I have barely scratched the surface of my research on my Vienop family line. Now, I do think it is time for me to dig in a bit. I do so with caution though. Let's just say that in this family line there are people that I grew up with and some of them are long lived. My own great grandmother, Mary Borchers (Maria Luise Katharine Vienop), lived to be 96 years old. She passed away in 1989 and I knew her quite well.
I have her death certificate and probably won't be posting it anytime soon online or Ancestry.com. There is nothing shocking or surprising about what is on it but something stops me inside from putting too much public information about someone who was so near and dear to me even almost 23 years after she passed away. I will write more about her as I've already done but I need to figure out how to share her life without including all of the currently living people who were part of it. This is a tough one for sure. She was loved by so many people including those she was not related to. Her contagious lovely laugh is burned into my memory along with her wonderful smile. She was my petite little great grandma with a huge heart, great listening skills, patience, and a great wisdom about everyday life that she shared.
The first Vienop's to arrive in Napa, California did so at the beginning of 1901 by train from Daykin, Nebraska. I have even more specifics but suffice to say, there were 10 Vienop's. They were John Henry (Johann Heinrich Vinup) Vienop, Anna Marie Koch Vienop, Ernest Henry William Vienop, "Mary" Maria Luise Katharine Vienop, John Henry Ernest Vienop, "Minnie" Anna Christina Minna Vienop, Ernest (Ernst Heinrich Friedrich Vinup) Vienop, Ernest Julius Vienop, "Ricky" Fredericka A. Schiffman Vienop, and George Ernest Henry Vienop.
John Henry Sr.'s wife was Anna Marie and their children were Ernest, Mary, John Henry Jr., and Minnie. Ernst Vinup was the brother of John Henry Sr. and Ernest Julius was their nephew. Ernest Julius's father was the oldest brother of Ernst and John Henry, Sr. His name was Friedrich Wilhelm Vinup and he lived in St. Louis, MO.
When it comes to my Napa, California Vienop's, Ernest Julius was known as Cousin Ernest as were his children referred to as our Vienop cousins. Ernst Vinup was referred to as Uncle Ernest. My great grandma's brother, Ernest Vienop, was apparently also referred to as Uncle Ernest but only after all of the children of John Henry Sr. and Anna were adults and the first grandchild, my grandma, came along. Her name was Dorothy Marie Borchers. She married Richard J. Flanagan in 1940.
My final comment for now is that the surname "Vinup" originates in Germany but was switched to Vienop upon immigration to the U.S. It is unclear at which juncture the name was changed. I have more to write about the the 4 Vinup brothers who immigrated to the U.S.
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