The Original 10

When I started gathering information on the descendants of the original Brueggemans, I thought they all hailed from 10 siblings, the children of Ernst August Brueggeman.  Those 10 were:

Louise Brueggeman Kraussman
Emma Brueggeman Bischoff
Edwin Brueggeman
August Brueggeman
Linda Heil
Selma Riley
Lydia Darkow
Walter Brueggeman
Elmer Brueggeman
Karl Brueggeman

Edwin Brueggeman is my grandfather.  He passed away before my parents met.  Even though I never met him, I feel like I know him through the stories passed down.  Edwin married Esther Grelle had six children:  Edwin (Eddie) , Marjorie (Margie), Lois, William (Bill), Carolyn, and James (Jim).

I was wrong!  The original 10 were NOT the originals!  According to the pamphlet from the First Brueggeman Reunion, Earnst August is only ONE part of the picture.  All of Clamor Victor Ludwig Brueggeman's children were a part of the reunion!  Clamor was born April 12, 1816.  He passed away March 14, 1909.  He had two wives:  Anna Marie Catherine Fricken (1823-4/5/1859) and Marie Anna Scheips (10/9/1828 - 2/18/1889).  Between his 2 wives, he had 9 children:

Gerhart Henry Brueggeman
Marie Louise Bennhoff
John Fred Brueggeman
Mary Elizabeth Barlog
Anna Hueseman
Louis Henry Brueggeman
Ernst August Brueggeman
Sophie Reinhardt
Martin Brueggeman

Amazingly, in the address list Sue Usner-Miller provided me, we have addresses from the descendants of Ernst August, Sophie and Louis!

Little did I know, when I became the secretary of our family, I would also become a historian of sorts.