Erna was my husband’s maternal Grandmother. She was born 26 October 1909 in Friesenheim, now part of Ludwigshafen am Rhein.
Erna had several siblings, Ernestine, Karl, Adam, Oskar and Emil. Adam was killed during WW2. She married her husband, Werner Päbst, 1936 in Ludwigshafen. Erna died in 2004.
Erna’s Mother was Margarete Senk who was born 9 October 1883 in Oggersheim which now also is part of Ludwigshafen.
Margarete married the mason, Karl Beiersdörfer, 1908 in Ludwigshafen.
Margarethe died 1951 in Ludwigshafen. Here is her obituary.
Margarete was 69 years old and she was burried at the Mundenheim Cemetery.
Margarete’s Mother was Margarete Weinacht who was born 1851 in Ruchheim, now also a part of Ludwigshafen.
Margarete Weinacht married Christoph Jacob Senck 1879 in Ruchheim. They had five children. Margarete died 1910 in Oggersheim.
Margarete’s Mother was Anna Margarethe Steiger who was born 1817 also in Ruchheim. She married Christoph Weinacht in 1841 and she died in 1895.
Ann Margarethe’s Mother was Margarete Schnäbel who was born 1776 in Erpolzheim.
She married Jakob Steiger 1816 and died 1844 in Ruchheim.
This is the end of my husband’s direct maternal line for now. Hopefully in the future I will be able to go back a couple of generations.
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.
Genealogy Is An Adventure 