Town History Leads to Archival Records

 From German Girls Genealogy (Teresa Steinkamp McMillin & Debra A. Hoffman):

 

This series of posts, started last week, outlines our preparation for a trip to research beyond church records. Before embarking on a research trip abroad, you want to make sure you’ve exhausted all records available from your home country. One of the steps outlined in this post is identifying the history of the place the ancestor lived.

 

Some sources to find the history of a German place include the town’s website and the German Wikipedia. The English-language Wikipedia might have an article about the town, too, but it will not likely be as detailed. For towns in Baden-Württemberg, there is also LEO-BW, a website hosted by that state. From its main screen, you may enter a town name and it will show related articles. As you read these histories, you are looking for any changes in jurisdiction. Who were the ruling/governing entities at different points in time? What events might impact record=keeping?

 

Debra’s research interest, her Braun family, was from Graben in Baden. The Brauns emigrated to Baltimore in the fall of 1833.

 

From Wikipedia and Wikipedia.de, we learn that the municipality of Graben-Neudorf was created in 1972 when the communities of Graben and Neudorf were united. It is in Landkreis Karlsruhe. Historically, Graben probably dates from between the 5^th and 7^th century. It appears that the Romans were in the area based on the existence of an ancient road and finding Roman coins. By the 14^th and 15^th centuries, Graben was a market town. The French destroyed Graben during the War of the Palatine Succession and it was not until the mid-1700s that the village recovered. During WWII, Graben and Neudorf were frequently bombed as the railway station was a target.

 

The following is a brief timeline:

 

1306: Documentary evidence of Graben

1312: Under the jurisdiction of the Margraviate of Baden

1535: Can under the Margraviate of Baden-Durlach

1556: Margrave Charles II of Baden-Durlach introduced Lutheranism and Graben residents had to convert to Protestantism

1622: Graben had 145 citizens

1648: Graben had only 42 citizens

1668–1697: The French destroyed Graben; only the church, city hall, and some buildings remains

1771: Under the Margraviate of Baden[1]

 

MeyersGaz provides the following information on Graben, Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Baden as of 1912. Graben is a Dorf (Village) located in Baden. The Kreis is Karlsruhe. The Amtsbezirk (District Office) is Karlsruhe. The Amtsgericht (Lower District Court) is Karlsruhe. The Bezirkskommando (District Military Command) is Karlsruhe. The Standesamt (Civil Registration Office) is Graben. Graben has one Protestant parish church.[2]

 

Teresa knows a lot about Lawrence Huber, as you can see from recent blog posts. Her Monday blog series continues to show how she researched Lawrence Huber in US sources and in German church records. 

 

Lawrence lived in Butschbach before emigrating. The history of that town will lead to information about what non-church records might exist.

 

As of 1912, Butschbach was a rural community in the Amtsbezirk and Amtsgericht of Oberkirch, Kreis Offenburg, in the Grandduchy of Baden.[3] The earlier history, which is important for searching archival records, includes:

 

§  First mentioned in 11th century.

§  Probably came to the Empire after 1218

§  Given as a fief to the Margraviate Baden

§  In the 13^th and 14^th centuries it was associated with patrician families, such a Rohart von Oberkirch and von Neuenstein

§  1303, came to Bistum (Diocese) Straßburg

§  1604–1634 and 1649–1655, partly given as a fief to Württemberg

§  1683–1697 partly given as a fief to Baden

§  1803 – Came to Baden[4]

The jurisdictions identified in the histories of these towns help one find the right archives and traverse finding aids. Come back next week for details about how to use these jurisdictions to find records.

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[1] “Graben-Neudorf,” Wikipedia (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Graben-Neudorf : accessed 2025).

[2] “Graben, Karlsruhe, Karlsruhe, Baden,” Meyersgaz (https://www.meyersgaz.org/place/10605076 : accessed 2025).

[3] “Butschbach,” MeyersGaz (https://www.meyersgaz.org/place/10284035 : accessed 2025).

[4] “Oberkirch – Altgemeinde~Teilort,” article, LEO BW (https://www.leo-bw.de/en-GB/web/guest/detail-gis/-/Detail/details/ORT/labw_ortslexikon/11348/Oberkirch+-+Altgemeinde~Teilort : accessed 2025).

Gen 1: Mary Jane Beal - James Henry's Obituary

 What are the origins of Johann Nicholas Biehl?

 

Last week we continued our Biehl research project with the end goal of identifying the German origins of Johann Nicholas Biehl. I continued research on the first generation, which is Mary Jane Beal. You can find that post here.

 

James Henry

 

When Mary Jane (Beal) Henry died in 1876, she left her husband James Henry a widow. Thoroughly researching Mary Jane requires researching her husband. Detailed obituaries can provide genealogical information and clues for further research. James’ obituary from 10 June 1910 published in The Springdale News (Springdale, Arkansas) can be found transcribed on FindaGrave. A search for the original newspaper is not currently found online, although GenealogyBank does have some of the issues and covers the period. This specific issue was not found, so we are using the transcription until the original can be accessed.

 

The obituary provides the following information summarized below:

 

·      James Henry was born near Montgomery, Alabama, on 23 September 1822.

·      He came to Arkansas in 1844 [aged about 22 years].

·      He married Mary Jane Beal on 11 October 1849 and they had nine children. Only three were living at the time of his death. They were John Levi Henry in western Texas; Caldona Everheart living in Grayson County, Texas; and Arizona Cardwell living at Springdale. [Arizona Cardwell is my ancestress.]

·      He married Eliza Ruth Beal in 1877. [Eliza Ruth Beal was apparently Mary Jane Beal’s younger sister.] They had one child, Edward Lee Henry, living in Prairie Grove. 

·      He married Alphurnia Peerson in December 1894 and she survived him.

·      James Henry was known as “Uncle Jim.”

·      He had been feeble and almost helpless the last few years.

·      He died about 12:30 o’clock a.m. on Sunday, 5 June 1910.

·      Funeral services were conducted by E. F. Rice on Sunday at 3:30 p.m. at Friendship and where he was interred.

·      He professed religion in early life and was for many years a Deacon in Friendship Church.

·      Some “few years ago” he joined the First Baptist Church of Springdale of  which he was a member at death.

 

Another item from The Springdale News, published on 22 July 1910, included the following information:

 

·      Alphurnia Henry, widow of James Henry of Springdale, was granted a $12/month pension from 5 June 1910.

·      Mr. Henry was a Mexican War soldier.

 

From these transcribed newspaper articles, we find more information on Mary Jane. The newspaper confirmed their marriage on 11 October 1849 and that they had nine children; six of whom died before 1910. We also surmise that Mary Jane had a little sister, Eliza Ruth Beal, who married James in 1877. Unfortunately, there is no death certificate for James Henry since vital record registration did not begin in Arkansas until 1914 and there was no county registration for Washington.

Source: Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 14 December 2025), memorial 32241713, James Henry (23 Sep 1822–5 Jun 1910), maintained by contributor 46510018, Rosa Cline; citing Friendship Cemetery, Springdale, Washington County, Arkansas, USA; citing obituaries posted on 21 July 1893 and 4 August 1893 in The Springdale News.

 

Future Research

 

Future research will include:

 

·      Continue search for all real estate, both local and Federal, that James Henry owned in Washington County, Arkansas. He owned $300 in 1850 and $1,000 in 1870. Start a table showing the land transactions, both in and out, to ensure all transactions are captured.

·      Determine if there are records for Friendship Baptist Church in Springdale, Arkansas. Determine if there are extant records for First Baptist Church of Springdale.

·      Locate James Henry in the 1880, 1900, and 1910 Federal censuses.

·      Locate the extant applicable agricultural censuses for Arkansas.

·      Search for additional marriage records for James Henry. He married Eliza Ruth Beal in 1877 and Alphurnia Peerson in 1894.

·      Identify all of James Henry’s ten children.

·      James Henry served in the Mexican War and his widow, Alphurnia, received a pension. He may have had a pension too since he was feeble and helpless prior to his death. His tombstone notes his service from 1847–1848 in the Ark. Mounted Inf. Vol.

 

Next up: Continuing the research on Mary Jane Henry and her husband, James, as noted in “Future Research” above.

Goals for Research Trip to Germany

From German Girls Genealogy (Teresa Steinkamp McMillin & Debra A. Hoffman):

Whether we are researching in the United States or in Germany, identifying your research goals is crucial to conducting efficient and effective research. This is particularly important when embarking on a trip to Germany, where you want to ensure that no minute is wasted!

 

We are planning a trip back to Baden-Württemberg in April 2026. For this trip, Debra would like to focus on potentially two families. The first one is the Braun family from Graben. The second one is the Kieffer family from Blankenloch. The two towns are located within 15 minutes of each other.

 

The first thing to do is to summarize what is known on a family and what information you are looking for. In this post, we will summarize what is known about the Braun family.

 

·      Jacob Friederich Braun was born 12 January 1806 and baptized on 14 January 1806 in Graben, Baden, Germany. He married Christina Demarez on 24 July 1828 in Graben. She was from the neighboring town of Friedrichstal.[1]

·      The couple had two daughters; Sophia Philippine Braun, who was born in 1829[2] and is my 4^th great-grandmother, and Louise Christine Braun, who was born in 1831.[3]

·      Friederich Braun and his family emigrated to the U.S. arriving in the Port of Baltimore in the last quarter of 1833. Only the quarterly list survives.[4]

·      Jacob Friederich’s parents were Jacob Heinrich Braun and Marie Elisabetha Lind.[5]

Teresa is going to continue her research on Lawrence Huber, whom she’s been blogging about the last few weeks. On a prior trip to Germany, she found some interesting things about him at the Generallandesarchiv (General State Archive) Karlsruhe. This is the branch of the Landesarchiv (State Archive) Baden-Württemberg that mainly has holdings for historic Baden (as opposed to Württemberg). There were also interesting records at the Stadtarchiv (City Archive) Oberkirch, which has jurisdiction over the region of Butschbach and Giedensbach where Lawrence lived before emigrating. Teresa will talk about those records more, as she unveils the research in the Lawrence Huber blog post series.

 

There was not enough time (there’s never enough time) to see everything that might have been available about Lawrence’s life. Having thoroughly researched him in church records, the question is what else is available about his family of origin and his ancestors? Lawrence’s male line has been traced back to about 1750. Before embarking on this next trip, Teresa needs to be very specific about what she is looking for and where those records might be.

 

Next week, we will explain how understanding the history of the ancestral town can lead you to archives and their holdings.

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[1] “Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1500–1971,” database and images, FamilySearch(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPDG-XMW1 : accessed 4 December 2025), Graben, marriage records, pp. 76–7, no. 5, Braun-Demarez marriage, 24 July 1828; image 269 of 414, DGS no. 102,078,348, item 6, FamilySearch Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

[2] “Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1500–1971,” database and images, FamilySearch(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPDG-W299 : accessed 4 December 2025), Graben, baptisms, p. 341, no. 12, Sophie Philippine Braun, 3 May 1829; image 177 of 414, DGS no. 102,078,348, item 6, FamilySearch Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

[3] “Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1500–1971,” database and images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPDQ-LYMN : accessed 4 December 2025), Graben, baptisms, p. 367, no. 44, Louise Christine Braun, 3 September 1831; image 52 of 223, DGS no. 102,550,955, item 4, FamilySearch Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

[4] “Baltimore, Maryland, U.S., Passenger Lists, 1820–1964,” database and images, Ancestry (https://www.ancestry.com : accessed 4 December 2025), image 592 of 659; citing RG 36, Records of the US Customs Service, NAI Number 2655153, National Archives and Records Administration, Washington, DC.

[5] “Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1500–1971,” database and images, FamilySearch(https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QPDG-XMW1 : accessed 4 December 2025), Graben, marriage records, pp. 76–7, no. 5, Braun-Demarez marriage, 24 July 1828; image 269 of 414, DGS no. 102,078,348, item 6, FamilySearch Library, Salt Lake City, Utah.

Gen 1: Mary Jane Beal - FAN Club

What are the origins of Johann Nicholas Biehl?

 

Last week we continued our Biehl research project with the end goal of identifying the German origins of Johann Nicholas Biehl. I continued research on the first generation, which is Mary Jane Beal. You can find that post here. 

 

Cluster Methodology

 

Solving genealogical questions often requires researching the collateral family, friends, associates, and neighbors; cluster methodology or the “FAN Club,” a term coined by Elizabeth Shown Mills.[1] In order to do that, you need to keep track of those individuals. By reviewing who and how often the people interacted with the family being researched, you can prioritize which individuals should be at the top of the research list. I do this by creating the simple table shown below.

 

As each source is accessed, noting the individuals and their roles are documented. As can be seen, there are some Beal individuals that should be researched. The Beal surname is not very common in Washington and Benton counties, Arkansas, so they may all be family to Mary Jane Beal.  Another individual of note is Madison Painter/Panter given that he was a neighbor to the Henry household in the 1850 census and a witness to the Henry’s 1854 deed. Peter Beal’s wife is alleged to be Elizabeth Painter. Additional sources will continue to add to this table and to add important FAN club members that may need to be researched. 

 

	Type of Record in Which Each Associate Appears
Name	1850 Census	1854 Deed	1860 Census	Cemetery
Beal, Albert (child)				Adjacent Grave
Beal, Albert (sibling)			Neighbor
Beal, Peter	Neighbor
Covington, William		Grantee
Henry, Eliza R.				Adjacent Grave
Painter/Panter, Madison	Neighbor	Witness
Stout, Jonathan		Witness & J.P.

 

Future Research

 

Future research will include:

 

·      Continue search for all real estate, both local and Federal, that James Henry owned in Washington County, Arkansas. He owned $300 in 1850 and $1,000 in 1870. Start a table showing the land transactions, both in and out, to ensure all transactions are captured.

·      Determine if there are records for Friendship Baptist Church in Springdale, Arkansas.

·      Locate James Henry in the 1880, 1900, and 1910 Federal censuses.

·      Locate the extant applicable agricultural censuses for Arkansas.

·      Search for additional marriage records for James Henry.

 

Next up: Continuing the research on Mary Jane Henry and her husband, James, as noted in “Future Research” above.

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[1] Elizabeth Shown Mills, “QuickLesson 11: Identity Problems & the FAN Principle,” Evidence Explained: Historical Analysis, Citation & Source Usage (https://www.evidenceexplained.com/content/quicklesson-11-identity-problems-fan-principle : 1 December 2025).