Week 45 (November 5-11) – Free. (Pick your own theme!)
I picked “nur nicht verzweifeln” or don’t despair: I had a rough time getting this written with correct source citations. I came to realize there are still avenues open to me for researching the German families. This is the last German family group in this generation. The next four sets of 3rd great-grandparents will take me back to the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Whew!
The WAGNER-KERSCHT family lived in Mettendorf, Germany, and included father Johann “Joannes” WAGNER, mother Anna Maria KERSCHT, and four children, two of whom were known to have continued the line.
Cropped from a larger map from 1789. Courtesy of
http://wiki-commons.genealogy.net/Datei:Rheinprovinz-1789-00-Uebersicht-kl.djvu
Johann “Joannes” WAGNER
Johann “Joannes” WAGNER, my third great-grandfather, was born about 1804[1] in Fließem, north of Bitburg in the Eifel (Germany). He was the son of Mathias WAGNER and Anna Katharina SCHACMOTTE. The names of his parents were found on the indexed 1830 marriage record (no images).[16] The 1858 burial record found in the FamilySearch database included his age at death which was used to compute his estimated year of birth. Thomas A. Pick, compiler, Homepage for Eifel Birth and Marriage Data lists Johann’s mother’s name as Maria Catharina SCHUMACHER. Johann’s parents and siblings are at this time a brick wall.
Anna Maria KERSCHT
My third great-grandmother Anna Maria KERSCHT was the daughter of Mathias KERSCHT (1759-1841), a sheep herder, Schäfer, and Anna EVEN (1766-1828) who were married 26 November 1785 in Messerich in the Eifel.[2] Anna Maria was the second child of eight children born to Mathias and Anna according to information given in the OFB Mettendorf (Ortsfamilienbuch – Family Book Mettendorf). I suspect she was more likely their fifth child. Note: When I took the photo, below, it was the first time I was actually seeing a family book and did not know how to go from one family group to the next. I should have gone to families M1493, M3013, and M1535 to get more information on the daughters in the family. I did not miss getting a photo of the sons under M1160, M1161, S1162 as these were on the same and next page.
- Child 1: Anne KERSCHT (1788-1843) was born on 4 October 1788 in Messerich.[2], [3]
- Child 2: Catharina KERSCHT (1791-1851) born 14 December 1791 in Messerich.[2], [3]
- Child 3: Matthias KERSCHT (1794-1876) was born on 19 April 1794 in Messerich.[2], [3], [4]
- Child 4: Christophorus KERSCHT (1799- ) born 19 June 1799 in Mettendorf.[2], [5]
- Child 5: Anna Maria KERSCHT born in Mettendorf. My line.
- Child 6: Anna Catharina KERSCHT (1806-1824) born abt. 1806 in Mettendorf.[2], [6]
- Child 7: Heinrich “Henricus” KERSCHT (1809-1809) was born on 8 August 1809. He lived only 10 days dying on 18 August 1809 in Mettendorf and was buried the next day.[2], [7]
- Child 8: Joannes KERSCHT (1811- ) born 18 February 1811 in Mettendorf.[2], [8]
You will notice the first three children born between 1788 and 1794 were born in Messerich per Pick’s Data.[3] Anna Maria was born in Mettendorf.[2] The family must have moved from Messerich to Mettendorf after the birth of their son Mathias in 1794. Anna Maria’s year of birth is estimated at about 1793 in the OFB Mettendorf under the information for her parents.[2] I did not get the M3013 entry for Anna Maria and her husband from the book and will have to rectify this as soon as it is possible to access the OFB. As you will see later her last child was born in 1842. She would have been nearly 50 years old if she was born abt. 1793 and 11 years older than her husband. I find this quite hard to believe.
When Mathias and Anna were expecting their seventh child their oldest daughter Anne married Henricus LUDWIG on 23 January 1809 in Mettendorf.[9]
In the year their eighth child was born their second daughter Catharina married Joannes Friedericus LOCHEMES on 19 September 1811 in Mettendorf.[10] Two months later she had a daughter, who lived only two weeks.[11] Catharina also married Theodore LOCHEMES. This would have been in 1818 or earlier. What happened to her first husband and was he a brother of her second husband? These are questions I cannot answer at this time.
Six years after Catharina’s first marriage her brother Mathias, the oldest son of Mathias and Anna, married Angela ACHEN on 21 January 1818 in Mettendorf.[12]
Another six years later the second oldest son Christophorus married Elisabetha MERTES on 23 February 1824 in Sülm near Bitburg.[13]
Three months later their 18 years old daughter Anna Catharina died on 22 May 1824 in Mettendorf and was buried the next day.[14]
Four years later the mother of this family, Anna EVEN died and was buried on 15 November 1828 in Mettendorf.[15]
Johann and Anna Maria Marry
Johann “Joannes” WAGNER married Anna Maria KERSCHT on 22 February 1830 in Mettendorf.[16] The bride’s father Mathias was very likely present at the marriage. As nothing is known of the groom’s parents, whether they were living or deceased, I cannot say they were present or not. At the time of the marriage the bride may have already been expecting her first child.
Let us consider what her age may have been at the time of marriage. If she was born about 1793 she would have been about 37 while her husband Johann was only about 26. Could there have been a 10 years difference in their ages?
On 20 August 1830 Anna Maria gave birth to her first child, a daughter Margaret. She was baptized the same day.[17] On 12 February 1832 Margaret was about 18 months and became the sister of a brother Friedericus who was baptized the same day.[18] The next child of Johann and Anna Maria was born a little more than 3 years later on 6 July 1835. This daughter, Catharina, was baptized the next day.[19]
Six years later Anna Maria’s youngest brother Joannes KERSCHT (also spelled the surname KIRSCHT) married Elisabetha ROTH on 7 January 1841 in Nusbaum in the Eifel.
A little over a month after the marriage of her youngest brother, Anna Maria’s father Mathias KERSCHT died in Mettendorf on 11 February 1841.[20]
Johann and Anna Maria’s fourth and last child Magdalena was born on 21 March 1842 and baptized the next day.[21] If Anna Maria was born about 1793 she would have been about 49 years old when my great-great-grandmother Magdalena WAGNER was born. Could this be correct? I think a trip to the Standesamt Körperich, where the civil records for Mettendorf are held, may give me the answer to this question.
Anna Maria’s two oldest sisters died. Anne on 8 January 1843[22] and Catharina on 9 December 1851.[23] Catharina’s burial record shows her age as 65 which calculates to her birth being abt. 1786. This is five years older than she actually was and shows the burial records index is not always reliable. Does this mean Anna Maria’s age at death on her burial record (below) may also have been incorrect?
Johann and Anna Maria’s only son Friedericus WAGNER married Catherine SCHMITZ on 9 March 1857 in Mettendorf.[24] The young couple named their first child born on 17 May 1858 in Mettendorf, Joannes,[11] after Friedericus’ father. Johann “Joannes” WAGNER, the grandfather, died less than a month later on 15 June 1858 and was buried on 17 June 1858 in Mettendorf.¨[25]
Johann and Anna Maria’s youngest daughter, my 2nd great-grandmother, Magdalena WAGNER married my 2nd great-grandfather Mathias PÖPPELREITER (1843-1891) on 18 November 1868 in Mettendorf.[26]
The oldest daughter Margaret WAGNER died on 19 July 1871 in Mettendorf.[27] She never married and did not have any known children.
Johann and Anna Maria’s only son Friedericus was widowed between 1871-1873 and remarried on 11 January 1873 to Marie THELEN.[27] She gave him three children in three years.
Friedericus’ second wife was pregnant with their third child when his mother Anna Maria KERSCHT died on 21 July 1876 in Mettendorf.[27] Anna Maria left two children, Magdalena, my 2nd great-grandmother who died nearly eight years later on 20 March 1884[26] and Friedericus who died after 1899.[27] It is not know if her daughter Catharina born in 1835 lived to marry.
Sources:
[1] Germany Deaths and Burials, 1582-1958 / Deutschland Tote und Beerdigungen, 1582-1958, (index), FamilySearch, FHL microfilm 469172. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J4Z3-P8Q : accessed 5 November 2015), Joannes Wagner, birth 1804, burial 17 Jun 1858, spouse’s name Anna Maria Kirscht; citing v.3 p.264, reference v.3 p.264;.
[2] Werner Naumann, compiler, Familienbuch der Pfarrei Mettendorf Dekanat Neuerburg, Band 1 A-M Band 2 N-Z (compiled in 1992), p. 291, Family # M1158. [Pages of book photographed in Archiv Peter Daus (Wittlich) on 4 May 2013]. Kerscht-Even.
[3] Thomas A. Pick, compiler; Homepage for Eifel Birth and Marriage Data; (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pick/ : accessed 5 November 2015) citing Messerich.
[4] Family Book Mettendorf, p. 291-292, Family # M1160. [Pages of book photographed in Archiv Peter Daus (Wittlich) on 4 May 2013]. Kerst-Achen
[5] Ibid., p. 292, Family # M1161. [Pages of book photographed in Archiv Peter Daus (Wittlich) on 4 May 2013]. Kerscht-Mertes.
[6] Germany Deaths and Burials, (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J4Z3-KHW : accessed 5 November 2015), Anna Catharina, age 18, burial 23 May 1824, parents Mathias Kerst and Anna Even; citing v.2 p.210, reference v.2 p.210.
[7] Ibid., (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J4Z3-JLY : accessed 5 November 2015), Henricus, age 0, burial 19 Aug 1809, parents Mathias Kerscht and Anna Even; citing v.1 p.56, reference v.1 p.56.
[8] Familienbuch Mettendorf, p. 292, Family # M1162. [Pages of book photographed in Archiv Peter Daus (Wittlich) on 4 May 2013]. Kerscht-Roth.
[9] Germany Marriages, 1558-1929 / Deutschland, Heiraten, 1558-1929, (index), FamilySearch, FHL microfilm 469172. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J4LQ-SZ6 : accessed 8 November 2015), Henricus Ludewig and Anna Kerscht, 23 Jan 1809, parents of groom Nicolaus Ludewig and Elisabetha Thyves, parents of bride Mathias Kerscht and Anna Even; citing Mettendorf, Rheinland, Preußen, Germany.
[10] Germany Marriages, FHL microfilm 469172. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J4LQ-SYW : accessed 6 November 2015), Joannes Fridericus Lochemes and Catharina Kerscht, 19 Sep 1811, parents of groom Leonardus Lochemes and Maria Elisabetha Mueller, parents of bride Mathias Kerscht and Anna Even; citing Mettendorf, Rheinland, Preußen, Germany.
[11] Thomas A. Pick, compiler; Homepage for Eifel Birth and Marriage Data; (http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~pick/ : accessed 5 November 2015) citing Mettendorf.
[12] Germany Marriages, FHL microfilm 469172. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J4LQ-3LV : accessed 8 November 2015), Mathias Kerst and Angela Achen, 21 Jan 1818, parents of groom Mathias Kerst and Anna Even, parents of bride Michaelis Achen and Anna Maria Kaufmann; citing Mettendorf, Rheinland, Preußen, Germany.
[13] Germany Marriages, FHL microfilm 556878. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J4JW-JQW : accessed 8 November 2015), Christophorus Kirst and Elisabetha Mertes, 23 Feb 1824, parents of groom Mathiae Kirst and Annae Even, parents of bride Nicolai Mertes and Elisabethae Kruetten; citing Suelm, Rheinland, Preussen, Germany.
[14] Germany Deaths and Burials, (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J4Z3-KHW : accessed 5 November 2015), Anna Catharina, age 18, burial 23 May 1824, parents Mathias Kerst and Anna Even; citing v.2 p.210, reference v.2 p.210.
[15] Ibid., (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J4Z3-KT1 : accessed 5 November 2015), Anna Even, age 60, burial 15 Nov 1828, spouse Mathias Kirsch; citing v.2 p.234, reference v.2 p.234.
[16] Germany Marriages, (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J4LQ-7MQ : accessed 5 November 2015), Joannes Wagner and Anna Maria Kirsch, married 22 Feb 1830, parents of groom Mathias Wagner and Maria Catharina Schaemotte, parents of bride Mathias Kirsch and Anna Even; citing Mettendorf, Rheinland, Preußen, Germany.
[17] Germany Births and Baptisms, 1558-1898 / Deutschland Geburten und Taufen, 1558-1898, (index), FamilySearch, FHL microfilm 469172. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NC1K-YJH : accessed 5 November 2015), Margaretha Wagner, 20 Aug 1830, parents Joannis Wagner and Maria Kirscht; citing Mettendorf, Rheinland, Preußen, Germany.
[18] Ibid., FHL microfilm 469172. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NC1K-BZQ : accessed 5 June 2015), Fridericus Wagner, 12 Feb 1832; citing Mettendorf, Rheinland, Preußen, Germany.
[19] Ibid., FHL microfilm 469,172. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NJ74-3X7 : accessed 5 June 2015), Catharina Wagner, 07 Jul 1835; citing Mettendorf, Rheinland, Preußen, Germany.
[20] Germany Deaths and Burials, FHL microfilm 469172. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J4Z3-L6K : accessed 5 November 2015), Mathias Kerscht, age 88, burial 11 Feb 1841, spouse Anna Even; citing v.3 p.185, reference v.3 p.185.
[21] Germany Births and Baptisms, FHL microfilm 469172. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NC12-SQ1 : accessed 5 June 2015), Magdalena Wagner, 22 Mar 1842; citing Mettendorf, Rheinland, Preußen, Germany.
[22] Germany Deaths and Burials, FHL microfilm 469172. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J4Z3-LL5 : accessed 5 November 2015), Anna Kerscht, age 54, burial 08 Jan 1843, spouse Henricus Ludwigh; citing v.3 p.197, reference v.3 p.197.
[23] Ibid., FHL microfilm 469172. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J4Z3-G5T : accessed 6 November 2015), Catharina Kirscht, age 65, 09 Dec 1851, spouse Theodorus Lochemes; citing v.3 p.244, reference v.3 p.244.
[24] Germany Marriages, FHL microfilm 469172. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J4LQ-CVD : accessed 5 November 2015), Fridericus Wagner and Catharina Schmitt, 09 Mar 1857; citing Mettendorf, Rheinland, Preußen, Germany.
[25] Germany Deaths and Burials, FHL microfilm 469172. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J4Z3-P8Q : accessed 5 November 2015), Joannes Wagner, birth 1804, burial 17 Jun 1858, spouse’s name Anna Maria Kirscht; citing v.3 p.264, reference v.3 p.264;.
[26] Familienbuch Mettendorf, p. 39, Family # M1962. [Pages of book photographed in Archiv Peter Daus (Wittlich) on 4 May 2013]. Pöppelreiter-Wagner.
[27] Alwin Banz, compiler, Stammbaum: Familie Banz, obsolete password-protected site : accessed 5 November 2015).
© 2015 Cathy Meder-Dempsey
This is my weekly entry for Amy Johnson Crow’s challenge:
52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks – 2015 Edition. It was so successful in 2014 that genealogists wanted to continue or join in on the fun in 2015. Be sure to check out the other great posts by visiting Amy’s blog No Story Too Small where she’ll be posting the weekly recap on Thurdays and allowing all participants to leave a link to their post(s) in the comments.
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