Steinhaus – Genealogy Is An Adventure

Happy Mother’s Day

This Sunday, May 10th, we celebrate once again Mother’s Day here in the United States and in Germany as well. Today I will introduce you to my direct maternal line, meaning my Mother, her mother and so on.

1. My Mother, Katharina Josefine Schneider, was born 4 November 1927 in Düsseldorf-Heerdt and died 12 November 1982 in Düsseldorf, Germany. She married my Dad in 1946. She loved flowers, lucky for her, my Dad owned a wholesale flower business, so there was an endless supply. I inherited all her vases. I love this particular picture of her, it was taken in 1943.

2. Her Mother and My Grandmother, Adelheid Katharina Sevenich, born 24 September 1899 and died 17 October 1982 in Düsseldorf-Heerdt. She married my Grandfather in 1922. Oma was a seamstress and made cloths for all my dolls. She made the best paprika chicken and pudding desserts.

3. Her Mother and my Great Grandmother, Anna Catharina Steinhaus, born 18 November 1870 and died 10 March 1958 in Düsseldorf Heerdt. She married my Great Grandfather in 1893. Anna died before I was born, so I didn’t get to meet her. She had a large family of nine children. Her picture was taken on her 25th wedding anniversary in 1918.

4. Her Mother and my 2x Great Grandmother, Anna Christina Gather, was born 16 October 1842 in Büderich and died 13 May 1906 in Düsseldorf-Heerdt. She married my 2x Great Grandfather, in 1869. Her baptims is below.

Her marriage:

Her death certificate:

5. Her Mother and my 3rd Great Grandmother, Anna Catharina Underdenbäumen (the last name literally translated means “under the trees”), was born 23 February 1808 in Neuss and died 3 February 1850 in Büderich. She married my 3rd Great Grandfather in 1832. She had a large family of 9 children.

Her marriage:

Her death:

6. Her Mother and my 4th Great Grandmother, Maria Sibilla Gather, born 9 January 1767 in Büderich and died 4 December 1827 in Neuss. She married my 4th Great Grandfather in 1790. She had 4 children. Here is the marriage from the church book.

7. Her Mother and my 5th Great Grandmother, Sibille Gertrud Korschgens (also spelled Körschgens), born 15 January 1736 and died 8 April 1817 in Büderich. She married my 5th Great Grandfather in 1758. She had 11 children.
8. Her Mother and my 6th Great Grandmother, Helena Maria Kreitzen, born about 1710 and died 13 September 1757 in Büderich. She married my 6th Great Grandfather in 1732. She had 9 children.
9. Her Mother and my 7th Great Grandmother was Maria Leven. I do not have any dates for her yet. Hopefully in the future I will be able to find some.

I was able to go back nine generation for my direct maternal line. That’s pretty awesome, don’t you think?

The first Mother’s Day in the United States was celebrated in 1908, in Germany not until 1922.

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May 5, 2025

Anna Maria (Mary) Steinhaus Ohren 1806-1883

Anna Maria Steinhaus was my maternal third Great Aunt and the older sister of my third Great Grandfather, Peter Wilhelm. Maria or later known as Mary, was born 30 January 1806 in Ratingen, which now belongs to Düsseldorf, Germany. Her parents were Wilhelm Herman Steinhaus and Gertrud Strotman.

Mary got married to Peter Ohren 5 August 1833 in Eckamp, near Ratingen. The couple had eight children together. In the year 1852 the family travelled to Bremen and then sailed to North America on the Canopus. On the map below it shows the first part of their journey, which was about 177 miles.

I found the Ohren family on an emigration list published by the North Rhine-Westphalia archives.

It was transcribed in the following order: last name, maiden name, first name, birth year, birth location, last residence, profession, destination town and country.

The family arrived in Castle Gardens, later known as Ellis Island, 28 September 1852. Below are pictures I took in 2019. I would highly recommend a visit.

Below is the ship’s manifest for the Ohren family.

It was recorded in the following order: first name, last name, age, male or female and from which country they were.

The family then started the last leg of their trip to Old Ripley, Bond County, Illinois.

I found Mary Ohren only in the 1880 Federal Census. At that time she was a widow and lived in a boarding house probably with two of her granddaughters.

Name	Mary Ohren
Age	75
Birth Date	Abt 1805
Birthplace	Prussia
Home in 1880	Ripley, Bond, Illinois, USA
Dwelling Number	158
Race	White
Gender	Female
Marital Status	Widowed
Father’s Birthplace	Prussia
Mother’s Birthplace	Prussia
Occupation	Housekeeper
Neighbors	View others on page

Mary’s husband, Peter Ohren, had died already in 1870. Mary died 13 November 1883 in Old Ripley. She is buried in the Brown Cemetery in Old Ripley. I found an obituary in a local German newspaper.

Transcription: Ms. Ohren died on Tuesday last week in the home of her daughter, Ms. Ganza. Ms. Ohren was about 70 years old and is the Mother of Mathias, John and Peter Ohren.

Mary had a large family with lots of Grandchildren. Here is a list of her children and where they settled. All of her children were born in Prussia.

1. William P Ohren born 1832, died 1880 in Old Ripley, was married to Gertrud Maibom. The couple had 4 children.
2. Elisabeth (Lizzie) Ohren born 1836, died 1883 in Madison County, Illinois, was married to Henry Daudermann. The couple had 5 children.
3. Franziska Ohren born 1838, died 25 June 1920 in Sleepy Eye, Minnesota, was married to Henry Berg. The couple had 14 children.
4. Peter Ohren born 1841, died 1924 in Leef Township, Madison County, Illinois, was married to Catharine Vonburg. The couple had 4 children.
5. Catharina Ohren born 1843, died 1 December 1897 in Old Ripley, was married to Gottlieb Ferdinand Ganzer. The couple had 3 children.
6. Mathias Hubert Ohren born 1846, died 9 October 1880 in Old Ripley, was married to Elisabeth Helena Frances Hessen. The couple had 5 children
7. Johann Ohren born 1850, died 1877, was married to Catherine Rochin. The couple had 3 children.
8. Wilhelm Ohren born 1851, death unknown.

Mary had a grand total of 38 grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband Peter and four or may be even five of her children. That must have been very hard on her. She didn’t have an ordinary life. Mary travelled thousands of miles to a foreign world. She has hundreds of descendants here in the USA. I have quite a few DNA matches with them.

In order to write this article I used many different sources:

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February 15, 2025

Peter Jacob Gather 1809-1883

Peter Jacob Gather, my maternal third Great Grandfather, a farmer, was born exactly 216 years ago in Büderich near Neuß, Germany and died 27 May 1883 nearby in Niederdonk. Peter’s parents were Johann Mathias Gather and Sybilla Catharina Nesges. Peter married my third Great Grandmother, Anna Catharina Unterdenbäumen, 7 October 1832 in Büderich. Below is the marriage entry from the church book.

I also have a copy of the marriage certificate.

Peter and Anna Catharina had nine children together, all born in Büderich. 1. Anna Catharina was born 8 August 1833, married Franz Jacob Tups 8 November1861 in Büderich and died 17 February 1901 in Fischeln near Krefeld. They had at least 5 children. 2. Johann Mathias Gather was born 4 May 1835, married Maria Catharina Schaefer 5 June 1868 in Büderich and died nearby in Lank 24 January 1907. They had at least three children together. 3. Hubert Paul Gather was born 4 February 1837. 4. Anna Gertrud Gather was born 23 September 1838, married Johann Peter Junkers 29 October 1864 in Kaarst. They had at least 2 children together. 5. Johann Heinrich Gather was born 14 November 1870, married Anna Barbara Leven 6 February 1873 in Büderich and died 30 November 1904 in Heerdt. They had at least 4 children together. 6. Anna Christina Gather, my 2nd Great-Grandmother, was born 16 October 1842, married my second Great-Grandfather, Balthasar Hubert Steinhaus, 18 November 1869 in Büderich and died13 May 1906 in Heerdt. They had 2 children together. 7. Peter Wilhelm Gather was born 9 February 1846. 8. Peter Wilhelm Hubert Gather was born 25 May 1847. He was first married to Sibilla Gertrud Robertz and then to Judith Sartorius. He died 3 October 1917 in Büderich. 9. Maria Catharina Gather was the last child. She was born 13 June 1849.

Only a few month after the last child was born, my third Great Grandmother, Anna Catharina Unterdenbäumen died 3 February 1850 in Büderich. My third Great Grandfather, Peter Jacob Gather got married to his second wife, Catharina Wanders, 3 November 1851 and they had four children, also all born in Büderich. 1. Johann Peter Josef Gather was born 11 September 1852. He married Christina Anna Speck and died 14 September 1934 in Büderich. They had at least three children together. 2. Johann Hubert Gather was born 17 November 1854 and he was married to Gertrud Koppen. He died 18 May 1900 in Mönchengladbach. They had at least one child together. 3. Peter Jacob Hubert Gather was born 24 July 1856. 4. Peter Anton Gather was born 6 April 1858 and he was married to Helena Hochhausen 4 February 1887 in Heerdt.

Peter Jacob Gather died 27 May 1883 in Niederdonk. His death certificate is below. It mentions his parents and that he was widowed twice.

Peter didn’t die far from where he was born, only about three kilometers.

January 15, 2025

Favorite Photo

I am participating once again in Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 ancestors in 52 week challenge. This week’s theme is about a favorite photo.

The photo shows my two times Great Grandparents Peter Johann Sevenich and Josephine Odilia Gröbbels with their young family. The family lived in Heerdt, Germany nowadays is a part of Düsseldorf.

Peter Johann and Josephine were both born and married in Brachelen. A picture below shows the church.

His birth date was 13 September 1838 and hers 24 March 1842. They were married 8 November 1867. He died 10 July 1910 in Heerdt and she passed away 27 April 1920 in Neuss.

The oldest daughter, I believe is on the right side of the picture. Her name was Josefine. She was born in Brachelen 29 June 1868 and died 8 October 1945 in Neuss. Josefine was married to Michael Bolton. They had 7 children.

The oldest son, my Great Grandfather, Franz, is the handsome young man standing behind his Father. Franz was born 4 Jan 1870 in Brachelen, died 26 August 1950 in Heerdt and he was married 9 June 1893 to my Great Grandmother, Anna Catharina Steinhaus. They had nine children together, including my Grandmother, Adelheid. A picture below of my Great Grandparent on their 50th anniversary in 1943.

Johann, Josefine and their young family moved around 1870 to Heerdt. There Johann worked for the rail road. The first child born in Heerdt was Adelheid, on the left side of the picture. Her birth date was 16 September 1871 and she died 17 May 1943. Adelheid was married to Stefan Lenzen. They had a bakery in Heerdt. According to her obituary below, they had four sons and five daughters.

Adelheid Lenzen was also the Godmother to my Grandmother Adelheid Sevenich, born 1899 in Heerdt. Below is the baptismal entry.

The next child is Gerhard Sevenich. He was born 9 March 1873 and died 16 December 1948 in Heerdt. Gerhard was married to Gertrud von Mertz. They had eight children together.

Next comes Wilhelm Sevenich. He was born 1 October 1874 in Heerdt and died 8 February 1964 in Battersea, London. The death location and date was a total surprise find on Ancestry’s England and Wales Death Index.

I found this information in 2014 and was easily able to order the actual death certificate from London.

The question now presented itself why he was in London to begin with. I found out that he had a daughter Katharina Sevenich who was married to Thomas Baldwin whom I also found in a marriage index. I will write about all these finding in a later post. Back To Wilhelm and his sibling.

We know where Wilhelm was born and where he died. Wilhelm was married 4 February 1902 to Clara Franzisca Derendorf. They had seven children, one of them was Katharina mentioned above.

Next up was Andreas Josef Sevenich born 4 July 1877 in Heerdt. He was missing in action in France in 1915 during WW1. Below is the notification that he was missing. I do not have a death certificate.

He was a corporal when he went missing. Josef was married to Anna Welbers. They had four children, lived in Büderich and had a milk delivery service. I do have a picture of Josef delivering the milk.

After Josef came Sibilla Sevenich. Sibilla was born 22 May 1879 in Heerdt and died 17 September 1954 in Neuss. She was married to Lorenz Moor. They had no children

Then came Heinrich Sevenich born 28 February 1881 in Heerdt and died 1 February 1940 in Meerbusch. He was married to Luise Vogel. They had one child.

After Heinrich came Fredericus Adamus also known as Fritz Sevenich, born 7 February 1883 and died 1 February 1969 in Heerdt. He was married to Elisabeth Struth. They had four children.

The youngest child was Mathilde Sevenich born 6 December 1885 in Heerdt and died 28 Februray 1863 in Neuss. She was married to Michael Klasen. They had four children.

So why is this a favorite picture of mine. When I first starting doing genealogy, I didn’t even have the names of my Great Grandparents or my two times Great Great Grandparents. To have this picture and being able to tell a few stories about their lives is so awesome. The icing on the cake is that I have the same picture taken about 25 years later.

My two times Great Grandfather, Johann Peter Sevenich, died in 1910, so this picture must have been taken before that date.

I want to thank and give credit to my second and third cousins, Gabi, Annemarie, Hermi and Ursula for their continued support, as this post would have not been possible without their help.

January 8, 2025

Balthasar Hubert Steinhaus 1838-1893

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.

December 2, 2024

Anna Catharina Steinhaus 1870-1958

Anna Catharina Steinhaus was my maternal Great Grandmother. She was born 18 November 1870 in Heerdt. Her parents were Balthasar Hubert Steinhaus and Anna Christina Gather. Below is her birth certificate.

On the bottom of the certificate you can see the signature of her Father, Balthasar Steinhaus. Anna was baptized 21 November 1870 in the catholic church in Heerdt.

Her godparents were Wilhelm Steinhaus and Catharina Gather nee Wanders.

Anna was married 9 June 1893 in the same church to my handsome Great Grandfather, Franz Sevenich.

Witnesses were Gerhard Sevenich and Michael Bolten. Below is a picture of my Great Grandparent on their 25th anniversary.

Followed by a picture of their 50th wedding anniversary in 1943.

Both my Great Grandmother and my Great Grandfather survived WW1 and WW2. They had nine children together. One of them was my Grandmother, Adelheid Sevenich.

Anna died 10 March 1958 in Heerdt at the local hospital. Below is a postcard of the hospital from 1920.

The hospital still exists.

Anna is the youngest of my Steinhaus ancestors. My oldest Steinhaus came originally come from Eckkamp and Ratingen across the river Rhein.

November 17, 2024

Anna Christina Gather 1842-1906

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.

November 1, 2024

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.

September 25, 2024

Peter Wilhelm Steinhaus 1811-1881

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.