Welcome to Germany! Pictured is the quaint little village of Gammertingen in southwest Germany. I have about 30% Germanic Europe DNA.
Haven't heard of Gammertingen? Neither had I! It is a small village south of Stuttgart, Germany not too far from the Swiss border. Today, it is home to about 6,500 people. 140 years ago, it was the town where Magdalena Goekel, my great-great-grandmother on Hank Hajovsky's side, left with her five sisters to come to the U.S. According to oral tradition, one of Magdalena's ancestors was once the mayor of Gammertingen, and I am currently digging through the web of German records to find out if it's true.
Magdalena's husband Gustav Wilkening also immigrated from Germany (fun fact: we had a German shepherd when I was a kid, and he was named Gustav after my ancestor!). He was an experienced machinist who ran a successful machine repair shop in Downtown Houston. His industrial background hints at why I think he might have immigrated to the U.S. During the late 19th century, Germany was rapidly industrializing to keep up with the wave most Western countries were following. However, the country had a rough industrialization that benefited their economic development but was difficult on the day laborers. The U.S. had a head start on industrialization compared to Germany and had ironed out many of these kinks by the time Gustav immigrated, and it offered more opportunities for entrepreneurship.
It is not clear what part of Germany Gustav was from. Many of my ancestors are the same way, and Magdalena is the only one whose hometown I have been able to identify. I have been able to narrow some down to states in Germany, and many of them are actually from the same state as Gammertingen: Baden-Württemberg. This state includes the larger city of Stuttgart and many other localities, so while there is no evidence to back this up, I like to think they may have bumped into each other at some point.