One of the best gifts I received on my trip to Germany in September 2025 was this letter from Johann Henrich Künnen in Old Mission (the original name of Festina) to his teacher, Bernard Osterkamp in Hemmelte Lastrup, Germany dated January 17, 1857.

  • The family history reports for each family used to be arranged alphabetically. They will now be found by town, along with historical and present-day information specific to each town.

    • We visited the sites of my paternal and maternal ancestors homes and farms in September 2025. Our local hosts in the Lastrup area  - Margret Schulte and Josef Meyer - invited a reporter from the regional newspaper, the Münsterländische Tageszeitung, to join us for our meetings and our visits to the farms where my paternal ancestors lived and worked.

      Read the Translation Here

    • Franz Klostermann Farm Today - Site of Künnen Farm 1884

    • Present Day Building on the site of the Hackman Farm, Hemmelte, Germany, 2025

    • Present Day Buildings on the Site of the Huning Farm

    • 1884 Map of Suhle

    • Bruce under the apple trees at the site of the Hüning Farm

    • 1827 map of area near Lünten which includes the Hüning Farm

  • ********** THIS SITE IS GOING THROUGH A MAJOR REMODEL **********

    I had a wonderful trip to northwestern Germany
    September 7 -21, 2025. 
    Follow the news of my genealogical discoveries at Facebook Group

    ​Families of Ossian, Festina, and St. Lucas

  • This site contains the farm, immigration, and family histories of three small towns in Northeast Iowa. My name is Bruce Kuennen. I have been researching these families since 2003. I make every effort to avoid errors, but they do occur. When they are brought to my attention, I immediately correct them in my main database. The changes are reflected here when new files are uploaded. Corrections, questions, comments, and suggestions are all welcome. Please use the contact form below.

    • Please tell me which families you're interested in, make a comment, or ask a question..

    • Name *
      First
      Last



    • Email *


    • Comment *

    Submit


 
  



Ossian, Festina, and St. Lucas Families


Immigrants, Families, and Farms of ​Ossian, Festina, St. Lucas

​On Wednesday evening, July 1, 2026, from 6:30 to 8:30 PM, Ossian native Bruce Kuennen will present on his genealogical research history and methods at the German American Museum in St. Lucas.He will also share pictures, stories, and findings from his recent trip to Germany, where he located the farms where the Kuennen (Künnen) and Huinker (Hüning) families lived and worked before their immigration to the U S. To RSVP (not required), use the contact form below.



A letter from Johann Henrich Künnen in Old MIssion to Bernard Osterkamp in Hemmelte Lastrup, January 17, 1857





  • Read the Letter Here









  • The family history reports for each family used to be arranged alphabetically. They will now be found by town, along with historical and present-day information specific to each town.















    • We visited the sites of my paternal and maternal ancestors homes and farms in September 2025. Our local hosts in the Lastrup area  - Marget Schulte and Josef Meyer - invited a reporter from the regional newspaper, the Münsterländische Tageszeitung, to join us for our meetings and our visits to the farms where my paternal ancestors lived and worked.




  • Read the Translation Here





    • Franz Klostermann Farm Today - Site of Künnen Farm 1884

    • Present Day Building on the site of the Hackman Farm, Hemmelte, Germany, 2025

    • Present Day Buildings on the Site of the Huning Farm

    • 1884 Map of Suhle

    • Bruce under the apple trees at the site of the Hüning Farm

    • 1827 map of area near Lünten which includes the Hüning Farm



  • ********** THIS SITE IS GOING THROUGH A MAJOR REMODEL **********

    I had a very successful trip to northwestern Germany
    September 7 -21, 2025. 
    Follow the news of my genealogical discoveries at Facebook Group

    ​Families of Ossian, Festina, and St. Lucas



  • This site contains the farm, immigration, and family histories of three small towns in Northeast Iowa. My name is Bruce Kuennen. I have been researching these families since 2003. I make every effort to avoid errors, but they do occur. When they are brought to my attention, I immediately correct them in my main database. The changes are reflected here when new files are uploaded. Corrections, questions, comments, and suggestions are all welcome. Please use the contact form below.


    • Please RSVP to the July 1, 2026 workshop and/or tell me which families you're interested in, make a comment, or ask a question..

    • Name *
      First
      Last



    • Email *


    • Comment *

    Submit

The family history reports for each family used to be arranged alphabetically. They will now be found by town, along with historical and present-day information specific to each town.

We visited the sites of my paternal and maternal ancestors homes and farms in September 2025. Our local hosts in the Lastrup area  - Marget Schulte and Josef Meyer - invited a reporter from the regional newspaper, the Münsterländische Tageszeitung, to join us for our meetings and our visits to the farms where my paternal ancestors lived and worked.
Read the Translation Here

********** THIS SITE IS GOING THROUGH A MAJOR REMODEL **********

I had a very successful trip to northwestern Germany
September 7 -21, 2025. 
Follow the news of my genealogical discoveries at Facebook Group

​Families of Ossian, Festina, and St. Lucas

This site contains the farm, immigration, and family histories of three small towns in Northeast Iowa. My name is Bruce Kuennen. I have been researching these families since 2003. I make every effort to avoid errors, but they do occur. When they are brought to my attention, I immediately correct them in my main database. The changes are reflected here when new files are uploaded. Corrections, questions, comments, and suggestions are all welcome. Please use the contact form below.

    Please tell me which families you're interested in, make a comment, or ask a question..