Balthasar Hubert Steinhaus my maternal second Great Grandfather, was born 1 December 1838 and baptized the following day in Heerdt, Germany.
An old image of the catholic church is below.
Balthasar’s parents were Peter Wilhelm Steinhaus (1811-1881) and Christina Bolten (1808-1881). He married my second Great Grandmother, Anna Christina Gather, 18 November 1869 in Büderich.
Balthasar and Anna had two daughters, my Great Grandmother Anna Katharina (1870-1958) and her sister Christina (1874-1960). Balthasar lived in Heerdt, however he died suddenly in Büderich 25 July 1893. He was only 54 years old. The police station in Büderich had reported his death to the registry office. The death certificate noted the time of death and what street he died on. Below is a picture of the certificate.
The certificate looks a little different. This time the entry is in a form of a side note, because Balthasar didn’t die at home or in a hospital. Below you can see on the map that Heerdt and Büderich are right next to each other.
Sophie Hagemann was my maternal second Great Grandmother. The only document I have, is her death certificate.
The information on the certificate was given by her son in law Wilhelm Althoff. It states that Sophie, a widow, was living in his house in Hamm and that she died at the age of 76. She was married to my second Great Grandfather, the linen weaver, Christian Ontrup, in Gadderbaum near Bielefeld. She was the daughter of the shoemaker couple Hagemann who died in Werther also near Bielefeld, Germany. I already had found her parents. Their names were Friedrich Wilhelm Hagemann and Anna Maria Elisabeth Feldhorst. The son in law did not have that information.
Sophia Hagemann and Christian Ontrup had 11 children together. One of them was my Great Grandmother, Sophia Hermina Louisa Ontrup. I blogged about her in June of this year.
The map below shows where Sophie was born (Werther), where she got married (Gadderbaum) and where she died (Hamm).
Karl Beiersdörfer was my husband’s maternal Great Grandfather. Karl was born 16 November 1881 in Friesenheim and died 15 March 1951 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein, Germany. His parents were the butcher, Franz Beiersdörfer and his wife Elisabeth Höcker.
Karl married Margarete Senck 20 June 1908 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein.
The marriage certificate states the names of the bride and groom and their parents. It states that the location of Karl’s Father Franz is unknown and that his Mother had married a second time and her last name is now Steiner. We also learn that Karl is a mason. It also says that the bride, Margarete Senck is a magazine worker and that she was born in Oggersheim. Her parents are Christoph Senck and Margarete Weinacht. The marriage certificate has several side notes (Randvermerke in German) These side notes can be of utmost importance for further research. On the right side of the first page it is written that Karl died 18 Mar 1951 in Ludwigshafen and the number of the death certificate is number 370/1951. There is a second side note that states that his wife Margarete died 5 May 1953 and that the number of the death certificate is 6061/1953. On the second page is another side note which mentions the birth of one of the children, Oscar Beiersdörfer, born 24 Sep 1924 and his marriage on 30 September 1950. Per German privacy laws I would not be able to order the Oscar’s birth or marriage certificate yet. You can order birth certificates after 110 years, marriage after 80 years and death after 30 years.
Karl fought in WW1 in the Alsace Lorrain region an area the Germans and French have fought over for hundreds of years.
In the Bavarian personal roster we we learn that Karl is catholic, when and where he was born, that he was a mason, that he was married and had three children at the time. We also learn that his Father, Franz, apparently lived in America, however the location is unknown and his Mother lived in Friesenheim.
Last month I travelled for the very first time to the Alsace Lorraine region on our way to Switzerland. We spent a few hours in the beautiful town of Colmar. The German spelling would have been Kolmar. Here are few of my pictures I took.
If you have the chance, go and visit the Alsace Lorraine region. It’s very beautiful. I hope to go there again on my next trip to Europe.
My Mother In Law said that Karl her Grandfather was a very kind person. He had a garden where he grew rhubarb, chamomile and peppermint. He also had a cherry tree and would get upset when the grandchildren came and picked the cherries too early. Karl also had rabbits, chicken and a goat.
Oggersheim and Friesenheim are all part of Ludwigshafen am Rhein.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Sophia Hermina Louisa Ontrup was born 17 June 1860 in Bielefeld and died 11 June 1934 in Galkhausen, Germany. Her calling name was Louisa. She was my maternal Great Grandmother. Louisa’s parents were the damask weaver, Christian Friedrich Wilhelm Ontrup, and Henriette Sophie Friedericke Hagemann. The couple had at least eleven children including Louisa.
Louisa got married to my Great Grandfather, the locksmith, Emil August Ferdinand Schneider, 12 May 1883, in Gadderbaum which is now part of Bielefeld. His calling name was Ferdinand.
Below is their marriage certificate
The certificate first states the name of the groom, Ferdinand, and his parents, the diseased master armorer, Martin August Eduard Schneider, and the widowed Caroline Francisca Amalie Büttner who lived in Berlin at the time of the marriage. It also the states the name of the bride, Louisa, and her parents which I mentioned already at the beginning of the blog. On the second page the witnesses and the bride and groom signed the certificate. Louisa and Ferdinand had at least nine children together, one of them was my Grandfather, Theodor Alexander Schneider. The oldest child was born in Bielefeld, the rest of them were born in Wuppertal.
Above is Louisa with two of her daughters, my Great Aunts, Anna on the left and Frieda on the right.
Louisa died 11 June 1934 in a hospital in Galkausen, near Düsseldorf.
Above his death certificate which dates her name, the death date, her birth date and the city she was born in. Please note, that German death certificates do not have a doctor’s signature. The registry office will issue the certificate.
Above is a map of where Louisa lived. She was born in Bielefeld, got married in Gadderbaum, lived most of her life in Wuppertal and died in Galkhausen.
Barbara Wippel was my husband’s paternal Great Grandmother. She was born 28 May 1881 and died 3 February 1933 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein in Germany. Her parents were Heinrich Wippel and Elisabetha Hochdörfer.
Above is Barbara’s birth certificate from Ludwigshafen. It shows her Father and Mother and their ages. He was 45 years old and quite a bit older than her Mother who was only 32 years old at the time of her birth.
Barbara got married to my husband’s Great Grandfather, Johann Christoph Päbst, 29 September 1906 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein. Most marriage certificates will have two pages. Here is the first page:
Under number 1 the groom is named and that his parents live in Ludwigshafen am Rhein. A side not the right, states the groom died 12 January 1916. Under number 2, the bride is named and that her Father lives in Ludwigshafen am Rhein and that her Mother died in the same city. A side note to the right states that the bride died 3 February 1933. The second page has different information as seen below.
Under number 3 and 4 the witnesses signed the certificate. To the left of the witnesses are more side notes. These notes state the birth of the twins Herbert and Lothar in 1913 and their respective marriage dates. Underneath is the birth of another son, Ottmar, who was born in 1907 and got married twice. The second marriage was in 1957, the first one is unknown. Barbara and Johann had six children together. The second oldest, Werner Päbst, was my husband’s Grandfather.
Barbara became a widow in 1916 when Johann died. She had a young family to provide for and got quickly married to her second husband, Phillip Friedrich Schneider, 6 March 1917 in Ludwigshafen am Rhein.
The marriage certificate has the same layout as the first one. Under number 1 the groom’s name is stated and that he was born in Pirmasens and that his parents had died there. Under number 2 it states the bride’s name and that she is a widow and that her Father lives in Ludwigshafen. Her Mother died in Ludwigshafen am Rhein.
Above is once again the second page of the marriage certificate. Under number 3 and 4 are the witness. To the left of the witnesses, once again more side notes. This time you can see 4 children and their respective marriages. Philip Anton born 1918, Renate Ann Else born 1921, Manfred Jakob born 1922 and Edgar Adolf born 1920. All four children were born in Ludwigshafen am Rhein.
Unfortunately Barbara lost her second husband in 1925. The older children had to pitch in and help raise the family. Barbara died in 1933 leaving behind a large family. The second oldest, my husband’s Grandfather, Werner Päbst took on the responsibility of taking care of the family.
Barbara was only 51 years old when she died. She was widowed twice and left behind 10 children.
Above is her death certificate. I have a picture of eight of her children.
All ten of her children had families of their own and were successful in their careers. My husband’s Grandfather is the handsome man on the right side of the picture.
Genealogy Is An Adventure 