52 Ancestors: #1 The WILMES-SCHOOD Family of Diekirch 1739-1825

Welcome to a New Season of 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks. You’ve never heard of the challenge? Amy Johnson Crow came up with this brilliant way to get your ancestors’ stories written in her first post for 2014. I wrote about 52 of my American ancestors in 2014 and 104 (52 European ancestral couples) in 2015.  You can find my entire list of ancestors I’ve written about here.

Gangolphus WILMES & Anna Margaretha SCHOOD

Genealogy Sketch

Name: Gangolf “Gangolphe” WILMES
Parents: Michaelis WILMES and Barbara JACQUEMIN
Spouse: Anne Marguerite SCHOOD
Parents of spouse: Nicolai SCHEID (SCHOOD) and Anna Maria FETT
Whereabouts: Diekirch, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg
Relationship to Cathy Meder-Dempsey: 4th great-grandfather of husband

1. Gangolphus WILMES
2. Apolonia “Apolline” WILMES
3. Theodore MEDER
4. Franz “François” MEDER
5. Johann Peter “Jean-Pierre” MEDER
6. Marcel Mathias MEDER
7. Cathy Meder-Dempsey’s husband Living MEDER

All records for this family were found in the church and civil records of the town of Diekirch. Births, baptisms, marriages, and deaths mentioned below occurred in Diekirch unless otherwise stated.

Gangolphus WILMES, the son of Michaelis WILMES (1700-1783) and Barbara JACQUEMIN (1705-1751), was born and baptized on 5 April 1739. His godparents were Gangolphus Walbrüll and Margaretha Juttels. The church record shows the surname spelled WILLEMS.[1] He was the middle child of the nine documented children found for his parents.

1739 Baptismal Record of Gangolphus WILMES [1]

His mother, Barbara, died on 25 October 1751.[2] On 5 March 1753, a little over sixteen months later, his father married his second wife, Marie THOBES (1727-1792).[3] They were the parents of four documented children.Further research (page by page viewing of the church records) needs to be performed to confirm the number of siblings and half-siblings Gangolf actually had.Anna Margaretha SCHOOD, daughter of Nicolai SCHEID (SCHOOD) and Anna Maria FETT, was born and baptized on 24 November 1741. Her godparents were Joannis Feth, Synodalis (a church counselor) and Anna Margaretha, frate olim (sibling of old) Feth.[4]

1741 Anna Margaretha SCHOODT baptismal record [4]

Anna Margaretha’s surname was seen as Schoodt, Schood, Schod, Schoed, and Schoedt in records found for her and her children. Different spellings of surnames was not unusual during this time period. To avoid confusion I have used the spelling found when her parents married: SCHOOD.When I started to look into the WILMES-SCHOOD couple I did not have Anna Margaretha’s parents, siblings, or her date of birth/baptism. I will share how I found the records in another post. For now, I would like to point out that FETT and FETH are very likely the same family name, only a different spelling. I will be able to confirm or refute this claim after I have done further research on Anna Margaretha’s mother’s FETT family.

Gangolphus and Anna Margaretha – The Marriage

My children’s 5th great-grandparents, Gangolphus WILMES and Anna Margaretha SCHOOD, were married on 29 October 1764.[5] No further information was included in the entry for the marriage in the church record. No parents of the bride and groom, no age for the bride and groom, and no witnesses. Other entries made on the same page, in a different handwriting, have a bit more information on the parents of the bride or groom. It looks like two persons were keeping the records. My children’s ancestors’ marriage was recorded by the one who wrote short entries with little more than the names and date.

1764 Marriage Record [5]

Gangolphus and Anna Margaretha – Become Parents

Gangolphus and Anna Margaretha’s first child was born less than two weeks before their first wedding anniversary. Susanna WILMES was born and baptized on 18 October 1765. Her godparents were Joannes Preusen and Susanna Schodt.[6] The godmother was likely her 21 years old aunt Susanna, her mother’s sister.

1765 Baptismal Record for the child Susanna [6]

Gangolphus and Anna Margaretha did not wait long for their second child who was born thirteen months later. Elisabetha was born and baptized on 23 November 1766. Her godparents were Christian Flick and Elisabetha Schoodt.[7] The godmother Elisabetha was likely a sister of the mother of the child, however I cannot say if she was Elisabetha age 27 or Maria Elisabetha age 20. Births of these two ladies have been found but marriages and/or deaths records have not been searched for.

1766 Baptismal Record of the child Elisabetha [7]

The third child of this couple was of my children’s 4th great-grandmother Apolonia WILMES. She was born and baptized on 27 February 1769. Her godparents were Nicolas Theys and Apolonia Scholtes.[8]

1769 Baptismal Record of the child Apolonia [8]

Gangolphus and Anna Margaretha finally had a son when their fourth child was born. Nicolaus WILMES was born and baptized on 19 February 1772. His godparents were Nicolaus Unden and Maria Barbara Clemang.[9]

1772 Baptismal Record of the child Nicolaus [9]

The fifth child was once again a girl. Anna Margaretha Wilmes was born and baptized on 5 July 1774. Her godparents were Michel Wilmes, a brother of the father, and Anna Margaretha Preuser.[10]

1774 Baptismal Record of the child Anna Margaretha [10]

On 16 February 1777, two and a half years later, the sixth child Margaretha WILMES was born and baptized. Her godparents were Nicolas Wilmes, a brother of the father, and Margaretha Frison.[11]

1777 Baptismal Record of the child Margaretha [11]

Four years later another daughter joined the family and was given the same name as the last child. Margaretha WILMES was born and baptized on 7 January 1781. Her godparents were Joes (Joannes) Schumacher of Hollenfels and Margaretha Preuser of Diekirch.[12]

1781 Baptismal Record of the child Margaretha [12]

The baptismal record of this child is the first record showing a signature for the father “Gangolff Wilmes” as he signed above, on the right side near the bottom. It is 1781 and Gangolphus would soon turn 42.

An Aside Concerning Godparents

As seen above, godparents included both the mother’s and the father’s siblings. What of the other godparents? Preusen and Preuser, names seen for three godparents of the children mentioned above, are likely the same surname. Were they also relatives?

Further research is planned as this is a name which is already in my children’s family tree. Thomas PREISEN (PREUSEN) and Anne Marie SCHRANTZ were the parents of their 4th great-grandmother Margaretha PREUSEN. It will be interesting to see if there is a connection.

The Children’s Mother Dies

1781 Death and burial record of Anna Margaretha SCHOOD [13]

Gangolphus’ wife Anna Margaretha died on 12 January 1781, five days after giving birth to Margaretha.[13] Her age was given as 34 although she had turned 39 the previous November. Gangolphus was left with seven children to care for. The youngest was only 5 days old when her mother died and the oldest was 15 years old.

1781 Marriage Record for Gangolphus Wilmes and his second wife [14]

The widower waited six weeks to remarry. He married Maria Catharina Colman, daughter of Andreas Colman and Catharina Wevers, on 24 February 1781.[14] The fact that he was the widower of Anna Margaretha SCHOOD is included in the entry. His brother Damian WILMES was one of the witnesses. Once again we see the signature “Gangolff Wilmes” which would suggest that in day to day life he went by Gangolff while the church authorities concerned his name to be Gangolphus.

Further Deaths in the Family

Sadly, the death of Gangolphus’ wife and mother of his children was not the last during the year. His youngest, baby Margaretha died at the age of seven months on 14 August 1781. The death entry includes the name of her deceased mother.[15]

1781 Death entry for the youngest daughter Margaretha [15]

She was followed two weeks later by her sister who was also baptized with the name Margaretha. The death record of the second child has the correct age at death but when she died on 31 August 1781 her name was given as Elisabetha. As with her baby sister, the name of her deceased mother was included in the entry.[16]

1781 Death entry for the daughter Elisabetha baptized Margaretha [16]

The five remaining WILMES children lost their paternal grandfather Michaelis WILMES on 21 November 1783 at the age of 80 years.[17]

1781 Death record of Michael Wilmes, Gangolphus’ father [17]

Three years later Gangolphus buried his only son Nicolaus Wilmes who died on 19 April 1786 at the age of fourteen.[18]

1786 Death entry for son Nicolaus [18]

Four Remaining Daughters

Of the four remaining daughters, two have not been traced. The oldest Susanna and the youngest Anna Margaretha. It is not known if they married or even died young. They were not found in the index of marriages for Diekirch which could mean they died young, married in another town, or never married.

The first of Gangolphus and Anna Margaretha’s daughters to marry was Apolonia “Apolline” WILMES. She married Johann Nicolas “Jean Nicolas” MEDER (1766-1844) on 13 January 1794.[19]

Apolonia’s older sister Elisabetha married André KOENIG (1769- ) on 20 June 1796.[20]

Apolonia and Elisabetha gave Gangolphus ten grandchildren, three of whom predeceased him.

Gangolphus is Again Widowed

1811 Death record of Marguerithe Tholmang, wife of Gangolffe Wilmes [21]

On 31 March 1811 “Gangolffe Wilmes,” a 77 years old day laborer was the informant for the death of his wife, Marguerithe THOLMANG who was 76 at the time of death.[21]This name does not match the name seen for the woman he married in 1781. The marriage record shows her name as Maria Catharina Colman, daughter of Andreas Colman and Catharina Wevers. Was this the same lady he married in 1781 or was he married three times? Hopefully further research will solve this question.Gangolphus WILMES outlived his last wife by fifteen years, long enough to see two of his grandsons marry in 1821[22] and 1822.[23]His daughter Apolonia, my children’s ancestor, died on 26 November 1824.[24]

Gangolf “Gangolphe” WILMES died on 22 January 1825 at the age of 85, outliving his father by five years.[25] His death was reported by his grandson, Jeangout KOENIG. Jeangout is the French version of the name Gangolf. Gangolphus’ name was given as Jeangout WILLMES and his age as 82 years. According to the death record, he was the widower of Marie TOLLMAN – similar to Marie Catherine Collman seen in 1781 but not a match. Could her maiden name on the marriage record have been transcribed incorrectly and did this influence my interpretation of the handwriting?

At the time of his death, the only known living child of the WILMES-SCHOOD couple was Elisabeth WILMES who died ten years later on 10 December 1835 at the age of 70.[26]

Next week, I will continue with another set of my children’s 5th great-grandparents, the parents of Elisabetha CLOS. The parents of her husband, Théodore REIFFER are at this time unknown and I am not expecting to find the key to a door in his brick wall in the near future.

Sources:
[1] Luxembourg, registres paroissiaux, 1601-1948 (images), FamilySearch (original records at Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit, Luxembourg), Diekirch > Baptêmes 1647-1664, 1672-1743, mariages 1698-1741, sépultures 1698-1729 > image 70 of 240. 1739 Baptismal Record (left page, last entry).(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9WM-MQBR?cc=2037955&wc=STHC-B8B%3A1500890501%2C1500890502 : accessed 23 Dec 2016).
[2] Ibid., Diekirch > Sépultures 1743-1793 > image 12 of 140. 1751 Death Record (left page, 2nd entry). (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9WM-LC3F?cc=2037955&wc=STH6-6Y7%3A1500890501%2C1500929176 : accessed 26 December 2016).
[3] Ibid., Diekirch > Mariages 1743-1794 > image 13 of 122. 1753 Marriage Record (left page, last entry).(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9WM-MQK6?cc=2037955&wc=STHC-B87%3A1500890501%2C1500891002 : accessed 6 January 2017).
[4] Ibid., Diekirch > Baptêmes 1647-1664, 1672-1743, mariages 1698-1741, sépultures 1698-1729 > image 72 of 240. 1741 Baptismal Record (right page, 4th entry from bottom). (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9WM-M73M?cc=2037955&wc=STHC-B8B%3A1500890501%2C1500890502 : accessed 5 January 2017).
[5] Ibid., Diekirch > Mariages 1743-1794 > image 28 of 122. 1764 Marriage Record (left page, 5th entry). (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9WM-M7XL?cc=2037955&wc=STHC-B87%3A1500890501%2C1500891002 : accessed 22 December 2016).
[6] Ibid., Diekirch > Baptêmes 1743-1790, confirmations 1768-1789 > image 128 of 373. 1765 Baptismal Record (left page, 4th entry).  (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99WM-LHTM?cc=2037955&wc=STHZ-ZNL%3A1500890501%2C1500918030 : acessed 22 December 2016).
[7] Ibid., Diekirch > Baptêmes 1743-1790, confirmations 1768-1789 > image 134 of 373. 1766 Baptismal Record (right page, last entry). (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-32421-7986-99?cc=2037955&wc=STHZ-ZNL:1500890501,1500918030 : accessed 22 December 2016).
[8] Ibid., Diekirch > Baptêmes 1743-1790, confirmations 1768-1789 > image 149 of 373. 1769 Baptismal record (left page, 4th entry). (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1971-32421-7593-86?cc=2037955&wc=STHZ-ZNL:1500890501,1500918030 : accessed 22 June 2015).
[9] Ibid., Diekirch > Baptêmes 1743-1790, confirmations 1768-1789 > image 169 of 373. 1772 Baptismal Record (right page, 3rd entry).(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99WM-LHFF?cc=2037955&wc=STHZ-ZNL%3A1500890501%2C1500918030 : 9 January 2015).
[10] Ibid., Diekirch > Baptêmes 1743-1790, confirmations 1768-1789 > image 185 of 373. 1774 Baptismal Record (right page, 2nd to last entry). (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9WM-LH3Z?cc=2037955&wc=STHZ-ZNL%3A1500890501%2C1500918030 : accessed 23 Dec 2016).
[11] Ibid., Diekirch > Baptêmes 1743-1790, confirmations 1768-1789 > image 203 of 373. 1777 Baptismal Record (left page, 2nd to last entry).(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9WM-LCG2?cc=2037955&wc=STHZ-ZNL%3A1500890501%2C1500918030 : accessed 22 Dec 2016).
[12] Ibid., Diekirch > Baptêmes, mariages 1779-1786, décès 1779-1785 > image 67 of 208. 1781 Baptismal Record (right page, 1st entry).(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99WS-4QGL?cc=2037955&wc=STHD-GPF%3A1500890501%2C1500945258 : accessed 22 December 2016).
[13] Ibid., Diekirch > image 79 of 208. 1781 Death Record, died at age 34 years (right page, 3rd entry). (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9WS-4Q6G?cc=2037955&wc=STHD-GPF%3A1500890501%2C1500945258 : accessed 22 December 2016).
[14] Ibid., Diekirch > Baptêmes, mariages 1779-1786, décès 1779-1785 > image 88 of 208. 1781 Marriage Record (left page, last entry).(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9WS-4Q86?cc=2037955&wc=STHD-GPF%3A1500890501%2C1500945258 : accessed 22 December 2016),.
[15] Ibid., Diekirch > Baptêmes, mariages 1779-1786, décès 1779-1785 > image 82 of 208. 1781 Death Record (left page, last entry). (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-99WS-4QFV?cc=2037955&wc=STHD-GPF%3A1500890501%2C1500945258 : acccessed 22 December 2016).
[16] Ibid., Diekirch > Baptêmes, mariages 1779-1786, décès 1779-1785 > image 83 of 208. 1781 Death Record, age at death 4 years (left page, 4th entry). (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9WS-4QN6?cc=2037955&wc=STHD-GPF%3A1500890501%2C1500945258 : accessed 22 December 2016).
[17] Ibid., Diekirch > Baptêmes, mariages 1779-1786, décès 1779-1785 > image 136 of 208. 1783 Death Record (right page, 2nd entry).(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9WS-4Q4G?cc=2037955&wc=STHD-GPF%3A1500890501%2C1500945258 : accessed 3 January 2017).
[18] Ibid., Diekirch > Baptêmes, mariages, sépultures 1786-1793, 1795 > image 5 of 204. 1786 Death Record (left page, 2nd entry from bottom). (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9WS-4W5H?cc=2037955&wc=STHD-GPX%3A1500890501%2C1500981574 : accessed 6 January 2017).
[19] Ibid., Diekirch > Mariages 1743-1794 > image 116 of 122. 1794 Marriage Record (lower right). (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1951-32400-5311-96?cc=2037955&wc=STHC-B87:1500890501,1500891002 : accessed 28 June 2015).
[20] Ibid., Diekirch > Baptêmes 1791-1795, mariages 1794-1798, 1800-1803, sépultures 1794-1795 > image 110 of 243. 1796 Marriage Record (right page, last entry). (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QSQ-G9WS-47DM?cc=2037955&wc=STHD-2JW%3A1500890501%2C1501017982 : accessed 23 December 2016).
[21] Luxembourg, Registres d’état civil, 1662-1941 (images), FamilySearch (original records at Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit, Luxembourg), Diekirch > Mariages 1843-1890 Décès 1797-1824 > image 1153 of 1493. 1811 Death Record No. 13, at the age of 76 years (middle of right page). (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-12052-50867-46?cc=1709358&wc=M9M6-2ND:n1913802954 : accessed 11 Apr 2013).
[22] Ibid., Diekirch > Naissances 1879-1890 Mariages 1796-1842 > image 1077 of 1492. 1821 Marriage Record No. 22. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-DYH3-1TK?cc=1709358&wc=9RY4-W38%3A129628901%2C130301801 : accessed 6 January 2017).
[23] Ibid., Diekirch > Naissances 1879-1890 Mariages 1796-1842 > image 1093 of 1492. 1822 Marriage Record No. 2. (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-11618-97291-62?cc=1709358&wc=9RY4-W38:129628901,130301801 : accessed 21 April 2010).
[24] Ibid., Diekirch > Mariages 1843-1890 Décès 1797-1824 > image 1487 of 1493. 1824 Death Record No. 32. (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-12052-49769-12?cc=1709358&wc=M9M6-2ND:n1913802954 : accessed 04 Apr 2013).
[25] Ibid., Diekirch > Décès 1825-1890 > image 2 of 1358. 1825 Death Record No. 3, lower left hand corner. Age 92 years at time of death. (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-12147-160630-60?cc=1709358&wc=M9M6-2NH:n538876208 : accessed 11 April 2013).
[26] Ibid., Diekirch > Décès 1825-1890 > image 174 of 1358. 1835 Death Record No. 29. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:S3HY-6XYW-4W4?cc=1709358&wc=9RYC-2NL%3A129628901%2C129628902 : accessed 23 December 2016).

© 2017, copyright Cathy Meder-Dempsey. All rights reserved.

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