Christian married Rosa Katherine Braun. Rosa (daughter of Bartholomäus Braun and Monika Dauenhauer) was born on 25 Feb 1909 in Mott, Hettinger County, North Dakota, USA; died on 6 Jan 1961 in Minnesota, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Thomas H. Larscheid, Eckelshiem, Germany
Ancestral villages: Karlsruhe, Landau and Speyer (Beresan District)

I was born in Dell Rapids, South Dakota, on May 18, 1948, 100 years to the day that the first democratic German parliament met in St. Paul's Church, in Frankfurt, Germany. Some say it explains my political views and absolute commitment to Freiheit (freedom).

Although I have lived in Europe (Germany and Belgium) for 20-plus years, I still struggle with German. I have been told I speak without much of an accent but my memory does not retain much. The verbs are killers!

My father's ancestors came to America in 1842, settling in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They were Rheinlanders from a village called Neideradenau. I was the first Larscheid from America to visit this village in 1990. My paternal grandfather, Tony, moved to Mott, North Dakota, around 1911 with his brother to farm. The brother, unable to adapt to the plains, returned to Wisconsin a few years later. My grandmother, Pauline, was half-Flemish and half-German. Tony and Pauline spoke German but did not pass it on to their children.

My maternal grandfather, Bartel Braun, and grandmother, Monica Dauenhauer, are from the Beresan District, immigrating to Richardton, North Dakota, in the 1890s. They later moved to Mott. Both spoke Russian and German; my grandfather spoke Low German, my grandmother High German. It is said my great-grandfather, Markus Dauenhauer (born in Landau, Russia, August 12, 1850), did not favor the marriage. Markus Dauenhauer was a very successful farmer in Russia and America. He gave or sold, there is a dispute, the land for Assumption Abbey in Richardton.

The Great Depression forced my parents to move from North Dakota to South Dakota. I lost my entire German-Russian heritage, save for a few stories from my mother, because of this. My mother grew up speaking German, but World War I put a stop to that. They were forbidden to speak German in public, especially in school. My grandfather was very pro Kaiser and grandmother worried constantly about him getting into trouble.

I spent 12 years in a Catholic school in Dell Rapids, South Dakota, St. Mary's, graduating in 1966. I attended South Dakota State University in Brookings, receiving a BA in Speech (broadcast journalism) in 1971. After working 6 months in Pierre South Dakota, with the Department of Public Instruction as an information specialist, I entered the Army to fulfill my duty commitment.

I spent 5.5 years on active duty in Pirmasens, Germany, not knowing until after I was discharged that this was the area from where my maternal ancestors went to Russia in 1809.

Currently I am an editor-writer at the U.S. Army European headquarters in Heidelberg, Germany.

My wife, Carol-Ann (Whipple) Larscheid, also has ancestral roots in Russia. Her grandmother (Schumacher) also came from the Odessa area, but we have little information.

I'm looking forward to an exciting trip.

Bartholomäus married Monika Dauenhauer on 8 Nov 1897. Monika (daughter of Markus Dauenhauer and Katharina Schnell) was born on 2 Sep 1876 in Landau, Odessa, Ukrayina; died on 27 Apr 1954 in Mott, Hettinger County, North Dakota, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Karl married Elisabetha Weinberger. Elisabetha was born in 0May 1830 in Speyer, Odessa, Ukrayina; died on 3 Jun 1903 in Richardton, Stark County, North Dakota, USA; was buried in Saint Mary Cemetery, Richardton, Stark County, North Dakota, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Markus married Katharina Schnell about 1873. Katharina (daughter of Martin Schnell and Maria Eva Wanner) was born on 25 Aug 1855 in Landau, Odessa, Ukrayina; died on 5 Sep 1914 in Taylor, Stark County, North Dakota, USA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]