Sophie Lange Roots in Germany


Sophie Lange's Roots in Germany Sophie Lange was born at three o'clock in the morning on Saturday, 6 February 1830 in Ortshausen, a small farming community in what was then the Duchy of Braunschweig. (Braunschweig is occasionally written in English as Brunswick.) The ancestral home of the Lange family was near what is known as the Harz region of Germany. Today, Ortshausen is in Landkreis Hildesheim in the German state of Niedersachsen.

Ortshausen was in the central part of the Duchy of Braunschweig. On the map, Orthausen and Mahlum (where Sophie's father was born) are to the southeast and east of the larger city of Bockenem, near the center of the map. Both Orthausen and Mahlum have small crosses above the dots, indicating that each had its own church. Ortshausen and Mahlum are about two miles apart. A modern map showing their relationship is here. Detail from 1856 map of Hannover, Braunschweig, Oldenburg Geographisches Institut (Weimar, Germany) David Rumsey Collection

	This recent satellite view of Ortshausen shows that it is not much larger than it was in the mid-19th century when the Lange family lived there. Now as then, the town is surrounded by the fields still being farmed today. Google maps, 2009

On Sunday, 21 February 1830, Sophie was baptized at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. John [Die St.Johannis Kirche] in Ortshausen. A copy of the baptism record can be found here. Sophie's parents were Friedrich Ludwig Lange (born 4 February 1803 in Mahlum) and Johanne Rosine Sophie Henriette Heitefuss (born 16 November 1806 in Ortshausen). They were married in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ortshausen on 8 March 1829.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. John [St. Johannis Kirche] lies in the heart of the small community of Ortshausen. Sophie's mother was baptized there as were earlier generations of her family. The date of the founding of the church is not known, but it dates from at least the year 1371. Photo by Norman Hellmers, 1979

Sophie's father was baptized at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. John [St. Johannis Kirche] in the nearby village of Mahlum. Mahlum has had a church since at least 1234, but the age of the present building is not known. The Lange family lived in Mahlum from at least the early 1700s and numerous generations of the family were baptized here. Photo by Norman Hellmers, 2008

Sophie was the second of ten children born to her parents, all baptized in the church in Ortshausen. The underlined name is the name most often used by that person. Johanne Louise Lange, born 13 June 1829 Johanne Sophie Louise Lange, born 6 February 1830 Johanne Sophie Wilhelmine Lange, born 28 March 1832 Johanne Friederike Louise Christine Lange, born 16 April 1834 Johanne Sophie Wilhelmine "Mina" Lange, born 15 November 1836 Johann Friedrich Lange, born 6 May 1839 (died in Ortshausen, 11 May 1839) Friedrich Wilhelm Lange, born 6 June 1840 Caroline Lange, born 26 November 1842 (died in Ortshausen, 8 October 1849) Juliane Lange, born 29 April 1845 Friedrich Christian Lange, born 25 March 1851 Sophie grew up in a large farming family and likely had limited schooling. As one of the older children, she probably spent much of her time caring for her younger siblings. Sophie was presumably confirmed at the church in Ortshausen, but no record of this has yet been obtained. In the mid-1800s, many citizens of the Duchy of Braunschweig were faced with growing families and limited opportunties. Thousands were drawn to America. Perhaps sometime in late 1851, Friedrich and Johanne Heitefuss Lange decided their family would join them.

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