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Leuschen Family
Germany, Iowa, and Beyond

Family of Nicholas Leuschen Sr. and Anna Maria Simon
Nicholas was born in 1779 Kalenborn, Rhein Province, Germany, a son of Lambert and Anna Maria (Heinen) Leuschen. Anna Maria Simon was born 1781 in Schönecken, Rhein Province, Germany, a daughter of Johann Simon and Maria Willems. Nicholas and Anna Maria were married about 1805 in Rhein Province and had the following children, all born in the Schönecken-Wetteldorf area:
Christian, born about October 18, 1806, and married Susanna Scholzen on January 13, 1834 in Wetteldorf. He died about 1865.
Elizabeth, born about November 12, 1808, and married Johann Baptista Breidt. She died about 1868.
Maria Catherinam born about November 26, 1810, and married Matthias Schottes on February 04, 1841 in Wetteldorf.
Casper, born about January 17, 1813, he died about 1816.
Johann, born about February 23, 1815, status unknown.
Johann, born about March 30, 1817, and married Barbara Seffern on January 30, 1844 in Schönecken.
Anna Catherina, born about October 29, 1819, and married Nicolas Heintzen or Heinz on October 28, 1845 in Wetteldorf.
Nicholas Jr., born about July 11, 1822 (*** see families below ***)
Susanna, born about July 01, 1825, and married Peter Wagener on October 15, 1846 in Wetteldorf.


Family of Nicholas Leuschen Jr. and Anna Maria Molitor
Nicholas was born July 11, 1822 in the Schönecken-Wetteldorf area of Rheinland, Preussen (Prussia, Germany), a son of Nicholast and Anna Maria (Simon) Leuschen. Anna Maria Molitor was born January 28, 1822 in Schönecken, Rheinland Preussen, a daughter of Benedict Molitor and Anna (Ludwig) Ludevich. Nicholas and Anna Maria were married August 19, 1847 in Schönecken (aka Schoenecken), Rheinland, Preussen and records indicate the following children born in the Schoenecken area. Anna Maria died about December 1850. Nicholas remarried and died about 1881.
Benedict, born about June 07, 1848, and married Anna Maria Nolles on May 22, 1875 at St Boniface, Westphalia, Shelby Co., Iowa.
Christian, born about January 1850.
Valentine, born about December 1850.


Family of Nicholas Leuschen Jr, and Anna Magdalena Nolles
Following the death of his first wife in 1850 Nicholas Leuschen married Anna Magdalena Nolles on February 11, 1851 at or near Wetteldorf, Rheinland, Preussen. Anna Magdalena Nolles was born about September 20, 1821 at Esch Hillesheim, Rheinland, Preussen, a daughter of Bernhard Nohles or Nolles and Susanna Henzler or Henze. Nicholas and Magdalena had the following children, all born in the Schoenecken-Wetteldorf area:
Elizabeth, born November 21, 1851, and married John Schmitz.
Nicholas, died young.
Katherine, born February 06, 1857, and married Nicholas Thielen on February 06, 1884 at St. Boniface, Westphalia, Shelby Co, Iowa.
Magdalena, born February 01, 1859, and married John Hansen.
Susan, born perhaps in the 1860s, and married Nicolaus Lentz or Lintz.
Frank, born January 16, 1866, and married Dora E Miller on February 08, 1893 in Marathon Co., Wisconsin.

Immigration to the U.S.

A few members of the of the above Leuschens are known to have emigrated from Prussia (Preussen) to the United States.
- Benedict Leuschen, a son of Nicholas and Anna Maria (Molitor), landed in the U.S. perhaps aboard the ship Steinmann on May 17 1873. After a short time in the Mattoon, Illinois area, Benedict moved to Shelby County, Iowa where he married Anna Maria Nolles. The Leuschen families in this area are descendants of Benedict and Anna Maria, a couple members of their family migrating to Saskatchewan, Canada, among other places.
- Benedict's half-sister Katherine Leuschen, a daughter of Nicholas and Anna Magdalena (Nolles) Leuschen, emigrated from Germany to the U.S. sometime around 1882. Katherine married Nicholas Thielen on February 06, 1884 at St Boniface Church in Westphalia, Shelby Co, Iowa, and the Thielens raised their family in neighboring Audubon County, Iowa.
- Benedict's half-brother Frank Leuschen, a son of Nicholas and Anna Magdalena (Nolles) Leuschen, emigrated sometime around 1882. Frank lived in Wisconsin and he married Dora E Miller on January 12, 1893 in Marathon Co., Wisconsin. They had no children of their own, but are known to have taken in a German-born niece named Emilia (Milly) Leuschen who arrived in the U.S. in November 1909. Frank returned to Germany a number of times during the 1920s to visit relatives, including two of his sisters still living there.
- Benedict's cousin Jacob Wagner, a son of Susanna Leuschen and Peter Wagener (topmost Tree), also emigrated. Jacob married Elisabetha Dosbach on January 13, 1885 at St Boniface Church in Westphalia, Shelby Co, Iowa. They also raised their family in Aududon County, Iowa. After a stint in Carroll County, Iowa many of the Wagners relocated to Fallon Co., Montana. Both Jacob Wagner and Benedict Leuschen returned together from a trip to Germany in 1913.

- A first cousin of Benedict was Mathias Leuschen who lived in Cairo, Illinois. Matt. and his possible brother Fred, appear to have immigrated in the early 1870s. Matt and Fred, both recently married, were located in Ottawa, Franklin County, Kansas according to the 1880 U.S. Census. Matt and Fred were cabinet makers, and Fred is known to have run a cabinet shop in Winfield, Kansas in 1880 before his family moved to the San Bernadino area in California. Matt's family moved to the area of Mattoon, Illinois and settling in Cairo, Illinois, where Matt continued his trade of cabinet making. Matt's 1921 U.S. Passport indicates he was born in Schoenecken, Germany on December 20, 1850, which means he was a son of Joannes Leuschen and Barbara Seffern. Joannes Leuschen was an older brother of Nicholas Leuschen (Nicholas, the father of Benedict Leuschen of Shelby County).

Moving back to the generation of Nicholas Leuschen Sr., born in 1779, Nicholas had a sister named Susanna Leuschen born in 1791 at Kalenborn, Rhein Province, Germany. Susanna was also a child of Lambert and Anna Maria (Heinen) Leuschen, and it is believed (by this author) that Susanna married Valentine Kuhl on June 21, 1822 in Duppach. Valentine Kuhl's family is known to have immigrated aboard the passenger ship Stadt Antwerp, arriving in New York harbor on July 1, 1846. After spending some time in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin, the Kuhl families relocated to Mills County, Iowa, and later some of these Kuhls relocated to Shelby County, Iowa, and elsewhere.


Leuschens from Shelby County, Iowa

Family of Benedict Leuschen and Anna Maria Nolles     (family photo)
Benedict was born about June 07, 1848 at Schoenecken, Rheinland, Preussen, Germany, a son of Nicholas and Anna Maria (Molitor) Leuschen. He married Anna Maria Nolles on May 22, 1875 at St. Boniface, Westphalia, Shelby Co., Iowa. Anna Maria Nolles was born June 15, 1850 at Duppach, Rheinland, Preussen, Germany, a daughter of Joseph Nolles and Anna Maria Finken. Benedict and Anna's children were born in the area of Westphalia, Shelby Co., Iowa.
Joseph Benedict, born December 24, 1876, and married Susan Louise Schwery on February 05, 1901.
Magdalena (Madeline), born February 28, 1878, and married Henry Thomas on May 22, 1900. 2nd marriage to Andrew Wilson Canaday on June 01, 1915.
Maria Anna, born November 27, 1879, and married William Fred Hargarten on February 17, 1903.
Nicholas Carl, born April 27, 1881, and married Elizabeth J Thielen on April 30, 1907.
Francis (Frank) Aloyius, born April 09, 1883, and married Rosa Theresa Pulvermacher on January 31, 1911.
Catherine Maria, born May 25, 1885, and married Anton Goeser on October 02, 1912.
Mathias M, born August 06, 1887, and married Mary Francisca Baumann on September 28, 1915.
Benedict, born June 27, 1889, and married Anna Rosa Langenfeld on August 28, 1918.

Of the children of Benedict and Anna Lueschen, their eldest son Joseph and wife Susan raised their family in the Panama, Iowa area. This is the lineage of the author. Their eldest daughter Magdalena and husband Henry Thomas raised a small family in Missouri. Daughter Maria Anna (Mary) and husband William Hargarten raised their family in the Bruno area of Saskatchewan, Canada. Son Nicholas and wife Elizabeth aised their family in the Panama, Iowa area. Son Frank and wife Rosa raised their family in the Bruno area of Saskatchewan, Canada. Daughter Catherine and husband Anton started their family in Shelby County before making a move to the Neola area of neighboring Pottawattamie County. Son Math and wife Mary raised their family in the Westphalia area of Shelby County. And youngest son Ben and wife Anna also raised their small family in the area of Westphalia, Iowa.


Leuschen connections - Finken familes of Duppach, of Fond du Lac Co., Wisconsin, and of Mills and Shelby County, Iowa

Peter Fincken and Gertrud Cremer were married February 28, 1808 in Duppach, Rheinland, Preussen. Three of their children were married in the Duppach area, prior to family members immigrating to the U.S. Two of their children were married after their arrival in the U.S. Although Peter Fincken died in Prussia in 1831, his wife Gertrud immigrated to the U.S. at the approximate time some of her children made the trip (mid-to-latter 1840s). She died February 18, 1851 in Fond du Lac Co., Wisconsin.
(1) - The eldest surviving daughter of Peter & Gertud was Anna Maria Fincken who married Joseph Nolles on April 25, 1844 in Duppach, Rheinland, Preussen. After raising family in the Duppach area, Anna Maria died there in March 1871. The next year Joseph Nolles is said to have immigrated to the U.S. with surviving children and located in Mills County for a short time before moving on to Shelby County, Iowa about 1874. It was Joseph's daughter, Anna Maria Nolles, who married Benedict Leuschen as noted above.
(2) - Peter & Gertud's daughter Margaret Finken married Joannes Casper Blum on November 30, 1844 in Ormont, Rheinland, Preussen. They arrived in New York on Jul 1, 1846. Also aboard the same immigrant ship (the Stadt Antwerp) was the family of Valentine Kuhl and Susanna Leuschen, as well as the family of John Gaspers and Anna Catharina Fincken who were married in 1831 Duppach (and had Fond du Lac, WI, and Mills Co., Iowa conections). Casper and Margaret Blum raised their family in Wisconsin, first locating in Fond du Lac County.
(3) - Peter & Gertud's eldest surviving son, Mathias Joseph Finken, married Anna Catharina Gans on January 20, 1847 in Duppach, Rheinland, Preussen. Their family arrived in New York on June 22, 1855, aboard the immigrant ship Gaston. After arrival this family soon located in Mills County, Iowa. The family relocated to Shelby County, Iowa about the mid-1880s. Their eldest daughter, Anna Maria Finken, married Joseph Henry Kuhl, a grandson of Valentine Kuhl and Susanna Leuschen. Their youngest son, Michael (Red Mike) Finken, married Susanna Koll, a grand-daughter of Valentine Kuhl and Susanna Leuschen.
(4) - Peter & Gertud's daughter Maria Katherina Finken apparently immigrated to the U.S. about the time of her mother Gertrud and a brother John. This was perhaps 1846-47. Maria Katherina 1st married Johann (John) Baptiste Koenigs in 1847/1848 Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin. After John's death, and that of her mother Gertrud, she remarried Peter N Kuhl on August 04, 1851 in Fond du Lac County. Peter Kuhl was a son of Valentine Kuhl and Susanna Leuschen, mentioned previously. The Kuhl family soon moved to Mills County, Iowa where Peter died in 1867. Later Maria Katherina moved to Shelby County where she died in 1902.
(5) - Peter & Gertud's son, John (Red) Finken, married Anna Margrata Linden on December 15, 1853 in Marytown, Fond du Lac Co., Wisconsin. Just prior to 1860, this family also moved to Mills County, Iowa, where Anna died in 1879, and John died in 1904. Their son Thomas Finken moved to Harrison County, Iowa about 1890, and it is from Thomas that many Finken families in this area descend.


Other Leuschens Immigrating to the U.S. in the 19th Century

Another Leuschen family was that of Matthias Leuschen and Mary Catherine Tillman. Matthias was a son of Peter Leuschen and Anna Margaret Hahn, a family that appears to have originated in the Kalenborn-Mullenborn area of Prussia. Matthias immigrated about 1872, his mother also known to have made the trip. They lived in Minnesota when Matthias married Mary Catherine, and they raised their family in the Sauk County, Minnesota area. Members of their family are known to have relocated to Montana and Canada, among other spots.

The patriarch of another Leuschen family was Mathias Leuschen of the Erie County, Pennsylvania area who arrived in the U.S. from Prussia in 1843. This was Mathias Leuschen who married Catharina Uhlmann on February 23, 1846 at Buffalo, New York. Members of their family included Nicholas, Peter, Elizabeth, Magdalena, George, Frank and Henry.

Arriving in the U.S. about 1886, or shortly before, were Hubert and his brother John Leuschen. They appear to have also come from Prussia. After immigration they lived in the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvaina area where Hubert married Wilhelmina Hoell on February 10, 1887 and had a family of 4 surviving children. John married in the 1920s with no known children.


Article compiled by Dennis Walsh, April 2005.