First Generation

1. Martin ACHTENBERG (*) was born on 4 November 1817 in Gramsdorf, Kreis Obornik, Posen Province, Preussen (Prussia).^1,2,3,4,5 The 19th century Prussian province of Posen was called Wielkopolska, literally "Greater Poland," until 1793. This region was the historical center of origin of the Polish Nation in the 10th century and has always been one of the richest and most developed provinces of Poland.

In 1793 (as a result of the Second Partition of Poland), Greater Poland was taken over by Prussia and initially renamed "Southern Prussia." After 1815 this term was no longer used and the Province of Pozen was established, using the name of its capital town, Poznan (German: Posen).

This is often misleading, because often "Posen" suggests the town, when usually the entire province is meant. After Germany lost WW I, the territory of the Province of Posen was returned to Poland, which was then restored as an independent nation. He was christened on 9 November 1817 in Gramsdorf, Kreis Obornik, Posen Province, Preussen (Prussia).⁵ Kreis Obornik (Polish: Powiat obornicki) was a district in Regierungsbezirk Posen in the Prussian province of Posen until 1919. Its territory presently lies in the north-western part of Polish region of Greater Poland Voivodeship. He emigrated on 9 August 1877 from Posen Province, Preussen (Prussia).^1,6,7 He and his wife and their two youngest children, Auguste and Eduard, emigrated from Bremen on the S.S. Neckar and arrived in New York on 9 August 1877. The ship's manifest listed his occupation as "Workman." Martin was Lutheran about 1878 in Ridgeville Township, Monroe County, WI.^8,9 He was listed in the Church Register as member number 53 of the first 100 members of the congregation of St. John's Evangelical Lutheran Church.

"On March 13 (year unknown), the congregation took title to a plot of ground comprising two acres, purchasing the same from Martin Achtenberg, for a consideration of $275.00." Between 1878 and 1895 he was a farmer in Ridgeville Township, Monroe County, WI.^10,11 From an article in the Tomah Journal, dated October 16, 1897: "Mr. and Mrs. Achtenberg, who have been in Tomah the last year, have again taken up their residence in this locality, this time with their daughter, Mrs. Aug. Kevit." He appeared in the census in 1880 in Ridgeville Township, Monroe County, WI.¹⁰ His household consisted of Martin, age 63, occupation farmer, and birth place of Prussia; his wife "Tina," age 54, birth place Prussia; and their son Edward, age 9, birth place Prussia. His occupation was listed as "Farmer."

His daughter, Gustie, age 14, was not listed in the household and it is not known where she was living.
Martin appeared in the census in 1885 in Ridgeville Township, Monroe County, WI.¹² His household consisted of 2 men and 1 woman--probably Martin; his wife, Anna; and their youngest son, Ed. Two were listed as having been born in the United States and 1 in Germany; that was an error, as Martin and Anna were both born in Germany. He was naturalized on 1 November 1894 in Monroe County, WI.⁷ He appeared in the census in 1895 in Ridgeville Township, Monroe County, WI.¹³ Martin appeared in the census in 1900 in Sparta, Sparta Township, Monroe County, WI.¹⁴ He and his wife were living in the household of their daughter Amelia and her family. He died on 20 June 1905 at the age of 87 in Norwalk, Monroe County, WI.^3,4,15 He was buried on 22 June 1905 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.^3,5,16,17 in the Oak Grove Cemetery.
Martin has Ancestral File Number LRXL-R9B.

Martin ACHTENBERG (*) and Gustine Auguste "Anna" KUTHLOW (*) were married on 30 October 1849 in Szamocin, Kreis Kolmar, Posen Province, Preussen (Prussia).^4,5,18,19 Szamoczino, in the Piast-ruled Kingdom of Poland, was first mentioned in a 1364 deed, although it surely existed earlier and was probably founded in the 12th century. It was a private village of Polish nobility, administratively located in the Kcynia County in the Kalisz Voivodeship in the Greater Poland Province of the Polish Crown.  It received town privileges from the hands of King Augustus III of Poland in 1748.

In the First partition of Poland in 1772 the town was annexed by the Kingdom of Prussia, fell to the Napoleonic Duchy of Warsaw in 1807 and was restored to Prussia in 1815, whereafter it was governed within the Kreis Kolmar in Posen, part of the Grand Duchy of Posen.

During the Industrial Revolution, the town evolved to a centre of the weaving industry. From 1871 it was part of Germany. After World War I, in 1918, Poland regained independence, and the Greater Poland Uprising broke out, which goal was to reintegrate the region with the reborn Polish state.  Gustine Auguste "Anna" KUTHLOW (*), daughter of Wilhelm Ludwig KUTHLOW and Christina SCHUTT, was born on 15 October 1826 in Waldberg, Kreis Kolmar, Posen Province, Preussen (Prussia).^{2,4,10,16,19,20} Anna's tombstone lists her name as "Gustine A." In the 1880 Census, her name was listed as "Tina." On the marriage certificate of her daughter Auguste, she was listed as "Anna Gustine, " and on the church marriage record she was listed as "Justine."

The Kreis Kolmar in Posen (1818–1877 Kreis Chodziesen) was a district in the northern government region of Bromberg in the Prussian Province of Posen, from 1818 to 1920. The district capital was Kolmar in Posen. She emigrated on 9 August 1877 from Preussen (Prussia).⁶ She appeared in the census in 1880 in Ridgeville Township, Monroe County, WI.¹⁰ Anna appeared in the census in 1885 in Ridgeville Township, Monroe County, WI.¹² She appeared in the census in 1895 in Ridgeville Township, Monroe County, WI.¹³ She appeared in the census in 1900 in Sparta, Sparta Township, Monroe County, WI.¹⁴ Anna died on 27 January 1904 at the age of 77 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.^4,5,15,21 She was buried on 28 January 1904 in Tomah, Tomah Township, Monroe County, WI.^3,16 in the Oak Grove Cemetery.

Martin ACHTENBERG (*) and Gustine Auguste "Anna" KUTHLOW (*) had the following children: