Robert Bethke

Robert Bethke (Carl Friedrich Robert Bethke) was born March 27, 1861 in Salesche, West Prussia, Germany. He was baptised on May 20, 1861 in Bukowitz in West Prussia. His parents were Karl (Carl) and Wilhelmine Fenske. Robert immigrated from near the border of Germany and Poland (he could speak both languages). He sailed from the port of Bremerhaven to the US on March 23, 1890, according to the 1900 Census records and a 1921 passport application.

He married Agnes Hohr on December 26 1886 in Bukowitz, Westpreußen, Polen (West Prussia, Poland). She was born in 1872 in Germany and immigrated to the US in August 1890 with Hugo (age 2) and Elise (age 11 months), according to Census records.

They lived on a farm in 1900, and had a mortgage on the house. Robert was a farmer. He passed away on January 2, 1942. Services were held at Lassahn Funeral Home, with Reverend John Schauer officiating, and laid to rest at Zion Lutheran Cemetery.

Their children:

• Elizabeth, born in December 1889, (Hilda called her ‘Aunt Lizzie’)
• Henry John, born 1891
• Robert Joseph, born Sept. 4, 1892
• Frederick C, born July 1894
• Molivena A, born August 1896
• Carl Julius “Charlie”, born March 21, 1899
• Conrad R., born May 1899

The 1910 Census listed them as having 11 children born to them and 10 children living. Address is Philadelphia Road. Robert’s industry was listed as ‘Truck’. He was 49 years old and married for 22 years.

The 1910 Census lists the children:

• Robert, age 18, laborer on the farm
• Frederick, age 16, laborer on the farm
• Mariana (Molivena?), age 13
• Lottie, age 11; maybe aka Charlotte?
• Wilhelm, age 9
• Albert, age 7
• Carl Julius, age 3
• Herman, age 1

The 1920 Census shows that Robert and Agnes were naturalized in 1900.

Children are (names and ages don’t seem to match up with 1910 census):

• Henry Bethke 28, laborer on home farm
• Robert (Joseph) Bethke 26, laborer on home farm; veteran of World War I
• Fred Bethke 24, machinist at shipyard; veteran of World War I
• Charles Bethke (aka Carl Julius?) 20, laborer on home farm
• Herman Bethke 18, laborer on home farm
• Wilhelm Bethke 14
• Albert William Bethke 12, born Nov 27, 1908
• Louis Bethke 10

1930 Census shows they have a Radio Set and live on a farm on Philadelphia Road. Robert was 26 and Agnes was 15 when they married. None of the children attended school but they could read and write.

Robert is shown as a self-employed farmer.

Children:

• Robert Jr., age 36, is a veteran of the World War.
• William A., born 1907, age 23, is a laborer on the truck farm
• Albert, age 20, is a laborer on the truck farm
• (Louis) Ludwig, age 18,  is a laborer on the truck farm
• Herman Ferdinand, born 5/12/1901, laborer at a power plany
• William, assumed to be son of Herman, age 2 and 9/12 months

A 1936 Baltimore Directory lists Robert as owner of a produce stall at the Canton Market and residing in Stemmers Run.

The Bethke Ore Bank Iron Mine was located on Robert Bethke’s farm in Rossville, Maryland. The Maryland Geological and Ecological Survey published the 1911 Report on the Iron Ores of Maryland:  “On Mr. Robert Bethke’s farm, a half mile northwest of Rossville, is an old bank which, together with its dumps, covers an area of about six acres. Except for a little mining done by Mr. Bethke in the early eighties, the bank has not been worked for over thirty years.”

Bethke Farm Becomes Rosedale Park

Census Records

Zion Evangelical Lutheran United Church of Christ

Robert and Agnes Bethke were among the original attendees of Zion Evangelical Lutheran United Church of Christ, founded in 1865.

More Information on the Bethke Ore Bank

More information on ore banks, like the one that was on Robert’s property, taken from The Maryland Geological and Ecological Survey publication of the 1911 Report on the Iron Ores of Maryland.

It may give some insight into why the mine wasn’t very active, at least while Robert lived there.

The questions of cost of mining, proximity of fuel, flux, and water are the real factors which decide whether an iron ore deposit has any economic value. An excellent iron ore may be so situated that the cost of mining and bringing it to market is prohibitive. The ore itself, the flux, and the fuel are bulky products and the item of transportation is a most important one. When all of these factors are favorable a comparatively low grade ore can readily be utilized at a profit, whereas many high grade ores less favorably situated are absolutely worthless.

The credit of the discovery of iron ore in Maryland seems to belong to Captain John Smith. In his voyage up the Chesapeake Bay in 1608, he entered the Patapsco River which he named Bolus, because of the red clay found there, resembling “bole armoniack and terre sigillata.” Later in the year, he sent two barrels of iron ore specimens to England to be examined, but it is not known whether they were from Maryland or Virginia, or what were the results of the examination. Attention was called to a superficial deposit of iron ore in Baltimore County in 1648 by Plantagenet, who estimated a saving to the iron manufacturer of £3 per ton; “another £5 would be saved in fuel by using drift wood and timber floated down the rivers, and thus the labor of each man would yield him 5s lOd per diem, iron being valued at £12 per ton.” In 1681, the Legislature, to prevent the exportation of old iron and to encourage the smiths, imposed a duty on such exportations. The manufacture of iron seems to have begun about this time.

The large deposits of the Lake Superior region and of Alabama came into the field, and extensive plants were built to manufacture iron in coke furnaces in enormous quantities, at much lower prices than the charcoal iron could be made. The extension and cheapening of transportation at the same time opened up to these plants the local markets of the charcoal furnaces. Finally, the introduction of steel reduced the market for the high grade charcoal iron to a minimum.

Toward the close of the eighties, when the local iron industry, became almost extinct, the large plant of the Maryland Steel Company at Sparrows Point was erected, and the production of this plant has again raised the rank of Maryland among the iron-producing States from thirteenth in 1890 to ninth place. ITo Maryland ores are used at this plant, and most of the ores used there are brought from Cuba.

In 1892, the price of ore became too low for profitable mining, and the bank was abandoned. The ore banks in which the Arundel ores have been worked in Baltimore County occur in a belt running in a southwesterly direction across the southeastern part of the County from the Gunpowder
Palls to the Patapsco River, passing through the eastern and southern portions of Baltimore City.

Ancestry.com’s writeup for Robert Bethke

The following information was provided on the Ancestry website. It writes a story using  any records it can find plus any information available about life at that time.

During the late 19th century, Germany was in a period of transition as Kaiser Wilhelm I unified several independent states into one nation. A lack of political freedom and limited economic opportunities pushed Germans like Robert from their homeland during this time. Between 1880 and 1900, more than 2 million Germans left home to build a new life in the United States. Kaiser Wilhelm I instituted repressive rules against the German working class, limiting their civil rights, and an increasing population led to a shortage of farmland. Meanwhile, industrialization only offered low-paying jobs. Many Germans believed that immigrating to the United States was the best option.
250,000 German immigrants arrived in the US in 1882.
Robert was 29 years old when he arrived in the United States in 1890.

Once he made the decision to leave Germany, the first thing he needed to do was get to a seaport. Depending on his financial situation, he may have taken a train, ridden in a horse-drawn wagon, or put his possessions on his back and walked.

Most immigrants left Germany through the ports of Bremen and Hamburg during the late 19th century. Upon arriving in the United States, immigrants were required to undergo a physical examination. During the voyage across the Atlantic Ocean, Robert’s comfort level depended on the passenger class he could afford. First-class passengers sailed above deck in private rooms, while steerage-class passengers were housed below deck in crowded and often unsanitary conditions.

Many German immigrants came to the United States because there was abundant land for farming. Germans who settled in cities often worked in skilled trades, such as making jewelry, cabinets, or musical instruments. They also opened breweries, bakeries, and restaurants.

Deed for Robert Bethke’s Purchase of Land

I found the deed for the sale of land from Ellen Brown (widow) to Robert Bethke on April 23, 1908 on the Maryland Land Records website.

The two images shown here are the deed.

Some excerpts from the deed:

“Witnesseth that for and in consideration of the sum of Five Dollars”

“Beginning for the same in the centre of the Philadelphia Road at the end of the first line of the lot of ground described in a lease dated February 12, 1855 and recorded among the Land Records of said County in Liber H.M.F No. 11 folio 12K9, from Robert Howard to John R. Foulke, and running thence bounded on said land the eleven following courses and distances, viz: North 23 degrees West 8 perches… .”

A perch is 16.5 feet of land and is known also as a rod or pole.

Additional Information for Robert Bethke