MY Turn – MY Goosebumps!

I tend to spend a lot of my time researching for others – strangers, friends and family.  Back in February this year I wrote a blog titled Why I like My Heritage Family Tree.  I can’t call this one by the same name but it could be except this is even more exceptional.  And it’s still the same branch of my paternal family – my German line(s).

Recently I received a message from My Heritage about some new matches to people on my tree.  I knew the surname but not the given names so I flagged the email for further follow-up.

I’m not one to accept what other people find but am more than happy to take a clue from those findings and follow up further.

For my German line I have had a lot of success with church records for my SCHUBART line.  That’s my ggg-grandfather (3 x great) in the photo above – Franz Wilhelm SCHUBART.  He was born on 14 June 1825 in Epfenbach, Baden, Germany.  Using Family Search films as well as the online Baden-Württemberg Archives for Epfenbach records (amongst others) which are amazing.

I had managed to get back to my 5 x great grandparents which is where I first picked up the surname SEEL.  My 5 x great grandmother was Eva Margretha SEEL.  That was as much as I had except for an estimated year of birth for both Peter EHRHARD and Eva Margretha SEEL based on the birth of my 4 x great grandmother.

Following on from the message from My Heritage I now have back to my 7 x great grandparents including the Baptism date for Johann Adam SEEL, my 7 x great grandfather – his baptism was in the Evangelical church in Epfenbach, Baden, Germany – the birthplace of Franz Wilhelm SCHUBART above.  In fact all generations in between were born, baptised or married in Epfenbach.

Oh – the excitement – as I said, MY Turn!

And the goosebumps?  They are there a-plenty!  I might have to revise my comments on how I was named – Susanne Marie – I found a bundle of these in my maternal line and did a blog on these tracing “my” name back to c.1728.  Another entry – married 1759 so potentially born 1720s-1730s – Susanna Margretha Barbara KROEGER – my 6 x great grandmother.

And if that wasn’t enough … Eva Margretha SEEL, my 5 x great grandmother, was born 8th June 1763 and baptised in Epfenbach on 10 June 1763.  Would you believe my birthday is 10 June 1763.  Absolutely heaps of goosebumps.

Sadly I have to take a break to eat lunch otherwise I may not eat for a couple of days – LOTS of leads to follow.

And the moral of this story?  Follow up those leads and in particular make more use of Family Search – it’s free and as I’ve just discovered they have indexed a heap more German films than they had indexed a year ago.  I wonder what stage they’re at with indexing films for my Italian, Swiss and French branches?  Oh the mind boggles.

Yep – MY turn AND MY goosebumps – I just love it!