The Holtz and Moll Family Origins in The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg

Arthur's mother, Lena Holtz-Friedrich, was born in Wisconsin in 1861. Her parents, Johann Holtz and Anna Moll, were newlyweds when they emigrated from northern Germany along with Johann's parents and all his siblings in 1854. The Molls were sent for in 1857, when the young couple had earned enough money to pay their passage.

The Holtz's and Molls came from the rural outskirts of the Hanseatic city of Wismar, along the Baltic coast north and east of Hamburg. In 1854 it was the northwest corner of The Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg, one of 39 kingdoms that constituted a loose confederation of German states. Mecklenburg was rather backward and feudal compared to the other members -- especially Prussia, which was a dominant state, along with Austria, and the unifying force behind what was to eventually become the German Empire. But that wouldn't happen for another twenty years. Serfdom had only recently been abolished in the duchy (1819), and it's possible that John and Anna's parents had grown up in bondage to a Lord and his Manor. At the time they emigrated, the elder Holtz was working independently as a cooper, or barrel maker, and the elder Moll was a jeweler, but in the medieval hierarchy that was still being upheld by the Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin they would have been members of the lowest estate, commoners, with little or no chance of social or economic advancement.

They were likely strong supporters (in spirit if not in fact) of the revolutions of 1848 which attempted to unify the German states under a liberal constitution. In Mecklenburg, laborers and tradesmen agitated against the Duke who, in 1849, drew up a constitution granting concessions and democratic reforms. But when the nobility complained, the concessions were withdrawn and further restrictive measures were introduced in 1851 and 1852. Our ancestors no doubt felt defeated and hopeless. Those who had participated in the revolution were persecuted and forced into exile. The Holtz's and Molls were either among those exiled or they defiantly followed their would-be heroes who, in the 1850's, were then spreading out all across the Midwest. Wisconsin, of course, was one of their more popular destinations.

The Holtz's were all christened in Blowatz, and the Molls were christened in Goldebee. The village church in Blowatz dates from the 13th century and the one in Goldebee dates from the 15th. Both are still standing. The church in Blowatz seems to have endured the indignities of the Soviet era better than the church in Goldebee, which (if its website is to be believed) was used as a stable after its benches, altar, organ and artworks were burned or otherwise destroyed.

Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, as the region is known today, is sparsely populated, scenic, and a popular destination for Germans on holiday. It is home to three of Germany's fourteen National Parks, and includes several hundred nature conservation areas.

1858 map showing the ancestral homes of Arthur's maternal grandparents, the Holtz's (Blowatz) and the Molls (Goldebee) in the Grand Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin.