Stories & Tales of the Michaelis Family

My great, great, great grandfather, Henri Nickels Michaëlis, was born on March 1, 1789 in the small village of Dahlem, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. The fifth of six children by Dominique Michaëlis and Marguerite Nickels, he grew up on the family farm in the house his father had built raising chickens, milking cows and tending the family fields.

Christining entry for Henri Nickels Michaelis, March 1789, Dahlem with Schouweiler, Capellen, Luxembourg.

Since his birth Henri had seen control of his homeland pass from the Spanish to the French to the Austrian and then again to the French after their revolution. But in 1815 Luxembourg finally regained its national independence and the people were dancing in the streets. The Congress of Vienna settled the destiny of the country, by raising it to the rank of Grand Duchy, and by giving it as personal property to the King of the Netherlands, William I of Orange-Nassau. One of King William's first acts was to hold Luxembourg's first National Militia draft and Henry's number, 47, was drawn. He was 26 years old.

The house that Henri Built in Dahlem, Luxembourg

On the 10th of August, 1815, Henry and his mother Maria Nickels went before the notary J.P. Huberty in Luxembourg City with Johann Bremer. It was customary during those days to hire a "conscript" or "stand-in" to serve out your military obligations if for some reason you were either unable or unwilling to do so yourself. For what ever reason, Johann had been hired by the family to stand in for Henry and to serve in the army in his place. Johann was to be paid 145 Luxembourg francs, a suit with pants and vest made out of blue material, on top of it a second vest with sleeves of equal material . The clothing had a value of 42 Luxembourg francs. Johann therefore received a total value of 187 Luxembourg francs for his services. Were you to exchange 187 Luxembourg francs for US dollars today, you would receive about $5.40!

Marriage Certificate for Henri Nickels Michaelis and Marguerite Neyen (Click to Enlarge)	On Sept 23, 1819 Henri married Marguerite Neyen, the daughter of Nikolas Neyen and Maria-Katherina Mouchant, in Dippach, Luxembourg. Dippach is only 2.5 km from Dahlem and a much larger village. Being located along the main road connecting Luxembourg City and Paris, France, it's wedding facilities were probably much better too. Henri then built a house to raise a family in, which still stands in Dahlem today.
	The first child, Pierre, was born on December 14, 1820, and Henri and Maria continued to have children until the last child Jean-Pierre was born on April 11, 1840. Henri died a year later on February 10, 1841, leaving a young family fatherless and in turmoil. A few years later in 1847 the second oldest son, Henri Nickels Michaelis, would start a family exodus by fleeing the farm and immigrating to a better life in America. A total of four of the children and maybe more would follow suit and immigrate to America in the coming years.	Believed to be Henri's wife Marguerite Neyen

Henri's two sisters, Maria & Marguerite. It is unknown which is which.

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