Proof Argument: The Identity of Philippine Eleonore, Wife of Carl Friedrich Gottlieb Krückeberg

Research Question

Was the mother of Carl Friedrich Krückeberg (b. 1807) and Caroline Dorothee Krückeberg (b. 1812) a woman named Philippine Eleonore Blecken, or was this an error in the church records, and she was in fact Philippine Eleonore Werkmeister, wife of Carl Friedrich Gottlieb Krückeberg?

Summary Conclusion

The typewritten Familienschein des Auswanderers (family certificate of the emigrants), which comes down to us from Harry Frederick Krueckeberg, who believed it was typed by his father, lists Philippine Lenore, geb, Bleeke as the wife of Carl Friedrich Gottlieb Krückeberg. This document, even if it were the original, is derived from the original church records. What do they reveal?

All available evidence confirms that Philippine Eleonore Werkmeister, baptized on 4 May 1783 in Evesen No. 11, was the only wife of Carl Friedrich Gottlieb Krückeberg. The appearance of the surname Blecken in two child baptismal records is inaccurate. There is no evidence of a second marriage, and multiple primary sources directly contradict the “Blecken” surname attribution.

Evidence

This summarizes the key findings.

  1. The Marriage Record (13 March 1803, Petzen Parish) when Carl Friedrich Gottlieb Krückeberg married Jungfrau Philippine Eleonore Werkmeister of Evesen No. 11. tells us:

    Facts for March 13, 1803 Marriage
    Name Marriage Date Residence
    (at time of marriage)

    Groom

    Carl Friedrich Gottlieb Krückeberg

    13 Mar. 1803

    no. 10 Berenbusch

    Bride

    Philippine Eleonore Werkmeister

    13 Mar. 1803

    no. 11 Evesen
    Nachträge for Bride and Groom: Carl Friedrich Gottlieb Krückeberg
    Name Baptism Date Date of Death

    Groom

    Carl Friedrich Gottlieb Krückeberg

    18 April 1779

    13 May 1838

    Bride

    Philippine Eleonore Werkmeister

    4 May 1783

    16 Dec. 1840

    Key finding: The Nachtrag (addendum) to this record for Philippine Eleonore Werkmeister records her baptism and death dates as:

    • Baptism date: 4 May 1783

    • Death date: 16 December 1840

  2. The Baptism of First Child (7 December 1803, Petzen Parish) Christine Philippine Krückeberg tells us:

    Family Group
    Father "Stand" Mother Child Location Child’s Birthdate Child’s Baptism Date

    Carl Friedrich Krückeberg

    Einlieger

    Philippine née Werkmeister

    Christine Philippine

    Evesen (No. not given)

    7 Dec. 1803

    11 Dec. 1803
    Baptism Sponsors
    Name

    F[meaning Frauen?] Kruckeberg and Weiland from Berenbusch

    Key finding: The 1st daughter of Carl Friedrich, Christine Philippine, is by his wife Philippine née Werkmeister. She is the mother of their first child.

  3. Baptism of Second Child (24 May 1807) tells us:

    Family Group Facts
    Father Mother Child Residence

    Carl Friedrich Gottlieb Krückeberg

    Philippine Lenore née Bleeken

    Carl Friedrich Krückeberg

    no. 14 Bärenbusch
    Child Facts
    Name Place of Birth Birth Date Baptism Date Birth Order Sex Birth Order

    Carl Friedrich Krückeberg

    Bärenbusch
    (number not given)

    21 May 1807

    24 May 1807

    2nd

    1st son
    Father Carl Friedrich Gottlieb Krückeberg Facts
    Name Birth Place "Stand" Religion

    Carl Friedrich Gottlieb Krückeberg

    n. 14 Berenmbsuch

    Tailor and Einlieger

    Lutheran
    Mother Philippine Lenore née Bleeken Facts
    Name Birth Place Religion

    Philippine Lenore née Bleeken

    no. 11 Evesen

    Lutheran

    Key finding: Carl Friedrich Krückeberg’s baptism lists the mother as Philippine Lenore geb. Blecken aus N. 11 in Evesen. While the mother’s maiden is now Blecken, her given name and residence prior to marriage remain the same.

  4. Baptism of Third Child (2 December 1812)

    Baptism Facts
    Name Baptism Date Birth Date Birth Time Birth Order Sex Birth Order

    Caroline Dorothee Krüeckeberg

    Dec. 6 1812

    Dec. 2 1812

    5 a.m.

    3rd

    2nd girl
    Family Facts
    Name Residence Birth Origin Religion

    Father

    Carl Friedrich Gottlieb Krückeberg

    no. 18 Bärebusch

    no. 18 Bärebusch

    Lutheran

    Mother

    Philippine Leonore née Bleeke

    no. 18 Bärebusch

    no. 11 Evesen

    Lutheran
    Nachträge for Carloline Dorothee Krückeberg
    Marriage Date Death

    25 Oct 1835

    14 Dec. 1869
    Nachträge for Carl Friedrich Gottlieb Krückeberg, father of Carloline Dorothee Krückeberg
    Baptism Marriage

    18 Apr. 1779

    13 Mar. 1803
    Nachträge for Philippine Leonore née Bleeke, mother of Carloline Dorothee Krückeberg
    Baptism

    4 May 1783

    Key finding: Caroline Dorothee Krückeberg’s baptism also lists the mother as Philippine Leonore geb. Blecken aus N. 11 in Evesen. An addendum below this entry states: “get. 4.5.83” (baptized 4 May 1783). Thus, while the maiden name is recorded for a 2nd time as Blecken, the mother’s

    • given name,

    • her residence prior to marriage, and

    • her baptism date

    remain unchanged.

  5. Baptism Record (4 May 1783, Evesen Parish) of Philippina Eleonore Werkmeister, daughter of Tönnies Werkmeister of Evesen No. 11 tells us:

    On 4th May Philippina Eleonore Werkmeister, the begotten daugther of
Tönnies Werkmeister from Evesen No. 11, by his wife Ilse
Maria née Moller, was baptized. The godmother was Margarethe Braun
from Evesen

    Key finding: The only baptism recorded in the Petzen parish on May 4, 1783, was of Philipina Eleonore Werkmeister, whose family resided at No. 11 Evesen.

  6. Familienschein (Family Certificate) Lists the mother as Philippine Leonore, geb. Bleeken, von N. 11 in Evesen. This is a derivative summary reflecting the inconsistent primary records.

Negative Evidence and Absence of Conflicting Facts

  • No burial record exists for a first wife (Werkmeister) prior to 1807.

  • No second marriage record exists for Carl Friedrich Gottlieb Krückeberg.

  • House number Evesen 11 is identical in all records — unlikely if a different woman had entered the household.

  • First and middle names, baptism date, and residence are all consistent across all entries — only the surname varies.

Analysis

The 1803 marriage, the 1803 baptism of the first child, and the 1783 baptism of Philippine Eleonore Werkmeister are internally consistent and refer to the same individual.

"geb." means "née (with maiden/birth name)", and "Philippine Leonore geb. Blecken aus n. 11 in Evesen, Luth Conf" translates as: "Philippine Lenore whose maiden name is Bleeken from No. 11 Evesen". Looking at her birth-and-baptism record, it shows her father was Heinrich Tönnies Werkmeister:

Transliteration
#24 d 4ten May: ist Phlippina Eleonore Werkmeistern
des Heinrich Tönnies Werkmeisters aus
Evesen No 11 mit seiner Ehefrau Ilse
Maria geb[oren] Mollern erzeugte Tochter
getauft. die Gevatterin war Ilse
Margarethe Brauns aus Evesen
Translation
On 4th May Philippina Eleonore Werkmeister, the begotten
daugther of Tönnies Werkmeister from Evesen No. 11, by his
wife Ilse Maria née Moller, was baptized. The godmother was
Margarethe Braun from Evesen

She was "Philippine Leonore geb. Werkmeister aus n. 11 in Evesen (Philippine Lenore whose maiden name is Werkmeister from No. 11 Evesen)". She was not "Philippine Leonore geb. Bleeken (Philippine Leonore whose maiden name is Bleeken)".

The use of the surname Blecken/Bleeken in 1807 and 1812 is inaccurate.

The addendum in the 1812 baptism (“get. 4.5.83”) is especially significant: no child with the surname Blecken was baptized on that datein Pertzen. Only Philippine Eleonore Werkmeister matches.

Conclusion

All consistent, original, and corrected records confirm that Philippine Eleonore Werkmeister (baptized 4 May 1783, d. 16 December 1840) was the only wife of Carl Friedrich Gottlieb Krückeberg.

The instances of her maiden name being listed as Blecken are incorrect. Therefore, the mother of Christine Philippine (1803), Carl Friedrich (1807), and Caroline Dorothee (1812) was Philippine Eleonore Werkmeister.

Evaluation of Alternative Hypothesis: Divorce and Remarriage to a Second "Philippine Eleonore"

An alternative hypothesis might suggest that Carl Friedrich Gottlieb Krückeberg divorced his first wife, Philippine Eleonore Werkmeister, and married a second woman who coincidentally had the same given names, Philippine Eleonore, but a different surname, Blecken. It could be further proposed that this second marriage occurred in a different parish, which is why no second marriage record appears in the Petzen church book.

While theoretically possible, this hypothesis is effectively disproven by the evidence:

  • Divorce in early 19th-century Schaumburg-Lippe, though legally permitted in Lutheran regions, was extremely rare, required court proceedings, and was generally recorded or annotated in church registers. No such annotation or divorce record exists in this case.

  • The Nachtrag (addendum) to the 1803 marriage record of Carl Friedrich Gottlieb Krückeberg and Philippine Eleonore Werkmeister provides both her baptism date (4 May 1783) and her death date (16 December 1840). This indicates that the original marriage remained valid throughout her life and that no second wife entered the household.

  • All records that mention Philippine Eleonore Blecken also include the house number Evesen No. 11 and, most notably, the exact same baptism date: 4 May 1783. This date matches only one known individual in the parish — Philippine Eleonore Werkmeister.

  • No baptism record exists for a Philippine Eleonore Blecken on or near that date. Thus, it is not possible that a second woman of that name and birthdate existed in Evesen.

  • The theory would require an improbable coincidence: that two women named Philippine Eleonore, born on the same day, lived in the same house, and married the same man without any contemporary record of divorce or remarriage. This stretches plausibility far beyond what the evidence can support.

This alternative is therefore dismissed. The totality of the documentary evidence — including the baptism, marriage, and death records, as well as the internal consistency of place, name, and birthdate — confirms that the mother of all three children was Philippine Eleonore Werkmeister. The use of the surname Blecken in the 1807 and 1812 baptism entries must be regarded as a clerical error.