Main Page
Preface
This is where the Osterbuhr family wiki is being created, featuring the results of Karl Holger Osterbuhr's genealogical research.
The origin of the name Osterbuhr is probably based on the fact that the Osterbuhrs were the farmers who lived in the east (of the village) (“Buhr” is the Low German term for farmer). Even today, there are still a number of Osterbuhrs living on the eastern edge of Strackholt, and a number of Westerbuhrs on the western edge.
The symbol on the right side of this page is the Osterbuhr family crest, which my sister Karen created in 1985. It contains the following four symbols, clockwise from the top left
- Linden tree: Our parents' house is located on Lindenstrasse.
- Capricorn: Our parents' zodiac sign.
- Rüstringer Friese: Part of the coat of arms of Wilhelmshaven, our hometown.
- Federal eagle: Heraldic animal of the Federal Republic of Germany.
The Latin inscription avarita omnia vitia habet is certainly not very flattering, but unfortunately it is truer today than ever: Greed is the mother of all vices.
Entry
The current entry point to this WiKi is via these direct ancestors, my parents and grandparents.
| Father and Mother | My grandfathers | My grandmothers |
My ancestors --- and their origins
According to the information available to me, the individuals and families living in Germany and the USA today with the surname “Osterbuhr” or “Osterbur” are descended from two ancestors who lived in East Frisia, southeast of Aurich, in the 17th century. One was Jacobus Janssen, who lived in Strackholt from around 1655 to 1739, and the other was Hinrich von Wiesens, who, as his name suggests, lived in Wiesens, not far from Strackholt. No further details are known about him, but his son Rolf Hinrichs was born in 1697, which means that Hinrichs was probably born between 1670 and 1680. Today, the Janssen line is more commonly found under the name Osterbuhr, while almost all of those from Wiesens are known as Osterbur, almost exclusively in the United States.
A grandson of Jacobus Janssen, Jan Kobus (1757-1829), forms the link to today's Osterbuhr.
The eldest son, Frerich Osterbuhr (1784-1871), is my great-grandfather. Almost all of his descendants still live in Germany today; only one grandson (Johann, born in 1869) is known to have emigrated to the USA. There, however, he no longer called himself Osterbuhr, but Johnsen (an Americanized form of Janssen, meaning son of Jan).
The fourth oldest son of Jan Kobus, Ehme (Kobus) Osterbuhr (1788-1860) [498] is the father of Onno (see below) and thus the progenitor of all Osterbuhrs in the USA – at least according to the data currently available.
Living conditions at that time (the Thirty Years' War was not too long ago) were generally not particularly pleasant (for the common people), and the marshy and water-rich area did not necessarily improve conditions. The name Strackholt suggests that it must have been an area rich in trees, but these were probably gradually felled for “cultivation” (conversion into pasture and farmland). Later, the peat had to be extracted to be used as fuel for heating homes. Working in the moor was hard. The death registers mention death from exhaustion and wasting away, even among people in the prime of life. If you were not physically fit enough, you were doomed to failure and fell even deeper into poverty and hardship.
Emigration
Most of the German Osterbuhrs still live in Strackholt and the surrounding area today. In the second half of the 19th century, however, a number of Osterbuhrs (like many other Germans at the time) sought their future in the New World, left the moors, and emigrated to America. At the end of the 1990s, there were more entries (approx. 100) in American telephone directories than in Germany (approx. 30).
According to the information available to me, all Osterbu(h)r's living in the United States today are descended from only three emigrant families (or their descendants):
- Tönjes Osterbur (1812-1902) Wiesens Branch --- emigrated 1876 to Flanagan, IL --- 259 known descendants --- [ID:585]
- Jan Osterbuhr (1817-1872) Strackholt Branch --- 2 sons and 2 daugthers ~1885 emigrated --- 84 known descendants --- [ID:122]
- Onno Osterbuhr (1833-1912) Strackholt Branch --- emigrated 1881 with wife and 10 children to Hildreth, NE --- 103 known descendants --- [ID:511]
The states of Illinois and Nebraska are the main areas of settlement for the Osterbuhr family.
The two origins of the name Osterbu(h)r in East Frisia
| Jacob Coep (~1600-after 1653) | ||
| Coep Jacobs (~1620-after 1708) | Henrich Roleffs (~1640-74) | |
| Johan Coeps (~1640-...) | Hinrich Hinrichs (1666-1733) | |
| Jacobus (Kobus) Janssen (1665-1739) | Rolf Hinrichs (1697-1774) | |
| Ehme Kobus (1708-1778) | Hinrich Rolfs (1740-1818) | |
| Jan Kobus (1757-1829) | Hinrich Hinrichs (1782-1835) | |
| Frerich Osterbur (1784-1871) 221 known descendants |
Ehme Osterbur (1788-1860) 194 known descendants |
Tönjes Hinrichs (1813-1902) 259 known descendants |
What's there, but not here...
Due to data protection regulations applicable here in Germany and Europe, the publication of personal data relating to living persons is prohibited.
My local database contains over 1,200 individuals who are still alive but cannot be found here for the reasons mentioned above.
So please do not be surprised if you find your deceased ancestors here, but only some or none of their children. This is not a bug, but a feature..
And another important note: The wiki is under construction since February 2026, and all individuals are being uploaded step by step. Please be patient if clicking on various person names still leads to blank pages.
What's still missing?
My aim is to continue researching the ancestors of all Osterbuhr and Osterbur individuals in order to create a global family tree.
However, my database still contains just about 20 Osterbu(h)r individuals with unclear origins. Whether all of them can be traced back to the two individuals mentioned above cannot be conclusively answered at this time.
The tables no parents Osterbu(h)r lists those persons (who, to my knowledge, are deceased) whose names I have discovered but whom I cannot assign to a family relationship due to a lack of further information. It is quite possible that some names are listed twice.
Some Statistics
- The oldest person (with a known date of birth) is Telsche Dreessen, born on February 13, 1550.
- The youngest person (with a known date of birth) is J. P. Wilson, born in 2024.
- The wiki currently consists of 1 pages.
You are here at OSTERBUHR.INFO.
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