Five main Branches in Germany
In Germany, I was able to locate several family lines, each spanning several generations.
1. Braunschweig (Lower Saxony):
A family in Braunschweig spanning three generations, originating with a city council treasurer, Hermann Callenius, in the early 16th century.
2. Uelzen (Lower Saxony):
A pastor’s family spanning five generations, originating with a Lambert Callenius, also in the early 16th century.
3. Werningshausen (Thuringia):
A family from Werningshausen spanning six generations. Originating with the innkeeper in Werningshausen, Joachim Friedrich Callenius, born in the mid-17th century.
4. Eschwege (Hesse):
A large family originating from Eschwege, Hesse. This branch begins in 1760 with Johannes Rudolph Callenius in Eschwege, is relatively strong, and extends over nine generations to the present day.
5. Dorum (Lower Saxony):
Another family with the name Callenius is found in Dorum, Cuxhaven district, Lower Saxony. On the North Sea coast. The first mention of the family there dates back to 1786 with Quartermaster Otto Ludwig Callenius. This branch extends over nine generations to the present day.
Whether the families from Dorum and Eschwege are related can be found at the end of this article.
1. Callenius-Family in Braunschweig
Between the 16th and the second half of the 17th century, figures from the Callenius family appear in Braunschweig, Lower Saxony. They are mentioned in two funeral sermons from Braunschweig.
The progenitor was Hermann Callenius (also known as “Kalen”), who was a “Rathskemmerer,” a financial officer appointed by the city council.
His son, Gerlach Callenius, was the city’s “Großer Bürgermeister” (Great Mayor), and his grandson, Statz Callenius, also belonged to the city’s elite and was likewise a mayor.
2. Uelzen (Lower Saxony)
Another funeral sermon by a Callenius has survived in Braunschweig. This is that of Paul Julius Callenius, who died in Braunschweig in 1672. This sermon contains a wealth of genealogical information about the family spanning an impressive five generations. Most of them were pastors. The family was therefore also a member of the local elite and originated in Uelzen. The progenitor, Lambert Callenius, was a citizen of Uelzen. His estimated year of birth was around 1488. It is possible that the other Callenius families in Braunschweig also descended from this one. While proof is not yet possible, it is quite conceivable, as both families belonged to the local elite and some members of this Uelzen branch also resided in Braunschweig.
3. Werningshausen (Thuringa)
In 1671, Joachim Friedrich Calenius appears in records of his marriage to Elisabetha Krompholtz, a native of Werningshausen.
The family name spans 12 generations and extends to the present day. The family name is usually spelled with one “L,” thus CALENIUS. However, it seems quite possible that the family belongs to other Callenius families or that other families originated in this line.
4. Branch Eschwege (Hesse)
The name Callenius was relatively common in Eschwege from the mid-18th to the mid-20th century. It survived for several generations there during this period and spread somewhat throughout Germany. Almost all Callenius family members living in Germany today descend from this line.
The earliest known ancestor of my family, the Callenius — the wigmaker Johann Rudolf Callenius — is said to have come from “Volleben” and married into the long-established Eschwege family Gleim in 1760. Unfortunately, the place name Vollleben could not be located for a long time. On a copy of a letter from Willy Callenius dated April 7, 1938, to the parish office in Vollleben, he himself noted in the margin: “Returned 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 image). I searched for the place for several decades, but finally found it. See also my separate chapter.
The family was based in Eschwege for a long time and eventually spread throughout Germany in the 20th century.
5. Linie Dorum (Lower Saxony)
Here, too, I made an important breakthrough.
Through research in the USA, I came across another Callenius family, which appeared to originate from northern Germany, from the town of Dorum, 25 km north of Bremerhaven. After ordering the Dorum church records on microfilm from the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (Mormons) in Utah, I systematically searched them for the name Callenius. According to the records, Otto Ludwig Callenius, quartermaster of the 3rd Cavalry Regiment Hanover, first appears in the baptismal register of the Protestant parish of Dorum in 1786, and then regularly thereafter. At some point, he gave up his military career and settled in Dorum with his wife, Helena Catharina Eibsen, as a distiller.
Dorum Baptismal Register, 1786. Unfortunately, my photograph wasn’t the best, but the text is still reasonably legible.
They had several children.
One of his grandsons, Adolph Friedrich Callenius, who was born in Dorum on June 3, 1834, emigrated to the USA in the mid-19th century. Around 1860, he married Metta Eggers 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 “Reichsaddressbuch” of 1898/99, a beer brewery owned by O. Callenius and a “Calenius Hotel” can be found in Dorum.
More unattributable Callenius from Dorum:
- (…) CALLENIUS; * 1829/30; ^ 1844 Dorum [KonfReg]
- Anna GREVEMEYER, verh. CALLENIUS, * 14.10.1890 [Find a Grave]; † 08.08.1983 Dorum [Find a Grave]
- Franz Georg Friedrich CALLENIUS, * 27.01.1886 [Find a Grave]; † 25.11.1954 Dorum [Find a Grave]
- Otto Georg Wilhelm CALLENIUS, * 15.12.1917 [Find a Grave]; † 31.12.1917 Dorum [Find a Grave]
- Wilhelmine E. Ch. SCHÖLERMANN, verh. CALLENIUS, * 22.04.1844 [Find a Grave]; † 26.05.1897 Dorum [Find a Grave]
In Germany, the representatives of this family name are almost extinct. As I learned from a local resident, a farming family named Callenius lived in Dorum until the 1990s or perhaps even a little beyond.
Here are images of gravestones from the cemetery in Dorum [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 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 family history book from 2019. It states that the progenitor 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. He is thus the brother of the progenitor of the Eschwege family, Johann Rudolph.
Proof provided:
This proves that the Dorum and Eschwege families are related. And that means that the vast majority of Calleniuses living today in South America, the USA, and Germany are related to each other through this link.
