More on Hermann Heinrich Spoering from Lehrden

(Thanks to my wonderful, fellow researcher, Lydia, who helped so much with continuing the line of Spoerings back to Germany from the U.S.  We share Johann Spoering (1759-1811), my 3x great grandfather, as our common ancestor.  Her knowledge of the German language and her persistence made this such a successful endeavor.  Thank you, Lydia!)

A baptismal record found in the Elbe- Weser Triangle, Germany records (on Ancestry) confirmed that Hermann Heinrich Spoering was born on 16 January 1845, in Hollehrden (now Lehrde), Rottenburg (Wumme), Lower Saxony, Germany.

His parents, Jacob Friedrich Spoering and Catharina
Margaretha Norden Spoering (my great-great grandparents), had the infant baptized 
on 2 Feb 1845, at the only Lutheran church in nearby
Visselhovede - the Evangelisch-lutherische Kirche
St. Johannis, about six miles away from his
birthplace.

This church was built first in 1358 and renovated and expanded in the 18th century.  The bell tower shown with the clock was built in 1799.  The Reformation was well established in this area by the 1630s.

 Henry was the second son of his parents, and as a second son, he most likely would not inherit the family farm which had been in the family for generations at Stedebergen.  So, one of his options would be to marry a woman who did inherit a farm or some wealth, just as our immigrant Elling did when he moved from Tietlingen to Stellichte where his wife owned a farm.  Or perhaps the lure of cheap land in America called to him as then he could have his own farm.

Although Hollehrden was named as the birthplace of all the siblings, that name was changed to Lehrden along the way.  Lehrden can be found at the bottom center of the map, and interestingly, Stellichte, where our immigrant Ellings lived before immigration, is only about 2 miles to the east, and Bendingbostel, home of the Tietjes, about 4 miles to the west.

At the age of 30, Herman (called Henry) married Katharina Maria Flocke who was about ten years younger.  By 1882, they were ready to leave Germany with their three young daughters - Mary, Sophia and little Anna, only 9 months old. Their destination was listed as Defiance, Ohio, on the ship's manifest, landing first in New York City.

More information may be found on these previous posts:

Spoering immigration by Jason Snow:  
 http://attheriverbend.blogspot.com/2019/08/our-spoering-family.html

 Spoering Reunion