Welcome!
Log In | Register for a User Account
I am of virtually 100% German extraction. The great majority of my ancestors emigrated to the United States during the 19th Century. And more particularly, they settled in or near Baltimore, Maryland. I grew up in Towson, just north of Baltimore.
As an eleven year old boy, my grandmother took me on the trip of a lifetime. We crossed the Atlantic Ocean on the Cunard Line in 1958, before air travel to Europe was common. One of the crossings was on the RMS Queen Mary that has been a museum for almost my entire adult life.
In Europe we visited the town, or 'dorf', of Wagenfeld, Germany where my grandmother's people came from. She spoke with the pastor of the church and read the old records. We visited the cemetery and found the Koldenstrodt family plot.
My grandmother told me of how her grandfather, Rudolph Heinrich Coldenstroth, came to America durning the Civil War. He was detained for awhile, thought to be a Confederate spy, because he spoke no English. One of the jailers told him that he knew of a woman in Baltimore from Rudolph's same home town of Wagenfeld.
Louise Speckmann left Germany after her fiance, blinded in the war, refused to marry her. When she arrived in Baltimore, she worked as a domestic servant in the home of a baker.
When Rudolph was released, he went to Baltimore and contacted Louise, and soon they were married in St Mathews Evangelical Lutheran Church.
This was my introduction into genealogy and family history. From then until now, I have been hooked.
I hope to share with you some of my enjoyment in preserving pictures and stories, conducting research, remembering and honoring my ancestors. Perhaps you will find that we have common roots. And if you can add to this record, or add to your own from it, all the better. Welcome to my website!
Lawrence A Lang
Contact Us
If you have any questions or comments about the information on this site, please contact us. We look forward to hearing from you.