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  • Anna Christina Gather 1842-1906

    Anna Christina Gather was my maternal second Great Grandmother. She was born 16 October 1842 in Büderich and died 13 May 1906 in Heerdt, Germany. She was baptized 18 October in the Sankt Mauritius catholic church in Büderich.

    Her parents were Peter Jacob Gather and Anna Catharina Unterdenbäumen. Her godparents were Carole Gather and Anna Gertrude Hellenthal who lived in Kaarst.

    Anna got married 18 November 1869 in the same church, to my second Great Grandfather, Balthasar Hubert Steinhaus (1838-1893).

    It states the names of the groom, the bride and the names of their parents and the witnesses at the end. We also find out that Anna’s Mother is not alive during her wedding. In fact, Anna’s Mother had died when she was only six years old.

    Anna died 13 May 1906 in Heerdt.

    The death certificate was signed by her daughter and my Great Grandmother, Katharina Sevenich.

    I know from my aunt that only that my Great Grandmother, Anna Catharina Steinhaus and her sister Anna Christina Steinhaus survived. A map below shows where Anna was born and where she died. Only 3.2 km or 1.9 miles apart.

  • Wilhelm Eduard Josef Hubert Krings 1882-1952

    The picture above is of my paternal Grandfather, Wilhelm Krings and my Grandmother Maria and their first born son, Wilhelm.

    Wilhelm was born 25 September 1882 and died 19 May 1952 in Düsseldorf, Germany. His parents were the gardener, Wilhelm Hubert Krings, and Bertha Müller. I have a copy his birth certificate.

    The certificate states the names of the Father, Mother and the given name of my Grandfather. It also states that they were catholic and they lived on the Grafenbergerchaussee street. Below a postcard from my collection of the street where he was born.

    My Grandfather had only one younger brother, Johann Krings. Through a DNA match I was able to find a descendent of Johann. I met my second cousin, Peter Hambach, in Köln (Cologne) in 2018. Wilhelm and Johann also had a sister who died in infancy.

    Wilhelm got married to my Grandmother, Maria Becker, 13 May 1907 in the Sankt Martini church in Wesel. The church was destroyed in WW2. The city archives in Wesel shared two pictures with me of the church before its destruction. One from the inside and one of the outside of the church.

    Martinikirche

    My Grandfather apparently served in WW1 in France and in Russia in 1915. I found this in a denazification file that came online recently. I had no idea that these files existed. I also found out that he had blue eyes and that he was 5 feet and 5 inches tall. The file also stated that he was not a threat to Germany before, during and after WW2.

    My Grandfather had his own business in Düsseldorf. An upholstery and decorating shop. I found him in a directory from 1926. His residence was on the Kloster street and his business on the Kölner street in Düsseldorf. No phone number was listed.

    My Grandfather and Grandmother had a large family. They had eight children together. One of them is was my Father, Karl Krings. Two of them, Hans and Josef were killed in Russia in WW2.

    My Grandfather died suddenly 19 May 1952 in Düsseldorf. I am sad that I never met him.

    Sources:

    City Archive Wesel Germany

    City Archive Düsseldorf

  • Peter Johann Sevenich 1838-1910

    Peter was my maternal 2nd Great Grandfather. He was born 13 September 1838 in Brachelen and died 10 July 1910 in Düsseldorf-Heerdt, Germany. His parents were the farmer, Franz Sevenich, and Maria Sybilla Wilms.

    Peter married my 2nd Great Grandmother, Josephine Odilia Gröbbels, 8 November 1867 in the Sankt Gereon church in Brachelen. Below is an old image of the church.

    A typical street in Brachelen with the church circa 1920’s

    Peter and Josephine had eleven children, one of them is my Great Grandfather, Franz Sevenich. Franz and his older sister Josephine were born in Brachelen and the rest of the children in Düsseldorf-Heerdt.

    Franz worked for the rail road. He was a switchman.

    Above a portrait of Franz and his family circa 1890. I received a copy of this picture from a third cousin in Germany.

    Peter received some sort of medal in 1907. I had found this in a local newspaper. He used his second name Johann for this occasion.

    Less than three years later, Peter died 10 July 1910 in Düsseldorf-Heerdt. Below is his death certificate.

    Peter moved from Brachelen to Heerdt to work for the railroad.

    Sources:

    Newspaper Clipping

    Death Certificate

    Family

    Google Maps

  • Adelheid Katharina Sevenich 1899-1982

    Adeleheid Katharina Sevenich was my maternal Grandmother. She was born 24 September 1899 and died 17 October 1982 in Düsseldorf Heerdt, Germany. Her parents were Franz Sevenich and Anna Katharina Steinhaus. My Grandmother or Oma came from a large family. She had six sisters and two brothers. Oma was baptized in the catholic Sankt Benediktus church in Heerdt. An old postcard of the church from about 1910.

    A picture of my Oma, her parents and her siblings circa 1920. She stands in the middle behind her parents.

    Another image of her circa 1920

    A picture of my Oma with her Mother and some of her siblings circa 1907. She is the girl with the white apron standing to the left above her Mother.

    My Oma got married to my Grandfather, Alexander Theodor Schneider, 7 October 1922 in Heerdt. They were married for 60 years.

    Oma was a seamstress and she would make all the clothes for my dolls. She made the best paprika chicken and “Schnibbelskartoffeln”. Fried potatoes from left over boiled potatoes. I haven’t been able to duplicate these recipes. I can still smell them when entering her apartment. Oma also made a special desert for us grandchildren called Tutti Frutti. It was a layer of fresh or canned fruit, sour cream and vanilla pudding. It was made with love and tasted so yummy.

    Oma died 17 Oct 1982 peacefully in her sleep. Even so that she has been gone for over 40 years, I will never forget her. I still miss and love her.

  • Andreas Daniel Joseph Krings 1808-1871

    Andreas Daniel Joseph Krings was my paternal second Great Grandfather. Andreas was born 23 September 1808 in Bilk and died 23 Oct 1871 in Derendorf. Both of these locations are nowadays a part of Düsseldorf, Germany. Andreas was baptized 26 October 1871 in the catholic church, Sankt Martin. His parents were Joannes Winandus Josephus Krings and Maria Anna Josepha Weingartz. Below is his baptism.

    Andreas married my second Great Grandmother, Maria Agnes Götzen, 12 August 1835 in the same church.

    Andreas and Agnes had five children together. One of them was my Great Grandfather, Wilhelm Hubert Krings.

    Andreas and his small family appeared in a census taken from 1854-1860 in Düsseldorf. It states that Andreas was a shoemaker by trade. The first child, Johann was crossed out, he probably had died.

    Andreas also appeared in an address book from 1855. Once again it states that he was a shoemaker. Schumacher is the German word for shoemaker.

    Andreas died 23 October 1871 in Derendorf.

    His obituary states, that Andreas was born in Bilk and that he had been a widower for eight years. He was survived by two sons and two grandsons. Andreas was only 63 years old.

    A map shows that Andreas pretty much lived in the same area all his life.

    Sources

    Church Books online for Düsseldorf

    Düsseldorf Census (Bürgerbücher) 1854-1860

    Obituary you can find here

    Address Book Düsseldorf 1855

  • Emil August Ferdinand Schneider 1855-1935

    Emil August Ferdinand Schneider was my maternal Great Grandfather. His calling name was Ferdinand. He was born 13 September 1855 in Berlin and died 12 July 1935 in Wuppertal, Germany. Ferdinand’s parents were the master armorer, Martin August Eduard Schneider and Caroline Francisca Amelie Büttner. He was baptized 7 October 1855 in the Sophien church in Berlin.

    Above is Ferdinand’s baptismal entry from the church book.

    Ferdinand got married 12 May 1883 in Gadderbaum, Bielefeld to my Great Grandmother, Sophia Hermina Louisa Ontrup. The couple had nine children together, including my Grandfather, Theodor Alexander Schneider 1898-1990.

    Ferdinand died 12 July 1935 in Wuppertal.

    Sources

    Ancestry

    Sophienkirche

    Google Maps

  • Franz Joseph Edgidius Becker 1827-1907

    Franz was my paternal second Great Grandfather. He was born 30 August 1827 in Messinghausen and died 21 May 1907 in Hamminkeln, Germany. He was baptized in the catholic St. Dionysius Church in Thülen 1 September 1827. His parents were Johann Becker and Christine Münster. Below is a postcard from my collection of Messinghausen from the 1950’s.

    Franz was married to my second Great Grandmother Maria Sickel. To this date I have been unable to find their marriage. Franz was a signalman and worked for the railroad. Him and Maria had only two children that we know of. My Great Grandfather, Johann Heinrich Becker 1861-1945 and his brother, Theodor Becker born in 1863. Franz and Maria lived and died in Hamminkeln.

    Franz died in 1907. His death certificate above, states that his son, Theodor, gave this information to the registrar. It states that he died in Hamminkeln and that his son had no further information about Franz’s parents.

    I found this old image from the Hamminkeln train station circa 1914. In the 19th century, it was pretty common for people to move to areas where they could work for the railroad. I have another ancestor who also moved and worked for the railroad at the time time.

    From the map you can see that Messinghausen was far away. 191 km or 118 miles. It would have taken Franz probably several days if not weeks to get to Hamminkeln.

    Sources:

    Picture of Hamminkeln train station

    Google Maps

    Death Certificate

    Familysearch

  • Maria Agnes Götzen 1813-1863

    Maria Agnes Götzen was my paternal second Great Grandmother. She was born 23 August 1813 in Heerdt and died 15 March 1863 in Düsseldorf, Germany. Her parents were Joannes Petrus Wilhelm Götzen and Helene Catharina Mühlensieb. Her baptismal record from the Sankt Benediktus church in Heerdt is below. It gives her baptized name, parents’ names and the godparents. Church book entries for this time frame were written in Latin.

    Maria married my second great grandfather, the shoemaker, Andreas Daniel Joseph Krings, 12 August 1835 in the Sankt Martinus church in Düsseldorf.

    The church book entry states the groom and the bride and their parents and the witnesses.

    The marriage was also mentioned in the newspaper.

    Maria and Andreas had five children together. One of them is my Great Grandfather, Wilhelm Hubert Krings 1840-1909.

    Maria had her own grocery store. I found her right underneath her husband in a 1855 Düsseldorf address book.

    It states: Krings, Andreas, shoemaker Duisburger Street 71 and Krings, Andreas, wife, store owner, Duisburger Street 71 I think that’s pretty amazing to see that my female ancestor had her own business in 1855.

    Maria was only 49 years old when she died. Her name was mentioned in the newspaper.

    The name is under “Gestorbene” which means “The Deceased”. Agnes Götzen, wife, 57 years old.

    The map shows where Maria grew up and where she lived and died. Heerdt and Bilk are now part of Düsseldorf.

    Sources:

    Ancestry

    Family Search

    Zeitpunkt NRW (old newspaper from North Rhine-Westphalia)

    Church Books Düsseldorf and Heerdt

    Düsseldorf address book 1835

    Google Maps

    Contact: yscholz64@gmail.com

  • Maria Sybilla Wilms 1804-1869

    Maria Sybilla Wilms was my maternal third Great Grandmother. She was born 8 March 1804 and died 12 August 1869 in Brachelen, Germany. Maria was the daughter of the basket maker, Joannes Petrus Wilms and Maria Catharina Heinen.

    The birth certificate above was obtained from the State Archive in Brühl, Germany. The archive has since moved to Duisburg. The state of North Rhine-Westphalia and its archives have put death certificates from 1875-1938 and marriage certificates from 1875-1899 online. I believe that birth certificates will be next. It is a very exciting time for genealogists like myself to be able to view these certificates online. It’s hard to keep with all the genealogical news.

    The birth certificate of my third Great Grandmother is from 1804. May be one day, those earlier certificates will come online as well.

    Maria married my third Great Grandfather, the widower, Franz Sevenich, 13 April 1833 in Brachelen. They had four children together, one of them was my second Great Grandfather, Peter Johann Sevenich.

    The marriage certificate above stating the names of the bride and groom, when and where they were born including their parents. The second page has all the witnesses and signatures of the wedding party.

    I do not have her death certificate. It’s not always possible to obtain all certificates or copies of church book records. I use Family Tree Maker to create genealogical reports.

    Sources

    Ancestry

    Landesarchiv Duisburg

    Family Search

    Family Tree Maker

  • Peter Wilhelm Steinhaus 1811-1881

    Peter Wilhelm Steinhaus was my maternal third Great-Grandfather. From his death certificate I know that his calling name was Wilhelm. He was born 1 June 1811 in Eckkamp and died 15 August 1881 in Heerdt, Germany. His parents were Wilhelm Herman Steinhaus and Gertrud Strotmans.

    Wilhelm married my third Great Grandmother, Marie Christine Bolten, 14 June 1830 in Eckkamp. The family lived in Heerdt and had eight children together. One of them was my second Great Grandfather, Balthasar Hubert Steinhaus 1838-1893.

    Wilhelm died 15 August 1881 in Heerdt. His death certificate below, states his name, when and where he died. It also states that his parents died in Rath. The information was given by Wilhelm’s son, the farmer, Mathias Steinhaus. The mother on the death certificate, Elisabeth Brückman, is actually his stepmother. Mathias probably never met his real Grandmother.

    You have always to research official documents. They are not always correct.

    Wilhelm’s oldest sister, Anna Maria Steinhaus 1806-1883, married Peter Ohren 5 August 1833 in Eckamp. Anna Maria and Peter had three children together in Germany. They immigrated and arrived in New York 28 September 1852. The family settled in Old Ripley, Bond County, Illinois. I have DNA matches with some of their descendents. I will write a seperate blog about Anna Maria in the future.

    Here is a map of where Wilhelm was born and where he lived after he got married.

    Sources:

    Family Search

    Heerdt Death Certificate

    Ancestry

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