Question

Looking for more info on my Schmitt ancestors from Bechtheim, Philipp and Margaretha Schmitt, nee Johann.

Comments

Despite numerous efforts I am still terribly stuck with my research on Philipp Schmitt and his wife Margaretha Johann. UPDATE: via Archion I now found out that their first child was Heinrich, born in 1857. Their first child Johann Philipp was born in 1858, the second son in 1859 and then there was a nine year gap between my grandfather Georg and the second oldest. I wonder what went on.
Also, on some of his children's certificates he is known as Philipp Schmitt II.I am terribly frustrated as my Schmitt family line seems to be elusive. I did the DNA test, but nothing..Help?

Answer 1

Trying to provide primary sources for the events in your Schmitt Bechtheim profiles. Hope some of them are new to you:

Frankfurt 1915 death records

Now click "Show digital copies", then "Open in DFG-Viewer", then navigate to page 264 in the scan (page 522 in the book). You read German, don't you?

Schlierbach 1898 marriage records

Page 51 in the scan (page 11/1898 in the book) this time.

Heppenheim 1939 death records

Page 98 in the scan (nr. 36/1939 in the book).

Wiesbaden 1925 marriage records

Page 41 in the scan (nr. 21 in the book).

Erbach/Eltville 1956 death records

Page 141 in the scan (nr. 142 in the book).

Hanau 1898 marriage records

Page 175 in the scan (nr. 86 in the book).

Goddelau 1944 death records

Page 1210 in the scan (nr. 1081 in the book).

Comments

Your profile for Johann Philipp Schmitt says he and Elisabeth Fischer "married 1883 in Fechenheim, Frankfurt am Main". I cannot find any such entry. The records for Fechenheim for 1883 are here:

Fechenheim 1883 marriage records

Likewise, I cannot find a death record for Friedrich Jakob Heinrich Schmitt who "died 22 Jun 1943 in Offenbach". Records are here:

Offenbach 1943 death records (book 1 of 3)

Offenbach 1943 death records (directory of names)

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That is bizarre as family members provided me with such records . I will have to ask them. I don’t like any misinformation.

Answer 2

Were you able to make any progress in the meantime? Bechtheim church books don't seem to be available online at archion.de, at least not yet.

The "Zentralarchiv der Evangelischen Kirche in Hessen und Nassau" in Darmstadt, Germany, may have microfiches. Have you been in touch with them?

Homepage of the Hesse protestant church archive (Darmstadt, Germany)

Further information about the Hesse protestant church archive (Darmstadt, Germany)

Should EKHN archive staff be unable or unwilling to help: The archive is an hour's drive from where I live. Researching ancestors from Oppenheim there is on my to-do list, so if and when I get around to doing that (yes, it's vague I know), I could set aside a half hour for Schmitt Bechtheim.

Comments

PS: Which Bechtheim are we talking about? There's one in Rhineland-Palatinate, located between Mainz and Worms near the river Rhine. And another one in Hesse, located between Limburg and Wiesbaden. So which one is it?

Your "Philipp Schmitt" was born in the former, and died in the latter. Which is a bit doubtful

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Oh wow, thanks for your help! Much appreciated.

The Bechtheim I am referring to is the one close to Worms. I haven’t contacted the EKHN yet. I will follow the link and give it a try .

And yes, I speak German. Was born and raised in Hanau .

Nochmals herzlichen Dank für die Hilfe. Werd mal sehen wie es mit dem EKHN klappt.

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Alright , I surfed  there and noticed that I had indeed taken a look before. Nothing . It basically takes me to Archion .

I also had assistance from a LDS member who tried to find out more , however, the files of Bechtheim ( Alzey/ Worms ) are only available in Salt Lake City , which is a bit far away. :)

I might have to take you up on n your offer . I have waited so many years that a few weeks don’t bother me at all.

Beate

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Beate, have a look here:

Newly available protestant church book scans (scroll down to "05.05.2022" -> "Dekanat Osthofen")

Archion added scans of all Bechthofen 1709-1875 church books just a week ago! That's as much church book as you will ever get, because after that, the registrars took over from the priests.

J

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Thanks for the heads up! Crossing my fingers I will get the info I need.

Also thx for pointing out the different Bechtheims. I have since corrected that mistake.

You were mentioning relatives in the Oppenheim area. As a matter of fact I have many ancestors from the Nierstein area on my late mother’s side.

Beate

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I FINALLY found the marriage certificate of my great- grandparents, however , my joy was a bit short lived as I was not able to decipher/ confirm their names . Is there a forum where someone could assist me ?

https://www.archion.de/de/viewer/?type=churchRegister&uid=323941&pageId=45406735&zoom=10&degree=0&coords=1846%2C996

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Beate,

that is great news. I sure would try my hand at reading that marriage certificate but their paywall is stopping me. Is there a way for you to download the document and post it here somehow, or send by PM? Anyway, asking for help in a new question may be your best option. I am sure you won't have to wait long for someone with access to Archion AND the necessary reading skills to show up. Good luck!

J

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Thanks a bunch! I so appreciate your offer! I sent a PM but wasn’t able to attach anything yet. Other than using the actual screen shot as a profile pic for Philipp Schmitt, I have no idea how to post a pic.

Update: in the meantime all has been successfully resolved! Whilst going through the birth records I stumbled upon a Jacob Rau. Could this be a relative of yours?