Genealogy Is An Adventure

Category: Genealogy

  • In The Beginning

    I am participating in Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. This week’s title is “In The Beginning”. I will be writing on how I got started in genealogy. Today is also my first blog anniversary! I can’t believe that I have been writing these posts for a year now. Time flies when you are having fun.

    When I grew up in Germany no one ever really talked about the past and a family tree was never mentioned. My Dad would talk a little bit about WW2, he had lived through it after all. He was also a soldier for a little while, however he kept getting sick and so he was released from his duties early on. His two older brothers Hans and Josef weren’t so lucky. They both perished in that horrible war.

    My maternal Grandfather or Opa would talk a little bit about WW1. He talked about how he learnt a little English and French during the war. The first English and French words I actually learnt from him. Opa would make extra money in the war by entertaining the other soldiers. He would then send the money home to his Mother. He never talked about his Father. I know Opa served in France but when and where I don’t know. The records were destroyed during air raids on Wuppertal in WW2. Below a picture of Opa in his WW1 uniform.

    At one point in the 1990’s I wanted to start a family tree. I had bought some genealogy software to install on our first computer. I entered some information about my parents and had made a mistake and wasn’t able to correct it. I pretty much just gave up. I was working full time and then my children were both born in the mid 1990’s and my life got very busy.

    In the back of my mind I always wanted to create a family tree, however I didn’t have the time or the knowledge on how to do it until the year 2003. We were visiting my husband’s paternal Grandfather in the state of Washington. Grandpa was 96 at the time and was still farming. A picture below of him getting ready to plant some onions.

    Grandpa would always tell lots of stories. He himself was a child of immigrant parents. They came from Austria. Over the years I had listened to these stories and they always had fascinated me. This time it was different. Grandpa had asked us we had the Scholz book. We had never heard of it. So he gave us a copy to keep.

    I was mesmerized and hooked at the same time. It was the beginning of my genealogical journey. One hundred years of dates, pictures and stories. As I looked through the pages I couldn’t believe my eyes. To my surprise I was in the book. Life is funny sometimes. How can you be in a book you didn’t even know existed. The picture on the front cover was taken in 1938 for the 50th anniversary of Grandpa’s parents, Adolf Scholz and Rosina Muecke, together with all their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Adolf and Rosina were both born in Austria and married in Tennessee in 1888. They had nine children in that state and moved west in 1905. Grandpa was the youngest and only one born in Washington in 1906.

    Adolf Scholz died in 1939, less than a year after their 50th anniversary. Rosina lived until 1960. She was asked to write down her life story. It was included in the back of the book in her original hand writing and also a typed transcript. I have read this story a million times and all of it starting making sense over time. I have been able to verify most names and locations.

    When we first received the Scholz book, I had really no idea about my own family history. I didn’t even know the names of my own Great Grandparent until few years later when my research started.

    The author of the Scholz Book was my husband’s first cousin once removed, Virginia Scholz Burger. Unfortunately we never met her. Sie died in 2004. I do have a couple of photos and articles I found about her during my research. First of all on her wedding day

    She served in WW2 as a WAVE officer.

    An her book was mentioned in the newspaper

    I think she would be happy to know that her work is being continued in a slightly different form via my research. May be one day, I will publish a second book on the Scholz Family and continue the saga from 1988 on.

    Starting my genealogy in 2006 I didn’t know much about our ancestors, except for the book we were given by my husband’s Grandpa. During almost 20 years of my research, I have accumulated massive amounts of documents, pictures, articles, books and so much more. I currently have 22,280 people in my tree. I work on extended lines as well. I have found second and third cousins via DNA testing and through research. My husband is the lucky one, he has all the famous cousins. Stuntman Yakima Canutt, President Herbert Hoover and actor James Dean. By the way, all three and my husband have the same ancestor. My husband is also an eighth cousin of the former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. We both have ancestors going back all the way to the 15th century.

    My journey continues, let’s see where it will take me in the next 12 months. May be finding another second or third cousin. May be a trip to an ancestral place. May be a surprise of some sort.

  • Maria Johanna Becker 1885-1975

    Maria Johanna Becker was born 12 July 1885 in Hamminkeln and died 4 March 1975 in Schiefbahn, Germany. She was my paternal Grandmother. This is her birth certificate from Hamminkeln

    It states that her parents were the day laborer, Johann Heinrich Becker and Gertruda Johanna Görtzen. To the left is a side note that says that she died in Willich 4 March 1975 and the number of the death certificate Nr 75/1975.

    Maria was baptized in the St. Mariä Himmelfart Catholic Church in Wesel

    Above is her baptism entry in the church book. Her Godparents were Mathias Görzen and Mara Becker nee Sickel who was her Grandmother.

    Maria got married 13 May 1907 in Wesel to my Grandfather, Wilhelm Eduard Josef Hubert Krings.

    Above is the front and back page of the marriage certificate. Most of the time, marriage certificates will mention the bride and groom and their parents. On page one, the side note states that my Grandfather died in 1952. Three different side notes on the back page mention three of the children.

    My Grandmother and Grandfather had eight children between 1907 and 1929. They were all born in Düsseldorf. This picture shows them together with their first born, my uncle Willi circa 1908.

    Two of her sons died while fighting during WW2.

    Hans Krings 1911-1948

    Josef Krings 1914-1943 Shown With His Son

    My Dad missed his brothers very much and talked about them often.

    Shortly after WW2 in 1952 my Grandfather died suddenly at home. Now my Grandmother had lost three family members within a ten year period.

    My Grandmother had her faith. When I grew up, every Sunday we would pick her after church services at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Düsseldorf. She would have lunch with us at home.

    Her large family kept her very busy. She attended all the baptisms, first communions and weddings of her all her children and grandchildren. She got to fly in a very small plane for the time ever when she was 85. She would never say a bad word about anyone. Family was everything to her.

    Near the end of her life she became very frail. All three of her daughters took care of her around the clock. In the end she had to be put into a nursing home in Schiefbahn. My aunt had tried to find one in Düsseldorf but it didn’t work out. My Grandmother hated it there and told us flat out that she wouldn’t make it a year. She was right. Grandma died peacefully 4 March 1975. All the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren attended her funeral in Heerdt. Her grave doesn’t exist anymore. Graves in Germany get recycled.

    I always try to include a map

    Sources

    Stadtarchiv Hamminkeln

    Stadtarchiv Wesel

    Baptismal Church Records Wesel

    Google Maps Hamminkeln

    Stadtarchiv Düsseldorf

  • Joannes Petrus Wilhelmus Goetzen 1783-1816

    Joannes Petrus Wilhelmus Goetzen was my paternal third Great Grandfather. Joannes was baptized 9 July 1783 in Düsseldorf Heerdt and died 1 September in Oberlörick near Düsseldorf Heerdt. His parents were Heinrich Goetzen and Anna Catharina Boeckers.

    In his baptismal enty it says that he is the legitimate child of Heinrich Goetzen and Anna Catharina Boeckers. An older picture of St. Benediktus Church in Heerdt.

    You can read about the church in German in Wikipedia.

    Joannes got married 13 April 1809 in Düsseldorf to my third Great Grandmother, Helene Catharina Muehlensieb. The church book for that year is not online.

    Joannes and Helene had only three children together. One of them is my second Great Grandmother, Maria Agnes Götzen 1813-1863.

    Here is a group sheet for Johannes and Helene

    Joannes died 10 days before his third and last child was born.

    The church book entrance above, states that he died 1 September 1816.

    I always like to include a map

    From now on, I will also try to include my sources whenever I can.

    1. Family Search
    2. Ancestry
    3. St. Benedictus Baptisms In Heerdt 1779-1862
    4. St. Benedictus Death 1779-1884
    5. Google Maps

  • Adamus Josephus Dittmar 1833-1912

    Adamus Joseph Dittmar was my brother in law’s third Grandfather. Adamus is the Latin form of Adam. Adam was born 25 October 1833 in Buttlar, Germany and died 25 November 1912 in Jersey City, New Jersey. His parents were the farmer, Johanni Adamus Dittmar and Sophia Ezel.

    Adam was the youngest of ten children. Coming from a very tiny village, he probably had no chance of getting a good job besides being a farmer. The oldest son would have inherited the farm. Adam travelled to Bremen, where he boarded the Ammerland to sail to New York. The ship arrived 9 November 1850.

    Adam is on the Ammerland’s manifest as seen above and the arrival is also mentioned in his passport application from 1893.

    Adam stayed in New York City for a little while. He married his wife, Elisabeth Kircher, 5 July 1855. As seen below, Elisabeth was born 9 April 1932 in Buttlar, Germany. Most likely Adam and Elisabeth had met already in their home village.

    OkIn this country Adam was known as A J Dittmar. I found him on a New Jersey tax list in 1864. Is occupation is builder.

    Adam and Elisabeth had together 14 children born from 1856-1877. All of them were born in New Jersey. One of them, Adam J Dittmar Junior was my brother in law’s second Grandfather. 80th

    A J Dittmar was a prominent citizen in Jersey City, New Jersey as you can see from his obituary.

    The Jersey Journal

    Jersey City, New Jersey • Mon, Nov 25, 1912,Page 1

    A J Dittmar had a very busy and successful life.

    My brother in law recently flew to Germany and visited a brewery with the Dittmar name.

    The brewery is only 27, 6 km or 17.14 miles away from Buttlar. It’s very possible that the original owner were somehow related to A J Dittmar.

    Owning a brewery must be in the Dittmar genes. If you are ever in the Seattle area, you can visit Airways Brewing owned by my brother and sister in law Alex and Dione Dittmar.

  • Franciska Getrud Müller 1812-1886

    Franciska was my paternal second Great Grandmother. She was born on 23 March 1812 in Engelskirchen and died on 27 July 1886 in Düsseldorf, Germany. Her parents were the shoemaker, Johannes Müller and Anna Catharina Miebach.

    Above her death certificate from Düsseldorf. It mentioned her son, Eduard Müller who gave the death information to the registrar, her husband Johann Müller who was still alive and it also stated that her son only knew that her parents died in Engelskirchen, however he didn’t know their names.

    Franziska was married to my second Great Greatfather Johann Müller. The marriage date has been a mistery. We don’t know when and where they got married, even so both of them were from Engelskirchen. A second cousin of mine in Germany has tried very hard to find the marriage, but no success so far.

    Franziska and Johann Müller moved a lot and they had a large family. Their first two children, Elisabeth and Wilhelm, were born in Hückeswagen. Their next three children, Bertha who is also my Great Grandmother, Johann and Eduard were born in Elberfeld (Wuppertal). The last two children, Helena and Gertrud were born in Düsseldorf. May be Johann was looking for better job opportunities. In Düsseldorf he worked in a factory.

    Here you can see the towns of Engelskirchen, Hückeswagen, Elberfeld and Düsseldorf on a modern map. My guess is that my second Great Grandparents married somewhere between Engelskirchen and Hückeswagen. Why did they not get married in Engelskirchen? May be their parents didn’t approve? Lots of questions I can’t answer yet. I am also waiting for Engelskirchen church books to come online.

  • 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.

  • Jan Derck Spelleken 1783-1867

    Jan Derck was my 3rd Great Grandfather on my paternal side. He was born in Voerde, Germany and baptized in the Lutheran church in Götterswickerhamm on January 21st,1783. His parents were Jan Derck Spellecken and Mari Catharina Blennemann. Here is the baptismal record:

    The record shows when he was baptized, his parents and the witnesses.

    Jan Derck was married in the same church to my 3rd Grand Grandmother, Jenneken Heiken, 14th November, 1805.

    The marriage record at the church stated their names Derck Spelleken and Jenneken Heiken. We know know that his calling name was Derck. He dropped the Jan at the wedding.

    Derck died 18 May 1867 in Holthausen, which was not far way from where he was born. In his death record it stated that he was a farmer.

    Underneath the death date, his birth and wedding date were given as well.

    Here is a map that shows where Voerde, Holthausen and Götterswickerhamm are located.

    Götterwickerhamm is directly located at the River Rhein. I have an old postcard in my possession.

    Jan Derck and Jenneken had at least seven children. Five of those children lived to adulthood. One of them is my 2nd Great Grandmother, Maria Anna Spelleken. She was born 1816 In Voerde.

  • Maria Anna Josepha Weingartz 1756-1814

    Maria was my 3rd Great Grandmother and she was baptized on February 17th, 1756 in the St. Lambertus church in Düsseldorf.

    The photo of the church was taken by a famous photographer, Julius Söhn, probably during the late 19th century. This is her baptismal record:

    Maria’s parents were Petrus Josephus Weingartz and Anna Elisabetha Herbst. She got married to Joannes Winandus Josephus Krings, my 3rd Great Grandfather, in the same church on 24 June 1787. This is their marriage record:

    Their marriage was also announced in the local newspaper:

    Maria died in Düsseldorf on 17 September 1814. I found her death record at St. Martins church in Bilk which is nowadays a part of Düsseldorf.

    I know from this death entry that her calling name was Anna and not Maria. Anna had nine children, at least five of them lived to adulthood. One of them is my 2nd Great Grandfather, the shoemaker, Andreas Daniel Joseph Krings.

  • Johann Ernst Muecke 1837-1920

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

    52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Themes for 2024

    Johann Ernst Muecke is my husband’s 2x Great Grandfather and he was born on 8 Feb 1837 in Markersdorf, Moravia, Austria. At present the town is called Markvartovice and it is located in the Czech Republic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Markvartovice

    Johann’s parents were Ernst Johann Mücke and Johanna Tögel. Johann married Rosina Schneider 24 April 1863 in Zauchtel, Moravia, Austria. Zauchtel is nowadays called Suchdol nad Odrou and is also in the Czech Republic. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suchdol_nad_Odrou

    A postcard from the 1920’s of Suchdol nad Odrou, that I own.

    Johann Muecke and Rosina Schneider lived in Hof, Moravia, Austria where all of their children were born except for Lilly Muecke who was born in Tennessee.

    A postcard of Hof in Mähren from my postcard collection.

    Johann and Rosina settled together with their children in Oliver Springs between 1883 and 1884. A son, Adolph Mücke was born in 1881 and died in Hof in 1883. The daughter, Lilly Muecke, was born in 1884 in Oliver Springs. I have not been able to find any immigration records for this family.

    Johann and Rosina had at least nine children together:

    Rosina 1864-1960 (My husband’s Great Grandmother), Augusta 1867-1899, Julia 1870-1956, Earnest John 1871-1951, Charles 1875-1945, John Ernest 1877-1956, William 1880-1880, Adolph 1881-1883, Lilly Elizabeth 1884-1980, Joseph 1889-1889.

    Johann died on 6 March 1920 in the Eastern State Hospital in Bearden, Tennessee. He is buried in the Oliver Springs, Tennessee, cemetery. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/39213166/john-ernst-muecke

  • Johann Christoph Päbst 1874-1916

    Johann was my husband’s Great Grandfather. He was born in Germersheim, Bavaria. Bavaria was an independent state in 1874. Nowadays the town belongs to the state of Rhineland-Palatinate in Germany. Johann’s parents were the postmaster, Christoph Päbst, and his wife Maria Anna Bordscheller.

    Getting records for Johann was fairly easy. I was able to order the marriage and the death certificate from the Ludwigshafen city archives. Johann died in Ludwigshafen very young at the age of only 41 years. He left his widow, Barbara Wippel 1881-1933, and six children behind. On his death certificate his profession was given as a master painter and white washer.

    I emailed the archive in Germersheim to order his birth certificate, but they couldn’t find one. I already had his birth and marriage record telling me that he was in fact born in that town. I talked to one my genealogy friends in Germany and he tried and got the same answer. He eventually called the archive in Germersheim and we finally found the answer. His birth certificate was under the Mother’s maiden name, Bordscheller. 

    The lesson I learnt is not to give up and be persistent. Collaborate with other genealogists. I used to be on many different mailing lists but they have kind of disappeared. Nowadays you can find lots of different genealogy groups on Facebook for example.

    My goal is for all our direct ancestors to find birth, marriage and death records. It’s not always possible of course. I have to research each town to see what records are available for the particular time period.

    On this particular birth record of course the child is mentioned and his parents. Also the parents of the mother are mentioned as well. On the left side of the certificate is a “Randvermerk” translated as a side note. These side notes are very important on German birth, marriage and death certificates. If you order a certificate from Germany order it with the “Randvermerk”. Not every certificate will have one of course. In the side note it states that Christoph Päbst is the actual Father of Johann Christoph Bordscheller. This side not was written after the Father married the Mother in 1878 and from that moment on the child will carry the last name, Päbst.

    What I have not done yet, is to try to get the baptismal record for Johann Christoph. I have to research if the record might be online already. In the last couple of years, Germany has exploded with records coming online. If I do find the record I will post an updated at a later date.