Neighborhood Genealogy

After 70 years, I discovered I had lived in the Communion of Saints within a triangle of small towns in Minnesota. New Trier, Vermillion and Hastings hold some significant genealogy of my mother’s family. On an autumn afternoon, Cousin Todd guided some of my siblings and me through three cemeteries to meet some of our ancestors. These burial grounds are about 15 miles from each other.

My great-grandfather, Heinrich (Henry) (1841-1926), my great-uncle, Franz (Francis/Frank), and their families settled in the New Trier area. They are buried in the cemetery next to St. Mary’s Church. As I stood near their graves, I felt I was absorbing the energy of at least 100 years of life and activities that formed some of the foundation of my heritage.

I also recalled that four Benedictine sisters, under the leadership of Mother Willibalda Sherbauer, had settled in New Trier in the 1870s to open and teach in a parochial school. The sisters and my relatives must have known each other. I wonder what degree of Benedictine spirituality from these foremothers in New Trier and my Benedictine teachers in nearby Hastings became part of my DNA.

Heinrich Leifeld’s daughter, Anna, who became my grandmother, moved about 15 miles to Vermillion when she married my grandfather, Fritz Langenfeld. Numerous childhood memories swirl around these grandparents and gatherings of about 50 grandchildren. Grandma and Grandpa Langenfeld and many other relatives are buried in the church cemetery.

Late in the afternoon, we ended our pilgrimage in St. Boniface Cemetery in Hastings. Margaret Langenfeld Reuter and Leo Reuter, my parents, are together; I have visited them often. To my surprise, my grandfather Langenfeld’s mother, Katherine Engel Langenfeld, is buried in this cemetery. She died due to complications four days after giving birth to her son, Fritz, my future Grandpa Langenfeld. As I stood near her tall grave marker, I ached for her — for her suffering and dying. Katherine’s life ended as she gave birth to new life. And in hindsight it is clear that many people, including me, owe their lives to Grandpa Fritz and Grandma Anna Leifeld Langenfeld.

Today I stand on a rich heritage of which I know only a little. The Leifeld and Langenfeld family trees have several intertwining branches, roots and leaves. The more I learn, the more I experience the truth of what Cousin Todd has said: “I believe that each time we remember our ancestors (recent and distant) and share their stories, the loose fabric of our interwoven life journeys is pulled a bit closer — tighter — stronger.” I give thanks.

Mary Reuter, OSB

Genealogy consultant: Cousin Todd Langenfeld