Our Luers Family
Polli
Jost Turner, Editor
The earlier
generations come from the book, The
Luers Family in America, written by W.H. Meyer in 1940.
I have included
excerpts from the book here. This is the portion telling how they came
to the USA.
We have recently learned that the town the family was from,
Sudweighe, is now known as Sudweyhe. It is south of Bremen,
in the northern part of Germany, in the district of Syke.
First Generation--
Herman Luers, married (1795) Anna Margarthe Wetzen, born
1767; died 1856; 89 years old. They had 5 children, all born
in Sudweighe, amt Syke, Germany. Herman died in Germany, but
Anna left Germany in 1851.
1. Heinrich Luers,
born 1797; died Oct., 26, 1868; 71 years old. Married (ca. 1830) Anna
Margarethe Schersell, born 1802; died Dec. 26, 1878; 76 years old. They
had 2 children. Left Germany in 1851.
2. Anna Christina Luers,
born May 30, 1799; died Dec. 30, 1880; 81 years old. Married (1821) Johann
Albrecht Meyer, born Jan. 1, 1800; died Nov. 13, 1886, 86 years old.
They had 7 children. Left Germany in 1839.
3. Herman Luers,
born 1801; died 1881; 80 years old. Married Meta Koch.
4. Maria Elizabeth Luers,
born May 7, 1806; died May 8, 1889; 83 years old. Married (ca. 1847)
Carl Wolfe, died 1855. They had 1 child. Left Germany in 1845.
5. Adelheid Luers,
born 1814; died 1899; 85 years old. Married (ca. 1844) George Grimma,
died about 1884. They had 2 children. Left Germany in 1854.
Second Generation--
Herman Luers, born 1801, in Sudweighe, Germany; died 1881; 80
years old. Married (1829) Meta Koch, born 1803; died 1854 in
Germany; 51 years old. They had 5 children. Herman left Germany
in 1861.
1. Herman Luers,
born 1830; died April 3, 1872; 42 years old. Married (Oct. 29, 1858)
Mary Anna Meyer, born Feb. 24, 1840; died June 26, 1912; 72 years old.
They were cousins, Mary Anna being the daughter of Anna Christina, #2
above. They had 6 children. Left Germany in 1851.
2. Johann Deitrich Luers,
born Dec. 26, 1832; died May 5, 1890; 58 years old. Left Germany in 1851.
Married Anna Mary Straiter.
3. Anna Mary Luers,
born March 28, 1840; died June 22, 1909; 69 years old. Married (May 23,
1861) Frederich Schwenke, born April 1, 1827; died Nov. 11, 1910; 83
years old. They had 9 children. Left Germany in 1861.
4. Frederich Luers,
born about 1843; died 1855; 12 years old. Drowned in Germany.
5. Henry Luers,
born March 9, 1848; died Dec. 12, 1925; 77 years old. Married (Sept.
7, 1866) Elizabeth Meyer, born 1844; died May 13, 1923; 79 years old.
They were cousins, Elizabeth being the daughter of Anna Christina, #2
above. They had 10 children. Left Germany in 1861.
Fourth Generation--
Johann
Dietrich Luers, "John," born
Dec. 26, 1832, in Sudweighe, Germany; died May 5, 1890, in Hebron,
Adair Co., IA; 58 years old. Left Germany in 1851. Married (April
8, 1859 in IA) Anna Mary Straiter, born Jan 27, 1838; died May
18, 1913; 75 years old. They had 11 children.
[Altogether, they had 64 grandchildren--of whom Grandma Alice Jones
was one--that means that just from this side of the family she had
63 first-cousins!]
1. Mary A. Luers,
born 1860; died Jan. 8, 1877; 17 years old.
2. Christina Luers,
born Sept. 18, 1861; died Nov. 11, 1927; 66 years old. Married (Nov.
3, 1887) Otto A. Schulz, born Nov. 7, 1854; died April 20, 1923; 69 years
old. They had 7 children.
3. Lydia Luers,
born March 18, 1863; died July 11, 1927; 64 years old. Married (Feb.
3, 1881) Matthias Kurtzweil, born June 2, 1856; died July 14, 1925; 69
years old. They had 14 children, including three sets of twins (one set
died within a month) and a foster daughter.
4. John F. Luers,
born Nov. 28, 1864; died Aug. 19, 1927; 63 years old. Married (Sept.
30, 1896) Elva Bivens, born Jan. 27, 1870; died July 20, 1932; 62 years
old. They had 1 child, a girl.
5. Anna A. Luers,
born June 24, 1866; died 1964; 98 years old. Married (Feb. 24, 1894)
Nathan O. Keese, born Aug. 15, 1859; died Feb. 2, 1929; 70 years old.
They had 6 children.
6. Mattie Luers,
born Nov. 16, 1869. Married (Feb. 21, 1892) Benjamin Franklin Augustine,
born June 19, 1865; died Jan. 17, 1917; 52 years old. They had 5 children.
7. Henry N. Luers,
born 1872; died 1872; four months old (according to gravestone).
8. Edward Luers, a twin
born July 8, 1874; died Feb. 1875; 7 months old.
9. Emma E. Luers, a twin
born July 8, 1874; died Sept. 1, 1923; 49 years old. Married Calvin McMullen.
10. Minnie Luers,
born Dec. 20, 1877. Married (Feb. 22, 1903) Elmer Hickam, born March
18, 1880; died Jan. 26, 1937; 57 years old. They had two children.
11. Frank W. Luers,
born Dec. 20, 1879. Married (Dec. 24, 1903) Edna Elliott, born Aug. 17,
1883. They had three children. Her parents were Hezekiah Elliott and
Harriet "Hattie" McMullen. Hattie was the aunt of Calvin McMullen,
who married Emma, below.
The Luers Sisters. About 1890
Mattie, Anna, Lydia, Christina
Emma, Minnie, two cousins???
Fifth Generation--
Emma E. Luers, (a twin) born July 8, 1874; died Sept. 1, 1923;
49 years old. Married (Dec. 24, 1895) Calvin J. McMullen born Sept. 1871; died July 15, 1934; 63 years old.
Both were buried in Eaton, Ward Co., CO.
1. Erma McMullen,
born Dec. 23, 1896, in Adair Co., IA; died March 1983; 86 years old.
Married (May 25, 1922) David Henkle, born Aug. 23, 1898; died Jan. 31,
1939; 40 years old.
2. Alice Mary McMullen,
born Aug. 21, 1898, in Hebron, Adair Co., Iowa. Married Charles William Jones.
3. Lloyd Luers McMullen,
born Nov. 22, 1901; died Aug. 1984, in Santa Maria, CA; 82 years old.
Married (Aug. 20, 1925) Jessie. They adopted one child, and were divorced
July 30, 1929, just six months later.
Second marriage (Oct. 10, 1932) to Evelyn Randrup, born Nov. 3, 1904.
They had no children.
Third marriage (June 1956) to Sarah Long, "Sadie," born Jan
5, 1910. Aunt Sadie told me that her father was born in 1837, and her
grandfather’s name was John, from Scotland. He and his wife, coming
from Wales, met on board the boat to the U.S, married, and settled in
Clay County, Indiana.
4. Ruth Miriam McMullen,
born Jan. 12, 1905; died Aug. 26,1980, in Long Beach, CA; 75 years old.
Married (Nov. 14, 1931) James Maguire, born July 25, 1903; died Oct.
1952. Divorced. They had no children.
5. Claude McMullen,
born Aug. 26, 1906; died April 20, 1958; 52 years old. Married (April
8, 1926) Juanita Bagley, born 1904. Divorced Oct. 4, 1939. They had no
children.
Second marriage (Oct. 31, 1939) to Gladys Crosby, born March 12, 1906.
They had no children.
Sources:
Family information
Mortician's records
Various Texas county records and censuses
The Luers Family in America, written
by W.H. Meyer, 1940
Links:
March 1, 2013
Polli Turner
