Genealogy Is An Adventure

Tag: Neuß

  • Anna Catharina Boeckers 1757-1829

    My 4th paternal Great Grandmother, Anna Catharina Boeckers was baptized 15 Jun 1757 in Düsseldorf-Heerdt and died 20 March 1829 in Düsseldorf-Lörick. Her parents were Wilhelm Boeckers and Christine Muellers.

    An old postcard of the St. Benediktus Catholic Church In Heerdt.

    Anna got married in the same church 20 August 1782 to my 4th Great Grandfather, Heinrich Goetzen (1747-1820).

    She and Heinrich had 6 children, all baptized in Heerdt.

    • 1. Joannes Petrus Wilhelmus, my 3rd Great Grandfather, born 1783 in Heerdt, died 1816 in Lörick. He was married to my 3rd Great Grandmother, Helen Catharina Muehlensieb. They had 3 children.
    • 2. Maria Magdalena, born 1785
    • 3. Wilhem Balthasar born 1788, got married 25 October 1825 in Eckamp to Maria Margaretha Hamacher. They had 7 children.
    • 4. Maria Christina born 1791, got married 21 January 1826 in Neuß to Johann Mathias Fleur
    • 5. Johannes Henricus born 1794
    • 6. Michael Anton born 1802

    Anna died 20 March 1829 in Oberlörick which is not far from Heerdt. In the church book entrance it was written that she had been a widow.

    I have three primary sources for Anna, her birth/baptism, her marriage and her death entries in the church book. My goal is to have these type of sources for all my direct ancestors, even though it’s not always possible. For her parents so far I only have the marriage record in the church book. I do have all the baptism entries for her children.

    You might ask what is a primary record? Primary records are original records like the excerpt from a church book, or a copy of a birth certificate. Secondary records you can for example look up on the Family Search Website. A secondary source for Anna’s marriage:

    NameAnna Catharina Boeckers
    GenderFemale
    Marriage Date20 Aug 1782
    Marriage PlaceKatholisch, Heerdt, Rheinland, Prussia
    FatherWilhelmi Boeckers
    MotherChristinae Muellers
    SpouseHenricus Goetzen
    FHL Film Number174320

    This information was taken from the church book and entered into a database, that’s a secondary source versa a copy of the original entry.

    The original entry tells me that her parents were from Lörick as well as the name of the witnesses who were Petrus Goetzen and Joannes Schillings. Always try to obtain a primary source whenever possible and make a note of where you found it.

    Anna lived in Heerdt and died in Lörick which is only a couple of miles away.

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  • Josephine Odilia Gröbbels 1842-1920

    Josephine was my maternal 2nd Great Grandmother. She was born 24 March 1842 in Brachelen and died 27 April 1920 in Neuß, Germany. Her parents were the saddler Godfried Gröbbels and Marie Josephine Hubertine Meisen. Josephine had at least nine brothers and sisters. All of them were baptized in the catholic church, St. Gereon, in Brachelen.

    Josephine married my second Great Grandfather, Johann Sevenich, 8 Nov 1867, in the same church. They had 10 children together, one of them was my Great Grandfather Franz Sevenich 1870-1950. This is a copy of their marriage certificate from Brachelen.

    The certificates states the date, names of the bride and groom and their parents’ names. It also states that both sets of parents agree to the marriage. There were four witnesses, all of them signed the certificate.

    This a picture of my second Great Grandparents and their young family circa 1884. The tall boy is my Great Grandfather, Franz Sevenich.

    The first two children, including my Great Grandfather, Franz Sevenich, were born in Brachelen. The rest of the children were born in Heerdt, which belongs now to Düsseldorf.

    Josephine died 27 April 1920 in Neuß. I found her name mentioned in the newspaper.

    I also have her death certificate

    The death certificates states when and where Josephine died and that she was a widow. It also mentioned that her parents were both diseased in Brachelen.

    Here is a map of where Josefine lived. Josephine’s husband worked for the railroad, this why they probably moved to Heerdt.