My 4th paternal Great Grandmother, Anna Catharina Boeckers was baptized 15 Jun 1757 in Düsseldorf-Heerdt and died 20 March 1829 in Düsseldorf-Lörick. Her parents were Wilhelm Boeckers and Christine Muellers.
An old postcard of the St. Benediktus Catholic Church In Heerdt.
Anna got married in the same church 20 August 1782 to my 4th Great Grandfather, Heinrich Goetzen (1747-1820).
She and Heinrich had 6 children, all baptized in Heerdt.
1. Joannes Petrus Wilhelmus, my 3rd Great Grandfather, born 1783 in Heerdt, died 1816 in Lörick. He was married to my 3rd Great Grandmother, Helen Catharina Muehlensieb. They had 3 children.
2. Maria Magdalena, born 1785
3. Wilhem Balthasar born 1788, got married 25 October 1825 in Eckamp to Maria Margaretha Hamacher. They had 7 children.
4. Maria Christina born 1791, got married 21 January 1826 in Neuß to Johann Mathias Fleur
5. Johannes Henricus born 1794
6. Michael Anton born 1802
Anna died 20 March 1829 in Oberlörick which is not far from Heerdt. In the church book entrance it was written that she had been a widow.
I have three primary sources for Anna, her birth/baptism, her marriage and her death entries in the church book. My goal is to have these type of sources for all my direct ancestors, even though it’s not always possible. For her parents so far I only have the marriage record in the church book. I do have all the baptism entries for her children.
You might ask what is a primary record? Primary records are original records like the excerpt from a church book, or a copy of a birth certificate. Secondary records you can for example look up on the Family Search Website. A secondary source for Anna’s marriage:
This information was taken from the church book and entered into a database, that’s a secondary source versa a copy of the original entry.
The original entry tells me that her parents were from Lörick as well as the name of the witnesses who were Petrus Goetzen and Joannes Schillings. Always try to obtain a primary source whenever possible and make a note of where you found it.
Anna lived in Heerdt and died in Lörick which is only a couple of miles away.
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Johann Georgi Seltzer was my husband’s 5th paternal Great Grandfather. He was born 12 June 1740 in Raden, Kreis Leobschütz, Silesia, Germany. Since the end of WW2, Raden has belonged to Poland and is now called Radynia. After the war had ended, all the German people of that region were expelled by the new Polish government. It was a terrible time for them. They could barely take anything with them and many people lost their lives. Raden (Radynia) is a tiny village close to the Czech border.
Johann’s parents were Anton Selzer and Johanna Englisch. He married my husband’s 5th Great Grandmother, Elisabetha Grimm, 17 October 1769 in Schönwiese, now called Krasne Pole. This village is about 7 miles away from Radynia.
An old postcard of Schönwiese (Krasne Pole) from the 1920’s.
Johann and Elisabetha Selzer had 10 children, all born in Raden (Radynia).
1. Anton Valentin born 1771
2. Joseph Urban born 1772 and died 1789 in Raden
3. Carl Johann born 1774
4. Johann Georg born 1775 and died 1846 in Raden. He was married to Elisabeth Krischker. They had 12 children.
5. Maria Elisabetha Theresia was born 1779. She married Franz Schindler. They had 4 children.
6. Johann Martin born 1780
7. Johanna Selzer, my husband’s 4th Great Grandmother, was born 1782 and died 1822 in Raden. She was married to my husband’s 4th Great Grandfather, Anton Wiedemann. They had 9 children, one of them was husband’s 3rd Great Grandmother, Karolina Wiedemann who married Fridolin Scholz, my husband’s 3rd Great Grandfather.
8. Carolus Joannes, no dates available, he supposedly had at least 3 children
9. Clara Victoria died 1785 in Raden
10. Bernard Paulus no dates available
Johann and his wife had 10 children, 29 grandchildren, 22 great grandchildren, 58 2x great grandchildren and 57 3x great grandchildren. These are the ones I have found, there are probably a lot more. Many of Johann’s descendants live in Germany, Austria and the United States.
Johann’s relationship to my husband, his 5x Great Grandchild:
Johann Georgii SELZER 1740-1800 5th great-grandfather of husband
Do you know how many sets of 5th great grandparents you have? 128! Every generation doubles in numbers. Let’s see if this correct.
Generation 1: Child
Generation 2: 2 parents
Generation 3: 4 Grandparents
Generation 4: 8 Great Grandparents
Generation 5: 16 2x Great Grandparents
Generation 6: 32 3x Great Grandparents
Generation 7: 64 4x Great Grandparents
Generation 8: 128 5x Great Grandparents
Generation 9: 256 6x Great Grandparents
Generation 10: 512 7x Great Grandparents
Generation 11: 1024 8x Great Grandparents
Generation 12: 2048 9x Great Grandparents
Generation 13: 4096 10x Great Grandparent
Generation 14: 8192 11x Great Grandparents
Generation 15: 1638 12x Great Grandparents
Generation 16: 32768 13x Great Grandparents
So you have 128 sets of 5x Great Grandparent, that means you have 64 5x Great Grandfathers. How many have you found in your research?
In order for me to find the Polish name for Raden, I used Kartenmeister.
This is the best website to find the current names of former German cities. There were a couple of other towns with the name Raden, however I knew which Kreis (sort of like a county) it belonged to. Raden, Kreis Leobschütz which now is called Radynia.
I did find an image for Raden on a Polish website. You can see the image here. On the top half it shows a guest house and the owner has the same last name, Selzer. He might very well be related to my husband’s 5th Great Grandfather.
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Tomorrow is Father’s Day here in the USA. I will honor my Dad and his direct paternal line, meaning his father, grandfather and so on. You can read my Mother’s Day blog here.
My Dad, Karl Franz Wilhelm Krings, was born 25 January 1924 and got married married 9 March 1946 to my Mom in Düsseldorf, Germany. He died 21 May 2006 in Bad-Neuenahr.
Dad circa 1946
Mom & Dad December 1968
Dad came from a large family family. He had seven brothers and sisters. Two of them died in WW2. He was a hard worker. He apprenticed as a sales clerk in a local clothing store called C & A in the 1940’s. In the 1950’s Dad wanted to be his own boss and became a local flower wholesaler. It was a hard job. He had to be at the flower auction house at six in the morning trying to buy the flowers at a good price, stayed there until nine or ten and then delivered them to the shops. In the evening the leftovers were stored in an air conditioned warehouse. After dinner, Dad still had to do bookkeeping. He worked twelve to eighteen hours a day, including some weekends. The neighbors had the audacity to wake him up on Sunday mornings to buy some flowers from him and of course my Dad would never say no.
Dad retired in 1984 and moved to Bad-Neuenahr, a smaller town where he would spend time with friends, go for walks and play Roulette at the casino. In 1994 we celebrated his 70th birthday.
Dad’s 70th Birthday with his siblings.
From left to right: Ursula, Dad, Trude and Richard
Dad’s Father and my Grandfather, Wilhelm Eduard Josef Hubert Krings, was born 25 September 1882 and died 19 May 1952 in Düsseldorf. He married my Grandmother, Maria Becker, 13 May 1907 in Wesel.
My Grandparents with their first child circa 1908
Grandpa’s birth certificate
His birth announcement in the local newspaper
Grandpa only had one older brother. A sister had died in infancy. He fought in Russia and France in WW1 and later had his own business.
From the 1926 Düsseldorf’s directory: – Krings, Wilhelm., Upholstery and decoration shop, Klosterstr. 112A; workshop: Kölner Street 50AU
Grandpa suddenly died at home in 1952. I never had the pleasure of meeting him. I was born many years later.
Grandpa’s Father and my Great Grandfather, Wilhelm Hubert Krings, was born 21 October 1840, got married to my Great Grandmother, Bertha Müller, 8 October 1869 and died 17 April 1909 in Düsseldorf.
His birth announcement from 1840 in the newspaper. His mother’s maiden name Götzen is highlighted. Wilhelm was a professional gardener as seen in the Düsseldorf directory from 1881.
Wilhelm died 1909 in Düsseldorf. His death certificate is below.
Wilhelm’s Father and my 2x Great Grandfather, Andreas Daniel Josef Krings, was born 25 September 1808, got married to my 2x Great Grandmother, Maria Agnes Götzen, 12 August 1835 and died 28 October 1871 in Düsseldorf.
1808 Baptism in the Sankt Martin’s church in Düsseldor-Bilk.
He got married in the same church.
Andreas and his family were in the census taken in Düsseldorf between the years 1854-1860.
It contains the last and first names, professions, Andreas was a shoemaker and his wife Agnes had her own market stall. It also contained the family’s birth dates. One son, Johann, is crossed out. He probably already had died. Another child, Henricus 1838-1840, was not mentioned at all.
Andreas as well as his wife Agnes were in the 1855 directory for Düsseldorf. Her name was mentioned right under his name. They lived on the Duisburger Street 71.
Andreas was 63 years old when he died in 1871.
His death card mentioned that he had been widowed for seven years and that he had left two sons and grandsons behind.
Andreas’ father and my 3rd great grandfather, Joannes Winandus Josephus Krings, was born 10 March 1760 and died 2 May 1823 in Düsseldorf. He married my 3rd great grandmother, Maria Anna Josepha Weingartz, 27 June 1787 also in Düsseldorf.
Baptism 1760 and Marriage 1787
St. Lambertus Church in Düsseldorf
Newspaper announcement after the wedding.
Winandus died at the age of 68 in 1823.
Winandus’ Father and my 4th Great Grandfather, Nicolaus Krings, was born 15 January 1733 in Birgelen. This small village is located 33 miles east of Düsseldorf, near the Belgium border.
Nicolaus married my 4th Great Grandmother, Maria Clara Schadens, 26 January 1760 in Düsseldorf.
They had only one child together, my 3rd Great Grandfather. Nicolaus got married again in 1761 to Anna Catharina Fasbender. They had three children. Nicolaus died 9 August 1781 at the age of 48 in Düsseldorf-Bilk.
Nicolaus’ Father and my 5th Great Grandfather, Godefridus Crins, was baptized 22 March 1708 and died 18 August 1743 in Birgelen. He was married to my 5th Great Grandmother, Agnetis Leonards.
Godefridu’s Father and my 6th Great Grandfather, Nicolaus Creins, was born circa 1680 and he was married to my 6th Great Grandmother, Sophia Greven.
My direct paternal line ends with Godefridus for now. I have high hopes, that one day the church books will be online. The last name Krings was at one time spelled Crins and before that Creins. It really depended on how the people would pronounce their names and how the pastor would hear and record it. Some descendants might still carry the name Crins or Creins or another different spelling.
I was able to go back eight generations for my direct paternal line.
The first Father’s Day in the USA was celebrated 19 June 1910. In Germany Father’s Day is celebrated on Ascension Day. It’s always on a Thursday. The very first one was also celebrated in 1910.
I do hope you enjoyed this article.
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My paternal 4th Great Grandmother, Anna Elisabeth, was baptized 21 June 1722 in the Sankt Lambertus Catholic Church in Düsseldorf, Germany. Her parents were Joannes Dionysius Herbst and Anna Elisabeth Borrigs.
The church is located in old town Düsseldorf near the river Rhein.
Anna Elisabeth had ten brothers and sisters, all born and baptized in Düsseldorf.
1. Maria Gertrudis born 1717
2. Anna Christina born 1718, married to Bernhard Henricus Robertz, they had 16 children.
3. Anna Sophia born 1721
4. Joannes Petrus born 1724, married to Sybilla Schumachers. They had one child.
5. Theodorus Godefridus born 1726
6. Theodorus Wilhelm born 1727, married to Margaretha Dahmen
7. Joannes Theodorus born 1729
8. Anna Margaretha born 1730
9. Joannes Ferdinandus born 1732
10. Anna Sybilla born 1734
Anna also had five half siblings from her Father’s second marriage to Anna Margaretha von Rath
1. Catharina Sophia born 1737, died 1802 in Benrath, was married to Joannes Wilhelmus Heubes. They had 8 children.
2. Anna Gertrudis born 1738
3. Anna Maria born 1740
4. Sybilla Catharina born 1744
5. Maria Anna born 1746
Anna married my 4th Great Grandfather, Petrus Josephus Weingartz, 4 August 1746 in Sankt Martinus Church in Düsseldorf-Bilk.
The Weingartz couple had 11 children, all born and baptized in Düsseldorf.
1. Anna Gertrudis Bernadina born 1747, died 1787 in Düsseldorf, married to Petrus Josephus Sebus. They had 8 children.
2. Joannes Petrus born 1749
3. Christina Catharina born 1750
4. Henricus Paulus born 1752
5. Maria Sophia born 1754
6. Maria Anna, my 3rd Great Grandmother born 1756, died 1814 in Düsseldorf, married to my 3rd Great Grandfather, Joannes Winandus Josephus Krings. They had 9 children including my 2nd Great Grandfather, Andreas Daniel Joseph Krings born 1808.
7. Joannes Angelus Josephus born 1758, married to Anna Wilhelmina Margareta Hellersberg.
8. Joannis Henricus born 1759, married to Anna Catharina Hoenen.
9. Magdalena Josepha born 1761
10. Anna Elisabetha Josepha born 1763
11. Henricus Antonius Bernardus born 1767
Anna died in April of 1781. I found her in the catholic burial’s announcements in the local newspaper.
Transcription: Den 21ten, Anna Elisabetha Herbst, Ehefrau Weingartz, alt 59 Jahr 10 Monat. Translation: The 21st, Anna Elisabetha Herbst, wife of Weingartz, age 59 years and 10 months.
Elisabeth had lots of descendants. 11 children, 17 grandchildren, 42 great grandchildren and 82 two times great grandchildren. Those are the ones I have found, there might be a lot more.
I would love to be able to time travel and meet all my ancestors to see how they lived, what they ate, how they cooked, what they feared. Were they able to read and write? Did they go to school?
Which ancestor would you like to meet and why?
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Howard A Scholz was my husband’s first cousin, once removed. He was born 8 August 1921 in Seattle, Washington and died during WW2 in Peteliu, Palau, Philippines. His parents were Albert Julius Scholz (1890-1981) and Elizabeth Mackleit (1896-1972). His paternal grandparents were Adolph Scholz (1865-1939) and Rosina Muecke (1864-1960). Adolph immigrated from Prussia and Rosina from Austria. His maternal grandparents were Georg Mackleit (1868-1959) and Catharina Weitz (1872-1950) They both immigrated from Russia.
In the 1930 Census Howard and his family lived in Colfax, Washington. They were wheat farmers.
The same in the 1940 Census
In 1943 he attended Washington State College (Washington State University) in Pullman as seen on his WW2 draft card.
Howard enlisted just four days later, on April 23rd, 1943.
Name
Howard A Scholz
Race
White
Marital Status
Single, without dependents (Single)
Rank
Private
Birth Year
1921
Nativity State or Country
Washington
Citizenship
Citizen
Residence
Whitman, Washington
Education
4 years of college
Enlistment Date
23 Apr 1943
Enlistment Place
Spokane, Washington
Service Number
39464950
Branch
No branch assignment
Component
Selectees (Enlisted Men)
Source
Civil Life
Height
83
Weight
000
Howard graduated from college in June 1943 and married his sweetheart, Miss Nancy E Rogers, a couple of months later in Seattle.
In December 1943 Howard received his commission in the marines at Quantico, Virginia.
According to the HonorStates.org, I quote: “Howard Scholz was wounded 9-15-1944 during the invasion of Peleliu. He died on board a hospital ship the next day and was buried at sea.”
Howard received two medals.
The Silver Star
Quoted from Home of Heroes: “The Silver Star remained exclusively an Army decoration until August 7, 1942 and was expanded by Act of Congress for award by the Navy Department.”
The Purple Heart
Quoted from Wikipedia: “The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving.”
My paternal uncle, Josef Krings, was born 18 May 1914 in Düsseldorf, Germany and was killed 5 July 1943 during WW2 at the battle of Korowina, Bjelgrod, Russia. His parents were Wilhelm Krings and Maria Becker. I recently was able to obtain a copy of his birth certificate, which is now in the public domain, from Düsseldorf City Archives.
His birth certificate has two Randvermerke or side notes. One is for his marriage and the other one for the death certificate. I have copies of both.
Josef grew up in a large family with seven brothers and sisters. At one point he moved to Berlin. I don’t know exactly when and why. There, he married Antonia Sotola, 24 July 1940. She was born in Stockerau near Vienna, Austria. They had a son in 1941, named Georg, my first cousin. I have never met him.
Uncle Josef, probably with his wife Antonia and may be his mother in law. Location unknown, probably taken in Berlin, circa 1940.
Uncle Josef and cousin Georg circa 1942, location may be in Berlin.
Josef and Georg 1941 in Berlin
Cousin Georg 14 months old probably in Berlin, 1942
Josef was killed in Korowino, Russia in July 1943. The death certificate was issued a year later, in July 1944, in Berlin.
Josef’s wife, Antonia, together with their son Georg, moved back to Austria.
I gathered the information about Josef from several source.
1. Birth and death dates I learnt from my Dad who passed away in 2006
2. The pictures were given to me by his younger sister, Ursula, who also passed away in 2006.
3. Berlin death certificates are online from 1874-1985 at Ancestry. I didn’t know that my uncle had lived in Berlin, until I saw the certificate. From the side notes I learnt where to order the marriage and birth certificate.
4. His marriage certificate from 1940, which I did not post here, I ordered from the City Archives in Berlin .
5. I tried to look for his grave, but there is none. His body was never recovered. You can search for graves here at the German War Graves Commission.
A few tips when you search at the German War Graves Commission site. The spelling of the names have to be exact. I would start with just a last name. Birth dates also have to be exact as well. German dates are written differently. For example today’s date is 5-19-25. In Germany the date would be 19-05-25.
Every time you search the site, they want you to enter your name, address, email and so on. If you do find your relative, you then have the option of getting updates by email and/or also make donations to the website. I have never received any junk mail, only an occasional email every few years if there is something new on the battle/grave site.
You can order military records at the Bundesarchiv (Federal Archive) in Germany. The web site is in German and English. I ordered my Dad’s service record over 10 years ago. It took two years to get them. It might even take longer nowadays. If you are looking for WW1 service records, you will have no luck. They were destroyed during WW2. The only exception are the Bavarian WW1 Personnel Records 1914-1918 which are at ancestry.
Here is a map of where Josef was born (Düsseldorf), lived (Berlin) and died (Russia)
In a future post I will write about Josef’s brother who was also a soldier and died shortly after the war ended. I am still gathering facts and documents.
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This Sunday, May 10th, we celebrate once again Mother’s Day here in the United States and in Germany as well. Today I will introduce you to my direct maternal line, meaning my Mother, her mother and so on.
1. My Mother, Katharina Josefine Schneider, was born 4 November 1927 in Düsseldorf-Heerdt and died 12 November 1982 in Düsseldorf, Germany. She married my Dad in 1946. She loved flowers, lucky for her, my Dad owned a wholesale flower business, so there was an endless supply. I inherited all her vases. I love this particular picture of her, it was taken in 1943.
2. Her Mother and My Grandmother, Adelheid Katharina Sevenich, born 24 September 1899 and died 17 October 1982 in Düsseldorf-Heerdt. She married my Grandfather in 1922. Oma was a seamstress and made cloths for all my dolls. She made the best paprika chicken and pudding desserts.
3. Her Mother and my Great Grandmother, Anna Catharina Steinhaus, born 18 November 1870 and died 10 March 1958 in Düsseldorf Heerdt. She married my Great Grandfather in 1893. Anna died before I was born, so I didn’t get to meet her. She had a large family of nine children. Her picture was taken on her 25th wedding anniversary in 1918.
4. Her Mother and my 2x Great Grandmother, Anna Christina Gather, was born 16 October 1842 in Büderich and died 13 May 1906 in Düsseldorf-Heerdt. She married my 2x Great Grandfather, in 1869. Her baptims is below.
Her marriage:
Her death certificate:
5. Her Mother and my 3rd Great Grandmother, Anna Catharina Underdenbäumen (the last name literally translated means “under the trees”), was born 23 February 1808 in Neuss and died 3 February 1850 in Büderich. She married my 3rd Great Grandfather in 1832. She had a large family of 9 children.
Her marriage:
Her death:
6. Her Mother and my 4th Great Grandmother, Maria Sibilla Gather, born 9 January 1767 in Büderich and died 4 December 1827 in Neuss. She married my 4th Great Grandfather in 1790. She had 4 children. Here is the marriage from the church book.
7. Her Mother and my 5th Great Grandmother, Sibille Gertrud Korschgens (also spelled Körschgens), born 15 January 1736 and died 8 April 1817 in Büderich. She married my 5th Great Grandfather in 1758. She had 11 children.
8. Her Mother and my 6th Great Grandmother, Helena Maria Kreitzen, born about 1710 and died 13 September 1757 in Büderich. She married my 6th Great Grandfather in 1732. She had 9 children.
9. Her Mother and my 7th Great Grandmother was Maria Leven. I do not have any dates for her yet. Hopefully in the future I will be able to find some.
I was able to go back nine generation for my direct maternal line. That’s pretty awesome, don’t you think?
The first Mother’s Day in the United States was celebrated in 1908, in Germany not until 1922.
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Petrus Josephus Weingartz was my paternal 4th Great Grandfather. His parents were Joannes Petrus Weingartz and Anna Gertrudis Bommels. Petrus was baptized 4 April 1721 in the Sankt Martin church in Düsseldorf-Bilk.
St. Martins Church in Bilk
Petrus had several siblings all baptized in the church above.
1. Sibylla Gertrudis born 1716
2. Wihelmus Henricus born 1718
3. Anna Sophia born 1719
4. Catharina Elisabetha born 1723, was married to Paulus Kucks.
5. Joannes Henricus born 1724, was married to Anna Catharina Heinens. They had 10 children. One of them emigrated to South Africa.
6. Anton Xtiantius born 1727
7. Joannes Petrus born 1729. He was married to Anna Margaretha Schwan. They had 7 children
8. Maria Margaretha born 1731. She was married to Joannes Angelus Wallinger
9. Maria Magdalena born 1734. She was married to Franciscus Breidt.
10. Joannes Petrus born 1736.
I have found several spelling variations of the name Weingartz. Weingarts, Weingart and Wingart. The name originates from Weingarten (vinyard). May be my ancestors grew whine.
Petrus married my 4th Great Grandmother, Anna Elisabeth Herbst (1722-1782), 4 August 1746 in Bilk.
A week later they married a second time in the Sankt Lambertus Church in Düsseldorf. This was the church where Anna was baptized.
St. Lambertus Church Circa 1920’s
Petrus and Anna had 11 children, all of them were baptized in the church above.
1. Anna Gertrudis Bernadina born 1747, died 1787, was married to Petrus Josephus Rebus. They had 8 children.
2. Joannes Petrus born 1749.
3. Christina Catharina born 1750.
4. Henricus Paulus born 1752.
5. Maria Sophia born 1754.
6. Maria Anna Josepha, my 3rd Great Grandmother, born 17 February 1756, died 17 September 1814. She was married to my 3rd Great Grandfather, Joannes Winandus Josephus Krings. They had 9 children.
7. Joannes Angelus Josephus, born 1758. He was married to Anna Wilhemina, Margareta Hellersberg.
8. Joannes Henricus born 1759. He was married to Anna Catharina Hoenen.
9. Magdalena Josepha born 1761.
10. Anna Elisabetha Josepha born 1763.
11. Henricus Antonius Bernardus born 1767.
Petrus’s wife, Anna, died 21 April 1782 in Düsseldorf. Her death was mentioned in the newspaper.
I do not have a death date for Petrus yet. The church books were only recently published online.
Sankt Lambertus church is located only about 4.4 km or 2.73 miles north of the Sankt Martinus church. Both churches still exist and survived WW2.
The sources I used were mainly on Ancestry and the church books from Düsseldorf which are listed here.
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Theresia Kunze was my husband’s paternal 3rd Great Grandmother. She was born 24 April 1814 in Peterwitz Kreis Leobschütz, Silesia, Germany nowadays called Pietrowice in Poland. Kartenmeister is a great resource of finding information about former and current names of villages. An example for Peterwitz below.
Theresia’s parents were the farmer Joseph Kunz and his wife Magdalena Schenk. She married my husband’s 3rd Great Grandfather, Johann Kieslich, 2 September 1834. They had eight children, all born in Schönwiese, Silesia, Germany nowadays called Krasne Pole, Poland.
1. The oldest, Franziska Kieslich, my husband’s 2nd Great Grandmother, born 1838 and died 1914 in Schönwiese. She was married to Franz Scholz, my husband’s 2nd Great Grandfather. They had 11 children, one of them was Adolph Scholz, my husband’s Great Grandfather who immigrated to Tennessee. A picture showing Franziska Kieslich Scholz with some of her grown children, including Adolph, circa 1911.
2. Franz Kieslich born 1839, died 1909.
3. Josefa Kieslich born 1841, died 1919. She was married to Johann Hanke. They had 3 children.
4. Josef Kieslich born 1843, died 1918. He was married to Josepha Lichtblau. They had 3 children. Josef was also married to Karolina Kleiber and Anna Schokala.
5. Johann Kieslich born 1845, died 1918. He was married to Marie Kunze. They had 4 children.
6. Johanna Kieslich born 1846, died 1922. She was married to Josef Ludwig. They had 2 children.
7. Robert Kieslich born 1847 in Schönwiese, died 1910 in Burlington, Vermont, United States. He was married to Josepha Hofrichter. They had 9 children.
8. Anna Kieslich born 1852, died 1922. She was married to Joseph Kastner. They had 5 children.
Theresia died 11 September 1887 in Schönwiese.
Peterwitz (Pietrovice) to Schönwiese (Krasne Pole) is only 5.6 km or 3.4 miles.
Katherine Bleser also know as Kate was my brother in law’s 2nd Great Grandmother. She was born in March of 1833 in Prussia. We don’t know her maiden name. The first time we met Kate was in the 1870’s federal census in Honesdale, Pennsylvania. Kate and my brother in law’s 2nd Great Grandfather, William Bleser owned a grocery store and they had four children. One child was born after 1870.
All of their children were born in Pennsylvania, most likely in Honesdale.
1. William born August 1859, died 21 March 1925 in Jersey City. He was married to Anna Egan. They had 2 children.
2. Jacob born 1862, died 18 October 1876.
3. Josef born September 1866, died 26 December 1933 Irvington, New Jersey. He was married to Augusta.
4. Catherine E., my brother in law’s Great Grandmother, born 6 Oct 1868, died 30 March 1963 in Jersey City, New Jersey. She was married to Adam Joseph Dittmar Junior. They had 10 children. A picture taken on their 50th anniversary.
5. Catherine born 1873. She was married to Bernard William Vanderminde. They had 2 children.
Kate’s husband died 31 December 1872 in Honesdale.
In 1873 Kate applied for a saloon license
Source: Wayne County Herald
Honesdale, Pennsylvania • Thu, May 8, 1873Page 3
By August 1874 Kate was already married to her second husband, as seen in a newspaper notice about her first husband’s estate.
In 1878 Kate’s daughter Annie Hoefling is born. In 1880 Kate, her husband Adam Hoefling and her son William got into trouble with the law. They did not have a liquor license.
In 1893 her daughter, Catharine E. Dittmar travelled from Jersey City, New Jersey for a visit and Kate also was selling the grocery store.
I wonder how long it would have taken her daughter to travel to Honesdale in 1893?
In 1900, Kate, her husband Adam Hoefling, her widowed daughter, Catherine Bleser Kelleher, her daughter Annie Hoefling and her grandson Edward Kelleher lived in Jersey City, New Jersey. Kate immigrated in 1860 and her husband in 1870 from Prussia.
In 1910 Kate and Adam lived by themselves. Kate’s immigration year is now 1856 in stead of 1860.
In the 1915 New Jersey State Census Kate was a widow and lived together with a daughter and a grandson.
Kate died in April 1920 according to Find A Grave.
I still have so many questions about Kate. When was her exact birthday, where was she born in Prussia, what was her maiden name, when did she immigrate and who were her parents? I couldn’t find obituaries for her and her husbands. May be in the future I will be able to answer some of these questions.
Genealogy Is An Adventure 