How can I go about finding records/information from Alsace Lorraine in about 1876
Hello I have been trying to search for several months to help my grandma learn more information about her father. I can't seem to find any information from when he was born in Alsace Lorraine until he arrived in the US and was naturalized. Here is all the information my grandma and I have managed to gather that might be helpful.
My grandma's Maiden name is Bernice Vornbrock. Her father was John Clemens Vornbrock. He was born in Alsace Lorraine about Jan 12 1876 although some US documents have a different birthdate (the birthday was corrected by his wife Erna Herman-Vornbrock after he died. There was some confusion as to why documents were incorrect).
We know John Clemens father was Johann Gerhard Ferdinand Von-Brocke born Feb 1943 (Johanns parents were Theodore Von-Brocke and Maria Goda). John Clemens mother was the first wife of Johann Gerhard Ferdinand and she was buried in Minnesota under the name Maria Angelina Vornbrock although her father also knew her with the name Sophia and believe she was born about 1836 and passed in 1890. We believe that all the family immigrated to the US in about 1880.
unsure if it's helpful but John Clemens had four full blood siblings- Bernard, Bernadina, Heinrich (believed to have passed at 13 in Germany), and Elisabeth.
Im not sure where distant family got this info but we have heard that John Clemens mother's maiden name may be either Rodenstein or Bodenstein.
ANY information that you may have or suggestions on where else I could look would be greatly appreciated. My grandma would love to know more about her fathers side. Thank you!
Answers
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@BerniceDavis4, records in Alsace-Lorraine were kept on the local level, so before diving into records on the other side of the ocean, you'll need to do additional research on the U.S. side to determine what the hometown was. The records most likely to list the hometown are U.S. naturalization records (specifically the declaration of intention and the petition for naturalization) and U.S. church records.
If you know when and where a BMD (birth, marriage, or death) event took place in the U.S., looking for the church record of that event is a great start. Immigrants often attended churches with other immigrants who spoke the same language, so a pastor who knew the family's language was much more likely to record the actual hometown rather than just the region or country like civil officials generally did.
Additional records that may help you locate the hometown are listed at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Germany_Finding_Town_of_Origin
Once you've located the hometown using U.S. records, the good news is that the church records (and other records) of Alsace-Lorraine are freely available and browsable online! Each department has its own website, most of which are set up differently. See the instruction sheet for "Alsace-Lorraine: Department Archive Records Online" at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Germany_%22How_to%22_Guides for links to the departmental websites and instructions on how to browse the records (you may need to also refer to the "Place Names" section of the "Alsace-Lorraine: Translating German and French Names and Place Names" guide if the town name you find in U.S. records is the German version rather than the French).
HOWEVER, after having written that out, I performed a search of John Clemens Vornbrock born 1876 on Ancestry.com to see if I could help you start the process. The search brought up his Find A Grave page (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/85394199/john-clemens-vornbrock), where Barry Foster has written his birth place as Alfhausen, Osnabrück, Niedersachsen, Germany. (In case you have ancestors who were from Alsace-Lorraine, I've opted to not delete the information in the four paragraphs above.)
According to the "Ecclesiastical" tab on the Alfhausen page of MeyersGaz (https://www.meyersgaz.org/place/10021029), Alfhausen has its own Catholic parish. The Catholic Alfhausen records are freely available on the website Matricula-Online: https://data.matricula-online.eu/en/deutschland/osnabrueck/alfhausen-st-johannis/ (You can learn how to navigate Matricula-Online at https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/img_auth.php/b/b7/1-Instruction_Matricula_Online.pdf).
The baptismal record for your grandmother's father is found in the Alfhausen St. Johannis parish at https://data.matricula-online.eu/en/deutschland/osnabrueck/alfhausen-st-johannis/0131/?pg=1
His baptismal record is entry 3 on the page and states that Johann Clemens Vorm-Broke, a boy, was born in Thiene (see https://www.meyersgaz.org/place/20946043) at 2 p.m. on 12 January 1876. His parents were the hireling Johann Gerhard Ferdinand Vorm-Broke and his wife, Anna Maria Angela born Bodenstein, of Thiene. Johann Clemens was baptized by Mr. Schoo in the Catholic parish of Alfhausen St. Johannis on 14 January 1876. His baptismal witnesses/godparents were (1) the farmer of a full-sized farm Clemens Meyermann of Thiene and (2) Mrs. Katharina Welage born Bodenstein [probably a relative of Johann Clemens's mother, since they share a maiden name]. The baptismal record also contains the following wonderfully helpful note in the second-to-last column: "Ausgewandert mit den Eltern nach Amerika (Minesota) im Jahre 1880"--meaning, "Emigrated with his parents to America (Minnesota) in the year 1880."
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@BerniceDavis4, you mentioned that John Clemens's father was born in February 1[8]43, which fits with this tree I found on Ancestry: https://www.ancestry.com/family-tree/person/tree/179088296/person/382331236832/facts
That Ancestry tree lists his birthplace as Alfhausen as well, states he was born 13 September 1843, and states he and his wife married in Alfhausen on 9 January 1869 (sic; they were actually married in Alfhausen St. Johannis on 9 January 1868; see linked, which states: Johann Gerhard Ferdinand Vorm-Brocke, unmarried, living in Alfhausen, born 13 September 1843 in Alfhausen, son of hireling Theodor Vorm-Brocke and Maria Elisabeth born Goda, married Anna Maria Engel Bodenstein, unmarried, living in Rieste, born 14 December 1835 in Engter, daughter of hireling Johann Hermann Bodenstein and Maria Elisabeth born Mügge, were married in Alfhausen on 9 January 1868 by Mr. Klasen after proclamations made on 26 and 29 December 1867 and 5 January 1868 in Lage and Alfhausen; witnesses: the unmarried Theodor Vorm-Brocke of Alfhausen and the unmarried Bernard Speck-Johann of Heeke).
(Since her 1868 Alfhausen marriage record stated that proclamations were also made in the Lage parish, I checked the Lage-Rieste St. Johannes der Täufer parish and found the marriage record there as well [linked], which lists the bride as Maria Engel Bodenstein, daughter of Heinrich Bodenstein.)
To find Johann Gerhard Ferdinand Vorm-Brocke's 1843 birth record: Returning to the Alfhausen page on Matricula-Online (see linked), you can follow the directions in the Matricula-Online HTG ("How to" Guide) in my response above and see a shorter list of collections by dragging the bar in the year column inwards. Then click on the 1842-1843 baptismal book and browse until you see 13 September 1843; it's on image 18, and his entry is first on the page: Johann Gerhard Ferdinand, son of Theodor Vorn Brocke and of Maria Elisabeth Goda from Alberding farm (see https://denkmalatlas.niedersachsen.de/viewer/metadata/45811450/1/-/) in Alfhausen, was born on 13 September 1843 and baptized on 14 September 1843. Godparent: Johann Gerhard Ferdinand Alberding. Witnesses: Johann Arnold ? and Anna Maria Adelheid Groin(?) born Grot(?).
There are also baptismal indexes in the Alfhausen St. Johannis parish. The 1811-1841 baptismal index lists "Vorn Broke / Vorm Broke" children on the following pages:
- p. 294: in book 1826-1827; this is a half sibling of Johann Gerhard Ferdinand (see paragraph about 1827 death and the following 1827 re-marriage below): Maria Catharina Angela, born 15 May 1827, daughter of Theodor Vorn Brocke and his previous wife, Maria Catharina Metten
- p. 299: in book 1826-1827; this is not a sibling, as he has different parents
- p. 317: clicking on the baptismal books until you find one that includes a page 317 in the year range 1811-1841, you'll find this page number in the 1828-1829 baptismal book; the last entry on the page is of Johannes Henricus Franciscus [Johann Henrich Franz; the record is in Latin], born 15 September 1828 and died 18 February 1857; based on his parents' names, we can tell he is a sibling of Johann Gerhard Ferdinand.
- p. 352: in book 1830-1832; this is not a sibling, as she has different parents
- p. 403: in book 1833-1834; another sibling: Maria Agnes, born 16 May 1833
- p. 405: in book 1833-1834; this is not a sibling, as she has different parents
- p. 456: in book 1835-1836; another sibling: Marie Elisabeth, born 23 January 1836
- p. 463: in book 1835-1836; this is not a sibling, as he has different parents, but an Anna Maria Elisabeth von Broke born Goda is one of the witnesses
- p. 536: in book 1839-1841; another sibling: Johannes Gerhardus Josephus [Johann Gerhard Joseph; the record is in Latin], born 4 May 1840
The 1842-1853 baptismal index lists three "Vorm Broke" children on the following page numbers (I've linked the page numbers below so they go directly to that page):
- p. 32: in book 1842-1843; this is Johann Gerhard Ferdinand's own baptismal record (listed above)
- p. 118: in book 1846-1848; another sibling: Johann Theodor, born 4 July 1848
- p. 218: in book 1852-1853; another sibling: Henrich Joseph, born 9 October 1853 (parents listed as Johann Diedrich von Brocke and Maria Elisabeth Goda)
And the 1853-1863 baptismal index lists four "Vorm Broke" children on the following page numbers:
- p. 18: in book 1853-1854; the same sibling listed on page 218 above: Henrich Joseph, born 9 October 1853 (parents listed as Johann Diedrich von Brocke and Maria Elisabeth Gode)
- p. 114: this is not a sibling, as he has different parents
- p. 147: this is not a sibling, as he has different parents
- p. 180: this is not a sibling, as he has different parents
There is also a marriage index book. Since the earliest child of Johann Gerhard Ferdinand Vorm-Brocke's parents, Theodor Vorn Brocke and Maria Elisabeth Goda, was born in September 1828, I anticipated their marriage as having taken place in around 1826-1828. The 1811-1855 marriage index listed Vorn Brocke marriages on pages 52 and 55 and a Vor dem Broke marriage on page 129. Marriage book 1826-1839 contains the marriage on page 55; it is the 19 September 1827 marriage of Johann Diederich Vorn Brocke, widower, and Anna Maria Elisabeth Goda from Hesepe in Malgarten parish. Witnesses are Friedrich Feldmann and Joseph Goda. They are usually listed as Johann Theodor Vorn Brocke and Maria Eliasbeth Goda in their children's baptismal records, but since no children of a couple with this set of names were listed in the baptismal records and no other marriage record is a match, I believe this is the correct couple and that the groom's name was simply written down incorrectly as Johann Diederich rather than Johann Theodor. Another indication of this is that he's listed as a widower, and I see the 9 June 1827 death of Maria Catharina Metten (age 26, from Schulte farm in Alfhausen; died from complications of childbirth), wife of Theodor Vorn Brocke in the 1824-1828 death book--so here, he is correctly listed as Theodor.
Since the earliest child of Theodor Vorn Brocke and his previous wife, Maria Catharina Metten, was born in May 1827, I anticipated their marriage as having taken place in around 1826-1827. That's the marriage on page 52: Johann Diederich Vorn Brocke from Rieste and Maria Catharina Metten from Alfhausen were married on 9 May 1826; witnesses were Gerhard Schulte and Hermann Henrich Meyermann. (Here, again, he is listed as Johann Diederich rather than Johann Theodor; it seems his name might actually be something like Johann Theodor Diederich.)
Since the last child of Johann Theodor (Diederich) Vorn Brocke was born in 1853, I started looking for his death from that date; the reason I went to look for his death record at this point is to determine when he was born, since his marriage record listed where he's from and likely born (Rieste) but not when he was born. I found the 19 December 1853 death of Johann Diedrich Vorn Brocke, age 59(?) years minus 1 day [i.e., born on 20 December 1794(?)], husband of Elisabeth Gode and son of Johann Henrich Bockner and Elisabeth Vorn Brocke Möller. However, I'm not seeing his birth listed in the Lage-Rieste parish on 20 December 1794 or surrounding years, though (the closest is a Theodor Henrich Joseph, son of Johann Henrich Grote Bocke and Anna Maria Brock born 10 October 1803). I checked Alfhausen just in case too but didn't find him there either.
Note that even though some information in online trees may be helpful as a starting point, you'll want to check every piece of information; for example, Johann Theodor Diedrich Vorn Brocke's wife, Anna Maria Elisabeth Gode, is listed in the Ancestry tree I found as having died in Rieste in 1857; however, that 1857 death record very clearly lists the person who died as Maria Engel Vorm Brocke born Goda, widow of Heinrich Wilhelm Vorm Brocke--that is, NOT the widow of Johann Theodor Diedrich. I found the 23 September 1867 death of the correct Anna Maria Elisabeth, who is listed as age 58 [so born about 1809], widow of hireling Vorm-Broke, daughter of cottager Franz Henrich Goda and his wife Maria Adelheid born Berting. Her marriage record had listed her as being from the parish of Malgarten, so I found her birth listed in the Malgarten St. Johannes parish as being on 6 November 1808; her baptismal record lists her as Anna Maria Elisabeth Goudauer, legitimate daughter of parents Franz Henrich Godauer and Maria Adelheid Berting. So the parents listed in the Ancestry tree may be correct, but Anna Maria Elisabeth's birth date in the tree is wrong.
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You can follow the same process to find the siblings of Johann Clemens. As written in my previous response, Johann Clemens's baptismal record lists him as a son of the hireling Johann Gerhard Ferdinand Vorm-Broke and Anna Maria Angela born Bodenstein of Thiene.
The 1868-1897 baptismal index book (image 19) lists Vorm-Broke children in that year range on pages 222, 258, 291, 303, 337, 338, 364, 368, 385, 397, 417, and 422 (additional page numbers are listed, but I checked the baptismal books and they are for post-1880--that is, post-emigration). In looking at the baptismal records on those pages, I found the following:
- p. 291: in book 1868; a sibling of Johann Clemens: Maria Catharina, born 21 October 1868 and died 13 December 1871
- p. 337: in book 1871; a sibling of Johann Clemens: Maria Bernardine [likely whom you know as Bernadina], born 10 October 1871 (her record contains the same note about emigrating to Minnesota in 1880; "Friedrich" in her father's name is underlined and corrected in a note underneath, which states that his name is actually Johann Gerhard Ferdinand)
- p. 364: in book 1873; a sibling of Johann Clemens: Maria Catharina, born 16 September 1873 and died 20 February 1876
- (p. 397 in book 1876 is the baptismal record of Johann Clemens)
- p. 422: a sibling of Johann Clemens: Anna Elisabeth [likely whom you know as Elisabeth], born 14 September 1878 (her record contains the same note about emigrating to Minnesota with her parents, although the year is left off)
The records above show two additional siblings of Johann Clemens that you did not know of, both of whom died as toddlers. You mentioned another two children: Bernhard and Heinrich. According to what someone has entered for this family in the FamilySearch Tree, linked, Heinrich did die just before age 13, but that wasn't until 1897, so he must've been born in the USA. Bernard, according to that same tree, was born on 2 March 1863, before the parents' 1868 marriage; but he isn't listed on that date in Alfhausen. Do you have a different date for when he was supposedly born?
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Based on both of the 1868 marriage records, Anna Maria Engel Bodenstein, daughter of Johann Hermann Bodenstein and Maria Elisabeth born Mügge, was born in Engter on 14 December 1835. According to https://www.meyersgaz.org/place/10441094 the Catholic parish of Engter is Wallenhorst. Looking at the Wallenhorst records on Matricula-Online, however, I don't see her birth listed there.
(Johann) Hermann Henrich Bodenstein and (Maria) Elisabeth born Mügge were married in the Catholic parish of Lage-Rieste on 16 April 1822, linked]. I found a child of theirs (Helena Maria Carolina, born in Lage-Rieste 30 May 1822, died in Lage-Rieste 24 July 1855); her 1855 death record lists her parents as being in Rieste, but I don't see any other Bodenstein children born there, including Anna Maria Engel Bodenstein.
In the Hannover church records collection on Ancestry, I found more children of (Johann) Hermann Henrich Bodenstein and (Maria) Elisabeth Mügge:
- Hermann Heinrich, born 3 February 1826 and baptized in Engter; he's also found on FamilySearch, in the Protestant parish of Engter, which links to the original image
- Johann Heinrich, born 16 February 1827 and baptized in Engter; see original record
- Anna Maria Catharina, born 4 August 1832 and baptized in Engter; see original record
Note that Engter has no Catholic parish, but it does have a Protestant parish. So even though they were married in the Catholic parish of Lage-Rieste and had their first child baptized there, their later children were baptized in the Protestant parish of Engter. That's also where Anna Maria Engel (1835) should be located. FamilySearch has records from that parish, but there is a gap in the records, including the 1835 births.
The webpage http://www.te-gen.de/index.php?id=765 states that the Standesamt (civil registration office) of Osnabrück has duplicate church records from the Protestant parish of Engter in their repository 491, and these records include the years 1822-1844 (Nr. 614-628). The page doesn't state whether these church records include baptisms, but it is likely. I suggest writing to the civil registration office and asking them for a scan of the baptism record of Anna Maria Engel Bodenstein, who was born in Engter on 14 December 1835. You can email them at standesamt@osnabrueck.de (if they don't respond within a few weeks, you can try reaching out to the contact people listed at the bottom of their webpage; however, note that they as well as the form on the top right are specifically for civil records, which didn't begin until 1874). You'll want to keep the email short and to the point so they'll be more likely to respond. The German Letter Writing Guide can help you formulate your email.
Even if you don't reach out to the civil registration office (or if they say they don't have the record after all), you do already have Anna Maria Engel Bodenstein's birth date and place (14 December 1835 in Engter), parents' names (Johann Hermann Henrich Bodenstein and Maria Elisabeth Mügge), some of her siblings' names (the three children listed in the last bullet points above), and now baptism place (Engter), so you can continue researching her family even without her baptismal record.
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Based on both of the 1868 marriage records, Anna Maria Engel Bodenstein, daughter of Johann Hermann Bodenstein and Maria Elisabeth born Mügge, was born in Engter on 14 December 1835. According to https://www.meyersgaz.org/place/10441094 the Catholic parish of Engter is Wallenhorst. Looking at the Wallenhorst records on Matricula-Online, however, I don't see her birth listed there.
(Johann) Hermann Henrich Bodenstein and (Maria) Elisabeth born Mügge were married in the Catholic parish of Lage-Rieste on 16 April 1822, linked]. I found a child of theirs (Helena Maria Carolina, born in Lage-Rieste 30 May 1822, died in Lage-Rieste 24 July 1855); her 1855 death record lists her parents as being in Rieste, but I don't see any other Bodenstein children born there, including Anna Maria Engel Bodenstein.
In the Hannover church records collection on Ancestry, I found more children of (Johann) Hermann Henrich Bodenstein and (Maria) Elisabeth Mügge:
- Hermann Heinrich, born 3 February 1826 and baptized in Engter; he's also found on FamilySearch, in the Protestant parish of Engter, which links to the original image
- Johann Heinrich, born 16 February 1827 and baptized in Engter; see original record
- Anna Maria Catharina, born 4 August 1832 and baptized in Engter; see original record
Note that Engter has no Catholic parish, but it does have a Protestant parish. So even though they were married in the Catholic parish of Lage-Rieste and had their first child baptized there, their later children were baptized in the Protestant parish of Engter. That's also where Anna Maria Engel (1835) should be located. FamilySearch has records from that parish, but there is a gap in the records, including the 1835 births.
The webpage http://www.te-gen.de/index.php?id=765 states that the Standesamt (civil registration office) of Osnabrück has duplicate church records from the Protestant parish of Engter in their repository 491, and these records include the years 1822-1844 (Nr. 614-628). The page doesn't state whether these church records include baptisms, but it is likely. I suggest writing to the civil registration office and asking them for a scan of the baptism record of Anna Maria Engel Bodenstein, who was born in Engter on 14 December 1835. You can email them at standesamt@osnabrueck.de (if they don't respond within a few weeks, you can try reaching out to the contact people listed at the bottom of their webpage; however, note that they as well as the form on the top right are specifically for civil records, which didn't begin until 1874). You'll want to keep the email short and to the point so they'll be more likely to respond. The German Letter Writing Guide can help you formulate your email.
Even if you don't reach out to the civil registration office (or if they say they don't have the record after all), you do already have Anna Maria Engel Bodenstein's birth date and place (14 December 1835 in Engter), parents' names (Johann Hermann Henrich Bodenstein and Maria Elisabeth Mügge), some of her siblings' names (the three children listed in the last bullet points above), and now baptism place (Engter), so you can continue researching her family even without her baptismal record.
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