“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
Name: Nicolas TRIERWEILER Parents: Johann Gerard “Gerardus” TRIERWEILER and Elisabetha KERSCH Spouse: Catharina HOFFMANN Parents of spouse: Carl HOFFMANN and Angela ROSPORT Whereabouts: Olk, Germany and Girst, Luxembourg Relationship to Cathy Meder-Dempsey: husband’s 4th great-grandparents
Nicolas TRIERWEILER was born on 6 April 1764[1] in Olk, a small German village located about 5.5 km (3.4 miles) from Rosport in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. Nicolas was the son of Johann Gerard “Gerardus” TRIERWEILER and Elisabetha KERSCH. He had a brother and three sisters as well as five half-siblings from his father’s first marriage to Maria Magdalena “Madeleine” GANZ. It is not known at this time when his parents died.
Nicolas was a farmer (Ackerer) in Olk. The area had good arable fields and numerous streams; the wide valleys were well suited for grazing. The name of the village probably originated from the Roman-Celtic word Olca, a term for fertile farmland.
Nicolas married Catharina HOFFMANN, daughter of Carl HOFFMANN and Angela ROSPORT, on 8 March 1791[1] in Welschbillig, to which Olk belonged.
1764 Baptismal Record for Catharina Hoffmann[2]Catharina was born and baptized on 18 January 1764 in Girst, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.[2] Her godparents were Wilhelmus HECKER and Catharina MILBACH of Girst. When I found this baptismal record I was reminded that the information found in the family book compilations are wonderful for finding the families but events and dates have to be checked. The entry in the Family Book for Welschbillig, which includes families for Olk, incorrectly listed her date of birth as 1 August 1764.Catharina’s father died when she was about 16. A death record has not been found. His death has been estimated at before 1780 as this was the year of his widow’s next marriage. Catharina’s mother, Angela ROSPORT married Theodor ADAMS on 26 January 1780 in Rosport.[3] Two years later, Catharina, at the age of 18, became a godmother for her sister Anna Maria’s son Theodor NICOLAI on 20 September 1782 in Girst. Her step-father Theodor ADAMS was the godfather of the child.[4] The record is written in a beautiful handwriting.1782 Baptismal Record in which Catharina was the godmother and her step-father was the godfather[4]Nicolas was 26 and Catharina was 27 when they married. Two and a half months after their marriage Catharina gave birth to their first child. On 30 January 1793, three days after the birth of her second child, Catharina’s mother Angela died.[5]Nicolas and Catharina had the following children:
Matthias was born on 23 May 1791 in Olk.[1] He married Anna (Angela) LUDOVICI before 1815. They had 10 children from 1815 to 1837. Matthias died on 4 May 1843 in Olk. His wife Anna died on 7 February 1856 in Olk.[6]
Peter “Petrus” was born on 27 January 1793 in Olk.[1] He worked as a farmer (Landwirt). Peter married Susanna LUCAS, daughter of Bernardi LUCAS and Odiliae HAMM, on 1 March 1824 in Mesenich. He died on 19 November 1835 in Metzdorf. His widow remarried after his death.[7]
Susanna was born on 19 April 1796 in Olk.[1] She married Matthias KIRSTEN (1801-1846) on 19 October 1825 in the parish of Welschbillig. She died on 3 October 1845 in Ruwer.[10]
Klemens-Christoph was born on 1 November 1797 in Olk.[1] Nothing further is known.
Maria Eva was born on 14 September 1800 in Olk.[1] She married Heinrich MERTES (1792-1859) on 10 February 1836 in Ruwer. Heinrich was a widower with four children. Maria Eva died on 1 October 1845 in Ruwer.[11]
Peter was born on 9 April 1805 in Olk.[1] Nothing further is known.
Bride’s section on the 1820 Marriage Record of Anna TRIERWEILER and Mathias SCHWARTZ.[8]Nicolas died five years after the birth of their last child on 2 November 1810 in Olk at the age of 46 years.[8] His widow Catharina died on 24 February 1815 in Olk at the age of 53 years.[8] Nicolas and Catharina’s dates of death were documented in their daughter Anna’s marriage record.Most of the information on this family was gleaned from the German Family Books. The Catholic church records for Welschbillig are held by the Bistumsarchiv Trier and have been microfilmed. They are not available for loan and access in Europe is limited to members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Documenting this family will not be as easy as for families who lived in Luxembourg during the same time period.Sources: [1] Richard Schaffner, Familienbuch der Pfarrei St. Peter Welschbillig 1800-1900 mit Möhn, Olk, Träg, Helenenberg, Aspelt, Schwarzkreuz und Windmühle, compiled 1998, page 319, family nr. 1488 from Olk. Trierweiler-Hoffmann family group. [2] Luxembourg, registres paroissiaux, 1601-1948 (images), FamilySearch (original records at Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit, Luxembourg), Rosport > Baptêmes 1740-1779, 1795-1796, confirmations 1740-1765, mariages 1778-1779, 1795-1796, sépultures 1779-1797 > image 27 of 79. 1764 Baptismal Record (right page, 4th entry). (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9WM-S92L?cc=2037955&wc=STHZ-HZ6%3A1501108227%2C1501108228 : 9 January 2015). [3] Ibid., Rosport > image 22 of 172. 1780 Marriage Record. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9WM-S9ZN?cc=2037955&wc=STHZ-HZV%3A1501108227%2C1501117286 : accessed 27 February 2017). [4] Ibid., Rosport > Baptêmes 1778-1793, mariages 1778-1793, sépultures 1779-1793 > image 41 of 172. 1782 Baptismal Record. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89WM-S9QK?cc=2037955&wc=STHZ-HZV%3A1501108227%2C1501117286 : accessed 3 March 2017). [5] Ibid., Rosport > Baptêmes 1778-1793, mariages 1778-1793, sépultures 1779-1793 > image 170 of 172. 1793 Death Record (right page, 4th entry). (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-L9WM-SKF?cc=2037955&wc=STHZ-HZV%3A1501108227%2C1501117286 : accessed 27 February 2017). [6]Family Book Welschbillig, page 320, family Nr. 1490 from Olk. Trierweiler-Ludovici family group. [7] Heinrich Wagner, Familienbuch Mesenich 1705-1899 (Ortschaften Födlich (1705-ca.1800), Grewenich, Mesenich, Metzdorf und Moersdorf (Luxembourg) (1705-1807)), Mersch 1997 (Association Luxembourgeoise de Généalogie et d’Héraldique), page 319, family nr. 1170. Peter Trierweiler and Susanna Lucas family group. [8] Luxembourg, Registres d’état civil, 1662-1941 (images), FamilySearch (original records at Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit, Luxembourg), Rosport > Naissances, mariages, décès 1800-1815 > image 280 of 385. 1820 Marriage Record. (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11676-83258-61?cc=1709358&wc=9RYS-JWL:130314401,130827901 : accessed 11 April 2013 and 22 July 2015). [9] Luxembourg Civil Records, Rosport > Décès 1853-1891 > image 4 of 510. 1853 Death Record No. 13. (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-266-11627-96341-81?cc=1709358&wc=M9M6-L62:1818144340 : accessed 19 May 2011). [10] Armin Giebel, compiler, Familienbuch Standesamt Ruwer-Waldrach, (Stand: Sept. 2016), family nr. 8268. Matthias Kirsten and Susanna Trierweiler family group. [11] Ibid., family nr. 11469. Mertes Heinrich and Trierweiler Maria Eva family group.
With the next set of my children’s 5th great-grandparents, we leave Diekirch and move to Osweiler, a little village located 4 kilometers from Echternach, the town where we live. These are the ancestors of my father-in-law’s mother, Ketty.
Ketty SCHWARTZ (1892-1974) on her wedding day 15 June 1923.
Ketty’s great-great-grandparents Lorentz SCHWARTZ and Magdalena HALER married on 27 January 1790 in Echternach.[1]
Tables des mariages 1700-1798 (index organisée par l’époux/l’épouse), a card index of marriages performed in parishes in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg before 1800[1]I’m working on a post about these marriage index cards. In the meantime, I’d like to draw your attention to the number in the lower right corner of this card. These point to two records, one in Volume 8 page 110 and the other in Volume 10 page 178 of church records in Echternach. Unfortunately, FamilySearch does not name their batches by volume numbers. I found both records and compared them side by side to determine if they were the same record or one was a copy of the other.[2], [3]
Image on left (178 is on upper left corner) is from Baptêmes, mariages, décès 1788-1797 > image 90 of 331 [2] while the image on the right (110 at bottom of page) is from Baptêmes, mariages, décès 1789-1793 > image 57 of 132 [3]The page numbers for the records match those seen on the index card. The records were written by the same person and both were signed by the persons present. They are not the same record as can be seen by the signature of Mathias Haller, father of the bride and witness, being on two lines at the end of the document on the left and on one line in the document on the right. On comparison of the text, I found that the names of the two witnesses, Mathias Haller and Joannes Schmit, were not in the same order on both documents. I believe it is important to look at both records as the handwriting may be more legible in one or the other and one can check if there is missing or different information.
Laurentius, the groom
Lorentz “Laurentius” SCHWARTZ was born to Joannis SCHWARTZ (1725-1787) and Maria HEINTZ (1725-1793) on 31 March 1762 in Osweiler. His godparents were Laurentius URICH of Ensdorff and Margaretha LEONARDI of Echternach.[4]
Lorentz was 15 years old when his father died in 1787 leaving two sons, Lorentz and Nicolas, and a daughter Magdalena.[5] Two daughters were born before Lorentz. Death records have not been checked; however, it is possible they died young. By the time I get to the 6th greats I hope to have been able to locate more information on these girls.
Magdalena, the bride
Magdalena HALER, daughter of Mathias HALER (1738-1812) and Angela ALENTS (d. 1768), was born and baptized on 4 November 1764 in Osweiler. Her godparents were Petrus MOTER from Hassel and Magdalena HALER of Osweiler.[6]
Magdalena was only 4 years old when her mother died, likely during childbirth as a daughter was born the same day.[7] She left a son age 6 and three daughters age 4, 2, and newborn. A month later Magdalena’s widowed father remarried and the family increased by five more children during the 1770s.
Lorentz and Magdalena
When Lorentz and Magdalena were married in 1790 neither were able to sign their names to the marriage record and made their cross. Following their marriage one of the first official entries found for Lorentz was as a witness for his sister Magdalena’s marriage on 29 November 1790 in Grevenmacher to Peter HENN.[8] This record plays a very important role in identifying Magdalena who married Peter HENN as the sister of Lorentz and daughter of Joannis SCHWARTZ and Maria HEINTZ. The errors I found in previous genealogical research will be discussed when I write about the 6th greats as mentioned above.
A year later, Lorentz and Magdalena’s first child was born. Lorentz’s mother lived to see the birth of this child. She died 11 August 1793 in Osweiler.[9]
Lorentz and Magdalena were the parents of five children, although one is a bit iffy.
Mathias was born and baptized on 21 November 1791. His godparents were Mathias HALER, a ploughman (aratoris) from Osweiler and Magdalena WILLEMS from Fromburg.[10]
Anna was born and baptized on 28 Jun 1794. Her godparents were her paternal uncle Nicolas SCHWARTZ from Osweiler and Anna WOLZFELD from Eschweiler.[11]
Heinrich was born and baptized on 8 June 1796. His godparents were Henrico HAALER and Jeanne HAALER, both of Osweiler.[12]
Johann born about 1799.[13] Records are missing for Osweiler during this time period and his birth cannot be proven.
Jorg was born on 20 February 1807 in Osweiler[14] and died a week later on 1 March 1807 in Osweiler.[15] The birth record was a civil record and did not have the names of his godparents.
There is quite a gap in births of children after the documented birth of Heinrich and the possible birth of son Johann about 1799. Magdalena was 43 years old when she gave birth to her last child. She and her husband may not have planned or expected to have a child so late in life. As the death record does not include cause of death, we will never know if the child was premature or if there were complications in the pregnancy.
The children in this family had their maternal grandfather in their lives until they reached their teenage years. Magdalena’s father died 5 January 1812 in Osweiler.[16]
Lorentz and Magdalena’s oldest son Mathias married Anna TRIERWEILER (1794-1853), daughter of Nicolas TRIERWEILER and Catharina HOFFMANN, on 17 January 1820 in Osweiler. The bride and groom declared not being able to write. The father of the groom, Lorentz SCHWARTZ, worked as a cutter or tailor (Schneider).[17]
Lorentz died on 7 April 1820 in Osweiler. His son Mathias who’d married less than three months earlier was an informant for the death.[18]
The next marriage in the family was for the only daughter, Anna. She married Nicolas SCHACKMAN on 19 January 1821 in Rosport.[19] Her godfather Nicolas SCHWARTZ, brother of her deceased father, was one of the witnesses at the marriage and her mother was present and consenting. A child was born in Osweiler in 1823 but the family did not stay there for long. They had other children in Prümzurlay (1822) and Eisenach (1825-1840). The family name was later written JACQUEMIN.[20]
The last known marriage was for the second son Heinrich SCHWARTZ, 4th great-grandfather of Julie Cahill Tarr of Julie’s Genealogy & History Hub.
Heinrich married Eva RITSCHDORFF (1794-1853), daughter of Christofel RITSCHDORFF and Eva MULLER, on 4 September 1823 in Echternach.[13] At the time of his marriage Heinrich was already living and working in Echternach as a linen weaver, the same occupation as his brothers, Mathias and Johann. His younger brother Johann, a 24 years old linen weaver (Leinenweber) from Osweiler, was a witness at the marriage.[13] Is there a case of mistaken identity here? Could Mathias have been witness instead of a brother named Johann? Did Mathias and Heinrich have a brother named Johann and, if yes, where did he disappear to?
Front view of the “Spidol” or Hospice Civil as it is also known.
Over twenty years later, the mother of this family, Magdalena was found living in the Hospice Civil in Echternach. The hospice was run by Catholic nuns and had a gardener and several servants. They cared for the elderly, poor, and children. Magdalena was living in the hospice at the time of the 1843[21], 1846[22], 1847[23], 1849[24], 1851[25], and 1852[26] census.
She was in the hospice when her son Heinrich died on 13 November 1850 in Echternach.[27] Both of her daughters-in-law also predeceased her. Mathias’ wife Anna died on 21 March 1853 in Osweiler[28] and Heinrich’s wife Eva died on 5 April 1853 in Echternach.[29] Magdalena died a year later on 20 April 1854 in Echternach. Her death was reported by Regnard WATHIER and his son Nicolas WATHIER.[30] The first man no longer worked but had been a police officer (Polizeidiener) and his son worked for the town, similar to a town crier/messenger (Bannschütz).
Magdalena and Lorentz’s son Mathias SCHWARTZ died on 20 February 1860 in Osweiler.[31] He was a linen weaver, day laborer, and plowman or farmer during his lifetime.
Was Mathias the last living child? Did his sister Anna outlive him? I will not know for sure until I learn more about his sister Anna who was living in Eisenach (present-day Germany) as late as October 1840 when a child was born. I’ll be checking out the Family Books of the area in Germany while on library duty Wednesday…if we don’t have too many visitors.
Week 30 (July 23-29) – Challenging:It’s a good time to take a look at another challenging-to-research ancestor.
Challenging-To-Research But So Rewarding
My children’s 4th great-grandfather Mathias SCHWARTZ 1791-1860 has always been a challenge to research. I still remember the day I obtained his marriage record. It was in 1996 and sadly followed by the death of my father-in-law which put an end to my interest in genealogy research for several years. But the challenge of researching Mathias has also been rewarding.
In 1996 I took at short trip, less than 9 km from where I live, to visit the records office at the town hall of Rosport. The plan was to ask if they would look up several marriage records and make copies for me to take home. They opened the vault and gave me permission to look through the old ledgers and find the documents on my own. At the time I was very new to genealogy but I already knew one of the secrets to researching in Luxembourg. Get the marriage records! If you have followed my posts on the Luxembourgish families this year you will by now know these records include information on two to three generations. Today, if I had known they would open the vault for me, I would have had a better plan. But in the end I came away with marriage records of several generations of SCHWARTZ couples.
Mathias’ marriage record was in a very tightly bound ledger and the name of his mother was not complete on the photocopy they made. For years I thought the Ha… I saw could only be HASTERT. As in Dennis HASTERT, Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1999 to 2007, whose ancestors came from Osweiler, the village the SCHWARTZ family lived in.
As the years passed I neglected researching in Luxembourg while concentrating on my families in America. When FamilySearch uploaded the Luxembourg Civil Registration collection, I learned to use the browse only collection and found the digital copies of the marriage records I had laid aside so many years ago. Mathias’ mother was a HALER and not a HASTERT and the challenge continued.
In order to write about Mathias, his wife and children, I had to get my records for the family cited and all missing records needed to be found. From the beginning I knew Mathias was born on 22 November 1791 in Osweiler per his 1820 marriage record. But I didn’t have the birth or baptismal record. Civil records have been kept since 1796 which meant a civil record would not be found for Mathias. When the Luxembourg Church Records went online 9 January 2015 I made a resolution to not jump in and search haphazardly. I would only use them when I was working on a specific family from the time period.
As Mathias was born in Osweiler, a village belonging to the commune of Rosport, I checked this parish first and then Echternach, the next closest town, but did not find his baptismal record. What if the year of birth was wrong on the marriage record? To answer this question I checked for the marriage of his parents. I was rewarded with the 1790 marriage record of his parents Lorentz SCHWARTZ and Magdalena HALER, as well as the 1757 and 1759 marriage records of both of their parents, Mathias’ grandparents. These records gave the names of Mathias’ four great-grandfathers, two deceased before 1757 and two living in 1759. [Note: the links are to the index cards which include the volume and page numbers of the parish record. Links to the records will be shared upon request.]
I had gotten carried away with my searches but before doing anything else I shared this information with my husband’s 5C1R Julie Cahill Tarr of Julie’s Genealogy & History Hub. Julie descends from Mathias’ brother Heinrich b. 1796 – she was also rewarded by my challenging research.
I had already found Mathias’ census records and along with the missing baptismal record they had me questioning the date of birth listed on the marriage record. Three of the eight census records found included dates of birth – all conflicting. In 1843 he was seen as born 15 July 1789, in 1846 on 2 November 1794, and in 1849 on 1 May 1795. I went back to the church records of Rosport to check from 1789 to 1795 even though I was sure he had to have been born after his parents’ 1790 marriage. As the parish was quite small at the time the search was quick but in vain.
Once again I went through the church records of Echternach for the time period 1789-1795. Working my way backwards I discovered a quirk in the records I had missed the first time I searched only for 1791 baptismal records. I had not looked at pages 197-203 in the parish book because I found the 1791 baptismal records on pages 205-220. I had erroneously assumed the pages before 205 would be for 1790 but they were another group of records for 1791. Finally I found Mathias’ baptismal record on page 202 but it did not confirm the date of birth given on his marriage record, 22 November 1791. He was actually born and baptized a day earlier on 21 November 1791.
The SCHWARTZ-TRIERWEILER Family
The baptismal record of Mathias SCHWARTZ is in latin and begins with, “Die vigesima prima…” – On the twenty-first… I haven’t studied Latin which makes it difficult to transcribe the handwriting even when I use a translator. But the most important information can be deciphered.
1791 Baptismal Record [1]Mathias SCHWARTZ was born on 21 November 1891 in Osweiler to Laurentius (Lorentz) SCHWARTZ and Magdalena HALER, both of Osweiler. His godparents were Mathias HALER of Osweiler and Magdalena WILLEMS of Frombourg, a farm near Osweiler.[1] Although the obvious conclusion would be the child was named after his maternal grandfather, I haven’t researched the HALER family and I don’t know if Mathias HALER the grandfather was still living or if Magdalena had a brother named Mathias.
1819 Marriage Proclamation [2]Mathias SCHWARTZ and Anna TRIERWEILER’s proclamation of marriage was published on 13 December 1819. The banns had been read and hung out on the 5th and 12th at the city hall in Rosport.[2]
They were married at 9 in the morning of 17 January 1820 in Rosport by the mayor Peter MICHELS. The military commander had signed the required certificate concerning Mathias’ military service on 15 January. The bride, Anna TRIERWEILER, was born on 22 July 1794 in Olk (Germany) to Nicolas TRIERWEILER and Catharina HOFFMANN, both deceased at the time of the marriage. The bride and groom declared not being able to write and the marriage record was signed by four witnesses and the mayor. The witnesses do not appear to have been related to the bridal couple. The parents of the groom were both living but may not have been present for the marriage – they did not sign and there is no note of their not being able to write.[3]
Mathias’ father Lorentz SCHWARTZ died 10 days after the marriage.[4] Lorentz’s wife Magdalena HALER may have been caring for him at home while their son married.
Mathias and Anna were the parents of seven sons. Two of their sons died young, two others have not been located after the December 1852/1855 census. The three oldest sons married and continued the SCHWARTZ line in Osweiler and in Echternach.
Heinrich “Hari” SCHWARTZ b. 31 July 1821[5] d. 12 April 1892[6]
Johann SCHWARTZ b. 10 March 1823[7] d. 13 February 1898[8]
Peter SCHWARTZ b. 23 November 1824[9] d. 21 November 1893[10]
Christophe SCHWARTZ b. 19 May 1827[11] d. after December 1852[12] (no marriage or death found)
Guillaume SCHWARTZ b. 14 August 1830[13] d. 9 May 1833[14]
Mathias SCHWARTZ b. 3 March 1833[15] d. after December 1855[16] (no mariage or death found)
Nicolas SCHWARTZ b. 1 February 1836[17] d. 18 December 1836[18]
Anna TRIERWEILER and Mathias SCHWARTZ were present for the marriage of their son Hari to Christina HANSEN on 6 January 1847 in Rosport[19] and of their son Peter to Maria ERNZEN on 22 January 1851 in Rosport.[20]
Anna TRIERWEILER did not live long enough to see her son Johann marry in 1855. She died on 21 March 1853 in Osweiler, her son Peter was the informant. Although she was only 58 her age was reported as 63. Her husband Mathias who was 61 at the time was mentioned as being 65. Peter who was 28 at the time may not have gotten his parents’ ages correct but he did know his own age.[21]
A year later Mathias’ mother Magdalena HALER died at the hospital in Echternach on 20 April 1854.[22] The hospital was also a home for the elderly run by the Catholic nuns. Madgalena may have been living there from as early as 1846 when she was seen on the census with other older ladies.[23] The census records for 1843, 1847, 1849, 1851, and 1852 may confirm this. [To-do list]
Mathias SCHWARTZ lived with his son Johann from 1855 until his death on 20 February 1860 in Osweiler. His death took placed at the home of his son Johann and was reported by his oldest son Heinrich who signed “Hari Schwartz” – the name seen on his birth record.[25]
One more marriage was to take place after Mathias’ death. In 1865 Peter SCHWARTZ’s lost his wife[26] and married his sister-in-law Anna Maria ERNZEN on 16 May 1866.[27]
The research for this family has been challenging and there are still loose ends which need to be taken care of. What happened to the sons Christophe and Mathias? They do not appear to have remained in the Rosport or Echternach area. Did they remain in Luxembourg or did they go to work in France or Germany or even emigrate to America?
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 16 (April 16-22) – Live Long.Time to feature a long-lived ancestor. Any centenarians in the family?
Hélène SCHWARTZ 1909-2012
Hélène FASSBENDER-SCHWARTZ, a granddaughter of Johann SCHWARTZ and Catharina SCHMITT was a centenarian and the longest living person in this family. Hélène was born on 22 October 1909 in Osweiler[1] in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg to Nicolas SCHWARTZ and Maria WEILAND. She married Adolf “Adolphe” FASSBENDER with whom she had one daughter. Adolf passed away at the age of 33 years in 1942. Sixty years later on 11 February 2012[2] Hélène passed away at the age of 102 years, 3 months, and 20 days. Her unexpected death followed a fall from which she did not recover. At the time of her death she was the second oldest member of L’Amiperas Ettelbréck (a club for elderly, retired, and solitary persons). She was an active committee member until the age of 97. She played cards twice a week with her friends at the club meetings and she did not like to lose.
The SCHWARTZ-SCHMITT Family
My husband’s 2nd great-grandfather Johann SCHWARTZ was born on 10 March 1823 in Osweiler to Mathias SCHWARTZ and his wife Anna TRIERWEILER. This date was found on his 1855 marriage record.[3]
I haven’t been able to locate the birth record online at FamilySearch in the Luxembourg, Civil Registration, 1662-1941 collection. At one time they listed town/hamlet names in this browse only collection but during rework of the collection these were combined into the commune/municipality level. I have a birth record from 1821 for his older brother Hari that I downloaded on 22 May 2011. At the time I failed to include the link or the browse path. Links at FamilySearch are not supposed to change so if I’d have had the foresight to note this at the time I might not be sitting here pulling my hair and trying to locate the record. I sent an email to the support team at FamilySearch and hope that they may have a solution for the issue. Lesson learned: Since I began blogging I’ve been more careful about citing sources correctly but the dozen years of research from pre-blogging era still have sources that need to be corrected and/or updated.
My husband’s 2nd great-grandmother Catharina SCHMITT was born on 14 June 1829 in Kalberger Hof, Burgermeisterei Heidweiler, Kreis Wittlich, Preussen (Germany) to Nicolaus SCHMITT and his wife Anna Maria WOLLSCHEID. Once again I must rely on the birth information given in the 1855 marriage record as I am not familiar with where to find the German records.
Johann SCHWARTZ married Catharina SCHMITT on 27 January 1855 in Rosport, Grand Duché de Luxembourg. Present at the wedding were Johann’s widowed father Mathias who declared that he could not write and did not sign the marriage record, his brother Christophe, and Catharina’s widowed mother. The three other witnesses were not related to the bridal couple.[3]
Johann and Catharina’s first child Maria SCHWARTZ (1855-1859) was born six months later on 28 July 1855 in Osweiler.[4]
Johann, Catharina, and their daughter Maria were living with his parents and his paternal grandmother – a four generation household – when the census was taken on 3 December 1855 in Osweiler.[5]
When the next census was taken on 3 December 1858 Johann, Catharina, and Maria were living in a house called “Millesch” in Osweiler.[6] Catharina was very pregnant with her next child Anna SCHWARTZ (1858-1860) who was born on 12 December 1858 in Osweiler.[7]
When Anna was nine months old her older sister Maria, age 4, died on 8 September 1859 in Osweiler.[8] Four months later on 11 January 1860 Anna, age 1, died in Osweiler.[9]
Following the deaths of their daughters, Johann and Catharina were childless until their first son was born. Heinrich SCHWARTZ (1861-1935) was born on 25 May 1861 in Osweiler.[10]
On 3 December 1861 when the census was taken Johann and Catharina were enumerated in their own household with their son Heinrich.[11] Their names were listed as Jean, Catherine and Henri.
Little Henri’s brother Peter SCHWARTZ (1863-1866) was born 27 April 1863 in Osweiler.[12] He was seen as Pierre when the family was once again enumerated on the census on 3 December 1864. The family was made up of father, mother, two sons and Nicolas SCHMITT, a brother of Catharina SCHMITT.[13]
A third son, Johannes SCHWARTZ (1866-1920), was born on 26 January 1866 in Osweiler.[14] Ten months later his brother Peter, age 3, died on 10 November 1866 in Osweiler.[15]
By the time that the census was taken on 3 December 1867, Johann and Catharina had had five children but only two were still living, Heinrich and Johann.[16] Catharina was pregnant with her sixth child. On 23 July 1868 son Nicolas SCHWARTZ (1868-1946) was born in Osweiler.[17]
The family must have been relieved when the next census was taken on 1 December 1871 and they could list their three sons: Heinrich, Johann, and Nikolaus.[18], [19], [20]
Soon after the 1871 census Catharina was once again pregnant. Her daughter Maria SCHWARTZ (1872-?) was born on 13 October 1872 in Osweiler.[21]
Johann and Catharina had three children living at home on 1 December 1875.[22], [23], [24] Their oldest son Heinrich was living with the SCHOMER-MARX family a few houses away and working as a Knecht or farmhand.[25], [26], [27]
By 1 December 1880 all of Johann and Catharina’s sons were likely working and living with other families as only daughter Maria was seen with her parents in Osweiler.[28], [29], [30]
Heinrich and Johann were once again living at home with their parents and sister Maria on 1 December 1885. Only their younger brother Nicolas was missing and probably working and living with another family.[31], [32], [33]
On 1 February 1887 this tight-knit family was seen together again on the census. The three sons were now 25, 21, and 18 years old. Maria was 14.[34], [35], [36]
Johann and Catharina’s oldest son Heinrich was missing from the 1 December 1890 census. Sons Johann and Nicolas were living at home. Daughter Maria is noted as living and working in Paris for the past 13 months.[37], [38], [39]
A year later the first of Johann and Catharina’s children finally married. Their son Johann, age 25, married Margaritha GORGES (1868-1938) on 24 August 1891 in a civil ceremony in Rosport.[40] It is very likely that they also married in a religious ceremony in the Catholic church in Osweiler.
Son Johann may have taken over the family home as he was seen as the head of household on 1 Dec 1895 in Osweiler. In his household were his wife and their four children, his parents and his younger brother Nicolas. On the back of the census page it is noted that his sister Maria had been living and working in Trier, Germany, for the past 6 months. Also his brother Heinrich had been living and working in America for the past five years. This is very likely the answer to the question of where Heinrich was when the 1890 census was taken.[41], [42], [43]
Johann SCHWARTZ, the father of this family, died on 13 February 1898 at 12:30 p.m. at his home in Osweiler. His son Johann was the informant.[44]
Two years later in Rosport the youngest son of this family, Nicolas, married Maria WEILAND on 14 May 1900.[45] Nicolas and Maria had a 2 1/2 years old son who was legitimized at the time of their marriage.
Heinrich, the oldest son of this family, had returned from America and married Margaretha “Marie” SCHULER (1876-aft. 1935) on 20 November 1900.[46]
When the time came for the census on 1 December 1900 all of the sons of this family were married and living on their own. The mother Catharina was living with her middle son Johann, her daughter-in-law, and their children, her seven grandchildren.[47], [48], [49]
The daughter Maria has not been located after 1895. In 1890 she was living in Paris and in 1895 in Trier. Was she married by 1900 and perhaps no longer living in Luxembourg?
The sons of Johann and Catharina had many children who, for the most part, lived to adult age. Heinrich had 11, Johann had 12, and Nicolas had at least 8.
Nicolas’ daughter Hélène, who would later be the centenarian of this family, was a little over a year old when her paternal grandmother Catharina SCHMITT died on 1 December 1910 in Osweiler.[50]
Ten years later Johann SCHWARTZ died on 4 January 1920 in Osweiler at the age of 53. His brother Nicolas was the informant on 5 January 1920 in Rosport.[51]
Another fifteen years later Heinrich SCHWARTZ died on 7 May 1935 in Osweiler at the age of 73.[52]
The last living child of this family, Hélène’s father Nicolas SCHWARTZ, died on 16 March 1946 in Echternach at the age of 77.[53]
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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