Jann Saathoff and his wife Seetje Lienemann were both born near Schirum, Ostfriesland, Germany. It was there that they married and had seven children. Four sons survived to adulthood and in 1885, the entire family immigrated to the United States. They left Bremen on the ship, EMS, arriving in the US in March. They then moved immediately to Illinois, locating near the villages of Charlotte and Chatsworth.

In spring 1885, the Saathoff family arrived at Castle Garden in New York. Ellis Island had not been built yet. Calling this wood frame building a castle must have been a surprise to Europeans who had seen real castles in their homelands.

Jann and Seetje Saathoff and family, Charlotte, Illinois. Click on the house to see an enlargment of it and identification of the people in front of it.	In America they were called John and Sadie. Chatsworth Cemetery, Chatsworth, IL

Their four sons were John, Ben, Albert, and Frank.

John and Annie Niemeyer Saathoff	Ben and Anna Voss Saathoff
Albert and Anna Brunken Saathoff, Moundville, MO. Click on the here to see an enlargement their family.	Frank and Gertie Haase Saathoff Click here to see more photos of Frank's family.

 

Just before 1900, three of the sons left Charlotte and moved to Vernon County, Missouri. Each of them had married a woman named Anna. These three sons farmed near the villages of Bronaugh and Moundville in Vernon County. Most were member of the Moundville Lutheran Church. Ben and Albert are buried in Welborn Cemetery, near Moundville, and John is buried in Worsley Cemetery, near Bronaugh. Frank was the only brother to remain in Illinois.

The photo below is probably the wedding celebration for Ernest and Ina Saathoff Bollinger. When folks first see this photo, they usually guess wrong as to who the newlyweds are. We assume that it was held at the home of Ina's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Ben Saathoff. See below for identifications

1 Henry "Hank" S. 2 Frank S. 3 John G. S. 4 Ernest & Ina 5 Alma S. 6 Ben & Anna 7 Louise S. 8 Albert S. 9 Anna S. 10 Joe Beck 11 John S. 12 Unknown 13 Sadie S 14 Anna S. 15Unknown 16 John F. S. 17 George S. 18 Jack S. Numbers 12 and 15 are unknown.

I've created a page for posting Saathoff photos that need more identification. So, click here to see them.

Go back to Lyndon's Genealogy page.

The background music playing on this page is "Happy Heine", by J. Bodewalt Lampe, 1905.