Georg Thomas Jakobus Dirksen  1866-1925

Notes

Most of these notes are from Joyce Kathryn Rivers-Roache's recollections and information written on family photos:
Georg Thomas Jacobus Dirksen was born on Sept.5, 1866, in Leer, Ostfriesland, the youngest child of 13. (?) 12 boys 1 girl (?). Names of known siblings: Hermann, Johann, Fredrick, Theodore, Stephan, Christian, Carl, Wilhelm, Gotlieb and Wilhelmina. Six or seven of the Dirksen brothers are said to have died of diphtheria. One of Georg Thomas' brothers is said to have lost several sons in the first world war, and then died shortly afterward or possibly committed suicide.
Someone in the Dirksen family is said to have been in the Herring business.
Georg Thomas came to America in 1891 and enrolled in the Concordia Evangelical Lutheran Seminary at Springfield, Illinois in September 1891. The Concordia Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana has what little remains of the records from the Springfield, Illinois seminary. Their record book says Georg's parents were Christoph H. Dirksen and Louise geb. Bothmann.
Georg was ordained to the ministry on the 9th Sunday after Trinity (June 26) ?, 1894 at New Boston, Michigan and served as minister there until April of 1899 when he retired due to illness (probably alchoholism) and just not being able to feed his growing family (10 children) on the wages of a preacher. The records of the Concordia Historical Institute in St. Louis, Missouri have him listed as living in Cleveland, Ohio until 1901.
A few years later Georg returned to Detroit were he worked as a foreman in a wire factory.
Georg was naturalized a US citizen on March 30, 1898 record #13929 Wayne County Court Detroit, MI.
An address found in family papers circa 1930's: 10 Oester Strasse, Ost Friesland, Leer, Germany (It is thought to be the address of one of Georg Thomas' siblings.)
We have a death announcement card for George's sister-in-law; Frau Wwe. Carl Dirksen (Hillene geb. Rabenberg) from Duisburg-Meiderich dated May 9, 1927. She was 75 years old at her death.
There is also a vague family recollection or reference to a Louise Rabenberg who may have been a sister of Georg Thomas. Or Louise Rabenberg may have been a niece, the daughter of his brother Stephan.
Georg Thomas married another German immigrant, Katharina Magdalena Brenner, on March 26, 1895 at Waltz, Michigan.
St. Johns Lutheran Church in Waltz, Michigan was the neighboring church to the one in New Boston, Michigan where George T. Dirksen was pastor from about 1894 to 1897 (?)
Witnesses for the Dirksen - Brenner wedding were Ludwig Niemann and Johanna Harsch
The Pastor at St. John's Church in Waltz attended the Springfield, Illinois seminary with George Dirksen and was ordained the year before George. This according to Rev. Otto Krupski, the archivist for the Springfield, IL seminary.
Chris van Dijkum
Daniel Roache