On this map of Germany you can see the areas in gray are Prussia in 1815, including Westfalia/Rhenish Prussia, to the west of the main part of Prussia, and separated from it. The western area is the area where Lemgo is located. It is here in this town of Lemgo that the Bolzau Family came in the 1700's.
After their arrival in Lemgo they became a great part of the history of this town. The Bolzau's were the first to open a Photographisches Atelier in the year 1866 in the Ostertorwall. Unfortunately the house which hosted the Atelier is no longer in existence. In the early times of Lemgo Bolzau became a great name.
I have done a lot of research in attempting to find the roots of my great grandfather Theodor Franz Carl Mohle Bolzau who was born in Etteln, Germany. After my great grandfather left Germany and came to America he was known as Charles Bolzau. After arriving in America he went westward and finally arrived in Tempe, Maricopa, Arizona in the year 1870. It was here that he met and married Jennie Gatke on September 13, 1882 in Phoenix, Maricopa, Arizona. Jennie's family too had come from Germany, in the year 1855, and after going through Canada and then to Iowa, they finally arrived in Phoenix, Maricopa, Arizona.
Charles and Jennie Bolzau after settling in Tempe, Arizona purchased 320 acres of land. It was here that three children were born to them, Moritz Bolzau in July 1883, Henrietta Bolzau in February of 1885 and my grandmother Meta Louise Bolzau on May 24, 1887. Charles and Jennie Bolzau were among the first settlers in Tempe, Arizona. Charles had been there for almost twenty years prior to both of their deaths in September 1889. They were respected and honored by all that knew them.
PRINCIPALITY OF LIPPE
The small city of Etteliin where my great grandfather was born is approximately fifty miles from the city of Lemgo. Both are located in the Principality Of Lippe Germay. It was in Lemgo at the St. Nicholas Church that my great grandfather was baptized and raised by his parents Andreas Moritz and Louise Henriette Mohle Bolzau.
Lippe (later Lippe-Detmold and then again Lippe) was a historical state in Germany. It was located between the Weser River and the southeast part of the Teutoburg forest.
HISTORY
The founder of what would become the Principality of Lippe was Bernhard I, who received a grant of the territory from Lothar Röttgering III, Holy Roman Emperor and King of the Germans in 1123. Bernhard I assumed the title of Lord of Lippe. Bernhard's successors inherited and obtained several counties. Lord Simon V was the first ruler of Lippe to style himself as a count.
Following the death of Simon VI in 1613, the principality was split into three counties; Lippe-Detmold went to Simon VII, Lippe-Brake to Otto and Lippe-Alverdissen went to Philip I. The Lippe-Brake county was reunited with the main Detmold line in 1709. Another branch of the family was founded by Jobst Herman, a son of Simon VII, who was founder of the Lippe-Biesterfeld line.
The Counts of Lippe-Detmold were granted the title of Prince of The Empire in 1789.
Shortly after becoming a member state of the German Empire in 1871, the Lippe-Detmold line died out on 20 July 1895. This resulted in an inheritance dispute between the neighboring principality of Schaumburg-Lippe and the Lippe-Biesterfeld line. The dispute was resolved by the Imperial Court in Leipzig in 1905, with the lands passing to the Lippe-Biesterfeld line who, until this point, had no territorial sovereignty.
The Principality of Lippe came to an end on 12 November 1918 with the abdication of Leopold IV, with Lippe becoming a Free State. In 1947, Lippe merged into the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
