Locating Relevant Archives

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

 

This series of posts, continued from last week, outlines our preparation for a German trip to research beyond church records. Before embarking on a research trip abroad, you want to make sure you’ve done your homework. The next step, outlined in this post, is identifying the right archives.

 

Debra’s research interest, her Braun family, was from Graben in Baden. Teresa’s Huber family was from Butschbach in Baden. Last week’s post (read on Debra’s blog or Teresa’s blog) provided some background information on both of these towns. Graben is now Graben-Neudorf in the Landkreis Karlsruhe.[1] Butschbach is part of Oberkirch in the Ortenaukreis.[2] Both places are in the modern state of Baden-Württemberg. 

 

A great tool for finding archives in Germany is the German Archive Portal. This allows you to easily search for archives with an online presence. You may search by type of archive, such as state, local, church, and nobility. This search can be narrowed to a specific modern state by clicking on the desired portion of the map. You can also search by archive or location name.

 

State Archives 

The state archive is often the first stop for finding information. The Landesarchiv (State Archive) Baden-Württemberg is a relevant archive for both Teresa and Debra. This is the main repository system for documents from the historic regions of Baden, Württemberg, and Hohenzollern. This state archive has multiple branches, each dedicated to a different historic region. This page with a map helps determine which branch is best for you.[3] Graben-Neudorf would be covered by the Karlsruhe location. Butschbach would have records at the Freiburg branch. The Karlsruhe branch also has administrative records for the Grand duchy of Baden in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Teresa will need to consider holdings in both branches when researching Butschbach.

 

Land records for Baden-Württemberg are housed at the Kornwestheim branch of this archival system. But that does not mean they have all the land records. Some are housed in local archives. For example, the records that pertain to Butschbach are at the Stadtarchiv (City Archive) Oberkirch. We visited that archive in 2024. If in doubt about the location of land records, contact Kornwestheim and they will direct you to the right location for your town. 

 

Local Archives 

Use the German Archive Portal to find local archives in Baden-Württemberg. Archives could be at the Gemeinde (community), Stadt (city), or Kreis (district) level. There could be other categories, as well. 

 

There are no city or community archives for Graben-Neudorf. There is, however, the Kreisarchiv for the Landkreis Karlsruhe. The Graben-Neudorf town website, mentions a Heimatmuseum. That is a local museum dedicated to the history of the town. Many communities have them and they are interesting for social context. They might also have documents in their holdings.

 

For Butschbach, there is the Stadtarchiv Oberkirch, mentioned above. There is also the Kreisarchiv for Ortenaukreis. In Oberkirch, there is also the Heimat und Grimmelshausenmuseum. It is closed until March 2026 for renovations. We should be there after that date, so we will add that to our schedule, time permitting.

 

Searching Their Holdings

The Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg has excellent finding aids. Teresa wrote a blog post back in 2018 about strategies for searching the holdings of this archive. Browse their “Online-findmittelsystem” (Online finding aid system). Each branch has an outline of its holdings, where the highest level is chronological. Within that, records are broken out by record types and regions. This is where knowing the historical jurisdictions identified last week will help.  

 

Also try searching for keywords, such as your surname, the town name, jurisdiction names, or record type. Remember to use German words! 

 

When looking at local archives, they may or may not have detailed finding aids. Usually, they provide overviews of that they have. From their website (if they have one), look for words like Bestände (holdings), Findbuch/Findbücher (finding aid/aids), or Findmittel (finding aids). If the finding aids are vague or do not exist, contact them with specific questions. For example, I have an ancestor who lived in Butschbach in 1820. Do you have tax or land records for that time and place? Do not expect the archives to research for you. They should be able to point you to collections that you can research when you visit.

 

Next week, we’ll talk about the next steps for planning a research trip.

 

 

 

 

 

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

[2] “Oberkirch (Baden), article, Wikipedia (https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oberkirch_(Baden) : accessed December 2025).

[3] Please keep this website in its German version and use translation tools. If you switch to English, some content will disappear, including the map! 

Gen 1: Mary Jane Beal - Eliza R. (Beal) Henry

 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.

 

Eliza Ruth (Beal) Henry

 

When Mary Jane (Beal) Henry died in 1876, she left her husband James Henry a widow. James Henry’s obituary stated that he married Eliza Ruth Beal in 1877.[1] Eliza R. Henry is buried next to James in the Friendship Cemetery in Springdale. When Eliza died on 16 July 1893, she was 56 years old. Her obituary, posted on her FindaGrave memorial noted that she was born on 15 June 1837. This conflicts with her tombstone, which notes a birth date of 15 Jan. 1837. Since the obituary is a transcript, there may be an error. She was born in Hawkins, Tennessee, which probably refers to the county rather than a town. The FindaGrave memorial notes her birthplace as Hawkinsville, Dyer County, Tennessee. I believe this is in error, but future research will uncover the right information. Her obituary noted that she moved to Arkansas with her father when she was a young girl. She joined the Baptist church at 15 years old.[2]

 

In 1850, Eliza Beal, aged 15, was in Peter Beal’s household in West Fork Township, Washington County.[3] Peter’s household was enumerated adjacent to the household of James and Mary Henry.[4] In 1860, Eliza, aged 21, is enumerated in the household of “Peater Die.”[5] While her age is off by 4 years, the household is consistent with the 1850 household and her birthplace of Tennessee is consistent.

 

We will continue research on Eliza in next week’s post.

 

Future Research

 

Future research will include:

 

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

·      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.

·      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 the Beals and Henrys as noted in “Future Research” above.

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[1] 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.

[2] Find A Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com : accessed 14 December 2025), memorial 44977126, Eliza Henry (15 Jun 1837–16 Jul 1893), maintained by contributor 46510018, Rosa Cline; citing Friendship Cemetery, Springdale, Washington County, Arkansas, USA; citing obituaries posted on 10 June 1893 and 22 July 1893 in The Springdale News.

[3] 1850 U.S. census, Washington County, Arkansas, population schedule, p. 376 (stamped), p. 751 (penned), dwelling 29, family 29, Peter Beal; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 January 2016).

[4] 1850 U.S. census, Washington County, Arkansas, population schedule, p. 376 (stamped), p. 751 (penned), dwelling 30, family 30, James Henry; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 15 January 2016).

[5] 1860 U.S. census, Washington County, Arkansas, population schedule, p. 325 (penned), dwelling 2195, family 64, Peater Die [Peter Beal]; digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 June 2016).

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.