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Martin Kues has a motto:

 

“Am schlimmsten ist die Weltanschauung

derer, die die Welt nie angeschaut haben.”

 

They are the words of the late Alexander von Humboldt, a famous German geographer and explorer.

The translation:

 

 “Worst of all is the belief of those who havenever looked at the

world.”

 

With a35-year career in civil engineering that has taken him across the globe building structuresin places such as Australia, Asia, Africa and South America, Martin Kues,a native of northwest Germany, has certainly studied this planet thoroughly. Still, he has always been eager to learn more.“My dream was always to travel the Pan-American Highway from Alaska to South America,”Kues said.

The amazing part of this story is that, at 70, Kues is making the journey on his

BMW motorcycle. The Pan-American Highway is a network of roads measuring

about 30,000 miles in total length. Except for a rainforest break of approximately

60 miles called the Darién Gap, the road links almost all of the mainland nations of theAmericas in a connected highway system. The first leg of Kues’ journey

took himover 2,500 miles from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Lima, Peru.

This year, he has upped his game, traveling nearly 10,000 miles in three months,

and meeting many members of his American family along the way.

Having his motorcycle shipped ahead, Kues arrived in Panama on Feb. 1.

He traveled through Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize

and Mexic- taking in the many marvels along the way— before hitting U.S. soil in

late March.That’s where the trip took a few detours. Before starting his adventure,

Kues hadmade contact with family in California. It was Steve Bussen, a cousin

from California whose mother was a Kues, who connected him with family in Illinois.

 

Martin decided his best route to see the U.S. would be following the historic Route 66,often referred to as the Main Street of America. Kues arrived at the Aviston home of Linda (and the late Theodore “Dick”) Kues on Thursday, April 10 where he said he immediately felt welcomed. “I feel here as with my own family at home,” he said on Friday.Dale Haukap, village president of Aviston whose own

mother (the late Marcella Haukap) was a Kues, explained the family ties:

“Martin’s greatgreat- grandfather was a brother to my great-great-grandfather,

Gerhard Kues.”Martin spent four days in Aviston meeting family and

learning about the local culture. Along with a horse and buggy ride and tours of local attractions, Martin had the opportunity to join hundreds of Aviston citizens on Saturday for aspecial day watching the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium in conjunction with Aviston’s150th anniversary celebration. Learning that there were Kues relations in Illinois

“was a wonderful thing,” Martin said. “My father had always wrote letters to family in Cincinnati, Ohio. Our family immigrated to America in the 1800s, and it is believed that they settled in Ohio,but we lost contact,” he said. Now that the reunion has been made, he is certain that

 

Kues 

(Continued from1F)

the family members will keep in touch. Infact, Martin’s brother,Bernard Kues is bringing half a dozen family members to southern Illinois in early

June to takepart in the Aviston sesquicentennial celebration.

“We’re goingto have them riding inthe parade on a horse and buggy,”Haukap said. Meanwhile,Martin headed out of Aviston on his motorcycle on Monday morning en route to hisfinal destination of Miami, Fla.,where the bike

will beshipped back to his German home. While the Pan-American                       Highway passes through many diverseclimates and ecological

types, from dense jungles to arid deserts,  

Martin said he had very few complications due to weather. A highlight of the trip was learning about the Mayan culture along with its impressive architecture and sophisticated mathematical and astronomical systemswhich, he said, were all way ahead of their time. Yet, he also enjoyed staying in the homes of his American family and getting to know their culture. “I enjoy seeing what people are doing in their everyday life and how they truly live their life,” he said.

As for his four days in Aviston: “It’s been fantastic, it feels just like home,” he said.

 Pictures:

 

 North and South America on his BMWmotorcycle, 70-yearold Martin Kues(far left) recently spent four dayswith his American cousins. Pictured at the Aviston home of

Linda Kues are(left to right): Martin Kues, John Kues, Bob Kues, Linda Kues and  

Dale Haukap. At left: EddieHaukap (far left) shares information with

Martin about his mother, the late Marcella (Kues) Haukap.

 

 

 

 

 

Lingener Tagespost berichtet:  

 

http://www.noz.de/lokales/lingen/artikel/518263/ein-amerikanisches-dorf-mit-lingener-wurzeln#gallery&0&2&518263

 

German Martin Kues meets American family in Aviston while fulfilling his dream to travel the Lingener Tagespost berichtet am 30. Oktober 2014 

 

 Abschrift:

 

DONNERSTAG, 30. OKTOBER 2014  

 

LOKALES

Von Carsten van Bevern  und Christina Thole

AVISTON / LINGEN.  

 

Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts sind viele Emsländer in die USA
ausgewandert. Aviston ist ein amerikanisches Dorf mit
Lingener Wurzeln. Der Name Kues ist hier häufig zu hören
und zu lesen.

This is my grandfather.“
Die 90-jährige Amerikanerin Francis Schaller (geborene Kues) tippt auf das Foto, das ihr acht Kues-Nachfahren
aus Lingen-Holthausen mitgebracht
hatten. Es zeigt Johann Gerhard Kues, der im Jahre 1871 im Alter von 20 Jahren von Holthausen aus nach Aviston in Illinois/USA ausgewandert war. Während des Besuchs zur Feier des
150-jährigen Jubiläums des Dorfes Aviston staunten die Gäste aus Lingen über die lebendigen Ergebnisse ihrer Ahnenforschung – und die ihnen entgegengebrachte Gastfreundschaft.

Der Auslöser dieses Aufeinandertreffens
von den Kues-Nachfahren in den USA lag zu diesem Zeitpunkt bereits ein Jahr zurück. Im Sommer des vergangenen
Jahres waren zwei US-Amerikanerinnen, Judith und Marilyn
Schulte, zu Besuch in Deutschland. Sie suchten die Geburtsstätten ihrer Ahnen. Der Weg führte beide auch nach Lingen.
Es seien, so erklärten sie, mehrere Bürger mit dem Nachnamen Kues
Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts ausgewandert, direkt aus
dem Ort Holthausen. Sie hätten sich in der Nähe von St. Louis, Missouri, in Aviston, Illinois, niedergelassen.

Viele Auswanderer

Es stellte sich tatsächlich heraus, dass der Ur-Ur-Großvater
der heute in Hannover lebenden Christina Thole als der nächste gemeinsame Verwandte in der Ahnenliste gilt.
Bis zu diesem Tag hatte es keinen familiären Kontakt in die USA gegeben. Drei Monate später besuchte ein weiterer „Cousin“ namens Steve Deutschland und ließ sich anhand von Fotos und anderer
Materialien von seinem Vorfahren, dem Zimmermann Johann Gerhard Kues, erzählen. Der war 1851 in der St.-Bonifatius-Kirche zu Lingen getauft worden und heiratete 1877 seine Ehefrau Wilhelmina
Toebbenotke (genannt Ma) in Aviston, Illinois. Zur damaligen Zeit lag der amerikanische Bürgerkrieg gerade erst zwölf Jahre zurück.


Ende des 19. Jahrhunderts waren viele Emsländer in die USA ausgewandert. Aus der Generation von Gerhard Kues, der weitere fünf Brüder hatte, wagten noch zwei weitere Brüder den Aufbruch in die USA, drei Brüder blieben im Emsland. Die heute noch bekannten
Kues-Kamphuis, Kues-Greten und Kues-Höcken gingen aus
dieser Generation hervor. Gerhards Bruder, der Heuermann
Johann Heinrich Kues, blieb mit seiner Frau Anna, geb. Kamphuis, in Holthausen. Das Deckblatt des Buches „Das alte Emsland“ zeigt diese Familie Kues-Kamphuis.

Der ausgewanderte Bruder Gerhard verdingte sich zunächst
als „Wagonmaker“ (Wagenmacher) und eröffnete später in Aviston mit seiner Frau „Ma“ einen „confectionary shop“ (Kleinwarenladen).


Die 150-Jahr-Feier von Aviston nahmen acht Lingener
mit Familiennamen Kues zum Anlass, zum Gegenbesuch in die USA zu reisen. Das Jubiläumsfest war ein Jahr von der Gemeinde Aviston
vorbereitet worden und wurde mit verschiedenen Ansprachen und
dem Hissen der US-Flagge nebst Chorgesang der amerikanischen
Nationalhymne eröffnet. Die Lingener wurden vom Mayor(Bürgermeister) von Aviston, Dale Haukap, offiziell begrüßt und
konnten das Grußwort vom Lingener Oberbürgermeister Dieter Krone an die Nachfahren und Ahnen der ausgewanderten Lingener vortragen
und übergeben. „Den Gegengruß sollten wir den Lingener Bürgern ausrichten erklärt Christina Thole.
Schließlich wurden die Besucher aus Deutschland auf zwei extra
organisierte Kutschen verteilt, an denen ein Grußbanner
aus Deutschland sowie die Lingener Flagge befestigt worden waren. Die Kutschen waren Teil eines langen Paradeumzuges durch Aviston.
Zudem wurde ein Familiengottesdienst mit dem dortigen
Bischof Schlarmann gefeiert.

„Neben unserer dort erlebten Familiengeschichte empfanden
wir auch die Namensverteilung im Dorf Aviston besonders schön und möchten uns noch einmal bei allen Mitgliedern der AvisterFamilien
Haukap, Schaller, Schulte, Bussen, Kues, Schmitz, Netemeyer,Rakers und Thole bedanken“, betont Christina Thole.

Großes Interesse

Das Interesse der Bürger von Aviston an den Besuchern aus Deutschland sei überwältigend gewesen. Thole: „Jeder von
uns wurde regelrecht belagert, um Fragen nach Namen oder Orten zu be antworten. Der Kontakt zu den entfernten „Cousins“ und „Cousinen“ wird mit diesem Besuch sicherlich nicht zu Ende sein, und alle warten gespannt auf zukünftige Gegenbesuche.“ So haben
Jim Kues und seine Frau, die schon einmal in Deutschland waren, versprochen, Deutschland und speziell Holthausen zu besuchen.  

 

Noch heute tauschen die Kues aus Deutschland und den USA alte Fotos, Totenbildchen oder Briefe aus. Dadurch habe bereits Einiges geklärt werden können, so der heute in Bayern lebende Bernhard Kues. Die Kontakte
erstrecken sich inzwischen auch nach Cincinnati, wo ebenfalls Nachkommen vieler Emsländer und auch der Kues-Familie wohnen.
 

Aus dem Emsland in die USA 

 

Im 19. Jahrhundert ist die Not in Deutschland und im Emsland groß gewesen:  

Von1821 bis 1912 wanderten rund 5,5 Millionen Bürger aus Deutschland aus. Deutsche gehörten damit zu den größten Einwanderergruppen in die USA.  

Die Gründe waren das Bevölkerungswachstum und die wirtschaftlichen
Verhältnisse in Deutschland. 14 Prozent der Auswanderer kamen aus Nordwest-
Deutschland. Viele von ihnen ließen sich im Mittleren Westen nieder. Mehr
als 20 000 Personen kamen aus dem Emsland. Nach Angaben
von Walter Tenfelde in seinem Buch „Auswanderer und Auswanderungen
aus dem ehemaligen Kreise Lingen“ sind im 19. Jahrhundert
allein aus Holthausen- Biene etwa 140 Personen ausgewandert.
Wenn man Namensverzeichnisse aus dem Clinton-County liest, zu dem
Aviston gehört, fühlt man sich wie im Emsland. Wer sich näher mit dem Thema
Auswanderung, auch aus der eigenen Familie, beschäftigen will, dem wird
mit den Daten des Heimatvereins Lingen (www.heimatverein-lingen.de)
geholfen. Dort findet man Informationen und auch Links zu den verschiedensten
Themen.Von Stefan Hilling gibt es bereits Inhalte unter www.online.ofb.de/aviston
(Ortsfamilienbuch zu Aviston) und speziell zu Kues-Familien unter  

www.familie-hilling.de.
 

German Martin Kues meets American family in Aviston while fulfilling his dream to travel the Pan-American Highway.

 Martin Kues has a motto:

 

“Am schlimmsten ist die Weltanschauung

derer, die die Welt nie angeschaut haben.”

 

They are the words of the late Alexander von Humboldt, a famous German geographerand explorer.

The translation:

 

 “Worst of all is the belief of those who have never looked at the

world.”

 

With a 35-year career in civil engineering that has taken him across the globe building

structures in places such as Australia, Asia, Africa and South America, Martin Kues,

a native of northwest Germany, has certainly studied this planet thoroughly.

 Still, he has always been eager to learn more.“My dream was always to travel the

 Pan-American Highway from Alaska to South America,”Kues said.

The amazing part of this story is that, at 70, Kues is making the journey on his

BMW motorcycle. The Pan-American Highway is a network of roads measuring

about 30,000 miles in total length. Except for a rainforest break of approximately

60 miles called the Darién Gap, the road links almost all of the mainland nations of

the Americas in a connected highway system. The first leg of Kues’ journey

took him over 2,500 miles from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Lima, Peru.

This year, he has upped his game, traveling nearly 10,000 miles in three months,

and meeting many members of his American family along the way.

Having his motorcycle shipped ahead, Kues arrived in Panama on Feb. 1.

He traveled through Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize

and Mexico —taking in the many marvels along the way— before hitting U.S. soil in

late March. That’s where the trip took a few detours. Before starting his adventure,

Kues had made contact with family in California. It was Steve Bussen, a cousin

from California whose mother was a Kues, who connected him with family in Illinois.

 

Martin decided his best route to see the U.S. would be following the historic Route 66,

often referred to as the Main Street of America. Kues arrived at the Aviston

home of Linda (and the late Theodore “Dick”) Kues on Thursday, April 10 where he

said he immediately felt welcomed. “I feel here as with my own family at home,”

he said on Friday.Dale Haukap, village president of Aviston whose own

mother (the late Marcella Haukap) was a Kues, explained the family ties:

“Martin’s great great- grandfather was a brother to my great-great-grandfather,

Gerhard Kues.”Martin spent four days in Aviston meeting family and

learning about the local culture. Along with a horse and buggy ride and tours of local

attractions,Martin had the opportunity to join hundreds of Aviston citizens on Saturday

for a special day watching the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium in conjunction withAviston’s 150 th anniversary celebration. Learning that there were Kues relations in Illinois “was a wonderful thing,” Martin said. “My father had always wrote letters to family in Cincinnati, Ohio. Our family immigrated to America in the 1800s, and it is believed that they settled in Ohio, but we lost contact,” he said. Now that the reunion has been made, he is certain that    

n-American Highway.

 Martin Kues has a motto:

 

“Am schlimmsten ist die Weltanschauung

derer, die die Welt nie angeschaut haben.”

 

They are the words of the late Alexander von Humboldt, a famous German geographerand explorer.

The translation:

 

 “Worst of all is the belief of those who have never looked at the

world.”

 

With a 35-year career in civil engineering that has taken him across the globe building

structures in places such as Australia, Asia, Africa and South America, Martin Kues,

a native of northwest Germany, has certainly studied this planet thoroughly.

 Still, he has always been eager to learn more.“My dream was always to travel the

 Pan-American Highway from Alaska to South America,”Kues said.

The amazing part of this story is that, at 70, Kues is making the journey on his

BMW motorcycle. The Pan-American Highway is a network of roads measuring

about 30,000 miles in total length. Except for a rainforest break of approximately

60 miles called the Darién Gap, the road links almost all of the mainland nations of

the Americas in a connected highway system. The first leg of Kues’ journey

took him over 2,500 miles from Buenos Aires, Argentina to Lima, Peru.

This year, he has upped his game, traveling nearly 10,000 miles in three months,

and meeting many members of his American family along the way.

Having his motorcycle shipped ahead, Kues arrived in Panama on Feb. 1.

He traveled through Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala, Belize

and Mexico —taking in the many marvels along the way— before hitting U.S. soil in

late March. That’s where the trip took a few detours. Before starting his adventure,

Kues had made contact with family in California. It was Steve Bussen, a cousin

from California whose mother was a Kues, who connected him with family in Illinois.

 

Martin decided his best route to see the U.S. would be following the historic Route 66,

often referred to as the Main Street of America. Kues arrived at the Aviston

home of Linda (and the late Theodore “Dick”) Kues on Thursday, April 10 where he

said he immediately felt welcomed. “I feel here as with my own family at home,”

he said on Friday.Dale Haukap, village president of Aviston whose own

mother (the late Marcella Haukap) was a Kues, explained the family ties:

ain’s great great- grandfather was a brother to my great-great-grandfather,

Gerhard Kues.”Martin spent four days in Aviston meeting family and