Genealogy Is An Adventure

Author: Yvonne Scholz

  • 100 Years

    Today would have been my Dad’s 100th birthday. His name was Karl Wilhelm Krings and he was born January 25th, 1924, in Düsseldorf, Germany.

    The picture was taken in September of 1946

    My Dad grew up in a large family. He had four brothers and three sisters. Two of his older brothers died in WW2 in Russia. He talked about them a lot. My Dad had his own wholesale flower business. He had to drive to the auction every morning and buy his flowers and then deliver them to the local flower shops. After my Dad retired, he moved to Bad-Neuenahr. There he spent time with his friends. He loved the casino and going for long walks. Dad died in 2006. I still miss him.

    Happy Birthday Dad!

  • Witness To History

    I am participating in Amy Johnson’s Crow

    52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Themes for 2024

    I know that both sets of my Grandparents lived through WW1 and WW2 in Germany. My Grandfather, Alexander Schneider, on my maternal side fought in WW1 in France. My Grandfather was kind and only told me nice stories. He learnt how to speak a little French and even taught me how to count in that language. He must have had contact with the British as well, as he would teach me my first English words. He was so proud to teach me. He also told me that he would make extra money by singing and entertaining the other soldiers. He then would send the money home to his Mother in Germany. I don’t know where in France he served. Most of the records from WW1 were destroyed in WW2. So, I will never find out. I do have a picture of my Grandfather in his WW1 uniform.

    My Grandfather was only about 16 years old when WW1 started. I do not know when and where the picture was taken.

  • Jenneken Heiken 1778-1845

    Exactly 246 years ago, on January 17th, 1778 my third Great Grandmother

    was baptized in the evangelical church in Götterswickerhamm, Germany.

    Her parents were Jan Albert Heiken and Anna Gertrud Peters.

    Jenneken had four siblings, only two of them lived to adulthood.

    On 14 January, 1805 she married Jan Derck Spelken, my third Great

    Grandfather. Together they had seven children. One of them is

    Maria Anna Spelken, my second Great Grandmother. 

    Jenneken died 12 October 1845 in Holthausen, which is now a part of

    the city of Voerde.

  • Favorite Picture

    I am participating in Amy Johnson Crow’s

    52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Themes for 2024

    Here is one of my favorite pictures

    The lady with her children is my Great Grandmother, Anna Catharina

    Sevenich nee Steinhaus. The girl directly above her, wearing the white apron

    is my Grandmother, Adelheid Sevenich. The picture was taken in front of

    their house, at Oberstrasse 19, in Heerdt, Germany. 

    I received a copy of this picture about 10 years ago. I was more than

    excited when I received it. A moment in the history of my ancestors about

    1907. I have no idea who took the picture and why, as my Great

    Grandfather, Franz Sevenich, and three more children are absent.

    The last two children were twins and were born in the spring of 1906.

    All children lived to adulthood.

  • Origins

    I am participating in Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 ancestors in 52 weeks.

    52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Themes for 2024

    I have always had difficulties researching one of my Grandfather’s line.

    My Grandfather, Alex Schneider (1898-1990) was born in Elberfeld which

    now belongs to Wuppertal. I have his birth certificate, however I am not sure

    if ever was baptized. Alex’s Father, Ferdinand Schneider (1855-1935) was

    born in Berlin and died in Elberfeld. Ferdinand left the evangelical church at

    one point in his life. I don’t know when and why he left the church.

    Ferdinand was baptized in the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sophienkirche_(Berlin)

    and he got married in the evangelical church in Gadderbaum, Bielefeld in

    1883.

    Ferdinand’s Mother, Caroline Francisca Amalie Büttner (1816-), was

    married in 1841 at the https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._George%E2%80%99s_Church_(Berlin)

    Her church marriage record shows her age and her Father, but not when and where she was born.

    Caroline’s Father, Franz Xavier Büttner (1790-1836) was born in Steinwitz,

    Germany, which is nowadays in  Scinawica, Dolnoslaskie, Poland.

    Franz’s Father, Anton Büttner was born in Wöfelsdorf which is

    nowadays in Wilkanow, Dolnoslaskie, Poland.

    It’s nice to able to visualize on a map where one of my oldest known ancestor

    came from.

    Genealogy is not just an an adventure, but also a big puzzle. I still have to

    work on this line and sort out some of the dates.

  • Adolph Albert Scholz 1865-1939

    Adolph was my husband’s Great Grandfather. He was born 8 January 1865

    in Schönwiese, Kreis Leobschütz, Austria and died 10 April 1939 in Colfax,

    Washington.

    Adolph arrived 13 February 1884 in New York with his friend Herman

    Klinke.

    Image Provided by Ancestry https://www.ancestry.com/imageviewer/collections/7488/images/NYM237_473-0528?pId=9886928

    Their ship, Neckar, travelled from Bremen, Germany, via Southampton, England to New York.

    https://www.ggarchives.com/OceanTravel/ImmigrantShips/Neckar.html

    Adolph settled in Oliver Springs, Tennessee, where he married my husband’s

    Great Grandmother, Rosina Muecke, 20 May 1888. Adolph and Rosina had

    10 children together. Nine of them were born in Tennessee and the last one,

    my husband’s Grandfather, was born in Washington State.

  • Franz Sevenich 1870-1950

    Franz Sevenich was my Great Grandfather. He was born January 4th, 1870

    in Brachelen and died 26 August 1950 in Düsseldorf-Heerdt, Germany.

    He married my Great Grandmother, Anna Catharina Steinhaus on June 9th,

    1893 in Heerdt.

    My aunt Liesel told me that Franz was a very proud man and that he liked to

    celebrate a lot. He even made his own wine. Birthdays weren’t celebrated,

    instead it was Saint’s Day. My Great Grandmother’s middle name was

    Katharina, so was my Oma’s (Grandmother’s), my Mother’s and even my

    middle name as well. Catharina’s Saint Day is celebrated on November 25th.

    My Grandfather as a young man.

    1918, 25th Anniversary

    1943, 50th Anniversary

    The pictures were colorized by https://www.ancestry.com

  • Family Lore

    Happy New Year! This is my very first post. So here it goes!

    I am inspired by following Amy Crow’s

    52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Themes for 2024

    One of the stories I heard from my Dad is that during WW2, my Grandparents were bombed out three times and had to find new places

    to live. They lived in Düsseldorf, Germany which was attacked

    several times between 1939 and 1945. Thankfully my Grandparents survived this horror. Two of their sons died while fighting in Russia.

    My Dad was in Russia for a very short time, but kept getting sick, so

    eventually the army send him home for good. If my Dad had died in

    the war I wouldn’t be here to tell my family’s story.

  • The Art of Connection

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  • Beyond the Obstacle

    Welcome to WordPress! This is a sample post. Edit or delete it to take the first step in your blogging journey. To add more content here, click the small plus icon at the top left corner. There, you will find an existing selection of WordPress blocks and patterns, something to suit your every need for content creation. And don’t forget to check out the List View: click the icon a few spots to the right of the plus icon and you’ll get a tidy, easy-to-view list of the blocks and patterns in your post.