Last year I wrote about my paternal Grandmother, Maria Johanna Becker.
Lets see how far I can take back her paternal line. When I first researched Maria’s ancestry I had a tough time finding any information at all. All my ancestors were born in Germany, so I have no way of using census records. My Dad died in 2006 and the only information I had from him was her birth and death dates and locations, which is not bad at all to get started. Oma (Grandma) was born in Hamminkeln outside of Wesel. I ordered her birth certificate from the city archive hoping to find the names of her parents.
Twenty years ago, I had to send a letter to the archive in Hamminkeln, Germany and request a copy of the birth certificate. I would receive a letter back with the copy and then had to pay the archive. They would not allow cash. We had to instruct our bank here in the USA to pay them via theirs in Germany. It was complicated but it worked. In the end I received the birth certificate and the names of Oma’s parents, the day laborer Johann Heinrich Becker and his wife Johanna Görtzen. There was also a Randvermerk (side note) on the left lower side which gave the information about her death certificate and where to order it.
After I found Oma’s parents I wanted to find their ancestors. How was I going to do that? There was not much online about Hamminkeln and Wesel. Oma was catholic so I had to look into church records. There was no catholic church in Hamminkeln, however there was one in Wesel. Wesel belongs to the diocese Münster. I emailed the diocese about the parents marriage record. They did not send me a copy however they gave me the wedding date and the birth years. These days the church book is online. I looked up the wedding record for Johann Heinrich Becker and Gertruda Görtzen.
Johann and Johanna were married 6 May 1884 in Wesel and I found out that both of them were born in the year 1861 in Hamminkeln. This wedding record did not mention the parents names only the witnesses. I wrote back to the dioceses and they gave me their names. Many years later I found the baptism records online. Johannes was baptized 6 December 1861. His parents were Franz Becker and Maria Sickel. Gertruda was baptized 13 October 1861 also in the same church. Her parents were Mathias Görzen and Maria Anna Spelleken.
1. Johann Heinrich Becker Baptism
2. Gertruda Görtzen Baptism
Finding the next generations of the Becker family proved difficult again. Franz Becker was working for the railroad, that’s all I found in the baptism record of his son Johann. No location of where Franz was from. Was he from Hamminkeln or somewhere else? It took another five or six year to find that information.
In the year 2021, death certificates started coming online for North Rhine-Westphalia. I was lucky as the website My Heritage published some of them on their website. I found Franz’s death certificate.
New information I found in Franz’s death certificate. He died in 1907, he had another son named Theodor, who was the informant on the certificate. Number two is that Franz was born in Messinghausen. Number three is that the parents of Franz were unknown. He was 80 years old when he died in 1907. That meant that Franz was born about 1827.
Messinghausen postcard from my personal collection.
Franz was born in Messinghausen, however he was baptized in the catholic church in Thülen. I found his baptismal record on the website Familysearch.
| Name | Franz Joseph Egidius Becker |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Baptism Age | 0 |
| Birth Date | 30 Aug 1827 |
| Baptism Date | 01 Sep 1827 (1 Sep 1827) |
| Baptism Place | Sankt Dionysius Katholisch, Thuelen, Westfalen, Prussia |
| Residence Place | Thülen, Westfalen, Preußen, Germany |
| Father | Johann Becker |
| Mother | Christine Muenster |
| FHL Film Number | 1056008 |
I also found the original record in the church book. This record verified that the parents lived in Messinghausen. I circled the location.
Finding this location in the baptismal record was important, because there a tons of Becker families in the area. Anytime you have a very common name one has to be careful with finding the right ancestors.
Two new names, Johann Becker and Christine Münster/Muenster. I found their marriage just a couple of years before Franz was born.
| Name | Johann Becker |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Marriage Date | 25 Jan 1825 |
| Marriage Place | Thülen, Westfalen, Preussen, Germany |
| Spouse | Christine Muenster |
| FHL Film Number | 1056007 |
I found the original church record online. Johann was a farmer in Messinghausen and Christine was from Weiberg, however no parents, only the witnesses are mentioned.
Once again I was stuck for a couple of years until church records from Weiberg came online. It was quite common for catholic couples to get married twice. Johann and Christine also tied the knot in her church in Weiberg.
The top part is Johann’s and the bottom part is for Christine. Johann was born in Messinghausen, his parents are Johann Michael Becker and Maria Gertrud Schröder. Christina was born in Weiberg and her parents are Joannes Caspar Münster and Anna Catharina Maria Dören.
Johann Michael Becker and Maria Gertrud Schröder got married in Thülen.
| Name | Joannes Michael Becker |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Marriage Date | 10 Feb 1779 |
| Marriage Place | Thülen, Westfalen, Preussen, Germany |
| Father | Caspari Becker |
| Mother | Annae Elisabethae Wuerminghausen |
| Spouse | Gedrud Schroeder |
| FHL Film Number | 1056007 |
I found the original entry in the Thülen church book.
I also found Johann’s baptismal record.
| Name | Joannes Michael Becker |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Baptism Age | 0 |
| Birth Date | 28 Feb 1750 |
| Birth Place | Olsberg |
| Baptism Date | 01 Mär 1750 (1 Mar 1750) |
| Baptism Place | Sankt Martin Roemisch-Katholische, Bigge, Westfalen, Prussia |
| Residence Place | Bigge, Westfalen, Preussen |
| Father | Caspar Henrich Becker |
| Mother | Anna Elisabetha Wuerminghausen |
| FHL Film Number | 1051950 |
Found the original record in the church book in Bigge. Johann was born 28 February and baptized on the first of March, 1750.
Johann’s parents Caspar Henrich Becker and Anna Elisabetha Würminghausen married 18 November 1747 in the same church in Bigge.
| Name | Casparus Henricus Becker |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Marriage Date | 18 Nov 1747 |
| Marriage Place | Sankt Martin Roemisch-Katholische, Bigge, Westfalen, Prussia |
| Spouse | Elisabetha Wuerminghausen |
| FHL Film Number | 1051950 |
I found the marriage in the church book.
The word behind his Mother Elisabetha Würminghausen is vidua, which means, she was already a widow. So at this point I don’t know if Würminghausen is her maiden or married name. Original records are very important. Most likely Johann had half siblings.
Let’s see if I can take the Becker line back another generation. I need to find Caspar’s parents and baptism.
| Name | Casparus Henricus Becker |
|---|---|
| Gender | Male |
| Baptism Date | 07 Apr 1733 (7 Apr 1733) |
| Baptism Place | Thülen, Westfalen, Preussen, Germany |
| Residence Place | Preußen, Germany |
| Father | Joannes Henricus Becker |
| Mother | Maria Catharina Wiessen |
| FHL Film Number | 1056007 |
Voilà! I found them, thanks to the Family Search website and here is the original entry from the church book.
It’s possible that I eventually can find a marriage for Joannes Henricus Becker and Maria Catharina Wiessen, but for now this is the end of the Becker line.
Here is timeline I created for Maria’s paternal Becker line
Maria’s was born in Hamminkeln, however her direct paternal line came from Messinghausen and surrounding villages.
Finding your ancestors can be very tricky and difficult at times. It takes a lot of time, patience and money. In the end the reward is priceless. No matter how long you have waited for a record to be published. Finally you can go back one more generations. I found my 6th Becker Great-Grandparents. It will take me some time to go through more of the church books backwards to hopefully find their marriage and may be even their parents.
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Genealogy Is An Adventure 