henry, and William. The others are Mary,Anna, Minnie, Dick, Louise, and Benjamine. The last named died ininfancy and the first John died September 10, 1863 in JeffersonCounty, at the age of 25. He was a methodist minister, was loved andrespected by all who knew him for his lovable personality, his truenoble character, his zeal in his chosen work and his loyalty anddevotion to God and to mankind. I will now venture the assertion thatif we, of this ease and comfort loving times, should suddenly bethrust into the circumstances in which our parents and grandparentswere situated when they were establishing their homes in the NewPurchase, many of us would give up in despair and perhaps cease toexist. But they were undaunted.
Roger
Engelken
