Tag Archives: Lellig

Deja Vu

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For the last few years, Michelle and I have been mostly focused on researching the Wolff family because there’s so many complicated elements to them.  And so many mysteries.  So the Konzen have been a bit neglected.  

Sometimes during research I run across some information that I can’t believe I/we missed before.  (But, I can also see why we missed a thing or two because looking through microfilms at the Family History Center was a lot more difficult than it is to look through the digitalized parish records today.) 

In Fall 2022, I was looking through the LuxRoots website and decided to look at Theodore Konzen & Catharine Schuler while I was there.  I noticed they had a child listed for the couple that I didn’t have in my family tree.  You might think I could just make a note of it and look into it later.  Instead, I dropped whatever else I was on LuxRoots for and went hunting for Anna Catharina Konzen.

I found Anna Catharina’s birth record on 13 Dec 1778 in Lellig.  Then I found her marriage to Johann Hellers on 7 Feb 1804 in Lellig, and I found their kids.  And all kinds of things started to make sense.  When we originally looked through parish records for Theodore Konzen & Catharine Schuler’s marriage and children’s births it was on a microfilm reader at a Family History Center.  If you have never used a microfilm reader, you’ve definitely missed out, but they aren’t the clearest thing to read on and scanning images from them doesn’t produce the best images either.  In fact, I believe we originally thought that our ancestor Peter was the only child that lived to adulthood from the couple.  Then we found that his siblings Elizabeth & Wilhelm lived and had families.

Catherine & Theodore’s 2nd daughter Anna Maria Konzen was born 2 Apr 1781 in Lellig.

At some point, I think we started wondering if any other siblings survived to adulthood and looked through the parish records more for any additional deaths.  Then we started following bread combs.  Who is this Theodore Buchholz who was the witness at Peter’s marriage?  And who is this Anna Kunzen living in Niderenval that was a godparent to Elizabeth Konzen Michel’s daughter Anna Maria?  And who is this Johan Hellers in Catharine Schuler Konzen’s death record?

Catherine & Theodore’s 4th daughter Anna Konzen was born 17 Mar 1791 in Lellig.

However, when we were in the thick of things I guess I thought “oh I’ll just put this stuff in my family tree later” and that never happened.  I’ve turned into a person who does not remember any appointment if it’s not on her phone calendar.  And I recently realized I’ve also become the kind of person who does not remember any genealogical find unless I have written about it (that might even be questionable) or entered it into my family tree.

I was sending Michelle all these crazy emails while I was looking up Anna Catharina Konzen Hellers stuff (probably in the middle of the night), then I had a sense of deja vu and went to look at Michelle’s family tree.  And Michelle had Anna Catharina on her tree already!  And some other Konzen siblings’ details that I hadn’t entered or remembered.  I was spiraling.  Why wouldn’t Michelle have told me about this?  Of course she would have.  So why didn’t I remember it?  I looked in my emails and I found an email from Michelle in 2021 with a parish record attached entitled “Another Sibling?”  I’d only noticed the Schulers on the page and completely missed the Konzen! 

The “Another Sibling” record, Anna Catharina Konzen’s birth on 13 Dec 1778 in Lellig. She is Catherine & Theodore’s eldest child.

There’s nothing like realizing that you’ve been chasing your own tail and finding things that you’d really found before.  Michelle and I recently built out the family trees for the Konzen siblings further and it reminded me that I hadn’t updated the Konzen info on the blog to match any of this.  So here we go.

Theodore Konzen was born 29 Jan 1756 in Herborn, Luxembourg, and he died 29 Jan 1839 in Lellig, Luxembourg.  He married Catherine Schuler on 28 Jan 1778 in Trier, Germany.  Catherine was born 15 Mar 1756 in Lellig, Luxembourg, and she died 19 Aug 1830 in Lellig, Luxembourg.

  1. Anna Catharina Konzen was born 13 Dec 1778 in Lellig, Luxembourg, and she died 19 Jul 1869 in Lellig, Luxembourg.  She married Johann Hellers. 
  2. Anna Maria Konzen was born 2 Apr 1781 in Lellig, Luxembourg, and she died 19 Jan 1865 in Gelsdorf, Germany.  She married Theodore Buchholz.  Theodore died 7 Sep 1839 in Gelsdorf, Germany.
  3. Joannes Wilhelm Konzen was born 17 Mar 1783 in Lellig, Luxembourg, and he died 3 Sep 1783 in Lellig, Luxembourg.
  4. Peter Konzen was born 15 Nov 1784 in Manternach, Luxembourg, and he died 23 Apr 1786 in Lellig, Luxembourg.
  5. Elizabeth Konzen was born 21 Jan 1787 in Lellig, Luxembourg, and she died 26 Mar 1878 in Trierweiler, Germany.  She married Matthias Michels.  Mathias was born abt 1787 in Sirzenich, Germany, and he died 9 Aug 1863 in Trierweiler, Germany.
  6. Peter Konzen was born 28 Apr 1789 in Lellig, Luxembourg, and he died abt 1863 in Dubuque, Iowa, USA.  He married Maria Theresia Wolff in 1815 in Kruchten, Germany.  Maria Theresia was born 20 Feb 1789 in Burg-Reuland, Liege, Belgium, and she died in 1871 in Dubuque, Iowa, USA.
  7. Anna Konzen was born 17 Mar 1791 in Lellig, Luxembourg, and she died 16 Oct 1866 in Ernzen, Germany.  She married Peter Weber.  Peter was born 19 May 1785 in Dockendorf, Germany, and he died 19 Mar 1843 in Preischeid, Germany.
  8. Joannes Konzen was born 14 Jan 1794 in Lellig, Luxembourg, and he died 7 Jul 1796 in Lellig, Luxembourg.
  9. Marie Konzen was born 8 Jul 1795 in Lellig, Luxembourg, and she died 8 Jul 1795 in Lellig, Luxembourg.
  10. Wilhelm Konzen was born 23 Apr 1797 in Lellig, Luxembourg, and he died 26 Dec 1872 in Heinerscheid, Luxembourg.  He married Catharina Hoffman, then Barbara Schumacher, and then Maria Margaretha Kieffer.

Lost and Found in Olingen

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As a genealogy lover, I know a lot about brick walls.  I don’t always know how to go around them, over them, or through them; but I have a lot of experience with hitting brick walls.  You’ve probably heard the Albert Einstein quote about how insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and thinking we’ll get different results.  I think a little bit of insanity has to go hand in hand with genealogy. Sometimes the insanity of daring to believe that we’ll find something new or finally find someone pays off.  And that makes it all worth it.

In December, Wilbur Kalb left some comments about Wilhelm Konzen on my post “The Luxembourg Konzens”.  Wilbur wrote about Wilhelm Kontzem, son of Theodore Kontzem and Catharina Scholer, who married Catharina Hoffman in Betzdorf and had a daughter named Katharina Kontzem who married Jacob Gales.  He also said that Mathias Gales, son of Katharina Kontzem and Jacob Gales, immigrated to the USA and settled in Kansas. We hadn’t been able to find Wilhelm Konzen – mostly because we didn’t know which Olingen he was in.

Years ago, we’d noticed a Wilhelm Konzen of Olingen was listed as godfather on the baptism record of one of Theresa Wolff & Peter Konzen’s children.  This was before we’d looked in Lellig for the Konzens so we didn’t even know Wilhelm was Peter’s brother.  I wasn’t even thinking about Luxembourg so I thought Olingen was Ollingen, Germany, or even that it could be Dillingen, Germany.  I looked for Wilhelm Konzen in those towns with no luck and I think I even looked through an Olingen, Luxembourg film, but it wasn’t for any time periods that Wilhelm’s family was in the records.

So I set Wilhelm of Olingen to the side (even after we found out he was probably Peter’s brother) and hoped one day I’d get back to him. After hearing from Wilbur, I went straight to Family Search and looked through Luxembourg Civil Registration marriage records to confirm that Wilhelm of Olingen, Luxembourg, was our Wilhelm.  And he was.  In the process, I’ve found much more about Wilhelm, but there’s much more to find still.

Wilhelm Konzen* (born 23 Apr 1797) married Catharina Hoffman (born about 1793) on 11 Feb 1820 in Betzdorf, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg.  They had three children: Catharina Konzen (born 30 Nov 1820 in Olingen), Anna Catherine Konzen (born 19 Jan 1824 in Olingen), and Margaretha Konzen (born 24 Sep 1827 in Olingen, and died 9 Mar 1828 in Olingen).  Catharina Hoffman Konzen died on 4 Jul 1830 in Olingen, and Wilhelm married Barbara Schumacher on 8 Oct 1830 in Betzdorf.  They had one daughter Catherina Konzen (born 12 Dec 1831 in Olingen, and died 22 Mar 1832 in Olingen).  Barbara Schumacher Konzen died on 26 Apr 1834 in Olingen, and Wilhelm married Maria Margaretha Kieffer (born 6 Jan 1812 in Jeanharishof, Grevenmacher, Luxembourg) on 13 Jun 1836 in Betzdorf.  They had four children: Jean Konzen (born 10 Apr 1837 in Olingen), Elizabetha Konzen (born 6 May 1839 in Olingen), Jakob Konzen (born 29 Oct 1842 in Olingen), and Marie Konzen (born 11 Dec 1846 in Olingen).

According to the 1843 census in Olingen, Wilhelm/Guillaume’s profession is listed as cultivateur or farmer (it’s also listed as the whole family’s profession).  There are two other people living with the family, Jacques Dondlinger (born 1824) and Susanna Hansen (born 1830).  Both Jacques and Susanna are listed as an unmarried domestiques or household servants.  On the census taken on 11 Dec 1846, Wilhelm is listed as a laboureur or laborer.  The 1847 census lists Wilhelm Konzen as a journalier or day laborer and his wife Marie Kieffer is a housewife.  It notes that the family is Catholic and that Wilhelm has lived in Betzdorf Commune for 27 years and Marie Kieffer has lived in the commune for 12 years.  I haven’t been able to find Wilhelm in a census after 1847.

Wilhelm’s daughter Catharina Konzen (born 1820) married Jacob Gales on 27 Feb 1845 in Betzdorf, Luxembourg.  Catharina’s full sister Anna Catherine Konzen (born 1824) married Jacob/Jacques Gales’s brother Joannes/Jean Gales on 9 Feb 1846 in Betzdorf, Luxembourg.  Jacob and Jean Gales were born in Ernzen, Germany, to Mathias Gales and Elisabeth Kayl.  They also had a sister Helena Gales who was baptized in Ernzen in 1822.

So far, I’ve found two children of Catharina Konzen and Jacob Gales.  Mathias Gales was born 16 Feb 1846 in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg, and Catharina Gales was born abt 1859 in Olingen.  In the 1871 census, Catharina & Jacob returned to Betzdorf commune with their children.  Their son Mathias married Elizabeth Apel in Machtum, Luxembourg, on 30 Dec 1868.  Mathias and Elizabeth along with two of their children lived with Catharina and Jacob and their daughter Catharina in 1871.  In the 1875 census, Mathias, Elizabeth, and their children live with Catharina and Jacob, but there is no Catharina Gales (born bat 1859) in the household.  However, there is an unmarried Susanna Konz (born in 1860) living with their household as a maid.  Mathias Gales & Elizabeth Apel and their children immigrated to the USA and settled in Kansas.

Anna Catherine Konzen and Jean Gales had six children: Jacques/Jacob (born 1 Feb 1847), Barbe/Barbara (born 20 Apr 1849), Mathias (born 12 Sep 1851), Maria (born 1 Feb 1854), Catherine (born 7 Dec 1856), and Catherine (born 11 Nov 1858).  On 5 Dec 1846, Anna Catherine and Jean lived in Dudelange, Luxembourg, where the census says they were tailleurs d’habits or tailors of clothes.  They returned to Olingen where they had lived for 4 months before the census was taken on 31 Dec 1847.  In the 1847, 1849, 1851, and 1852 censuses, Jean was still listed as a tailor.

The 1852 census has a 15-year-old Elisabeth Konsen living with Anna Catherine and Jean, she’s listed as a servante/maid.  This could be Anna Catherine’s half sister Elizabetha (born 1839), however she would 13 instead of 15.  According to the 1855 census, Jean is now a cultivateur/farmer and there is a servant living with the family named Anne Schmit aged 16 years.  In 1858, Jean is listed as a laborer and the family lives in an Olingen house named after the Kontzen (Konzen) family.  After 1858, Anna Catherine and Jean disappear from Betzdorf censuses.  Their son Mathias is still listed in Olingen in the 1871 and 1875 censuses.

I’m still looking for more information on what happens to Wilhelm and his children after they disappear off the Olingen census records.  And I’m looking for Anna Catherine and Jean and their children since I can only find their son Mathias (born 1851) after 1858.  It’s amazing how fast you can go from finding tons of information to hitting another wall.

*Note: Peter Konzen had eight siblings: Anna Maria (born 1781), Wilhelm (born 1783), Peter (1784-1786), Elizabeth (1787-1878), Anna (born 1791), Joannes (1794-1796), Marie (1795-1795), and Wilhelm (born 1797) of Olingen.