Kloepping branch · Featured story
Wilhelm Klöpping: born a Kuhlmann, named for a farm
The family remembered that the immigrant Wilhelm Kloepping was “not a Kloepping by blood.” The parish farm records of Meinberg explain why.
The farm came first
In the Principality of Lippe, a hereditary farm’s name (Hofname) belonged to the land, not the family. Under this custom, the Hofnamensitte, a man who married the heiress or the widow holding a farm took its name. Church registers wrote it as “X wird Klöpping,” meaning “X becomes Klöpping.”
Two successions on Hof Meinberg Nr. 62
- 1774 Carl Henrich Leweke wird Klöpping married the heiress Anna Maria Elisabeth Klöpping and became “Carl Henrich Leweke wird Klöpping.”
- 1811 As a widower, Carl Henrich married Anna Amalie Sophie Schneider (wird Leweke) of Vahlhausen Amt Horn on 10 Nov 1811.
- 19 Jul 1813 Carl Henrich died. His son Johann Friedrich Konrad Leweke was born after his death, on 26 Aug 1813.
- 28 Nov 1813 The widow married Simon Henrich Kuhlmann (wird Leweke oder Klöpping), born on Hof Meinberg Nr. 20, who became “Simon Henrich Kuhlmann wird Leweke oder Klöpping.”
- ca. 1814/1815 Wilhelm was born on Hof Nr. 62. Church books record him as “Wilhelm Klöpping (Klepping, oder Leweke).” His biological parents were Simon Henrich Kuhlmann and Anna Amalie Sophie Schneider.
- 12 Feb 1843 Wilhelm, a brick worker (Ziegelarbeiter), married Anna Marie Wilhelmine Louise (Louisa) Bracht in Meinberg.
- 1854 The couple appear in the Lippe emigration files (Verdenhalven, ref. XI. 1086). They sailed from Bremen on the bark Anna Delius (Master W. Hattendorff) and landed at New Orleans on 13 May 1854.
- 1860 Their son Frederick C. Kloepping was born at Rock Grove, Stephenson County, Illinois.
- 1886 The family moved west to Plum Creek (Lexington), Dawson County, Nebraska.
- 20 Mar 1904 Wilhelm died, aged 90. He and Louisa (d. 7 Jul 1898) are buried at Buffalo Grove Presbyterian Church Cemetery, Dawson County.
Where “Friderich Kloepping and Friderike Mense” came from
The earlier family tree named Wilhelm’s parents as Friderich Kloepping and Friderike Mense. The research suggests this mixes up the heads of the home farm: Wilhelm’s older half-brother Johann Friedrich Konrad Leweke oder Klöpping, known as Friedrich, married Friederike Weber in 1839. Where “Mense” came from is not known. ⚠ This explanation is a research interpretation, not a proven fact
Still open
The research recommends checking Wilhelm’s exact baptism record in the digitized Horn and Meinberg church books on Archion.