Dear Sandy, Join up as a free member (keep same username in case anyone is looking for you) of RootsChat then goto their Emigrants to United States board. Cut 'n paste this journal into a new topic at rootschat and wait for some replies.

Tip: If you know of your Samoan ancestry, it would be helpful even to post it here as you may get some 'hits' from genealogists who are researching their genealogy on the internet.

Good luck.
EDITOR

Thanks for the advice! I'll certainly do that!

Cheerio,
Sandy

Dear Sandy, I am a descendant of Julius Schwenke he was my g.g.g.g.grandfather. Our family doesn't have any record's of any siblings, nor do we know the name of Karl's wife. But we do know that Karl's father was Christian Gottlip Schwenke, born: 30 Aug 1767, Died: 27 Oct 1822. My Family come from from Julius's son John Schwenke, my parents migrated from Samoa to NZ. If you have any questions feel free to ask and ill try my best to help.

Good luck.
Punipuao

Sandy / Punipuao, I just checked GenesReunited website for SCHWENKE born worldwide, and did you know there are 9 pages of data or 175 search results?

In particular, one lady named Heather Schwenke (!) has ancestor Julius SCHWENKE born 1830 Hanover, Germany in her family tree. It is not a free website, membership costs under $20 Aussie dollars/year. It's a fantastic website. I have my tree there too.

EDITOR.

Hi....I have all the information about John Schwenke,,,he's my great grandfather....and my mum has all the information about him...but i'm looking for some information about julius schwenke...if anyone has some information about him that would be great....looking forward to hear from some of you....

thanks...phyllis

Hi ya'll... I'm from the same family line... just came across this website and saw your postings.. and I too is from Julius's son John's family line.
His youngest son William was my grandfather who had a son name John who is my father and he had a son name William who is my brother who had a son name John who is my nephew who's not married yet..ha, ha., that sounds funny but it's really true... anyways, I'd love to know which of John's kids are you guys from cos I was born and raised in Samoa and I do know most of my dad's family members....

much love to you all..
Lei McFarland

Hi Sandy,

Thankyou for the infos. You have connected the Schwenckes to the 1500s. Good work.
Hope your tree will go public soon. Can any branch of the Schwenckes be on your tree?

Tess

Hi sandy!

Looking for some infos of John's wife, name, birthday, and also when she was passed on..???? anyone who knows anything about it that would be great.. I am asking about Julius's son John?? the name of the woman that he married??

Hi,
From what I have been able to gather, John's wife was Selepa Tealofaga born about 1869 at Nukulaelae, Ellis Island. She died on 26 Oct. 1962 at Alamagoto, Upolu, Samoa. Her parents were Papa Tealofaga and Sepola Tui. So far I have come across 6 children from this marriage. Their names are Jess, Ema, Sulusi, Tofiga, Joe and Villi or Willie.

Hope this helps you....

Thanks for responding to my post....




Sandy

Hi,
I forgot to mention in my previous reply, you can also contact Punipuao, Phylis and Lei McFarland, who have replied to this post, and who are direct descendants of John Schwenke, son of Julius and Peleise.

Hi everyone,
Just browsing and I came across Sandy's message so I thought I'd pop in. Julius is my G. G. Grandfather through Julius (my father) Albert (My grandfather) and George ( My great grandfather and son of Julius).
Don't forget Melanie, Julius's other wife from Leone, Tutuila. I have in my possession, the original affidavit signed in 1901 by the US Naval Authority in Pago Pago, confirming that Julius did indeed marry Melanie. The affadavit was in reply to a petition raised by Julius's descendants.
Julius is an interesting character, no doubt you have read Karl's(son of Charles)work (circa 1980)on Julius. It makes for a wonderful account of his exploits in Samoa but leaves unanswered as many questions that are answered. For example, I named my third son Asher, only to find out in Karl's work, unbeknowns to me that Asher was the name of Julius's brother and was killed at the Battle of Gettysburg. So the name of Julius's brother continues in my family line and of course, I carry Julius's name as my own.
My father Julius, carries on his headstone the two spellings of the family name (Schwenke/ Schwencke)to acknowledge a common heritage. He insists that his grandfather (George)spelt it with the letter 'c' before the 'k', which is why I and my two brothers have reverted to the original spelling.
Nice to be able to chat...I'll monitor this page to see what else develops !

Regards

Julius

Dear Julius,

Thank you for responding to my post about our ancestor Julius Schwencke. It is always a delight to hear from other descendants such as yourself. Julius and Asher are special names within our Schwenke/Schwencke family.

By way of introduction, my mother is Katesa, daughter of the late George Siaosi Schwenke, son of Charles and Tamara Schwenke, and grandson of Julius and Peleise Schwencke.

I have read the research paper on our ancestor Julius Schwencke, written by the late, Karl Julius Schwenke. His father, Charles is older brother to my grandfather, George Siaosi. From what I have read, Julius was a very determined person in whatever he did. I am sure a character trait, that many of his descendants posess. It is rewarding to positively share how we feel about those that are a part of us, and made us who we are, hopefully for the better...hehe

Karl was a Professional Writer and did an exceptional job with his wife Sue, in gathering information about Julius. He even visited places where some of our Schwenke/Schwencke ancestors lived, where some of us, will probably never get to see. He also visited the U.S. Archives in Washington D.C., and found trove of records, on Julius Schwencke and other ancestors.

In a letter to, T. Schwenke, Karl describes to her what it takes to be motivated in genealogy. He said....

"If you are going to go into this genealogy business jump into it with all your heart. Try to get into the skins of your ancestors, absorb the ambiances, the smells, the sights, the feelings of the times and setting."

Great advise to all those who are searching for their ancestors.


From the the information I have been able to gather from Karl's research and other sources, Julius' wife in New York, USA, was Catherine, and together they had a son name Charles and a daughter name Kate, both born in New York City, USA. I also have information that Julius had another wife, Meleina, as far as I know, together they had three children, Paul, Luissa and Anita. Could Meleina be the same as Melanie, that you are referring to?

Besides Asher, Julius also had another younger brother name Oscar. I am in the process of tracing another possible brother. There is record in the early U.S. Federal Census records, that our german ancestors went by the spelling, Schwenke and Schwencke.

Keep in touch!

Sandy

Hi Sandy

Your diligence in researching Julius and his collective descendants is commendable!

The original affadvit that I have in my possession came through the late Adele Eiffe, only child of Luisa Eiffe (nee Schwenke), which explains why Adele had it in her possession in the first place. I was unaware that Luisa had siblings which is a pleasant surprise, meaning that another piece of the jigsaw has fallen into place and confirming that Melanie and Meleina are one and the same.

I have a special affinity toward Asher, brother of Julius, as I spent 20 years as a soldier in the New Zealand Army. I have made various inroads into trying to identify which regiment Asher served with at Gettysburg (and I must assume that he was a Union soldier!)where according to his brother's statement, he was killed. Maybe one day...

On the lighter side of things, and this is scary... Karl Julius Schwenke's father Charles, Luisa Schwenke, my Grandfather and father: all have similar facial features! It seems amazing that across the generations, facial features could feature so strongly. Maybe there's such a thing as a Schwencke/Schwenke look!

Hopefully you've managed to find Karl's(1797)wife by now. If anything pops up this side , I'll let you know.

Regards

Julius

Hi Julius,

I have little information on Asher. What I do know is, that before the American Civil War, Asher worked as a Jeweler in New York, just like his brother Oscar. At one point, Asher lived at address; 230 Fifth, New York.
Your interest in Asher, has sparked an interest in looking for him again. I will keep you posted as new information surfaces.

There is another Schwencke who served in the American Civil War, name, George Schwencke. He enlisted as a Private on 23 April 1861 at the age of 34. Enlisted in Company A, 8th Infantry Regiment New York. Promoted to Full Corporal on 26 Nov 1862. He survived the war. Asher is not mentioned in this regiment, well, as far as I can tell. I'll keep looking. Trying to see if there is a connection with this George Schwencke and our ancestors.

Take care,

Sandy

Hi there Sandy it's Ina (Masina) from Brisbane, QLD. I hope things are going well for you.

I am simply delighted reading all the responses and sharing of information relating to Julius Schwenke. I wanted to add Matile Schwenke Faamatuainu of Lufilufi (my paternal great grandmother) to the links of Julius and Peleise Schwenke through their eldest son and child Charles Schwenke.

Matlie Schwenke is the daughter of Charles Schwenke and Taumaia Mataia of Sato’alepai, Savaii.

Matile Schwenke married Ioasa Faamatuainu of Lufilufi and had thirteen (14) children born to them.
 Fa’aasu Faamatuainu is the third child of Matile and Ioasa Faamatuinu.
 Fa’aasu Faamatuainu married Kalisi Sauafa (II) of Saleaula Savaii and had 7 children.
i. Sine Taumaia
ii. Faafili Seepa
iii. Siosefa Kalisi Alofipo (my father) married Faamanatu Alii Tauiliili (my mother)
iv. Faamamali Telesia
v. Sina
vi. Taumaia
vii. Matalevai

Uncle Jo Schwenke formerly of Wellington/New Zealand recalls as a young-boy accompanying his father (your grandfather George Siaosi Schwenke) to visit George’s uncle Jack Siaki Schwenke of Aleipata.

Jo remembers regularly stopping at his father’s sister’s home in Lufilufi on the way to and from Aleipata. Jo must have had fond recollections of his aunt Matile because he later named his second daughter Matile after her.

Interestingly enough is how Jo and my father had been good friends prior to any knowledge of their Schwenke aiga. At the birth of Jo’s second daughter Matile I recall my father asking Jo who his daughter Matile was named after (as Matile is an uncommon Samoan name).

Jo stated to my father that his father Geoerge Siaosi Schwenke had a sister Matile Faamatuainu of Lufilufi, at first my father could not believe the connection as he is probably more than 20 years senior in age to Jo. My father stated to Jo, that Matile Faamatuainu of Lufilufi was his maternal grandmother.

I know through my brother Daniel Alofipo Meredith of Lotopa, Samoa who attended a Schwenke reunion in Samoa probably 3 to 4 years ago as he is married to Gwendolyn Ho-Ching whose mother is Lorraine Schwenke. When Daniel attended the reunion he learned that Matile was known by her paternal extended family. However, Matile’s links were not formally established as to who her father and mother were.

I look forward to finding out more information regarding our shared Schwenke ancestor as your mother has shared a lot of information with me. Love Ina.

Hi Ina,

What a really nice surprise!

Thanks for all this wonderful info!

Going to send you an email.

Cousin,
Sandy

Hi Schwencke descendants,

There is wealth of meaningful infomations in the above correspondence. I like that

Tess

Hi Georgeling,

Nice to hear from you!

Yes, here is a wealth of information on this post. I check this post periodically, in hopes to get to know other Schwenke/Schwencke family members and to further our knowledge about our ancestors.

Keep in touch,

Sandy