Wooh Hooh! The party is coming!
Posted on May 23, 2008 - Filed Under World Wide Gathering of the Pulskamps
It looks like our World Wide Gathering of the Pulskamps is going to be a great success! I have over ninety paid registrations already and there should be a lot more coming! I hope as many Pulskamp family members as possible can attend as it will be a never-to-be-forgotten event.
To download a pdf of the registration form, click here: Registration Form for World Wide Gathering of the Pulskamps
In the next few weeks I hope to get a letter out to all those who are registered. Keep an eye out for it in the mail. (Haven’t actually started writing it yet, so it could be three weeks from now, but soon.)
We are also working on selecting a hotel and asking for a group rate. It will be fun if all the out-of-town family stay at the same hotel so we can have more opportunity to visit. I am excited and hope you are too.
New Photos of Old Home, Cincinnati
Posted on March 31, 2008 - Filed Under Family history, Pulskamps Today
Cousin Patricia O’Hara and her dear husband made a trip over to the old haunts recently and sent me some fresh photos of the house my grandfather lived in as a child. The house is located at 1608 Young Street, Cincinnati and I featured it in a few posts some time ago. (You can find those posts by using the Search tool on the right side of this page.)
These photos were taken recently and it makes me happy to see the flower boxes because it looks like someone is taking care of the place. (Though the flowers may be plastic. It’s the thought that counts. Right?) They also sent a nice photo of the area.
I noticed from a map of the area, that Old St. Mary’s Church is not far away. That caught my attention because that is the church where Catherine Pulskamp married Anton Dickman. Mary Klei Pulskamp, and her husband, John Bernard Pulskamp, however, were active at St. Paul’s Catholic Church, as I reported in an earlier post.
Thanks to Patricia and Tom for making the trip to the area and for sending us the great photos.
Who’s Who in Franklin County, IN in 1915?
Posted on March 20, 2008 - Filed Under Family history
A History of Franklin County, Indiana. Her People, Industries and Institutions was written by August J. Reifel in 1915. The book is dedicated “to the dear, departed ones, whose busy hands changed the giant forests into fertile fields, whose love of home established the hearthstones, the tender ties of which yet bind together the heartstrings of the native born, whose patriotism gave the best of their lives and substance for the defense of their country, whose graves make sacred the soil their feet so often trod.” The book is 1475 pages and includes many biographies of representative citizens. Among them is George F. Pulskamp, grandson of Herman Heinrich Pulskamp. Below is an excerpt from the book.
“Sweet memories cluster about the home on one’s childhood, about the home where one was born and reared to manhood. George F. Pulskamp, of Highland Township, Franklin county, Indiana, was born and reared on the farm where his father lived all of his life, the same farm which was entered by his grandfather when the tract on which it stands was a thick wilderness without a stick of timber cut and not even a sign of a building.
George F. Pulskamp was born November 13, 1884, the son of Gerhart and Margaret (Stallman) Pulskamp. His father was born in Hanover, Germany and his mother in St. Peters, Indiana. Mr. Pulskamp’s paternal grandparents were Herman H. and Katherine (Staenka) Pulskamp, both natives of Germany. His paternal great-grandfather was Bernard Pulskamp, who never came to America and who died the year before Herman H. came to this country.
George F. Pulskamp was educated in the public schools of Blue Creek, after which he spent two year in the Catholic school at Bellevue, Kentucky. After completing his education there he returned to the farm in Highland township, and has since engaged in farming, adding eighty acres to the old home place owned by his father and grandfather.
Mr. Pulskamp was married January 10, 1906 to Elizabeth Meyer, who was born in Ripley county, the daughter of William Meyer and wife, now residing in Pennsylvaniaburg, Ripley county, Indiana. To Mr. and Mrs. Pulskamp one daughter, Alma, has been born.
The maternal grandparents of George F. Pulskamp were Andrew and Elizabeth (Zimmerberg) Stallman, of Oldenburg, Germany, who came to America about 1840 and located in Cincinnati. Here he worked in a pork house. About 1843 he moved to St. Peters and was a farmer there when he died. Mr. Pulskamp’s paternal grandfather came to America in 1845, when the father of George F. was eight years old. He came directly to the farm of eighty acres, which then was nothing but woods. He cleared the land, built log buildings where the present buildings stand and later put up a brick house, in which George F. Pulskamp now lives. At this time St. Peters was a log church.
Mr. Pulskamp’s father, Gerhart Pulskamp, was educated at St. Mary’s. He learned the cooper’s trade, but with the exception of two winters spent in Cincinnati engaging in this trade, has engaged in farming all his life. His wife died December 22, 1892, and he is still living.
George F. Pulskamp and family are members of St. Mary’s Catholic church and are loyal and devoted to its interest and conribute liberally of their means to its support. Politically, Mr. Pulskamp is a Democrat. Mr. and Mrs. Pulskamp have a large circle of friends in their community and enjoy a large measure of popular esteem.”
Reprints of the 1475 page History of Franklin County by Mr. Reifel originally printed in 1915 are available from the Franklin County Historical Society at a cost of $75 plus shipping.Â
Barry E. Pulskamp has a copy of the book. Post a response to this blog if you’d like more information on it or its content.
Our Very Own Swim Star
Posted on March 19, 2008 - Filed Under Pulskamps Today
Cousin Megan Pulskamp is a great swimming star at the University of Kentucky. She has an important swim meet Easter weekend and we all wish her well. You can check out a story about her at the UK Athletics website. Megan’s grandmother, Mary Elizabeth Ryan Pulskamp, wrote the blue covered book about the Pulskamp family descended from the youngest of the three boys who came over from Merzen, Germany in 1845.
To learn a little more about Megan, check out the University of Kentucky website.
Skeletons in the Closet
Posted on March 13, 2008 - Filed Under Family history, Pulskamps Today
The story below, about the FBI investigation of one Pulskamp, brings to mind the old “skeletons in the closet” issue. Every family has some stories that they consider too embarrassing to share. My own take on that is that, after some years, those stories add color and depth to the family history. Why should we be uncomfortable because a neighbor in 1918 thought someone from our family was misbehaving, especially since it really wasn’t true? I think it is a great story!
There are other stories that might be interesting to share, now that the initial pain is gone. Sometimes, sharing a somewhat painful story can ease the pain; let you know that you are not alone. This family, at least the part I know personally, is strong enough to handle anything that any Pulskamp has dealt with in the past. Bring it on! Arrested for murder? (Totally exhonorated!) Confined to a mental institution? (Wonder why?) Transgendered? (What difference does that make?) Illegal alien?
If you know of a “skeleton in the closet” that is ready to see the light of day, let me know. If you really resent my asking and wish I would leave those stories alone, let me know that too. To comment or share a story, click the “Leave a comment” button below. The comment will not be published until I read and okay it, so let me know if it is just a comment for me or something you are willing to have everyone see.
FBI Investigation of a Pulskamp
Posted on March 12, 2008 - Filed Under Family history
Poking around on the Internet, I found a report on an FBI investigation of a Pulskamp. Imagine my surprise! I was even more surprised to find out it was not one of my immediate family. Now calm down. The young man involved was completely exhonorated and may not have even known he was under investigation.
It turns out that Catholics and Germans were not always welcome in America. The Know-Nothing Party was pretty active in Franklin County, Indiana, where the Pulskamps had settled. There were, at times, some rather unpleasant experiences, including suspicious fires and other unusual events in the area. I’m not sure how long these attitudes stayed around, but they were still there by the time the United States entered World War I.
At that point, many were afraid that German families might still have strong ties and sympathy for the German nation, now at war with the U.S. A neighbor wrote a letter to the Provost Marshall General in Washington, DC, reporting that some young men from the Oldenberg, Indiana area “had been improperly classified by false affidavits made by pro-German sympathisers.” The letter writer stated that “there were boys residing in his community who were given deferred classification on the grounds of dependency, skilled labor and agriculture who should have been placed in Class I: that the town of Oldenberg and the country around was and is strongly pro-German; that there was no chance as he thought for him to do anything about the matters; that there were affidavits on file at Brookville, (the County Seat of Franklin County, Indiana), which were keeping these boys out of the service and which same would prove false upon investigation; that even his post office there was in the dwelling of a registered alien enemy, and that there was not a Notary Public in the town who could be trusted to make out an affidavit in respect to these matters.“ Letter to Provost Marshal General, August 3, 1918
Eleven boys were named as avoiding military service, including Joseph Ertel and Frank Pulskamp, both related to our family. Both these young men were exhonorated, as were most of the men. Two were reported on separately, so I don’t know what became of their case, and two were reclassified. Then the case was closed. I wonder if Frank even knew about it. (See photo of Frank in story below.) 
Leo Pulskamp Photos
Posted on February 27, 2008 - Filed Under Family history
Leo and Roberta Pulskamp, of Grand Rapids, MN, sent me some lovely photos from their family history along with their registration for the World Wide Gathering of the Pulskamps. One photo shows the wedding of Leo’s parents, Jacob Gerhard Pulskamp and Bertha Antoinette Mueller. They were married on November 10, 1915 at St. Rose of Lima Church, Hillsboro, North Dakota. The photo shows the young couple, seated and surrounded by their attendants. From the left, the others in the photo are August Mueller (I assume he is the brother of the bride), Kathyrn Pulskamp (sister of the groom), Frank Leo Pulskamp (brother of the groom), and Catherine Mueller (I assume she is the sister of the bride.). They are a good looking lot, don’t you think? Can you see any resemblance to Pulskamps in your family?
Another photo (actually two photos printed on one page) shows Henry Pulskamp and Anna C. Ertel, Leo’s grandparents, and the parents of Jacob Gerhard Pulskamp from the wedding photo. These two look so young! Maybe the photos were taken when they finished high school?
The last photo shows Gerhard G. Pulskamp, Leo’s great grandfather. Gerhard arrived in Indiana in 1845 at the age of eight, the middle of the three Pulskamp boys from Germany. He was the one who kept the family farm, while the oldest and youngest sons took up trades in the city.
Thanks to Leo for sending the photos!
Pulskamp Homestead is Back in the Family!
Posted on February 14, 2008 - Filed Under Pulskamps Today
Thanks to Ellen Pulskamp-Turner the original Pulskamp homestead in Franklin County, Indiana is now owned by Barry E. Pulskamp and Pamela J. Pulskamp of Cincinnati, Ohio. Barry is a descendent of John Henry Pulskamp, the third son of Herman Heinrich Pulskamp, who purchased the land in 1845.
For the last year or so Barry and his wife had been considering the purchase of a small farm in southwestern Indiana as a vacation retreat or second home. They had driven around and looked at several properties, but nothing had appealed to them. That’s until Barry talked to Ellen Pulskamp-Turner in September, 2007. Ellen was in Cincinnati to plan for the first Worldwide Gathering of the Pulskamps and had visited the original homestead. While Ellen was there she noticed a for sale sign on the property. She later posted a blog on the Pulskamp website mentioning it. When Barry saw that the property was for sale, he told his wife, “Pam, this was meant to be”. They met with the seller, visited the property several times and negotiated for almost two months. The seller, Rodney Dirkhising, was very attached to the property. He had invested a lot of sweat equity into the barn and garage building. The quality of his work is outstanding.  The Pulskamps finally closed on January 19. 2008. They are now the proud owners of the Pulskamp homestead.
The original homestead property was 80 acres. It was divided into tow sections in July, 1995 when it was sold to Mr. Dirkhising. One section is approximately 32 acres, the other is approximately 48 acres. The 32 acre section was where the original house, barn and wells were located.  Barry and Pam have purchased the 32 acre property. It currently has a small concrete block house, large garage building and an 8 stall horse barn. The barn was built about 8 years ago and sits on the foundation of the first barn. The concrete block house was constructed in the 1940’s. It is positioned in front of the location of the original farmhouse which was destroyed by fire. The foundation of the original farmhouse can still be found in the pasture behind the current house. There are also two wells on the property. The original well is not in use and is located near the site of the original farmhouse. The second well is in use and is nearer to the current house.
The house sat empty for two or three years and is in need of a lot of work.   Barry and Pam plan to eventually replace it and add a pond near the house and barn. The property will be available to visit during the Worldwide Gathering of the Pulskamps in August, 2008.
Mary Klei Pulskamp Photo
Posted on January 31, 2008 - Filed Under Family history
In the 1925 memorial booklet for the 75th anniversary of St. Paul Church, the various parish groups are listed. Among the groups is the St. Paula Married Ladies Society. This group posed for a photo and Mary Pulskamp is listed as the 
society’s treasurer. She is shown in the back row of the photo, second from the left.
There is also a description of the Society which is interesting and attached here. I also cut out Mary Pulskamp’s photo from the main photo so we could get a closer look at her. She reminds me a lot of my grandfather, her oldest son. 
St. Paul Anniversary
Posted on January 31, 2008 - Filed Under Family history
Among the books that my Mom has put into my custody is a booklet created in 1925 to celebrate the Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of the building of the Church of St. Paul, Twelfth and Spring Streets, Cincinnati, Ohio. It is the parish my grandfather, Henry John Pulskamp, grew up in.
It seems that someone, perhaps my grandparents Henry and Agnes Pulskamp, and/or my aunt and uncle Anna Mary and Gus Maier, also attended the Centennial Celebration for the parish in 1950, as there were two memorials cards from that event inside the 1925 booklet.
