Forebear Friday – Detlef Seemann

Detlef Seemann and his brother Hans left their native Germany in 1853, looking for a place to relocate their family.  The brothers settled in Clinton county, Iowa, and the following year, their parents and siblings followed, as well as Detlef and Hans’ fiancees, sisters Maria and Elizabeth Petersen.  The extended family lived together for a few years, with Detlef and Elizabeth eventually buying land in Jackson county, just to the north, in Washington township.

Detlef died of “heart trouble” in 1899, and Elizabeth lived another 9 years, passing away in 1908 in Haileyville, Oklahoma.   She was initially buried there, but was moved to Reeseville cemetery in Jackson county, Iowa to be buried with her husband and other family members.  I do not know, at this time, why she was in Oklahoma.  Thomas B. Schultz, a descendant, wrote an excellent history of this family in 1990, entitled, “The American Descendants of Gottfried and Maria Schultz of Schleswig-Holstein Germany”.
Detlef and Elizabeth were the parents of nine children: John Henry, Anna Maria, Mary “Lena”, Peter, Louisa, Marx, Carl G. “Charlie”, Sarah Elizabeth, and Roseltha.

On a trip to Jackson and Clinton counties of Iowa, we located Reeseville cemetery, which sits on top of a hill, with a beautiful view of the surrounding country.  Except for the occasional sound of a passing vehicle on the road below, it’s an exceptionally peaceful and serene location.  Detlef and Elizabeth’s son Marx is also buried here, as well as other Seemanns whose connection is not yet certain.