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About the Rebmanns

The Rebmanns are Dick’s maternal ancestors. Members of the Rebmann line are of German ethnicity (although many of them lived in Alsace when it was controlled by the French). Members of the Kalert line were born in Bavaria (now Rhineland-Palatinate), Germany.

Richard Johnson's maternal ancestors: Rebmann — Richard Johnson’s maternal ancestors: Rebmann

The Rebmanns originated in Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France. Dick’s great-grandfather Henry Rebmann was born in Gundershoffen, just south of the town of Niederbronn, which is famous for its spa and its wine grapes. Henry’s mother, Salome Lang, was born just east of Niederbronn, in the farming village of Hatten.

Most of the Rebmanns in Henry’s generation came to the United States. Henry arrived in 1886 on a ship that left Europe from Le Havre. Henry and his brother Peter settled in the area around Buffalo, New York; sister Karoline (Carrie) lived in Ohio; and sister Salomea (Sally) settled in San Francisco.

In 2013, when Dick and Anna were in Europe celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary, they went to Alsace and visited the area where the Rebmanns came from. Below are pictures of the village of Hatten, where Henry Rebmann was born, and of Dick in the Hatten cemetery.

image of Hatten, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France — Hatten, Bas-Rhin, Alsace, France

image of Dick in Hatten cemetery — Dick in Hatten cemetery

The Kalerts lived in Geinsheim, Germany, which is now in Rhineland-Palatinate, but which was part of Bavaria in the 19th century. The family immigrated to St. Louis 1857 via New Orleans.

Most of the Kalert family lived their whole lives in Freeburg, Illinois, across the Mississippi River from St Louis. It is not known when, how, or why Anna Kalert moved to the Buffalo area where she met and married Henry Rebmann.