Johann Laas

Dora (Roggelin) Laas

Johann Friedrich Ludwig Martin Laas, Sr was born on July 24, 1841 in Klaber, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany. We do not know the name of his parents.

On September 7 1867, he married Dorothea Fredericke Sophie "Dora" Roggelin in Klaber. Later in 1867, they emigrated to the United States. They settled in Monroe, Michigan and then moved to Toledo, Ohio where they spent the remainder of their lives and raised their eight children.

  1. Karoline Laas - born 1868
  2. Elizabeth "Libbie" Laas - born 1868
  3. Unnamed Baby ( 8/16/1869 - 11/6/1869)
  4. Charles W. "Carl" Laas  - born 1877
  5. Frederika "Rika" (Laas) Burmeister - born 1872
  6. Herman Laas - (1873-1924)
  7. Louis Henry William Laas, Sr. - born 1880
  8. John Wilhelm Christian Laas, Jr - born 1881
  9. William Laas - born 1883

It appears that Dorothea and Johann may have instrumental in the decision of August and Rika Heiden (right) and Heinrich and Wilhelmine Rambow to emigrate from Germany and settle in Monroe County, Michigan. Dorothea Laas was the first cousin of Rika Heiden.

Johann only lived to be 49, as he died on December 12, 1890 in Toledo. He is buried at Forest Cemetery in that city. Dora who was born on January 21, 1843 in Mamerow, Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany. She died in 1911 at the age of 68 in Toledo and is also buried at Forest Cemetery..

According to the 1870 U.S. Census, Johann (28) and Dora (26) were living in Monroe Ward 1 in Monroe, Michigan.  Their two year old daughter, Libby was living with them. John (Johann) was listed as a day laborer. Also in the home was John Cansian (28) and his wife, Sophie (25) and their child, William. The Laas family would later move to the Toledo, Ohio area.

 

Ruggelin - Ruggelein - Roggelin - Roggelen
 Roglin - Roggelein - Roggelien -  Regelin

The spelling of this family's name has appeared in many different forms over the years and throughout the documents. Most of the people in rural Germany in the late 19th century were illiterate and relied on church pastors to write their names into the record books. Often, the pastor simply spelled a name phonetically to the best of his ability or just spelled it incorrectly without reference to earlier entries by another cleric.

The birth, census, marriage and death records for what we will call the Regelin family have been recorded in at least the eight variations listed at the top of this page. The dates and places match for each person but the name may be spelled differently on various forms. We will give most weight to instances where the person actually signed his or her name. Also, names chiseled onto headstones are usually creditable.

If you have some personal knowledge about this name, please let us know.