Peter Emmanuel

• Preferred Name: Peter Emmanuel
  
• Gender: M
  
• Birth: 19 NOV 1784 in Hüttersdorf, Saarlouis, Saarland, Deutschland
  
• Occupation: in Farmer
  
• Death: 28 OCT 1870 in Hüttersdorf, Saarlouis, Saarland, Deutschland
  
• Burial: in Catholic Cemetery, Huettersdorf, Germany
  
• MilitaryService: 1812 in Napolian Campaign to Russia
  
• Cremation: in Roman Catholic
  
• Notes:

  
  Peter Emanuel, son of Mathias Emanuel, and his third wife Maria Simon, was born and lived at Huettersdorf in the Saar.
  
  In 1812 he was a soldier in Napoleon's Grand Army in the Russian Campaign to Moscow where Peter saw the city of Moscow in flames. On the return, like most of the few surviving soldiers, he had to shift for himself. Completely spent and hungry, he stopped at a peasant's house and begged for shelter, food and warmth. Asked if he had lice, he replied honestly that they were a pest common to all soldiers. The door was slammed shut in his face. As he turned to leave, he collasped fromsheer exhaustion and starvation. THe peasants heard the heavy thud on the doorstep. Their kindly hearts were touched. They carried Peter into the house, bathed him, furnished him clean clothes, fed him, befriended him and housed him till he regained suficient strength to resume his homeward journey. They saved his life. In return he never refused strangers food or shelter thereby establishing a tradition in the family: lodging and food to stranded and tired travelers, food to beggers and tramps.
  
  Peter Emanuel, and Catharina Walter had three sons: Johannes, Nikolaus, and Peter; and two daughters: Anna and Maria. Catharina died of blood poisoning caused by a finger infection as the result of a thorn wound recieved when pulling hay for the family cow. She went to Anna Maria, the widow of their son Nikolaus, to have her wound dressed. After Catharina's death, Peter made his home with this widowed daughter-in-lw and her sons.
  
  A bit of history:
  
  By early 1812 Napoleon had conquered most of Europe, but he was stillat odds with England and the Czar of Russia was becoming very unpopilar as he was openly preparing for war. In France, military classes were being mobilized in anticipation, but a severe economic crisis was creating unemployment, taxes were very heavy and definite signs of lassitude and disaffection for Napoleon were appearing. However, Napoleongather the "Army of Twenty Nations" which consisted of 500,000 men.
  In June of 1812 they entered Russia. The Russian army retreated, setting fire to the country as it went, leaving Napoleon's army nother but ruined fields and empty villages. (His armies always lived off the county they fought in.) On September 14, 1812, they entered Moscow eager for food and shelter, but it did them no good to anticipate, because Moscow went up in flames that night.
  On October 19, 150,000 hungry weak, emaciated and emancipated men and40,000 wounded men on carts started home. Small bands of Russian Cossacks continually harassed the army. With this and the early and bitter cold. The Grand Army was completely ravaged. Only about 30,000 survivors returned to Germany.
  
  Peter was never sick, he read without glasses, was educated, read letters from America and talked about the war every night (Napoleon's march to Moscow). He went to church every morning and was a church committeeman until he died. One of his responsibilities was to invoice church property. After invoicing one day, he came home and said, "I guess I had a little too much wine today!" The church and schools were not supported by the parishioners; this was done by the government. In1870 at the age of eighty-six, he caught a cold and died within threedays. He was buried at Huettersdorf.
  
  His two sons, Joannes (John) and Joannes Peter (Peter) came to America, but it is not known by us where Joannes settled or if he had any decendants. Since Peter was unmarried and living well in America, his father Peter wrote his son that he should come back to Germany and marry Anna Maria, the widow of his brother Nikolaus. Peter wrote his father that he didn't want to marry "a second-handed woman," a widow withthree children. Then he married a girl from Baltimore, Maryland, Maria Anna Botthoff. She had a daughter Caroline who assumed the name Emanuel after her mother's marriage. Caroline married Joannes (John) Emanuel, a nephew of Peter.
  
  According to family traditions, Peter Emmanuel was a second Paul Bunyan because of his incredible strength. Once he and his wife, Catharina, went to the meadow for a load of hay. After the loading, his wife couldn't climb up on the rack. Peter took her in his arms and tossed her up. His miscalculated strength caused his wife to fly clear over the loaded rack and to land on the ground. Luckily, she was not hurt.
  
  A neighbor's horse trespassed on Peter's garden. Unable to chase thehorse through a gap in the hedge, he picked up the animal and threw him over the fence.
  
  For a manager in his new barn he went out to government forest and chopped down a tree two feet in diameter. It was too heavy to carry. He was dragging it toward home when he encountered the forester who forbade hime to take the tree any farther. Pter disregarded him. The officer drew his sword. Peter snatched it and broke it in two. As a last effort toward enforcement of order the officer sat down on the tree trunk. But Peter dragged him and the tree home. In the end he hadto pay a heavy fine for removing the tree and resisting an officer.
  
  Years later an old barn was being wrecked. As Peter was passing by, he noticed a number of men unsuccessfully trying to remove and old manger. Knowing his strength, they asked him to give a helping hand They gelt like pygmies when he told them he had dragged the tree trunk from the forest when it was still green and before it had been hollowedout.
  
  Another strong man challenged Peter to life two iron balls each weighing two hundred pounds. Peter lifted them, tapped them together in the front, swung them around and tapped them together in the back. Thechallenger succeeded in lifting the balls and tapping them together in the front. But when he attempted to swing them to the rear, he collasped and three days later died of internal injuries. Thereafter Peter never exhibited his prowess.
  
  WHen Johann Mathias (John Matthew) Emanuel was in Huesttersdorf in the ealy part of this century, he wanted to stay with his Emanuel relatives. They would not acknowledge him until the village youngsters asked whether he was related to the stong man Peter Emmanuel. After he said the "strongman" was his grandfather, he was welcomed by everyone.

• m. 31 OCT 1814 in Huettersdorf, Saar, Germany

1. Anna Emmanuel, b. 4 JAN 1816    
2. Johannes Emmanuel, b. 19 DEC 1818    
3. Maria Emmanuel, b. 20 FEB 1825    
4. Nikolaus Emmanuel, b. 30 NOV 1821 in Hüttersdorf, Saarlouis, Saarland, Deutschland     d. 21 APR 1857 in Hüttersdorf, Saarlouis, Saarland, Deutschland
5. Peter Johannes Emmanuel, b. 31 MAR 1827 in Huettersdorf, Germany     d. 24 MAY 1883 in Nebraska