July 16,1753 -  Pieter and Anna Lievenzollner** (Lowen-Zollner), of Hessen-Nassau, Germany, and their six children, John Adam, Catherina, George Willem, Anna Maria, Christoff and Anna Margaretha are part of a group of settlers who board the ship "Elizabeth" in Amsterdam, Holland and set sail for the New World.

** This is the spelling as listed on the manifest of the Elizabeth.  The names recorded in the original family Bible reflect the spelling in Germany as Lowen-Zollner

Autumn of 1753 -  They Arrive at Broad Bay, (present day Waldoboro) Maine. 
 
Winter of 1753/54 -  Many of the German settlers perish due to poor shelter and living conditions... 

"Some were crowded into a house near where the Heads afterwards erected a store; some were disposed of among the other settlers; and the remainder, far the greatest number, were put in a large shed erected for the purpose, near the present dwelling of J. Bulfinch, Esq. This shed was sixty feet long, without chimneys, and utterly unfit for habitation; yet here these destitute exiles, neglected by their patron, whose promises in this instance, either from his absence or other cause, were wholly unfulfilled, dragged out a winter of almost inconceivable suffering."  from The Annals of the Town of Warren - Cyrus Eaton 1854

The Levensaler family survives the winter of 1753/54 and goes on to prosper becoming landowners, farmers, merchants, and politicians. They play a large role in the settlement of the area; which becomes a leading shipbuilding port in those early years.


Of Pieter and Anna's children, our branch of the family tree descends through their eldest son Johan Adam.  The two main Levensaler clans descend from two of his sons.  John for our Waldoboro clan and Adam for the Thomaston Clan. 

It is the beginning of the Levensaler family in America.  Today, descendants from these two clans can be found in the United States from Maine as far south as Florida, as far west as California and as far north as Alaska. 


Antique Sauerkraut Maker, Lewis K. Levensaler, 1859 - 1950