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The Fehmarn Cousins Newsletter

Issue #14, Nov, 2000

Captain Bügge was best ever

Thanks to Val Rowley we are going to have in this months newsletter a
news clipping.

To the Editor:
With reference to Captain Bügge:
Captain Bügge of the Dantzler Lumber Company was the best and champion sailor in the world. Pascagoula and Moss Point were the largest ports in the world shipping yellow pine timber and lumber and there was always several ships in port loading lumber. Captain Bügge, master of the Bessie Dantzler, a three master schooner, would always make record runs to the West Indies with a load of lumber. When they would get back from a trip the tug boats "Laura" and "Lee Kimball" would meet them outside of Horn Island and tow them to Moss Point. Once there was a hurricane in the offing and there were no tugs to tow them to Moss Point. Captain Bügge said, "I think I will just sail her to Moss Point." He took another swig of rum and came through Horn Island Pass, up the Pascagoula channel, (90 feet wide) in the mouth of the
Pascagoula River, up the river, through the L&N railroad bridge, up the winding river to Moss Point and tied her up to the Dantzler Docks, and said to the crew "Let's have another drink of rum." This is the first and only time this has been done since 1492.
*W H "Pie" Moore
*Grand Batture Drive
*Route 1 Box 1116
*Pascagoula  MISSISSIPPI

Val also told us that Captain Simon Heinrich Bügge was Gertrude Manning's (nee Bügge) grandfather. He was born on Fehmarn 27 May 1878. He married Caroline Auguste Schuette on 1 Dec 1878 He pasted 14 May 1928 in Pascagouls  Miss  USA

I hope you have enjoyed reading this clip and I would ask you if you also have news clipping to send them in so that we may share them with all our readers.

Tressie
kc7bal@juno.com

 

Trek to Fehmarn
by Margo Wilson

Hello Tressie - I too have now made the trek to Fehmarn - I won't repeat what others have said, but do have some info I couldn't find out before I left:

     The Elderhostel Genealogy program in Northern Germany that I attended this October was interesting, fun, and, of course, educational.  A four-day homestay was an important part of the two-week program;  I stayed with a widow in the small town of Lubbecke and learned a great deal about the everyday life in that area and about the experiences of several people during the war.  We visited many small charming towns around Lubbecke; each had photos of the war-devastated old town areas and churches;  it was amazing to see the restoration of the old streets and buildings.  During the Elderhostel time we visited archives, castles, museums and large and small cities. Before and after the Elderhostel I traveled on my own by train; most importantly, to the island of Fehmarn, where my great-grandfather emigrated from in 1869.  I rented a car for two of the three days I was on Fehmarn.

     Fehmarn is a popular summer beach resort for the Germans and is one place where the train is loaded on a ferry for its continuation to Copenhagen. The island is small, with many tiny villages and small towns, green fields, beaches, biking paths and a multitude of guest houses and vacation apartments.  I loved my time there despite some rain and wind, especially exploring the town, church and cemetery that were there at the time of my great-grandfather¹s birth.  Travel information:  the train from Hamburg to Puttgarden is fast and pleasant;  there's a large hotel a few blocks from the train station (Hotel Dania) that you can walk to if you don't have too much to carry, or you can take a taxi directly to Burg, about a six mile, 25 DM trip.  In Burg you can rent a car;  it cost 80 DM a day.  There are "Geld Automat" all over - even in the small towns.  These function like our ATMs, and if you have an ATM card with a 4-digit pin, you can get cash at very favorable exchange rate 24 hours a day  (I used this all over Northern Germany, in some small towns, I even used it in Burg, - so much better than carrying a lot of cash, or difficult-and -expensive to cash traveler's checks).  My single room in Heidi's Gasthaus in Burg, walking distance to town, was $20 a night with breakfast!  (large, immaculate bath next door to room).  Happy to answer any questions!  
Margo Wilson  mewslp@swlink.net

 

Hans Gluhm Fehmarn Adventurer

Stories from old Fehmarn
By Peter Wiepert
Submitted and by: Rowland Smuck

 

In all of Fehmarn if you were not a Farmer, Sea coaster or a Fisherman, the chief occupation was going to sea.  Men went around the World and often had adventurous experiences.  One of the greatest Fehmarn Adventurers was to be sure THE SEAFARER HANS GLUHM (alias Glumen), born about 1700 in Kopendorf he started out as a Deck Hand, and progressed to Captain.  He traveled to many countries around the world.

One of his first adventures was being shipwrecked on the African Coast, he soon joined a nearby English Expedition, during the trip all of the men were killed, and Gluhm alone got off with his life.

He worked for several years in Scotland, Ireland and Iceland. He was a Fisherman, Farmhand and Sea Pirate.  It became necessary for him to flee to England for reasons that he didn’t want to mention.  In England he married (probably an Englishwoman), but he left her soon afterwards.

The next Gluhm adventure was in the Mediterranean Sea he spent over 6 years in a Turkish Prison.  He saved the life of the son of a Turkish Ruler and was released from prison.  The grateful Turk took him into his home and Gluhm dwelt there for some time, taking on oriental customs and habits.  He traveled to Palestine, and to Jerusalem, visiting the Christian Churches there.  Later as a Turkish Soldier he went to Egypt, there he was wounded and taken prisoner.  He made an adventurous escape with his knife at the throat of his jailor.

In some unknown way he went to East India where he became involved with a Danish East Indian.  They went into business and together became very wealthy.  One day the Dane tried to cheat him out of his entire fortune.  Gluhm caught on and prevented the swindle, the Dane then hired a nastily little Indian to poison Gluhm.  Hans was forced to flee and was unable to take his fortune with him.

In England he found his wife very ill and a short time after he returned she died.  After he buried her, he started out again and in 1742 he found himself in Petersburg, Russia, and for a time he did various jobs on ships from Seaman to Captain.  At times he stopped in Copenhagen and there he met the well-known Captain Gerhard Sievers who also had started out from Fehmarn.  They went to the Mediterranean Sea where Gluhm was put in Command of the ships guarding Danish and Norwegian shipping.  Hans Gluhm did well for him and became known for not retreating.

In 1751 he and Sievers went to East India to protect the East India Shipping Line. This gave him the chance to recover his fortune and transfer it safely backs to Fehmarn.

He went back to Russia as a Captain of a Russian Privateer, but was captured by the Spanish and put into prison.  He escaped and made his way to England where he became a Street Vendor, later returning to Petersburg.

In 1758 he fought against Friederich The Great and was severely wounded.  When he recovered he went to Copenhagen, but he had problems with the government because of his wealth, and was put in prison for 5 months.

When he got out of prison he went to Italy and again to Turkey, and lived a life as wealthy Turk.  But trickery he managed to transfer his money from Denmark to Turkey.  To do this he received help from a Danish Jew and two Dutch Seamen, he later rewarded them for their help.  He made a second trip to Jerusalem and Nazareth, and studied the Mohammedan religion.  At age 70 he became a Mohammedan.

You can imagine what it looked like when in July 1774 a wealthy Mohammedan Turk in oriental costume accompanied by two black servants, came back to Fehmarn and went to the little village of Kopendorf, where he was born.  Everyone was surprised to find that he spoke the local dialect.  Hans Gluhm was home; he wanted to see once more his homeland and his relatives.  Fehmarn had a sensation, the dogs barked, the boys jumped and everyone was excited.  Pastor Daniel Gundelach of Petersdorf talked with Gluhm and recorded his adventures.  He wrote in Low German “and it is a laughing and running thing, something like this does not happen every day”.  That everyone can understand.


SAMOA - The island in the Pacific.

This is an excerpt from the (Fehmarnsch Tageblatt 3. Jan. 1996) Translated by: Else Bügge-Wood

Hotel in the South Sea, (about 18000 miles away from Fehmarn).

Hermann Kruse, born in Fehmarnsund, Fehmarn survived the terrible storm flood on the 12th of November 1872. When the Staaken was under water,and also Burgtiefe, Presen was flooded, in Westermarkelsdorf and Wallnau the dikes had erupted, in Orth two women drowned. That was the  terrible night in the storm flood, which was reported in the Fehmarn Wochenblatt [newspaper] at that time.

The family Kruse with their two sons did seek rescue upstairs in their home; then they were forced to the top of their roof, when the water raised and the storm increased. The people in the nearby Ferry house could hear their screams, first very loud and later diminishing. Nobody could help, because they also were cut off by the flood. When the water had reached the roof, the storm had torn the entire rafters from the house and the roof off, driven it into the open sea with the four people still on it.

First the mother drowned, then the youngest son lost his grip and finally the father. Until only the first born was still holding onto the miserable raft; he was driven further and further into the open sea by the storm, far away from his island home on Fehmarn.


Three times he saw the son rise and sink again, until he finally recognized the edges of Kiel. Then the boy was again driven by the storm back into the Baltic Sea. Even then the 13-year old boy was still alert and kept his wits. Then he saw the white light house of the Danish island ‘Langeland’. Short before the coast line he was picked up by a French freighter, fully exhausted. Four sailors had
brought the boy on board, while risking their own life under very dangerous circumstances. He was delivered to Kiel, there he settled on a ship, later he landed all the way on the island of Samoa, which at that time was still a German colony.

His descendants are living there till this day. They own a Hotel and named it “Insel Fehmarn”. There you can hear the old sea shanties while they are serving Fehmarn cuisine. The children and grand children have visited the island Fehmarn often. Although they like Samoa, they still had the desire to visit the island of their forefathers.

"Hotel Information for Internet Explorers -

Hotel Insel Fehmarn
Falealili Road
Motootua, West Samoa

 

THE WRECK OF THE "BRITISH ADMIRAL"

The Shoreline just south of Currie, King Island, has been named "British Admiral Beach" and here among the dunes a Tablet has been erected.


********************
TO THE MEMORY OF
WILLIAM DALZELL NICHOLSON
THIRD SON OF THE HON. Wm NICHOLSON
WHO ALONG WITH 78 OTHER PERISHED
IN THE WRECK OF THE "BRITISH ADMIRAL"
23 May 1874
AGED 25 YEARS
TO LIVE IN THE HEARTS WE LEAVE BEHIND
IS NOT TO DIE.

********************


King Island, or King's Island as it was then known, lies along longitude 144 E and across latitude 40 S. The island was discovered in 1797. Since that time it has claimed 18 schooners, 9 baroques, a clipper and 8 other large ships; 15 ketches, a yawl, 3 brigs and one brigantine; 2 cutters and a sloop; one auxiliary screw steamer and even a paddle steamer, along with many, many lives. Hans Matthaus Bügge and his wife Charlotte are numbered among them. The British Admiral, a ship of 1781 tons, was on her first voyage. She was carrying 36 steerage passengers, 11 second cabin and two saloon passengers. The crew numbered 38 besides the captain, making 88 souls in all. On the night of 23rd May 1874, almost in sight of their destination, 79 of these were to perish. "The Age" a well respected Melbourne newspaper gives the following account in part. "The captain at once gave the order to clear the boats and call up the passengers. A heart-rending scene then ensued. The unfortunate people, with nothing on them but their night clothes, came rushing up from below, terror stricken , expecting the vessel to sink every moment. The seas washed clean over the ship, which labored dreadfully bumping and finding against the reef." The account continues: "The scene at this time was perfectly appalling. The gale appeared to increase in fury and was accompanied by heavy rain and sleet. The seas came tumbling over the ill-fated vessel., sweeping the deck and carrying away numbers as they emerged from their berths, the poor creatures' shrieks as they disappeared over the side and their frantic efforts to lay hold of anything within their reach, being enough to un-nerve the strongest." For two brothers, Georg and Ernst Christain Bügge, looking forward with excitement to the prospect of welcoming their brother, Hans Matthäus and his wife, Charlotte to a new life in Australia, and can imagine how inconsolable they must have been.

This story was submitted by
Val Rowley
33 Junortoun Rd
Junortoun  3551
Victoria  Australia

 

Newsletter submissions
by E-mail: kc7bal@juno.com
or mail to:
Tressie Hughes
PO Box 770
Puyallup WA 98371