Bad Landeck an der Biele

Continuing on the prior post about places named Biele.....

Bad Landeck an der Biele is the German name of a town in Poland that was part of the Bohemian Empire and later part of Germany.  The “Bad” (German for bath) refers to the natural springs located in the area.  While “an der Biele” means “on the Biele”, with Biele being the German name for the river running through the town.

In 1742, most of Silesia, including Bad Landeck, was seized by King Frederick the Great of Prussia in the War of the Austrian Succession, eventually becoming the Prussian Province of Silesia in 1815.  After King Frederick and other members began visiting the baths in the area, Bad Landeck became a popular health resort and remained so up until World War II.

After World War II the region was placed under Polish administration and ethnically cleansed per the post-war Potsdam Agreement. The native German populace was expelled and replaced with Poles.

The name of was then changed to Lądek-Zdrój  and the river was renamed Biala Ladecka

Wikipedia articles on Bad Landeck / Lądek-Zdrój  can be found in English and German.

Below are some vintage postcards of Bad Landeck and der Biele.

Places Named Biele

There are a number of places in eastern Europe named Biele or with Biele in the name.  In the Slovak language biele translates to white.  In Polish, biel is white and biele is whites.  

There are five small villages in Poland with the name Biele:

Biele, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship

                                             

Biele [ˈbjɛlɛ] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Bądkowo, within Aleksandrów County,Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland

Biele, Masovian Voivodeship

Biele [ˈbjɛlɛ] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Sochocin, within Płońsk County, Masovian Voivodeship, in east-central Poland. It lies approximately 3 kilometres (2 mi) south-west of Sochocin, 6 km (4 mi) north-east of Płońsk, and 63 km (39 mi) north-west of Warsaw.

Biele, Podlaskie Voivodeship

Biele [ˈbjɛlɛ] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Juchnowiec Kościelny, within Białystok County, Podlaskie Voivodeship, in north-eastern Poland. It lies approximately 5 kilometres (3 mi) south of Juchnowiec Kościelny and 15 km (9 mi) south of the regional capital Białystok.

Biele, Gmina Sompolno

Biele [ˈbjɛlɛ] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Sompolno, within Konin County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland.

Biele, Gmina Ślesin

Biele [ˈbjɛlɛ] is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Ślesin, within Konin County, Greater Poland Voivodeship, in west-central Poland.

Villages named Biele in Poland are noted by the yellow stars

There is also a range of mountains on the Czech - Slovakia border:

White Carpathians

The White Carpathians (Czech: Bílé Karpaty; Slovak: Biele Karpaty; German: Weiße Karpaten;Hungarian: Fehér-Kárpátok) are a mountain range on the border of the Czech Republic and Slovakia, part of the Carpathians.

They are part of the Slovak-Moravian Carpathians, stretching from the Váh river and the Little Carpathians in the south along the border between the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the Morava and the Javorníky range in the north.

Bielefeld is a large city in the state of Nordrhein-Westfalen (North Rhineland - Westphalia) in Germany.  The “feld” in German is “field” in English, but there is no translation of “biele”.  The archivist of Bielefeld did not know either.  He stated that Bielefeld’s name went back to the Middle Ages and there are no records of its origin.

There are also smaller cities in Germany, including Biel and Bielen.

Haus Biele Update

In an earlier post, Haus Biele 2012 Blog, I wrote about the original Biele homestead in Hovestadt Germany.  Last week, I was in Germany in business and was able to make a side trip to the Westphalia region of Germany to visit Hovestadt and other towns in the area.My destination included Haus Biele.

Sign in Hovestadt between the Rathaus (City Hall) and Haus Biele

Front of Haus Biele

Back of Haus Biele

Lobby area in Haus Biele

Picture in the Haus Biele lobby of when Haus Biele was still a Gasthof

During its restoration Haus Biele was completely renovated and now serves as a Burgerburo (city office).  What was once a working farm, residence, brewery, hotel, and gathering place now serves the Lippetal area in a different function.

Biele Family Crest

The crest of the Biele family from Hovestadt features a hatchet and a duck.  According to a Biele in Germany -  

In "low german" Biele means Beil and that means hatchet. At that time, each family belonged to a guild. The ax is the sign for butcher. The duck is the animal which was slaughtered. The water also has a meaning. It is an indication of milling and brewing rights.

At Haus Biele in Hovestadt the family operated a guest house and a distillery.  See Haus Biele blog post from Dec 2012 

There is a tradition in Germany within some Biele families for parents to give their children a ring with the family crest on their 18th birthday.  Boys often get one in gold and girls with lapislazuli and onyx. 

Biele crest that hung in Haus Biele

Biele crest on the label of a liquor from the Biele distillary

Biele crest on a signet ring

Tracing the Biele Tree Back in Time

I have been working on tracing the Biele family as far back as possible and have a few new leads. The tree I have been able to establish to date is as follows (starting with my grandfather)

Charles Edward Biele (1905 - 1983) - born in New York City, New York, USA

Carl Frederick Biele (1878 - 1964) - born in New York City, New York, USA

Friedrich Carl (Charles Frederick) Biele (1854 - 1930) - born in Barmen, Germany

Caspar Biele (1823 - 1875) - born in Hovestadt, Germany

August Clemens Biele (1773 - 1833) - born in Hovestadt, Germany

Joannes Fridericus (Frederick) Biele - (1730 - 1813) - born in Hovestadt, Germany

Joannes Matthias Biele (In De Bile)

In the later records, the last name changes at times between "In De Bile", "In De Biele" and "In Der Bile".  This may be from the way they were written in the original church records or how they were later transcribed by others.

All of the family members before Joannes Matthias have church or civil records establishing their birth dates and places.  The records for those listed as being born in Hovestadt include churches in Oestinghausen and Erwitte.  Joannes Matthias is recorded in church records for the christening of his children and his marriage.  In the "Haus Biele" publication, Joannes is listed as being born around 1700 and died around 1760 but it does not state where those dates come from.

The record I found that might be connected is one for "Joannes Matthias In Der Bile" christen on 04 Nov 1688, at the Catholic church in Rheine.  His father is listed as "Melchioris In Der Bile".  

There are several records that might be connected in Rheine.  Note that sometimes the mother is listed and sometimes only the father.  In summary, they are:

Matthias In De Biele, christened 02 Apr 1682, father Melchioris In De Biele, no mother listed, location Rheine

Christophorus Matthias In De Biele, christened 10 Apr 1684, father Melchioris In De Biele, no mother listed, location Rheine  

Gertrudis In De Bile, christened 30 Jul 1687, father Melchioris In De Bile, no mother listed, location Rheine

Joannes Matthias In Der Bile, 04 Nov 1688, father Melchioris In Der Bile, no mother listed, location Rheine

Maria In De Bile, christened 13 Jul 1690, father Melchioris In De Bile, no mother listed, location Rheine

Henricus Melchior In De Biele, 20 Feb 1706, father Melchioris In De Biele, mother Annae Christinae Probsting, location Rheine

Clara In De Bile, christened 18 Oct 1713, father Melchioris In De Biele, mother Christinae Probsting, location Rheine

There are also four marriages in Rheine of interest, though I am not sure how they connect to those listed above:

 20 Apr 1681 marriage of Melchior Cornelius In De Biele to Margaretha Joanna Meyer in Rheine

29 Nov 1681 marriage of Matthias In De Biele to Catharina Cordes in Rheine

01 Oct 1702 marriage of Melchior In De Bile to Maria Gertrudt Schiger in Rheine

11 Nov 1708 Margaretha Catharina In De Biele to Johan Herman Kettendors in Rheine

There are also two older records that may or may not be connected to the others.

6 Jan 1629 christening of Mari In Der Bile, father Euert In Der Bile in Rheine

25 Dec 1636 christening of Everhardus In Der Bile, father Mattia In Der Bile in Rheine   

The Arrival of Caspar Biele to America

For many years it has been unknown how and when Caspar Biele came to America.  Earlier research discovered that Caspar Biele was born in Hovestadt Germany in 1823, later moved to Barmen German where he married his wife Wilhelmine in 1852.
 

Undated Photo of Caspar Biele 

Records from Ellis Island show that Wilhelmine and the four children born in Barmen arrived in New York City from Bremen on the S.S. America on Dec 19, 1865, but no records list when Caspar arrived.  The first record of him in the US is in the Trow's 1868 directory where he is listed as a cabinet maker and living at 71 Ridge in lower Manhattan in New York City.  A previously discovered index card of Caspar's naturalization record is blank concerning his arrival port and date of arrival.

A new discovery provides some further clues.  A copy of the actual court record of his naturalization states that in "September or October 1864 he made a public declaration in the County Court at Philadelphia PA being a Court Record therein, that is was, bona fide, his intention to become a citizen of the United States and renounce forever all allegiance to the King of Prussia"  It further states that the original record of that declaration has been destroyed or lost.

This seems to imply that Caspar came to the United States from Germany through the port of Philadelphia in 1864.  Or it could be that he entered through a different port and just made his declaration there.  Or perhaps he never made a declaration there and that was just a convenient statement made when he applied for citizenship in 1868.

More digging is needed to definitively determine when and where Caspar Biele came to the United States.