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First of all I want to give my profoundest thanks to all who have contributed to this work. By sharing your family information you have assisted all others gain a better understanding of the wonderful variety of the Koberstein family.

Many of you have come across this web site and have responded to me that you were impressed with the information available. However, I suspect you also had a bit of confusion. This is to be expected as this web site is a one name Genealogical study with many Koberstein family lines being folded into one web site. The goal of this web site was to provide a resource to find your family information and in fact do further research with the data provided. I hope it has helped you develop an interest in your ancestors and motivated you to find out more.

My long-term goal is to link all the worldwide Koberstein family lines together, insofar as records will allow. This is a huge goal, and I suspect it may never be fully completed. It is highly likely all of the records needed, do not exist. Obviously, the search for new records is always critical. Furthermore having the time and means to find them is a major limitation. Also having the reading and speaking skills in other languages is also a limitation. The Internet is quickly making many records available, which only a few years ago would have required trips to distant locations to search archival records of our ancestors. I suspect this will get better and better as time goes on, and maybe one day all records will be available from your computer. However, it has a very long way to go, and trips to archival sites are still very valuable.

An intermediate goal is to locate as many of the Koberstein Family lines as possible. Some of these may in fact be the same family line, but without records linking them. I have used a simple naming method for these lines. I named them for the first name of the earliest patriarch in the line. For example I call the line I am part of the “Ludwig” line. That was the earliest patriarch until recently. I took it back one more generation to Christoph Koberstein in Colonie Brinsk, West Prussia. Instead of renaming the family line each time this happens, I will keep the initial name given. Thus, it is simply a name for the line and not the earliest patriarch. However, when two lines link, it will revert to the first name of the earliest patriarch of the combined line.

My research is further along in my home country of the United States of America. Therefore this first part will outline all the lines I have found so far in America. We can get our bearing on how widespread the Koberstein name is by first looking at countries where it is known to exist either now or in historical documents.

This is fairly wide spread but primarily due to emigration out of the old country of Germany/Prussia in the 1800’s. Canada, United States of America, Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand were fairly common emigration locations.

Now we can focus on the status of research in the United States of America. This country has certainly been a common destination for emigration from Germanic lands. It has been said that perhaps one third of all people in the United States of America can trace part of their ancestry back to Germanic lands.

So far, these are the Koberstein lines I have found; listed by State they first immigrated to, starting on the east coast and going west.

State	Family Line Name	Emigrated from
1. New Jersey	Bruno	Berlin, Prussia
2. Maryland	Nicholas	Hirschfeld, Bayern, Germany
3. New York, NYC, Queens	Casper	Germany (Probably Bavaria)
4. New York, NYC, Kings	Henry	Unknown (Probably Bavaria)
5. New York, Buffalo	Carl	Landsberg, Prussia
6. Pennsylvania, Bucks Cty.	Hans	Gauangelloch, Germany (1700’s)
7. Pennsylvania, Philadelphia	Adam	Bavaria, Germany
8. Ohio, Toledo	Johann	Bavaria, Germany (most likely)
9. Ohio, Cleveland	Rudolf	Sudelko, Ukraine
10. Michigan	Alfred	Germany
11. Indiana	Adam	Volkersleier, Germany
12. Wisconsin, Marquette Cty.	Ludwig	Colonie Brinsk, West Prussia
13. Wisconsin, Columbia Cty.	Johannor	Bavaria, Germany
14. Wisconsin, Sauk Cty.	Johann	Berlin, Germany
15. Wisconsin, Sheboygan Cty.	Carl Kobersteen	Germany
16. Wisconsin, Winnebago Cty.	Berthold	Prussia
17. Wisconsin, Oconto Cty.	Julius	Germanic
18. North Dakota	August	Brandenburg
19. Nebraska, Madison Cty.	Bertha	Germany
20. Nebraska, Adams Cty.	H. Karl	Landsberg, Germany
21. California	Adolf	Bavaria, Germany

So that is 21 Koberstein family lines. If you look at the web site you will note some other locations, but this list of 21 lines are for significant migration patterns within the United States. As you look at these lines you will note that emigration locations are divided into three principal locations; 1) Northern Germany/Prussia, Southern Germany i.e. Bavaria, and one from Ukraine Russia.

I believe the original home land for Koberstein may be in the Rhein river valley and its tributary, Main. The earliest Koberstein record I have is for Pastor Eucharius Koberstein in Wolfsmunster, Unterfranken, Germany born in the year 1541. Unterfranken is a county of Bavaria near Frankfurt am Main.

First there is the very early immigrant Hans Georg (6) that emigrated from Gauangelloch, Germany. This is southern Germany and he immigrated in the mid 1700’s. He changed his last name very soon after arriving in the United States of America to Coverstone. He comes from what I believe is near the original homeland for Koberstein.

There are six lines that are from the same area, but emigrating in the 1800’s. They are 2, 7, 8, 11, 13, and 21. Nicholas (2) immigrated to Maryland and from Hirschfeld, Bayern, Germany. Emigrating from Bavaria were Adam (7) going to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Johann (8) immigrating to the Toledo Ohio area. Adam (11) emigrated from Volkersleier, Germany ending up in Gibson County in southern Indiana. Johann (13) immigrated to Columbia County, Wisconsin from Bavaria. There is reason to believe he also came from the Volkersleier area. Adolf (21) is also indicated as emigrating from Bavaria, which needs further research.

In addition, there are six lines that are from northern Germany/Prussia. They are 1, 5, 12, 14, 18, and 20. Bruno (1) emigrated from Berlin to New Jersey. Carl (5) immigrated from Landsberg to Buffalo. Ludwig (12) immigrated from Colonie Brinsk, West Prussia to Marquette County, Wisconsin. Johann (14) emigrated from Berlin to Sauk County, Wisconsin. August (18) emigrated from Brandenburg to North Dakota. H. Karl immigrated from Landsberg to Nebraska.

Half of these immigrated to Wisconsin. This is consistent with history where many of the Northern Germany/Prussia farmers who were familiar with the glacial terrain of that area also found the glacial terrain of Wisconsin to their liking. Wisconsin has a large population that can trace their ancestors to Germany.

The remaining seven lines are only known to have emigrated from Germany or Prussia. It was common for immigrants to report their place of origination in the general terms of Germany or Prussia. That way they avoided the long explanation and the need to spell town names that were odd to the landing port clerk or to a census taker. This makes it hard to trace many of our ancestors to their homeland in the old county.

It seems unlikely that this is all of the Koberstein family lines, due to the many names on immigration and passenger lists that are not yet connected. I estimate there may be another 6-12 families. I suspect many of them may have changed their names and/or spelling. That would account how a complete search of bodies of documents such as the U.S. Census would not reveal them.

Now I review each of these 21 family lines with emphasis on the original immigrant family. I will do this by area of emigration (as given above) to allow for envisioning potential linkages between these lines.

As you may know this area was known as Prussia until after World War I when that political entity was officially reformed.

The original immigrant patriarch appears to be Bruno P. married to Selma D. immigrating in 1923. This is a fairly recent immigrant. Bruno was born in Berlin, Prussia and Selma in Hamburg, Germany. It is unknown how they met given the distance between the two, but they appeared to have immigrated together as a married couple. The descendancy is fairly short and apparently complete; two family members Kimberly Klare Smith nee Koberstein and Lorraine Koberstein have contributed and are working on this line.

As with other lines, a key connection here will be to find Koberstein ancestors in Prussia and connect to other lines. Berlin is a big city with a long history; hopefully records will become available or found to make this connection. A great record available on line is the Berlin Address Book 1799-1943. These records are extracted to 1912. ______ has been a great help on this and the work is continuing to extract the rest. It becomes more voluminous in more recent years as the number of Koberstein entries increases. Partial extraction shows the first name of Bruno was in Berlin starting in 1921. This Bruno was a Fabrkarb. (Fabric worker). However another Bruno was listed in 1923 the time of Bruno P.’s immigration. This other Bruno is differentiated from the first by his occupation of Privatlehr. Possibly Bruno the Privatlehr. could be the son of Bruno the Fabrkarb. It is common for a father to name a son after his name.

Carl August is the original immigrant patriarch. He immigrated on the ship President Grant sailing from Cuxhaven on August 22, 1909. The passenger manifest lists: Koberstein, Karl(43), and wife Bertha(39) with sons Karl(15), Willy(10), Kurt(9), Hubert(4), and daughter Erna(2). Karl the husband is indicated to be a butcher. All could read and write except Hubert and Erna. The last permanent residence was shown as Berlin, Germany. The name of the nearest relative or friend from county from whence the alien came was Hulda Gülsdorf from Rainnerswalde near Landsberg YW. The destination was indicated as Buffalo, New York.

Much thanks to Robert Carl Koberstein M.D. (now deceased) for helping with this line. It is with much appreciation I acknowledge the help and communication of his son David.

The original immigrant patriarch was Ludwig Koberstein Senior who landed at Ellis Island January 11, 1854 on the ship Ashburton sailing from Liverpool, England. He was the only Koberstein passenger.

His oldest daughter Justina is shown in the 1900 U.S. Census to have been in the United States 46 years. This calculates to about 1854. She must have come on another ship but close time wise to her father. Her Husband, Michael Boelter????, of 37 years would have been married in 1863, or about 7 years after arriving. They were involved in a horrific Indian uprising in Minnesota wherein only Justina and her oldest child, Julius, were able to escape alive.

Also coming about the same time was Ludwig Seniors wife Caroline nee Kapitski and two of his children, sons Gottlieb and Ludwig Junior.

According to the 1900 US Census Gottlieb immigrated in 1854, again the same year as his father. However from the 1910 and 1920 census column for immigration dates you read 1856 and 1857 respectively. One is left wonder which to believe, but the closest to the immigration event and the presumably better memory would be the 1900 census. Of course a passenger list would clarify this, but as yet one has not been identified.

Now for Ludwig junior the 1900 date is sadly not even recorded in fact a dash is drawn through the all three columns of immigration year, years in the US, and naturalization status. What was the census taker thinking, we will never know. The 1910 census gives 1855 and the 1920 gives a hard to decipher 1847. This seems hard to believe that he came before his father at the youthful age of one, obviously he came with someone. I wonder about the reliability of this information given at the age of 74. I choose to believe its closer to the 1855 year.

I suspect that the mother, Caroline, and her three children Justina (22 years old) and sons Gottlieb (11) and Ludwig Jr. (8) arrived at the same time, maybe in the year 1854, but the proof of this waits for the discovery of a passenger list.

There were three other children between Justina and Gottlieb but one died in West Prussia, and one younger than Ludwig Junior. Of the three living children we don’t know if they came, stayed with someone or died. In 1854 the older two were 16 and 14 while the youngest only 2 years old. The records have not been found to tell the tale.

Pardon the detail on this family, but it is mine and I know them best. Hopefully it will serve as a catalyst for others to find more detail on their line and write it up. It is very interesting to see how this family moved from New York’s Ellis Island westward. After landing in New York and staying for what ever time, they moved to and spent 2 years in Buffalo, New York. This fact came from the obituary for Gottlieb Koberstein. This was a very common travel path due to the Erie Canal. It seems very likely they took this route. The picture at the right is a view of Erie Canal by John William Hill, 1829. Did they stay alone or meet family? We may never know, but research in the Buffalo city directories for this time frame will surely shed some light on their location. They must have used this time to scope out the steps needed to continue on to Wisconsin. This may have involved finding land to homestead.

In any case they did homestead land in Newton Township Marquette county Wisconsin. It would have been typical to travel on the Great Lakes to Chicago or Milwaukee, then overland to Marquette County. It can be estimated they arrived in Marquette County in 1856, however they were not found in the 1860 census. Maybe they stayed somewhere else and missed the census takers, waiting for the right time. It is more likely I haven’t found the records yet. In any case, they were in the 1870 census in Marquette County. However by the 1880 census they had moved on to Kenyon in Goodhue County Minnesota. Goodhue is on the Wisconsin border. Here the family started to split up as the children became of age, Ludwig Sr. and wife Caroline enjoyed the autumn of their life here, died and were buried in this area. Gottlieb had a family and stayed here also.

However Ludwig Junior moved on, to property in Lyon County on the South Dakota border. He had a first wife, Augusta DOEGE "Duego", daughter of Johann Adam DOEGE and Anna Justina Wilhelmine MEINKE, on 13 Jan 1866 in Crystal Lake, Marquette, WI. His second wife (Caroline Hoffman – married June 23, 1969 in Marquette County, Wisconsin) was the sister to his brother Gottlieb’s wife (Emilie Hoffman). His oldest son, William, who was born in Ripley, Wisconsin stayed behind in Brown County, Minnesota about half way between Goodhue and Lyon. He is the only child (living through childhood) to not go on to Oregon with the family. Of course having married it’s easy to put down roots and stay put, but it may have to do with having a different mother. I believe Augusta died soon after marriage and may not have had children. Ludwig Junior appears to have had 10 children. In the 1900 census Caroline is listed as having had 8 children 5 of whom were living. The next child Martha was born in Kenyon. Emma was born in Kenyon but died in Brown County suggesting they spend some time there. Brown County is about half way between Goodhue and Lyon. Samuel was born in Kenyon. Fredrick was born in Mineota, Lyon, Minnesota. Albert was born in Elkton, Brookings, South Dakota, which was actually Dakota Territory at the time. Leonard was born in Dakota. It is unclear if this is the same as Albert or North Dakota. Elford was born in North Dakota according to the 1920 census. However North Dakota was not a state until Nov 1889. I think he was born near Bismark, but it could be near Albert’s birth place. The earliest mention of Ludwig, also known as Louis, is in the 1889 Portland directory listed as a blacksmith living on Sherman. They didn’t spend much time in North Dakota since the interval between Albert who was born near Lyon county Minnesota in 1882 and first record in Oregon is only is only 7 years.

The fantastic aspect of this epic immigration story is that my great-grandfather, Louis Koberstein, during his lifetime immigrated as a child from West Prussia to the United States of America landing in Ellis Island and lived in New York, Wisconsin, Minnesota, possibly North Dakota, and ending in Oregon. What an adventure! Horace Greeley is often credited with a famous quote actually made by John Soule. The quote first appeared as the title to the 1851, Terre Haute Express editorial written by Mr. Soule. Along with being wrongly credited to Mr. Greeley, it has also often been misquoted. It was originally written as: "Go West, young man, and grow up with the country." This is indeed what he did!

The original immigrant patriarch is Joseph Benedictes Custer Koberstein born March 20, 1861 in Berlin Germany. His wife was Maria Elizabeth Karg born January 21, 1863 in Volkersleier, Germany. They were married in Wisconsin but, it is strange that his wife would be from an area that two other Koberstein family lines are from. Time will tell if it means anything. Joseph immigrated on November 5, 1880 as recorded in “Germans to America” book. Information from a family member (Adeline Buehler nee Koberstein) indicated they arrived on the SS. Donau on October 23, 1880. It is unknown why the difference exists. His parents are Johann and Katharine nee Schneider. It appears they did not immigrate to America since no information on them in America has been found. Joseph and Maria immigrated together as per “Germans to America” using the same last name, Koberstein. This supports that idea, but why did they do that when the records show they were married in Greenfield Sauk County Wisconsin.

As far as I can tell they went directly to Greenfield, Wisconsin. However more research should show the details of how they got there.

Joseph and Maria had 6 sons and 1 daughter after 19 years of marriage. In 1901 Joseph had a dreadful accident where he fell off a wagon and team and got caught in the reins, drug a long distance. He was severely hurt and died shortly afterwards. The 6 sons carried the name on with a large progeny.

This line moved into Sauk County and one son Anthony moved to Milwaukee and Ozaukee County. Koberstein is a fairly well known name in Wisconsin due to their descendants. For instance, Joseph Philip Koberstein Jr., a grandson of Joseph B. C. was a long time Columbia County district attorney. Koberstein, who graduated from UW-Madison Law School in 1937, was a Madison attorney before being appointed Columbia County district attorney in 1967. He served until 1976, then practiced law in Portage until his retirement.

Many thanks are extended to all who have contributed to this Koberstein Family line and have communicated with me. This includes Mariel Koberstein, Eddie & Mable Bateson, and Gerry Lee Blalock and others.

The original immigrant patriarch is August Gustav Koberstein Sr. who immigrated on October 24, 1888 on the Ship Hermann sailing from Bremen to Baltimore. However his son Gustav August actually immigrated earlier on April 18, 1887 on the ship Donau from Bremen to Baltimore. August Gustav Sr. immigrated with his wife Emilie and children Anna, August, and Ernst. Gustav August Jr. (I don’t know why the reversal of first names and second names was used.) immigrated with his sister Yata.

August Herman must have been a real traveler. He is listed in the 1910 census thrice, once in San Francisco, once in Seattle and once in Alaska. Somehow, he was present when census takers came to each location. The census dates tell the story, he was present on April 25, 1910 in San Francisco with his wife and two children, then on April 30, 1910 he was in Seattle Washington listed as a lodger with the occupation of box maker, then on May 27, 1910 he was in Alaska at Chignik on Capriana Island on the Unga Peninsula listed as a lodger. Oddly the Alaska census indicates he was born in Finland, the rest indicate he was from Germany. He must have been on his way from San Francisco to Alaska for the Fishing Season in Alaska.

Thanks to Wayne Koberstein and others who have been in communication with me and helped in many ways.

I have no specific information of H. Karl immigrating. It was his son Ernst and wife Paulina that immigrated in 1880 according to the 1910 and 1930 census. Ernst was born June 1, 1851 in Lansburg (probably Landsburg), Prussia. Paulina was born 1862 also in Landsburg, Prussia. The Illinois connection is that they were married at Fairbury, Anchor township, Mc Lean County, Illinois on February 19, 1882. It is interesting they both came from Landsburg but were married in Illinois. I suspect they knew each other in Prussia.

Ernst had three children (Richard, Bertha, and Elizabeth) born in Germany/Prussia from a previous wife It must have been soon after his marriage to Paulina, they moved to Nebraska as all their children were born there (Herman, Anna, Fred, Otto, Ernest, and Pauline). Oddly they were born in Inland Clay County Nebraska (Herman and Otto) and in Hastings, Adams County Nebraska (Anna, Fred, Ernest, and Pauline) randomly. The cities are 10 miles apart spanning the county line. Hastings is the larger city, in 2005, so I wonder if they lived in Inland and some were born at home and some at the hospital in Hastings.

Henry William, a brother to Ernst, immigrated in 1886 with his wife Amelia according to the 1920 census. He had 10 children and the birth location that I have is hard to believe. All are noted as born in Germany except Emma (the 7th child) in Springfield, Sangamon, Illinois and Otto (the 9th child) in Hastings, Clay, Nebraska. This is clearly not possible. Of note, Springfield is only one county away (100 miles) from the location of Ernst’s marriage to Paulina in Anchor, McLean County. In addition the birth locations in three cases (Herman, Frank and Millie are refuted by the 1910 census which gives Nebraska as the birth location. I suspect they were all born in Nebraska except possibly the oldest child John Carl Albert Koberstein.

I believe I came across two others in the area, Gustav and Albert. I wonder if they are brothers but it is unclear at this point.

I will now attempt to outline the Koberstein families that stayed in Germany/Europe. I have many difficulties in being definitive about these families. My lack of familiarity with Germany and the German language will be a chief problem. The Internet is getting better and better at bridging this gap, but doesn’t make up for my deficiencies.

Joachim Otto Willi Koberstein immigrated to Quebec. He was born in Margrafpieske, Kreis Furstenwalde/Spree, Germany. His daughter Lisa Susan Paige Koberstein contributed this very good genealogy.

Karl Koberstein and his wife Julianna Seidletz as well as his brother Gustav Koberstein and his wife Emilie Seidletz immigrated to the Edmonton, Alberta area of Canada. They were from the city of Chelm, near the Ukraine border with modern day Poland.

The August Koberstajn family immigrated to Brazil from Opoczno, Poland. A good family genealogy of the Koberstein’s living in Brazil has been shared. He immigrated to the state of Santa Catarina.

In the nearby state of Paraná, Brazil an Emil Koberstein who immigrated from Lethandia, Poland. A good genealogy of this family has been shared.

I will start with the former Prussian area of Posen and work back to the areas that are known as Modern Germany. Here are the family lines that I know so far:

First the best known is the Matys Matthias Koberstein family originating from Czarnkow, Posen, Prussia. This line is documented in the great book “Koberstein Genealogie” written by Edith und Hans Schütte. The line that Edith Koberstein descended from eventually moved back to modern day German areas of North Rhine-Westphalia after a stay at Rugenwalde on the Baltic coast of Pomeren, probably forced by the dissolution of the Prussian Empire and the effects of wars. It is written in German and a professional translation has not been undertaken yet, however much valuable information can be obtained from this book including documentation of several other Koberstein lines.

In the vicinity of Czarnkow there are two other Koberstein lines. One is a single family from Alt Hutte just southeast of Czarnkow. The father is Christoph with wife Anna Elise Ikert and children Suzanna and Ludwig, both born in Alt Hutte. This line is of in particular interest to me, since it appears that they are a continuation of my Koberstein line. I have extended the “Ludwig” line to Colonie Brinsk, West Prussia and found the father of Ludwig Sr. to be Christoph. The connection of the Alt Hutte line with my Colonie Brinsk line was not clear, but careful analysis of the surname of Christoph’s wife shows that Ikert and Jokert are just different readings of the same old handwriting. Now the line is suspected to extend to the Alt Hutte Family, but there is a severe problem with this extension. In order for the extension to be valid a german researcher pointed out that Anna Elise Ikert would have born children from her first child, Suzanna, born in 1800 to her last child to her last child Anna born in 1837. This is a child bearing duration of 37 years. Even if she had her first child at 16, her last would have been 53. This is not very probable, so more research is needed to allow this connection, meanwhile I consider it not possible. The next question is where Christoph was born. It seems plausible that he was born in Prussian points west since that was the migration pattern with the Polish nobles encouraging German farmers to come help them claim the swamp lands around Czarnkow.

Another Koberstein family near Czarnkow is the Martin family of Belsin, Posen, Prussia. Martin Koberstein and his wife Anna Catharina Birckholtzin and their 13 children, all born in Belsin, comprise this family. There is a possibility this line is an extension of the one in Alt Hutte. There is a Christoph born in 1788 which may be the same as the Christoph listed in Alt Hutte as born in 1775. The 13 year difference remains to be explained. There are several names in this family that suggest a connection. First, it is not unusual for families to name children after ancestors and so we see the use of Susanna (she would be an aunt of the Susanna born in Alt Hutte to Christoph), Ludwig (he would be the uncle of Ludwig born in Alt Hutte to Christoph), and of great interest is the fact that their Justina was a family name and she married a Wendtland, a family that apparently immigrated to American with Ludwig Sr. The mothers name is given as Birchholtzin, probably the same as the Birkholz family listed below.

Another possibly related family was noted for me by a Birkholz family researcher. He emailed me to disclose his ancestor Michael Birkholz was recorded as being married to Susanne Koberstein. They had four children all born in Laskowo some distance east of Czarnkow. It is not possible this Susanne may be the first child of Christoph Koberstein born in 1800 in Alt Hutte, since see died at age 16 in Alt Hutte.

Now expanding out to West Prussia we get the Ludwig Sr. Koberstein line that immigrated to America in January 11, 1854. Of course there were other lines of this family that stayed in West Prussia. Two of the Children, Ludwig and Martin Immigrated to America. The others stayed in West Prussia. They are Gottlieb and Justine Warnke (10 children), Heinriette and Wilhelm Korsch (1 child), Johann Friedrick Gottfried and Wilhelmine Koenig (10 children), Wilhelmine and Friedrick Warnke (5 children), and Anna Justine Koberstein. I only have records showing Anna and Wilhelmine with Christoph and Maria Elizabeth as parents. This birth record was in Colonie Brinsk. All others are infered from other records in the case of Ludwig Sr., Martin and Henriette. Gottieb and Johann is only based death records in Colonie Brinsk and being the right age. Further records and research will be required to determine where their descendants went. When the Prussian Empire collapsed where did they go? The unification of Germany came in 1871 about the same time as Christoph’s great grandchildren were growing up, some of which I have found records for in Colonie Brinsk, West Prussia.

The earliest Koberstein in the Prussian lands, Posen, was Matys Matthias Koberstein born 1671 in Czarnkow. His family went into period 5, the Kingdom of Prussia. Most of the Posen, West Prussian Koberstein’s would be raised during this 117 year period of the Kingdom of Prussia which morphed into the German Empire. Most Germans were forced out of the areas that are now Poland after World War II, so they probably were gone by 1947. Where are their descendents now?

To continue the review of Koberstein families I look into other areas now modern Poland. Of particular note is the August Koberstajn family that eventually immigrated to Brazil. A good family genealogy of the Koberstein’s living in Brazil has been shared. He immigrated to the state of Santa Catarina.

In the nearby state of Paraná, Brazil an Emil Koberstein who immigrated from Lethandia, Poland. A good genealogy of this family has been shared also.

There is a Peter Kaminski family at Ksawerow, Poland. His last name is listed as Kaminski or Koberstein. His children are all listed with the last name of Koberstein. There is a fairly large genealogy of his descendants. Some Koberstein descendants go as late as 1865.

A Christian Koberstein and family and some descendants were found in the Polish cities of Rudofin and Nadzieja. This family is from the Galizien german descendants 1939 resettlement records.

In this same area in the city of Chelm, near the Ukraine border with Poland, Karl and Juli Koberstein immigrated to Canada, near Edmonton, Alberta. Karl’s brother, Gustav also immigrated to this area.

There is a Christian Koberstein family from the Sudelko, Ukraine area. A part of the family immigrated to Ohio. Rudolf's ethnicity was Ukraine German and residence was Koyszullen, Germany and arrived in the U.S. on 22 Jul 1922 and he was 19 years old (calculated birth year is 1903 which is in agreement with the Social Security Death Index). He was a single male and departed from the port of Bremen, Germany. He is listed with the married individuals Christian (calculated birth year of 1866) and Anna (calculated birth year 1860). This is very probably the parents of Rudolf. Christian Death Certificate in Ohio gives father as Martin Koberstein and mother as Anna Maria Fit.

There is a Julius Koberstein and wife Matilde who are known only as from Russia that settled in Gillet, Wisconsin. Julius Koberstein was 48 years old at this immigration to the U.S. and was a married male at the time. He was from Russia and of the German race. The name of the city he is from is written but hard to read, it looks like 'Vodays'. His nearest relative in the country whence he came was his wife Matilda Koberstein whose address is also given as the city poorly transcribed as 'Vodays'. The final destination is indicated as Gillet, Wisconsin. Julius had been in the US before from the period 1909 to 1912 in Leona which appears to be a city in Wisconsin as it is mentioned as such in Matilda's ship manifest information. He was indicated as going to stay with an Uncle Ludwig Freitag in Gillet (also Wis. as per other information).

There is a Bernhard Koberstein that is indicated as from Russia (from Anrokoff) and Hebrew. He was joining his brother Gabriel. He immigrated to the U.S. and arrived at Ellis Island on June 25, 1905 joining brother Gabriel Koberstein.

Also a Joseph Koberstein from Russia immigrating to America and joining his brother in law to Max Magdoff, brother to his wife Lina.

There is also a good group of Koberstein’s from the St. Petersburg Archive. This group is not organized into families and more research is needed. I have wondered if the Ludwig Koberstein family of Colonie Brinsk, West Prussia might have immigrated to Russia.

I do not have any Koberstein families from this land, but the location of an old Koberstein Castle in ruins is of great interest. It is located near Jesenik by the northern border with Poland. Pavel Koberstein, who is from Czech, sent me information about this castle. He indicates, "the last lord was Krystof Koberstein from Koberstein".

Now I will treat the area that was known as Brandenburg during the Prussian time. This area is still Brandenburg except for the part that is now in Poland. This area surrounds Berlin, but due to its large population I will cover it separately.

About 10 counties (Kreis) have Koberstein’s in them. Many have groups of individual unconnected records; much more research will be required to connect them. However there are some significant groups that should be discussed.

First the area of Landsburg (Gorzow Wielkopolski in Poland today) had/has many Koberstein’s, some of which are known to have immigrated to other parts of the world. Information from Dr. Robert Carl Koberstein of Buffalo, New York area gives a good genealogy, including a part of his family from Landsburg

We also have the partial genealogy for August Koberstein who owned a leather factory in Landsburg that was quite well known, In fact leather goods from World War II made at this factory can be obtained as rare collector items.

Ernest Wilhelm Koberstein along with others in his family immigrated from Landsburg to Nebraska, USA.

Also of note is the line of August Koberstein born in Koltschen. This line was contributed by Lisa Susan Paige Koberstein whose father Joachim Otto Willi Koberstein immigrated to Quebec. He was born in Margrafpieske, Kreis Furstenwalde/Spree, Germany. This is the Kreis just southeast of Berlin.

There are many other unconnected Koberstein’s for which more research/records are needed. This includes a great map locating the cities they were from. This is also true for many of the Brandenburg counties.

On of particular interest is the immigration from Kreis Guben of Frederick Wilhelm Koberstein to New Zealand. A very good genealogy of this family has been obtained from them. This history of this family requires a book unto itself.

Joachim Otto Willi Koberstein was born 12 Sep 1938 in Margrafpieske, Kreis Furstenwalde/Spree, Germany. A great genealogy of this family has been shared. A descendant family immigrated to Quebec, Canada.

This city is within Brandenburg but will be treated separately. A great internet resource, Berlin Address Books – 1799-1943 was located. Koberstein’s listed is being extracted and indexed by first name or initial, street, and location on a city map.

Also, the international genealogical index (IGI) has extracted information for a number of the major evangelical churches in Berlin. Koberstein names have been found on the lists for Sankt Markus, Sankt Georgen and/or Sophien, Sankt Jerusalem, Gnaden-Invaliden Kirche and Ung Berlin.

Bruno Paul Koberstein who immigrated to New Jersey was born in Berlin. His genealogy is given for his immediate family in Germany and some descendants in America.

Henry William Koberstein who immigrated to Nebraska was born about 50 miles North of Berlin, but is listed here until more information as to the exact location is determined. 50 miles north should put him in the Neiderbarmin Kreis, but that is unknown. His brother Ernst, for whom this line is named, was actually born in Landsburg. Only their parents and siblings are known in Germany, so their ancestry needs to be extended. Many of their children were born in Germany but the younger ones in Nebraska.

Joseph Benedictes Custard Koberstein who immigrated to Wisconsin was born in Berlin. I have a good genealogy of his descendants, but only his parents as ancestors. This needs to be extended.

I have listed Franz Herman Karl Koberstein and a limited genealogy as being from Berlin.

Karl Otto Emil Exxner married Charlotte Marie Otilie Anna Koberstein on April 15, 1912 in Berlin. I only have a limited genealogy on this couple.

Hans Carl Gotthold Koberstein lived in Berlin and was an artist of note. He is listed here due to this notoriety although he is descended from Matys Matthias Koberstein of Czarnkow.

The remainder of the Koberstein’s from Germany are listed by the modern state name.

The first Koberstein family to be mentioned here

is the Karl August Koberstein, the well known German Literature Historian. He is part of the Matys Matthias Koberstein family from Czarnkow. He is mentioned here due to his notoriety and since he taught at Schulpforte and died at Kosen.

Another Koberstein genealogy from this area is Gottfried Carl Koberstein, who is known as a basketmaker. He died in Pollenben of this area. His first four children were born in Kittisford, Somerset, England and the last in Pollenben. The reason for his residency in England is not known. The last child born in Pollenben had two children and another generation is given from his oldest. A good genealogy of the family includes a family that moved to Sweden.

There are two other families (one generation only) that came from the IGI. One is Christiane Henriette Koberstein from the family above but with a birth place of Teicha, Saalkreis, Sachen, Preuessen, whereas the above database gives here birth place as Kittisford, Somerset, England. The christening date is exactly the same. I have no idea why this difference exists. The other is the birth and death of Dorothee Carolina Koberstein in Gutenburg, Saalkreis, Sachen, Preuessen and married to Gottfried Friedrich Thiele.

The first family noted here is a part of the Matys Matthias Koberstein family originating from Czarnkow, Posen, Prussia. This line is mentioned again since this is the line from which Edith Schütte descended. She is the author of the great book, “Koberstein Genealogie”.

1 and 3 appear to be sisters, but the others are not clearly related except by geography at this time.

There are two Koberstein families and a location in this state, as well as four IGI records. These are some of the earliest known Koberstein records and therefore the probable origination of the Koberstein name.

The earliest Koberstein is Johann von Koberstein (also mentioned in the Edith Schütte book). His name is associated with the city of Altenkirchen in 1359. In the Stammtafel der Westerwalder Linie his daughter, Bylge, is listed as wife to Gerhard von Bicken. The “von” between the first and last name generally refers to royalty.

Another record is for Katharina von Koberstein in 1442. Assuming this is a continuation of the Johann family, they cover 83 years. The record is about the selling of a house and belongings for 350 gold coins. In some way these funds were used to help construction of a chapel in Isenburg. This is not far from Altenkirchen where Johann von Koberstein is mentioned.

The location is the Koberstein Estate of mid 1500’s vintage, still in existence. One might assume it is related to the Johann von Koberstein family which would make the total family time line about 150 years. That is a long time.

This area has IGI records for 12 cities. These cities are in about the same area, at and east of Heidelburg. The earliest Koberstein record is in Heidelburg in 1611, next is Gronau in 1625, then Gauangellock in 1726, then Zuzenhausen in 1749. The rest of the records are in the 1800’s. Some cities have many Koberstein records. The cities and people are:

This makes a total of almost 100 individuals from this small area over the time period of 1611 to 1869. It seems like just a matter of study and finding more records to connect this into one family.

In the county of Unterfranken another group of Koberstein records exist. They are probably realated and may be related to the ones in Baden, even the ones in Rheinland. They all form a ring around Frankfurt am Main but never in the state of Hessen, how strange. Maybe that is because the Rhine and Main rivers form a circle around the Frankfurt area, and early development tends to follow the rivers because the are the best form of travel.

The Brandenburg, Prussia Emigration Records lists the immigration of Koberstein, Gustav Adolph (calculated birth year 1857) and Karl Friedrich Reinhold (calculated birth year 1855) to Australia. However the only modern indication of that surname is given by a few reference found on the internet. Hans Koberstein was identified as a former milkman and developer in 1970. Ralf Koberstein was indicated as a volunteer firefighter. I believe these both are near Howard Springs.

This completes this effort to enumerate all the Koberstein families throughout the wide world 1359 to modern times. It is not even close to being done, but it is a good start. A good handle on the early and recent Koberstein’s in the Western Hemisphere and New Zealand is in hand. However only a fairly good list of early Koberstein’s in Europe, principally Prussia/Germany is in hand. While some of the German lines have descendants to recent times, many do not. We have a good summary of Koberstein’s in a 2002 phone list with little or no tie in to these genealogies. This is mainly due to the limitations of information in the interest of records privacy for the living. Some are present due to people who publish or share their personal records. This link to the living has the same limitations in the rest of the world. That privacy is a legal necessity of many archives and governments and a personal decision otherwise.

Where do we go from here? Well first feel free to probe the web site and please email any corrections or new information that you have. The next best way to improve this genealogy and history of the many fascinating Koberstein families would be to help with the research work. Especially needed are family genealogies and histories. It’s great to have vital statistics on family members, but photos and stories about them really make them come alive.

Terry L. Koberstein ( A descendant of Christoph Koberstein who died in Colonie Brinsk, Strasburg, West Prussia in 1848)