“When one door closes, another opens; but we often look so long and so regretfully upon the closed door that we do not see the one which has opened for us.” ~ Alexander Graham Bell
Three entries in Richard Schaffner’s Familienbuch Körperich, at first glance, seem to be for three different men named Michael CLOOS, KLOS, or CLOS.
The information in entry #319 came from the Körperich church register book #2. CLOOS or KLOS Michael, son of Johann CLOOS and Anna KLAREN of Dauwelshausen, married Elisabeth THEWES or THIEWES, daughter of Nikolaus THEWES and Gertrud LESSEN from Ammeldingen, on 15 May 1770 in Körperich. At the time of the marriage, the bride was living in Seimerich.[1]
In entry #1153 the marriage of Michael KLOS or CLOS and Elisabeth THIBES or THEVES is estimated at before 1771 (likely due to the birth records found for the couple’s children). Michael resided in Ammeldingen, Gentingen, and Eisenbach while Elisabeth resided in Gentingen. These are likely places referenced in the baptismal records of their children. They had three daughters between 1771 and 1776. The places of birth, dates of birth/baptism, and their godparents’ names and residence are listed. No entry is made for marriages of the daughters which means Mr. Schaffner did not find marriages in Körperich.[2]
In entry #320 Michael CLOS of Eisenbach died on 20 December 1775 at the age of 28 years.[3]
I believe all of the entries are for the same Michael CLOS (and other spelling variations). Although the book is the main source for this family it is not a primary source. To prove my assumption I will have to consult family books of towns in the immediate area for further information. The primary source, the church records mentioned in the Körperich family book, will have to be hunted down as well.
Click on the marker to open a description with information on when which person lived in these places. The farthest distance between two places is about 15 kilometers or less than 10 miles.
The Michel CLOS Story, This is How it Might Have Been
Michel was born about 1747. At the age of about 23 years, he married Elisabeth. They had two daughters within four years. Michel died shortly before Christmas 1775. Elisabeth was pregnant with their third child. Five months after his death, she gave birth to their third daughter. The only mention of Elisabeth after the birth of her third child is a reference to the grandparents of Susanna REIFFER being deceased at the time of her marriage on 31 January 1833.[4] Elisabeth, Michel’s widow, therefore died before 1833.
There were no further entries in the Körperich FB for the daughters of Michel and Elisabeth. One of the daughters married in Mettendorf in 1790. A second daughter is known to have married before the birth of a child in 1803, however, the marriage record has not been located.
Michel and Elisabeth had the following children.
i. Margaretha was born on 29 November 1771 in Gentingen and baptized the same day in Körperich. Her godparents were Marg. Goebel of Gentingen and Nik. Thebes of Ammeldingen.[2]Note: The godfather was likely the maternal grandfather of the child.
ii. Elisabetha was born and baptized on 9 March 1774 in Körperich. Her godparents were Elis. Klein from Körperich and Michael Windandy (sic, poss. a typo. A Michael Winandy was living in Körperich at the time).[2] She died on 27 December 1829 in Bastendorf.[5]Note: This child was my children’s ancestor, seeThe Sheep Herder’s Family
iii. Margaretha was born in Körperich and baptized on 24 May 1776 in Körperich. Her godparents were Marg. Clos from Eisenach and Nik. Wonner from Körperich.[2]Note: How was Marg. Clos related to the child? Could she have been a paternal aunt? No date of birth was given in the entry.
Why were the first and third daughter given the same name? Did the first daughter die before 1776? What happened after the birth of the third daughter? Did Elisabeth marry again? Did she move to another area? Where did she raise her daughters?
In 1790 Margaretha, a daughter of Michael and Elisabeth, married in Mettendorf. Was the bride the older 19 years old Margaretha or was she the younger 16 years old Margaretha?
Daughter Margaretha Marries
Margaretha married Everardus WELTER on 14 September 1790 in Mettendorf.[6], [7]
To learn more about the WELTER-KLOOS couple I need to consult the Mettendorf Family Book the next time I visit the Luxracines library. Will the entry for this couple lead to more information for the family of Michel CLOS and Elisabeth THEWES? Will the entry show their daughter Margaretha died before 2 January 1792 when a man named Everardus WELTER married Angela RENSON? Were there more than one person named Everardus WELTER living in Mettendorf at the time?
ac·count·a·bil·i·ty
Janine Adams of the Organize Your Family History blog and members of her newly formed Facebook group, Genealogy Research Loggers, are helping me to create a habit of regularly entering my genealogy research into a research log. I’m using the Research Manager of my genealogy software Ancestral Quest 15. It is a powerful tool which I have not been using effectively. While entering items to the Research Manager, questions were formed (and recorded!) which I hope will help me to keep better track of the many loose ends in the family tree research.
Sources: [1] Richard Schaffner, comp., Familienbuch der Pfarrei St. Hubertus Körperich in der Südeifel mit Körperich, Niedersgegen, Obersgegen, Gentingen, Roth an der Our, Seimerich und Scheuerhof (später Neuscheuerhof) 1689-1899 (2002), p. 73 family #319. [2] Ibid., p. 247 family #1153. [3] Ibid, p. 73 family #320. [4] Luxembourg, Registres d’état civil, 1662-1941 (images), FamilySearch (original records at Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit, Luxembourg), Diekirch > Naissances 1879-1890 Mariages 1796- 1842 > image 1312 of 1492. 1833 Marriage Record No. 9. (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267- 11618-99298-93?cc=1709358&wc=M9M6-2N2:1627336735 : accessed 01 Apr 2013). [5] Luxembourg Civil Records, Bastendorf > Décès 1828-1862 > image 14 of 305. 1829 Death Record No. 19. (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-12394-256460-30?cc=1709358&wc=M9M6-2CM:n117549397 : accessed 04 Apr 2013). [6] Germany Marriages, 1558-1929 / Deutschland, Heiraten, 1558-1929, (index), FamilySearch, FHL microfilm 585,923. Everardus Welter and Margaretha Kloos, 14 Sep 1790; parents of the groom: Michaelis Kloos and Elisabethae Thewes; parents of the bride: Joachim Welter and Barbarae Roderig; citing Katholisch, Mettendorf, Rheinland, Prussia. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JHHG-35Q : accessed 8 January 2017). [7]Ibid., FHL microfilm 585,922. Everhardus Welter and Margaretha Kloos, 10 Mar 1790; parents of the groom: Michaelis Kloos and Elisabethae Thewes; parents of the bride: Joachim Welter and Barbarae Roderig; citing Katholisch, Mettendorf, Rheinland, Prussia. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J4PJ-7QC : 26 December 2014).
We have 64 sets of 5th great-grandparents. In this pedigree chart, on the right, are the first 8 sets of my children’s 5ggp. The MEDER-LAMBERT family was featured in several posts last year so I began with the next couple, WILMES-SCHOOD.
Pedigree chart generated using Ancestral Quest 15
I had planned to skip Théodore REIFFER‘s parents as they are unknown (as seen in the green boxes above) and continue with the parents of his wife Elisabetha CLOS. I even “announced” in the last post that Elisabeth’s parents would be up next. But one of the nice things about blogging is you can change your mind and re-schedule posts. 🙂
I didn’t expect to find a key to open a door in the REIFFER brick wall in the near future. However, why should I skip this set of 5th great-grandparents? By writing all I know and don’t know, I may find someone who’s already knocked down the brick wall or who may be able to help me open the door.
1831 Death Record Nr. 23 [1]Théodore REIFFER was born about 1771 in Gilsdorf in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.[1] His age and place of birth were listed on his death record. I suspect he was not born in Gilsdorf and it was an error made by his son-in-law who was the informant for this death.
I searched page by page through the church records of Diekirch from 1768 to 1776. In later times the civil records for Gilsdorf would be found in Bettendorf. However, the church records for the village were recorded in Diekirch during the time period I am interested in.
I reviewed the records found for his children. None of the records included information on Théodore’s place of birth. His age was consistent with the estimated 1771 birth year in all records except for one where he was seen a little younger, born about 1774.
On all records found for Théodore, he was seen as a sheep herder which explains his moving around so much. Records were found starting in Landscheid and going to Wahlhausen, Tandel, Fouhren, Bastendorf, and Gilsdorf. His wife was from Körperich.
Google map
I consulted the Körperich Family Book[2] to see if there were any REIFFER connections in the villages of the area. A few REIFFER families were in the area for a later time period. One man, Johann REIFFER, born abt. 1767 in Gralingen to parents from Pütscheid seemed interesting. If you look at the map these places are to the left and right of the arrow pointing from Landscheid to Wahlhausen.
I searched Rob Deltgen’s site for the parents, Nicolas REIFFER and Margaretha SCHMITZ. He has the couple with the son, found above in the Körperich FB, and several daughters. No other sons. What caught my attention was the place of birth of two of the daughters: Nachtmanderscheid. This lies between Landscheid and Wahlhausen. A coincidence, or could this REIFFER family be Théodore’s family?
I searched for the marriage record of the couple and found they may have married in Brandenbourg in 1759. The groom was named Nicolas REIFFER and was from Nachtmanderscheid. The entry for the marriage in the church records has only the groom’s name. It looks like the person writing the information was interrupted and never went back to write the name of the bride.
My next step is to search through the church records of Brandenbourg for baptisms from 1759 to 1780 for the children of this couple. I hope to find those mentioned on Rob’s site and perhaps some he has not found. Will Théodore be one of them?
If the children of this family are found in the Brandenbourg church records, I plan to check the same for the deaths of the parents.
For the time being, all I know is that den Här an d’Madame REIFFER, parents of Théodore, died before 31 January 1833. This is known as they were mentioned although not named in the 1833 marriage record of Théodore’s daughter Susanna. She married after the death of her parents and confirmed, along with a witness, that her grandparents were also deceased.
den Här an d’Madame = Mr. and Mrs.
Sources: [1] Luxembourg, Registres d’état civil, 1793-1923 (images), FamilySearch (original records at Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit, Luxembourg), Bettendorf > Mariages 1817-1890 Décès 1800-1859 > image 1109 of 1494. 1831 Death Record No. 23. (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-267-12456-41136-19?cc=1709358&wc=M9M6-2ZY:2071013250 : accessed 04 Apr 2013). [2] Richard Schaffner, comp., Familienbuch der Pfarrei St. Hubertus Körperich in der Südeifel mit Körperich, Niedersgegen, Obersgegen, Gentingen, Roth an der Our, Seimerich und Scheuerhof (später Neuscheuerhof) 1689-1899 (2002).
Week 27 (July 2-8) – Independent:This is the week for Independence Day! Which one fought for (or against) America’s independence? Or which of your ancestors was independent?
The REIFFER-CLOS Family
Théodore REIFFER, my husband’s 3rd great-grandfather, was born about 1771 in Gilsdorf in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.[1] His parents are at this time still unknown. His place of birth was listed on his death record. I suspect he was not born in Gilsdorf and it was an error made by his son-in-law who was the informant for this death. I will have to begin searching the towns around Gilsdorf (parish records were checked for this location and nothing found) and other places where he was known to have lived. This brick wall will have to wait for now as searching the browse only parish records is time consuming.
Théodore married Elisabeth CLOS. The religious marriage ceremony may have taken place around 1799, definitely before 1803, however I am still searching for a marriage record. As with Théodore’s birth/baptism I will have to come back to this at a later time.
Elisabeth CLOS, my husband’s 3rd great-grandmother, was born and baptized on 9 March 1774 in Körperich, Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. Her parents were Michel CLOS (b. abt. 1747 d. 1775) and Elisabeth THEVES (b. abt. 1750). At her baptism, Elisabeth’s godparents were Elis. KLEIN from Körperich and Michael WINDANDY.[2] Elisabeth’s father Michel died on 20 December 1775.
While checking the information in the Körperich Family Book[2] on Elisabeth’s family I came upon entries for several REIFFERs which leads me to believe the “Théodore brick wall” may be solved using German records instead of those in Luxembourg. I have one ace up my sleeve. While on the field trip to Koblenz to visit the archives one of the other participants proudly showed his draft of the Family Book for Bastendorf, a town Théodore’s family lived in. He may have the information I need to open the door in this brick wall. Wish me luck!
The Children
1810 Birth Record No. 47 [6]While searching for the birth record of Théodore and Elisabeth’s daughter Susanna, my husband’s 2nd great-grandmother, I found the birth of a son (above) who had not been included on Rob Deltgen’s site, the first place I look for clues in the greater Diekirch area.
These are the known children of Théodore and Elisabeth:
Johann or Jean born 17 May 1805 in Landscheid. His birth has been documented using his marriage record.[4]
Susanna born on 6 April 1808 in Wahlhausen. Her birth has been documented using her marriage record.[5]
Jean born 12 November 1810 in Wahlhausen.[6] No further trace of this child has been found.
François born 19 June 1814[7] in Tandel and died 9 December 1819[8] in Tandel.
On all records found for Théodore he was seen as a sheep herder which may explains his moving around so much.
Whereabouts
Google map
The whereabouts of the family is a bit spotty. Elisabeth, the mother of the family, was born in Körperich. The entries in the Körperich Family Book for her family group do not continue into a new generation which suggests her widowed mother may have moved the family to another town and/or remarried. The place of marriage of Théodore and Elisabeth is unknown and not mentioned in the Körperich FB. They lived in Landscheid in 1803 and 1805. In 1808 and 1810 they were in Wahlhausen. In 1814 and 1819 they were in Tandel. By 1826 and 1828 they were in Fouhren when the first of their children married in 1826 and 1828. In 1829 Théodore and Elisabeth were in Bastendorf and in 1831 Théodore was in Gilsdorf.
Grandchildren
Their son Johann married Catharina EISEN on 30 October 1826.[9] The young couple’s first two daughters were born in Fouhren in 1827[10] and 1829.[11] Johann had the same occupation as his father which may be the reason for possible missing records for children during the time period from 1830-1834. The next child was born in Bastendorf in 1835[12] as were five more children between 1837-1847.[13][14][15][16][17] During this time the father’s occupation was day laborer. Johann may have given up on sheep herding when his father died in 1831.
Their daughter Anne Marie married Jean POTT on 16 December 1828.[18] This couple made their home in Gilsdorf where they had four children between 1830-1838.[19][20][21][22]
In 1829 Théodore and Elisabeth were living in Bastendorf. Théodore, a shepherd, reported the death of his wife Elisabeth in Bastendorf on 27 December 1829.[23] After her death Théodore may have gone to live with his eldest daughter in Gilsdorf or was visiting with her family when he died in 1831. His death on 7 May 1831 was reported by his son-in-law Jean POTT. Per the death record Théodore died in the town he was born in. As already noted, this is the only record found for his place of birth.[24]
Two years later in 1833 Susanna, the last of their living children, married Théodore MEDER on 31 January 1833 in Diekirch.[25] At the time of her marriage Susanna was living in Bastendorf. Susanna and her husband were the parents of a dozen children. From 1846 to 1855 Susanna’s husband, like her father, worked as a shepherd.
Was Théodore an Independent Man?
Did Théodore’s occupation make him independent man? As a sheep herder he did not live permanently in one place. His moving around from place to place did not make it easy to document his family. All records found show Théodore, his wife Elisabeth, and the three children who lived to marry could not write. I don’t believe this would be a hinderance as his occupation did not rely on his being literate.
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.
Week 13 (March 26 – April 1) – Different. What ancestor seems to be your polar opposite? What ancestor did something that seems completely different than what they “should” have done or what you would have done?
Moving on to the next generation, my children’s 16 sets of great-great-great-grandparents. A quarter of these were discussed last year when I did 8 individuals (4 sets in red on the chart) of my/their American lines. See links for 2014 52Ancestors #8 through #15.
Courtesy of TreeSeek.com
Théodore MEDER (1807-1898) is on the opposite side of the chart from Maria MAJERUS (1850-1931). My son inherited Théodore’s Y-DNA through his father and Maria’s mtDNA through me. I need to learn more about DNA, but this I get: Y-DNA and mtDNA are completely opposite.
The MEDER-REIFFER Family (1807-1930)
1807 Birth Record of Théodore MEDER[1]The father of this family group, Théodore MEDER (1807-1898) was born at four in the morning on Tuesday the 14th of July 1807 in Diekirch (Grand Duchy of Luxembourg) to Nicolas and Apolline. Nicolas MEDERT (sic, MEDER) was a 43 years old basket-maker (vannier). His wife Apolline WILMES’ age is not given but she would have been 38 at the time. Mathias KELLEN, a 33 years old farmer (laboureur) from Gilsdorf, and Philippe SCHAACK, a 36 years old tawer (mégissier), were the witnesses who signed the birth record. The father Nicolas declared not being able to sign his name.[1]
Please excuse my going off on a tangent here but I find old occupations quite fascinating and it is interesting to learn more about the crafts and trades of our ancestors, or as was the case here, of their neighbors or acquaintances.
I had a bit of difficulty finding a translation for the French word mégissier. Google Translate “knew” the French word but did not come up with the English equivalent. After a bit, I found that mégissier is a tawer. In search of the translation and definition, I found this illustration (above). A tawer is a person who taws or makes leather out of hide without the use of tanning.
Let’s get back to the main subjects!
The mother of this family group, Susanna REIFFER (1808-1877) born Wednesday, 6 April 1808 in Wahlhausen, Clervaux, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, according to the extract of her baptismal record that was presented in Diekirch in 1833 when she married. The same date and place are also listed on the 1843 census. She was the daughter of Théodore REIFFER and Elisabethe CLOS whose dates of death were listed on her 1833 marriage record.[2]
Publication of Marriage in Diekirch[3]At eight o’clock the morning of Thursday the 31st of January 1833, Théodore MEDER, a 25 years old day laborer, and Susanna REIFFER, a 24 years old house servant from Bastendorf, were joined in marriage in Diekirch. The bride’s parents were both deceased, her father in 1831 and her mother in 1829. Théodore’s father Nicolas was present and consenting to the marriage. His mother had died in 1824. Banns were published in Bastendorf and in Diekirch on the 20th and the 27th of January. As is normal with marriage records in Luxembourg, 4 witnesses were present and signed the record. Their relationships with the bride and groom are not listed. The bride, the groom, and the father of the groom declared not being able to write and did not sign the marriage record.[2], [3]
Théodore and Susanna were the parents of a dozen children:
Child 1: Jean MEDER (1834-1901) was born 6 January 1834[4] in Diekirch, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. He married Barbara “Barbe” ADAM (1837-1906) on 10 January 1864[5] in Bettendorf where they raised a family of 4 children. Jean died on 26 October 1901[6] in Bettendorf. His wife Barbe died in the same town on 6 October 1906.[7]
Child 2: Mathias MEDER (1835-1912) was born 25 November 1835[8] in Diekirch. He married Maria “Marie” KAUFMANN (1833-1912) on 24 June 1863[9] in Bettendorf where they raised a family of 3 children. Mathias died 23 April 1912[10] in Bastendorf a little over a year after Marie who died on 2 April 1911[11] in Bettendorf.
Child 3: Maria MEDER (1837-1918) was born 21 November 1837[12] in Diekirch. Maria married Nicolas WEBER (1836-1918) on 14 November 1860[13] in Diekirch where they raised 5 children. Nicolas died 20 January 1881[14] in Diekirch. Maria died 37 years later on 11 October 1918[15] in Diekirch.
Child 4: Philippe MEDER (1839-1839) was born 29 October 1839[16] in Diekirch. Philippe was not quite two months old when he died on 23 December 1839[17] in Diekirch.
Child 5: Anna Maria MEDER (1841-1911) was born 21 January 1841[18] in Diekirch. She married Nicolas SCHOLTES (1847-1897) on 28 November 1867[19] in Diekirch where 10 children were born. Nicolas died on 16 January 1897[20] in Diekirch. Anna, as she was usually known, died 5 January 1911[21] in Diekirch.
Child 6: Maria “Elisa” MEDER (1842- ) was born 26 October 1842[22] in Diekirch. When she married Célestin RENAUT (1830- ) on 3 July 1865[23] in Diekirch Elisa was listed as the name that she normally used. This family moved around a bit and were last seen in the 1875 census in Diekirch. At that time they had two daughters, the first born in Esch-sur-Alzette and the second in Magneux, Marne, France, where Célestin was from. In 1876 another daughter was born in Diekirch.[24] The family disappears [has not been found] after this birth and it is not known when Elisa and her husband died.
Child 7: Elisabetha MEDER (1844- ) was born 23 February 1844[25] in Diekirch. In 1858 and later she was no longer found with her parents. It’s possible that as a 14 years old in 1858 she may have been living and/or working in another household. There is no trace of a death record for her in Diekirch.
Child 8: Margaretha MEDER (1845-1845) was born 8 June 1845[26] in Diekirch. She only lived 16 days, dying on 24 June 1845[27] in Diekirch.
Child 9: Franz “François” MEDER (1846-1930) was born 17 May 1846 in Diekirch. Franz married Elisabetha “Elisabeth” “Elise” FABER (1846-1915) on 20 September 1869 in Diekirch. More about this child in 52 Ancestors: #5 The MEDER-FABER Family of Diekirch 1846-1954
Child 10: Johann “Jean Pierre” MEDER (1847-1848) was born 16 September 1847[28] in Diekirch and died 29 May 1848[29] in Diekirch at the age of 8 months. Although his birth and death record show that his name was Johann, on the 1847 census he was seen as Jean Pierre, most likely to distinguish him from his oldest brother Jean.
Child 11: [–?–] MEDER, a female, (1849-1849) was stillborn on 19 August 1849[30].
Child 12: Catharina MEDER (1850-1879) was born 5 December 1850[31] in Diekirch. Catharina married André WILHELMY (1853-?) on 15 May 1878[32] in Diekirch. She died 26 February 1879[33] in Diekirch 8 days after giving birth to a stillborn son.[34] Her widower André remarried a year later in Alscheid.[35]
The Occupations of Théodore MEDER
Life may have been hard for Théodore, Susanna, and their many children. As seen in the following chart Théodore worked as a day laborer from the time of his marriage in 1833 until 1846 when he became a shepherd. He remained in this occupation for about 10 years. On one record it is clearly noted that he was a goat shepherd. By 1858 he was once again working as a day laborer. In 1880 at the age of 73 he was seen on the census as a miner (Bergbauarbeiter). This seems to be a very hard job for a man of his age. Finally at the time of his death, at the age of 91, he was seen as having no occupation.
The MEDER-REIFFER family in the Luxembourg census
Previous posts on family groups in Luxembourg have concentrated on the birth and marriage records of the children. For this family, I’ve decided to do something different. Above I used a pink or blue box for each child, including footnote links to the very long source list found at the end of this post. Instead of discussing the birth and/or marriage records, I’ve chosen to focus on the census records of this family.
The census in Luxembourg was taken every three or so years. At FamilySearch there are presently 1,115,931 census images available for these years: 1843, 1846, 1847, 1849, 1851, 1852, 1855, 1858, 1861, 1864, 1867, 1871, 1875, 1880, 1885, 1887, 1890, 1895 and 1900.
1843 Luxembourg Census[36]On the 1843 census, the earliest census available online at FamilySearch, birthdates of persons in the household were included. From experience, I’ve found that they do not always match up with the birth records found. And that is the case with this family listing. The father, mother, and oldest son’s dates match but the other 4 children are off. In the household are children Jean, Mathias, Marie, Anne, and Marie (who will later be known as Elisa). I was happy to find Jean Nicolas MEDER in his son Theodore’s household.[36] His date of birth is seen as 1 April 1763. This cannot be correct as his baptismal record* shows that he was born and baptized on 26 October 1766. *Note: the baptismal record was located after footnotes were completed for this post.
1846 Luxembourg Census[37]In 1846 Théodore and his brother Antoine’s families are listed together in one household. Children in Théodore and Susane’s household are Jean, Mathias, Marie, Marie, Marie, Elisabeth, and François. Three girls named Marie! From one census or civil record to the next, these girls would use different variations of their names. The years of birth are off for the older children but the younger ones born in the 1840s are correct.[37]
1847 Luxembourg Census[38]In 1847 the family had grown to 10, parents and 8 children: Jean, Mathias, Marie, Anne Marie, Marie, Elisabeth, François, and Jean-Pierre.[38]
1849 Luxembourg Census[39]In 1849 the family has one less member as their youngest child Jean-Pierre passed away in May 1848. As in 1847 none of the children are listed with an occupation. Their father is a shepherd (pâtre) and one can imagine that his older sons Jean and Mathias may have helped their father while the four girls helped their mother care for little François.[39]
1851 Luxembourg Census[40]In 1851 young Catherine born in 1850 is now seen on the list of children. The mother is mistakenly listed as Marguerite however her maiden name and place of birth are correct. The ditto marks in the column for occupation make it appear as if the mother and the three sons are working as day laborers like the father. It seems very unlikely that 6 years old François would be working. All of the daughters are listed as having no occupation. An interesting addition to this census sheet is the column for the number of years each person has lived in the present community. The mother, who came to Diekirch at the time of her marriage, is seen as living in Diekirch for 18 years while for all other members of the family the time of residence is equal to their age.[40]
1852 Luxembourg Census[41]In 1852 the oldest son Jean is missing on the census. As I am concentrating on Théodore and Susanne’s family as a unit I have not taken the time to search further for their oldest son once he left the nest. I know that after his marriage in 1864 he lived in Bettendorf a village to the east of Diekirch. He “disappears” between 1852-1864 and depending on where he was working I will have to do a lot of browsing to find him.[41]
1855 Luxembourg Census[42]In 1855 the next two oldest children, Mathias and the eldest Marie, have also flown the coop, most likely due to their living with their employer. Children still at home are Anna, Marie, Elisa, François, and Catherine.[42]
1858 Luxembourg Census[43]The 1858 census gave me a few problems. Marie seen here is Anna Marie and Elisa is the younger Marie. The reason that I know this is not Elisabeth is that when Marie marries in 1865 the marriage record has a note that she is known as Elisa and the date of birth matches Marie born in 1842. It is my belief that Elisabeth (1858 age 14) may be working in a nearby village. As long as the census is not indexed finding her will be a lot of work or I might get lucky and find her while checking on other families in the area. This means that I have to be careful to look at all persons listed in each household, especially at the end of the list where domestics’ names were listed.[43]
1861 Luxembourg Census[44]In 1861[44] (above) and in 1864[45] (below) the family group remains the same as in 1858.
1864 Luxembourg Census[45]In 1867, below, the family has become even smaller. Only the two youngest children are still at home, François and Catherine.[46] By this time all of the other children were married and had their own households. Marie in 1860, Mathias in 1863, Jean in 1864, Marie “Eisa” in 1865, and Anna Marie in 1867.
1867 Luxembourg Census[46]I went through the entire 1871 census collection for Diekirch and did not find Théodore, Susanna, and their youngest daughter Catherine. Are they living with one of their three married daughters? Their son François married in 1869 and was enumerated with his wife and children in the household of the in-laws. Jean and Mathias are in Bettendorf with their wives and children.
1875 Luxembourg Census[47]In 1875 Théodore and Susanna were found living alone in Diekirch. Their youngest daughter Catherine was not yet married and maybe working and living with another family.[47]
1880 Luxembourg Census[48]By 1880 Théodore was widowed and seen living with his son Franz and his family.[48] Following the 1880 census, Théodore no longer lived with Franz or any of his children who have been located in the 1885, 1887, 1890, 1895 censuses.
Théodore and Susanna were married nearly 45 years when Susanna died at 9 o’clock in the evening on 11 October 1877 in their home in Diekirch. Théodore who was the informant of her death declared that he could not write and did not sign the death record.[49] The place of birth of the deceased was seen as Merscheid instead of Wahlhausen as seen in her marriage record and on several census sheets. I hoped that this would lead to her birth record but was disappointed once again.
Théodore spent the next 22 years as a widower and may have spent some time in the local hospital before his death. He died at three o’clock in the morning on 29 July 1898 in the hospital (Spital) in Diekirch. His death was reported by Dominik ZENNER, the 64 years old overseer in the hospital (Aufseher im Spital).[50] It was interesting to see that Mathias WENGLER, age 72 was still the secretary of the city hall in Diekirch and a witness on this death record. In 1877 at the age of 50, he had been the witness and secretary on Susanna’s death record.
If you have any connection to this family, please let me know. I look forward to reading your comments.
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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