Carl Friedrich Ludwig Rohr, my great-great-grandfather, was born April 5, 1807 and was baptized in  Podanin, Posen, Germany (which is now Poznan in Poland).  [see attachment “N1”, FHL Film 1194741].  Notice the word “Oberförster” being once again attributed to Carl Ludewig Rohr and Sophia Krieger (spelled “Rhor” by mistake in this record).

The Standesamt of Podanin at the time was a civil registration district and was the estate of the “OF” or head forester, Carl’s father, our third great grandfather. Posen is in Poland now and southeast of Stettin (modern-day Szczecin).  I mention Stettin/Szczecin as our Rohr family also lived there right along the Oder River.

The area of Posen is now Choziez/Poznan in Poland.  This is east of Stargard, Poland, and west of Bydgoszcz, Poland, which used to be the town of Bromberg in Prussia.  I mention these towns and their geography to give a sense to how much our family moved around and what they were in charge of.  Again, the Rohrs were very prominent in their role within the Prussian empire.

All the birth records I have from Podanin for the Rohr children here list their father as “Oberförster,”or the head or royal forester.

His death record is from the civil archives in Greifswald, Germany. This is north of Berlin by the Baltic Sea.  [see attachment “O”].  It says that Der Königliche Steuerinspector außer Dienst, (retired royal tax inspector), Karl Rohr, age 82, Protestant, resident in Greifswald, on Kursestraße 43, born in “Wootgesee near Bromberg, now Bydogoszcz, Poland, widower, son of the deceased married couple Oberförster (head forester) Karl Rohr and Juliane nee von Strieger. (This is interesting because this could have been his first wife. I just have not been able to confirm this.)  She was from Schlawe, Germany at the time. He died on March 11, 1900 at 9:30am in Greifswald.  He must have been promoted to this new position from his forestry position from what shows in the documents above.  A royal customs and tax inspector is also know as “Obergrenzkontrolleur” and “Grenzaufseher” and “Steuerinspector”.

He married his wife Emilie Pauline Albertine Funk (Funck), who was born December 31, 1817 in Lauenhagen, Germany. This is just west of the village of Strasburg and Groß Luckow in Prenzlau.

Her death record is also from Greifswald civil archives.  [image 7339 and attachment “O1”].  This document mentions the following:

She was age 66 and a Protestant. She was a resident in Greifswald, and lived at Wilhelmstraße number 12.  It says she was born in Bütow, Pomerania, Germany.  She was married to the “Königlichen Steuerinspektor” außer Dienst (retired Royal Tax Inspector) Karl Rohr. She was the daughter of the “Amtmann” (a baliff) Siegmund Funk and Caroline Brandt in Bahn, Germany. She died on June 22, 1880 at 6:15pm in Greifswald, Germany.

The next documents are their marriage record documents.  What is nice about this record is that the information in it verifies that the other information found.  [There are 3 pages and labeled as attachment “P”, FHL Film number 1334762].  This information was found on ancestry.com.  It has quite a bit of information on it. Where she was from, Lauenhagen, was a very small village in Germany. Her father was from Strasburg, Germany, which was a small village by Groß Luckow.  Carl Ludweig Friedrich Rohr was from Rosenthal, now the town of Rozansko, Poland. This is the Rosenthal east of Königsberg in Neumark, Germany, now Chonja, Poland.

Neither had prior marriages.  They married on February 22, 1840 in the parish of Groß Luckow, Germany.  Her father is named here as Siegmund Funk, an “Amtmann” or a bailiff.  Carl Rohr’s father was Carl Friedrich Rohr who was from Podanin.

The next two documents are from an address “buch” or other book records I found on Pomeranian websites. They show the place that Carl Friedrich Rohr lived. These are fun to look at on Google to see exactly where our relatives lived. The one document shows that he was a “Steuerinspektor.”  The other interesting thing is the village of “Oberwiek.” This is a place in which is now in Poland; he must have lived or was stationed there.  I have other documents that show this same place name. [see attachment “Q”, 2 pages].

The next document was just great to find and gave a ton of information.  It is a census record from Stettin, Germany, now the city Szczecin, Poland on the Oder River.  The census record is from the town of Stargard, Germany, just east of Szczecin, which still has the same name today.  The last child was born in 1856, so they must have been there just after that.

It shows 9 of their children, their birth dates, and the places they were born. It’s a gold mine of a document.  [see attachment “R”, which is an index of the children found on FHL Film number 227727]. I was able to find all the children’s information from this document. My grandfather was the first born and was born in Rosenthal, Germany, near Prenzlau, Germany (a different Rosenthal than the one near Kreis Soldin).  Rosenthal was not so much of a village as it was an estate or farm where he was stationed for his position as a Förster.

As Stettin, Germany was a place they lived and some of the children were baptized, I wanted to add three maps here. They are of Stettin and the actual street the Rohrs lived on at the time, Oberwiek 38, right along the Oder River as it runs through Stettin.  [see attachment “RR” 3 pages, for these maps].

They had 10 children:

The next document, [see attachment “S”, which is an index of the children found on FHL Film number 883689].  It’s from the Schlosskirche where five of the children were baptized, located in Stettin, Germany [see attachment “T” for a photo of the church].  These were the children born later. The children born earlier were baptized in the church in the village of Schwichtenberg in Kries (district) Borrentin  [see attachment “U” for a photos of this church, 2 pages]. I will focus more on our grandfather here, and add documentation for his siblings after.

Benno Karl Siegfried Rohr, my great-grandfather and our father’s namesake, as “Benno” was our dad’s middle name.  He was born on September 2^nd, 1840 in Rosenthal, Prenzlau, Brandenburg, Germany. The next four documents show the baptism record of Benno Karl Siegfried Rohl, the church he was baptized in, and a map of Groß Luckow.  The second page is a blown-up version of the witnesses to the baptism [see attachment “V”, 4 pages, this can be found on ancestry.com].  An interesting detail here is that four of the seven witnesses were from other locations, two from Schlawe in Pomerania and two were nobles.  This suggests a strong relationship to the upper middle class, and that Carl Friedrich Rohr was probably well respected.

There were 7 people at his baptism:

1. Ms. Rohr, wife or widow of the head forester in Schlawe (today an area in West Pomerania, Poland).
2. Miss Funk.
3. Dr. Hertel, who was the superintendent (priest) in Schlawe.
4. Mr. von Knobelsdorff,  noble and owner of the manor Hirschfeldau in Silesia, which is Jelenin, Zagan County in Poland today. I encourage you to look up this family on Wikipedia.
5. Mr. von Mauderode, noble and head frontier guardian in Obisfelde, Germany, which is today west of Berlin and was part of Lower Saxony then and in an area called Saxony-Anhalt. The von Mauderode family was a prominent noble family in Germany over many years. I also encourage you to look up this family on Wikipedia. Again, why these folks were here at our great-grandfathers baptism, I can only speculate. Much of it may have been due to their position in the Prussian Army as royal/head tax and customs collectors for the military. It could also be the fact they moved around quite a bit and didn’t have immediate family around them, as many German family generations all lived in the same town or area.
6. Mr. Schubbert, the baliff.
7. Mr. Schark, the huntsman.

The next documents were just wonderful to receive. I know Benno Karl Siegfried Rohr had moved to Strassburg, Germany, now Strasbourg, France, and the Alsace-Lorraine region. It must be noted that this is a different Strassburg than the one previously mentioned near Groß Luckow. Our grandfather Alfred Rohl (yes, he changed the last name when he got here for some reason) made it clear to family members and on U.S. census records that he was born there. I found his birth record, so that is true. In my searching, I wrote to the archivist in a town in France called Sarrebourg, because I knew he had lived there from another document I found. The town, when it was German territory in 1871, was named Saarburg, Germany.  About two months later, I received an email with the attached photos. There are five of them [see attachments “W”, 5 pages]. The archivist’s name was Gabrielle Verlot. This was just incredible that our family photos were in this place. The photos of the family were submitted by Madeleine Flesch-Mitteau. She was the daughter of Maria Louisa Thekla Rohr and Carl Flesch, one of our grandfather’s three sisters. The photos are taken on the steps of the tax and customs building in Saarburg. This is the place that our great-grandfather worked. He actually died in this building too.

The photo of the woman are our grandfathers three sisters. I have labeled them. They all married, however, I have only found one child born to any of the three of them. Our great-great-grandparents on our great-grandmothers side are in both photos. The second photo on the steps essentially had the sisters and it is assumed a couple of close friends. I also added a picture of the photographer’s name. These photos were taken in the late 1890s.

More information on our great grandfather Benno Karl Siegfried Rohr are military records I have found for him. The nice thing about these records is they showed the places he was stationed in the Alsace-Lorraine area of Germany at the time. Once again, this is now in France. These records also showed his profession while he was in service in the Prussian Army. He also earned two Iron Crosses while in the Prussian military. I have a picture of the Iron Cross he would have earned. I also found a record on ancestry.com that shows our great-grandfather’s record showing his status in the Prussian military [see attachments labeled “X”, 7 pages].

From here I will break with Benno Carl Siegfried Rohr and continue with his siblings’ information below. After I write about them, I will continue with Benno Carl Siegfried Rohr’s life after he was older and where his family lived in Alsace-Lorraine. Again, refer back to the census record I mentioned about from Stettin, Germany.

I hired a genealogist, Martin Sohn, in Germany to help me find the following documents as he had to go to the archives in the area to get this information.  They are very legible which is nice as they are much easier to read.

Maria Josephine Juliane Rohr born on May 19, 1842 at 10 am in Borrentin, Germany just south of Demmin, and baptized on June 3, 1842 at the Schwichtenberg Kirche, west of Demmin [see attachment “Y”].

The witnesses are four people.  They usually list there name, profession, and where they are from, but not always.  Herr Sterirrat von Schrader aus Demmin.  Herr von Luck auf Borrentin. Herr Postmeister Fiering zu Grammertin. And, Fraülein Antonie Mecklenburg aus Demmin.

I have not been able to find anything else about her.

Emilie Auguste Rohr born on July 22, 1843 at 11 am in Borrentin, Germany just south of Demmin, and baptized on August 18, at the Schwichtenberg west of Demmin [see attachment “Z”].

The witnesses were 3 people.  Herr Gutspächter Voss zu Kaesicke (who was a tenant farmer). Herr Obergrenskontrolleur von Lepell zu Grnevkow. (He was a head tax and customs collector like our great-grandfather). Frau Postmeister Fiering zu Grammentin.

I have no additional information on her.

Carl Tassilo Rohr born on October 26, 1844 at 7 pm in Borrentin, Germany just south of Demmin, and baptized on November 18, 1844 at the Schwichtenberg Kirche west of Demmin. He died a month later on December 2,^, 1844 in Schwichtenberg, and was buried on December 6, 1844.  Notice the “+” symbol on the 2^nd page of his documents.  The “+” designates the person died [see attachments, 2 pages, “Aa”].

There were four people at his baptism. Superintendent Dr. Hertell aus Schlawe in Hinterpommern. Frau Amtmann Voss aus Kaesicke. Fräulein Rosalie Fiering aus Grammertin. Fräulein Düsler aus Leuschentin.

Anna Luise Rohr was born on December 3, 1846 in Borrentin at 8 pm, just south of Demmin, and she was baptized on December 19, 1844 at the Church in Schwichtenberg west of Demmin. She died on February 10 1920 in Wilmersdorf, Germany.

It is also here that I will add 2 more pictures of the Church (Kirche) in Schwichtenberg

[see attachment “Ba” for her baptism record].

[see attachment “Ca” for the pictures of the church that the children above were baptized, 2 pages].

The next part of her life is her marriage to Dr. Ernst Heinrich Protzen.  She married him on July 17, 1870. I believe the marriage was announced in Schwedt, Brandendburg, Prussia, Germany at the time. The actual marriage I have was at Sankt (Saint) Marien Church in Prenzlau, Germany. The FHL Film number 184871 says the marriage was in Prenzlau.  Other records say the marriage was in Schwedt?  I would need to dig further on this detail.  [see attachment “Da” for the marriage record].  [see attachment “Ea” for a picture of Saint Marien Church in Prenzlau].

I have quite a bit of information and documentation on the Protzen family. However, I will not include it here and place it in the file for them.

The next piece of her life is her death.  I found her death record on ancestry.com from Berlin, Germany.  She died at the age of 74 on February 10, 1920 in Wilmersdorf, Germany.  [see attachment “Fa”].

A few notes on her husband Dr. Ernst Heinrich Protzen: He was a “Gymnasiallehrer,” a teacher in the Fürstenschule in Pless, Germany. Pless is in South central Germany. His father’s name was Samuel Friedrich Protzen. Samuel Friedrich Protzen owned a “Lederfabrikant,” which is a leather factory in Stargard, which is, again, the town just East of Stettin where the Rohrs lived, and probably where the two met.

Next: [go back and view attachment “S” for the following children who were baptized at the Schlosskirche in Stettin].

Lida Hedwig Rohr was born on January 6, 1848 in Stettin. She was baptized on February 12, 1848 at the Schlosskirche in Stettin [see attachment “Ga” for her baptism record].

I also found her death record in Wilmersdorf, Germany, near Berlin.  She was 72 years old when she died. I believe she must have been living with a sister as she was single. She died on November 7, 1920 [see attachment “Ha” for the death record].

Elise Marianne Josephine Rohr was born July 20, 1849  in Stettin and was baptized on September 17, 1849 at the Schlosskirche [see attachment “Ia” for the baptism record].

Their marriage record is online too at ancestry.com. She married Julius Friedrich Paul Grauenhorst. They were married on May 7, 1872 in Prenzlau, Germany [see  and attachment “Ja” From FHL Film number 184888 and number 72433]. There is quite of information on his family online.

The church they were married in was Sankt Sabinen Kirche in Prenzlau. The church still exists today and has a great history. Elise’s sister Martha Romana Rohr was also married here. For these reasons I have included four pages regarding this church. There are two photos and two pages of the history of the church [see attachments “Ka”, 4 pages, for this].

I did find one child of theirs who was Hans Karl Friedrich Grauenhorst. I have included his marriage record here, as he married Bertha Elsa Hedwig Göerke on March 10, 1916 in Berlin [see attachment “La” for this record].

Elise Marianne Josephine Rohr died on April 15, 1913 at the age of 63. Her death record can be found in the Ancestry collection, Berlin Germany Deaths, 1874-1920 [see attachment “Ma” for this record].

Martha Romana Rohr was born on August 9, 1851 in Stettin and was baptized on October 12, 1851 at the Schlosskirche once again like her siblings [see attachment “Na” for this baptism record, and see also FHL Film numbers 561977 and 561978 and 184888].

Martha married Robert Rudolph Alexander Meltzer on September 15, 1874 at the Sankt Sabinen Kirche in Prenzlau as her sister above [see attachment “Oa” and is from FHL Film numbers 184888, 72433, and 1334762].

I have not found her death record.

Carl Erich Theobald Rohr was born on July 25, 1853 in Stettin and was baptized on October 2, 1853 [see attachment “Pa”].

He was married later in life at the age of 45 to Emilie Auguste Klumper. They married on March 7, 1899 in Berlin. I am not sure what church. He died three years later [see attachment “Qa” for the marriage record] on February 8, 1902 in Berlin [see attachments “Ra”, 2 pages]. There are two death records for him, so I included both.

There was a child involved with these two, and his name was Hans Carl Klumper. I believe he was adopted by Carl Erich Theobald Rohr, or Carl Erich Theobald Rohr became his guardian. I think that is what the additional document [see attachment “Sa”], reads.

Bertha Margaretha Hermine Rohr born on July 13, 1856 in Stettin and was baptized in August 27, 1856 [see attachment “Ta” for her baptism record, FHL Film numbers 561977 and 561978]. It’s a nice readable German script record.

I haven’t been able to find any additional information on her online.

John Rohl

I will add specific stories of our more recent history in the near future, but for now I wanted to get this information out. Always feel free to give me a call if you have any questions. As I mentioned this is a dynamic process, as I keep searching for specific family members to build on this story…. and this is only one fourth of our family history. Please call me with any stories, information, on specific documents on our family I may be missing, corrections, and anything you want to share, or would like to add to our family history and story. Good or bad. My cell phone number is 303-809-1232. My address is 1621 Bent Grass Circle in Castle Rock, Colorado 80109.