Menck Family Page
Welcome to The Mënck. Family Page, which furnishes historical detail beyond the site index, exploring two generations of Mëncks in the line of Johann H. Mënck. of Saxony, Germany.
5. Annie Mënck (Matthews) --Annie Mënck (Jan. 1860-1930) was the wife of Solomon Matthews and the mother of Anna M. Blann. She was of German descent on her father's side (Johann H. Mënck) and Dutch (Pallantine) on her mother's side (Anne Weatherwax, her grandmother). She was born in Baltimore. MD 1860 and died in Trappe, Talbot Co. MD in 1930 (per her tombstone; see Find-a-grave). Annie's family had moved from Baltimore to Trappe, MD by 1863. Anna is listed on the 1930 census as living at 50 Church St. in Trappe, MD, married in 1879, did not go to school but was able to read and write. Annie was skilled in knitting, weaving baskets and multi-colored rag-rugs. She gave birth to nine children and went blind during her final decades. One of her grandchildren told how they strung a clothes line from the house to the outhouse for Annie after her eyesight failed. She last appears in the 1930 census in Trappe, Maryland at age 70, her husband, Solomon Matthews, at age 80. Per-find -grave she died later that year, while Solomon lived until 1934. Their children were: Norman, Olin, Helen and Seth (these two died young), Magdaline (Maggie), Maude, Anna, Berle, and Chilton (Troy). Annie's parents were Johann Mënck and Magdalene Craver. The 1860 census indicates that Annie had an older sister named Mary who died before the 1870 census. Anna Blann gave her mother's name as Anna Dorothea Mënck.
6. Johann H. Mënck --(1802 or 1804-after 1880) The father of Annie Mënck, was born in Hamburg, Germany ca. 1804. The "H" in his middle name may stand for Heinrich. Both his naturalization and Maryland census records states that his place of birth was Hamburg. No information is known about Johann's German parents and his early life, except for his granddaughter, Anna M. Blann's report that Johann came over from Germany in the early part of the nineteenth century, where he was a journeyman apprentice. There are several immigrants (Johann Munch, John Manck, John Minch, J. H. Menik) arriving in New York from Hamburg and other German cities between 1834-1838 who could be our Johann. For example, Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., Passenger Lists, 1820-1964 (Roll 2: Jan 1, 1830-Dec 31, 1833) shows a German immigrant named "Joh.H. Munch" arriving in Baltimore from "foreign ports" in September 1834. However, the immigration record that appears to be the best match to Johann is on a ship called the Rambler of Duxbury, a Massachusetts ship returning from Hamburg to New York in 1835 (a merchant ship rather than an immigrant ship). He is listed as "John Menck," age 33, profession: Turner, native of Germany. (New York, U.S., Arriving Passenger and Crew Lists (including Castle Garden and Ellis Island), 1820-1957 on Ancestry.com)
The profession of turner fits with the idea that he was a journeyman apprentice, as turners were trained tradesmen, often with a guild apprenticeship. A turner is a craftsman skilled in lathe work — shaping objects such as furniture and tool handles by rotating them and carving or cutting. Many turners eventually transitioned to general retail as Johann did, later running a dry goods/grocery store in Maryland. Johann married into the Craver family twice before 1850. Records show that the Cravers were still in New York in 1935 and moved to Elizabeth City, VA a few years later. We can speculate, then, that if Johann arrived at the New York port, he could conceivably have met his first wife, Catherine Craver, oldest daughter of Zacharia and Ann Craver, in New York shortly before the family moved to Virginia. They may have met through the Lutheran church and felt an affinity due to their common German backgrounds.
The first American record I have found on Johann Mënck is from Elizabeth City, VA in 1844 where he is acting as a creditor and extending a $3,000 loan to a Thomas Chisman and accepted the enslaved individuals as temporary collateral until the loan was paid off. (Re-Recorded Deeds I, 1837-1845, Elizabeth City County, Virginia: Elizabeth City. on FamilySearch) For an immigrant from Germany, especially one who likely arrived with limited means, to act as creditor for a loan equivalent to over $100,000 today, and taking slaves as collateral, is not typical. This suggests that by the early 1840s, Johann had either accumulated significant capital relatively quickly, or he may have tapped into a transatlantic German business network, which facilitated loans, credit, and migration. Wealthier German merchants or kinship groups often funded the ventures of newer arrivals. If Menck came with letters of recommendation or connections, that would explain access to capital. Another document from Elizabeth City in 1848 is a trust agreement to secure a $300 debt owed by Miles H. King to John Menck, with Zacharia Craver (his father-in-law) acting as trustee. (Re-Recorded Deeds I, 1837-1845, Elizabeth City County, Virginia: Elizabeth City on FamilySearch)
Sometime before 1846 Johann married Christina Catherine Craver (born in New York in 1819). The Craver family moved to Virginia from New York between 1835-39, so Johann's marriage to Catherine (prior to their son John's birth in 1846) likely dates to those years. I have not found either their marriage record, nor Johann Menck on the 1840 census. However, the 1840 census shows Zacharia Craver in Virginia City Co. VA, age 40-49 with a large family that includes a daughter age 20-29 (Catherine) and 1 "Person Employed in Manufacture and Trade" (likely Johann--either as a boarder of possibly already married to Catherine). Catherine died soon after giving birth to their one son, John H. Mënck, who lived only from Oct. 5, 1846 to 1847. Johann subsequently married Catherine's sister, Magdalene Craver (b. 1832), who was Annie Mënck's mother. The first census in which Johann appears is the 1850 Elizabeth City, Virginia census under the name “John Mënck,” occupation: finisher. He appears along with his wife Magdaline Mënck in the census, matching the time during which the Cravers were stationed in Elizabeth City, Virginia and Fort Monroe.
Washington, D.C., U.S., Compiled Marriage Index, 1830-1921 records the marriage of Johann H. Mënk and “Madeline” Craver on June 2, 1849 at the Concordia Lutheran Evangelical Church in Washington D.C. The 1860 Baltimore census shows "John H. Manch" and wife Magdalene, and gives his birth year as 1804 in Hamburg (occupation: grocer). With them in their household are two children: Mary (born in VA in 1855) and Ann, age 7/12 and born in Maryland. Two of Magdalene's brothers also moved to Baltimore around that time and a sister, Anna, settled on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. This may explain why the Mëncks chose to also settle in Maryland. A May 1863 tax assessment shows John Menck in Hole in the Wall (Talbot Co.) MD and lists him as a retail dealer (with the word "liquors" below his trade) (U.S., IRS Tax Assessment Lists, 1862-1918). In 1864, “John Mink” (likely Johann H. Mënck) was paid by a Talbot County guardian for supplying clothing and merchandise for an orphan. These payments were recorded on Nov. 3 and Nov. 10, 1864. (Guardian Accounts T3186/C1865-18: Talbot. Guardianship Accounts 1865–1869 on FamilySearch) This suggests Johann was an active and trusted merchant in the Trappe area, operating his store at least as late as the mid-1860s, and engaged with the broader community in both commercial and social rolesAn 1866 probate file for Thomas Baker lists John Mink as receiving payment for "sundry articles for the deceased" (probably candles, food and liquor from his grocery store for funeral arrangements). (Talbot. Probate Records 1867–1873 from FamilySearch)
On September 1, 1868, Magdalena Menck appeared in the Talbot County creditors docket with an account dated June 1, 1868, showing a debt of $42.47. (Creditors Docket C2297-1: Talbot. Court Debt Records 1854–1887 on FamilySearch) This suggests she was personally engaged in some form of financial or commercial activity — likely related to the family’s store or household needs. Given Johann’s advancing age (in his 60s), Magdalena may have assumed a more prominent role in managing their affairs during this period leading up to their retirement.
The 1870 Talbot Co., MD. census gives the date of birth year for "John H. Minck" as "about 1804," the birthplace as Hamburg and occupation as retired merchant. On the 1870 census Magdalene is age 40 and daughter Ann is 10, but Mary is not listed and must have died. Also living with the family is domestic servant Grace Kirby, age 23, and 1 year-old son, Charles Kirby. The 1870 census, combined with the 1864 guardianship payments to “John Mink,” strongly suggests that Grace Kirby was the orphan under the care of Johann and Magdalene Menck. She was likely boarded with them from at least 1864 (at age ~17, minor), continued living with them as a domestic after reaching adulthood, and gave birth to her son Charles around 1869. The Mëncks may have served as informal guardians or foster parents during her adolescence.
Finally, the 1880 Talbot Co., MD. census shows the couple in the Trappe/Easton area without children and with a black 12 year old servant named Ida. Whether Ida lived with them or just worked in their home and was present when the census taker came is not clear. The 1880 census lists John (Johann) Mënck as born in Saxony, Germany in 1802, and his parents also from Saxony. (There are two Saxonys in Germany; one is located in the southeastern part of Germany where Leipzig and Dresden are located and the other, "Lower Saxony," is on the Northern coast, very near Hamburg, where Hannover and Bremen are located.)
The Star-Democrat Newspaper in Easton, MD of Oct. 15, 1872 lists a Morgagee's Sale by John Menck and his wife in "Hole in the Wall," Trappe district, of "Stock of Goods, Personal Property, Dry Goods, Groceries, Liquor and Wares." From the description, it appears that Johann was liquidating his grocery business and retiring. ("Hole in the Wall" is a small community on the outskirts of Trappe, MD, off of Route 50, up the road from the ruins of the old White Marsh Church and cemetery on US Route 50.) Presumably Johann and his wife died in Maryland during the 1880’s, as my grandmother, Anna Blann, indicated nothing to the contrary. As the 1890 census was lost we cannot know if either of them lived that long. Johann would have been nearly 90, but Magdalene would have been 58 and thus more likely to have lived longer. No obituaries for either of them have been found.
Note: Records from Germany (accessed through Ancestry.com) give slightly different facts about Johann’s time and place of death which do not agree with family history and his presence in the 1880 Talbot County census. They also show him traveling to the US from Hamburg in 1858, a decade after his marriage in Washington D.C. Per German records, Johann H Menck was born on February 15, 1802, in Oberhavel, Brandenburg, Germany. He died on January 28, 1877, in Schwerin, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, at the age of 74. A Johann Menck departed by ship from Hamburg on May 15, 1858 at the age of 56. His residence is listed as Warksdorf, Mecklenburg. There is another Johann Menck whose middle name is Christian. Marriage records show him marrying in 1849 in Mecklenburg to Maria Charlotte Henriette Meier. His parents' names were Johann and Christian Menck. Birth records which are probably of this person show that Johann Jurgen Christian Menck was born in Aug.1801. Ancestry.com records also show two other Johann Mencks who were born in 1802 in Mecklenburg: Johann Jochim Hinrich Meinck (son of Jochim Hinrich Meinck) and Johann Jochim Friedrich Meinck (s0n of Marquard Peter Meinck). It is likely that the Johann Menck who died in Mecklenburg in 1877 is one of these other Johann Mencks born in 1801 or 1802 rather than the father of Annie Mënck who settled in Talbot Co. MD and may have been born in 1804.