The Earliest Family History


The Barkmeyer 'No. 14' Farmhouse
The Barkmeyer 'No. 14' Farmhouse

1593, Altenmelle, Germany - the 14th farmhouse near the old justice tree where court proceedings were held. This is the first ever record of the Barkmeyer name and the earliest the family name can be traced. Where and when the Barkmeyer name originated cannot definitely be established. The Thirty Years’ War (1618 – 1649) had a big bearing historically, and there was a complete demolishment of records during this time. The family Barkmeyer’s birth, death and marriage certificates existed once again from the year 1656. Alas, another disaster that sacrificed our family’s records; the great fire in Melle, Germany on the 10th of May, 1720 ensured the Catholic Church and all if it’s historical archives were destroyed. This means the Barkmeyer family history has two ‘starts’, pre-fire and post-fire. From a Registrar of Taxes it can be seen that after their marriage in 1731, Christopher Freidthoff and Anna Maria Angelmann inherited some land and also the family name Barkmeyer. The earliest family tree and descendant report of the Barkmeyer name on file starts with Johann Heinrich Barkmeyer and Clara Maria Barkmeyer (nee Seelhofer). So, the Barkmeyer story begins in Germany and progresses to different parts of the world, including the Goldfield areas of country Victoria and also Southern USA, where the name is still alive in both regions.

Spelling


There are two ways of spelling our family name:

Barkmeier
- the German way
Barkmeyer
- the English way

Ted Barkmeyer: Family Historian


Frank Frigero, Jaqueline Frigero (nee Barkmeyer) and Ted Barkmeyer in a German newspaper article
Frank Frigero, Jaqueline Frigero (nee Barkmeyer) and Ted Barkmeyer in a German newspaper article

Ted Barkmeyer is my father’s cousin and my first cousin once removed. After four trips to Germany and ten years of research, he is an expert on our family history. He wrote a 144-page book, which includes family trees, birth certificates, death certificates, photos, maps plus so much more from all of his findings. His curiosity of our family heritage captured his interest originally, as he knew there were Barkmeyers in both Germany and The Netherlands, and he wanted to discover if our family were Dutch or German.

It’s a Saturday afternoon in the county town of Bendigo. Our family has lived in the Victorian Goldfields since the very first person of our name migrated here from our Motherland; Germany. I have driven to a house in Strathdale, Bendigo and am greeted by a beaming face full of excitement. Although we’ve never officially met, I instantly know that Ted Barkmeyer is a member of my family. We walk inside to his house and I notice a table scattered with documents, photographs timelines and family trees. Ted is more than prepared to tell me the interesting story of how our family got to Australia. Watch this video below on Ted's first trip to Germany and what he discovered:

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Thank you for reading this story. It has been a pleasure researching and discovering my family history!

By Bonnie Barkmeyer