Groningers, Croningers, Chroningers, Greningers and Kroningers in America
Past Present Future Resources Contacts
Groningers in Kuchen
Leonard Groninger [1726 - 1786] emigrated from Kuchen, W�rttemberg, Germany, and arrived in Pennsylvania in 1749 on the ship "Lydia."
Kuchen is in the Schwabian area of Southwest Germany on the Fils river between Stuttgart and Ulm. Protestant parish registers (1558-1898) of baptisms, marriages, deaths, family registers, comfirmations, etc., in Staatsarchiv Stuttgart were filmed by the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints on three microfilm reels in 1989, i.e.; #1658778, 1658779 and 1658780. A column note on Leonard's baptism page records - "gone to Pennsylvania."
About 100 years later (1856) two connected Groninger families also emigrated from Kuchen. One family settled in Pennsylvania, where the father entered the Union Army and was killed in the Civil War. The other family settled in Wisconsin, from whence a descendant is a current "cousin." Most of the people in the United States with the above listed surnames descend from these Kuchen emigrees.
Recently we were contacted by a descendant of the Groningers who remained in Germany when Leonard came to America. He lives in Kuchen and has provided us with an comprehensive look at "his" Groninger ancestors, our "cousins."
Descendents of Leonard Groninger, as well as other emigrants from his hometown of Kuchen, are very fortunate to now have available to them a wonderful resource in researching ancestry in that German town.
In 2003, after ten years of painstaking transcription and indexing, Hilda Reichert and her son Wolfgang produced the 600-page volume, Ortsfamilienbuch Kuchen 1559-1900. Included in this work is detailed and indexed information on the births, marriages, and deaths recorded in the records of the Evangelische Jakobuskirche of Kuchen since 1559.
The data is arranged alphabetically by surname for ease of reference. For instance, forty-nine Groninger families are found together between pages 151 and 158. Here it is possible to easily construct six generations of emigrant Leonard Groninger�s ancestors in Kuchen.
Researchers into our Groninger family, as well as those interested in the many other families of Kuchen over these centuries, are indebted to Hilde and Wolfgang, who are both current residents of Kuchen and Groninger cousins, for their outstanding contribution to their own community, as well as to the larger body of genealogical enthusiasts who will use this work in the future.
This book was published by Druckerei Boscolo & Koenigshofer, Karlsruhe, and is available at the Family History Library, Salt Lake City, Utah. For those family researchers interested in this aspect of our Groninger family history, Wolfgang may be contacted at [email protected].
David Kibler, our lieason for Kuchen, has visited Kuchen several times, has a copy of the book, and may be contacted in this regard.Leonard Groninger's Ancestors in Kuchen, W�rttemberg, Germany (1527 - 1760)
[Recent Aerial Views of Kuchen and its valley.]
Once upon a time there was a family newsletter called the Groninger Family Record, published from 1996 to 2005 by Thomas R Groninger, a great-grandson of the immigrant Leonard Groninger. The Groninger Family Record
Tom, who lives in Pennsylvania within a mile of the farm pioneered by Leonard and his wife Elizabeth, was instrumental in bringing C/Ch/K/Groningers together to share their research, histories, lore, and much more. His goal in publishing the Groninger Family Record was:
�. . . to provide historical information, such as facts about who, what, where and when; genealogical data; personal profiles that reveal the personalities of past and present Groningers/Grenningers/etc.; and information on current events, including births, deaths, marriages and tragedies and triumphs."
Coinciding with publication of the Groninger Family Record was the development and presentation on the Internet of comprehensive genealogical databases of individuals and families with surnames closely tied to Leonard Groninger. Names such as those listed above, trace themselves back to the pre-revolutionary era of the United States.
In the new database, you will find that the previously separate databases have been consolidated into one all-encompassing file in a cleaner, more accessible format. This database includes ALL spellings, whether linked to each other or NOT, of the surnames resulting from the early immigrants.
Groninger Family Record Database
Many of us have sorely missed the Groninger Family Record as a vehicle for learning about our C/Ch/K/Groninger ancestors/descendants and for disseminating information gleaned from our latest research. Groninger Family Record Forum
In light of this, we are developing an opportunity to continue learning and sharing. The Groninger Family Report Forum will soon be up and running on the Internet. It will enable us to continue learning without having to wait for our newsletter to arrive in the mail.
The GFR Forum will allow us to have interactive participation, which means we will be able to leave messages, answer questions from each other, and share archival information. You will be able to research new information on our ancestors, let us know about your new descendants, and help insure that future generations do not have to "re-invent the wheel" once they catch the genealogy bug.
Groninger Family Record Forum
The Forum will be a good place to announce, promote your Family Reunion for a wide circulation to many interested "cousins." Pictured below are a couple reunions in the past.
Resources
The Juniata County Historical Society
Do you have concerns about all your research sitting on a shelf, collecting dust or getting lost? The Juniata County Historical Society has graciously allowed GFR's to set up a repository for documentation, files, etc., in the "Groninger Section" at their museum in Mifflintown, Pennsylvania, close to our roots. Now, we have one place where our genealogy research materials will be preserved for future generations to access.
Find A Grave
While researching your C/Groninger relatives, be sure to visit Find A Grave, an additional tool for GFR researchers to view and provide pictures of their ancestors' gravesites. Through Find A Grave, you have the opportunity to search for graves, as well as to post gravesite photos and complete, in your own words, a personalized memorial and family history. For more information about this wonderful project that coordinates so nicely with the GFR Family Record Database, contact Mary Warner. Mary is the daughter of Russell Warner who dedicated himself to providing a tremendous amount of early C/Groninger research, and she continues his dedication through Find A Grave.
GFR Contacts
Please contact any of the following GFRer's with any questions, suggestions or corrections you have to the presented data. Please provide reasonable documentation to help determine where and how your information fits.
Gerri Andrews, 3949 Homestead Dr., Howell, MI 48843, [email protected]
Dick Chroninger, 1730 N. Clayton Ave., #117, Maryville, MO 64468, [email protected]
Ralph Croninger, 320 Main St - P O Box163, McClure, OH 43534, [email protected]
Tom Groninger, 223 N 3rd St, Lewisburg, PA 17837, [email protected]
David Kibler, 325 Twin Canyon Dr., Boerne, TX 78006, [email protected]
Bill Wilkinson, genealogy@juncojunction
Last Modified: 24 Feb 2012
