“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
At 7 o’clock on the evening of 26 July 1935, Mathias SCHAFFNER, mayor of Echternach (Luxembourg), married Nicolas WILDINGER and Marie Marcelle FOURNELLE. The groom was 28 years old and a plumber; the bride was 26 years old and without an occupation.
Nicolas’ mother, Catharina PÖPPELREITER, and Marcelle’s father, Johann Joseph FOURNELLE, were present and agreeable to the marriage.
Johann WILDINGER, the father of the groom, and Catharina FRANTZ, the mother of the bride, were both deceased at the time of the marriage.
The religious marriage ceremony took place the following day in St. Willibrod Basilica in Echternach in the strictest privacy per an announcement sent out by the parents of the bridal couple. Their only child, my mother, was born ten months later and cannot have been the reason for the church ceremony being performed in privacy.
The marriage lasted only six years. It ended on 24 October 1941 when Nicolas died of tuberculosis. Although Marcelle had at least one suitor who offered marriage, she never remarried. She died in 2005 in her 96th year.
Michael SCHRAMEN and Elisabetha SCHMITT were my 4th great-grandparents. They lived in Ferschweiler, a small village in the Eifel in Germany.
Elisabetha SCHMITT’s Parents and Siblings
Elisabetha’s mother Maria LORANG (1756-1818) was born in November 1756 in Berdorf, Duchy of Luxembourg.[1] Her father, Sebastian SCHMITT (1764-1825) was born on 7 December 1764 in Hoffmanns Backhaus in Schankweiler in the Eifel (present-day Germany).[2]
1766 census for the village of Schankweiler. The Schmitz can be seen under household #3.[3]Sebastian was with his family in 1766 in Schankweiler (above). His father was a shepherd or berger. Four persons made up the family: father, mother, brother Hubert, and Sebastian.[3] Maria was found on the 1766 census in Berdorf with her family (below). The LORANG family was with a THILL couple and a young DEFRANG man. The men’s occupation was listed as plower or labourent.[4]
1766 census for the village of Berdorf in the parish of Consdorf. The Lorang family was in household #6.[4]Elisabetha’s parents, Sebastian and Maria were married on 27 December 1784 in Echternach.[5] By this time Sebastian’s family had moved from Schankweiler and taken up residence in Ferschweiler where he would also set up his household with Maria. They were the parents of three known children: two daughters named Elisabetha born in 1786 and 1790 and a son Nikolaus born about 1791 and died at age 19 on 9 March 1810. [Note: the burial records from 1786-1790 need to be checked for a possible death of the first daughter named Elisabetha.]
Their second daughter Elisabetha was my 4th great-grandmother. The FB Ferschweiler (Familienbuch or family book) lists her birthday as 4 March 1790 in Ferschweiler and mentions her baptism on 9 April 1790. This is unusual for the time period when children were baptized the same day or at latest the next day. I wonder if the date of birth was recorded or transcribed incorrectly in the source used by the author/compiler of the family book. Her baptismal record clearly states she was born “on the ninth day of the fourth hour of the morning” and baptized the same day.[6]
Michael’s father Matthias SCHRAMEN (1742-1809) was born and baptized on 10 March 1742 in Ferschweiler.[7] His mother Anna Barbara LEIBRICH also known as BURG (1744-1810) was born and baptized on 21 May 1744 in Menningen.[8]
Mathias’ parents were using his mother’s maiden name SCHMIDT in 1766 when the first census was enumerated. Mathias was working as a weaver or tisserand at the time.[9] Anna Barbara was living with her mother in the household of her brother-in-law Guillaume MOSSAL. They were enumerated as BURG instead of LEIBRICH.[10]
Barbara, as she was more commonly known, was found in the FB Edingen. However, the proper connections were not made by the author/compiler of this family book. In fact, there was a glaring error in the book. A second marriage in 1771 for her mother born in 1704 to a 21 years old man already in my database. The marriage was unlikely due to his age and known births of children between 1773-1796 for this man and his wife born in 1750.
Further research to clear up the error led to an amazing discovery.
My husband and I are 8th cousins!
Barbara’s maternal grandparents (my 7th great-grandparents) were Mathias and Katharina FEILEN (FEYLEN). They are also my husband’s 7th great-grandparents. This is the first and only time I have found common ancestors for my husband and myself.
The road into Ferschweiler.
Barbara LEIBRICH and Matthias SCHRAMEN married on 11 January 1770 in Ferschweiler.[11] They were the parents of seven children all born in Ferschweiler: Katharina bp. 22 January 1771[12]; Johann bp. 5 December 1773[13]; Magdalena bp. 18 November 1776[14]; Margaretha bp. 31 March 1780[15]; Jakob bp. 11 July 1783[16]; Michael bp. 5 October 1786[17]; and Nikolaus bp. 4 October 1789.[18]
Matthias saw the marriage of his three oldest children and the death of his youngest before he passed away on 12 May 1809.[19] His widow Barbara followed a little over a year later on 26 September 1810.[19]
Michael and Elisabetha marry and have a family
Michael SCHRAMEN married Elisabetha SCHMITT on 27 November 1811 in Ferschweiler.[20] Michael whose parents were both deceased may have had siblings present while Elisabetha’s parents would have been consenting to the marriage. During the first thirteen years of their union, they became the parents of five children.
Ch 1: Catherine (1812-1869) born on 23 October 1812 and baptized the following day.[20]
Ch 2: Johann (1817-1894) born and baptized on 14 January 1817.[20]
Ch 3: Catharina (1820-1842) born 21 February 1820 and baptized the next day.[20]
Ch 4: Margaret (1821-1822) born and baptized on 7 November 1821. She died nearly a year later on 22 October 1822.[20]
Ch 5: Nicolaus (1824-1875) born and baptized on 31 October 1824.[20]
Elisabetha’s mother Maria LORANG died on 11 February 1818 a little over a year after the birth of the second SCHRAMEN child.[2] The maternal grandfather, Sebastian SCHMITT died after the birth of the last child, on 12 January 1825.[2] Both of these deaths took place in Ferschweiler.
Elisabetha’s husband Michael SCHRAMEN died on 20 September 1833 at the age of 46 years.[21] He left a widow and four children aged between 8 and 20.
Soon after Michael’s death, his oldest child turned 21 and planned to marry. Catherine SCHRAMEN married Nicolas WILDINGER (1798-1874) on 18 January 1834 in Ferschweiler in a civil ceremony and then on 21 January 1834 in a religious ceremony.[22] They were my 3rd great-grandparents.
Michael’s widow Elisabetha may have had her three unmarried children in her household for nearly a decade. Her second daughter Catharina married on 18 January 1842, after turning 21 years, to Johann MARX.[23] Her marriage took place on her sister Catherine’s 8th wedding anniversary. Both girl’s names were found to be Catharina on the German Births and Baptisms, 1558-1898 index[24], [25] and I am using Catherine for the oldest to keep them apart. Catharina gave birth to a son Theodor on 8 November 1842; she died less than two weeks later on 24 November 1842.[23]
During the next decade, Elisabetha’s two sons Johann and Nicolaus may have still lived at home and cared for their mother. Times were hard for most families in the area and many were emigrating to Luxembourg and America. Elisabeth’s youngest son Nicolaus was 27 years old and unmarried when he went to America in 1852 likely leaving her in the care of his older brother Johann.[21]
St. Lucia Catholic church in Ferschweiler
Johann, the only unmarried child of Michael and Elisabetha still in Germany, was 35 years old when he finally married. His brother Nicolaus’ departure may have been a deciding factor in his decision to marry. His bride Katharina ADAM was 29 years old when she married Johann on 15 November 1852 in Ernzen. The religious ceremony took place in St. Lucia Catholic church in Ferschweiler two days earlier.[26] Like his older sister Catherine, Johann named his first daughter Elisabetha after his mother.
Further research into census records, etc. needs to be performed to learn where the mother of this family lived. Elisabetha had two married children in the same town, two children were deceased, and her youngest was in America. Did she live with her son Johann following his marriage? Did he remain in the family home? Or did she go to live with daughter Catherine and son-in-law Nicolas WILDINGER? Elisabeth died at the age of 79 years on 20 May 1869 in Ferschweiler and was buried two days later.[21]
Elisabetha’s daughter Catherine died nearly six months later on 2 November 1869 at the age of 57 years and was buried two days later in Ferschweiler.[27]
The last living child of Michael SCHRAMEN and Elisabetha SCHMITT was their oldest son Johann. He died on 20 January 1894 in Ferschweiler at the age of 77 years.[26]
What became of the son who went to America?
Did Elisabetha, Catherine, and Johann know anything of the youngest son/sibling Nicolaus who went to America? Did they exchange letters? What became of him?
The compiler of the FB Ferschweiler cites Werner Lichter’s work on emigration for at least 5 persons from Ferschweiler who went to America on the ship Clotilde in 1852 including Nicolaus SCHRAMEN. The Clotilde left from Antwerp, Belgium around late May 1852 arriving at the port of New York on 3 June 1852. Nicolaus SCHRAMEN is said to have been on this ship. He likely traveled in steerage, similar to a cargo hold where many passengers were accommodated but with poor conditions. Steerage was the most common class of travel for immigrants.
While doing research on Nicolaus in US records I found there were two men of the same name and close in age. I contacted Aaron D., a great-great-grandson of Nicholas SCHROMEN of Dubuque County, Iowa. While trying to learn the parentage of his immigrant ancestor he had also looked into the other Nicholas SCHROMEN of Dupage County, Illinois, but did not know if there was a family relationship. Aaron had no proof of where in Germany his ancestor came from but had searched for the surname and found a concentration in the Ernzen/Ferschweiler area. He had not connected his Nicholas SCHRAMEN to my Michael SCHRAMEN and Elisabetha SCHMITT. I checked the FB Ferschweiler again and found Michael’s older brother Johann also had a son named Nicolaus born in 1819 and married to Katharina EWEN. His year of birth and the first name of his wife were a match for the man from, Illinois. Apparently, he did not remain in Ferschweiler as no children are listed nor is another family book referenced. It is a possibility the two men living in America were first cousins.
I believe Michael and Elisabetha’s Nicolaus was Nicholas SCHROMEN from Dubuque County, Iowa. He married Elizabeth GROSSBUSCH (1827-1896) on 28 February 1854 in Dubuque. The marriage record found by Aaron does not mention parents. Nicholas died on 13 January 1875 in Dubuque County, Iowa. The photo on FindAGrave for Nicholas’ grave marker is hard to decipher. What I can read is his date of birth was 1 Nov. The date found in the FB Ferschweiler was 31 October 1824. Aaron’s mother and my brother would be 3C2R – can this relationship be proven with their DNA?
Last year my brother had his DNA tested and turned the results over to me. As I write these last articles on my maternal 4th great-grandparents, I will be checking his matches to see if any hold the key to open a door in a brick wall on this side of the family tree. These brick walls being mostly descendants of my maternal ancestors who have not been traced mainly due to emigration.
I have been waiting impatiently to write about this couple, Wilhelm WILTINGER and Margaretha WELTER. This is what I know about their lives and where I found information which has not all been documented.
Where the Information Was Found
Wilhelm WILTINGER and Margaretha WELTER of Ernzen, Germany, were my 4th great-grandparents. The bits and pieces I have for them come mostly from Familienbuch 2 der Pfarrei St. Marcus Ernzen bei Irrel, Daten bis 1798 aus den Kirchenbüchern der Pfarrei Echternach (damals fur Ernzen zuständig); mit: Ernzen-Hof, Fölkenbach und teilweise auch Prümzurlay (Häuser der rechten Flußseite) 1680-1899 – such a long title for the family book of the town of Ernzen and environs. I call it simply FB Ernzen.
Church records are available online at FamilySearch for Ernzen up to 1797 as it was then part of the parish of Echternach in Luxembourg. Civil records for births from about 1798 to 1907, marriages from 1798 to 1937, and deaths from 1798 to 1987 are not online. Although a short 20 minutes drive from where I live, the Kreisarchiv in Bitburg, Germany, houses these records. Tentative plans are being made to visit the archives with my genealogy society Luxracines next spring.
From WILTINGER to WILDINGER
Wilhelm WILTINGER was born about 1770 in Ettelbrück, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. He was the son of Michel WILTINGER and Margaretha DIESBURG of Ettelbrück. These two “facts” were likely taken from his 1849 death record.[1] As he died in Ernzen, this record will have to be obtained from the archives in Bitburg. I am hoping the person who took the information off of the death record may have made an error in noting both parents were from Ettelbrück.
I have tried to shed more light on Wilhelm’s parents. I am inclined to think Margaretha DIESBURG was not originally from Ettelbrück. My guess is she is from the DIESBURG line which originated on Diesburgerhof near Ferschweiler, the next village over from Ernzen. I found a child with the same name born in 1744 who would be a perfect match. Her family group is recorded in the FB Ferschweiler[2] and I found her in the 1766 census living with one of her married sisters.[3] She was not yet married. This leaves me with a four year period from 1766-1770 when Michel and Margaretha could have met and married. But where? Marriages in Luxembourg have been indexed for the time period and I have tried all variations of the names without locating a marriage. It has crossed my mind that a different surname may have been used by the groom, i.e. a house name.
1766 Luxembourg Census.[3]As for Wilhelm’s father I have searched all available GEDCOM files online to find persons with the WILDINGER name – the spelling which has been used in my family from 1798 to present. It is my mother’s maiden name. The only hits I get on the Luxracines website (members only access to GEDCOMs) are my own file. I am beginning to suspect that while my ancestor’s name may have been WILTINGER and changed to WILDINGER, the original surname may have evolved to the more common and widespread WILDANGER. Most were found in the Girst and Dickweiler area and spread out to Echternach. These are all in Luxembourg.
For now Michel WILTINGER and Margaretha DIESBURG, the parents of Wilhelm WILTINGER will remain a brick wall. A more time consuming one-name study of the WILDANGER individuals in Luxembourg and the nearby German area may the only way to solve this brick wall. Or could DNA also be part of the solution?
The WELTER line
Margaretha WELTER was the daughter of Michael WELTER and Katharina KLEIN. Michael and Katharina married in Ernzen on 22 November 1764.[4]
1764 Marriage Record for Michael Welter and Katharina Klein.[4]They had not yet had any children when the 1766 census was taken. Their names were spelled Michel and Catherine and they were living in a KLEIN household.[5]
1766 Luxembourg Census[5]Their first child was born the year the census was enumerated, followed by a set of twins in 1768, a son in 1770, another set of twins in 1773, and finally their youngest in 1777. Both sets of twins were a boy and a girl.[6]
1777 Baptismal Record[7]Margaretha was their youngest, born and baptized on 18 April 1777 in Ernzen (present-day Germany). Her godparents were Margaretha KLEIN and Nicolaus HUSS, both of Ernzen.[7]
A Marriage Before 1798?
Margaretha married Wilhelm WILTINGER before 1798. The marriage is estimated from the time their first known child was born. No marriage record has been found. Church and civil records were checked in Ettelbrück and Echternach to no avail.
Wilhelm and Margaretha had the following children, all born in Ernzen:[8]
Nicolas born on 29 September 1798.
Elisabeth born on 21 August 1805.
Franciscus “Franz” born on 6 Aug 1810. He died on 8 December 1812 in Ernzen.
Bernardus born on 12 May 1813.
The only daughter Elisabeth married Dominik WEBER (1803-1840), son of Johann WEBER and Katharina PETRI of Hoesdorf, on 13 December 1831 in Ernzen.[9] Hoesdorf (Luxembourgish: Héischdref) is a village in the commune of Reisdorf, in eastern Luxembourg.
Margaretha WELTER, the mother of Nicolas, Elisabeth, and Bernard, died on 8 January 1833 in Ernzen.[9] Her oldest son Nicolas was 35 years old and still single. Her youngest son Bernard was going on 20. Her daughter Elizabeth had been married a little more than a year.
On 12 October 1833, nine months after the death of her mother, Elizabeth gave birth to her first child, a daughter Maria. She chose her brother Nicolas to be the godfather. Maria THEIS of Hoesdorf was the godmother.[9]
My third great-grandparents, Nicolas WILDINGER and Catherine SCHRAMEN married on 18 January 1834 in Ferschweiler.[10] Catherine was the daughter of Michael SCHRAMEN and Elizabeth SCHMITT. She was born on 23 October 1812 in Ferschweiler and was baptized the next day.[11] Their story can be found here: 52 Ancestors: #42 The WILDINGER-SCHRAMEN Family of Ferschweiler .
Elisabeth’s husband Dominik WEBER died on 9 May 1840 in Ernzen and was buried two days later.[9] He left Elisabeth with four children.
Wilhelm WILTINGER, likely now using the WILDINGER spelling, died on 28 September 1849 in Ernzen and was buried two days later.[1]
Where Are the Children?
Wilhelm’s death came at a time when many were thinking about moving across the newly established border to Luxembourg or even further abroad, to America. Elisabeth’s brother-in-law Theodor JARDIN went to America with all of his living children after the death of his wife Katharina WELTER, sister of Dominik, in 1855.[12] Elisabeth and her brother Bernard had been close to the JARDIN family, both being godparents to JARDIN children.
Elisabeth WILDINGER was 53 years old and had been widowed seventeen years when she obtained an Auswanderungsgenehmigung (emigration approval) on 9 October 1857 for herself and her two children, Mathias, born on 10 November 1840, and Maria, born on 12 October 1833. The petition was admitted to the hearing without a stamp due to poverty. Elisabeth made her mark on the petition.[13]
There is no mention of where the family immigrated to or of the other two children, Anna Katharina born 1835 or Theodor born in 1838. However…
Richard Schaffner was not the first to compile a family book for the parish of Ernzen. A copy of Familienbuch Ernzen 1 (1823-1900) is in the parish of Ernzen according to Schaffner. He does not mention the compiler’s name. In the entry for Elisabeth WILDINGER in Schaffner’s version, he notes on page 45 of the first book the following information was found: “Die Witwe Elis. Weber zog im Jahr 1857 mit ihren 4 Kindern und ihrem Bruder Bernard Wildinger nach Nordamerika.” The widow Elisabeth WEBER moved in the year 1857 with her four children and her brother Bernard Wildinger to North America.
Early on I searched for Elisabeth and her brother Bernard WILDINGER in the USA but never found either of them or her WEBER children. Perhaps they went to Canada or Mexico. Not having experience with these countries I left this research problem for another day.
My third great-grandparents Catherine SCHRAMEN and Nicolas WILDINGER had five children born between 1835 and 1852. Catherine died on 2 November 1869 in Ferschweiler and was buried on 4 November 1869.[10] Four and a half years later Nicolas, the only child of Wilhem WILTINGER and Margaretha WELTER to remain in Germany, died on 3 June 1874 in Ferschweiler.[10] They left three living children, two of whom have been traced. All that was known of their youngest son Peter is that he fled from military service – “militärflüchtig laut Anzeiger z. Amtsbl. Trier 1873, Seite 243.”[10]
Let’s Talk About DNA
As mentioned earlier I now manage my brother’s DNA. As our mother is from Luxembourg (and all of her ancestry is centered in this tiny area) the DNA we share with her is either not getting many matches or is difficult to find within the thousands of matches showing on AncestryDNA.
There are several ways to sort matches on AncestryDNA. The most obvious (easiest) are those who have matching ancestors in their trees followed by matching surnames. Many users have private trees. When you search for a surname, matches with private trees will turn up in the list but you cannot access the information and therefore do not know who their ancestor is with the surname.
Even today searching for the WILDINGER surname on AncestryDNA turns up zero hits. Checking the box to Include similar surnames is not helpful as it turns up too many matches. I tried the known spellings and still had no results.
Then in April 2017, a match was found which looked promising.
DNA match’s profile on Ancestry
This predicted 4th cousin match showed PETERS as a shared surname. This match’s PETERS line appears to be German, unlike mine which is believed to be English. There were no Shared matches with this person which raises the possibility of this being a maternal match as opposed to a paternal match. It must be noted that shared matches are only listed up to 4th cousins.
Clicking on Location I found he had a WEBER ancestor from Ernzen. This is not one of my ancestral surnames and at the time I was not expecting a match to a family on our maternal side. Taking a closer look at the attached tree I realized the connection could be WELDINGER on his tree. A spelling I had not tried.
Pedigree chart of the match on Ancestry.
Predicted 4th cousin is a 4C1R
The year of birth for the daughter of the WEBER-WELDINGER couple in the pedigree chart above is 1818. My 3rd great-grand aunt Elisabeth WILDINGER was born in 1805 and would have been only 13 when this child was born. Even with this error, it looked promising as the husband’s name matched that of Elisabeth’s husband and the location fit.
I got to do US research – checking census, BMD, etc. – and found Elisabeth WILDINGER had emigrated to America before 1860. She was living in Berwick in Seneca County, Ohio, with her married daughter Catherine in 1860. She was listed with the surname WEAVER. Her daughter was only 24, born abt. 1835, and a good match for the child seen in the pedigree chart above with year of birth being 1818. Although she was still living, I have not found Elisabeth in the 1870 or 1880 census. She died on 10 March 1891 in Big Spring, Seneca County, Ohio, at the age of 86 years.[14]
1891 Death Entry for Elisabeth WEAVER.[14]Two of her children were also found. Catherine, who was the ancestor of the match with my brother, and her younger brother Mathias. I have not found the older daughter Maria or the son Theodor nor have I found the immigration records. I entered this match’s line back to my WILDINGER ancestor into the tree I have attached to my brother’s DNA.
This was done only after confirming this match’s line back to my WILDINGER ancestor. The tree has only the direct ancestors – no siblings, children, etc. I am considering the pros and cons of adding each confirmed match’s line back to the MRCA (most recent common ancestor). This tree includes sources but I have not attached records from Ancestry. I don’t usually work with it and have not considered the hints (shaky leaves) that are showing up.
2nd Great-Grand Uncle Discovered
However, while entering this match’s line, I took the time to check the hints for Ancestry Member Trees. I was surprised to find Wilhelm WILTINGER and Margaretha WELTER’s grandson Peter WILDINGER through their son Nicolas (my third great-grandfather) in four trees. All four had my Nicolas as the earliest known ancestor. No mention of Wilhelm and Margaretha. One member tree has for Peter: “Killed in WWI Action on the German Lines” in 1873. That is not what I would call a reliable statement.
The other three member trees are for a Peter WELDINGER who married in Illinois, had children there, and later moved to Iowa. The 1900, 1910, and 1920 census show he came to America in 1870 and was naturalized in 1880 (U.S. Naturalization Record confirms 30 October 1880). If this Peter WELDINGER is my second great-granduncle (there is presently no match or the owner/descendant has not done a test) then he must have fled from military service by emigrating to America.
Another DNA discovery was made as several new matches showed up when I did a new search for the locations Ernzen and Ferschweiler while writing this. I will have to work through these first but it looks promising as one of them may be the key to unlock the door in the DIESBURG brick wall.
Sources: [1] Richard Schaffner, compiler, Familienbuch 2 der Pfarrei St. Marcus Ernzen bei Irrel, Daten bis 1798 aus den Kirchenbüchern der Pfarrei Echternach (damals fur Ernzen zuständig); mit: Ernzen-Hof, Fölkenbach undteilweise auch Prümzurlay (Häuser der rechten Flußseite) 1680-1899 (compiled in 2000), p. 246, Family #869. Wiltinger-Welter. [2] Richard Schaffner, compiler, Familienbuch der Pfarrei Sancta Lucia Ferschweiler mit: Diesburgerhof (ab 1803) und L(a)eisenhof (ab1830) 1680-1899, PDF (Kordel, 1999), p. 43-44, Family #193. Diesburg-Schmitt. [3] Luxembourg, Dénombrement, 1766 (images), FamilySearch (original records at Archives Générales du Royaume, Bruxelles), Decanat de Bittbourg v. 1 A-K > Feischveiler (paroisse d’Echternach) > Image 250 of 753. Household Nr. 13, Mathias Petri. (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLL-M7DK-Y?i=249&cat=1184675 : accessed 6 October 2017). [4] Luxembourg, registres paroissiaux, 1601-1948 (images), FamilySearch (original records at Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit, Luxembourg), Echternach > Mariages, décès 1706-1778 > image 145 of 293. 1764 Marriage Record, right page, 1st entry. (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1971-32399-12418-50?cc=2037955 : 9 January 2015). [5] Luxembourg 1766 Census, Decanat de Bittbourg v. 1 A-K > Erntzen (paroisse d’Echternach) > Image 245 of 753. Household Nr. 7, Jean Klein (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CSLL-M7DL-W?cat=1184675 : accessed 6 October 2017). [6] FB Ernzen, p. 240, Family #846. Welter-Klein. [7] Luxembourg Church Records, Echternach > Baptêmes 1761-1797 > image 83 of 131. 1777 Baptismal Record, left page, 7th entry. (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.3.1/TH-1961-32399-12819-27?cc=2037955 : accessed 9 November 2016). [8] FB Ernzen, p. 246, Family #869. Wiltinger-Welter. [9] Ibid., p. 225, Family #800. Weber-Wildinger. [10] FB Ferschweiler, p. 349, Family #1625. Wildinger-Schramen. [11] Ibid., p. 295, Family #1378. Schramen-Schmitt. [12] FB Ernzen, p. 117-118, Family #380. Jardin-Welter. [13] Josef Mergen, Die Amerika-Auswanderung aus dem Kreis Bitburg im 19.-Jahrhundert [14] “Ohio, County Death Records, 1840-2001,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:F6CM-WJX : accessed 5 October 2017), Elizabeth Weaver, 10 Mar 1891; citing Death, Big Spring, Seneca, Ohio, United States, source ID v 4 p 216, County courthouses, Ohio; FHL microfilm 388,771.
I was on duty a week ago Saturday at my genealogy society’s library in Walferdange, Luxembourg. This new library is open to the public on Saturday afternoons from 2 to 5. Three members of the board of Luxracines were present and six visitors dropped in to research and to become familiar with our collections.
As it was not yet too busy, I was able to get some research done while on duty.
I opened up my genealogy software (AQ14), went to my maternal grandfather’s pedigree and checked for the closest unknown sets of ancestors. One by one I pulled the family books of the towns they were from and looked up the families.
I used Evernote’s Scannable app on my iPhone to scan the images of the pages of the German family books concerning the families I was interested in.
I attached the names of 5 sets of NEW ancestors to my family tree, as placeholders. I did not input any further information.
To the Research Manager of AQ14, I added a To Do/Research Item for each placeholder person:
“Check the images from the [name of town] family book taken at Luxracines library on 29 Oct 2016“
I included a red tag for good measure.
At home, I sent the images to Evernote. Each image became a note which I titled with the town name, page number, family number(s), surname. The notes were filed in a temporary notebook.
The next step was to begin inputting the information, citing sources, and adding the cropped images to my database. I began with the Familienbuch der Pfarrei Messerich, Dekanat Bitburg, 1720-1900 compiled by Werner Naumann. It covers the towns of Messerich, Birtlingen, Niederstedem, and Oberstedem.
Last year I wrote 52 Ancestors: #45 The WAGNER-KERSCHT Family. My third great-grandmother Anna Maria KERSCHT, wife of Johann WAGNER, 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. Anna Maria’s parents, my 4th great-grandparents, would be the next logical couple to write about. The Mettendorf FB entry M1158 for them indicated that they had not always lived in Mettendorf. Their first six children had only estimated years of birth indicating the information was not to be found in Mettendorf. Their seventh child, born in 1809, was documented as being born in Mettendorf.
My fourth great-grandmother’s name was seen as Anna EVEN in the Mettendorf FB (Family Book). Since Anna and Mathias married in Messerich this was the logical place to look further for this family line.
The first thing I noticed when I looked up EVEN, the name found in the Mettendorf FB, was that the name was spelled EWEN in the Messerich FB. I had suspected this may be the case as I had found Anna’s parents listed as Gerardus EWEN and Barbara THILIEN on Thomas A. Pick’s Homepage for Eifel Birth and Marriage Data. The data was transcribed from an unknown source and the town of Messerich is seen as Mefserich (clearly a transcription error). This made me question the correctness of Pick’s use of the names EWEN and THILIEN.
In the Messerich FB, Mr. Naumann included the book number, page number, and record number of the church records he viewed. He also mentions other spellings of names or name changes. Although records will have to be obtained as proof, I will, for now, go with the spelling found by Mr. Naumann.
The parents of Anna EWEN (1766-1828) were Gerhard EWEN and Barbara THIL, also seen as THIELEN. Anna had nine siblings born between 1761 and 1780. Not only did I find her parents but also her paternal grandparents, maternal grandfather, and both sets of paternal great-grandparents. The new names in the family tree are seen below in generations 8 and 9 in white.
When I finish all of the towns scanned, I will go into AQ14 and re-set the standard ancestral colors so that these new ancestors on my mother’s paternal line will also be pink.
An interesting name change was seen for Anna EWEN’s parents. Her father Remigius was born EUPERS. At the time of his marriage to Margaretha EWEN in 1733 he lost his surname as they lived in the EWEN home and their children were all baptized EWEN. He was known as Remigius EUPERS vulgo EWEN. Vulgo means “alias” or “also known as” and shows his association to the EWEN family and property.
The Mathias KERSCHT and Anna EWEN family group were included in the Messerich FB. However, there are still discrepancies. My Anna Maria KERSCHT is in the Mettendorf FB with birth being circa 1793. She had five siblings born between 1786 and 1794 in Messerich but she was not in the Messerich FB.
When I wrote 52 Ancestors: #45 The WAGNER-KERSCHT Family I discussed my doubts about Anna Maria being born abt. 1793 which would mean she was nearly 50 when her last child, my 2nd great-grandmother Magdalena WAGNER, was born. I didn’t have the WAGNER-KERSCHT family’s entry from the Mettendorf FB when I wrote the post a year ago. At the time the theme of the post was “nur nicht verzweifeln” or don’t despair due to all the missing information. I still don’t have the entry and have added it to the Research Manager as a To Do/Research Item for my next visit to the library.
Messerich, Germany
The first documented mention of the town Messerich, Miezriche, was in the year 1066. In 1852 remains of Roman settlements were found thus proving that the place existed nearly one thousand years before it was first mentioned. In 1473 Messerich had 15 Feuerstellen, or houses which were lived in; in 1525 there were 12; in 1541 there were 14; and in 1624 there were only 5. The Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648), one of the deadliest conflicts in European history, and the Black Death, which repeatedly struck the Nimstal area in 1620-1633, were the cause for the decline in population. Today there are over 400 residents and 100 houses in Messerich.
Map courtesy of maps.google.lu
On the map above Messerich is a bit south of Bitburg. The closest towns to Messerich are Masholder, Birtlingen, Oberstedem, and Bitburg. Echternach, Luxembourg, the town where I live, lies 17.5 km or 10 miles to the south.
By Spanish_Inquisition (LuxembourgPartitionsMap_english.jpg) [GFDL or CC BY-SA 4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0], via Wikimedia CommonsUntil the end of the 18th century, Messerich belonged to the Bitburg Provost District of the Duchy of Luxembourg. The borders of Luxembourg, before 1659, are seen above as black lines including areas of present-day France, Belgium, and Germany. The area where Messerich lies belonged to the Duchy of Luxembourg until the dark green area went to Prussia in 1815.
Although Messerich today lies in Germany, during the time my ancestors lived there it was part of the Duchy of Luxembourg. Now I am curious to find out which of my other “German” ancestors were actually Luxembourgers.
The entries from the Messerich FB have all been inputted and cited in my family tree. Schankweiler, Mettendorf, Neuerburg/Eifel, Mürlenbach, and Fliessem family books remain to be done. Hopefully I will have finished them by November 26th when it is once again my turn to be on library duty.
A little over two weeks ago the Dempsey family got together at our house to celebrate Mom’s 80th birthday. Normally I don’t blog about living persons but this is a milestone in Mom’s and our lives which deserves to be written about while she is still with us.
We had two family photographers and several others with their cell phones taking pictures but the only way to get a great family group photo is to have someone else do the job. Many thanks to Anne-Ly Mertens-Prott for the wonderful photos and for working over the Luxembourgish translation with her husband Nic for the local online newspaper at mywort.lu.
Photo courtesy of Anne-Ly Mertens-Prott
80ten Gebuertsdaag vum Josette Sassel-Wildinger
Freides, de 29. Mee 1936 kruten d’Marie Marcelle Fournelle an den Nicolas Wildinger vun Iechternach Nowuess. D’Josette, hirt eenzegt Kand, huet deen Daag zu Iechternach d’Liicht vun der Welt erbléckst. Seng Mamm huet dacks vum spéide Schnéi, deen et um Päischtweekend no senger Gebuert gouf, geschwat. E puer Woche virun sengem véierte Gebuertsdaag huet d’Josette materlieft wéi déi Däitsch Lëtzebuerg besat hunn. D’Joer duerno ass säi Papp un der Tuberkulos gestuerwen. Den 10. Oktober 1944, war hatt eent vu villen déi aus Iechternach evakuéiert goufen. Zu Fouss ass hatt mat senger Mamm an dem 73 Joer ale Grousspapp iwwer Uesweller, Bech, Hielem an d’Luerenzweiler Géigend gaangen, wou si bis an de Mee 1945, bei Frënn ënnerkomm sinn.
Den 2. Mäerz 1957 huet d’Josette en amerikanesche G.I., de Fred Roosevelt Dempsey vu Victor, West Virginia, deen zu Bitburg stationéiert war, bestuet. Si goufen Eltere vu fënnef Kanner, déi si am Laaf vun de Joren am Georgia, Frankräich, Idaho, West Virginia, Spuenien, South Carolina an Texas, opgezunn hunn. 1974 ass säi Mann Freddy gestuerwen, an d’Joer drop koum d’Josette mat de Kanner Cathy, Debby, Marc, Mike an André zréck op Iechternach. Nodeems hatt d’Kanner während méi wéi enger Dose Joer eleng grouss gezunn hat, huet hatt sech den 28. August 1987 mam Francis Sassel bestuet.
Fir dem Josette säin 80. Gebuertsdaag, si seng Kanner fir déi éischte Kéier zanter 1979 nees all zu Iechternach zesummekomm. Et gouf gefeiert mat sengem Mann, de Kanner, den Eedemen a Schnaueren, a véier vun de néng Enkelkanner: Sheila, Brian, Jenny, Duane. Gefehlt hunn fënnef Enkelkanner: Cindy, Erin, Mike, André an Ian, souwéi zwee Urenkel Savannah an Taylor, déi mat engem schéine Video der Bomi gewënscht hunn.
80th Birthday for Josette Sassel-Wildinger
On Friday 29 May 1936 Catherine Josette Wildinger was born in Echternach to Marie Marcelle Fournelle and Nicolas Wildinger. She would remain their only child. Her mother often told of the late snow which fell on Pentecost weekend following her birth. A few weeks before her fourth birthday Josette saw the Germans occupy Luxembourg. The following year her father died of tuberculosis. On 10 October 1944 she was one of many who were evacuated from Echternach, going on foot to Osweiler, Bech, Helmdange, and the Lorentzweiler area with her mother and 73 years old Grandpapa, only returning in May 1945.
On 2 March 1957 Josette married an American G.I., Fred Roosevelt Dempsey from Victor, West Virginia, while he was stationed in Bitburg, Germany. They became the parents of five children and raising them in Georgia, France, Idaho, West Virginia, Spain, South Carolina, and Texas. In 1975 Josette returned to Echternach with her children Cathy, Debby, Marc, Mike, and André following the death of her husband Freddy the previous year. After raising her children on her own for more than a dozen years she married François Sassel on 28 August 1987.
For Josette’s 80th birthday her children came together for the first time since 1979. She celebrated with her husband, her children and their spouses, and four of her nine grandchildren: Sheila, Brian, Jenny, and Duane. Missing were five grandchildren Cindy, Erin, Mike, André, and Ian, and her two great-grandchildren Savannah and Taylor, who sent a wonderful video with birthday wishes for their grandmother/great-grandmother.
The Day in Retrospect
Following a huge round of applause and a presentation of a large bouquet, a gift from two of her grandchildren, Mom and the rest of us enjoyed watching the video sent by the grandchildren and great-grandchildren who could not be here. It was very moving and there was not a dry eye in the room afterward.
We were able to sit out on the back porch and in the back yard where a tent had been set up to enjoy our plates filled from the cold buffet. After everyone had had their fill and before the cake was brought out, Anne-Ly came by to take the group photos. Mom did not know what was going on when she and her five children were being set up on the steps of the back porch.
Photo on right courtesy of Anne-Ly Mertens-Prott
We reproduced a photo of Mom with the kids taken Easter Sunday in 1969 when Dad was on duty in Thailand. The photo was also used on her cake, a gift from the other two grandchildren who were present.
Mom gets ready to cut the cake with her grown-up children.
Everyone had a great time, memories were shared and new ones were made. Hopefully, it will not be 37 years before we can all get together again.
My Bomi, Marie Marcelle FOURNELLE, was a seamstress. Bomi is Luxembourgish for grandmother. Bomi was always working in her sewing room whenever we visited her. It was her livelihood. After the death of her husband of six years, she used the trade she learned to feed her daughter and herself.
After her death I wanted to have some of the tools of her trade. I didn’t take any of her sewing machines as I already had her sister-in-law’s. I chose small things, her irons, scissors, thimbles, darning eggs.
The tiny iron in the middle of the above photo was the one my mother used to “iron” her doll’s clothes. When she was old enough to help in the sewing room she used it to iron open seams for her mother.
How many people still darn their socks today? Bomi had a darning egg with a teeny tiny crochet hook to pick up runs in stockings and knitted clothing. Do you remember when you used nail polish to stop a run? We used a bit of soft soap so that the run could be picked up and fixed.
Bomi could turn an old coat or dress into a new piece of clothing worthy enough to visit a queen. When the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg visited Queen Elizabeth in England she took along her attending physician Dr. Emile Gretsch. His daughter accompanied him and in preparation for the trip she brought clothes to Bomi to be turned into new outfits. When they were in London the doctor’s daughter sent Bomi a postcard telling her jokingly “haute couture Fournelle” was well received in London.
Bomi was always prepared to fix a fallen hem or sew on a loose button with this cute leather sewing purse with embroidery scissors and a thimble.
I wish I had been able to keep many things from her large house, including her old front door, but we did not have the room for everything.
Jeanne Bryan Insalaco of Everyone Has A Story suggested doing posts on heirlooms in a discussion in the Genealogy Bloggers Facebook group and wrote Now Where Did I Put That? Several bloggers have taken her up on the challenge to write about their heirlooms and we hope more will follow our lead.
Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks theme for 2015 Week 24 was Heirlooms. Visit her 52 Ancestors Challenge 2015: Week 24 Recap for the links to more posts in the comments.
I received this cactus from Bomi, my maternal grandmother, in 2002. She’d raised it from cuttings from one of her older plants. I suspect she had been doing this for years and may have gotten her original plant from her mother.
She told me to water it once a week by filling the saucer under the flower pot with “standing” water. As soon as she watered he plants she would fill the watering can and let it stand at least a day before using it. Once a month I was to add a few grains of engrais rose, a fertilizer for strong growth andabundant flowering, to the saucer. The pink colored grains would dissolve and feed the plant as it was watered. She didn’t tell me the secret to getting it to flower.
But as you can see by my photos I haven’t had any problems with it blooming.
Sometime after Bomi died in 2005 the cactus began making one darker pink flower. Over the years one became two and two became three. I don’t have any idea why the plant is doing this or if it’s normal.
My mother also has one of Bomi’s cacti. She puts hers outside during the summer and doesn’t worry about windy weather breaking off branches of the plant. She says this keeps it from getting too big.
We began doing the same with ours. One time it was blown over the side railing of the porch by high winds and a large piece was broken off. It looked a little lopsided so I stuck a few of the broken off pieces into the soil where the piece had broken off. Surprisingly they took and today the cactus is no longer lopsided. It has only been re-potted once since we’ve had it and pssst hasn’t had fertilizer in ages.
After the success of my planting the cuttings next to the “mother” plant I tried planting six cuttings in a small flowerpot. The “cuttings” were branches that had been broken or knocked off. All six took and the new plant flowered about three years later.
We keep the old and new plants outside until just before the first frost. They do not fail to begin budding a week after being moved indoors. Although we call the older one Bomi’s Christmas Cactus it usually blooms first around Thanksgiving and twice more before the spring, reminding us of her.
My Blogger_lu blogging friend Claudine shared her grandmother’s geraniums on her blog yesterday. The over 40 years old geraniums’ future are insured by her husband, also know as Monsieur Merlanne, who plants cuttings each August.
Jeanne Bryan Insalaco of Everyone Has A Story suggested doing posts on heirlooms in a discussion in the Genealogy Bloggers Facebook group and wrote Now Where Did I Put That? Several bloggers have taken her up on the challenge to write about their heirlooms and we hope more will follow our lead.
Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks theme for 2015 Week 24 was Heirlooms. Visit her 52 Ancestors Challenge 2015: Week 24 Recap for the links to more posts in the comments.
My grandmother Marie Marcelle FOURNELLE married Nicolas WILDINGER, a German whose family had been living in Luxembourg since the first World War, on the 26th of July 1935. A month later she made a declaration to preserve her Luxembourgish nationality. In May 1936 her only child was born. When her daughter was five years old Marcelle’s husband died of tuberculosis. She had at least one offer of marriage but remained a widow from 1941 until her death in 2005 at the age of 95 years, 7 months, 10 days.
Bomi, as her grandchildren called her, was a fearless female during World War II (1939-1945). On May 10th, 1940, the German Wehrmacht invaded Luxembourg. On the eve of this invasion the Prime Minister of Luxembourg and his government decided to go into exile. From abroad, they lead the resistance against the Nazi regime in Luxembourg. Grand Duchess Charlotte followed the government and eventually moved to London, the headquarters of the allies. Thanks to her, the resistance movement in Luxembourg developed strongly.
Bomi’s Spéngelskrich Amulette, a Family Heirloom
Bomi’s Spéngelskrich or “War of the Pins” amulette (front view)Bomi’s Spéngelskrich or “War of the Pins” amulette (back view)
The people of Luxembourg had their own ways to resist the German occupation of their country during World War II. They used passive resistance. They refused to speak German and participated in the Spéngelskrich or the “War of the Pins.” The people wore badges, pinned to their coats or jackets, which bore patriotic emblems such as the Red Lion or the head of Grand Duchess Charlotte, cut from a coin. My Bomi, Marie Marcelle FOURNELLE, wore this amulette, a profile of the Grand Duchesse with the initial C for Charlotte, on a chain around her neck until her death in 2005. This family heirloom is now in the possession of my mother.
Resistance Amulette
This post was adapted from a previous post. After publishing it in March 2014 I learned Bomi owned several of these and gave one to her oldest great-granddaughter C. who did not know there was a story behind the amulette she owned until she read my post. This is one of the reasons this series of posts on family heirlooms is being written – to tell the stories surrounding the treasures.
Bomi’s Spéngelskrich or “War of the Pins” amulette owned by a great-granddaughter
Bomi told us several stories about her life during this time. Once on the evening of January 23rd all of the neighbors met in her house to celebrate the birthday of Grand Duchess Charlotte. The windows were covered so that no light could be seen from the street but the German patrol could hear the celebrating. They knocked on the door and asked what was going on. Bomi told them they were celebrating her birthday. It’s a good thing they didn’t check her identification as her birthday was June 17th. She asked the Germans to join them in a glass of wine. She would laugh when she told us how the Germans raised their glasses to the birthday girl, not knowing that they were toasting the Grand Duchess.
Jeanne Bryan Insalaco of Everyone Has A Story suggested doing posts on heirlooms in a discussion in the Genealogy Bloggers Facebook group and wrote Now Where Did I Put That? Several bloggers have taken her up on the challenge to write about their heirlooms and we hope more will follow our lead.
Amy Johnson Crow’s 52 Ancestors in 52 Weeks theme for 2015 Week 24 was Heirlooms. Visit her 52 Ancestors Challenge 2015: Week 24 Recap for the links to posts in the comments.
My third great-grandfather Hubert WEIMANN (1805-1872) was born on 13 July 1805 in Ernzen, Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany.[1], [2] His parents were Bernard WEYMANN (1763-1809) and Susanna MALAMBRE (1772-1848), both of Ernzen. Hubert had two sisters, Anna Maria born 28 January 1796[2] and Elisabeth born on 20 August 1807,[2] both in Ernzen. Elisabeth was born seven months after the death of her father Bernard WEYMANN who died on 2 January 1807[2] in Ernzen. His widow Susanna remarried on 13 February 1809[3] to Matthias WELTER (1772-1830). They had four children, only one lived to adulthood and married.[3]
Elisabeth WELTER of Ernzen
Elisabeth WELTER, my third great-grandmother, was born on 31 January 1807[1], [4] in Ernzen. She was the daughter of Anton WELTER (1773-1849) born on Ernzerhof near Ernzen and Anne Catherine HENNES (1779-1845) born in Holsthum. They were married on 23 March 1803[4] in Ernzen. This was just before the beginning of the Napoleonic Wars (18 May 1803- 13 Sep 1815) during which time their first four of six children were born (§ denotes end of line):
Child 1: Bernard WELTER (1805-1855) born in 1805. He married Katharina WEBER (1795-1875) on 2 April 1837 in Aach in the Eifel. Bernard died on 1 February 1855 in Ernzen.[4], [5]
Child 2: Elisabeth WELTER (1807-1877), my third great-grandmother
§ Child 3: Katharina WELTER (1810-1812) born 21 July 1810 in Ernzen. She died 5 December 1812 in Ernzen.[4]
§ Child 4: Peter WELTER (1814-1815) born 4 April 1814 in Ernzen. He died 6 February 1815 in Ernzen.[4]
§ Child 5: Peter WELTER (1817-1819) born 10 August 1817 in Ernzen. He died 12 May 1819 in Ernzen.[4]
Child 6: Anna Maria WELTER (1822-1861) born 3 April 1822 in Ernzen. She made her First Communion in 1834. Anna Maria married Peter STEIL 18 February 1846 in Ernzen. She died on 9 January 1861 in Ernzen where she was buried two days later.[4], [6]
A Marriage Takes Place in Sankt Markus Catholic Church
Hubert WEIMANN married Elisabeth WELTER on 11 February 1835[1] in Ernzen. A religious marriage ceremony took place the next day on 12 February 1835[1] in Sankt Markus Catholic Church in Ernzen. Peter LINKELS who was at Sankt Markus from 1806-1835 most likely performed the ceremony.
Sankt Markus Catholic Church in Ernzen
As mentioned earlier Hubert’s mother Susanna MALAMBRE was married(2) to Matthias WELTER. Susanna and Mathias’ children, Hubert’s half-siblings, were his wife Elisabeth’s second cousins. Matthias and Elisabeth were first cousins once removed. Confused? I love looking at the bigger picture!
A New Priest for Sankt Markus
Richard Schaffner’s Familienbuch der Pfarrei St. Marcus Ernzen bei Irrel as well as FamilySearch‘s Germany Births and Baptisms, 1558-1898 (index) have helped to add dates and places to this family’s story. Mr. Schaffner viewed the civil and religious records while compiling the information on all families of Ernzen however neither his book nor FamilySearch‘s database have images of the records. To make up for the missing records my photographer-husband and I visited Ernzen earlier this month to illustrate the stories with photos of the town today.
When I wrote this post a key figure in the lives of the family was missing (oops) but I did not know this until I took a very close look at the photos we took that day. On the side and behind the Sankt Markus church is the cemetery. Graves with the surnames WEIMANN, MALAMBRE, and WELTER were seen in the cemetery. Behind the church we found a plot reserved for the the priests who had served Sankt Markus.
On the left the parrish priests of Ernzen are listed with the years they served at Sankt Markus (1803-2001). The priests are included in Mr. Schaffner’s Family Book of Ernzen. They were an important part of families’ lives and I did not think to look for them in the compilation. Oops, a mistake I will have to remedy when I work on families in other towns with family books.
Philipp MEYER was born 9 November 1804 in Heispelt. He became a priest on 28 May 1831 in Trier, was chaplain in Daun before becoming the new pastor in Ernzen from 29 September 1835 until his death on 10 June 1868. He was buried in the church cemetery on 13 June 1868.[7] The grave is marked with this stone.
Herelie the bonesof the deceased PastorMEYER fromErnzen. Diedon 10 June1868aged64years. Bornin Heispelt in theGrand Duchy ofLuxembourgin 1804.He joinedthe pastorsof the parrish ofErnzenandtended hissheepfor nearly33 years. He wasa good shepherdanda good shepherdgiveshis life forhis flock which he did for that he will hopefully receivethecrown of eternal life. R I P
Father MEYER was the priest who performed baptisms, marriages, and burials for the WEIMANN-WELTER family from 1835 to 1868.
Hubert and Elisabeth’s Children
Hubert and Elisabeth’s first child came along a little over nine months after their marriage. Bernard was born and baptized on 30 November 1835[1], [8] in Sankt Markus. His godparents were his uncle Bernard RAUSCH, husband of the father’s sister, and his maternal grandmother Katharina HENNES, both of Ernzen.[1] Custom was for a male child to have the godfather’s name. I wonder if they may have chosen Bernard RAUSCH as the godfather in honor of the paternal grandfather. Baby Bernard died less than a month later, on the day after Christmas.
Their second child was born on 2 January 1837[1] and was baptized a day later in Sankt Markus.[9] His godparents were his uncle Bernard WELTER and Katharina CLASEN of Ernzen.[1] The child was given the name Bernard. Given the godfather’s name but did his parents want him to carry the name of his paternal grandfather and/or his deceased older brother?
Hubert and Elisabeth’s third child was a daughter, my 2nd great-grandmother. She was born on 18 June 1839[1], [10], [11] and was baptized the next day in Sankt Markus.[12] Her godparents were Maria WELTER and Anton PROMMENSCHENKEL of Ernzen.[1]
Johann the fourth child was born and baptized on 1 August 1841.[1], [13] The godparents who stood up for him in Sankt Markus were Johann HEINZ and Magdalena WELTER of Ernzen.[1]
Bernard, the oldest of the three living children died on 28 July 1842 and was buried two days later in Ernzen.[1]
Two years later Elisabeth gave birth to her 5th child Katharina on 28 June 1844[1] in Ernzen. Katharina was baptized the next day[14] in Sankt Markus in the presence of her godparents Katharina CLASSEN and Johann RAUSCH of Ernzen.[1]
Elizabeth’s mother Anne Catherine HENNES died on 9 March 1845 in Ernzen and was buried there two days later on 11 March 1845.[4]
Hubert and Elisabeth did not give up hope of having a son name Bernard. On 23 May 1847[1] their third son and sixth child was born in Ernzen. Two days later[15] he was baptized in Sankt Markus and was given the name Bernard. His godparents were Bernard and Katharina CLASSEN of Ernzen.
Five months later their two youngest children died. Katharina died on 31 October 1847 and was buried on 2 November.[1] Three days later baby Bernard died on 5 November and was buried on 7 November.[1]
Maria, 9 years old, and Johann, 7 years old, did not remain the only children as their mother Elisabeth gave birth to a seventh child. After losing three sons named Bernard they must have decided to choose another name for their son born on 29 October 1848[1] and baptized the next day[16] in Sankt Markus. His godparents were Peter STEIL and Elisabeth HENNES of Ernzen and he was given the name Peter.[1]
About a week later the family was back in church for a funeral. Hubert’s mother Susanna MALAMBRE died on 5 December 1848 and was buried two days later on 7 December 1848.[2], [3]
Two months later another funeral was being held in Sankt Markus. Elisabeth’s father Anton WELTER died on 26 January 1849 in Ernzen and was buried there two days later on 28 January 1849.[4]
The Grown Children Begin to Marry
Following the deaths of the grandparents the WEIMANN children, Maria, Johann and Peter continued to grow to adulthood. The oldest, Maria, was the first to marry on Thursday, 25 January 1866[10], [11] to Bernard WILDINGER. Isn’t it strange she would choose a man with the name her parents had given to three sons who died young? Maria and Bernard were married in a religious ceremony over a week later on Saturday, 3 February 1866 in Sankt Markus Catholic Church.[17]
Maria and Bernard gave Hubert and Elisabeth their first grandchild on 23 December 1866.[10], [11] He was baptized in Sankt Markus the day after Christmas. His godparents were his maternal grandfather Hubert WEIMANN of Ernzen and his paternal grandmother Catherine SCHRAMEN of Ferschweiler. Sadly Hubert died at the age of nine months on 20 September 1867.
The oldest son of Hubert and Elizabeth WEIMANN, Johann married Maria REUTER (1839-1907) on 27 November 1867[13] in a civil ceremony in Bollendorf. The marriage was also celebrated in a religious ceremony on 30 November 1867 in Sankt Markus Catholic Church in Ernzen.[18]
On 10 June 1868[7] Father MEYER who had served the WEIMANN family and the parrish of Ernzen died. He was replaced by Father Eduard WITTUS on 15 September 1868.
On 29 October 1872[1] Hubert WEIMANN died at the age of 67 years in Ernzen where he was born, grew up and raised his family. Father Eduard WITTUS who came to pastor at Sankt Markus after the death of Father MEYER may have been the priest who said mass for Hubert’s burial.
A year after Hubert’s death his youngest son Peter married Katharina HANSEN (1848-1914) on Tuesday, 23 September 1873[19] in a civil ceremony in Bollendorf. They were married in a religious ceremony in Sankt Markus on Monday, 29 September 1873.[20]
The mother of this family, Elisabeth WELTER died on Monday, 24 September 1877 in Ernzen and was buried there three days later on Thursday, 27 September 1877.[1]
Hubert and Elisabeth’s children raised their families in Ernzen. They witnessed the beginning of World War I. Peter, the youngest of the three, died on 27 November 1914[19] and was followed less than a year later by his sister Maria on 2 September 1915.[10], [11] Johann, the last living child, died a little over a year after the end of the Great War on 3 December 1919.[13]
Take a Walk Through Ernzen
Sources: [1] Richard Schaffner, compiler, Familienbuch 2 der Pfarrei St. Marcus Ernzen bei Irrel, Daten bis 1798 aus den Kirchenbüchern der Pfarrei Echternach (damals fur Ernzen zuständig); mit: Ernzen-Hof, Fölkenbach und teilweise auch Prümzurlay (Häuser der rechten Flußseite) 1680-1899 (compiled in 2000), p. 232, Family #822. Weimann-Welter. [2] Ibid., p. 243, Family #858. Weymann-Malambre. [3] Ibid., p. 239, Family #844. Welter-Malambre. [4] Ibid., p. 234, Family #830. Welter-Hennes. [5] Ibid., p. 235, Family #832. Welter-Weber. [6] Ibid., p. 203, Family #719. Steil-Welter. [7] Ibid., p. 152, Person #510. Meyer (priest). [8] Germany Births and Baptisms, 1558-1898 / Deutschland Geburten und Taufen, 1558-1898, (index), FamilySearch, FHL microfilm 462714. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NFD4-XNL : accessed 23 October 2015), Bernardus Weimann, 30 Nov 1835; citing Sankt Markus Katholisch, Ernzen, Rheinland, Prussia. [9] Ibid., FHL microfilm 462714. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NFD4-XN5 : accessed 23 October 2015), Bernardus Weimann, 03 Jan 1837; citing Sankt Markus Katholisch, Ernzen, Rheinland, Prussia. [10]Familienbuch Ernzen, p. 245-246, family #867. Wildinger-Weimann. [11] Richard Schaffner, compiler, Familienbuch der Pfarrei Sancta Lucia Ferschweiler mit: Diesburgerhof (ab 1803) und L(a)eisenhof (ab1830) 1680-1899, PDF (Kordel, 1999), p. 349, family #1624. Wildinger-Weimann. [12] Germany Births and Baptisms, 1558-1898 / Deutschland Geburten und Taufen, 1558-1898, (index), <FamilySearch, FHL microfilm 462,714. (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/NFD4-54C : accessed 23 February 2015), Maria Weiman, 19 Jun 1839; citing Sankt Lucia Katholisch, Ferschweiler, Rheinland, Prussia. [13] Familienbuch Ernzen, p. 232-233, Family #823. Weimann-Reiter. [14] Germany Births and Baptisms, FHL microfilm 462714. (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NFD4-KMB : accessed 23 October 2015), Catharina Weimann, 29 Jun 1844; citing Sankt Markus Katholisch, Ernzen, Rheinland, Prussia. [15] Ibid., (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N2CB-NBL : accessed 23 October 2015), Bernardus Weimann, 25 May 1847; citing Sankt Markus Katholisch, Ernzen, Rheinland, Prussia. [16] Ibid., (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:N2CB-2VM : accessed 23 October 2015), Petrus Weimann, 30 Oct 1848; citing Sankt Markus Katholisch, Ernzen, Rheinland, Prussia. [17] Germany Marriages, 1558-1929 / Deutschland, Heiraten, 1558-1929, (index), FamilySearch, FHL microfilm 462714. (https://familysearch.org/pal:/MM9.1.1/JH8P-DXT : accessed 23 February 2015), Bernardus Weldinger and Maria Weimann, 03 Feb 1866; citing Sankt Markus Katholisch, Ernzen, Rheinland, Prussia. [18] Ibid., (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JH8P-DM5 : accessed 23 October 2015), Joannes Weimann and Maria Reuter, 30 Nov 1867; citing Sankt Markus Katholisch, Ernzen, Rheinland, Prussia. [19] Familienbuch Ernzen., p. 233, Family #825. Weimann-Hansen. [20] Germany Marriages, (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:JH8P-DJT : accessed 23 October 2015), Petrus Weimann and Cath. Hansen, 29 Sep 1873; citing Sankt Markus Katholisch, Ernzen, Rheinland, Prussia.
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 42 (October 15-21) – Proud:Which ancestor did something that made you proud? Which ancestor are you proud of finding?
I’m proud to be able to share photos taken last week of the road into Ferschweiler, the town sign, the catholic church, and the Luzienturm (tower) from the year 1538. It was wonderful to walk the church grounds where my ancestors are buried and see the church they were baptized and married in. The graves are no longer there but their spirits remain.
The WILDINGER-SCHRAMEN Family of Ferschweiler
My third great-grandfather Nicolas WILDINGER was born on 29 September 1798 in Ernzen, Eifelkreis Bitburg-Prüm, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany.[1] He was the son of Wilhelmus WILTINGER (1770-1849) born about 1770 in Ettelbrück, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg[2], and Margaretha WELTER (1777-1833) born 18 Apr 1777 in Ernzen.[2] It is not known at this time when his parents married.
Note: The compiler of the Ernzen Family Book wrote Ehe nachprüfen (check marriage) followed by oo vor 1798 (married before 1798).[2]
Nicolas was most likely the oldest of 4 children. His three younger siblings were born during the Napoleonic Wars (18 May 1803-13 Sep 1815):
Elizabeth WILDINGER (1805- ) born 21 August 1805 in Ernzen.[2] She married Dominik WEBER on 13 December 1831. As a widow with 4 children she immigrated to America in 1857.[3]
Franciscus “Franz” WILDINGER (1810-1812) born 6 August 1810 in Ernzen and died 8 December 1812 in Ernzen.[2]
Bernardus WILDINGER (1813- ) born 12 May 1813 in Ernzen.[2] Immigrated to America in 1857.[3]
Nicolas’ mother Margaretha WELTER died 8 January 1833 in Ernzen[2] too early to see her oldest son Nicolas marry.
The Road to Ferschweiler
Nicolas WILDINGER married Catherine SCHRAMEN on 18 Jan 1834 in Ferschweiler. Their religious marriage took place on 21 January 1834 in the Sankt Lucia Catholic Church in Ferschweiler.[1]
Catherine SCHRAMEN was born 23 Oct 1812 in Ferschweiler and was baptized the next day on 24 October 1812 in the Sankt Lucia Catholic Church in Ferschweiler.[4] She was the daughter of Michael SCHRAMEN (1786-1833) born 5 October 1786 in Ferschweiler[4] and Elisabetha SCHMITT (1790-1869) born 4 March 1790 in Ferschweiler.[4] They were married on 27 Nov 1811 in Ferschweiler. They had six known children, Catherine the eldest and:
Johann “Joannes” SCHRAMEN (1817-1894) born 14 January 1817 in Ferschweiler.[4] He married Katharina ADAM (1823- ) on 15 November 1852 in Ernzen. Joannes died on 20 January 1894 in Ferschweiler.[5]
Catherine “Katharina” SCHRAMEN (1820- ) born 21 February 1820 in Ferschweiler and was baptized the next day on 22 February 1820 in the Sankt Lucia Catholic Church in Ferschweiler.[4] She married Johann MARX ( – ) in 1842.
Margaret SCHRAMEN (1821-1822) born and baptized on 7 November 1821 in Ferschweiler.[4] She died on 22 October 1822 in Ferschweiler.[4]
Nicolaus SCHRAMEN (1824-1852) born and baptized on 31 October 1824 in Ferschweiler.[4] Nicolaus Schramen went to America about 1852 and may have lived in Illinois from 1855-1880.
Catherine’s father Michael SCHRAMEN died 20 September 1833 in Ferschweiler[4] four months before she married Nicolas WILDINGER.
Ferschweiler, The Birthplace of the WILDINGER Children
Catherine and Nicolas had the following children:
Ch 1: [–?–] WILDINGER (1835-1835) born and died on 25 March 1835 in Ferschweiler.[1]
Ch 2: Elisabetha WILDINGER (1836-1882) born 10 July 1836 in Ferschweiler.[1]
Ch 3: Bernard “Bernhard” “Bernardus” WILDINGER (1838-1893) born 7 November 1838 in Ferschweiler, baptized two days later on 9 November 1838 in the Sankt Lucia Catholic Church in Ferschweiler.[1]
Ch 4: Elisabeth WILDINGER (1844-1867) born 11 August 1844 in Ferschweiler.[1]
Ch 5: Peter WILDINGER (1852- ) born 5 August 1852 in Ferschweiler and baptized three days later on 8 August 1852 in the Sankt Lucia Catholic Church in Ferschweiler. Per the Ferschweiler Family Book he was fled from military service – “militärflüchtig laut Anzeiger z. Amtsbl. Trier 1873, Seite 243.“[1]
Nicolas’ father Wilhelmus WILTINGER died 28 September 1849 in Ernzen and was buried two days later on 30 September 1849 in Ernzen.[2] He did not live to see his youngest grandson Peter WILDINGER’s birth or baptism.
St. Luzia Catholic Church in Ferschweiler, first built in the years 1826-28 and rebuilt in 1947-49.
Two of Nicolas and Catherine’s children married:
Elisabetha WILDINGER married Nikolaus ROOS (1831-1879) on 8 January 1861 in Ferschweiler.[6]
Bernard WILDINGER married Maria WEIMANN (1839-1915) on 25 January 1866 in Ernzen. They were married in a religious ceremony on 3 February 1866 in the Sankt Markus Catholic Church in Ernzen.[7], [8]
Following these marriages at least 14 grandchildren were born, two of the six ROOS grandchildren[6] and four of the eight WILDINGER grandchildren[7] died very young.
And There Were More Funerals
Nicolas and Catherine’s second daughter Elisabeth, not to be confused with her older sister Elisabetha, died at the age of 23 on 28 December 1867 in Ferschweiler and was buried two days later on 30 December 1867 in Ferschweiler.[1] Hardly a year and a half later Catherine’s mother Elisabetha SCHMITT died 20 May 1869 in Ferschweiler at the age of 79. She was buried two days later on 22 May 1869 in Ferschweiler.[3] Less than six months later at the age of 57 years, Catherine SCHRAMEN died 2 November 1869 in Ferschweiler and was buried two days later on 4 Nov 1869 in Ferschweiler.[1]
Nicolas WILDINGER lived a little over four years as a widower before dying on 3 June 1874 in Ferschweiler at the age of 75.[1]
He left two children, the elder Elisabetha and my 2nd great-grandfather Bernard. It is not known if his youngest son Peter was still living. Elisabetha died 29 September 1882 in Ferschweiler[6] and Bernard died 14 October 1893 in Ernzen.[7]
View of Luzienturm in Ferschweiler from the Church
Sources: [1] Richard Schaffner, compiler, Familienbuch der Pfarrei Sancta Lucia Ferschweiler mit: Diesburgerhof (ab 1803) und L(a)eisenhof (ab1830) 1680-1899, PDF (Kordel, 1999), p. 349, Family #1625. Wildinger-Schramen. [2] Richard Schaffner, compiler, Familienbuch 2 der Pfarrei St. Marcus Ernzen bei Irrel, Daten bis 1798 aus den Kirchenbüchern der Pfarrei Echternach (damals fur Ernzen zuständig); mit: Ernzen-Hof, Fölkenbach und teilweise auch Prümzurlay (Häuser der rechten Flußseite) 1680-1899 (compiled in 2000), p. 246, Family #869. Wiltinger-Welter. [3]Familienbuch Ernzen, p. 225, Family #800. Weber-Wildinger. [4] Familienbuch Fershcweiler, p. 295, Family #1378. Schramen-Schmitt. [5]Familienbuch Ferschweiler, p. 294, Family #1374. Schramen-Adam. [6] Ibid., p. 250, Family #1167. Roos-Wildinger. [7] Familienbuch Ernzen, p. 245-246, family #867. Wildinger-Weimann. [8] Familienbuch Fershcweiler, p. 349, family #1624. Wildinger-Weimann.
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.
My Bomi, Marie Marcelle FOURNELLE, was a seamstress. Bomi is Luxembourgish for grandmother. Bomi was always working in her sewing room whenever we visited her. It was her livelihood. After the death of her husband of six years, she used the trade she learned to feed her daughter and herself.
After her death I wanted to have some of the tools of her trade. I didn’t take any of her sewing machines as I already had her sister-in-law’s. I chose small things, her irons, scissors, thimbles, darning eggs.
The tiny iron in the middle of the above photo was the one my mother used to “iron” her doll’s clothes. When she was old enough to help in the sewing room she used it to iron open seams for her mother.
How many people still darn their socks today? Bomi had a darning egg with a teeny tiny crochet hook to pick up runs in stockings and knitted clothing. Do you remember when you used nail polish to stop a run? We used a bit of soft soap so that the run could be picked up and fixed.
Bomi could turn an old coat or dress into a new piece of clothing worthy enough to visit a queen. When the Grand Duchess of Luxembourg visited Queen Elizabeth in England she took along her attending physician Dr. Emile Gretsch. His daughter accompanied him and in preparation for the trip she brought clothes to Bomi to be turned into new outfits. When they were in London the doctor’s daughter sent Bomi a postcard telling her jokingly “haute couture Fournelle” was well received in London.
Please take a moment to visit Jessica’s blog 
Opening Doors in Brick Walls 
