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

 

In my post from a couple of weeks ago, I (Teresa) told you a bit about our trip to Schuttertal-Schweighausen in Baden-Württemberg. We visited the Saubauernhof, a farm that had been in my family. Before we saw the farm, we went to St. Romanus Catholic Church which  my family had attended. We also walked through its graveyard.

 

I knew not to expect to see my ancestors’ names on any of the tombstones there. They had lived and died in the mid-1800s and earlier. If you’re not familiar with burial practices in Germany (and other parts of Europe), I’ll explain. Gravesites are usually leased for a period of time. I was told that gravesites at St. Romanus were leased for fifty years. After that time, the site is reused for more burials. Tombstones are sometimes reused after re-etching them. 

 

I was surprised, however, that my guide could tell me where my ancestors had been buried. Logically, the burial plot was the same for past owners of the Saubauernhof. Leo and Maria Anna Ohnemus, buried there now, are the parents of the current farm owner. My ancestor, Protas Ohnemus, was buried in this very spot when he died in 1865. 

 

These gravesites are immaculately maintained! They have beautiful stones and a little garden in front of the stone with an array of plants. I have visited several graveyards or cemeteries in Germany. My experience with the beauty of the plots has been consistent. I often see at least one person maintaining the grave of a loved one. Surviving family members make sure the grave looks pristine. Watering cans and compost bins are strategically placed throughout the cemetery to assist the gardeners.

 

I also saw the burial plot for the Wangler family. They currently own the farm where my Meyer ancestors lived. The Wangler plot is where my Meyer ancestors would have been buried.

 

In a future post, I’ll take you inside St. Romanus Church. There’s a lot of history there!

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

During a recent trip to Germany, I (Debra) was able to visit a village where my ancestor, Caspar Kiefer, emigrated from in 1748. The village is Breitenbach located in the Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz). 

 

A genealogy colleague, Gerhard Höh, arranged for a private tour of the Bergmannsbauern-Museum, which is a museum that documents miner farmers, in other words, a miner who also tends a farm. In Breitenbach, which is in Kreis Kusel, approximately 62% of the households were involved in mining. This was one of the largest percentages in that Kreis. The museum is housed in a 1906 school building that was renovated and opened in 2002. Eleonore “Ellen” Strutwolf kindly opened the museum and spent considerable time with us as we looked at the various exhibits. The museum even had some artifacts from when Rome had an outpost in the area. One item was a Roman Lion. We had spent the previous day researching at the Speyer Archives looking for Breitenbach records, so imagine our surprise when we found Breitenbach town records on the third floor of the museum. You never know where records may end up!

 

As Caspar Kiefer was a Protestant, I wanted to see the church. The Protestant Church Breitenbach consisted of a quire tower that may date from as early as the 900s and includes a stone taken from a previous Roman building and reused when it was built. The other part of the church dates from 1783 and was too late for when my ancestor lived there. It is always thrilling to see something that your ancestor would also have seen.

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

During a recent trip to Germany, I (Teresa) was able to visit a farm that has been in my family for centuries. The town is Shuttertal-Schweighausen in Baden-Württemberg. Historically it was the village of Schweighausen in Baden. I have four great great grandparents who were born in this place. A quarter of my ancestry is from there. The farm in question is currently called the “Saubauernhof.” Essentially this translates to “Pig Farm.” I saw no pigs. 

The current farmer’s wife graciously invited us into her home and fed us plum cake with fresh whipped cream. It was delicious! She explained that a farmhouse on their property is supposedly the oldest farmhouse surviving in Schweighausen. It dates from 1653! You can see in the attached photo the year is etched into the supporting column. The old post and beam construction in the living area was bricked up in 1934, but the inscription on this column was preserved. That inscription also tells us Hans Offenburger built this house. 

It was a pure delight to see this farm and know that my great great grandmother, Catharina Ohnemus was born there. Her father was Protas Ohnemus. Apparently, he took over this farm when he married Franziska Offenburger. The farm’s history can be documented back to Catharina’s maternal great grandfather, Lorenz Offenburger, born in 1752. There is a gap in records that would connect Lorenz to Hans, the builder of this farmhouse. 

While visiting the Grundbuchzentralarchiv in Kornwestheim (a branch of the Baden-Württemberg State Archive), I was able to see land records that gave a lot of detail about the transfer of this farm’s ownership from Protas to his son, Robert. It was so neat to see the farm and some associated records.

Notes: Schweighausen (Schuttertal), Germany, Grund- und Gewähr-buch Band 5, p. 298, no. 111, Protas Ohnemus; Grundbuchzentralarchiv Kornwestheim, Stammheimer Straße 10.

SLIG Fall 2025 - German Phase 1: Identify the Hometown

Debra A. Hoffman, PLCGS, and Teresa Steinkamp McMillin, CG, have developed a new German research course that will be offered through the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) in the fall of 2025. The course is entitled “German Phase 1: Identify the Hometown.” Many Americans claim German ancestry and want to research their ancestors. To extend one’s ancestry into Germany, one must know the town of origin. It is not enough to know they came from Germany or even a specific German state. Phase 1 teaches students how to find their ancestor’s hometown by conducting thorough research using United States sources and utilizing appropriate methodology. For more information on the course and registration, see https://slig.ugagenealogy.org/cpage.php?pt=524.

This is not a beginning genealogy course, and students should have a firm foundation in genealogical research, sources, and methodology before approaching this course. One way to obtain this knowledge and skills is to take other institute courses. IGHR offers two courses on methodology: Course One – Methods and Sources in Practice and Course Two – Intermediate Genealogy and Historical Studies. IGHR is scheduled for July 27th through August 1st, 2025. See https://ighr.gagensociety.org. Another course offered this summer is GRIP’s course Beyond Digging Deeper: Sources, Methods, and Practices being offered from June 22nd through June 27th, 2025. See https://grip.ngsgenealogy.org.