Two Main Branches in Germany
Dorum and Eschwege
In Germany, I have been able to locate two main family branches: one with the origin in Eschwege, Hesse, and one in Dorum, Cuxhaven district, Lower Saxony. So the one more in the middle of Germany and the other in the north of Germany. The Eschwege branch can be traced back to 1760, and the Dorum branch to 1786. Whether the two families are connected can be found at the end of this article.
Eschwege Branch
The name Callenius was relatively common in Eschwege from the mid-18th to the mid-20th century. It survived several generations there during this period and spread somewhat throughout Germany. Almost all of the Callenius family members living in Germany today descend from this line.
I’m also related to this branch. The earliest known ancestor of my Callenius family to date – the wigmaker Johann Rudolf Callenius – is said to have come from “Volleben” and married into the long-established Eschwege Gleim family in 1760. Unfortunately, the location of Volleben has not been identified over decades. On a copy of a letter from Willy Callenius dated April 7, 1938, to the parish office in Volleben, he himself noted in the margin: “Came back on April 12, 1938, as undeliverable. The Reichspost could not find a place called ‘Volleben’.” Thus, the place seems to have been unknown even in the former German eastern territories (see picture).
Dorum Branch
Here I made an important breakthrough:
During research in the USA, I came across another Callenius family that appeared to come from northern Germany, from the town of Dorum, 25 km north of Bremerhaven. After ordering Dorum’s church records on film from the Church of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) in Utah, I systematically searched them for the name Callenius. According to this, Otto Ludwig Callenius, quartermaster of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment Hanover, appears for the first time in 1786 and then regularly thereafter in the baptismal register of the Protestant congregation of Dorum. At some point, he gave up his military career and settled in Dorum with his wife, Helena Catharina Eibsen, as a alcohol distiller.
Dorum baptismal register, year 1786. Unfortunately, my photograph isn’t the best, but the text is still reasonably readable:
They had several children. One of their grandchildren, Adolph Friedrich Callenius, born on June 3, 1834, in Dorum, emigrated to the USA in the mid-19th century. He married Metta Eggers around 1860 and settled in Baker, O’Brien County, Iowa. He died there in 1914, five years after his wife. Leaving behind a large family.
In the “Reichsaddress” Book of 1898/99, a brewery owned by O. Callenius and a “Calenius Hotel” are listed in Dorum.
In Germany, representatives of this name line almost disappeared. As I learned from a local resident, a farming family named Callenius lived in Dorum until the 1990s or even a little later.
Here are some gravestone images from the Dorum cemetery [Source: Find A Grave]:
Where did the family in Dorum come from?
Further research revealed that Otto Ludwig Callenius, who settled in Dorum at that time, originated in Horneburg near Stade. His father was Johann Günther Callenius, bailiff (administrator) of the parish of Sievern. However, Johann Günther’s origins could not be traced.
Eschwege and Dorum families – is there a connection?
This question naturally arose, and initially I was unable to answer it. It was conceivable that the Dorum family, due to their geographical proximity, might be more accurately associated with the Scandinavian countries.
By chance, during an internet search, I came across the Padingbüttel local heritage book from 2019. It states that the prime father of the Dorum family – Johann Günther Callenius – is said to have come from Polleben. This makes perfect sense and, based on his age at death (72 years old in 1792), chronologically matches the son of the district gardener Otto Jacob Callenius, born in Polleben on March 20, 1721, and is thus the brother of the prime father of the Eschwege family, Johann Rudolph.
Prroved:
This proves that the Dorum and Eschwege families are related. And that means that the vast majority of Callenius people living today in South America, the USA, and Germany are related to each other through this link.
