Philip Santel's original house during 1982 snow storm
Jeff
Santel's Family History
Both
the Santel and Tonnies families came from Gross Hesepe, Germany. Gross
Hesepe
is a town in the region known as Emsland. This region is a district
located in
Niedersachsen in the northwest part of Germany. The people who came
from this
area were mostly of the Catholic faith. They farmed small farms and had
a
strong faith in their God. Most of the
people in this region of Germany immigrated to the United States around
late
1860 and early 1870. The people that immigrated from this region are
known as
Emslanders. One of the reasons for immigration was the German
inheritance
customs. The oldest son in the family inherited the family’s land which
left no
source of income for the remaining family members. This basically
forced the
remaining family members to either change their profession or go to a
new
country and continue farming. There was really no hope for younger
brothers in
a farming family to have a secure future in farming. Many people chose
to
continue farming in a new country. Many Emslanders settled in the
Midwest
because of well suited land for agriculture.
Johan
Santel immigrated to the
United States in 1839 with his wife Maria Wester and one child named
Anne. Johan was born on March 30, 1815 in
Meppen,
Germany and was a farmer in Germany. The
family arrived in New Orleans on January 20, 1840 on the ship, Louise Fredericke. He settled in
Damiansville, Illinois. After arriving in the United States, Johan
bought
several farms and opened a store in Damiansville, Illinois. Johan had six children in his life. Their
names are Anne, Johan Herman, Gerhard, Herman, Bernard, and John. Johan
was
only sixteen years old when he made his voyage to the United States. I am directly related to Johan’s, son Gerhard,
who was born on March 31, 1850. Gerhard was the second child born to
Johan.
Gerhard lived in Damiansville, Illinois his entire life except for a
short time
when he attended the Christian Brothers’ College in St. Louis, MO.
After he
graduated from college he continued to run his father’s store and farm.
Gerhard
married Catherine Ackermann who was also a German immigrant living in
Damiansville. Gerhard had five children
in his life time. Later in Gerhard’s
life he became a school teacher at Kalmer’s school house in
Damiansville and
taught for eight years. Gerhard was also
elected as a tax collector in 1880 where he served two terms in office.
I am directly related Gerhard’s son,
Philip.
Philip was born on March 22, 1889 in Damiansville. Philip was gifted
one of the
farms by his father Gerhard. This farm
was two hundred acres located in New Baden, IL . Philip farmed this
farm and
raised horses for his source of income. Philip moved to that farm when
he was
in his early 20’s. Philip married Wilhelmina Kauling who was a maid on
the farm.
They had four children during their life together. Their names are
Delmond,
James, Roy, Luella. Philip’s son, Delmond, is my grandfather. He was
born on
July 26, 1917 on the family farm.
Delmond’s main source of income was farming. He also worked at
Scott Air
Force Base as the lead electrical engineer. Delmond taught himself
everything
he knew about electrical wiring and components.
He spent a lot of time repairing electrical motors for area
farmers and
also running his own saw milling business. Delmond married Virgina
Carter on June
17, 1944 and had three children. Their names are Michael, Daniel, and
Phyliss.
Delmond’s son, Michael, is my father. Michael was born on June 17, 1953
at St.
Joseph Hospital in Breese, IL. Michael
lives in New Baden, Illinois and continues to farm the original family
farm in
New Baden. The farm is currently a grain farm growing corn and
soybeans. Michael
also works for Local 520 Operating Engineers as a heavy equipment
operator.
Michael married Sandra Tonnies on September 24, 1982 and they had one
child
named Jeffrey Santel.
Delmond Santel sitting on saw mill
My mothers side of the family begins with Johan Toenies
from Gross Hesepe, Germany. Johan was born on January 16, 1834 in Gross
Hesepe.
His family owned a ship building company
in Gross Hespe. He came to the United States in 1849 and arrived in New
Orleans
on November 26, 1849 with his three brothers. The ship he arrived on
was called
the Leontine. Both of Johan’s parents
died on the Leontine on their voyage
to the United States. He settled in Germantown, Illinios. He married
Margaretha Dust and had six children
together. There names are Anna, Henry,
Margaritta, Agnes, Bernard, and Albert. Johan’s son Albert was born in
1870 in
Germany and made the voyage with his family. He was only four months
old.
Albert later settled in Damiansville, Illinois. He bought a three
hundred acre
farm in Damiansville and immediately built a house and began farming.
The farm
was bought for approximately one dollar per acre. Albert married Mary
Lohmann
and had four children. Albert’s son, Frederick, was born on January 26,
1892 in
Damiansville, Illinois. Frederick changed the way his father spelled
Tonnies
because he did not like how the German spelling sounded. Frederick was
predominately a farmer and also served as Justice of the Peace in New
Baden,
Illinois. Frederick owned a small mill that helped make him a
successful
business man in the New Baden area. Frederick bought several farms in
the area
during his life. He acquired about 1,000 acres of land in his lifetime.
Frederick
also held many barn dances for the residents of New Baden and
Damiansville. Frederick
was able to play many musical instruments along with the rest of his
family which
made him able to host the large dances. Frederick married Euphemia
Markus and
began to have a family immediately. They had six children together
during there
short lived marriage. Their names are Daniel, Paul, Florence, Fred,
Ralph, and
Virgil. Euphemia died at the age of 35 from cancer and left Frederick
with six children
under the age of eleven. This was extremely difficult for Frederick and
his
children. Frederick was forced to hire people to help out with the
house work,
while Frederick and the children worked on the farm.
Frederick later married Veronica Stockmann
and had two more children named Betty and Vera. The newly wed couple
also took
in Veronica’s nephew to raise after his father died. Frederick proudly
served
in WWI and had four of his sons serve during WWII and The Korean War. Frederick’s son, Daniel, is my grandfather
who is one of the sons who fought in WWII. He spent much of his time in
the
military in the Philippines as a member of the 158th
Bushmasters
Infantry Division. This group of men was
specially trained in jungle warfare and fought their way through the
dense
jungles of the Philippines. Daniel’s division was scheduled to lead the
invasion of Japan. Thankfully this invasion was never carried out due
to the
atomic bomb which Daniel claims saved his life.
The invasion of Japan would have been certain death for every
member of
the 158th Bushmasters Infantry Divsion. Before the war
Daniel worked
on the family’s farm and in the family saw mill. Shortly after the war
Daniel
married Myrtle Heckenkemper on May 28, 1952. After he got married
Daniel farmed
for a short time and began working at Imbs Mill in Belleville,
Illinois. He
also built a house and began working for Wiegmann Electric
manufacturing
electrical boxes after the mill closed. Daniel and Myrtle had one child
named
Sandra. Sandra is my mother and she was born on July 10, 1957. Sandra
sells
insurance for Country Financial in New Baden, Illinois. Sandra married
Michael
Santel on September 24, 1982. Michael and Sandra had one child named
Jeffrey
Santel.
Santel,
Sandra M., Daniel M. Tonnies, and
Michael R. Santel. "Personal Immigration Website." Personal
interview. 22 Apr. 2009.