Theodor Alexander Schneider 1898-1990

My maternal Grandfather, Theodor Alexander Schneider, war born on March 1st, 1898 in Elberfeld and died February 12th, 1990 in Düsseldorf, Germany. His parents were the locksmith, Emil August Ferdinand Schneider from Berlin and Sophia Hermina Louisa Ontrup from Bielefeld.

His birth certificate from the registry office states that my Great Grandfather appeared and gave the following information. The street he lived on, that he was not affiliated with any religion and that his wife had given birth to a son in their apartment. The child was given the names Theodor Alexander. He then signed his name and the registrar as well and the document was dated. On the bottom right you can see a side note which stated that my Grandfather died 1990 in Düsseldorf and the number of the certificate is number 1176. I have written about these side note in a previous blog. They can be of utmost importance in your research in German genealogy. I was surprised to see that my Great Grandfather had left the Lutheran church. I am still not sure if my Grandfather was ever baptized. Some of those records were destroyed during WWII.

My Grandfather fought in France in WW1.

I have no idea when and where this picture was taken. WW1 military records from Elberfeld which now belongs to Wuppertal, were also destroyed during WWII.

I called my Grandfather “Opa”. Most of the people he knew called him Alex the short form for Alexander. I didn’t know about his name Theodor until I had received a copy of his birth certificate. Opa loved to tell stories, I just wished I had written them all down. When he lived in Elberfeld, he told me that his Mother would bring him lunch at the factory. He probably finished school in 8th grade and had to go to work.

Opa love to eat eel, he would buy some from the local fish market. Fresh eel didn’t look very appetizing to me and I never had to eat them. Opa also loved to read and do crossword puzzles. At one time he had a canary he enjoyed. He called him Hansi and the little bird would sing many different songs. Every morning Opa would get up, make the bed, make breakfast for him and my Oma (Grandmother) and go for his morning walk. He would buy the local newspaper and play lotto once a week, I don’t remember him ever winning it big, I probably would have heard about that. He loved his pipe and I will always remember that smell.

Here is my Opa with his beloved pipe. The picture was taken in 1971 in Düsseldorf-Heerdt where he lived with my Oma.

Opa was born in a very famous town, Elberfeld which now belongs to Wuppertal. Wuppertal is world famous for the “Schwebebahn” suspension railway.

Opa loved his five grandchildren and we loved him. When we gathered around the table to eat a meal, Opa was the boss. He always sat at the head of table. We children had to behave, there was no complaining allowed. We could not get up from the table until every one was finished eating. We then got up and help clear the table and head to the kitchen and do the dishes. It was expected of us and we liked doing it. We loved and respected our Opa.

Opa had eight sibling, at least six of them lived to adulthood. He was the second youngest. He never talked about them, I only found them through my research. I have a picture of the five sisters together.

The picture is a colorized version from the original. It might have been taken near Wuppertal where the family grew up. These are all my Great Aunts.

Opa died in March of 1990 at the age of 92. I still miss him. I wished I could talk to him one more time about his life and his family.