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Philipp
Geeck's Roots in Germany
Philipp Geeck was born on Thursday, 28 January 1836 in Rheinzabern, a
small town then located in Rheinbayern, a province of the
Kingdom of Bavaria [Königreich Bayern]. Rheinbayern—separated
geographically from the main area of Bavaria—was located in a hilly
region known as the Pfalz (referred to in English as the Palatinate).
Today, Rheinzabern is in Kreis Germersheim in the German state of Rheinland-Pfalz.
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Rheinzabern
was in the far southeast corner of Rheinbayern, south of Speyer and not
far from the
Rhein River. On the map, its location is just to the left of the "R" in
Rheinzabern. The cross above the dot indicates that it had a church.
Rheinzabern has a long and fascinating history, dating from at least
the year 54 A.D. It is best known as a manufacturing site for the
Roman pottery known as "Terra Sigillata."
Detail from 1856 map of Bavaria
Geographisches Institut (Weimar, Germany)
David Rumsey Collection
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The house in which Philipp Geeck was born as it
appeared in 2006.
Photo by Norman Hellmers, 2006
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The
day after his birth, Philipp was baptized at St. Michael Roman Catholic
Church in Rheinzabern. He had one sponsor for whom he was named,
Philipp Jacob Stumphauser, a blacksmith in Rheinzabern.
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St. Michael Roman
Catholic Church lies in the heart of old Rheinzabern. The congregation
exists from at least A. D. 1268. The current church building was constructed
about 1777-1778.
In this church and its predecessor buildings, Philipp and many generations of his family were baptized and married.
Photo by Norman Hellmers, 2006
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Philipp's parents were Johannes Adam Geeck (born 24 December 1805 in Rheinzabern)
and Catharina Agatha Brod (born 5 Feb 1807 in Rheinzabern). They were married in
the Catholic church in Rheinzabern on 20 January 1835. Philipp was the
first child of seven in his family, all baptized in the same
church.
The seven children were:
Philipp Jakob Geeck, born 28 January 1836
Franz Peter Geeck, born 14 October 1837
Helena Geeck, born 26 November 1839
Maria Eva Geeck, born 10 September 1841
Johann Stephan Geeck, born 30 July 1843
Eva Elisabetha Geeck, born 30 July 1843
Maria Eva Geeck, born 16 January 1849
The fourth child, Maria Eva, died in Rheinzabern at a young age,
probably before 1849, since the family also named their last child
Maria Eva.
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Little
is
known of Philipp Geeck's life as a young man in Germany. There was a school associated
with the Catholic church in Rheinzabern, which he may have attended.
Philipp's father, Johannes, was a farmer, but Philipp became a
shoemaker, so perhaps in his youth he was trained in that trade. As a
young man, Philipp
Geeck was presumably confirmed at the church in Rheinzabern.
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Some
time in 1854, Philipp's parents decided to emigrate to America. Why
they did so and how they came to choose New Orleans as their home is
not known. Regardless of the reasons, Johannes Adam Geeck and his wife
Catharina decided to leave the town where their ancestors had lived
for hundreds of years in order to make a new home for themselves and
their six children.
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Go to next section: Geeck
Ancestors
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Return
to Geeck Family History Opening Page
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