German Roots

An act of heroism in the 13th century set off a chain of events that would lead a German man to emigrate and establish roots in Egypt, Ohio.

Those roots have since grown into a sizable family tree, and siblings Diane Poeppelman O'Conner, 67, and Mark Poeppelman, 63, have dedicated years to tracing their family's lineage. Their research and attention to detail have led to two legacy trips to Germany in an attempt to literally retrace their ancestors' footprints.

The ancestors

Their ancestor, a serf in the 1200s, saved the life of the Archbishop of Osnabruck when he was attacked by highway robbers, Diane said. As a token of his appreciation, the archbishop granted the serf his freedom. As such, the serf was the first Poeppelman in Germany to own land.

Johann Heinrich Poeppelman, a descendant of the serf and Mark and Diane's great-great-grandfather, was born on June 25, 1806, in Ruschendorf near Damme, Germany.

In 1837, Johann Heinrich Poeppelman emigrated with his wife on a boat from Bremerhaven to Baltimore and settled in Egypt, Ohio, according to a family lineage website the siblings created.

Although the serf owned land, it was common practice in Germany that the eldest son inherited the land and the younger siblings were "basically out of luck," Mark said. "That's why our particular ancestor who emigrated did not live (at) the ancestral home."

According to the sibling's website, Heinrich and Catherina were the first Poppelmanns to settle in Ohio. Johann Heinrich changed his name to Henry Poeppelman, and he and Catherina had seven children, most of whom made their own families of a similar size.

"Their descendants still live mainly in the four neighboring counties of Auglaize, Darke, Shelby and Mercer in western Ohio," the website reads. "They gradually built six farms in the Fort Loramie area. Five of these farms are still operational today."

Johann Heinrich Poeppelman died on Dec. 3, 1889, in Egypt, Ohio.

The trip

In 2019, the Poeppelman descendants reunited. Then in 2023, about 50 people from west central Ohio with ties to northwest Germany visited to find their ancestral roots.

Both trips were inspirational and humbling, the siblings said. For Mark and Diane, they felt especially connected with their ancestors when they went to church at St. Viktor in Damme, Germany.

"What really struck me, especially this time, going to St. Viktor's church in Damme and seeing the baptismal font that's 700 years old. Three of my four sets of grandparents are from that church. Most of my ancestors were baptized in that baptismal font," Diane said.

Mark said he especially enjoyed visiting where his great-great-grandfather lived before coming to the United States.

"Last time around, we saw the homestead that's been in the family since the 1200s," he said. "Our particular ancestor (Johann Heinrich Poeppelman) did not grow up on that ancestral home, so we actually got to see exactly where he lived. That really made it real. Like, this is exactly where he started. We pretty much have retraced his footsteps."

The similarities

Although west central Ohio is more than 4,000 miles away from Germany, Diane said the similarities between the two are almost too eerie.

"Even the latitude is about the same (to west central Ohio)," she said, "The climate is about the same, the land looks the same - it's wooded in areas and lots of farmland. It's just strikingly similar to west central Ohio. Then you'll see trucks with the last name of Winner, Hilgefort, Borchers, Bruns or Poeppelman, just like back home."

Mark agreed, stating that chain migration led to German roots in the area, especially in Minster.

"It might be somewhat unique to small towns in general, but I think this is maybe an extreme case," he said. "Essentially what happened with all of our ancestors, it doesn't matter if you're a Poeppelman or not, all the Germans were from the same general area that emigrated to Mercer County and Darke County. It was chain migration back then, just like it is today. They all up and landed in west central Ohio. You could just kind of tell that this is where your ancestors were from. It was almost a surreal kind of experience in that you could just tell this is where you're from."

Diane said she was amazed by her ancestors' tenacity and courage to move away from home.

"It's just neat to see where your ancestors came from (and) to really understand why they left (and what) the treacherous boat ride across the Atlantic (was like)," she said. "The women carried needles with them in case the men wanted to attack them. I just admire their courage, their courage to get over here. And not knowing anyone … man, I admire their strength and their courage to do this."

The legacy trips

After the 2019 Poeppelman reunion, several people expressed interest in researching their roots, even if they weren't a Poeppelman descendant, Diane said. The 2023 trip was for people with German ties who wanted to explore the area.

The 2023 trip to Germany was broken into three legs. The first leg was the sightseeing tour; the second leg was the ancestral tour; and the third leg was a Viking cruise from Amsterdam to Basel, Switzerland, on the Rhine River.

During the ancestral leg from Oct. 4-11, 53 people visited Minster, Cloppenburg, Amerika, Holdorf, Bremerhaven, Hamburg, Damme, Ostbevern and Amsterdam.

Mark noted Munster and Bremerhaven are Minster and New Bremen's namesakes.

Mark had several local contacts who were instrumental in helping coordinate the details and bridging the language gap.

Looking back, Diane said she loved the entire trip because she felt so connected to her roots.

"Everything was just totally awesome. If you asked me what I liked best, I loved it all," she said.