Genealogy Is An Adventure

Tag: Russia

  • Favorite Picture

    I have lots of favorite picture. Here is one of them taken by me in 1974.

    The picture is of my Grandmother Maria, her son Karl, sitting next to her, who was my Dad and her oldest son Willi who was my uncle. I took it on my Dad’s 50th birthday in our apartment in Düsseldorf, where I grew up. I guess back in 1974 no one smiled for the camera. Everyone already had their beer and Schnaps. Coffee and cake would have been in the afternoon.

    In Germany when you have a birthday, you invite your family. You serve coffee and homemade cakes around three o’clock. In the evening you serve a cold dinner like homemade potato and pasta salads and cold cuts together with beer, whine and juice for the little ones. The birthday person will receive small gifts and/or flowers from the guests.

    Back to the picture, starting with my Dad. His name was Karl Franz Wilhelm Krings. He was born 25 January 1924 in Düsseldorf, married my Mom there in 1946 and died 21 May 2006 in Bad-Neuenahr where he had lived after his retirement as flower whole saler. He came to visit me here in the United States four times and loved every moment.

    My uncle’s name was Wilhelm Joseph Hubert Krings. He was the oldest of his siblings and he was born 30 October 1907 in Düsseldorf. He married his wife, Ellie, in 1945 in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and died there 13 June 1981. Uncle Willi had moved to Garmisch early on because of his severe asthma. I remember him always wheezing when we would go for walks. He was a funny and happy guy. He drove an American car and he was so proud of that. No one else in the family had one. When he would visit Düsseldorf, he always requested that my Mom would make him this special lima bean dish. He couldn’t get in Garmisch. One year when he drove down to come to my first communion, he entered the Autobahn (freeway) the wrong way. He had with him my maternal aunt and my two cousins whom he had picked up in Munich. They were very lucky that nothing happened. The police did impound his car and my Dad had to go rescue them.

    My Grandma’s name was Maria Johanna Becker. She was born 12 July 1885 in Hamminkeln, near Wesel. She married my Grandfather, Wilhelm Krings in 1907 in Wesel and died in 1975 in Willich, near Viersen not far from Düsseldorf. She had her first child, uncle Willi in 1907 and the last one, uncle Richard in 1929, eight children altogether. During WW1, her husband and my Grandfather fought in France and Russia and survived and came back. In 1943 in WW2 she lost one of her sons, Josef, in a Russian battle. In 1948 another son, Hans, who also had fought in WW2, died. During WW2 three of her apartments were destroyed during aerial raids by the British. In 1952 her husband and my Grandfather, died suddenly at home. Grandma was always calm and loved her family. She faithfully went to church every Sunday.

    So why is this one of my favorite pictures? First of all I took it. I was already a budding photographer back then. My Dad had a camera and we used it a lot. I spent a lot of time with my Grandmother. We picked her up every church after Sunday and walked to our apartment for lunch. From about 1970 to 1980 summer vacations were spent in Garmisch where we would go and visit Uncle Willi and his family. Nothing but good memories. Looking at this picture I still miss my Dad and I am glad I took this snapshot back in 1974.

    Do you have a favorite picture. Please leave a comment below.

  • The Appel Family

    My husband’s Grandfather, Bob Scholz, had told me a long time ago that there were lots of Appels in the family. I didn’t know what that meant at the time, not until I started genealogy. Grandpa who was born in 1906, in the state of Washington, was the youngest of ten children. All the other siblings were born in Tennessee. The oldest one was his sister Fannie who was born 20 February 1889 in Oliver Springs. Fannie married Oswald Appel 7 November 1906 in Colfax, Washington.

    I was surprised to find out that Oswald was from Russia. His father’s name was Johann or John. His mother’s name was Elizabeth Kraft. These names were German. The German word for apple is Apfel. In some parts of Germany you say “Appel”. So where did the Appels family come from?

    Back in the day when German families started to immigrate to the colonies or the Americas, some of them went to Russia instead. They were promised religious freedom and land by Catherine the Great and they settled in the Russian Volga River region. Oscar’s family lived in that region for about 100 years. They kept their German language and traditions. That all changed in the 19th century, when land purchases were limited, mandatory military service and they had to speak Russian. There was also a famine in that area. So, Oscar and his extended family left for America. Some of the neighbors went to Canada, South America and other countries.

    Someone did the research and found out where the Appels came from in Germany. It’s a village in Hessen, called Nidda. Oscar’s 4th Great Grandfather, Peter Appel was born there in 1717 and died in 1759. Oscar was born in the town of Holstein, Russia now called Verkhnyaya Kulalinka. With the Russian name I was able to look it up on google map. It’s quite a distances from Nidda, about 3400 km or 2100 miles.

    There is a great website called The Volga Germans about the settlements.

    Oswald was only 5 years old when he immigrated to America in 1888 with his parents. He and Fannie had seven children, Frances, Harold, Donald, Calvin, Dorothy, Eugene and Wilma. They had lots of grandchildren. Frances had 5, Harold 2, Donald 9, Calvin 5, Dorothy 5, Eugene 4 and Wilma had 4. That’s a grand total of 34! Oswald also had six siblings, Leopold, Rosa, Eigen (Eugene), Marie, Rosalie and John. Leopold had 9 children, Rosa 6, Eugene 2, Marie 6 and John had 4.

    So, there are lots of Appels to go around with deep German roots!

    Do you have Volga German ancestors? Please leave a comment below!

  • Happy Father’s Day

    Tomorrow is Father’s Day here in the USA. I will honor my Dad and his direct paternal line, meaning his father, grandfather and so on. You can read my Mother’s Day blog here.

    My Dad, Karl Franz Wilhelm Krings, was born 25 January 1924 and got married married 9 March 1946 to my Mom in Düsseldorf, Germany. He died 21 May 2006 in Bad-Neuenahr.

    Dad circa 1946

    Mom & Dad December 1968

    Dad came from a large family family. He had seven brothers and sisters. Two of them died in WW2. He was a hard worker. He apprenticed as a sales clerk in a local clothing store called C & A in the 1940’s. In the 1950’s Dad wanted to be his own boss and became a local flower wholesaler. It was a hard job. He had to be at the flower auction house at six in the morning trying to buy the flowers at a good price, stayed there until nine or ten and then delivered them to the shops. In the evening the leftovers were stored in an air conditioned warehouse. After dinner, Dad still had to do bookkeeping. He worked twelve to eighteen hours a day, including some weekends. The neighbors had the audacity to wake him up on Sunday mornings to buy some flowers from him and of course my Dad would never say no.

    Dad retired in 1984 and moved to Bad-Neuenahr, a smaller town where he would spend time with friends, go for walks and play Roulette at the casino. In 1994 we celebrated his 70th birthday.

    Dad’s 70th Birthday with his siblings.

    From left to right: Ursula, Dad, Trude and Richard

    Dad’s Father and my Grandfather, Wilhelm Eduard Josef Hubert Krings, was born 25 September 1882 and died 19 May 1952 in Düsseldorf. He married my Grandmother, Maria Becker, 13 May 1907 in Wesel.

    My Grandparents with their first child circa 1908

    Grandpa’s birth certificate

    His birth announcement in the local newspaper

    Grandpa only had one older brother. A sister had died in infancy. He fought in Russia and France in WW1 and later had his own business.

    From the 1926 Düsseldorf’s directory: – Krings, Wilhelm., Upholstery and decoration shop, Klosterstr. 112A; workshop: Kölner Street 50AU

    Grandpa suddenly died at home in 1952. I never had the pleasure of meeting him. I was born many years later.

    Grandpa’s Father and my Great Grandfather, Wilhelm Hubert Krings, was born 21 October 1840, got married to my Great Grandmother, Bertha Müller, 8 October 1869 and died 17 April 1909 in Düsseldorf.

    His birth announcement from 1840 in the newspaper. His mother’s maiden name Götzen is highlighted. Wilhelm was a professional gardener as seen in the Düsseldorf directory from 1881.

    Krings, Wilhelm, Gardener, Grafenbergerchaussee 8.

    Wilhelm died 1909 in Düsseldorf. His death certificate is below.

    Wilhelm’s Father and my 2x Great Grandfather, Andreas Daniel Josef Krings, was born 25 September 1808, got married to my 2x Great Grandmother, Maria Agnes Götzen, 12 August 1835 and died 28 October 1871 in Düsseldorf.

    1808 Baptism in the Sankt Martin’s church in Düsseldor-Bilk.

    He got married in the same church.

    Andreas and his family were in the census taken in Düsseldorf between the years 1854-1860.

    It contains the last and first names, professions, Andreas was a shoemaker and his wife Agnes had her own market stall. It also contained the family’s birth dates. One son, Johann, is crossed out. He probably already had died. Another child, Henricus 1838-1840, was not mentioned at all.

    Andreas as well as his wife Agnes were in the 1855 directory for Düsseldorf. Her name was mentioned right under his name. They lived on the Duisburger Street 71.

    Andreas was 63 years old when he died in 1871.

    His death card mentioned that he had been widowed for seven years and that he had left two sons and grandsons behind.

    Andreas’ father and my 3rd great grandfather, Joannes Winandus Josephus Krings, was born 10 March 1760 and died 2 May 1823 in Düsseldorf. He married my 3rd great grandmother, Maria Anna Josepha Weingartz, 27 June 1787 also in Düsseldorf.

    Baptism 1760 and Marriage 1787

    St. Lambertus Church in Düsseldorf

    Newspaper announcement after the wedding.

    Winandus died at the age of 68 in 1823.

    Winandus’ Father and my 4th Great Grandfather, Nicolaus Krings, was born 15 January 1733 in Birgelen. This small village is located 33 miles east of Düsseldorf, near the Belgium border.

    Nicolaus married my 4th Great Grandmother, Maria Clara Schadens, 26 January 1760 in Düsseldorf.

    They had only one child together, my 3rd Great Grandfather. Nicolaus got married again in 1761 to Anna Catharina Fasbender. They had three children. Nicolaus died 9 August 1781 at the age of 48 in Düsseldorf-Bilk.

    Nicolaus’ Father and my 5th Great Grandfather, Godefridus Crins, was baptized 22 March 1708 and died 18 August 1743 in Birgelen. He was married to my 5th Great Grandmother, Agnetis Leonards.

    Godefridu’s Father and my 6th Great Grandfather, Nicolaus Creins, was born circa 1680 and he was married to my 6th Great Grandmother, Sophia Greven.

    My direct paternal line ends with Godefridus for now. I have high hopes, that one day the church books will be online. The last name Krings was at one time spelled Crins and before that Creins. It really depended on how the people would pronounce their names and how the pastor would hear and record it. Some descendants might still carry the name Crins or Creins or another different spelling.

    I was able to go back eight generations for my direct paternal line.

    The first Father’s Day in the USA was celebrated 19 June 1910. In Germany Father’s Day is celebrated on Ascension Day. It’s always on a Thursday. The very first one was also celebrated in 1910.

    I do hope you enjoyed this article.

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  • 2ndLt Howard A Scholz 1921-1944

    Howard A Scholz was my husband’s first cousin, once removed. He was born 8 August 1921 in Seattle, Washington and died during WW2 in Peteliu, Palau, Philippines. His parents were Albert Julius Scholz (1890-1981) and Elizabeth Mackleit (1896-1972). His paternal grandparents were Adolph Scholz (1865-1939) and Rosina Muecke (1864-1960). Adolph immigrated from Prussia and Rosina from Austria. His maternal grandparents were Georg Mackleit (1868-1959) and Catharina Weitz (1872-1950) They both immigrated from Russia.

    In the 1930 Census Howard and his family lived in Colfax, Washington. They were wheat farmers.

    The same in the 1940 Census

    In 1943 he attended Washington State College (Washington State University) in Pullman as seen on his WW2 draft card.

    Howard enlisted just four days later, on April 23rd, 1943.

    NameHoward A Scholz
    RaceWhite
    Marital StatusSingle, without dependents (Single)
    RankPrivate
    Birth Year1921
    Nativity State or CountryWashington
    CitizenshipCitizen
    ResidenceWhitman, Washington
    Education4 years of college
    Enlistment Date23 Apr 1943
    Enlistment PlaceSpokane, Washington
    Service Number39464950
    BranchNo branch assignment
    ComponentSelectees (Enlisted Men)
    SourceCivil Life
    Height83
    Weight000

    Howard graduated from college in June 1943 and married his sweetheart, Miss Nancy E Rogers, a couple of months later in Seattle.

    In December 1943 Howard received his commission in the marines at Quantico, Virginia.

    According to the HonorStates.org, I quote: “Howard Scholz was wounded 9-15-1944 during the invasion of Peleliu. He died on board a hospital ship the next day and was buried at sea.”

    Howard received two medals.

    The Silver Star

    Quoted from Home of Heroes: “The Silver Star remained exclusively an Army decoration until August 7, 1942 and was expanded by Act of Congress for award by the Navy Department.”

    The Purple Heart

    Quoted from Wikipedia: “The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the president to those wounded or killed while serving.”

    Howard gave his life for his country. He will never be forgotten. Howard is memorialized at the Tablets of the Missing at Manila American Cemetery, Manila, Philippines or on Find A Grave.

    His name is also displayed at the Washington State University Veterans Memorial. The structure was dedicated in 1993 and completed in 2000.

    To conclude this article I found a picture of Howard and his family in happier times at the Whitman County Online Heritage Collection.

    Howard with his parents, Albert Julius and Elisabeth Scholz and his siblings, Audrey Jean, Winifred, Virginia and Bert in December 1936.

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