HOF AHLERS (Varnhorn) How Miss Ahlers becomes Mrs Ahlers
On 2 August 1808 there was a wedding in Varnhorn when a daughter of Johan Henrich Ahlers and Anna Maria Hagstette ( Hagstedt , a young lady of 24, Catharina Maria Ahlers married Johann Alerd Hurrelberg . Johann was born in 1774 and upon marriage he decided that as a prospective future Zeller , he would be called Johann Ahlers .
It so happened that his bride would inherit the Ahlers family farm upon the death of her father which occurred in 1822 . and thus would be Zellerin . Johan her husband would thus be running the place and would likely be Zeller.
Three and a half years later on 12 March 1812 Catharina was dead . Now Catharine and Johann had produced two sons Berndt Henrich in 1809 who died 6 months later on 21 Jan 1810 .
Their second son , Herm Hinrich Ahlers was born on 3 March 1811 . he died on 1 Feb 1864 Being just 1 year old at the time of his mothers death ,he would one day be Zeller when he had grown up. Herm too married a Hagstedt , Maria Helena born in 1813 who married Herm in 1841 .
Returning to Widower Johann Alerd Hurrelberg now named Ahlers , he on 28 february 1813 married Maria Elisabeth Nemann daughter of Zeller Anton Nemann and Anna Maria Webbels .Thus she became Mrs Maria Elisabeth Ahlers On 25 October 1814 She attended a Requiem Mass at St Vitus church in Visbek to farewell her husband of just under 20 months.
Now the latest Mrs Ahlers needed a husband to run the farm and support her and young Herman .So she married Johann Herman Janluers ,who upon marriage also called himself Ahlers.
On 17 May 1818 a boy was born to Johann Herman Ahlers and Maria Elisabeth . They named him Johann Heinrich Ahlers born in Varnhorn and baptized in their Visbek parish church .Johann Heinrich grew up knowing that his step brother Herm would take over from his Dad .There was no future for him.Like Prince Harry ,he was a “spare”.
Unlike Prince Harry he did not moan about it and migrated to Cincinnati where in 1845 ,he married Maria Anna Heilman and established the sizeable Ahlers family of St Henry Ohio where the couple farmed and brought up their children .
On 21 Dec 1819 Maria Elisabeth Ahlers ( Nemann) died . Now Johann Herman Ahlers ( JanLuers ) with 2 sons to raise needed a new wife.
Johann Herman proposed to the youngest sister of the first Miss Ahlers who became Mrs Ahlers upon marriage to Alerd Hurrelberg in 1808 and she accepted . Thus on 16 May 1820 Johann Herman Ahlers () Janluers) and Anna Catherina Ahlers married and Miss Ahlers like her elder late sister did ,also became Mrs Ahlers .
Possibly there could have been some family influence in this marriage taking place. Over the years there has been intermarriage between the Ahlers and Hagstedt families . Although Oma (grandma) Anna Maria ( Hackstette ) had died in 1799 ,Opa Johan Henrich likely attended his youngest daughters wedding in 1820 .In those days ,considerable effort was made to keep the family farm within the family .
In that before Opa’s death in 1822 .his youngest daughter Anna Catharina had married the father of a potential claimant to the family farm ,young Johann Heinrich (1818) ,he must have been pleased to see his youngest daughter give birth on Johann Berndt Ahlers born in Varnhorn on 5 May 1821 ,who seemed healthy and lively , a worthy half brother and cousin to his grandson Herm Hinrich . Had he been able to foresee that in 20 years time he married another Hagstedt ,Maria Helena ,he would have been “over the moon “.
It is the opinion of this writer that in a small farming hamlet such as Varnhorn ,in order to hold on to the family farm ,there was probably too much intermarriage within the same families. This might explain why many children did die so young or were stillborn .It is noted that among those who emigrated to the United States and formed German enclaves there , the short life factor within their children is almost non existent.
Opa Johan Henrich Ahlers died knowing that the family farm would stay in the family