Henry was the only child born to Heinrich and Margaretha Frederike Rohde, an unmarried, unrelated couple, despite their sharing a surname. He had a younger half-sister, Margaretha Catharina Juliane Hansen, with whom he shared a mother. Henry was baptized into the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Heide, Schleswig-Holstein, the city in which he was born, on 27 October 1815.
According to Henry's baptismal record, Henry's mother Margaretha said that his father, whose name is strongly believed to be Heinrich Rohde by the German historian hired to research this family (although this is not confirmed, only inferred from historical German naming practices for illegitimate children), was "the horse dealer Rohde from nearby Altona who made her pregnant in Heide."
Details on Henry's early life in Germany are sparse. It is known that he lived a difficult life as a general laborer and, at the age of 29, married the 26 year-old Anna Katherina Magdalena Schletzer, who was herself an illegitimate child. Their wedding took place at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hemmingstedt, Schleswig-Holstein on 08 June 1845.
Henry and Anna were blessed with six known children, five of whom survived into adulthood. They were: (1) Johann Nicholaus "John" on 12 October 1845; (2) Anna Margaretha Catharina "Maggie" on 29 February 1848; (3) Wiebke Margaretha on 18 August 1850; (4) Baby Girl on 24 December 1853 (who was stillborn); (5) Jacob Peter Heinrich "Peter" on 16 January 1855; and (6) Reimer Detlef Friedrich "Fred" on 30 September 1859.
Henry appears in the 1864 Hemmingstedt, Schleswig-Holstein census with his wife and children: Wiebke, Jacob, and Reimer.
He is then recorded as having left for America from Hamburg with his wife and son Reimer on 29 September 1875 aboard the SS Klopstock, a Hamburg-America Line steamship. The three arrived in New York on 14 October 1875 and soon after joined the rest of the family in Anchor, Illinois.
Henry joined with 23 other men, many of whom were relatives, including his three sons, to formally inaugurate St. John's Lutheran Church in Anchor, Illinois on 28 October 1877. Their first spiritual leader was Rev. and fellow German immigrant Hellwig Staehling.
No details about his personality are known to this author. I do know, however, that he was blind, although the details of what led to this condition and when are not known. He lived out the remainder of his life in Anchor, Illinois, with his son, Jacob Peter Heinrich Rohde, who waited until his parents had passed before moving his family first to Indiana and then to settle in Oregon.
Henry's great grandson, Glenn Louis Rohde, provided a saliva sample through the 23andMe kit on 22 December 2012 and it was revealed that Henry belonged to y-Haplogroup N1c1, an N1c subgroup. N1c is an offshoot of Haplogroup N, which originated in southeastern Asia about 20,000 years ago. About 12,000 years ago several branches of N, including N1c, began expanding north and west to reach their current distributions across northern Eurasia.
According to Henry's baptismal record, Henry's mother Margaretha said that his father, whose name is strongly believed to be Heinrich Rohde by the German historian hired to research this family (although this is not confirmed, only inferred from historical German naming practices for illegitimate children), was "the horse dealer Rohde from nearby Altona who made her pregnant in Heide."
Details on Henry's early life in Germany are sparse. It is known that he lived a difficult life as a general laborer and, at the age of 29, married the 26 year-old Anna Katherina Magdalena Schletzer, who was herself an illegitimate child. Their wedding took place at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hemmingstedt, Schleswig-Holstein on 08 June 1845.
Henry and Anna were blessed with six known children, five of whom survived into adulthood. They were: (1) Johann Nicholaus "John" on 12 October 1845; (2) Anna Margaretha Catharina "Maggie" on 29 February 1848; (3) Wiebke Margaretha on 18 August 1850; (4) Baby Girl on 24 December 1853 (who was stillborn); (5) Jacob Peter Heinrich "Peter" on 16 January 1855; and (6) Reimer Detlef Friedrich "Fred" on 30 September 1859.
Henry appears in the 1864 Hemmingstedt, Schleswig-Holstein census with his wife and children: Wiebke, Jacob, and Reimer.
He is then recorded as having left for America from Hamburg with his wife and son Reimer on 29 September 1875 aboard the SS Klopstock, a Hamburg-America Line steamship. The three arrived in New York on 14 October 1875 and soon after joined the rest of the family in Anchor, Illinois.
Henry joined with 23 other men, many of whom were relatives, including his three sons, to formally inaugurate St. John's Lutheran Church in Anchor, Illinois on 28 October 1877. Their first spiritual leader was Rev. and fellow German immigrant Hellwig Staehling.
No details about his personality are known to this author. I do know, however, that he was blind, although the details of what led to this condition and when are not known. He lived out the remainder of his life in Anchor, Illinois, with his son, Jacob Peter Heinrich Rohde, who waited until his parents had passed before moving his family first to Indiana and then to settle in Oregon.
Henry's great grandson, Glenn Louis Rohde, provided a saliva sample through the 23andMe kit on 22 December 2012 and it was revealed that Henry belonged to y-Haplogroup N1c1, an N1c subgroup. N1c is an offshoot of Haplogroup N, which originated in southeastern Asia about 20,000 years ago. About 12,000 years ago several branches of N, including N1c, began expanding north and west to reach their current distributions across northern Eurasia.
Henry was the only child born to Heinrich and Margaretha Frederike Rohde, an unmarried, unrelated couple, despite their sharing a surname. He had a younger half-sister, Margaretha Catharina Juliane Hansen, with whom he shared a mother. Henry was baptized into the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Heide, Schleswig-Holstein, the city in which he was born, on 27 October 1815.
According to Henry's baptismal record, Henry's mother Margaretha said that his father, whose name is strongly believed to be Heinrich Rohde by the German historian hired to research this family (although this is not confirmed, only inferred from historical German naming practices for illegitimate children), was "the horse dealer Rohde from nearby Altona who made her pregnant in Heide."
Details on Henry's early life in Germany are sparse. It is known that he lived a difficult life as a general laborer and, at the age of 29, married the 26 year-old Anna Katherina Magdalena Schletzer, who was herself an illegitimate child. Their wedding took place at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hemmingstedt, Schleswig-Holstein on 08 June 1845.
Henry and Anna were blessed with six known children, five of whom survived into adulthood. They were: (1) Johann Nicholaus "John" on 12 October 1845; (2) Anna Margaretha Catharina "Maggie" on 29 February 1848; (3) Wiebke Margaretha on 18 August 1850; (4) Baby Girl on 24 December 1853 (who was stillborn); (5) Jacob Peter Heinrich "Peter" on 16 January 1855; and (6) Reimer Detlef Friedrich "Fred" on 30 September 1859.
Henry appears in the 1864 Hemmingstedt, Schleswig-Holstein census with his wife and children: Wiebke, Jacob, and Reimer.
He is then recorded as having left for America from Hamburg with his wife and son Reimer on 29 September 1875 aboard the SS Klopstock, a Hamburg-America Line steamship. The three arrived in New York on 14 October 1875 and soon after joined the rest of the family in Anchor, Illinois.
Henry joined with 23 other men, many of whom were relatives, including his three sons, to formally inaugurate St. John's Lutheran Church in Anchor, Illinois on 28 October 1877. Their first spiritual leader was Rev. and fellow German immigrant Hellwig Staehling.
No details about his personality are known to this author. I do know, however, that he was blind, although the details of what led to this condition and when are not known. He lived out the remainder of his life in Anchor, Illinois, with his son, Jacob Peter Heinrich Rohde, who waited until his parents had passed before moving his family first to Indiana and then to settle in Oregon.
Henry's great grandson, Glenn Louis Rohde, provided a saliva sample through the 23andMe kit on 22 December 2012 and it was revealed that Henry belonged to y-Haplogroup N1c1, an N1c subgroup. N1c is an offshoot of Haplogroup N, which originated in southeastern Asia about 20,000 years ago. About 12,000 years ago several branches of N, including N1c, began expanding north and west to reach their current distributions across northern Eurasia.
According to Henry's baptismal record, Henry's mother Margaretha said that his father, whose name is strongly believed to be Heinrich Rohde by the German historian hired to research this family (although this is not confirmed, only inferred from historical German naming practices for illegitimate children), was "the horse dealer Rohde from nearby Altona who made her pregnant in Heide."
Details on Henry's early life in Germany are sparse. It is known that he lived a difficult life as a general laborer and, at the age of 29, married the 26 year-old Anna Katherina Magdalena Schletzer, who was herself an illegitimate child. Their wedding took place at the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hemmingstedt, Schleswig-Holstein on 08 June 1845.
Henry and Anna were blessed with six known children, five of whom survived into adulthood. They were: (1) Johann Nicholaus "John" on 12 October 1845; (2) Anna Margaretha Catharina "Maggie" on 29 February 1848; (3) Wiebke Margaretha on 18 August 1850; (4) Baby Girl on 24 December 1853 (who was stillborn); (5) Jacob Peter Heinrich "Peter" on 16 January 1855; and (6) Reimer Detlef Friedrich "Fred" on 30 September 1859.
Henry appears in the 1864 Hemmingstedt, Schleswig-Holstein census with his wife and children: Wiebke, Jacob, and Reimer.
He is then recorded as having left for America from Hamburg with his wife and son Reimer on 29 September 1875 aboard the SS Klopstock, a Hamburg-America Line steamship. The three arrived in New York on 14 October 1875 and soon after joined the rest of the family in Anchor, Illinois.
Henry joined with 23 other men, many of whom were relatives, including his three sons, to formally inaugurate St. John's Lutheran Church in Anchor, Illinois on 28 October 1877. Their first spiritual leader was Rev. and fellow German immigrant Hellwig Staehling.
No details about his personality are known to this author. I do know, however, that he was blind, although the details of what led to this condition and when are not known. He lived out the remainder of his life in Anchor, Illinois, with his son, Jacob Peter Heinrich Rohde, who waited until his parents had passed before moving his family first to Indiana and then to settle in Oregon.
Henry's great grandson, Glenn Louis Rohde, provided a saliva sample through the 23andMe kit on 22 December 2012 and it was revealed that Henry belonged to y-Haplogroup N1c1, an N1c subgroup. N1c is an offshoot of Haplogroup N, which originated in southeastern Asia about 20,000 years ago. About 12,000 years ago several branches of N, including N1c, began expanding north and west to reach their current distributions across northern Eurasia.
Inscription
Headstone top translation (from German): "Here rests in God our beloved father and mother."
Bottom translation: "I will carry you up to the age and until you are gray. I will do it. I want to lift and carry and deliver."
Family Members
Half Siblings
