Family Genealogy - Hahn Family
The following information is from a combined effort on the part of myself and my cousin Carol PUSTULKA.
Karl HAHN was the HAHN family progenitor, our German born ancestor who made Rochester, New York his home. Born in a small town called Villingen, located near the Schwarzwald (Black Forest) in Württemberg, Germany, Karl was the tenth child of twelve children born to Fidelis HAHN and Agatha UMMENHOFER. Of his eleven siblings, eight are known to have died in early childhood.
Karl was born on 24th day of what was called the "autumn month" in the year 1821. Generally the "autumn month" refers to September, however, Karl always celebrated his birthday on the 24th of October.
In the year 1848, when he was 26 years old, Karl left his home and family and sailed across the Atlantic to make a new life. It is believed that he arrived in the Port of New York aboard the ship Splendid on the 4th of April. According to family stories, Karl had very little money when he arrived. Most probably he journeyed to Rochester by way of the Erie Canal which would have provided inexpensive transportation.
It is not known why Karl chose Rochester as his new home. It is possible that he knew someone else who had come there and highly recommended it as a good place to live. Or perhaps he had no plan and when he arrived at Rochester he decided to stay. His younger sister, Maria Anna HAHN, later joined her brother Karl in Rochester.
Family Lore tells a story that Karl met his wife on his journey to New York. It is not certain that this actually happened. However they met, on the 28th of November in the year 1854, Karl HAHN married Franziska STEPHANY in St. Joseph's Church in Rochester. And on that same day, Karl's sister, Maria Anna married Charles W. RAMPE, the marriages listed on the same page of the church register. Karl and Franziska became the parents of eleven children.
Karl was an industrious, hard working man. He started out as a clerk for J. F. KALB Company, a dealer in whips and gloves. By 1860, Karl had entered into partnership with Mr. KALB and they called their business, KALB & HAHN. They were located at 26 Main Street in Rochester. Later, Karl's brother-in-law, Charles RAMPE, who was a shoemaker, also joined the partnership, and the name was changed to KALB, HAHN & COMPANY. By the 1870's the firm had relocated to 5 Mumford Street. At some point between 1880 and 1889, Karl and Charles W. RAMPE took over that location and formed the company HAHN & RAMPE. KALB, HAHN & COMPANY relocated on Mill Street and Karl's son, John J. HAHN along with J. F. and G. W. KALB continued the business interests.
The firm HAHN & RAMPE continued in business until Karl's death at which time it appears it was dissolved.
At the time of his death on 7 March 1898, Karl had an estate valued at over $60,000, a large part of it in real estate which would have included the family home, located on Almira Street. To view a photo of his home, please visit the Hahn Family Photos page.
Karl is an example of why so many crossed the Atlantic to make a new life in a new world.
Find out more about Karl the HAHN family!