Couple searches for local Bruening connections

The Kraemers hope to meet members of the family when they travel here this fall.

Southeast Missourian

Descendants of the Bruening family of Germany are hoping to re-establish ties with the Bruening family of Cape Girardeau and plan to travel here in October.

Gail Bruening Kraemer, an American who is married to a German, has been residing in Germany for 36 years. She has collected detailed information about her family in Germany and would like to share it with her American kin. She contacted the Southeast Missourian seeking help.

Kraemer and her husband, Johannes, live in the Hanover region in Lower Saxony, Germany. Their research has shown that her ancestors came from the same area.

Her father, William G. Bruening, was born and raised in Cape Girardeau. He was the son of William H. and Alice Moore Bruening. His father and grandfather operated a tailor shop at 520 Broadway.

The Kraemers knew little about her German ancestry until several years ago, when they discovered that Frederic Bruening and Sophia Hartmann -- Gail Kraemer's great-great-grandparents -- had immigrated to the United States. They settled in Cape Girardeau in 1857 and married the following year in the "Methodist church, Appleton." Her direct ties to this area ended when her father moved to Michigan after World War II.

With the help of Ruth Kasten of Cape Girardeau the couple was able to locate the birthplaces of the immigrants: Brokeloh and Husum, small towns west of the city of Hannover, Germany. Kasten, who has researched the history of Trinity Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau, also provided them with information about a booklet concerning Frederic and Sophia that was authored by the late Leo Bruening of Cape Girardeau.

The Kraemers hope to meet members of the Bruening family and others interested in Bruening genealogy when they travel to Cape Girardeau. Anyone with information to share can reach them by e-mail at johannes.kraemer@t-online.de.