The ship which sailed from Bremen and arrived in Baltimore on 25 Sep 1843 carried an amazing number of my relatives. The ship’s passenger list is available on ancestry.com and a distant cousin named Nancy Cutter of Washington Courthouse, OH provided much valuable information about the people who ended up in a little village of Farmers Retreat, IN, just west of Cincinnati, OH.
On board were Willmans, Lückings, Mettings, and Kuhlmanns (and, of course, 3 Bussdicker siblings traveling under their uncle’s surname — their Mom’s maiden name). Twenty-five people that I know of. A mass of Moms and Dads and uncles and aunts and cousins. And many ended up in Indiana. Some were in Newport, KY for a while.
Nancy Cutter (Koetter) has traced many of their lives through records of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Farmers Retreat. Suddenly I find 1000 new cousins! Well, she edited out living individuals to respect their privacy, but the potential is there.
Among the many fascinating facts is the death date of the 3 siblings’ uncle Johann Heinrich Mathias Metting. Apparently he lived only a short while after they arrived — until 22 Jul 1844. This means that my theory of his wife (married name Marie Metting) would be free to remarry W. H. Myres, the tailor, taking one of the Bussdicker brother s to live with her there. The uncle died in Farmers Retreat, Dearborn County, Indiana.
Jeff, I’m sure you are related to my husband, Alan, due to the fact all these families came from the same little village in Germany and all settled in Farmers Retreat with the exception of a few that liked the ‘city life’ in Cincinnati and Newport and chose not to be farmers. Living in Farmers Retreat (Originally named Opptown) was hard work! It was a very wooded area and all the land had to be cleared before they could farm and provide for their families. Can you imagine living in 1845 and having to clear hundreds of acres of trees without tractors and modern day tools?
Nancy Cutter
By: Nancy on September 9, 2011
at 11:48 am
As someone semi-famous surely said: “I resemble that remark.” I would’ve headed for the “big” city of Newport, KY right away! I need to read up on Southern Indiana in the 1840s… how long since Indians lived there, etc. It’s always amazing what my ancestors accomplished. I guess that’s how it works… we are here due in large part to some very determined and hard-working folks. And ones willing to take a huge risk to boot.
By: Jeff on September 9, 2011
at 2:31 pm
From “A Brief History of Dearborn County” By Chris McHenry
>>>
Then, in the summer of 1863, the war came to Dearborn County.
John Hunt Morgan led his Confederate troops across the Ohio River near Corydon and began a march toward Ohio, stealing horses, cutting telegraph lines, destroying bridges, and terrorizing residents as they went.
By the time they reached northern Dearborn County, they were hotly pursued by Federal troops who were encamped at Sunman. In mid July, Morgan and his men were in full flight as they galloped through Dearborn County on what is now North Dearborn Road, pausing only long enough to burn the bridge across the Whitewater River as they entered Ohio.
They were later captured in Ohio.
For years afterward, aging residents told stories to their wide-eyed grandchildren about how they had been forced to bake biscuits or provide directions to Morgan and his men, and farmers throughout the county were paid reparations for the livestock and horses they lost.
The raid also created a new name for a little settlement in Caesar Creek Township called Opptown. Although it turned out that Morgan never came near the place, farmers in the area took their horses to the woods around the town, for safekeeping. To this day, the community is known as Farmers Retreat.
>>>
Full story can be found at http://www.lpld.lib.in.us/brief.htm
I think you will find it very interesting!
Nancy Cutter
By: Nancy on September 9, 2011
at 2:55 pm
Very cool. Thanks.
I was almost going to dispute the origin of the name. The Buer-to-US site had mentioned it as a destination. Then I remembered that many comments were added way after the immigrations being documented. So that’s the “why” !
I will surely go read the item.
Jeff
By: Jeff on September 9, 2011
at 4:57 pm
If you search ‘Morgan’s Raid’ you might be able to find a map of the route he took through Indiana to Ohio. If I remember right, they stayed briefly in Versailles, Ripley County and did some damage to the courthouse and tormented the farmers there…stealing horses and food. Morgan’s troops went just north of Farmer’s Retreat. By the way, The South Ripley High School (Versailles) goes by ‘The Raiders’.
Nancy
By: Nancy on September 10, 2011
at 12:08 am