Genealogy Is An Adventure

Category: Uncategorized

  • Overlooked

    Once again I am participating in Amy Johnson’s Crow 52 ancestors in 52 weeks. This weeks title is ” Overlooked”.

    Have you ever overlooked something in your family tree? It’s easily done by not checking facts or looking at original records. Let’s get right to it. My two times paternal Great Grandparent Johann and Franziska Müller had at least seven children together. For all them I had their birth and or baptism dates and for some I had the marriage and death dates. In 2018 I had a second and third cousin match on “My Heritage” for that line and I was able to fill in a lot of dates and received copies of marriage and death certificates. One of the children was Helena Müller born and died November 1852 in Düsseldorf. Helena would have been my Great Grandaunt. From what it looked like the infant was still born and or died right after birth. I didn’t have a source for the death. My third cousin gave me this information and I thought may be she had already checked the church books. I didn’t pay anymore attention to this person.

    Fast forward to the spring of 2024. I had a new third cousin match at “Ancesty.com”. Most people in the USA have lots of first and second cousin matches. I have neither. I grew up in Germany and lots of people don’t get tested in European countries. So a third cousin match is a big deal for me, in fact this is the best one I have on ancestry. There was no tree associated with the match, so I contacted the owner hoping for an answer. She was living in South Carolina and her first name was Bettina. That first name is quite common in Germany. So I thought may be that there was a chance that she might be from my home country.

    Bingo! Bettina answered a couple of weeks later and yes, she was not just from Germany, but also from my hometown in Düsseldorf. Emails went back and forth. I told her that I probably would be able to figure out our common ancestors. She gave me as much information as she had and I got to work. It took me less than two days to figure it out. As soon as I saw the name “Müller” as one of her ancestor, I knew I had the answer. Her direct ancestor was as you guessed it “Helena Müller” who came back from the dead.

    Helena Müller was born 9 November 1852, got married 1 January 1877 to Reinhold Gossen and died 20 August 1909 in Düsseldorf. I have her marriage and death certificate as well. Her marriage certificate has her birth date, so I know now had proof that I had the correct name.

    Marriage Certificate

    Death Certificate

    The moral of the story is, only enter a death date if you have proof. I was pretty lucky to have the DNA match with my new found cousin and she was willing to give me the information she had. I have been able to add a new branch to my family tree and that’s always very exciting. Below all the children of Bettina and my common ancestral couple Johann and Franziska Müller.

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  • Edith Martha Burgess Hickman 1885-1928

    Edith Martha Burgess Hickman was my husband’s paternal Great Grandmother. She was born 28 January 1885 in Springfield, Oregon. Her parents were the farmer, Charles Burgess and his wife Rachel Lucinda Williams. In 1892 we find Edith in the Washington State and Territorial Census together with her parents and her siblings. They lived in Stevens County, Washington.

    Her father, Charles, is 47 years old, he is a farmer and he was born in Kentucky. Her mother, Rachel, is 39 years old, a housekeeper and she was born in Missouri. Her brother S. H. was 20 years old, a farmer and he was born in Kansas. Her sister Rettie was 16 years old and she was born in Iowa. Her sister Annie was 14 years old and she was also born in Iowa. Her sister F. was 12 years old and she was also born in Iowa. Her brother Charles was 10 years old and he was the last child born in Iowa. Next came Edith at 7 years old and she was born in Oregon. The last child, a sister, M., was only 1 year old and she was born in Washington.

    Eight years later in the 1900 Federal Census, Edith was the oldest of her sibling living at home and going to school.

    Her father Charles was now 56, her mother Rachel was 46, Edith was 15, her sister Myrtle was 9, her brother Lee was 8, and her youngest sister, Pearl, was now 6 years old. The family lived in Lake Creek, Stevens County, Washington. Six years later, on 11 July 1906, Edith got married to my husband’s Great Grandfather Ed Hickman near Colfax, Whitman County, Washington.

    Edith and her husband Ed received a generous gift from her father in law, Henry Hickman. Henry was a very successful farmer and business man in Whitman County. I will write about him in another post.

    Ed and Edith are in the 1910 Federal Census. They lived in the city of Almota, which is nowadays a ghost town. Back in the day Almota was an important wheat shipping point during the days of river navigation.

    Census records can be a great genealogical source, however one always has to be careful to double check facts and dates. According to this census, Edith’s parents were born in Oregon which we know is incorrect. Her father was born in Kentucky and her mother in Missouri. You never know who gave the information to the census taker.

    Ed and Edith had two children together, a son, Lloyd born in 1912 and my husband’s Grandmother, Lucille born in 1916. A picture of the children below.

    Edith Burgess Hickman died 7 May 1928 in the St. Ignatius Hospital in Colfax, Washington. She was only 43 years old. She is buried in the Onecho Cemetery.

  • Peter Jacob Gather 1809-1883

    Peter Jacob Gather, my maternal third Great Grandfather, a farmer, was born exactly 216 years ago in Büderich near Neuß, Germany and died 27 May 1883 nearby in Niederdonk. Peter’s parents were Johann Mathias Gather and Sybilla Catharina Nesges. Peter married my third Great Grandmother, Anna Catharina Unterdenbäumen, 7 October 1832 in Büderich. Below is the marriage entry from the church book.

    I also have a copy of the marriage certificate.

    Peter and Anna Catharina had nine children together, all born in Büderich. 1. Anna Catharina was born 8 August 1833, married Franz Jacob Tups 8 November1861 in Büderich and died 17 February 1901 in Fischeln near Krefeld. They had at least 5 children. 2. Johann Mathias Gather was born 4 May 1835, married Maria Catharina Schaefer 5 June 1868 in Büderich and died nearby in Lank 24 January 1907. They had at least three children together. 3. Hubert Paul Gather was born 4 February 1837. 4. Anna Gertrud Gather was born 23 September 1838, married Johann Peter Junkers 29 October 1864 in Kaarst. They had at least 2 children together. 5. Johann Heinrich Gather was born 14 November 1870, married Anna Barbara Leven 6 February 1873 in Büderich and died 30 November 1904 in Heerdt. They had at least 4 children together. 6. Anna Christina Gather, my 2nd Great-Grandmother, was born 16 October 1842, married my second Great-Grandfather, Balthasar Hubert Steinhaus, 18 November 1869 in Büderich and died13 May 1906 in Heerdt. They had 2 children together. 7. Peter Wilhelm Gather was born 9 February 1846. 8. Peter Wilhelm Hubert Gather was born 25 May 1847. He was first married to Sibilla Gertrud Robertz and then to Judith Sartorius. He died 3 October 1917 in Büderich. 9. Maria Catharina Gather was the last child. She was born 13 June 1849.

    Only a few month after the last child was born, my third Great Grandmother, Anna Catharina Unterdenbäumen died 3 February 1850 in Büderich. My third Great Grandfather, Peter Jacob Gather got married to his second wife, Catharina Wanders, 3 November 1851 and they had four children, also all born in Büderich. 1. Johann Peter Josef Gather was born 11 September 1852. He married Christina Anna Speck and died 14 September 1934 in Büderich. They had at least three children together. 2. Johann Hubert Gather was born 17 November 1854 and he was married to Gertrud Koppen. He died 18 May 1900 in Mönchengladbach. They had at least one child together. 3. Peter Jacob Hubert Gather was born 24 July 1856. 4. Peter Anton Gather was born 6 April 1858 and he was married to Helena Hochhausen 4 February 1887 in Heerdt.

    Peter Jacob Gather died 27 May 1883 in Niederdonk. His death certificate is below. It mentions his parents and that he was widowed twice.

    Peter didn’t die far from where he was born, only about three kilometers.

  • Favorite Photo

    I am participating once again in Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 ancestors in 52 week challenge. This week’s theme is about a favorite photo.

    The photo shows my two times Great Grandparents Peter Johann Sevenich and Josephine Odilia Gröbbels with their young family. The family lived in Heerdt, Germany nowadays is a part of Düsseldorf.

    Peter Johann and Josephine were both born and married in Brachelen. A picture below shows the church.

    His birth date was 13 September 1838 and hers 24 March 1842. They were married 8 November 1867. He died 10 July 1910 in Heerdt and she passed away 27 April 1920 in Neuss.

    The oldest daughter, I believe is on the right side of the picture. Her name was Josefine. She was born in Brachelen 29 June 1868 and died 8 October 1945 in Neuss. Josefine was married to Michael Bolton. They had 7 children.

    The oldest son, my Great Grandfather, Franz, is the handsome young man standing behind his Father. Franz was born 4 Jan 1870 in Brachelen, died 26 August 1950 in Heerdt and he was married 9 June 1893 to my Great Grandmother, Anna Catharina Steinhaus. They had nine children together, including my Grandmother, Adelheid. A picture below of my Great Grandparent on their 50th anniversary in 1943.

    Johann, Josefine and their young family moved around 1870 to Heerdt. There Johann worked for the rail road. The first child born in Heerdt was Adelheid, on the left side of the picture. Her birth date was 16 September 1871 and she died 17 May 1943. Adelheid was married to Stefan Lenzen. They had a bakery in Heerdt. According to her obituary below, they had four sons and five daughters.

    Adelheid Lenzen was also the Godmother to my Grandmother Adelheid Sevenich, born 1899 in Heerdt. Below is the baptismal entry.

    The next child is Gerhard Sevenich. He was born 9 March 1873 and died 16 December 1948 in Heerdt. Gerhard was married to Gertrud von Mertz. They had eight children together.

    Next comes Wilhelm Sevenich. He was born 1 October 1874 in Heerdt and died 8 February 1964 in Battersea, London. The death location and date was a total surprise find on Ancestry’s England and Wales Death Index.

    I found this information in 2014 and was easily able to order the actual death certificate from London.

    The question now presented itself why he was in London to begin with. I found out that he had a daughter Katharina Sevenich who was married to Thomas Baldwin whom I also found in a marriage index. I will write about all these finding in a later post. Back To Wilhelm and his sibling.

    We know where Wilhelm was born and where he died. Wilhelm was married 4 February 1902 to Clara Franzisca Derendorf. They had seven children, one of them was Katharina mentioned above.

    Next up was Andreas Josef Sevenich born 4 July 1877 in Heerdt. He was missing in action in France in 1915 during WW1. Below is the notification that he was missing. I do not have a death certificate.

    He was a corporal when he went missing. Josef was married to Anna Welbers. They had four children, lived in Büderich and had a milk delivery service. I do have a picture of Josef delivering the milk.

    After Josef came Sibilla Sevenich. Sibilla was born 22 May 1879 in Heerdt and died 17 September 1954 in Neuss. She was married to Lorenz Moor. They had no children

    Then came Heinrich Sevenich born 28 February 1881 in Heerdt and died 1 February 1940 in Meerbusch. He was married to Luise Vogel. They had one child.

    After Heinrich came Fredericus Adamus also known as Fritz Sevenich, born 7 February 1883 and died 1 February 1969 in Heerdt. He was married to Elisabeth Struth. They had four children.

    The youngest child was Mathilde Sevenich born 6 December 1885 in Heerdt and died 28 Februray 1863 in Neuss. She was married to Michael Klasen. They had four children.

    So why is this a favorite picture of mine. When I first starting doing genealogy, I didn’t even have the names of my Great Grandparents or my two times Great Great Grandparents. To have this picture and being able to tell a few stories about their lives is so awesome. The icing on the cake is that I have the same picture taken about 25 years later.

    My two times Great Grandfather, Johann Peter Sevenich, died in 1910, so this picture must have been taken before that date.

    I want to thank and give credit to my second and third cousins, Gabi, Annemarie, Hermi and Ursula for their continued support, as this post would have not been possible without their help.

  • Johann Heinrich Becker 1861-1945

    Johann Heinrich Becker, my paternal Great Grandfather, was born 6 December 1861 in Hamminkeln and baptized in the Sankt Martini Church in Wesel, Germany. The church was destroyed during WW2. Pictures below were shared with me by the city archive in Wesel.

    Martinikirche

    Johann’s parents were the railroad worker, Franz Joseph Egidius Becker (1827-1907) and his wife Maria Sickel (1823-1908). Johann was also a rail road worker and later became a police officer.

    He married my Great Grandmother, Gertruda Johanna Görtzen (1861-?), 6 May 1884 in the same church. A picture of their marriage certificate is below.

    If you have followed my blog for a while, you know that I always talk about the side notes on birth, marriage and death certificates. They are called Randvermerke in German. They can be of utmost importance for further research. This particular side note explained that my Great Grandfather died 17 February 1945, however he was not declared dead until 1953. Wesel was attacked by the British Royal Airforce with impact and air burst weapons February 16th, 17th, 18th and 19th, 1945. The city was pretty much destroyed after these attacks. I can’t even imagine what that was like. My Great Grandfather was killed during one of these attacks and his body probably was never identified.

    December 6th is a special day in our family. It’s my brother’s and my wedding anniversary, and no it was not intended that way. My husband and I had planned on getting married the end of November. A winter storm got in the way and we couldn’t get over the mountains, so we ended up getting married December 6th. That’s the only day my husband had off from work. On the drive back, I realized that it was also my brother’s wedding anniversary. My brother’s Granddaughter was also born on December 6th.

    In Germany Sankt Nicolaus is also celebrated that day. Children will put their shoes outside their room the night before. In the morning of the 6th, they will find them filled with chocolates, nuts and other goodies.

    Sankt Nicolaus very often will also visit preschools and elementary schools. The children will sing, recite poems and receive small gifts. You can read about Nicolaus here.

    I always include a map. Johann was born in Hamminkeln and he died in Wesel, Germany. Please see below.

  • Balthasar Hubert Steinhaus 1838-1893

    Balthasar Hubert Steinhaus my maternal second Great Grandfather, was born 1 December 1838 and baptized the following day in Heerdt, Germany.

    An old image of the catholic church is below.

    Balthasar’s parents were Peter Wilhelm Steinhaus (1811-1881) and Christina Bolten (1808-1881). He married my second Great Grandmother, Anna Christina Gather, 18 November 1869 in Büderich.

    Balthasar and Anna had two daughters, my Great Grandmother Anna Katharina (1870-1958) and her sister Christina (1874-1960). Balthasar lived in Heerdt, however he died suddenly in Büderich 25 July 1893. He was only 54 years old. The police station in Büderich had reported his death to the registry office. The death certificate noted the time of death and what street he died on. Below is a picture of the certificate.

    The certificate looks a little different. This time the entry is in a form of a side note, because Balthasar didn’t die at home or in a hospital. Below you can see on the map that Heerdt and Büderich are right next to each other.

  • Johann Müller 1813-1893

    Johann Müller, my paternal second Great Grandfather, was born exactly 211 years ago, on 25 November 1813 in Ohl near Engelskirchen.

    His parents were Martin Müller and Elisabeth Fluch. Johann was married to my second Great Grandmother, Franziska Gertrud Müller. Yes, her last maiden names was Müller as well. Müller is one of the most common last names in Germany. We don’t know when and where they got married. It’s a still a mystery. The first two children were born in Hückeswagen.

    The next three children, including my Great Grandmother, Bertha Müller, were born in Elberfeld. Elberfeld is world famous for its suspension railway.

    The last two children were born in my home town in Düsseldorf.

    Johann died 26 March 1893 in Düsseldorf. The dates and locations about Johann and his family have been obtained through my research and collaboration with second and third cousins I found through DNA testing. Below is a map of where Johann and his family had lived. Ohl, Hückeswagen, Elberfeld and Düsseldorf.

  • Anna Catharina Steinhaus 1870-1958

    Anna Catharina Steinhaus

    Anna Catharina Steinhaus was my maternal Great Grandmother. She was born 18 November 1870 in Heerdt. Her parents were Balthasar Hubert Steinhaus and Anna Christina Gather. Below is her birth certificate.

    On the bottom of the certificate you can see the signature of her Father, Balthasar Steinhaus. Anna was baptized 21 November 1870 in the catholic church in Heerdt.

    Her godparents were Wilhelm Steinhaus and Catharina Gather nee Wanders.

    Anna was married 9 June 1893 in the same church to my handsome Great Grandfather, Franz Sevenich.

    Witnesses were Gerhard Sevenich and Michael Bolten. Below is a picture of my Great Grandparent on their 25th anniversary.

    Followed by a picture of their 50th wedding anniversary in 1943.

    Both my Great Grandmother and my Great Grandfather survived WW1 and WW2. They had nine children together. One of them was my Grandmother, Adelheid Sevenich.

    Anna died 10 March 1958 in Heerdt at the local hospital. Below is a postcard of the hospital from 1920.

    The hospital still exists.

    Anna is the youngest of my Steinhaus ancestors. My oldest Steinhaus came originally come from Eckkamp and Ratingen across the river Rhein.

  • Henriette Sophie Friedericke Hagemann 1822-1899

    Sophie Hagemann was my maternal second Great Grandmother. The only document I have, is her death certificate.

    The information on the certificate was given by her son in law Wilhelm Althoff. It states that Sophie, a widow, was living in his house in Hamm and that she died at the age of 76. She was married to my second Great Grandfather, the linen weaver, Christian Ontrup, in Gadderbaum near Bielefeld. She was the daughter of the shoemaker couple Hagemann who died in Werther also near Bielefeld, Germany. I already had found her parents. Their names were Friedrich Wilhelm Hagemann and Anna Maria Elisabeth Feldhorst. The son in law did not have that information.

    Sophia Hagemann and Christian Ontrup had 11 children together. One of them was my Great Grandmother, Sophia Hermina Louisa Ontrup. I blogged about her in June of this year.

    The map below shows where Sophie was born (Werther), where she got married (Gadderbaum) and where she died (Hamm).

  • Karl Beiersdörfer 1881-1951

    Karl Beiersdörfer was my husband’s maternal Great Grandfather. Karl was born 16 November 1881 in Friesenheim and died 15 March 1951 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. His parents were the butcher, Franz Beiersdörfer and his wife Elisabeth Höcker.

    Karl married Margarete Senck 20 June 1908 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein.

    The marriage certificate states the names of the bride and groom and their parents. It states that the location of Karl’s Father Franz is unknown and that his Mother had married a second time and her last name is now Steiner. We also learn that Karl is a mason. It also says that the bride, Margarete Senck is a magazine worker and that she was born in Oggersheim. Her parents are Christoph Senck and Margarete Weinacht. The marriage certificate has several side notes (Randvermerke in German) These side notes can be of utmost importance for further research. On the right side of the first page it is written that Karl died 18 Mar 1951 in Ludwigshafen and the number of the death certificate is number 370/1951. There is a second side note that states that his wife Margarete died 5 May 1953 and that the number of the death certificate is 6061/1953. On the second page is another side note which mentions the birth of one of the children, Oscar Beiersdörfer, born 24 Sep 1924 and his marriage on 30 September 1950. Per German privacy laws I would not be able to order the Oscar’s birth or marriage certificate yet. You can order birth certificates after 110 years, marriage after 80 years and death after 30 years.

    Karl fought in WW1 in the Alsace Lorrain region an area the Germans and French have fought over for hundreds of years.

    In the Bavarian personal roster we we learn that Karl is catholic, when and where he was born, that he was a mason, that he was married and had three children at the time. We also learn that his Father, Franz, apparently lived in America, however the location is unknown and his Mother lived in Friesenheim.

    Last month I travelled for the very first time to the Alsace Lorraine region on our way to Switzerland. We spent a few hours in the beautiful town of Colmar. The German spelling would have been Kolmar. Here are few of my pictures I took.

    If you have the chance, go and visit the Alsace Lorraine region. It’s very beautiful. I hope to go there again on my next trip to Europe.

    My Mother In Law said that Karl her Grandfather was a very kind person. He had a garden where he grew rhubarb, chamomile and peppermint. He also had a cherry tree and would get upset when the grandchildren came and picked the cherries too early. Karl also had rabbits, chicken and a goat.

    Oggersheim and Friesenheim are all part of Ludwigshafen am Rhein.