Wednesday's Child: Anna Nagel

Anna Nagel death registration, 15 August 1861. Hürth (Rheinland). Bürgermeisterei. Zivilstandsregister. Stadtarchiv Hürth, Friedrich-Ebert-Straße 40, 50354 Hürth.

Anna Nagel was born on 25 May 1860 in Hermülheim, Rhein-Erft, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. She was the daughter of Johann Joseph Nagel (the brother of my 3rd-great-grandfather Johann Nagel) and Anna Catharina Reifferscheid. She died in Hermülheim on 15 August 1861.

Tuesday's Tip: Meyers Orts Gazetteer

Ancestry.com has made Meyers Gazetteer of the German Empire (Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs-Lexikon des Deutschen Reichs) available free. The gazetteer was compiled in 1912, and it includes all areas that were part of the German Empire before World War I. If you have German ancestors, this is a great resource to use; it will give you information about locations in Germany, such as a town's population, government district, churches, post office, and schools.

The beginning of Volume I contains a list of abbreviations, which will help in understanding the entries. The excerpt below explains the abbreviations for Post, Telegraph, Fernsprecher (telephone).

Meyers Gazetteer of the German Empire [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Original data: Erich Uetrecht. Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs-Lexikon des Deutschen Reichs. 5th Edition. Leipzig, Germany: Bibliographisches Institut, 1912-1913. Vol.I, page X.

Below are the entries for some of my ancestral towns:

Meyers Gazetteer of the German Empire [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Original data: Erich Uetrecht. Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs-Lexikon des Deutschen Reichs. 5th Edition. Leipzig, Germany: Bibliographisches Institut, 1912-1913. Vol. I, page 208.

Meyers Gazetteer of the German Empire [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Original data: Erich Uetrecht. Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs-Lexikon des Deutschen Reichs. 5th Edition. Leipzig, Germany: Bibliographisches Institut, 1912-1913. Vol. I, page 383.

Meyers Gazetteer of the German Empire [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Original data: Erich Uetrecht. Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs-Lexikon des Deutschen Reichs. 5th Edition. Leipzig, Germany: Bibliographisches Institut, 1912-1913. Vol. I, page 453.

Meyers Gazetteer of the German Empire [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Original data: Erich Uetrecht. Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs-Lexikon des Deutschen Reichs. 5th Edition. Leipzig, Germany: Bibliographisches Institut, 1912-1913. Vol. I, page 598.

Meyers Gazetteer of the German Empire [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Original data: Erich Uetrecht. Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs-Lexikon des Deutschen Reichs. 5th Edition. Leipzig, Germany: Bibliographisches Institut, 1912-1913. Vol. I, page 777.

Meyers Gazetteer of the German Empire [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Original data: Erich Uetrecht. Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs-Lexikon des Deutschen Reichs. 5th Edition. Leipzig, Germany: Bibliographisches Institut, 1912-1913. Vol. I, page 951.

Meyers Gazetteer of the German Empire [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Original data: Erich Uetrecht. Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs-Lexikon des Deutschen Reichs. 5th Edition. Leipzig, Germany: Bibliographisches Institut, 1912-1913. Vol. II, page 330.

Meyers Gazetteer of the German Empire [database on-line]. Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc, 2006. Original data: Erich Uetrecht. Meyers Orts- und Verkehrs-Lexikon des Deutschen Reichs. 5th Edition. Leipzig, Germany: Bibliographisches Institut, 1912-1913. Vol. II, page 577.

As you can see, I found quite a bit of information about my ancestral towns! Some entries are much longer than others.

Mappy Monday: Hürth, Rhein-Erft, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany

Map of Kreis Rhein-Erft, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany, showing the location of the town of Hürth. By TUBS [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]. Available from Wikimedia Commons.

This map shows the location of Hürth in Rhein-Erft, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany. Hürth includes the communities of Hermülheim and Kendenich, where my Nagel and Aussem ancestors lived.

52 Ancestors: #38 Johann Nagel

Johann Nagel (my 3rd-great-grandfather) and his daughter Christina (my great-great-grandmother)

My 3rd-great-grandfather Johann Nagel was born in Hermülheim, Rhein-Erft, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Germany on 19 April 1814. He was the son of Peter Nagel and Christina Leÿ. His birth was registered in Hürth. Hermülheim is now part of Hürth. At the time of his birth, Hürth was occupied by French Revolutionary troops, so his birth record is in French.

Jean Nagel birth registration. Hürth (Rheinland). Bürgermeisterei. Zivilstandsregister, 1800-1875. Geburten 1800-1831. International Film 1237620. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Genealogical Society of Utah, 1978, 1979, 1981. 

On 31 August 1848, Johann married my 3rd-great-grandmother Anna Maria Aussem.

Marriage registration, Johann Nagel and Anna Maria Aussem. Hürth (Rheinland). Bürgermeisterei. Zivilstandsregister, 1800-1875. Heiraten 1846-1875. International Film 1237627. Salt Lake City, Utah: The Genealogical Society of Utah, 1978, 1979, 1981. 

 Anna Maria Aussem was the widow of Wilhelm Esser and had a 10-year-old son, Peter. Johann and Anna Maria had a son, Mathias (probably named after her father, Mathias Aussem), on 17 March 1845, three years before their marriage. He was born with the name Mathias Aussem, but later used the name Mathias Nagel. After their marriage, three daughters were born in Kendenich, Rhein-Erft, Nordrhein-Westfalen (now part of Hürth): Theresia (born 19 August 1849), my great-great-grandmother Christina (born 27 February 1851), and Agnes (born 21 December 1855).

Johann Nagel's second wife was Anna Maria Klein. They had twins, Anna and Johann Nagel, born in Kendenich on 27 Dec 1862.

I have photos of my great-great-grandmother Christina Nagel which were taken in Bonn in 1871 and 1877, and she married in Bonn in 1878. Johann Nagel and his family may have moved to Bonn sometime between 1862 and 1871.

Christina and her husband Carl Joseph Schneider moved to Remagen, Ahrweiler, Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany after their marriage. Johann Nagel and Anna Maria Klein moved there as well. Johann was a baptismal sponsor for his grandson Johann Schneider (my great-grandfather) on 10 December 1878 at Sts. Peter and Paul Catholic Church, Remagen.

Johann was a Gärtner by trade. In addition to meaning gardener, the term also meant a farmer who owned only a little land who cultivated fruits and vegetables, but did not usually grow grains. European Roots Genealogy's list of old German professions provides more information on this trade and others.

Johann died in Remagen on 15 February 1891 and was buried on 19 February 1891.

Mappy Monday: Rhine River (Fluss Rhein)

Rhein-Karte. Map by Daniel Ullrich (Threedots) [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)]. Available from Wikimedia Commons.

This map shows the Rhine River (Fluss Rhein). The Vorderrhein and Hinterrhein come together in Switzerland. The Hochrhein (High Rhine) flows to the west from Lake Constance to Basel, Switzerland. The Oberrhein (Upper Rhine) flows from Basel to Bingen, Germany. This section of the Rhine flows through Switzerland, France (Alsace), and the German states of Baden-Württemburg, Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz), and Hesse. The Mittelrhein (Middle Rhine) flows from Bingen to Bonn. The Niederrhein (Lower Rhine) begins in Bonn. After it enters the Netherlands, it splits into branches, including Waal, Merwede, Nieuwe Maas, and Nederrijn, and flows out to the North Sea.

My German ancestors lived by the Rhine River. My Schneider ancestors were from Erpel and Remagen. My Nagel ancestors lived in Bonn for a while. They were originally from Hürth (Hermülheim, Kendenich), which is near the Rhine. My Gersbacher/Gerspacher ancestors were from the Hotzenwald region in Baden, in Görwihl and Niederwihl (now part of Görwihl). My Dreier ancestors were from Niederwihl. Görwihl is at the edge of the river Alb, which is a tributary of the Rhine.