Thank you for taking the time to check out the Kuhlmann and Holtzen family 
trees! The Kuhlmann's are from my dad's side and the Holtzen's are my mom's 
side. My mom, Lori and my two aunts, Deb and Missy were the ones that got me 
interested in genealogy. They always wanted to know why my Great Great 
Grandmother's maiden name (Grundmann) was erased on her daughter's wedding 
license and another name, Wortman, was written in. That's the mystery that got 
us all interested and we are still trying to find the answers. We have so many 
theories, it's ridiculous. Maybe someone was adopted - of course, we can't see 
adoption records as they are closed - so that makes it hard. Okay, a little 
about me. My name is Jennifer Renee (Kuhlmann) Craig. I was named after my 
mom's sister, who was still born, Lisa Renee. I love my name and the fact that 
I was named after her sister. I live in Munden, Kansas with my husband, Nathan. 
We were married in June of 2004 and have been hoping to start a family. We have 
had trouble, going through two miscarraiges, and then no luck at all - and I am 
blaming this on my Great Great Grandmother, Anna, who did not have children 
until they were married for 12 years - that's a long time! I really hope I 
don't have to wait that long! :) Most of the information I have has come from 
my mom and aunt's research on the Holtzen side, and my grandpa (Karis)'s 
research on the Kuhlmann side. We haven't run across anyone famous in our 
family lines yet, but have come close. Henry E. Kuhlmann Jr. purchased the 
Buffalo Bill Ranch in North Platte, Nebraska from William "Bill" Cody on 
October 6, 1927 and he and his family moved from Chester and took possesion on 
March 7, 1928. Around 1965, the homeplace was sold to the state of Nebraska and 
is now a very beautiful tourist stop. We were also told that Anna Ziegler's 
father may have been a general in the Civil War for the North but have found no 
proof of this. In fact, we don't even know who her parents were. We have found 
one war hero in the family. Freeland Dunker, who would have been my I don't 
know how many greats uncle. He was a member of what they called the Swoose 
Group. He was a bomber pilot in WWII. He died in 1944 when the plane he was in 
had trouble. He stayed behind to fly the plane while the rest of his crew 
jumped to safety. He didn't make it. He jumped from the plane and they think he 
hit his head while jumping. The ironic part of it is that the plane glided into 
a safe landing. 
The main family we are researching is Heinrich and Anna Grundmann. Heinrich was 
born August 25, 1842 in Oldenburg, Germany. We know nothing of his family. Anna 
Marie Grundmann (nee Ziegler) was born July 19, 1847 in Wurtenburg. We were 
told that her parents (and possibly sister) died maybe of smallpox when she was 
very young. She had the choice of going into prostitution or coming to America -
 she came here. Not sure how much of that is true. Anyway, she came here, 
according to the 1900 census, by way of Bremen/Bremerhaven December 17, 1867 on 
the Ship Clara. She was 20 years old. Heinrich came from Oldenburg by way of 
Hamburg at age 24. The ship arrived in May of 1867. One source says Johann 
(dropped in America) Heinrich was upset with his family (why?) and left Germany 
as a stowaway on a ship - probably before his 1867 voyage. He was caught on the 
ship and had to work on the docks in New York for two years to pay for his 
passage - and possibly met Anna on the docks. She may have been a motel maid. 
It is also said that his family found him and brought him back to Germany, but 
he later returned to America - and that was probably in 1867 when he would have 
met Anna. We don't know how much of this story is accurate. 
When and where were they married? We have heard three possibilites: New York, 
Illinois, or Brownville Nebraska. We guess that they were married between June 
1869 and June 1870 and we know that they lived in Hamel, Illinois in 1870 as 
that is where their first child, Anna, my great great grandmother was born. 
They had at least 10 children: Anna, Heinrich, Frederick (died an infant), 
Marguritte (died an infant), Meta, Elise, Wilhelm, Sophie, Clara, and Johannes. 
The 1900 census stated they had 11 children. Who was the 11th? One thought was 
that they buried a child on the way back from Colorado. Heinrich died April 29, 
1919 in Friedensau and Anna died August 19, 1903. Their eldest daughter, our 
ancestor Anna, married Carl Degner April 20, 1893 in Friedensau. They did not 
have their first child, Elsa, until 12 years later in 1905. Marie was born 5 
years later in 1910. Why wait so long and why only two children? One rumor is 
that they were adopted, but of course we can't search adoption records. Elsa 
Degner married Ernst Holtzen on September 19, 1924 at St Peters Lutheran Church 
in Deshler. I believe on their marriage application, marriage license, and take 
home certificate, Elsa's mother's maiden name (Grundmann) was erased and 
changed to Wortman. No one knows where this name came from. According to my 
grandpa, Larry Holtzen, Anna Degner was a recluse in her later years and never 
left her bedroom.
One exciting thing that I just came across is some letters/documents that I 
copied from my Grandpa Karis' collection. It was all in German and so I never 
paid much attention to it. Bored one day, I put some of it into an online 
translator and came up with these words: out of the entry of the Rellingen 
death index, one can observe that the father of the deceased/descendants 
Wilhelm Ferdinand Kuhlmann (my 4greats grandfather), is, because of suspicion 
of a murder, in the penitentiary. The mother of the deceased/descendants is 
after never village/Niendorf moves away. As you can see, it doesn't 
make much sense with my translations, but it sounds like a very interesting 
story to follow up on and maybe find someone who can translate it for me. 
I know that my mom and aunt have talked with a lot of people they have found 
over the internet, and maybe you are one of them. Either way, I would love to 
hear any stories, etc. that you might have concerning someone in my family 
tree. You can email me at jennifer_renee024@yahoo.com - I look forward to 
hearing from you! Oh - and don't forget to sign my guestbook!! :)