I grew up celebrating Mardi Gras. I only have one picture of me circa 1968 in my Mariechenkostüm. Roughly translated ” little Mary’s costume”.
In my hometown, Düsseldorf, Germany Mardi Gras is a big deal. We have a huge parade on Rosenmontag (Rose Monday) which is always two days before Ash Wednesday. I have some old postcards from the circa 1960’s of Mardi Gras in my home town.
Did you celebrate Mardi Gras when growing up?
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.
I am participating in Amy Johnson Crow’s
This weeks’ topic is “Earning A Living”.
There is one ancestor couple that stands out. My second Great Grandparents, Andreas Daniel Joseph Krings and Maria Agnes Götzen. In an Düsseldorf, Germany, address book from 1855 I find them living on the the Duisburger Street 71. He is shoemaker and she must have something like a grocery store.
It reads: Krings, Andreas, Shoemaker, Duisburger Street 71 and she is underneath and it reads: Krings Andreas, wife, grocery store dealer. I would think that this was a big deal back in 1855. Both husband and wife were working and had possibly their own businesses. A census, which I have a copy of, was taken in Düsseldorf between 1854-1860. Once more it shows the jobs they have in those years.
It shows their last and first names, professions, where they lived in Düsseldorf, their exact birth dates and where they were born. Three children are alive at this time. From Andrea’s obituary I know that he had only two surviving sons and grandchildren. The daughter Katharine must have died before 1871. Agnes was only 49 years old when she died.
It says: Died: Agnes Krings nee Götzen, 49 years old, wife, Duisburger Street. Andreas died in the year 1871.
Johanna was born exactly 232 years ago on January 5th, 1792 in Brackwede, which is now part of Bielefeld, Germany. Her parents were Jacob Friedrich Bushmann and Anna Maria Cuhlmann. She was my 3rd Great Grandmother. Johanna married my 3rd Great Grandfather, Friedrich Wilhelm Ontrup on 28 Oct 1820 in Bielefeld Neustadt. I have a copy of their marriage record.
Johanna and Friedrich had four children together. One of them is my 2nd Great Grandfather, Christian Friedrich Wilhelm Ontrup. My goal is to find Johanna’s baptismal and death record.
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!
I am participating in Amy Johnson’s Crow
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.
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.
I am participating in Amy Johnson Crow’s
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.
I am participating in Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 ancestors in 52 weeks.
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 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.
Genealogy Is An Adventure 