Two Families: One Farm, One Name
Posted on September 25, 2007 - Filed Under Family history
Several years ago, my niece, Morgan Pulskamp, asked me if we were related to Birgit Pulskamp in Germany. I told her we were probably not related, as I believe our entire family came over to the U. S. in 1845. But, when my daughter and I decided to go to Germany, we decided to contact Birgit anyway. We are so glad we did.
Our family, the descendants of Herman Heinrich Pulskamp and Maria Katherine Steinke Pulskamp, once owned a little farm in the Hanover area of Germany. The original family name was Krampe, but after owning the farm for some time, Bernhard Johann Krampe (born in Olde, Germany, 1774) became known as Bernhard Johann Pulskamp. Pulskamp is the name his children used.
When the Brewer (pronounced Brever) family took over possession of the farm, they adopted the name Pulskamp also. Whoever owns the farm uses the Pulskamp name.
Pulskamp seems to translate as “spring field” so it is surprising that there are not more farms with that name. To our knowledge, all the Pulskamps currently living in Germany are related to the current owners of the farm. All the Pulskamps in the U.S., with one exception, are related to the family who immigrated in 1845. The exception is Wilma Pulskamp who currently lives in Missouri. Her grandfather, a member of the Pulskamp (Brewer) family immigrated in the 1890’s. There are other relatives from the Pulskamp (Brewer) family in the U.S. but their names are no longer Pulskamp. We have met with some of them and they are helping organize the World Wide Gathering of the Pulskamps.
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