Portrait of Bernhard Friedrich from Book II, von Pressentin Family History
Bernhard Friedrich is the sixth generation in the succession of our German von Pressentin ancestors. For members of the USA von Pressentin family, Bernhard Friedrich is especially significant. It was Bernhard and his family who left Germany and came to the United States in the late 19th century. Apparently no other von Pressentins emigrated to the USA; therefore those of us in the United States are all direct descendants of this one man.
Birthplace: Bernhard Friedrich was born at Dömitz on July 2, 1814, the second son of Karl Christian.
Schooling: He attended the St. Katharine's Gymnasium at Lübeck (north of Hamburg) from 1828-1832. Later he was schooled in forestry at Remplin, and from 1834 through fall term 1836 he attended the Forestry Academy at Neustadt-Eberswalde.
Occupations:
1) In summer term 1839 he went to Russia to manage the forests of Prince Trubetzkoi and lived in Spask near Podolsk (Moscow district), in Nowaja Sloboda near Abramowa (Nischni-Nowgorod district), in Moscow, Jasikowa on the Alatür near Paschinka (Simbirsk district) and near Sukojanow in the Nischni-Nowgorod district, after which he returned to his homeland [Mecklenburg] at Christmastime 1841.
After many earlier fruitless attempts, he obtained a position as Grand-ducal Jagdjunker [huntsman? Game official?] on August 22, 1842 and was occupied for several years in surveying the Grand Duchy's woodlands.
2) He went to Pomerania, where in the fall of 1846 he bought the estate of Bothenhagen near Schievelbein, which, however, he traded a year later for the manor Hölkewiese near Baldenburg. Through various misfortunes and bad years for agriculture in general, after 1862 he was reduced in circumstances and had to dispose of the property.In 1868, Bernhard's second son, Karl Julius, left for North America.
Near New Year's in 1869 the rest of the family took a residence in Casimirshof near Baldenburg.
In the spring of 1871 they moved to Berlin-Schöneberg, where they lived until the end of February 1873.
From there Bernhard emigrated to North America with his numerous family on the ship Westphalia from Hamburg. He first settled in Wheeling, West Virginia, then in 1874 moved to Sardis, Ohio (Monroe Co.) and lived there on the interest of a small capital and from a small shop, until he died on January 3, 1893. He is also buried there.
Marriage: In 1847 Bernhard was married to Emilie Braun, who was born on March 12, 1825 at Greifenberg [ now called Gryfice] in Pomerania, the daughter of Johann Friedrich Braun and his wife Dorothea Julie Zittow, and had twelve children with her, who were all born at Hölkewiese.
Children of Bernhard Friedrich, and Emilie Braun:
- Kurt Gottlieb Wilhelm, b. February 19, 1848, d. 1917.
- Karl Julius Otto, b. July 5, 1849, d. 1924.
- Olga Henriette Luise, born on March 2, 1851, d. 1872.
- Sophie Auguste Agnes, born on February 21, 1853, d. 1940.
- Martha, born on February 19, 1855, died unbaptized on March 9, 1855 .
- Bernhard Emil Max, b. February 11, 1856, d. 1931.
- Adalbert Paul Friedrich, b. June 13, 1858, d. 1922.
- Alma Adele Emilie, born on August 10, 1860, died early, on January 30, 1864.
- Otto Wilhelm Rudolph, b. September 26, 1862, d. 1945.
- Hans Dietrich Georg, b. January 1, 1865, d. 1869.
- Margarete Ida Marie, was also born on January 1, 1865, d. 1904.
- Paul, b. September 30, 1867, d. 1872.