Help finding Franz Christian Schumann, born 1849

[Nicolaisen]

Hi!

I`m norwegian, and I am hoping to get help finding one of my ancestors; Franz Christian Schumann.

As far as I know, he was born january 1st., 1849; in the area around Magdeburg. The places that have been mentioned as his origin is Magdeburg, Halberstadt and Osterhol (Osterhol was mentioned when he got married in Norway in 1894, but for some un-known reason it had been crossed out).

When he got married, he said his fathers name was Andreas Schumann, and that his father was a blacksmith. That is the only thing I know of his parents and background in Germany. As far as I can tell, he must have come to Norway around 1880; I have found him in the Norwegian census for Bergen of 1885, so at least not any later than that.

Franz Christian is the greatest enigma I have come across in this hobby, and anything anyone can find about this man will be greatly appresiated.


Mari Schumann Nicolaisen

[animei]

...he got married in Norway in 1894

But it seems that he had a daughter born in 1891 in Bergen: https://www.familysearch.org/search/....r/MX9C-11M/p1

[Kasstor]

Hi,

and age statements differ: baptism Frida * Mar 5, 1889 Frantz -> 1854

Lilly * Oct 4,1901 Frantz -> 1852.

Where did you get 1849 from?

Regards,

Thomas

[Nicolaisen]

He had several children before he got married; with three different women.

The year 1849 I got after writing to the archives in Bergen; 1849 was the year he gave as his year of birth. In the different census` and baptism-records I have found year of birth as anything between 1848 and 1854, but since 1849 is the year he said himself (and if I remember correctly that is also the year on his tombstone), I find that to be the most correct year.

His movements in Norway is well known, it`s the years before he came that is such a problem. He seems impossible to find anywhere before the 1880s.

[Edda]

Hi Mari,

I thought a bit about all the information you have.

Looking for Osterhol I found Osterholz. That's single house in a forest directly at the street no 81 nearby Langenstein in the southwest of Halberstadt look here or this here or on google earth: Osterholz, Langenstein

Perhaps Osterhol(z) was crossed out in due of it was only this single house there and Franz mentioned the next bigger city Halberstadt as his original city. Only an idea

Perhaps it's a chance to research in Langenstein churchbooks to find Franz Schumann and his family.

regards
Edda

[Nicolaisen]

Hi, and thank you for the answer.

This teory is as likely as any, and is really worth looking into. I am not familiar with the german sources, but its hard to believe that Franz or his father Andreas can not be found in any of the sources available. I do believe its all about locating the correct place to look.

Is there anyone out there who could check out the churchbooks for Langenstein and the surrounding area? Or are these sources available online by any chance?

[cecilia]

Hello Mari,

look here:

http://worldconnect.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=:453842&id=I2259#s1

The mentioned Altenweddingen is part of Sülzetal southwest of Magdeburg. Maybe this is the right Franz Christian Schumann?

[Nicolaisen]

This was very interesting; thank you for digging this out!

The year of birth is close to the year he gave when he got married, and is one of many years I have found in the norwegian census-records listed as his year of birth.
Is it possible to find his father Andreas` wedding; and find out whether he was a blacksmith or not? Or in a census perhaps?

This is the most exact match so far when it comes to his name aswell (its the only match in fact...).

[BrunoWilhelmLouis]

Hallo!
Am 31.01.1853 ist in Altenweddingen kein Schumann geboren. Die Taufe Nr. 11 im Jahr 1853 (so die Quelle bei RootsWeb's) ist ein Gustav August Weichert, * 30.01.1853 in Altendweddingen. Die Eheschließung der Eltern stimmt, es ist die Nr. 16.
Es grüßt herzlichst
BrunWilhelmLouis

Nachtrag:
Der Einsender der Daten bei RootsWeb's hat sich nur im Jahr vertan. Auf Seite 84, Nr. 11 ist der Gesuchte zu finden. Er ist am 31.01.1854 geboren.

[Nicolaisen]

Thank you for the answer.

Do I understand you correctly when I say that Franz Christian Schumann is born 31.01.1854, and that the person who registered him therefore is off by a year? But that he does actually exist with the parents mentioned earlier?

I`m sorry, but my german leaves a lot to be desired..

[BrunoWilhelmLouis]

Hello Nicolaisen,
you wrote that Franz Christian Schumann was born on January 1 1849 in the area of Magdeburg and his father was a blacksmith. So, now there is a Franz Christian Schumann from the area around Magdeburg (Altenweddingen is not far away from Magdeburg), but he isn't born on January 1 1849 but on January 31 1854 (five years later) and his father was a cloth-weaver. In either case the name of the father is Andreas. I think this isn't your ancestor.
Regards
BrunoWilhelmLouis

[Nicolaisen]

I am not convinced that this is my ancestor; don`t get me wrong. But since this is the only Franz Christian Schumann that is found yet, it`s important to me to try and find out as much as possible, to be sertain either way.

The big difference in birthyear is a big problem, and the fact that the norwegian sourches operate with such different years only adds to the unsertainty. The difference in the fathers profession is also alarming.

What I really need to find (or to be found) is a Franz Christian Schumann that emigrated from Germany to Norway in the 1880s, and try and trace him back to his home and his parents. This has proven to be very difficult from Norway, and the fact that my german isn`t that good makes it even worse. Therefor I hope the people on this forum won`t give up on the search just yet.

[Schlupp]

Hi Mari,

I think one of your big problems is the family name. Today there are more than 16 000 families in Germany named "Schu(h)mann". And so there is nothing like: "Yeah, I've found Schumanns in XXX". Even "Christian Franz" is something like "Schumann". So without more allusions to it, we call it "Nadel im Heuhaufen suchen". Therefore wish you some fortune and ...

Lykke til.

Schlupp

[Nicolaisen]

Thank you for answering.

I do agree; the name does make it harder, just like anone called "Olsen" or "Hansen" in Norway. But at the same time, there does not seem to be a lot of candidates found so far. In fact only one person with that name is mentioned so far in this discussion.
In my experience with the norwegian counterparts of Schumann, the problem is narrowing it down to a few people, but here the problem seems to be finding interesting candidates. And I am not one of those who when finding only one person somewhat fitting the search; makes the conclusion that that has to be the right person.

Come to think of it, I`m a bit surprised that his name; being a common one, is not found more frequently.