Sophia Dorothea Caroline Schindler was born on November 5, 1793 in the small village of Pritzer Hute (aka Kukuk) on the shore of the Klenpritzer See (Lake) in the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (now part of the province of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany). Her parents were Johann Christoph Schindler and Anna Elisabeth Sophia Dethloff. She was known variously as either "Sophia," or "Dorothea" - there are documents which show either name.
On December 2, 1814 at the age of 21, Sophia married the shepherd Heinrich Engel in the village of Zernin near Bützow (about 20km north of Kukuk). Due to the nature of the shepherd lifestyle, Sophia and Heinrich and their children moved multiple times - residing in Warnow, Qualitz and finally in Lüssow.
There were 8 children known from their marriage, 2 of whom died in infancy:
1815 - JOHANN Joachim Daniel Friedrich Engel (known as "John")
1817 - Johann FRIEDRICH Christoph Engel
1820 - SOPHIA Catharina Friederike Christiane Engel
1823 - DOROTHEA Magdalena Friederike Christina Engel - died at age 15 months
1825 - Jochim HEINRICH Christoph Engel (known as "Henry C.")
1828 - FERDINAND Carl Wilhelm Engel
1832 - Johann CHRISTOPH Engel
1837 - GUSTAPH Johann Friedrich Christian Engel - died in infancy
Sophia was widowed at the age of 45 when her husband Heinrich Engel passed away in 1839. Life was tough for the Engels, and the entire family had to work to support themselves after their father's death. Most of the Engel children even refrained from getting married...working towards the goal of making a better life for themselves.
As the children got older, a decision was made to make a fresh start in the United States. In late 1851 or early 1852, sons Heinrich and Ferdinand made the journey first. Their "reconnaissance" was apparently positive, so Sophia and her other children decided to follow. Evidence seems to indicate that Heinrich returned home to Mecklenburg to accompany his family on their journey. Sophia and her remaining children (with the exception of Friedrich), and Sophia's niece Caroline Leesch departed from Lüssow on May 11, 1854, and then sailed from Hamburg on June 3 aboard the SS Henschel, arriving in New York City nearly 2.5 months later on August 15.
From New York City, they traveled west via the Erie Canal to Cleveland, Ohio - where son Ferdinand was living. Ferdinand had recently enlisted in the US Army for 5 years, and would be stationed elsewhere - so there was nothing anchoring the Engels in Cleveland. In the end, they decided to continue on to Detroit, Michigan and make their home there. This decision may have been influenced by the Harning family, whom they met at some point on their journey from Mecklenburg to the USA.
In Michigan, Sophia lived with daughter Sophia and her husband Joachim Behrns in Warren, Michigan. 23 years after arriving in the United States, Sophia Dorothea Carolina Schindler Engel died on August 31, 1877 at the age of 83. She was buried in the Christoph Engel family plot in Woodmere Cemetery under the name "Sophia" (although cemetery records show her name as "Dorothea" or "Dorothy").
On December 2, 1814 at the age of 21, Sophia married the shepherd Heinrich Engel in the village of Zernin near Bützow (about 20km north of Kukuk). Due to the nature of the shepherd lifestyle, Sophia and Heinrich and their children moved multiple times - residing in Warnow, Qualitz and finally in Lüssow.
There were 8 children known from their marriage, 2 of whom died in infancy:
1815 - JOHANN Joachim Daniel Friedrich Engel (known as "John")
1817 - Johann FRIEDRICH Christoph Engel
1820 - SOPHIA Catharina Friederike Christiane Engel
1823 - DOROTHEA Magdalena Friederike Christina Engel - died at age 15 months
1825 - Jochim HEINRICH Christoph Engel (known as "Henry C.")
1828 - FERDINAND Carl Wilhelm Engel
1832 - Johann CHRISTOPH Engel
1837 - GUSTAPH Johann Friedrich Christian Engel - died in infancy
Sophia was widowed at the age of 45 when her husband Heinrich Engel passed away in 1839. Life was tough for the Engels, and the entire family had to work to support themselves after their father's death. Most of the Engel children even refrained from getting married...working towards the goal of making a better life for themselves.
As the children got older, a decision was made to make a fresh start in the United States. In late 1851 or early 1852, sons Heinrich and Ferdinand made the journey first. Their "reconnaissance" was apparently positive, so Sophia and her other children decided to follow. Evidence seems to indicate that Heinrich returned home to Mecklenburg to accompany his family on their journey. Sophia and her remaining children (with the exception of Friedrich), and Sophia's niece Caroline Leesch departed from Lüssow on May 11, 1854, and then sailed from Hamburg on June 3 aboard the SS Henschel, arriving in New York City nearly 2.5 months later on August 15.
From New York City, they traveled west via the Erie Canal to Cleveland, Ohio - where son Ferdinand was living. Ferdinand had recently enlisted in the US Army for 5 years, and would be stationed elsewhere - so there was nothing anchoring the Engels in Cleveland. In the end, they decided to continue on to Detroit, Michigan and make their home there. This decision may have been influenced by the Harning family, whom they met at some point on their journey from Mecklenburg to the USA.
In Michigan, Sophia lived with daughter Sophia and her husband Joachim Behrns in Warren, Michigan. 23 years after arriving in the United States, Sophia Dorothea Carolina Schindler Engel died on August 31, 1877 at the age of 83. She was buried in the Christoph Engel family plot in Woodmere Cemetery under the name "Sophia" (although cemetery records show her name as "Dorothea" or "Dorothy").
Sophia Dorothea Caroline Schindler was born on November 5, 1793 in the small village of Pritzer Hute (aka Kukuk) on the shore of the Klenpritzer See (Lake) in the Duchy of Mecklenburg-Schwerin (now part of the province of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany). Her parents were Johann Christoph Schindler and Anna Elisabeth Sophia Dethloff. She was known variously as either "Sophia," or "Dorothea" - there are documents which show either name.
On December 2, 1814 at the age of 21, Sophia married the shepherd Heinrich Engel in the village of Zernin near Bützow (about 20km north of Kukuk). Due to the nature of the shepherd lifestyle, Sophia and Heinrich and their children moved multiple times - residing in Warnow, Qualitz and finally in Lüssow.
There were 8 children known from their marriage, 2 of whom died in infancy:
1815 - JOHANN Joachim Daniel Friedrich Engel (known as "John")
1817 - Johann FRIEDRICH Christoph Engel
1820 - SOPHIA Catharina Friederike Christiane Engel
1823 - DOROTHEA Magdalena Friederike Christina Engel - died at age 15 months
1825 - Jochim HEINRICH Christoph Engel (known as "Henry C.")
1828 - FERDINAND Carl Wilhelm Engel
1832 - Johann CHRISTOPH Engel
1837 - GUSTAPH Johann Friedrich Christian Engel - died in infancy
Sophia was widowed at the age of 45 when her husband Heinrich Engel passed away in 1839. Life was tough for the Engels, and the entire family had to work to support themselves after their father's death. Most of the Engel children even refrained from getting married...working towards the goal of making a better life for themselves.
As the children got older, a decision was made to make a fresh start in the United States. In late 1851 or early 1852, sons Heinrich and Ferdinand made the journey first. Their "reconnaissance" was apparently positive, so Sophia and her other children decided to follow. Evidence seems to indicate that Heinrich returned home to Mecklenburg to accompany his family on their journey. Sophia and her remaining children (with the exception of Friedrich), and Sophia's niece Caroline Leesch departed from Lüssow on May 11, 1854, and then sailed from Hamburg on June 3 aboard the SS Henschel, arriving in New York City nearly 2.5 months later on August 15.
From New York City, they traveled west via the Erie Canal to Cleveland, Ohio - where son Ferdinand was living. Ferdinand had recently enlisted in the US Army for 5 years, and would be stationed elsewhere - so there was nothing anchoring the Engels in Cleveland. In the end, they decided to continue on to Detroit, Michigan and make their home there. This decision may have been influenced by the Harning family, whom they met at some point on their journey from Mecklenburg to the USA.
In Michigan, Sophia lived with daughter Sophia and her husband Joachim Behrns in Warren, Michigan. 23 years after arriving in the United States, Sophia Dorothea Carolina Schindler Engel died on August 31, 1877 at the age of 83. She was buried in the Christoph Engel family plot in Woodmere Cemetery under the name "Sophia" (although cemetery records show her name as "Dorothea" or "Dorothy").
On December 2, 1814 at the age of 21, Sophia married the shepherd Heinrich Engel in the village of Zernin near Bützow (about 20km north of Kukuk). Due to the nature of the shepherd lifestyle, Sophia and Heinrich and their children moved multiple times - residing in Warnow, Qualitz and finally in Lüssow.
There were 8 children known from their marriage, 2 of whom died in infancy:
1815 - JOHANN Joachim Daniel Friedrich Engel (known as "John")
1817 - Johann FRIEDRICH Christoph Engel
1820 - SOPHIA Catharina Friederike Christiane Engel
1823 - DOROTHEA Magdalena Friederike Christina Engel - died at age 15 months
1825 - Jochim HEINRICH Christoph Engel (known as "Henry C.")
1828 - FERDINAND Carl Wilhelm Engel
1832 - Johann CHRISTOPH Engel
1837 - GUSTAPH Johann Friedrich Christian Engel - died in infancy
Sophia was widowed at the age of 45 when her husband Heinrich Engel passed away in 1839. Life was tough for the Engels, and the entire family had to work to support themselves after their father's death. Most of the Engel children even refrained from getting married...working towards the goal of making a better life for themselves.
As the children got older, a decision was made to make a fresh start in the United States. In late 1851 or early 1852, sons Heinrich and Ferdinand made the journey first. Their "reconnaissance" was apparently positive, so Sophia and her other children decided to follow. Evidence seems to indicate that Heinrich returned home to Mecklenburg to accompany his family on their journey. Sophia and her remaining children (with the exception of Friedrich), and Sophia's niece Caroline Leesch departed from Lüssow on May 11, 1854, and then sailed from Hamburg on June 3 aboard the SS Henschel, arriving in New York City nearly 2.5 months later on August 15.
From New York City, they traveled west via the Erie Canal to Cleveland, Ohio - where son Ferdinand was living. Ferdinand had recently enlisted in the US Army for 5 years, and would be stationed elsewhere - so there was nothing anchoring the Engels in Cleveland. In the end, they decided to continue on to Detroit, Michigan and make their home there. This decision may have been influenced by the Harning family, whom they met at some point on their journey from Mecklenburg to the USA.
In Michigan, Sophia lived with daughter Sophia and her husband Joachim Behrns in Warren, Michigan. 23 years after arriving in the United States, Sophia Dorothea Carolina Schindler Engel died on August 31, 1877 at the age of 83. She was buried in the Christoph Engel family plot in Woodmere Cemetery under the name "Sophia" (although cemetery records show her name as "Dorothea" or "Dorothy").
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