August Johannes Werner Ernst Ronneberg, I

Note: The correct order of Christian names is as follows: "Johannes Werner Ernst August". August is the name, which was used in daily life to call him. In this profile, the name August is distinguished by displaying it in the first position of the headline, although its correct position is the 4 th one. This makeshift seems to be the only reasonable way to show all Christian names as well as to distinguish the name of daily life, when using the available GENi-software.

August Ronneberg I represents the root of one of two USA-Ronneberg branches of German origin: he emigrated from Germany upon completion of his service in the German army about 1882. The other (second) root being mentioned above is represented by August's elder brother Adolph Ronneberg (*1845): his grand sons Johann(es) Frank Ronneberg (*1912), Gustav(e) Ronneberg, and Friedrich ("Fred") Wilhelm Ronneberg all emigrated to the USA.

According to Thomas Ross JR, the family tradition says that August Ronneberg I studied for catholic priesthood, left his studies, and emigrated because of "his family's embarrassment". This tradition is in good agreement with the fact that August's mother Gertrud and her eight children (including August himself) had morgages of a high amount (8,800 Thaler plus 8,000 Mark, i.e. 34,400 Mark altogether on July 16, 1880, which were borrowed at an annual interest rate between 4% and 5% on the average) on Gut Insel in Münster, what probably considerably lowered August's chances for his own future life.

According to Mrs. Mildred C. Wilkens (WM. J. Kline & Son Publishers Incorporated) on March 28, 1967, the "Amsterdam Evening Recorder" (Amsterdam, NY, USA) of June 19,1911 carried an obituary on August Ronneberg stating:

- that August Ronneberg "had died that morning (June 19, 1911) in St. Mary's Hospital in Amsterdam after an illnes of six months. He was 57 years of age, was born in Westphalia, Germany, and came to this country upon completion of his service in the German army."

- that "Mr. Ronneberg had possessed an excellent education, speaking several languages, and passed a number of years as an associate editor of a German paper in Schenectedy and later served in a similar capacity on a German weekly in Amsterdam."

- that "Survivors listed were three children, Mrs. Clarence Ritch, Tacoma, Washington, William Ronneberg, Amsterdam, and August Ronneberg, New York, and one brother, Hermann, in Germany."

- that "The funeral was held June 21, 1911, at St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Amsterdam, the Reverend Gustave Graf officiating. Interment was in St. Mary's Cemetery here."

Note: The approximate birth date of August Ronneberg (December 22, 1856) may be too late by a few days. According to a letter of the municipal archive Münster of March 27, 1975 to Jürgen Klahn I, the date of December 22 is the date of his baptism rather than his birth.