The History of the Family

First mentioning of the Niedermeyers goes back to the middle of the 16th century when the "Amt Ravensberg" belonged to the Duke of Jülich, Kleve and Berg. He did a census of his territory in which you can find Diderich de NederMeiger with his family as a peasent to the Duke. He and the generations after him tried to make ends meat on the farm also in difficult times. The farm was always given to the youngest son and this way stayed in the hand of the family. The other sons had to make a living outside of the farm somewhere else. Thus 2 of the 3 sons of Heinrich Mathias Niedermeyer tried to find their luck in the "New World” in the late 19th century. They took 2 sisters from the neighborhood with them. As it turned out immigrating was not a bad decision. They founded big families and created a basis for a proper living also for the following generations.

The livingconditions in Germany were very unstable. They suffered from two world wars, an economic crisis and personal drawbacks, i.e. in the 1st worldwar Wilhelm Niedermeyer, the heir of the farm died in the battlefields in France, and his older brother Heinrich, who already had other plans, came back to take over the farm. In 1969 Heinrichs youngest Son Reinhard who operated the farm for some years died in a hunting accident , so his older brother Gerhard returned to the farm to help to keep it for Reinhards son Rainer, who was a little boy at that time. Since 1992 the farm is in Rainers hands. Still today the familylife of the Niedermeyers ia a rural one. Like in almost all generations before the children who left the farm married sons and daughters of other farmers and took their part in operating these farms..

 
Learn more about the history of the Niedermeyer farm
 

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