Genealogy Is An Adventure

Tag: WW1

  • An Ancestor I admire

    For the year 2026 I am participating in Amy Johnson Johnson’s Crow 52 Ancestors in 52 weeks.

    I didn’t have to look far for the ancestor I admire, it’s my paternal Grandmother, Maria Becker Krings nee Becker. Maria was born in Hamminkeln just about 5km outside of the city of Wesel. Her parents were the policeman Johann Heinrich Becker and his wife Gertruda Johanna Görtzen. Somehow, I always thought my Grandmother came from a big family, because she had eight children herself. So far I have only been a able to find a brother and a sister. More possible birth and baptisms records are not in the public domain yet.

    My Grandmother was always calm, she always smiled and she participated in whatever her large family was up to. I never heard any unkind words from here. She attended church every Sunday.

    Grandma lived through WW1 and WW2. She married my Grandfather, Wilhelm Krings in 1907 in Wesel in the Catholic Sankt Martini Church.

    Martinikirche

    And the inside of the church

    My Grandmother was also baptized in the church and her parents got married there. Unfortunately the church was destroyed during WW2 during British Air Raids.

    My Grandparents raised their family in Düsseldorf were my Grandfather grew up. The first four children, Wilhelm, Trude, Johann and Josef were born from 1907-1914.

    Wilhelm Krings & Maria Becker With Their First Born Son Wilhelm

    My Grandfather apparently served in WW1 in France and Russia according to a document I found online. It didn’t say where exactly. Unfortunately most military records were destroyed in WW2. My Grandfather came back from WW1 but many men did not. Four more children, Mathilde, Karl (my Dad), Richard and Ursula were born between 1919 and 1929.

    My Grandmother with two of her youngest children, Ursula walking and Richard in the pram circa 1929 in Düsseldorf.

    Life was good in 1929, their family was complete. My Grandfather had his own upholstery and decoration shop and the family had a nice apartment.

    Fast forward to Christmas 1938. A picture of my Grandmother with most of her children and the first grandchild sitting on her lap.

    Life was still good in this picture before WW2 broke out in the spring of 1939. My Grandmother in the middle, her oldest daughter, Trude and her husband Heinz on the right side. The two youngest, Ursula, smiling and Richard being held by the oldest. My Grandfather on the left side was cut off. My father, Karl, directly behind my Grandmother and behind him his older sister, Mathilde. I don’t know who the young man is behind her. One of my uncles who died after the war is on the right smoking a cigarette and holding a guitar. Two sons are missing, one was Wilhelm who had to move to the mountains because of his asthma and the other one was Josef who had moved to Berlin and later was killed in Russia.

    My Dad and his younger siblings wanted to join the Hitler Youth Groups. Children and teenagers did not have to go to Saturday school if they joined. Thankfully my Grandmother didn’t allow it, otherwise her own children would have spied on her and my Grandfather. It was a very dangerous time in 1938. Freedom of speech didn’t exist.

    In 1943 my Grandmother’s Father, Heinrich Becker, was killed in an air raid in Wesel. His body probably was never recovered. His death certificate was not issued until 10 years later. The same year, one of my Grandmother’s son, Josef was killed during a battle in July in Korowina, Russia.

    Josef with his son circa 1942, location unknown

    Also in 1943 her son Karl, my Dad, was drafted into military service. He had no choice in the matter, all the young men had to serve. My Dad was sent to Russia twice, however he kept getting sick and he had an injury on his leg, they released him from military service. He was one of the lucky ones.

    During the war in Düsseldorf my Grandmother and her family were bombed out three times. I don’t know how they managed to find shelter or food, after all they lived in the city and not in the country. There were 243 air raids on Düsseldorf. I can’t even imaging what that was like. My Grandmother lived through it with her family. Even after the war was over, the city was pretty much destroyed. Food was scarce, disease was rampant.

    In 1948 she lost another son, Johann. He died in Düsseldorf. In 1952 she came home to find my Grandfather deceased at the kitchen table.

    My Grandmother had her faith, I think this is what got her through the terrible times and she had her large family which kept growing after the war. She had 17 grandchildren. She attended all their baptisms, first communions and weddings. Her family had a big celebration for her 80th and 85th birthday.

    Grandma with her oldest son Willi and my Dad on his 50th birthday in 1974.

    Grandma and me circa 1973 at home in Düsseldorf

    When I grew up, none of the adults would talk about the war. I never even heard my Grandma talk about her parents or siblings, at least not that I can remember.

    Grandma died in 1975. All the surviving children and all her grandchildren attended her funeral. Her grave was a simple one, just like she would have liked it.

    Despite all the hardship she had to endure, she kept going and she stayed positive. I still miss her and I wished I could talk to her about her family and the war.

    Do you have an ancestor you admire? Please leave a comment below!

  • What Happened To Franz Beiersdörfer (1859-?)

    Franz Beiersdörfer was my husband’s maternal 2nd Great Grandfather. He was the son of the soldier, Johann Heinrich Beiersdörfer (1829-1891) and his wife Margaretha Johann (1830-1876). Franz was baptized 21 July 1859 in the catholic church in Albersweiler, a famous wine region in Germany.

    Baptism of Franz Beiersdörfer in Alberweiler.

    Town of Albersweiler Circa 1910

    In 1884 Franz lived in Friesenheim, which is now part of Ludwigshafen am Rhein. That year he married my husband’s 2nd Great Grandmother, Elisabeth Höcker (1864-1928). Elisabeth was the daughter of Johannes Höcker (1836-1874) and his wife Wilhelmine Katharina Bauswein (1839-1907).

    This marriage certificate has a lot more information that just the groom and bride and their parents. On the second page it stated that Franz and Elisabeth had a son, named Karl, together in 1881. It has been my experience with quite a few of my husband’s Bavarian ancestors that the women had children before they even got married. Children that were born before the wedding, will always be mentioned in the marriage certificate.

    On the top page there is a side note in the upper left corner which states that Franz and Elisabeth got a divorce in 1900. We know that Elisabeth died 1928 in Ludwigshafen. What happened to Franz? Franz and Elisabeth only had one son. Two other children died in infancy.

    Their son, Karl, married in 1908 in Ludwigshafen. In his marriage certificate it said the location of his Father, Franz, is unknown. Karl fought in WW1 (1914-1918). In the WW1 Peronnel Roster it stated that Karl’s Father lived in America, location unknown.

    A long time ago my husband’s maternal Grandmother talked about her Grandfather, Franz. She had heard that he had left for America and that the ship sank.

    Searching for Franz is becoming like finding a needle in a haystack. America could have been the USA or Canada or even Central America. How about South America? Many Germans immigrated to Brazil for example.

    I searched the following websites for Franz hoping to find emigration or immigration records.

    I even contacted the city archives in Ludwigshafen to see if they had any emigration information about Franz. It’s possible that Franz used a different name when he left the country. He was a butcher by trade, so it would have been easy for him to find work. I found the 1896 directory for Friesenheim in google books.

    His wife Elisabeth was in it, but he was not. My guess is that Franz was already gone by then and it took a couple more years for her to get a divorce in 1900.

    Here is Franz’s timeline:

    • 21 July 1859 Birth in Albersweiler
    • 24 July 1859 Baptism at the catholic church in Albersweiler
    • 16 November 1881 Son Karl is born in Friesenheim
    • 11 October 1884 Marriage to Elisabeth Hoecker in Friesenheim
    • 28 December 1884 Birth of daughter Susanna
    • 10 February 1885 Death of daughter Susanna
    • 18 April 1887 Birth of son Adam
    • 29 March 1900 Divorce
    • Death date and location unknown

    I will contact the city archives in Ludwigshafen again to see if I can obtain a copy of the divorce record. I do not know if they even kept it. May be I can find a clue in that record.

    As always I like to include a map. Friesenheim is north of Albersweiler, about 60 km or 37 miles.

    If you liked this article, please leave a comment and/or subscribe! Thank You!


  • Elisabeth Bauswein Höcker Beiersdörfer Steiner1864-1928

    Elisabeth was my husband’s maternal second Great Grandmother. She was born and baptized 20 February 1964 in Friesenheim now part of Ludgwigshafen am Rhein in Germany. Elisabeth was the illegitimate daughter of Wilhelmine Katharina Bauswein. Below is the baptismal entry from the catholic church, Sankt Gallus.

    Elisabeth’s Mother, Wilhelmine Katharina Bauswein, married her Father, Johannes Höcker The Fifth, 1 June 1865 in the same church. On the marriage certificate Johannes stated that Elisabeth and two of her other siblings were his children.

    Elisabeth married the butcher, Franz Beiersdörfer, 11 Octbober 1884 in Friesenheim. Front and back page of the marriage certificate is below.

    On the first page there is a side note that says that Elisabeth got divorced from Franz in 1900. From one of his children’s military records I know that Franz lived in America. As far as I know Elisabeth and Franz had only three children, one of them, Karl Beiersdörfer, my husband’s Great Grandfather, was born in 1881 in Friesenheim. The two other children were Susanna and Adam. Susanna died in infancy and I have no more information about Adam.

    Elisabeth got married to her second husband, the bricklayer, Peter Steiner, 23 September 1901 in Ludwigshafen. The marriage certificate is below.

    As far as I know the couple did not have any children together. Peter Steiner died 1914 in France during WW1. His death certificate from Ludwigshafen is below.

    Elisabeth died 3 November 1928 in Ludwigshafen. It was reported and signed by her Granddaughter, Erna Beiersdörfer, who was also my husband’s Grandmother. The death certificate is below.

    Elisabeth had a hard life. She was born out of wedlock, her first husband seemed to have left her and she had to get a divorce. Her second husband died in WW1. She seemed to only have one son that survived her.

  • 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.

  • In The Beginning

    I am participating in Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. This week’s title is “In The Beginning”. I will be writing on how I got started in genealogy. Today is also my first blog anniversary! I can’t believe that I have been writing these posts for a year now. Time flies when you are having fun.

    When I grew up in Germany no one ever really talked about the past and a family tree was never mentioned. My Dad would talk a little bit about WW2, he had lived through it after all. He was also a soldier for a little while, however he kept getting sick and so he was released from his duties early on. His two older brothers Hans and Josef weren’t so lucky. They both perished in that horrible war.

    My maternal Grandfather or Opa would talk a little bit about WW1. He talked about how he learnt a little English and French during the war. The first English and French words I actually learnt from him. Opa would make extra money in the war by entertaining the other soldiers. He would then send the money home to his Mother. He never talked about his Father. I know Opa served in France but when and where I don’t know. The records were destroyed during air raids on Wuppertal in WW2. Below a picture of Opa in his WW1 uniform.

    At one point in the 1990’s I wanted to start a family tree. I had bought some genealogy software to install on our first computer. I entered some information about my parents and had made a mistake and wasn’t able to correct it. I pretty much just gave up. I was working full time and then my children were both born in the mid 1990’s and my life got very busy.

    In the back of my mind I always wanted to create a family tree, however I didn’t have the time or the knowledge on how to do it until the year 2003. We were visiting my husband’s paternal Grandfather in the state of Washington. Grandpa was 96 at the time and was still farming. A picture below of him getting ready to plant some onions.

    Grandpa would always tell lots of stories. He himself was a child of immigrant parents. They came from Austria. Over the years I had listened to these stories and they always had fascinated me. This time it was different. Grandpa had asked us we had the Scholz book. We had never heard of it. So he gave us a copy to keep.

    I was mesmerized and hooked at the same time. It was the beginning of my genealogical journey. One hundred years of dates, pictures and stories. As I looked through the pages I couldn’t believe my eyes. To my surprise I was in the book. Life is funny sometimes. How can you be in a book you didn’t even know existed. The picture on the front cover was taken in 1938 for the 50th anniversary of Grandpa’s parents, Adolf Scholz and Rosina Muecke, together with all their children, grandchildren and great grandchildren. Adolf and Rosina were both born in Austria and married in Tennessee in 1888. They had nine children in that state and moved west in 1905. Grandpa was the youngest and only one born in Washington in 1906.

    Adolf Scholz died in 1939, less than a year after their 50th anniversary. Rosina lived until 1960. She was asked to write down her life story. It was included in the back of the book in her original hand writing and also a typed transcript. I have read this story a million times and all of it starting making sense over time. I have been able to verify most names and locations.

    When we first received the Scholz book, I had really no idea about my own family history. I didn’t even know the names of my own Great Grandparent until few years later when my research started.

    The author of the Scholz Book was my husband’s first cousin once removed, Virginia Scholz Burger. Unfortunately we never met her. Sie died in 2004. I do have a couple of photos and articles I found about her during my research. First of all on her wedding day

    She served in WW2 as a WAVE officer.

    An her book was mentioned in the newspaper

    I think she would be happy to know that her work is being continued in a slightly different form via my research. May be one day, I will publish a second book on the Scholz Family and continue the saga from 1988 on.

    Starting my genealogy in 2006 I didn’t know much about our ancestors, except for the book we were given by my husband’s Grandpa. During almost 20 years of my research, I have accumulated massive amounts of documents, pictures, articles, books and so much more. I currently have 22,280 people in my tree. I work on extended lines as well. I have found second and third cousins via DNA testing and through research. My husband is the lucky one, he has all the famous cousins. Stuntman Yakima Canutt, President Herbert Hoover and actor James Dean. By the way, all three and my husband have the same ancestor. My husband is also an eighth cousin of the former German Chancellor Helmut Kohl. We both have ancestors going back all the way to the 15th century.

    My journey continues, let’s see where it will take me in the next 12 months. May be finding another second or third cousin. May be a trip to an ancestral place. May be a surprise of some sort.

  • Karl Beiersdörfer 1881-1951

    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.

  • Theodor Alexander Schneider 1898-1990

    My maternal Grandfather, Theodor Alexander Schneider, war born on March 1st, 1898 in Elberfeld and died February 12th, 1990 in Düsseldorf, Germany. His parents were the locksmith, Emil August Ferdinand Schneider from Berlin and Sophia Hermina Louisa Ontrup from Bielefeld.

    His birth certificate from the registry office states that my Great Grandfather appeared and gave the following information. The street he lived on, that he was not affiliated with any religion and that his wife had given birth to a son in their apartment. The child was given the names Theodor Alexander. He then signed his name and the registrar as well and the document was dated. On the bottom right you can see a side note which stated that my Grandfather died 1990 in Düsseldorf and the number of the certificate is number 1176. I have written about these side note in a previous blog. They can be of utmost importance in your research in German genealogy. I was surprised to see that my Great Grandfather had left the Lutheran church. I am still not sure if my Grandfather was ever baptized. Some of those records were destroyed during WWII.

    My Grandfather fought in France in WW1.

    I have no idea when and where this picture was taken. WW1 military records from Elberfeld which now belongs to Wuppertal, were also destroyed during WWII.

    I called my Grandfather “Opa”. Most of the people he knew called him Alex the short form for Alexander. I didn’t know about his name Theodor until I had received a copy of his birth certificate. Opa loved to tell stories, I just wished I had written them all down. When he lived in Elberfeld, he told me that his Mother would bring him lunch at the factory. He probably finished school in 8th grade and had to go to work.

    Opa love to eat eel, he would buy some from the local fish market. Fresh eel didn’t look very appetizing to me and I never had to eat them. Opa also loved to read and do crossword puzzles. At one time he had a canary he enjoyed. He called him Hansi and the little bird would sing many different songs. Every morning Opa would get up, make the bed, make breakfast for him and my Oma (Grandmother) and go for his morning walk. He would buy the local newspaper and play lotto once a week, I don’t remember him ever winning it big, I probably would have heard about that. He loved his pipe and I will always remember that smell.

    Here is my Opa with his beloved pipe. The picture was taken in 1971 in Düsseldorf-Heerdt where he lived with my Oma.

    Opa was born in a very famous town, Elberfeld which now belongs to Wuppertal. Wuppertal is world famous for the “Schwebebahn” suspension railway.

    Opa loved his five grandchildren and we loved him. When we gathered around the table to eat a meal, Opa was the boss. He always sat at the head of table. We children had to behave, there was no complaining allowed. We could not get up from the table until every one was finished eating. We then got up and help clear the table and head to the kitchen and do the dishes. It was expected of us and we liked doing it. We loved and respected our Opa.

    Opa had eight sibling, at least six of them lived to adulthood. He was the second youngest. He never talked about them, I only found them through my research. I have a picture of the five sisters together.

    The picture is a colorized version from the original. It might have been taken near Wuppertal where the family grew up. These are all my Great Aunts.

    Opa died in March of 1990 at the age of 92. I still miss him. I wished I could talk to him one more time about his life and his family.

  • Witness To History

    I am participating in Amy Johnson’s Crow

    52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks Themes for 2024

    I know that both sets of my Grandparents lived through WW1 and WW2 in Germany. My Grandfather, Alexander Schneider, on my maternal side fought in WW1 in France. My Grandfather was kind and only told me nice stories. He learnt how to speak a little French and even taught me how to count in that language. He must have had contact with the British as well, as he would teach me my first English words. He was so proud to teach me. He also told me that he would make extra money by singing and entertaining the other soldiers. He then would send the money home to his Mother in Germany. I don’t know where in France he served. Most of the records from WW1 were destroyed in WW2. So, I will never find out. I do have a picture of my Grandfather in his WW1 uniform.

    My Grandfather was only about 16 years old when WW1 started. I do not know when and where the picture was taken.