East Frisia - Looking for birth/baptism records of Berendje Müller and Wemke Gesina van Hagel

Amy Johnston_4

Hello!

Does anyone have any suggestions for how I can find someone in Germany to look up and send me images of birth or baptism records for one of my great grandmothers (Wemke Gesina “Gesine” van Hagel) and her mother (Berendje “Bertha” Müller) who were born in East Frisia?

Specifically, I would like to obtain images of the following as soon as possible:

1. Baptism record for Berendje Müller, born in Glansdorf in November or December of 1858 and baptized in Collinghorst. Her parents were Peter Janssen Müller and Wembke/Wemke Oltmanns Mennenga (listed as “Wembke Behrends Mennenga” in the Uplengen OFB).

2. Birth or baptism record for Wemke Gesina van Hagel, born 10 March 1885 in Oltmannsfehn. Her parents were Berendje Müller and Gerhard Janssen van Hagel (von Hagel in the U.S.).

DETAILS:

I am preparing a family tree chart that will be etched onto the back of our family stone, which will be put in a cemetery that 5 generations (of one branch) of my family will be buried in.

I think I could be satisfied with the information I found in the Uplengen OFB for Gesine; although two pieces of information are new, they don't conflict with the info I had or with my expectations.

Unfortunately, the birth month and date for Bertha in the Uplengen and Collinghorst OFBs conflicts with the information I've gathered in the U.S. (12.12.1858 in the U.S. versus 11.11.1858 in the OFBs), so I would really like to get confirmation from primary sources if possible.

I need to make decisions about the final draft this month, because there will be a price increase in January.

RESEARCH:

I have searched all the usual places online (familysearch.org, ancestry.com, Archinsys, etc.) and have not been able to find images of the relevant records online.

I have tried emailing mail@upstalsboom.org, but they were unable to refer me to someone who could help get images of the original records.

Someone at the Ostfriesen Genealogical Society of America (OGSA) is contacting some people she knows in Germany to ask if they could look up the information for me, but she hasn’t had any luck so far in finding someone.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions or advice you can provide,

Amy

PABulfinch

Dear Amy:

Have you gone to a FamilySearch Center? Sometimes they have access to images that are not available from home. We wish you the best of luck in your search. PaulaAnn

I will share a story with you. My grandmother was illegitimate; however, she knew who her father was, who his parents were, who he married, and the names of his children. It was not until 40 years later when I was able to find one of the half-sisters that I was able to locate any records on him. It turns out that she knew him by a nickname. The half-sister had her birth record that contained his legal name. Oh, and this was all in the United States. So, press on! PaulaAnn

Amy Johnston_4

Hi PaulaAnn,

Thank you for the suggestion. I have gone to a FamilySearch Center to see an image of a record that I found online but only had the image available at FamilySearch Centers, but I didn't specifically asked about Gesine and Bertha. Perhaps I will try that.

Thank you for sharing your story. That sounds like an exciting find.

Amy

PABulfinch

Good luck to you, Amy. And, please, continue to share your story. I am happy to be your cheerleader!! PaulaAnn

Amy Johnston_4

Good news! The pastor at the church in Collinghorst emailed me images today of the baptism record for my 2nd great grandmother Berendje Müller. (Yay!) I'm having trouble with a lot of the handwriting, so I've created a new discussion to ask for help translating it.

I still haven't heard back from the church in Ockenhausen, but the record for Berendje was much more important (because the DOB on her records in the US did not match her DOB in the OFBs I found). Thank you for being a cheerleader. :-)

Amy