Genealogy Is An Adventure

Tag: Düsseldorf

  • Anna Elisabeth Herbst 1722-1782

    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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  • Josef Richard Heinrich Krings 1914-1943

    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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  • 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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  • 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

  • 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

  • Maria Johanna Becker 1885-1975

    Maria Johanna Becker was born 12 July 1885 in Hamminkeln and died 4 March 1975 in Schiefbahn, Germany. She was my paternal Grandmother. This is her birth certificate from Hamminkeln

    It states that her parents were the day laborer, Johann Heinrich Becker and Gertruda Johanna Görtzen. To the left is a side note that says that she died in Willich 4 March 1975 and the number of the death certificate Nr 75/1975.

    Maria was baptized in the St. Mariä Himmelfart Catholic Church in Wesel

    Above is her baptism entry in the church book. Her Godparents were Mathias Görzen and Mara Becker nee Sickel who was her Grandmother.

    Maria got married 13 May 1907 in Wesel to my Grandfather, Wilhelm Eduard Josef Hubert Krings.

    Above is the front and back page of the marriage certificate. Most of the time, marriage certificates will mention the bride and groom and their parents. On page one, the side note states that my Grandfather died in 1952. Three different side notes on the back page mention three of the children.

    My Grandmother and Grandfather had eight children between 1907 and 1929. They were all born in Düsseldorf. This picture shows them together with their first born, my uncle Willi circa 1908.

    Two of her sons died while fighting during WW2.

    Hans Krings 1911-1948

    Josef Krings 1914-1943 Shown With His Son

    My Dad missed his brothers very much and talked about them often.

    Shortly after WW2 in 1952 my Grandfather died suddenly at home. Now my Grandmother had lost three family members within a ten year period.

    My Grandmother had her faith. When I grew up, every Sunday we would pick her after church services at St. Peter’s Catholic Church in Düsseldorf. She would have lunch with us at home.

    Her large family kept her very busy. She attended all the baptisms, first communions and weddings of her all her children and grandchildren. She got to fly in a very small plane for the time ever when she was 85. She would never say a bad word about anyone. Family was everything to her.

    Near the end of her life she became very frail. All three of her daughters took care of her around the clock. In the end she had to be put into a nursing home in Schiefbahn. My aunt had tried to find one in Düsseldorf but it didn’t work out. My Grandmother hated it there and told us flat out that she wouldn’t make it a year. She was right. Grandma died peacefully 4 March 1975. All the children, grandchildren and great grandchildren attended her funeral in Heerdt. Her grave doesn’t exist anymore. Graves in Germany get recycled.

    I always try to include a map

    Sources

    Stadtarchiv Hamminkeln

    Stadtarchiv Wesel

    Baptismal Church Records Wesel

    Google Maps Hamminkeln

    Stadtarchiv Düsseldorf

  • Joannes Petrus Wilhelmus Goetzen 1783-1816

    Joannes Petrus Wilhelmus Goetzen was my paternal third Great Grandfather. Joannes was baptized 9 July 1783 in Düsseldorf Heerdt and died 1 September in Oberlörick near Düsseldorf Heerdt. His parents were Heinrich Goetzen and Anna Catharina Boeckers.

    In his baptismal enty it says that he is the legitimate child of Heinrich Goetzen and Anna Catharina Boeckers. An older picture of St. Benediktus Church in Heerdt.

    You can read about the church in German in Wikipedia.

    Joannes got married 13 April 1809 in Düsseldorf to my third Great Grandmother, Helene Catharina Muehlensieb. The church book for that year is not online.

    Joannes and Helene had only three children together. One of them is my second Great Grandmother, Maria Agnes Götzen 1813-1863.

    Here is a group sheet for Johannes and Helene

    Joannes died 10 days before his third and last child was born.

    The church book entrance above, states that he died 1 September 1816.

    I always like to include a map

    From now on, I will also try to include my sources whenever I can.

    1. Family Search
    2. Ancestry
    3. St. Benedictus Baptisms In Heerdt 1779-1862
    4. St. Benedictus Death 1779-1884
    5. Google Maps

  • Helene Catharina Mühlensieb 1783-1827

    Helene was my maternal 3rd Great Grandmother. She was born 8 April 1783 in Derendorf and died 30 August 1827 in Oberlörick, Germany. Her parents were Heinrich Mühlensieb and Anna Catharina Kauertz. Helene was baptized in the Heilige Dreifaltigkeit church. This is her baptismal record.

    Look at the beautiful penmanship! Here you can learn a little Latin. Parentes are her parents, infans is the infant and patrina are the witnesses. Helena married my 3rd Great Grandfather, Joannes Petrus Wilhelmus Goetzen, 13 April 1809 in Düsseldorf. They had only three children together, one of them was my 2nd Great Grandmother, Maria Agnes Götzen 1813-1863. Helena got married again 5 Oct 1817 in Heerdt to Joannes Mathias Glassmacher.

    Above is the marriage record from the church in Heerdt. It shows the name of the groom, the bride and their parents. It also states that Helene was a widow. Helene and Mathias had four children together. I didn’t know about the last child, Anna Maria Glasmacher 1827-1827, until I found Helene’s death entry in the church book in Heerdt.

    Helene died 31 August 1827. Right above her on August 25th is her stillborn daughter Anna Maria Glasmacher. It is so important during your research to get copies of the original records. You just never know what you might find. Helene was only 44 years old when she died.

    I always like to include a map. Helene was born and baptized in Derendorf. She also lived in Lörick and got married in the church in Heerdt. Derendorf, Lörick and Heerdt are nowadays all part of Düsseldorf.

  • Franciska Getrud Müller 1812-1886

    Franciska was my paternal second Great Grandmother. She was born on 23 March 1812 in Engelskirchen and died on 27 July 1886 in Düsseldorf, Germany. Her parents were the shoemaker, Johannes Müller and Anna Catharina Miebach.

    Above her death certificate from Düsseldorf. It mentioned her son, Eduard Müller who gave the death information to the registrar, her husband Johann Müller who was still alive and it also stated that her son only knew that her parents died in Engelskirchen, however he didn’t know their names.

    Franziska was married to my second Great Greatfather Johann Müller. The marriage date has been a mistery. We don’t know when and where they got married, even so both of them were from Engelskirchen. A second cousin of mine in Germany has tried very hard to find the marriage, but no success so far.

    Franziska and Johann Müller moved a lot and they had a large family. Their first two children, Elisabeth and Wilhelm, were born in Hückeswagen. Their next three children, Bertha who is also my Great Grandmother, Johann and Eduard were born in Elberfeld (Wuppertal). The last two children, Helena and Gertrud were born in Düsseldorf. May be Johann was looking for better job opportunities. In Düsseldorf he worked in a factory.

    Here you can see the towns of Engelskirchen, Hückeswagen, Elberfeld and Düsseldorf on a modern map. My guess is that my second Great Grandparents married somewhere between Engelskirchen and Hückeswagen. Why did they not get married in Engelskirchen? May be their parents didn’t approve? Lots of questions I can’t answer yet. I am also waiting for Engelskirchen church books to come online.