• 3rd.Reunion 2009 in Germany
• 1st.Reunion 2005 in Germany
• Trip to Illinois 2007
• 2nd.Reunion 2007 in Germany
• Also see our "Fotogallery" page

Reunion 2009 in Eisfeld

On the weekend of September 18 – 20th, we celebrated our 3rd Geuder-Geuter-Geuther reunion in Germany outside of the little town of Eisfeld. Eisfeld is about 15 minutes north of Coburg, a beautiful place full of history, also for our Geuther lineages. We were pleased to welcome members from all of Germany, as well as USA and Netherlands. Deanna Ziegler and Mary Summers with her husband came from Illinois, and Ferdinand Geuther with his wife Marion arrived from Holland. It was nice to see familiar faces, Heinrich Geuther from Coburg, Eckhard Geuther from Seefeld, Christa Geuther from Mainz, - too many to mention all by name. We missed Andreas Jahrow who could not come from Bangalore, India. Even though some members had to cancel because of unforeseeable circumstances, we were about 45 strong. And not only old folks. Sandro Geuther is 11 years old and very interested in his family’s history.

On the first evening, we took care of our club business. Christa Geuther, the treasurer updated us on the current stand of our finances and also gave us the projected budget for the next two years. No changes were made to the positions of Coordinator, Treasurer and the members of the Planning Committee. We reconnected over dinner.
Saturday, our main day was packed with information and entertainment. Dr. Eckhard Geuther brought a disk prepaired by Andreas Jahrow that contained the complete data of the Malmerz Geuther lineage. He offered copies to anybody interested. Gaby Geuther presented an overview over the latest research results on all Geuther and Geuder lineages. Many details have been added especially to the Geuder family trees from middle Franconia. Hans Geuther from Roetha lined us up outside of the hotel for the customary group picture. He made sure we all fit in. Then we sat down once more for an informative lecture about our DNA surname project. The unexpected success of finding a genetic connection between our two major Geuther lineages is very encouraging. Now we can continue with the comparison of Geuder and Geuther lineages.
Lunch went by quickly over delicious German food and was followed by a lecture given by Ingward Ulrich on the musical genius of Adolf Geuther who was a well-known musical director and composer in nearby Hildburghausen. It was followed by a bus ride to Crock where we were treated to the live performance of his music in the beautiful old church from the 16th century. Two club members played for our pleasure, Lienhard Geuther on flute and his brother, Johann Georg Geuther on the majestic organ. We are proud to have such skilled musicians in our larger family. Dinner in the evening came with a magician and lots of laughs.
A true surprise for one of our newer members, Gerhard Geuther was the unexpected appearance of relatives he did not know. They had read an article about our Geuther reunion that appeared a few days before in the local paper and decided to show up. With the help of photographs and several other personal details we were able to confirm the identity of Gerhard’s father and his family. All of a sudden, Gerhard has four siblings, one aunt and two cousins he until now knew nothing of. He was very happy and visibly overwhelmed.
On Sunday, the last day, an expert guide of the local Eisfeld history, Heiko Haine, the director of the museum walked us through the town after an informative slide show. With beautiful warm weather, we saw where the Geuther bakery and butchery used to be and many old photographs of the buildings. We could just imagine what life was like for them 100 years ago. See photographs on www.geuther-ahnen.de/html/geuther_eisfeld.html.

 
During the reunion, I was able to collect more data for our family trees. Frau Morgenstern filled me in on details of her von Geuder-Rabensteiner family, Margarethe Hoppe had additional information to the Geuther Malmerz lineage, and Manfred Geuder from Uffenheim handed me copies of his ancestry, which clearly connects him to the Ohrenbacher Geuder lineage.

The Geuther house in Hof a.d.Steinach occupied by the Geuther family since 1750

After the reunion weekend, I stayed with Deanna Ziegler for a few more days in the county of Coburg. We visited Hof a.d.Steinach, her ancestor Henry Geuther’s hometown, a tiny village with 17 original homesteads. Talking with the inhabitants and consulting the researcher, Rainer Wachsmann, we were able to confirm the house in which Henry was born. It is the former pub. The current owner was not available to talk to us, but Deanna took some pictures. We also met with descendants of Deanna’s female ancestry, the Muellers in Au b. Kronach. They welcomed us into their home, served us dinner and showed us their bakery, in which they create every night 140 different bakery goods. I was truly impressed. For Deanna’s sake they spoke their best English, even the 70 year old father.
We also visited Malmerz and looked at the house that was the original homestead of the Geuther family. The village sits in a depression, stretched out along the creek. I imagined what life was like for my father’s ancestors that lived here for more than 300 years. It must have been good, if they stayed that long.
Deanna loved the Coburger Veste, the fortified castle that thrones over Coburg. We spent a whole day sightseeing in the large museum it contains. In the evening, we had dinner with Markus Geuder who handed me the chronicles of the village Ohrenbach, where his family lives. This is one of the oldest Geuder lineages we currently have documented all the way into the present.
On the last day before Deanna’s flight back to Chicago, we walked around the “Wiesn” at the Munich Octoberfest. The girls and women in beautiful Dirndl (a traditional folk dress) and the strong, patient draft horses pulling the beer wagons decorated in the best gear of each participating brewery were most memorable.

You come with us the next time in 2011. 

 

Reunion 2005 in Sonneberg

Every two years, our Family Club is hosting a big reunion in Germany. All Geuder, Geuter and Geuther name bearers, as well as their descendants are welcome. We began with this new tradition in September, 2005 in Sonneberg. The picture on the top was taken during the 1st. reunion in the backyard of the Parkhotel Sonne in Sonneberg. Not all participants fit on this photograph. When Kurt Geuther, Eckhard Geuther and I had organized the meeting, we had no inkling of how many of our name cousins would actually show up. We were pleasantly surprised by the interest and the enthusiasm of more than 60 people that came from near and far.  

During this weekend in Sonneberg, we had lively conversations, listened to a talk about local history by Karl-Heinz Grossmann, and received tips from Dr. Eckhard Geuther for our own genealogical research. But most of all, we got to know each other a little better. Our previous contact had been primarily over the internet. Andreas Jahrow surprised everyone with a Geuther familytree in book form, and we all tried to find our ancestors in it. I was one of the lucky ones.

Until this fateful weekend in Sonneberg, I had traced my father's family only as far as my great-grandfather, born in 1875. To my big surprise, I found my great-grandfather in Andreas' book, and in addition to him, all his forefathers back to 1490 or so. All of a sudden, I had a large family. It made me very happy. This feeling of new connectedness was felt by all of us.

Right then, we decided to form a small nonprofit organization to further the research and exchange within our Geuder-Geuther tribe. We selected Kurt Geuther as the coordinator, the president of our club. Eckhard Geuther, with his interest in early Geuder history and records, continues that particular research. While Andreas Jahrow keeps adding new branches to the Geuther tree he collected. I, Gaby Geuther, took the Geuder and Geuther in the United States under my wings. My larger interest is still the documentation of all Geuder and Geuther in Germany, as well as the United States, and finding the connection between the immigrated families and the ones that stayed behind, as well as the connection between the various lineages in Germany. Christa Geuther became our treasurer.

The local newspaper ran an article about our reunion a few weeks later. This brought even more interest for our Geuder-Geuter-Geuther genealogy club. Kurt Geuther started a German language website (www.geuther-ahnen.de) which he still maintains today. About 50 people signed up as members. Some agreed to become part of the organizing committee that meets every year to plan the next big reunion and prepare the annual membership letter. Others contributed their family information to add to our collection and research.  

Trip to Illinois 2007

Illinois was the favorite state of our Geuther immigrants in 1850, and today, it still has a concentration of Geuther families living there. This tempted me to travel there and meet some of my distant cousins.

My visit to Illinois in May 2007 was a wonderful experience, thanks to Deanna Ziegler, Marv Ehlers and Dorothy Esterday, who invited me into their homes and chauffeured me around. Meeting the many Geuther/Guither families was especially touching to me, and I fondly remember the many friendly faces.
Deanna Ziegler, the daughter of Aneta Guither/Ziegler, picked me up at the airport in Chicago. In the evening, we had dinner and a lively conversation with Greg Geuther; he is a descendant of Johann Georg Geuther, who came from Weidhausen, Germany, in 1848 with two sons, his wife and mother-in-law, and settled near Frankfort.

 Peter and Grant Geuther

The next day, Deanna drove me down to Frankfort to meet with Peggy and Grant Geuther. Grant’s ancestor is also Johann Georg Geuther from Weidhausen. Grant showed us the location of the former Geuther farmland and the graveyard with his ancestor’s grave. Recently, most of the farmland around Frankfort has been turned into new housing developments.
We made copies of a map from the Frankfort Township plat book from 1898 that shows the farms owned by the grandsons of Johann Georg Geuther. In Frankfort, we also dropped in on Grace Eisenbrandt, the sister of Greg Geuther’s grandmother. She had many stories to tell from her youth in the 1920s. Another stop was in New Lennox, with Lynn Gilmore, who belongs to the same Geuther tree. Lynn has a large collection of family memorabilia, including a big
photograph from a Geuther reunion dating from around 1933 with over 200 participants. For several years the Geuthers from Frankfort and Walnut got together to celebrate their close relations. Unfortunately, Lynn was not able to identify anybody on this photograph, but I took a copy for my visit with the Geuthers further west.

It is a curious thing that almost every family pronounces the name Geuther differently. Greg in Chicago pronounces it rhyming with Luther, whereas for Grant it sounds like Gyther. On the old marriage record of Adam Geuther from 1850 the name is spelled “Kider”, the way it must have sounded to the clerk. Johann Henry changed his name to Guither, maybe to come closer to its German pronunciation or to prevent a mix-up of mail with his brother’s.

The next day, Marvin Ehlers [a descendant of Eva Barbara Geuther, who came with her brother Adam to Illinois in 1850] took me to the farmland around La Moille and Mendota. He also introduced me to Arthur Ladenburger’s book “The Mendota Area German Pioneer Families”. The many relations between the families in Mendota and the places where they came from in Germany make it appear as if whole villages immigrated to the United States.
The afternoon passed with sightseeing at the Illinois-Michigan canal locks in Peru, driving through the back roads of the farm land and strolling through the cemetery of the Zion Lutheran Church, at St. Paul’s and the Hetzler cemetery. It is remarkable how many familiar last names I find on the gravestones which often have inscriptions written in German. For a moment it felt as if I was walking in a graveyard in Germany.
In the evening, we were invited to Lyle and Ruth Geuther’s farm, east of La Moille. Lyle and his
brother Clifford are descendants of Adam Geuther. Clifford and his wife Mae, as well as Lyle’s son Mark and his wife Nora joined us for a delightful evening meal, while we looked at old photographs and listened to family stories. Earlier at the cemetery, I had noticed next to very old graves, a carved head stone for Lyle and Ruth, as well as for Clifford and Mae, even though both couples are very much alive this evening. This is a very unusual fact for a person from
Germany, where there is such shortage of space that graves are generally kept no longer than 20 years before they are ‘recycled’ and occupied by the next body. I’m assured that gravestones for living people are quite normal here. A most enjoyable day ended with Marvin Ehlers dropping
me off in Princeton, at Dorothy Esterday’s house.

Dorothy was a gracious hostess, and I gratefully accept her hospitality for several days. We spent many hours together in her library/archive looking through her collection of notes, letters and books, interrupted only by visits to the Bureau County Historical Museum and the Bureau County Genealogical Society. Her daughter Linda and granddaughter Dana were good company and knowledgeable as well. My second look at Art Ladenburger’s book revealed some
astonishing facts. Between 1839 and 1862 more than 220 people from 25 towns near Coburg, Germany, a stretch of land not larger than 20 by 15 miles immigrated to Illinois and settled within a few miles from each other. Many families were already related to each
other even before they came here. So it is no wonder that the people in this area spoke German until World War I, and the inscriptions on the old graves are in German.
It is exiting to fill in some of the blanks in the big family tree of Henry, Adam and Joh.George, whose line we have traced back to a Johann Geuder, born 1678. Most of the living Geuthers/Guithers, in the US today, are descendents of this Johann Geuder. A very vital
and strong family, indeed.

Dorothy and Deanna Ziegler organized a Guither reunion on Memorial Day weekend at the Red Oak church. The night before Deanna offered me a visit to the Ziegler farm near the Red Oak Grove Church. The farm has been in family hands ever since Henry Guither cut it from of the prairie 150 years ago. Nestled between the trees of the Grove, away from any major road, the buildings are surrounded by an ocean of stillness. An old barn is still standing from the
original farm and Daniel Guither’s rock, which he used to climb on his horse since he had lost one arm. The graves of Henry Guither and many other family members are just a short walk away, at the edge of the property. I enjoyed a restful night.

The next day, Guithers arrived for the reunion from near and far. From the descendants of Edward Guither and Caroline Rapp we welcomed Ione Wangelin from Walnut, IL; Sue, Rod and Jennifer Wangelin from Walnut; Ruth Ann Wangelin from Walnut; Robert, Megan and Andrew Wangelin, from Walnut; Francis Geo and Katherine Guither from Quincy, IL; Roxanne, Devan and Katie Kulemeier from Rockfalls, IL; Katharyn Anderson from Machesney Pk, Il; and of course, Dorothy Esterday, Linda Fine and Dana Fine from Princeton.
From the descendants of Barbara Anna Guither/Hoffmann and George Edward Hoffman we welcomed Harold Hoffman from Bettendorf, IA, and Marc Hoffman from St.
Charles, IL. From the descendants of Margaret Guither/Baumgartner and John Baumgartner it was Marilyn Birkey from Walnut, IL.
From the descendants of Daniel Guither and Amelia Ioder we greeted Jim and Nancy Guither from Hudson, IL; Harold and Lois Guither from Urbana, IL, Deanna Ziegler from Elk Grove Village, IL, Bryan and Sheri Ziegler from Ottumwa, IA, Derek and Sarah Ziegler from
Ottumwa, IA, Bill and Twyla Spoolstra with four children from Elmhurst, IL; Aneta Guither/Ziegler from Elmhurst, IL; Gavin Ziegler from Rock Island, IL; Jarene and John Wilch with children from Des Moines, IA; Irene Guither/Thompson from Davenport, IA; and
Evangeline Guither from Walnut, IL.
After some short announcements and many friendly chats we enjoyed a great meal together. Later, we took photographs.

A lot of information in form of charts, old photo-albums and memorabilia was laid out on tables.
With the help of the older generation we were able to identify quite a few of the participants on the reunion photograph from 1933. Dorothy Esterday keeps a copy of the photograph and the list of identified members.

My visit to Illinois ended the next day with a tour of downtown Chicago with Greg Geuther and Deanna Ziegler as my kind tour guides.

Reunion 2007 in Niederfuellbach

We held our second big Club Reunion in September 2007, in Niederfuellbach, on the outskirts of Coburg. On the first evening, we gathered for a member meeting to vote on the position of a new coordinator. Kurt Geuther requested to be relieved of the duty because of his advanced age. The new coordinator of our club is now

• Christa Geuther, who also continues to be our treasurer 
• Carolin Liebermann; vice-coordinator
• Dr. Eckhard Geuther, controller

The research team in Germany consists of Carolin Liebermann, Dr. Eckhard Geuther and Andreas Jahrow. Research in the USA, as well as coordinating lineages and archives, continues to be Gaby Geuther's interest. Kurt Geuther and Christa Geuther will manage the publication of our annual letter to members. And Arno Engelhardt, Hans Geuther and Heinz Geuter volunteered for special projects.

Another change is the raising of the annual dues to $15 for the US and 15 Euros for Europe, per person, beginning in 2009. We also voted on a new format for our annual club letter called "Familien Echo" (Family Echo) of the Geuder/Geuter/Geuther genealogy club. It will appear now as a small booklet with various articles about our genealogy research, visits to ancestral villages, tips, recipes and other club news, contributed by our members.

           The only two Gabi Geuther in the world, on the right Gabi Geuther, Coburg, on the left, Gabi Geuther, USA

On Saturday, we welcomed Geuther from the Netherlands, from New Zealand and all of Germany. One member, Hermann Geuther died on the way to our reunion. He was an elderly World War II survivor that drove every year from this home in York, England to visit his childhood town near Coburg. This was his last trip. We remember his kind face and the enthusiasm he had for our club. You can see him on the top group picture all the way on the right, bottom row. Werner Geuther from New Zealand had a dramatic reunion with long lost relatives. Several GEUTER and GEUDER families came as well. Our youngest participant, Sandro Geuther, was intently interested.

After a group photo, taken by our own professional Foto Geuther, we listened to a talk about the castle of Coburg and its impact on the history of our family. Together we enjoyed a hearty lunch. In the afternoon, the various lineages sat down in small groups and discussed the progress of the research, as well as strategies for the future. This was followed by a report on Geuder/Geuther immigration to America, presented by Dr. Eckhard Geuther and Gaby Geuther (your's truly).

A lively dinner ensued while we were entertained by the astonishing tricks of Jens-Peter Geuther, a seasoned magician and son of Kurt Geuther, and Arno Engelhard who gave us an ear full of stories and jokes in the local dialect. We even managed to sing a few songs together. It must have been the beer.

Our reunion ended the next day with a guided tour of the Coburg castle by the former exhibit curator Dr. Kruse. The view from the castle over the land where our ancestors lived was spectacular, and the medieval exhibits inside the old walls stunning and graphic.

All in all, it was a wonderful weekend, and despite the unkind weather we had a good turnout, about 65 members. We will see each other - and all of you as well - in 2009.

Picture of our group that appeared in the Coburger Tagblatt. I will try to get a better one.