The Argentina Fiebelkorn's

My grandfather Wilhelm Fiebelkorn (son of Ludwig) spoke to me of two relatives that went to Argentina, and one that went to Australia.  He did not know their names, or if he did I just don't remember.  Talking to my Aunt Merceda, she too mentioned her father (Wilhelm) speaking about the relatives in Argentina.  This got me on the sleuthing trail, and I accessed the Argentina Telephone Directory off the internet.  I found fourteen Fiebelkorn's in the Buenos Aires/La Plata region of Argentina.   I wrote to them and am receiving many emails and letters from them.
 

Yo no se Espanol pero una amiga de Colombia que trabaja conmigo me hizo la traduccion de esta.  Mi nombre es Angela Fiebelkorn vivo en Beausejour, Manitoba, Canada.  Tengo 39 anos de edad y estoy consiguiendo informacion para hacer el arbol geneologico de mi familia (o historia de mi familia) para nuestra Reunion Familiar que va a ser el proximo ano.  mi bisabuelo Johann LUDWIG Fiebelkorn llego a Canada en el ano 1900 de Berestowiec, Kreis Rovno, Russia.  El nacio en Berlin (Alemania) pero la familia se fue a viver a Polonia, despues a Volhynia donde el crecio.  Mi abuelo Wilhelm hijo de Ludwig me conto una vez cuando yo era nina que el tenia 2 primos que de Europa se fueron a vivir a Argentina y otro primo se fue a vivir a Australia.  No hae mucho tiempo fui a visitar a mi tia Merceda y me dijo que ella recuerda que su padre mensiono en alguna ocacion que dos de sus familiares se fueron a vivir a Argentina.  Yo estoy en el Internet y a travex de este logre consequir los directorios telefonicos de Australia y Argentina y encontre un Fiebelkorn's en Australia y 14 Fiebelkorn's en Argentina.  Que sorpresa!  Por esta razon les escribo, pues a lo mejor sea possible que sea la misma familia.  De todos modos sean o no de la misma familia quiero extenderies una invitacion a muestra reunion familiar que se lleva compartan conmigo la idea y mi deseo de crear la historia de mi familia quiero que sepan que ustedes estan bienvenidos aca si desean hacer ese viaje.  Con esta carta les envio une pagina con la historia de la vieja generacion que se de me familia.  Espero que ustedes reconozcan algunos de esos nombres.  Si ustedes tienen un miembro de familia que les guste coleccionar o crear la Historsia de familia por favor comparta esta carta con ellos.  Me gustaria mantener correspondencia con ustedes si lo desean.  Y gracias por us atencion.  Sinceramente,  Angela Fiebelkorn  P.O. Box 1104  Beausejour, MB  R0E 0C0  CANADA

The information that I have so far tells me that Cristino Fiebelkorn went to Brazil.  Him and his wife were on their way to Argentina when they had their son Guillermo (William) on November 26, 1882 in Uraguay, South America.  Guillermo married Rosa Bleinat and they had 9 children.  Guillermo died in 1935.

Argentina

Its six major regions are as follows:

Cuyo & the Andean Northwest

This area surrounding the Andes began as a colony of Peru, but today only a few miners and herders occupy this unforgiving region of volcanic peaks and salt lakes. Very little rain falls in Cuyo, though to the east are found the fertile river valleys and subtropical lowlands of the Gran Chaco.

Mesopotamia & the Northeast

Mesopotamia, a broad, flat plain between the Parana and Uraguay Rivers in northern Argentina, is wet, swampy and extremely hot during the summer. The northern province of Misiones, a more mountainous region nearly enclosed by Brazil and Paraguay, is densely forested and contains a section of the majestic Iguazu Falls.

 The Chaco

This parched area in the west is part of the enormous Gran Chaco, a region that Argentina shares with Bolivia, Paraguay, and Brazil. The Chaco contains both grassland and thorny forest.

 The Pampas

These fertile plains are Argentina's breadbasket. They consist of the Humid Pampas along the seaboard and the Dry Pampas in the west and south. The region includes Buenos Aires, as well as the world-class beaches of its surrounding area.

Patagonia and the Lake District

Much of Patagonia, and almost all of the area south of the Rio Colorado, experiences a desert climate, although temperatures range from mild to subzero and terrain varies from bucolic river valleys to the gigantic, ice-capped southern Andes. Its cool grazing grounds support enormous flocks of sheep, and numerous fruit and vegetable farms can be found in the valleys. Patagonia also holds vast reserves of oil and coal.

Tierra del Fuego

The Land of Fire is actually an archipelago including the Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego (which Argentina shares with neighboring Chile) and numerous smaller islands. Northern Isla Grande is similar in terrain to Patagonia's plains, while the mountainous area in the south is filled with forests and glaciers. Its climate is usually mild year-round, although storms are frequent.
 

It was perhaps a legacy of this successful resistance that enabled the native peoples of Argentina to carry on a prolonged campaign against colonization and rule by the Spanish.  The first Spaniard to land in Argentina, Juan de Solis, was killed in 1516, and several attempts to found Buenos Aires were stymied by the local inhabitants. Inland cities were more successful, and it wasn't until the late 16th century that Buenos Aires was securely established.

Despite its military success, indigenous resistance was inexorably weakened by the introduction of diseases from Europe. Even after the native threat became minimal, however, Argentina was still mostly neglected by Spain, which was more interested in developing Lima and the riches of Peru. Buenos Aires was forbidden to trade with foreign countries, and the city became a smuggler's haunt. The restrictive trade policy probably did little to endear Spain to the colonists.

The British attacked Buenos Aires in 1806 and 1807, as Spain had come under the control of Napoleonic France. The colony managed to repulse Britain's attacks without any assistance from their mother country, an act of strength that no doubt helped to foster the region's growing sense of independence. When the French captured Spain's King Ferdinand VII, Argentina fell completely under the rule of the local viceroyalty, which was highly unpopular. The locals rebelled against the viceroyalty and declared their allegiance to the captive king. By 1816, the deep division between Argentina and its mother country had become quite apparent, and a party of separatists decided to declare the country's independence. One of the new patriots, Jose de San Martin, crossed the Andes and captured Lima. Along with Simon Bolivar, Martin is credited with breaking the shackle of Spanish rule in South America.

Early independence in Argentina was marked by an often bitter struggle between two political groups: the Unitarists and the Federalists. The Unitarists wanted a strong central government, while the Federalists wanted local control.

Argentina's culture has been greatly affected by its immigrant population, mostly European. Their influence contributed to the demise of pre-Columbian cultures, resulting in the lack of a dominant indigenous population. The European immigrant groups each adopted different roles. The Basque and Irish controlled sheep rearing, the Germans and Italians established farms, and the British invested in developing the country's infrastructure.

More than one-third of the country's 32 million people live in Buenos Aires, the capital, which along with other urban areas accounts for almost 90% of the total population. The principal indigenous peoples are the Quechua of the northwest and the Mapuche in Patagonia. Other marginal groups include the Matacos and Tobas in the Chaco and other northeastern cities. There are strong Jewish and Anglo-Argentine communities throughout the country; small communities of Japanese, Chileans and Bolivians; and enclaves of Paraguayan and Uraguayan residents.

The universal language of Argentina is Spanish, but many natives and immigrants keep their mother tongues as a matter of pride.
 

One popular region for German emigrants was the state of Chaco:

The Chaco is a very uninviting region of South America, mostly in Paraguay and Argentina, but also partly in Bolivia. It is often referred to as the Green Hell on Earth. It is flat country in Paraguay and northeastern Argentina. The Rio Paraguay separates the two countries for a while, before the river turns north to Brazil.

The border between the nations then follows the Rio Pilcomayo, which one can walk across. In the summertime, temperatures in the Chaco can reach 50C (about 125F).  There is very little rain -- even less further north. In Paraguay, the lower Chaco adjacent to the Rio Paraguay is a series of floodplains, which floods every year to a depth of a foot or two but a hundred miles in extent.

The region supports large populations of wildlife. Farther west, and north, the Chaco supports a pygmy forest, whose trees and plants are armed with razor-sharp needles.  The area is uninhabitable. Two-thirds of Paraguay is Chaco, but it contains less than 2% of the population. Jaguars abound (not the British vehicles!). In Paraguay there are natives who have not accepted any contact with modern society -- they prefer to remain apart. In fact, they insist in a most violent manner.

The Argentine Chaco is just as uninviting, but in Argentina things tend more toward desert further west towards the Andes, such as the Province of Jujuy (pronounced who-WHO-ee).
     --by Brigitte Gastel Lloyd
 
 

The Chaco War (1932-35) between Bolivia and Paraguay took place in an area known as the Gran Chaco, which also includes large  expanses of Argentine territory. Some 100,000 men on both sides were casualties. So it is possible that some ancestors were involved in this war and never came back.

It was very common in 1923 that Germans would go wherever there was work to be found in the provinces of Entre Rios, Santa Fe and some smaller amount to La Pampa. Furthermore, there are large colonies of Germans in Paraguay and the province of Misiones, and given the proximity of Charata, Chaco, it was a very likely the destination for people, who immigrated in 1923 from Hamburg/Germany to Charata, Chaco.

It also has been pointed out that here have been many cases of stolen letters (in Buenos Aires), especially those coming from abroad, which are "suspected" to contain cash or internatinal response coupons, or even checks. Although newspapers not always answer the letters, institutions like embassies or the Automovil Club Argentino do answer them. However, you need a lot of patience and insistence.