Clues to Great-Grandma's Birth Town

How can a woman born in 1876 be such a mystery? I don't know the parents of my great-grandmother, Alice Laubersheimer Huber (other than the names passed down in family stories). I don't know for sure where she was born. But there are some clues.

Google Map of Strasbourg,
Gerstheim, & Mulhouse in France

A birth certificate for one of her daughters says that Alice was born in "Strassburg, Alssaice-Lorraine." A birth record for her half-sister indicates that Anna Laubersheimer Milliken was born in Mulhouse, Haut-Rhin, France. In between those towns (see the map), a birth record for an uncle, Frederick Waldschmidt, shows that he was born in Gerstheim, Bas-Rhin, France.

Unfortunately, I haven't found the birth of my great-grandmother in any of those towns. A search of the online records in both the Bas-Rhin and Haut-Rhin archives came up empty. There was no Alice and no other Laubersheimers (other than Anna).

The records for other family members often give you clues to information about your direct ancestors. But many times more digging is required.

Related Posts:

• Find French Birth Records
• Family Clues in Birth Certificates
• Lost Sisters
• Is Frederick Waldschmidt My Uncle?

Check for Pennsylvania Birth & Death Indices

For those of us with Pennsylvania ancestors, it was exciting when Ancestry provided access to two vital record collections: Pennsylvania Birth Records, 1906-1908, and Pennsylvania Death Certificates, 1906-1963. I spent many hours searching those databases and finding great information, including learning about previously unknown cousins who had been born and then died young between the 1900 and 1910 censuses. And I continue to access these collections today.

However, since it's unclear when additional years may be added by Ancestry, keep in mind that the PDFs of the indices may be helpful too. These listings provide the birth name, maiden name of mother (father isn't in the index), the birth town or city, and date of birth.

Sample from Pennsylvania Birth Index, 1909

The Pennsylvania birth and death indices are maintained by the Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission, and legislation allows the release of a new year annually. Birth records are made public 105 years after a person was born, and death records are released 50 years after death. So currently they have lists of births from 1906 to 1909 and deaths from 1906 to 1964. I expect a PDF of 1910 births and 1965 deaths will be added in 2016.

I recently browsed the birth index for 1909 and found some great information:

• Specific dates of birth, which can then lead to additional information such as military records that match the birth date, or perhaps death certificates - I located the 1909 birth listing for a Zewe cousin which, after entering the date into Ancestry, led me to a death certificate match with her spouse's surname and a new branch of my tree containing their Kyle children;
• Correct places of birth - the death certificate for one of my husband's Cowden cousins says he was born in Hickory, Washington County, Pennsylvania, while the birth index shows he was actually born in neighboring Cross Creek Township;
• Missing maiden names of mothers - I found the birth date of the husband of a great-aunt (previously only known to be "abt 1909"), as well as the maiden name of his mother; this then led to the certificate for her death due to breast cancer at the age of 35, which provided his father's name;
• Original given names - my grandmother's 1909 birth listing in the index shows her given name as Marian H. instead of the Helen Marian she used later in life; this doesn't seem to be unusual (at least for my family!) since my grandfather John Baptist was recorded as John Harold at his birth in 1908 and his brother Roy was actually named Jacob Ray in 1906.

Don't forget to check back annually to see when the next index has been added, and request a copy of any certificates that may advance your research. These Pennsylvania indices may provide the clue that leads you to additional information about one or more of your relatives.

UPDATE: The indices of 1910 births and 1965 deaths have been posted.

Find French Birth Records

My 2nd great-grandparents, Ignace "Charles" and Caroline Wey Huber, were born in France, were married in France, and had their first child in France. As I indicated in an earlier post (see link at the end), they left this son in France for several years while they built a life in the United States.

The French archives are absolutely wonderful since many birth, marriage, and death records have been scanned and are available online for free. They aren't searchable but, as long as you know the town, you can browse the images to find key records for your family members. Finding my uncle Alphonse Huber's birth record in the large Paris archives took a lot of patience, but it was worth it.

Birth record for Alphonse Antoine Huber, Paris, France, March 16, 1864
(CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO VIEW LARGER)

I wish I could read French, but I was able to understand a few things:

• Alphonse's middle name was Antoine, which was his paternal grandfather's name;
• His father, Ignace Hubert [sic], was a tailleur or tailor; and  
• His mother, Caroline Wey, was a couturière or dressmaker.

I also used the Bas-Rhin archives to locate Ignace's birth record in Artolsheim and Caroline's in Dambach-la-Ville. If my research was successful without knowing the language, then others looking for their French ancestors definitely can do it, too.

If you can read French and see any other important details in the birth record above, I would love to hear from you!

Related Posts:  

• Immigration: Leaving Children Behind
• The Huber Brothers of Akron & Pittsburgh

Get Creative When Searching Ancestry.com

I remember my great-aunt Mildred but not her husband, Jack Fitzpatrick. The social security death index shows that he was born on November 24, 1906, and censuses said that it happened in Pennsylvania. When Ancestry.com posted 1906-1908 Pennsylvania Birth Certificates, I thought it would be a quick search to find his certificate. Not true.

Searching on "exact and similar matches" for John and "exact, sounds like and similar" matches for Fitzpatrick didn't lead me to my great-uncle's birth certificate. Even changing the Fitzpatrick surname search to "broad" and then trying John and Fitz* didn't help.

I started to think that his birth wasn't recorded, or that he was actually born before 1906, or maybe even in a different state. Then I decided to search for just his parents' first names, Charles and Eva. Success! My great-uncle's name had been transcribed as John Gaelord Filzfadrick. 

Transcription errors are unfortunate and make it very difficult to find ancestors, especially if we don't know where and when they were born. However, if we think of different ways to search for them, sometimes it often leads us to the records we're looking for. (And submitting corrections will help those who may search for the same person later.)

Is Frederick Waldschmidt My Uncle?

Frederick Waldschmidt

In a previous post, I mentioned that I am still searching for records to identify the parents of my great-grandmother, Alice Laubersheimer Huber. Oral history from family indicates that they are Fritz Laubersheimer and Caroline Waldschmidt, but I have no proof.

The 1899 passenger record that I believe is for Alice shows an "Elise Laubersheimer" of the right age traveling to her final destination of "Pittsburg, Pa." The record indicates that her passage was paid by her uncle and that she was planning on joining her "uncle: Fred. Waldschmidt" in Allegheny, Pennsylvania.

Since I was hoping that this connection between Alice and Frederick would lead me to her parents, I searched for more information on Frederick. A biography and the photo above appear in the 1897 book "City of Allegheny, Pa: Illustrations and Sketches of the Banking, Wholesale and Manufacturing Interests and the Representative Professional Interests of Allegheny County":

"Frederick Waldschmidt, alderman, was born June 26, 1848, in Elsass, then a part of France. He was educated in the public schools of his country and began a business life in connection with a manufactory of boots and shoes. He was a soldier in the army of France, in the Franco-Prussian war, and for valor on the battlefield, was made a sergeant-major. After his arrival in this country he engaged in the insurance and real estate business. Before coming to Allegheny he served as tax collector, justice of the peace and borough treasurer of Glenfield borough, Allegheny county. Since residing here he has served in council. Mr. Waldschmidt was married January 17, 1878, to Magdalena Teutenberg. He is one of Allegheny's substancial [sic] citizens, and enjoys the confidence of many who are honored by his acquaintance. He is secretary of the Allegheny building association, and a director of the German National building and loan association, and not only takes great interest in these organizations, but is one of the best posted men on building association affairs in the United States. His office is at 157 Ohio Street. Mr. Waldschmidt is a member of Voegtly's Church."

Frederick died on April 15, 1918, and I found a great clue on his Pennsylvania death certificate. It states that he was born in Gerstheim, Alsace, France, and that his father Daniel was born in Goersdorf, Alsace, France. Since many French records are online, I hoped that I could find Frederick's birth record and, by browsing other years, see if he had a sister named Caroline Waldschmidt.

In the online Bas-Rhin Archives, I found Frederick's French birth record for June 26, 1848, in Gerstheim to parents Daniel Waldschmidt and Elisabeth Frauenfelder:

I also found birth records from Gerstheim for two sisters, Salome (1845) and Madeleine (1846). Additional siblings were born in Boofzheim, France: Salome (1856), Sophie (1858), Auguste (1860), and Edouard (1862). No Caroline. There is a gap of eight years between Frederick's birth in 1848 and the second Salome in 1856, so there could have been another move during that period. I browsed nearby towns and haven't found anything yet.

So I still don't know if Frederick Waldschmidt is a relative, but I will keep looking in the hope that it leads me to the names of Alice Laubersheimer's parents.

Two notes:

1. There is an Illinois death record for a Daniel Waldschmidt that shows he is another sibling of Frederick since their parent names match. Daniel's birth is shown to have been in "Straussberg, Germany" in 1854.
2. The Pennsylvania marriage license application of Alice's half sister, Anna Laubersheimer, shows Anna's parents were Phillip Laubersheimer and Fredericka "Wallsmith." So, while I've always assumed they had the same father, it's possible that they share the same mother who married another Laubersheimer.

Related Posts:

• Family Clues in Birth Certificates
• Family Birth: Alice Huber in 1905
• Who Was Your Ancestor's Employer?

Family Clues in Birth Certificates

Ancestry.com recently added a new collection: Pennsylvania birth certificates for the years 1906-1908. Although you may already know when and where an ancestor or relative was born, it's definitely worth your time to take a look at birth records.

First, you could learn some fun facts. For instance, my grandmother Gertrude Francis Stenglein was actually named Gertrudt Francisca Stenglein on her birth certificate. Very German! Since her parents had only arrived in the U.S. in 1891 and still spoke German, this isn't a surprise but is still fun to see.

Most importantly, you may learn more about the child's parents. My great-aunt Laura Caroline Huber was born in 1906 in Reserve Township, Pennsylvania. It showed her father's occupation of engineer and that her parents were living at 38 Luty Avenue in Reserve. Her birth certificate also gave me a clue that I hope helps me track down more information on my great-grandmother.

Laura's mother, Alice Laubersheimer Huber, is a bit of a mystery to me since I've been unable to find out where she was born nor verify the names of her parents as passed along in family oral history. Laura's handwritten birth certificate only gave the birthplaces of her parents as "American" and "German." However, the typed version shows that Alice was born in "Strassburg, Alssaice-Lorraine."

I believe this is Strasbourg, France, which is near the border of Germany. This was very exciting to learn since French records are online and I've had a lot of success with them in the past. I browsed the records of the Bas-Rhin Archives but haven't had any luck finding Alice's birth. I'm hoping to perhaps find her in a nearby town. 

Anyway, although my post doesn't have a happy ending, hopefully you can see how birth certificates could provide a clue to help you advance your family research. Take a look and find out if you can learn any interesting things about your relatives.