The Laborn Family

LABORN was the maiden name of my great-great-grandmother, Elizabeth "Libby" Laborn (1841-1907), the wife of Frank Mesker. The Laborn family originated in Mecklenburg, a region of modern-day Germany, and immigrated to Niagara Falls, New York, in 1857.

Tragedy struck the family during its Atlantic crossing on board the sailing ship Rudolph, and Elizabeth's father and step-mother died. The story is told by Elizabeth's youngest sister Fredericka in the Rudolph "Poison Ship" article. Elizabeth, Fredericka, and their two other sisters arrived in America without parents.

Medow and Goldberg

The article states that the Laborn family (the name is misspelled "La Born" and "La Bourne" in the article) lived in Alsace-Lorraine, in a village named Mido near a town named Geldburg. I have discovered that this is not true. The correct name of the village is Medow, and it is near the town Goldberg. More significantly, these communities are located in Mecklenburg, in the northeast corner of modern-day Germany. Alsace-Lorraine is southwest of Germany, and it is part of France, as it was in 1857 and when the article was written in 1923.

Placing the Laborn family in Mecklenburg resolves a couple of questions that arise from the article, points that were hard to explain if the family lived in Alsace-Lorraine. One question is why the shepherd Carl Laborn would travel all the way to Berlin to sell his wool. Berlin is quite distant from Alsace-Lorraine, and in the 1850's such a journey would have involved crossing at least a couple national borders. Surely there were closer cities for selling wool. However, Berlin is reasonably close to Medow. The other question is why the family set sail from Hamburg, Germany. My research indicates that almost everyone who came to America from Alsace-Lorraine during this period departed through the port of Le Havre in France.

With those issues resolved, the big question that arises, is why does the article give Alsace-Lorraine as the home of the Laborns, refer to them as "French," and change the spelling of the German family name Laborn to the French-sounding "La Born" and "La Bourne?" Certainly Fredericka knew that she was a German from Mecklenburg. In the 1880 census she accurately named Schwerin (i.e., Mecklenburg-Schwerin) as her place of birth. My guess is that in 1923, a few years after the Great War, Germany was still unpopular in the United States. By pretending to be from Alsace-Lorraine, a German-speaking woman could claim to be French, and not German.

Carl Laborn (1798-1857)

Carl Laborn, my great-great-great-grandfather, was the father of Elizabeth and Fredericka. On the Rudolph passenger list, his age is given as 59, and so he was born in about 1798. In the time and place that he lived everyone had four or five names, and his full name may have been Christian Carl Heinrich Laborn.

Carl was married at twice: His first wife was Elise ("Lisette") Kührmann. They had at least five daughters and one son, although the son and one of the daughters apparently died young. The remaining four daughters survived to adulthood, and these are the four who made it safely to America in 1857.

Elise Kührmann died in September 1846, less than a month after the birth of her youngest daughter Fredericka. Carl Laborn remarried in October 1847 to Sophia Westphal. Carl and Sophia had one child of their own, who died unnamed as an infant. It was Carl and Sophia who perished on board the Rudolph in 1857.

Carl Laborn and Elise Kührmann were not born in Medow. The names Laborn and Kührmann do not appear in the Goldberg records until the baptism of their third child in 1836. So apparently they moved to Medow from somewhere else sometime before 1836, and after the 1832 birth of their second child.

I do not know the birth place of Carl and Elise, or where they were married. But the Goldberg records offer these clues:

The 1848 confirmation record of Sophia Caroline Friedericke Laborn says that she is from Gorshendorf.
The 1846 burial record of Elise says that she and her mother were born in Hohen Misdorf and that her father was born in Hagensruhn.

In November, 2002, I received an e-mail message from a person named "Paul" (no last name). Paul had read this web page, and provided the following information about town of origin of Sophia: "The village name is Gorschendorf, and the village is located in Mecklenburg near Malchin." Regarding the birth places of Elise's parents, Paul writes: "The first village is named Hohen Mistorf, and again it is located in Mecklenburg (by Teterow in Kr. Malchin). The second village is named Hagensruhm, and it is also located in Mecklenburg near Teterow (and more importantly, its just a short way from Hohen Mistorf)." Some day I will look at the records of these villages, and I hope to discover evidence there about the earlier generations of this family.

The Laborn Sisters in America

The four Laborn sisters came to America and lived Niagara Falls, New York:

Mary Laborn (age 27 at the time of the Rudolph crossing) married Conrad Schabach. Presumably they lived in Niagara Falls. Mary and Conrad had three children, but no grandchildren.
Elizabeth Laborn (age 16 at the time of the Rudolph crossing) married Frank Mesker. Elizabeth and Frank lived in Niagara Falls and had five children. They have many descendants alive today. The family tree chart, "The Descendants of Frank Mesker and Elizabeth Laborn", shows this couple and their descendants.
Sophia Laborn (age 13 at the time of the Rudolph crossing), who might also have gone by the name Katharine, moved to Michigan. Her married name might have been Ruhloff or Rohloff. I have noticed that the name Rohloff appears in the Goldberg church records, but I have no clues about the first name of her husband.
Fredericka Laborn (age 10 at the time of the Rudolph crossing) married George King. Fredericka and George lived in Buffalo and in Niagara Falls. They had three or four children, and no doubt some of their descendants are alive today.

Other Distant Relatives

Besides descendants of the four immigrant sisters, there might be other relatives of the Laborn family alive today.

Laborn -- So far, I have come across no records of brothers or sisters of Carl Laborn. Therefore, I would not be able to determine my relationship, if any, to other people with this surname until I can gather more information about Carl's parents and other ancestors.
- The 1880 census lists a Christopher Laborn from Mecklenburg living in Tonawanda, New York, which is near Niagara Falls.
- A web page entitled "Garling in Mecklenburg-Schwerin till 1800" at www.garling.de/gBis1800.htm, on the "Garling Worldwide" website, lists this Laborn marriage in Mecklenburg:
  - 13-Jan-1792 in Jördenstorf - Gerling, Joh.Wilh. (* Helle?, Brabant, Kesselhändler, cathol.) married Laborn, Anna Catar. (Widow of Joch. Schulze) Father: Ch. (Holländer/Pommern)
- According to the webpage "NY Genesee County 1860 Federal Census - Elba township" by Scott Benz, at www.rootsweb.com/~cenfiles/ny/genesee/1860/5pg0001.txt, has these Laborn family listed in the 1860 Elba (Genesee County) census:
  - LABORN, George 30, Mary 28, Sophia 3, John 1. John was born in New York, and the others were born in Germany. (page 17)
  - LABAN, Frederick 30, born in Germany (page 20)
  - LABORN, John 24, Mary 24, Caroline 3. Caroline born in New York, the parents born in Germany. (page 21)
  - LABORN, Christopher 22, Frederica C. 19, living with COHAGEN, Lena 58, all born in Germany (page 22)
- In Feb-2007, I received an e-mail from Shirley LaBorn Smith. She is related to the George and Mary LaBorn mentioned in the 1860 Elba census shown above. She provided this information:
  - George and Mary LaBorn moved to Michigan City, Indiana.
  - George's brother is Shirley's great-great-grandfather.
  - George's father is Jochim Johann Ehlert Laborn
    - Jochim Johann Ehlert Laborn:
      - Born circa 1800
      - Married October 23, 1823 in Scharpzew (sp?), Mecklenburg-Schwerin (Germany) to Maria Christina Dorothea Roehring
        
        [Maybe this should be Scharpzow, in the Evangelical parish of Stavenhagen?]
    - Maria Christina Dorothea Roehring:
      - Born in Scharpzew on November 28, 1801
      - Daughter of Carl Helmuth Roehring and Catherine Maria (Hillman) Roehring
Kührmann -- There are a couple mentions of people named Kührmann, perhaps brothers and sisters of Elise, in the Goldberg church records as baptism sponsors. But nothing specific is known about them or their relationship.
Westphal/Westfall -- Sophia Westphal was Carl Laborn's second wife. There are several Westphal families in the Goldberg church records. According to the Rudolph article, upon arriving in America, Fredericka Laborn went to live with "her uncle, Mr. Westfall, of Swamp Road" in Niagara Falls. Perhaps Mr. Westfall was Sophia's brother. In the 1860 census, I have found Joseph and Mary Westfall and their three sons living in Niagara Falls. I do not know whether this is the uncle. The census does not list the Laborn sisters.
Hagemann/Hagaman -- Hagemann is a common name in the Goldberg church records. The Rudolph article mentions Mrs. Katherine Hagaman of Kent, Ohio, as a relative, and says that Fredericka's mother and Mrs. Hagaman's step-mother were sisters. The article is not clear about which of Fredericka's two mothers, Elise Kührmann or Sophia Westphal, is the sister, but I would guess it was Sophia Westphal.
Traveling Companions -- The Rudolph article says that the Laborn sisters arrived in America with "a group of near and distant relatives." It does not give the names of these relatives. I have a copy of the Rudolph Passenger List, and there are many families from Mecklenburg on board, including a Westphal family and a Hagemann family. But I have not yet been able to connect any of them to my ancestors.

The Laborn Family

Medow and Goldberg

Carl Laborn (1798-1857)

The Laborn Sisters in America

Other Distant Relatives

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