In 1854, at the age of 13, Friederika along with her father, 2 brothers and 3 sisters emigrated to the United States - arriving in New York City on August 4, 1854 aboard the SS Marchioness of Queensbury from Hamburg. They continued west to Detroit, Michigan to make their new home there.
Unfortunately, life in Detroit was not kind to the Harning family. Friederika's father and her brother Christian succumbed to Asiatic Cholera very shortly after arriving in Detroit, in 1854. Her younger sister Christine died of the same disease in 1855. Friederika's remaining siblings got busy - working to better their family's lives. In turn, each of them married and started new families: Louise married Heinrich Engel in 1854, oldest brother Johann married Heinrich's cousin Caroline Leesch in 1856, and Dorothea married Helmuth Miller, also in 1856.
Each of these spouses were also recent immigrants from Germany. The Harnings had met the Engel family (along with their cousin Caroline Leesch) at some point during their long journey from Mecklenburg to the US. Both families had the same goal of starting life anew in the New World; they became close in the process.
Another tragedy occurred in the Harning family in 1860 when Friederika's older sister Louise Harning Engel died of Scarlet Fever. Friederika was still only 19 years old at the time. When Heinrich Engel's younger brother Christoph Engel returned to Detroit in 1861 (from his 5-year US Army service), he and Friederika became re-acquainted. They decided to marry - and on January 8, 1862, they did just that. They made their home in Springwells Township on the rural west side of the city of Detroit, and started their family right away. They eventually had 13 children!
1862 - Emma
1863 - George
1865 - Frank (died in 1865)
1866 - Louis
1867 - Albert
1869 - Martin
1870 - Wilhelmine (died in 1872)
1872 - Herman
1874 - Augusta
1876 - Elise
1882 - Elias (died in 1887)
1885 - Edmund
1887 - Oscar (died in 1887)
Sadly, 4 of Friederika's 13 children died in infancy (or early childhood), but 9 of them lived to adulthood and began their own life journey. Friederika's husband Christoph died in 1899 at the age of 66. Friederika outlived him by nearly 28 years - she passed away in 1927 at the age of 85. In her later years, after the farm had been sold and subdivided (as the city of Detroit rapidly expanded around them), Friederika moved in with her daughter and son-in-law Augusta and Charles Jehle, just a few doors down the street.
In 1854, at the age of 13, Friederika along with her father, 2 brothers and 3 sisters emigrated to the United States - arriving in New York City on August 4, 1854 aboard the SS Marchioness of Queensbury from Hamburg. They continued west to Detroit, Michigan to make their new home there.
Unfortunately, life in Detroit was not kind to the Harning family. Friederika's father and her brother Christian succumbed to Asiatic Cholera very shortly after arriving in Detroit, in 1854. Her younger sister Christine died of the same disease in 1855. Friederika's remaining siblings got busy - working to better their family's lives. In turn, each of them married and started new families: Louise married Heinrich Engel in 1854, oldest brother Johann married Heinrich's cousin Caroline Leesch in 1856, and Dorothea married Helmuth Miller, also in 1856.
Each of these spouses were also recent immigrants from Germany. The Harnings had met the Engel family (along with their cousin Caroline Leesch) at some point during their long journey from Mecklenburg to the US. Both families had the same goal of starting life anew in the New World; they became close in the process.
Another tragedy occurred in the Harning family in 1860 when Friederika's older sister Louise Harning Engel died of Scarlet Fever. Friederika was still only 19 years old at the time. When Heinrich Engel's younger brother Christoph Engel returned to Detroit in 1861 (from his 5-year US Army service), he and Friederika became re-acquainted. They decided to marry - and on January 8, 1862, they did just that. They made their home in Springwells Township on the rural west side of the city of Detroit, and started their family right away. They eventually had 13 children!
1862 - Emma
1863 - George
1865 - Frank (died in 1865)
1866 - Louis
1867 - Albert
1869 - Martin
1870 - Wilhelmine (died in 1872)
1872 - Herman
1874 - Augusta
1876 - Elise
1882 - Elias (died in 1887)
1885 - Edmund
1887 - Oscar (died in 1887)
Sadly, 4 of Friederika's 13 children died in infancy (or early childhood), but 9 of them lived to adulthood and began their own life journey. Friederika's husband Christoph died in 1899 at the age of 66. Friederika outlived him by nearly 28 years - she passed away in 1927 at the age of 85. In her later years, after the farm had been sold and subdivided (as the city of Detroit rapidly expanded around them), Friederika moved in with her daughter and son-in-law Augusta and Charles Jehle, just a few doors down the street.
Inscription
MOTHER
Family Members
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Emma Maria Sophia Engel Sievert
1862–1945
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George Christopher Engel
1863–1935
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Frank Johann Engel
1865–1865
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Louis Johann Engel
1866–1935
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Albert David Engel
1867–1942
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Martin Christian Engel
1869–1920
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Wilhelmina Caroline Engel
1870–1872
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Herman Wilhelm Heinrich Louis Engel
1872–1962
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Augusta Louise Amelia Henriette Engel Jehle
1874–1966
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Elise Louise "Lizzie" Engel Krueger
1876–1965
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Elias Engel
1882–1887
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Edmund Fiedel Engel
1885–1943
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Oscar Frank Engel
1887–1887