As I’ve mentioned before, my grandma gave me a pedigree chart years ago. I use this chart as a road map to finding out more about my ancestors. On this chart, my grandma gave my great-great-grandfather’s, Frederick Ludwig Schroeder, birthday as December 12, 1850 and his parents as Heinrich Ludwig Wilhelm Schröder and Louise Reese. I have yet to figure out where she found this information.
Years ago, I entered my family tree on MyHeritage.com and, in so doing, connected with a cousin I never knew I had. This cousin provided me with a photograph of Heinrich and his parents, Friedrich Wilhelm Schröder and Auguste Wilhelmine Besser.
Earlier this year, I began to get curious about Heinrich. I looked for him on FamilySearch and found an index to his baptismal record. He was christened on January 5, 1851. If that date is correct and Frederick’s birth date is correct, there is no way he could be Frederick’s father!
Unfortunately, there was no image attached to the index and it didn’t give much information. Fortunately, I work in a place that is certified to receive film on loan from the Family History Library in Salt Lake City. I ordered the associated roll, Deutschland Geburten und Taufen, 1558-1898 (German Births and Baptisms, 1558-1898), and looked for Heinrich’s record. My German is very basic, but I managed to find and decipher it.
Heinrich Ludwig Wilhelm Schröder, son of Friedrich Wilhelm Schröder and Auguste Wilhelmine Besser was born on December 13, 1850 in Prussia.1 Definitely not Frederick’s father. I feel as though we must be related if we have a photograph, but I haven’t yet figured out how. Could Heinrich and Frederick be cousins?
It’s disappointing to have to take two generations off of the tree, but I’d rather have it be right. There is still much work to be done on Frederick to find out who his father was. My biggest hurdle is that Frederick didn’t live very long. Consequently, I’m a little stuck as to where to look next for evidence of his parents.
Edited to Add (7/30/2023): My dad (James Wiseheart in the comments below) has been doing more research on the Schroeder/Schröder family and came across the following emigration record. It would not. allow him to post a photo in the comments, so I’m including it here.
His comment below (included for posterity in case something. happens to comments), states:
I wanted to document more recent findings on this. Based on many sources Frederick Ludwig Schroeder’s parents are Ludwig “Louis” Schroeder and Fredericka Ihlenfeldt. Frederick’s brothers’ marriage records provide the first clues. John’s marriage record lists parents as Louis Schroeder and Rica Elfeldt. Samuel’s lists parents as Louis Schroeder and Rickie Elenfeld. Herman’s lists parents as Louis Schroeder and Frieda Ilenfield. The best evidence is the emigration record of Ludwig and Fredericka from 1873. This lists her last name as Ihlenfeldt and also lists her birthday as Nov. 28, 1821 and Ludwig’s as Aug. 22, 1819. It also lists 5 of their children with their birthdates (Frederick and John had arrived in America almost 10 months prior). The children listed are August Ludwig (b. Jan. 23, 1854), Christian Ferdinand (b. Dec. 19, 1858), Hermann Ludwig (b. Oct. 18, 1862), Samuel Carl Julius (b. Mar. 19, 1965), and Auguste Louise Emilie (b. Dec. 20, 1867). I have also gotten a copy of Fredericka’s obituary which lists her death date as Feb. 9, 1910 at age 88. Unfortunately there are some bad dates floating around on the internet for both her birth and death dates. Likewise, there are dates ascribed to Frederick’s father Ludwig as having died in 1894 at age 75 based on a tombstone for a Ludwig Schroeder in Forest Cemetery. I’m not sure this is the same Ludwig, but this requires further research. Fredericka is buried in Elliston Cemetery which would seem odd for her to be buried away from her husband.
Sources
- “Deutschland Geburten und Taufen, 1558-1898,” , FamilySearch(https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NZ5S-8XJ : accessed 12 August 2015), Friedrich Wilhelm Schroeder in entry for Heinrich Ludwig Schroeder, 05 Jan 1851; citing ; FHL microfilm 1,050,751.
- German (Prussian) Emigration Record, Ancestry.com : accessed 28 July 2023), Ludwig Schroeder and Friederika Ihlenfeldt, 27 August 1873, Schwachenwalde to Ohio. Posted to Ancestry.com by Pushthewind1116.
A Wise Heart's Journey 
Olá!
Quando seu Frederico Schroeder nasceu?
Minha Bisavó tinha um irmão chamado Frederico, segundo minhas pesquisas.
I wanted to document more recent findings on this. Based on many sources Frederick Ludwig Schroeder’s parents are Ludwig “Louis” Schroeder and Fredericka Ihlenfeldt. Frederick’s brothers’ marriage records provide the first clues. John’s marriage record lists parents as Louis Schroeder and Rica Elfeldt. Samuel’s lists parents as Louis Schroeder and Rickie Elenfeld. Herman’s lists parents as Louis Schroeder and Frieda Ilenfield. The best evidence is the emigration record of Ludwig and Fredericka from 1873. This lists her last name as Ihlenfeldt and also lists her birthday as Nov. 28, 1821 and Ludwig’s as Aug. 22, 1819. It also lists 5 of their children with their birthdates (Frederick and John had arrived in America almost 10 months prior). The children listed are August Ludwig (b. Jan. 23, 1854), Christian Ferdinand (b. Dec. 19, 1858), Hermann Ludwig (b. Oct. 18, 1862), Samuel Carl Julius (b. Mar. 19, 1965), and Auguste Louise Emilie (b. Dec. 20, 1867). I have also gotten a copy of Fredericka’s obituary which lists her death date as Feb. 9, 1910 at age 88. Unfortunately there are some bad dates floating around on the internet for both her birth and death dates. Likewise, there are dates ascribed to Frederick’s father Ludwig as having died in 1894 at age 75 based on a tombstone for a Ludwig Schroeder in Forest Cemetery. I’m not sure this is the same Ludwig, but this requires further research. Fredericka is buried in Elliston Cemetery which would seem odd for her to be buried away from her husband.