Genealogy Research Report: Lorenz Sosnovski (aka Lorenz Soske), 1851–1886

Introduction

Lorenz Sosnovski (later known in America as Lorenz Soske) was born circa 1851 in Prussia (then part of the German Confederation). He emigrated to the United States in the 1870s and settled on the American frontier. He married Caroline Krumreich (born 15 August 1849 in Germany), and together they had five children. Lorenz died on 17 July 1886 near Ardmore, Fall River County, South Dakota, at about 35 years of age. Caroline later remarried (to a Mr. Brown) and died on 14 August 1893 in Montrose, Sioux County, Nebraska. This report compiles known records and findings for Lorenz Sosnovski/Soske, focusing on the key research objectives: his parentage, hometown in Prussia, marriage record, immigration, and naturalization. All variations of the surname – Sosnovski, Sosnouski, Sosnowski, and Soske – have been considered in the search.

Family Background and Timeline

Spouse: Caroline Krumreich (later Soske, then Brown) was slightly older than Lorenz, born 1848/1849 in what was then Prussia. Church records indicate Caroline was baptized in a village called Goral in West Prussia, suggesting she came from the Strasburg (Brodnica) area of West Prussia (now Poland). She emigrated to America and married Lorenz by the mid-1870s (no marriage record yet found; see below). After Lorenz’s death, Caroline married a second time (becoming Caroline Brown) and was buried in Montrose Cemetery, Sioux County, Nebraska in 1893 [1] (https://nebraskagravestones.org/view.php?id=33550).

Children of Lorenz Soske and Caroline (Krumreich) Soske:

• John Herman Soske – Born 18 July 1876 in Dakota Territory (present-day South Dakota). He married Effie E. Plumb and had 4 children. John died 18 December 1965 in Edgemont, Fall River County, SD, at age 89 [4] (https://www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/john-soske-24-56ps8n), [22] (https://www.ancientfaces.com/surname/soske-family-history/358773).
• William Martin Soske – Born 6 October 1879 in Nebraska (likely in the northwest part of the state). He married (wife’s name appears as “Benna” in one record) and by 1910 was farming in Mesa County, Colorado. He died in February 1963 in Illinois, according to Social Security records [11] (https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Soske-5).
• Anna Soske – Born 1883 in Nebraska. Little is documented about Anna in available records. She may have married or died young; further research in Nebraska or South Dakota records is needed to trace her.
• Arthur Charles Soske – Born 1885 in Dakota Territory (South Dakota). South Dakota birth index records list an Arthur Soske born in this period with father Lorenz. No further record of Arthur has been found, suggesting he may have died young or left few records. It’s possible Arthur and Albert were twin brothers.
• Albert Charles Soske – Born 1885 in Dakota Territory (South Dakota), presumably a twin or near-twin of Arthur. Unlike Arthur, Albert C. Soske survived to adulthood. He married Bengta “Betty” Quist on 10 September 1910 in Fall River County, SD [10] (https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LRLK-HQD/bengta-quist-1883-1949). They had at least 3 sons and 1 daughter in South Dakota. Albert later lived in Nebraska; he died 1 March 1965 at age 79 (residing in Scottsbluff, NE in his later years).

Residence and Migration Timeline

• Mid-1870s: Lorenz Sosnovski likely emigrated from Prussia to the United States around 1873–1875 (exact record not yet found). By 1876 he was in the Dakota Territory – his eldest son John was born there in July 1876 [4] (https://www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/john-soske-24-56ps8n). It is possible Lorenz went to the Black Hills region during the gold rush (1875–76) or worked on frontier settlements.
• Circa 1878–1880: The family moved to northwestern Nebraska. Son William’s birth in 1879 is recorded in Nebraska, and daughter Anna was born in Nebraska in 1883. During this period, that region was being opened to homesteaders. In the 1880 U.S. Census, the family should appear in Nebraska or Dakota Territory, but due to spelling variations the entry has been hard to locate. (They may have been enumerated under a variant like “Sosnoski” or “Soski.”)
• Mid-1880s in Dakota Territory: By 1885, Lorenz had moved just north of the state line into what is now Fall River County, South Dakota. Twin sons Arthur and Albert were born in Dakota Territory in 1885. The family’s presence in Fall River County is further confirmed by son Albert marrying there in 1910 [10] (https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LRLK-HQD/bengta-quist-1883-1949) and son John dying there in 1965 [4] (https://www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/john-soske-24-56ps8n).
• 1886 – Death: Lorenz Soske died 17 July 1886 near Ardmore, Dakota Territory (now in Fall River Co, South Dakota). He is not listed in the Montrose Cemetery records with Caroline [1] (https://nebraskagravestones.org/view.php?id=33550), suggesting he might be in an unmarked grave or a different cemetery.
• After 1886: Caroline and the children remained in the border area. In 1887, a Catholic parish was established at Montrose, Nebraska [14] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montrose,_Nebraska). Caroline died in 1893 at Montrose and was buried in the church cemetery. A tombstone photographed there reads “Caroline Soske Brown – Born Aug. 15, 1849 – Died Aug. 14, 1893” [3] (https://photosofthewest.wordpress.com/2012/06/22/caroline-soske-brown/).

Research Findings

1. Parents of Lorenz Sosnovski (Soske)

No direct evidence of Lorenz’s parents has yet been found in U.S. records. Since Lorenz died relatively young in 1886 and before South Dakota’s statehood, there was no state death certificate (which might have named his father and mother). No obituary or church burial record naming his family has surfaced in the local histories available. The Montrose Catholic Church was founded in 1887 [14] (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montrose,_Nebraska), after Lorenz’s death, so if he was of that faith, his burial wasn’t recorded in the new parish. If he was Lutheran or another denomination, records in that sparsely settled area are likewise scarce.

To identify Lorenz’s parents, the key will be discovering his European origin and baptismal record. Typically, 19th-century Prussian church registers (Lutheran or Catholic) list parents’ names in baptism and marriage entries. Thus, finding Lorenz’s birthplace in Prussia is crucial. Once the town/parish is known, one can search its 1851 birth registers for Lorenz Sosnowski (or spelling variants) and retrieve the names of his father and mother.

Hypothesis: Given naming conventions and the time period, Lorenz’s father may have been named Johann or Martin Sosnowski (common first names then), but this is purely speculative.

Recommendation: Continue the search for Lorenz’s origins using naturalization papers or passenger lists – these might contain a hometown or even a mention of relatives. Once a Prussian town is identified, consult the civil registration or church books from that locale for 1851. Archives in Germany or Poland could hold the birth record that names Lorenz’s parents.

‍

2. Town or Parish of Origin in Prussia

Lorenz’s exact place of origin in Prussia remains undetermined from U.S. records found so far. All American documents simply list his birthplace as “Prussia” or “Germany.” For example, a family tree entry on FamilySearch notes “born in 1851, in Prussia, Germany” [1] (https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/L2WK-MJ5/lorenz-sosnouski-or-soske-1851-1886), without more detail. Similarly, John Soske’s records list his father’s birthplace just as Germany or Prussia. No U.S. census located yet provides a specific city or province for Lorenz.

However, there are clues pointing to West Prussia or surrounding provinces as likely origins:

• Caroline Krumreich’s Origin: Caroline was born in West Prussia (the Strasburg/Graudenz area in today’s north-central Poland). Her baptism in Goral near Strasburg suggests her family were ethnic Germans (or Poles of Protestant faith) living in West Prussia. It is possible Lorenz came from the same general region or a neighboring province (such as Posen or Silesia), where many ethnic Poles and Germans emigrated from in the 1870s [5] (https://westpreussen.de/tngeinwohner/getperson.php?personID=I95319&tree=DB1).
• Surname Ethnicity: The surname Sosnowski (or Sosnowski/Sosnovski) is Polish in origin – it literally means “person from Sosnow/Sosnowiec” or relates to sosna (pine tree), a common Polish surname root. This hints that Lorenz may have been ethnically Polish or from a Polish-speaking area of Prussia. Many Sosnowskis lived in Poznań (Posen) or West Prussia in the 19th century. If Lorenz was Polish-speaking, he might have been from Posen province or West Prussia. If he was German-speaking, he still might have hailed from a mixed region like West Prussia or Silesia where that surname existed among Germanized Poles.
• DNA Evidence: The family’s DNA report showing ~5.6% Eastern European and ~0.2% Ashkenazi Jewish ancestry could correlate to Lorenz’s lineage. Eastern European (Balto-Slavic) DNA is expected if Lorenz was Polish or from a Slavic region of Prussia. The tiny Ashkenazi percentage (0.2%) is very small – possibly noise or from a distant ancestor – but if valid, it could hint that one of Lorenz’s forebears (or Caroline’s) had Jewish roots. In 19th-century Prussia, some Jews did bear surnames like Sosnoski (though it was more common among Christians). There’s no direct evidence that Lorenz himself was of the Jewish faith (indeed, he appears to have integrated into a Christian community in the U.S.), but the DNA trace could come from an earlier generation in Europe.

Next Steps to Find the Town: The most promising approach is to search immigration and naturalization records for any mention of a hometown (see sections 4 and 5 below). Often, passenger ship manifests or naturalization petitions will list an emigrant’s place of birth or last residence. If Lorenz arrived via New York, Castle Garden records (1855–1890) might list his origin. If he departed through Hamburg or Bremen, those departure lists sometimes list hometowns. Thus far, our online searches have not yielded a clear match for Lorenz under any spelling. A systematic search of the Hamburg Passenger Lists (1870s) for names like Lorenz/Laurenz Sosnowski/Sosnovski is warranted. Likewise, checking any surviving Dakota Territory naturalization files for Lorenz might reveal a town name.

3. Marriage Record of Lorenz Sosnovski and Caroline Krumreich (pre-1876)

Despite extensive searching, no official marriage record for Lorenz and Caroline has yet been found in the U.S. or Europe. Given their first known child was born July 1876 in Dakota Territory, they likely married sometime 1874–1875. There are a few possibilities for where and how they married:

• Marriage in Prussia before Emigration: It’s possible Lorenz and Caroline knew each other in Prussia and wed before sailing to America. Caroline was about 26 in 1874, Lorenz about 23 – a common age to marry. If they married in West Prussia (Caroline’s home region), the record might be in a church register there. So far, a search of West Prussian marriage indexes (e.g., in the Graudenz or Strasburg districts) did not turn up their names, but not all records are indexed. Caroline was Lutheran, and Lorenz’s denomination is unknown; they could have married in a Protestant church.
  Recommendation: Check church records in Caroline’s parish (possibly Groß Leistenau or nearby) for 1870–1875 marriages. The Westpreussen genealogy database might have clues (for example, Caroline’s brother Wilhelm Julius Krumreich married in 1870 in Groß Ksionsken parish [5] (https://westpreussen.de/tngeinwohner/getperson.php?personID=I95319&tree=DB1)). If Lorenz appears as a groom in those records, that would solve it.
• Marriage en route or in Eastern U.S.: If they emigrated separately and met in America, they might have married shortly after arrival. Some immigrant couples married in East Coast port cities or Midwest immigrant hubs before moving further west. No record under their names has been found in New York passenger marriage notices or church records, but this angle shouldn’t be ruled out.
• Marriage in Dakota Territory or Nebraska: Perhaps the most likely scenario is they married on the frontier after arriving in the U.S. They could have met in some immigrant community in Dakota Territory (which had large German communities in the 1870s) or in Nebraska. The late 1870s Black Hills gold rush drew many young men; possibly Caroline’s family or Lorenz went there and they wed there. Civil marriage registration was spotty on the frontier at that time. Dakota Territory did have marriage registers in counties that were organized, but Fall River and surrounding areas were not organized in 1875 (the Black Hills area was Custer/Lawrence County by 1877). If they married through a church, the challenge is that in 1875 the nearest churches were far – possibly in Yankton (southeastern Dakota) or older settlements in Nebraska. The lack of an obvious record suggests a frontier wedding that might have been recorded only informally or in a now-lost church ledger.

Evidence from family sources: The family trees we found do not list a specific marriage date or place, implying that descendants also may not have located a record. They only infer the marriage from the birth of John in 1876.

Recommendation: A targeted search could include:

• Nebraska early marriage records (1870s) in counties like Lancaster or Douglas.
• Dakota Territory records: After 1873, some marriages were recorded in territorial courts.
• Church archives: If they were Lutheran, the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod or other German Lutheran synods had traveling ministers in the plains.

4. Emigration and Ship Passenger Records for Lorenz

Finding Lorenz Sosnovski on a ship manifest has proven difficult so far, but we can outline likely scenarios and resources:

• Likely Ports of Departure: Many Prussian emigrants in the 1870s departed via the Port of Hamburg. Hamburg Passenger Lists (available from 1850 onward) might list Lorenz under a variant spelling. Bremen is another major port, but Bremen’s lists for the 1870s were largely destroyed (so we rely on arrival lists in America in that case). It’s worth searching the indexed Hamburg lists (1870–1875) for names like Lorenz Soßnowski, Soznowski, etc. No exact match turned up in initial online queries, but creative spelling searches may be needed.
• Likely Ports of Arrival: If he came to America around 1874–75, he would have arrived at Castle Garden, New York (the immigration station before Ellis Island). Other ports like Baltimore, Philadelphia, or New Orleans are also possible. We did a preliminary search in Castle Garden’s online database for surnames starting with “Sosn…” without success, but the records could be under a very different spelling (e.g. “Sarnooski” or “Sonowski”). Because Lorenz is a less common first name, one strategy is to search arrival manifests for any “Lorenz” around 1874–75 of appropriate age. This might pick him up even if the last name is mangled by transcribers.
• Group Immigration: It’s possible Lorenz did not travel alone. Perhaps other Sosnowski relatives or neighbors emigrated with him. If we find a cluster of Sosnowskis on a ship, one of them could be Lorenz. Alternatively, he might have traveled with the Krumreich family if they left as a group. (Caroline’s family migration is unclear; if her parents or siblings also emigrated, passenger records for Krumreich might be telling. The surname Krumreich is uncommon; an August Kromreich age 4 is recorded born 1871 Goral – likely a relative of Caroline who stayed in Prussia [16] (https://westpreussen.de/tngeinwohner/getperson.php?personID=I95211&tree=DB1). Caroline may have emigrated alone or with siblings.)
• Naturalization timing and manifests: Lorenz’s naturalization (if found) can narrow arrival year. Often, declarations of intention say “arrived at the port of X on or about [date].” So if we find that (see next section), it will greatly focus the passenger list search.

So far, no definitive ship record has been identified for Lorenz or Caroline. Given their settlement in Dakota by 1876, a plausible scenario is: they sailed to New York in 1874 or 1875, then traveled overland (perhaps by train to the Midwest, then wagon). Many immigrants from Prussia joined wagon trains or took new rail lines to the plains in that period.

Recommendation: A thorough manual search of passenger lists around 1874–75 for “Lorenz” or any Sosnowski variants is needed. This may involve browsing manifests via Ancestry or FamilySearch. Also, search for Caroline Krumreich – if she emigrated unmarried, her name might stand out (for example, a “Karoline Krumreich, age ~25” in the mid-1870s lists). Any lead on Caroline’s journey could lead us to Lorenz if they traveled together or met soon after arrival.

Additionally, check local histories in Dakota/Nebraska for mentions of early settlers. Sometimes county histories list pioneers and their origins. The Fall River County history (if published) or Sioux County historical society might have collected biographies.

5. Naturalization Documents and “Denouncing the King of Prussia”

The family lore that Lorenz “denounced the King of Prussia” to become a U.S. citizen is a colorful reference to the naturalization oath. Indeed, in the 19th century, every new citizen swore to “renounce all allegiance to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty… and particularly to [the ruler of their origin country].” In Lorenz’s case, that would be Wilhelm I, King of Prussia and German Emperor (if naturalized between 1871–1888) [17] (https://www.archives.gov/kansas-city/finding-aids/naturalization-south-dakota.html). The oath would literally require him to renounce the King of Prussia by name, which likely made an impression in family memory.

• Naturalization Process: At that time, an alien could file a Declaration of Intention (first papers) after 2 years of residency, and after 5 total years in the U.S. could file a Petition for Naturalization (second/final papers) to become a citizen. Wives and minor children derived citizenship automatically from the husband/father’s naturalization.
• Jurisdiction: Lorenz lived in northwest Nebraska and southwest Dakota. Possible courts: Sioux County, Nebraska (after it was organized in 1883); Dawes County, NE (organized 1885); Fall River County, Dakota (organized April 1883); or the U.S. District Court in Deadwood.
• Index Search: We consulted the National Archives Kansas City’s Dakota Territory Naturalization Index [17] (https://www.archives.gov/kansas-city/finding-aids/naturalization-south-dakota.html). Unfortunately, no entry for surnames resembling Soske/Sosnowski was found in that index.
• Homestead Connection: It would be useful to check the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land patent database for any Soske/Sosnowski in that area.
• What the Naturalization Record Would Show: Typically, a final naturalization certificate or petition in the 1880s would list the immigrant’s name, birth country, the date of arrival, and the sworn oath. It might not list the hometown or parents.

Action Plan:

• Contact the Nebraska State Historical Society (History Nebraska) [20] (https://history.nebraska.gov/collections/government-records/county-government-records/) for Sioux County naturalizations.
• Check with the South Dakota State Archives for early Fall River County naturalization filings.
• Review local newspapers around 1889 (South Dakota statehood) for citizenship notices.

If Lorenz had not naturalized, Caroline as a non-citizen could not homestead land on her own after his death, yet the family remained landowners – suggesting Lorenz had completed the citizenship requirement.

Conclusion and Next Steps

Summary of Findings: Lorenz Sosnovski, later known as Lorenz Soske, was a Prussian immigrant who lived a short but eventful life on the American frontier. He married fellow Prussian immigrant Caroline Krumreich around 1875, likely in the course of migrating to the Dakotas/Nebraska. They had five children. Lorenz died in 1886 near Ardmore, SD. Caroline and the children joined a German-speaking Catholic community in Montrose, Nebraska, where she died in 1893 [1] (https://nebraskagravestones.org/view.php?id=33550).

Unresolved Questions: Lorenz’s parents and hometown in Prussia remain unknown. The marriage record of Lorenz and Caroline also remains elusive. The immigration route is not confirmed. The naturalization story is corroborated but the documents still need to be retrieved.

Recommendations for Further Research:

• Naturalization Records: Search Sioux County, NE and Fall River County, SD court records.
• Land and Probate Records: Check county land transactions in both counties.
• Church Records in Europe: Search West Prussian church books around 1874–1875 for marriage entries, especially the Krumreich family’s home area.
• Passenger List Deep Dive: Manually review ships arriving 1874–1876 from Hamburg/Bremen.
• DNA and Heritage: Look for matching Polish or Jewish ancestry in Soske descendants’ DNA matches.
• Census Entries: Locate 1880 and 1885 censuses, especially the Nebraska 1885 State Census.
• Documentation: Compile all findings with citations: Caroline’s dates [1] (https://nebraskagravestones.org/view.php?id=33550), John’s birth/death [4] (https://www.ancestry.com/genealogy/records/john-soske-24-56ps8n), Albert’s marriage [10] (https://ancestors.familysearch.org/en/LRLK-HQD/bengta-quist-1883-1949), etc.