Second Generation

2. Cord-Johann GERKEN was born on 23 January 1842 in Walle bei Verden, Hannover, GER.¹ He was baptized in the Verden Dom on 30 January. He died on 5 March 1917 at the age of 75 in Walle bei Verden, Hannover, GER. He was buried from the Verden Dom. He has reference number BR-057. He was a tailor. He bought Walle house #32 in 1869 which was replaced by a new house built in 1892 from an inheritance received from an American brother-in-law. From the keystone above the doorway arch of that house, we see that the family name was also spelled Gerke. Gesche Mette Maria "Marie" WÖBSE and Cord-Johann GERKEN were married on 25 June 1871 in Verden an der Aller, Hannover, GER. They were married in the Verden Dom.

3. Gesche Mette Maria "Marie" WÖBSE was born on 1 March 1843 in Völkersen bei Verden, Hannover, GER.¹ She was baptized at the Verden Dom on 12 March. She died on 10 January 1928 at the age of 84 in Walle bei Verden, Hannover, GER. She was buried from the Verden Dom.

Children were:

	i.	Elisabeth GERKEN2 was born on 5 December 1871 in Walle bei Verden, Hannover, GER. She was baptized at the Verden Dom. She died on 2 December 1951 at the age of 79 in New York, NY. She came to New York aboard the SS Lahn, arriving on 04 Oct 1894 from Bremen. In the ship's manifest she is simply identified as Elise Gerken, a 23-year-old single German female.
	ii.	Anna Meta GERKEN was born on 24 August 1873 in Walle bei Verden, Hannover, GER. She was baptized at the Verden Dom. She died on 28 April 1886 at the age of 12 in Walle bei Verden, Hannover, GER. She was buried from the Verden Dom.
	iii.	Johann Hermann GERKEN3 was born on 2 February 1876 in Walle bei Verden, Hannover, GER. He was baptized at the Verden Dom. He died in 1925 at the age of 49 in New York, NY. He was also known as Hermann. He arrived in the U.S. on 10 June 1891. On 20 Feb 1902, he was naturalized as a U.S. citizen. At that time, he listed his occupation as "Bartender". His uncle, Johann Diedrich Wobse was a witness to the naturalization. In 1918, when he registered for the World War I draft, he was living on East 13th Street in New York and working as a bartender at 1 Catherine Slip -- near the docks. In this record, he said he had blue eyes, brown hair, and his wife's name was Meta. To date we have been unable to find him in any US Census. In the 1920s, he was said to be the captain of a Staten Island ferryboat and an alcoholic. He was not close to the family, though occasionally he showed up at Dapper's bakery in Manhattan to "dry out".
	iv.	Johann Wilhelm "Willi" GERKEN4 was born on 2 December 1877 in Walle bei Verden, Hannover, GER. He was baptized at the Verden Dom. He died on 21 March 1961 at the age of 83 in Brooklyn, NY. He was also known as Willie. He emigrated to the US aboard the S.S. Havel, arriving in New York on 28 June 1893 and became a naturalized US citizen on 3 Oct 1898 in Brooklyn, NY. At the time of the 1900 census, he was a boarder with his aunt Meta (Wobse) Lussen in Manhattan. According to the 1920 census, he was 42 years old, born in Germany, living in Brooklyn, and a cafe owner. He and his family returned to Germany in 1909 and 1922.
	v.	Hermann Hinrich GERKEN was born on 3 September 1880 in Walle bei Verden, Hannover, GER. He was baptized at the Verden Dom. He died on 4 February 1882 at the age of 1 in Walle bei Verden, Hannover, GER. He died of measles. He was buried from the Verden Dom. He was also known as Hinrich. He died of measles. He was buried from the Verden Dom.
1	vi.	Margarete Berta GERKEN.
	vii.	Johanne Marie GERKEN was born on 15 August 1885 in Walle bei Verden, Hannover, GER. She was baptized at the Verden Dom. She died on 21 October 1974 at the age of 89 in Liebenau, Hannover, GER. She was buried in Liebenau.