Genealogy Is An Adventure

Tag: Bauswein

  • What Happened To Franz Beiersdörfer (1859-?)

    Franz Beiersdörfer was my husband’s maternal 2nd Great Grandfather. He was the son of the soldier, Johann Heinrich Beiersdörfer (1829-1891) and his wife Margaretha Johann (1830-1876). Franz was baptized 21 July 1859 in the catholic church in Albersweiler, a famous wine region in Germany.

    Baptism of Franz Beiersdörfer in Alberweiler.

    Town of Albersweiler Circa 1910

    In 1884 Franz lived in Friesenheim, which is now part of Ludwigshafen am Rhein. That year he married my husband’s 2nd Great Grandmother, Elisabeth Höcker (1864-1928). Elisabeth was the daughter of Johannes Höcker (1836-1874) and his wife Wilhelmine Katharina Bauswein (1839-1907).

    This marriage certificate has a lot more information that just the groom and bride and their parents. On the second page it stated that Franz and Elisabeth had a son, named Karl, together in 1881. It has been my experience with quite a few of my husband’s Bavarian ancestors that the women had children before they even got married. Children that were born before the wedding, will always be mentioned in the marriage certificate.

    On the top page there is a side note in the upper left corner which states that Franz and Elisabeth got a divorce in 1900. We know that Elisabeth died 1928 in Ludwigshafen. What happened to Franz? Franz and Elisabeth only had one son. Two other children died in infancy.

    Their son, Karl, married in 1908 in Ludwigshafen. In his marriage certificate it said the location of his Father, Franz, is unknown. Karl fought in WW1 (1914-1918). In the WW1 Peronnel Roster it stated that Karl’s Father lived in America, location unknown.

    A long time ago my husband’s maternal Grandmother talked about her Grandfather, Franz. She had heard that he had left for America and that the ship sank.

    Searching for Franz is becoming like finding a needle in a haystack. America could have been the USA or Canada or even Central America. How about South America? Many Germans immigrated to Brazil for example.

    I searched the following websites for Franz hoping to find emigration or immigration records.

    I even contacted the city archives in Ludwigshafen to see if they had any emigration information about Franz. It’s possible that Franz used a different name when he left the country. He was a butcher by trade, so it would have been easy for him to find work. I found the 1896 directory for Friesenheim in google books.

    His wife Elisabeth was in it, but he was not. My guess is that Franz was already gone by then and it took a couple more years for her to get a divorce in 1900.

    Here is Franz’s timeline:

    • 21 July 1859 Birth in Albersweiler
    • 24 July 1859 Baptism at the catholic church in Albersweiler
    • 16 November 1881 Son Karl is born in Friesenheim
    • 11 October 1884 Marriage to Elisabeth Hoecker in Friesenheim
    • 28 December 1884 Birth of daughter Susanna
    • 10 February 1885 Death of daughter Susanna
    • 18 April 1887 Birth of son Adam
    • 29 March 1900 Divorce
    • Death date and location unknown

    I will contact the city archives in Ludwigshafen again to see if I can obtain a copy of the divorce record. I do not know if they even kept it. May be I can find a clue in that record.

    As always I like to include a map. Friesenheim is north of Albersweiler, about 60 km or 37 miles.

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  • Elisabeth Bauswein Höcker Beiersdörfer Steiner1864-1928

    Elisabeth was my husband’s maternal second Great Grandmother. She was born and baptized 20 February 1964 in Friesenheim now part of Ludgwigshafen am Rhein in Germany. Elisabeth was the illegitimate daughter of Wilhelmine Katharina Bauswein. Below is the baptismal entry from the catholic church, Sankt Gallus.

    Elisabeth’s Mother, Wilhelmine Katharina Bauswein, married her Father, Johannes Höcker The Fifth, 1 June 1865 in the same church. On the marriage certificate Johannes stated that Elisabeth and two of her other siblings were his children.

    Elisabeth married the butcher, Franz Beiersdörfer, 11 Octbober 1884 in Friesenheim. Front and back page of the marriage certificate is below.

    On the first page there is a side note that says that Elisabeth got divorced from Franz in 1900. From one of his children’s military records I know that Franz lived in America. As far as I know Elisabeth and Franz had only three children, one of them, Karl Beiersdörfer, my husband’s Great Grandfather, was born in 1881 in Friesenheim. The two other children were Susanna and Adam. Susanna died in infancy and I have no more information about Adam.

    Elisabeth got married to her second husband, the bricklayer, Peter Steiner, 23 September 1901 in Ludwigshafen. The marriage certificate is below.

    As far as I know the couple did not have any children together. Peter Steiner died 1914 in France during WW1. His death certificate from Ludwigshafen is below.

    Elisabeth died 3 November 1928 in Ludwigshafen. It was reported and signed by her Granddaughter, Erna Beiersdörfer, who was also my husband’s Grandmother. The death certificate is below.

    Elisabeth had a hard life. She was born out of wedlock, her first husband seemed to have left her and she had to get a divorce. Her second husband died in WW1. She seemed to only have one son that survived her.