Val Maninger lay wounded in a cornfield by Whitney’s Lane. Around him lay the dead and wounded of Company H.
On the morning of May 19th, 1862, the 12th Texas Cavalry had annihilated Company H of the 17th Missouri Infantry in a rural lane near Searcy, Arkansas.
Continue readingIn April 1861, Fort Sumpter in Charleston Harbor was attacked, starting the Civil War. At that time, the United States Army consisted of 16,000 troops, most posted in small forts west of the Mississippi River.
Val bought a building and lot from Christian Farni and set up a boot and shoe business.
Continue readingVal Maninger arrived in central Illinois in the summer of 1854. He was age 18. He probably stayed with a local family until he could arrange a place to live.
Let’s look at where Val lived. Then we’ll meet his future wife’s family.
Valentine Maninger left Germany in 1854, at age 18. We know details about his passage from Germany to Le Havre, and his Atlantic crossing aboard the Mercury. We have the passenger list showing his arrival at Castle Garden in New York City.
He was in America. Where would he go? What would he do?
What would you have done?
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Valentine Maninger made the decision to emigrate by the time he was age 18.
That decision likely meant he wouldn’t see his parents or siblings or neighbors or Dittwar again.
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Valentine Maninger is a seminal character in our history. He was born in our ancestral village of Dittwar, Germany.
He was our first ancestor in America, immigrating to Illinois.
He embraced the “Go West” mantra, moving to Kansas.
He was the progenitor of a large family of Maningers, who are still interested in our family history. Not too many years ago, there were family members that we know who personally knew Val.
Continue readingAfter the fall of the Holy Roman Empire in 1806, Dittwar came under the control of the newly-created Duchy of Baden.
Joseph and Anna Maninger lived in Dittwar in the latter half of the 18th century.
Their world was like that of their parents and grandparents. Their homes, occupations, religion, and traditions were the same as past generations. Political and ecclesiastical rule were centuries old.
The dawn of the 19th century would bring a seismic change.
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Dittwar was predominantly Catholic throughout the era of the Holy Roman Empire, and remains so today.
Dittwar hosts many religious sites and icons.
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Family Nibbles 