The name Elizabeth Heimsath appears just once in the U.S. records for William Joseph Beermann. His death certificate indicates that she was his mother and his father was Christ Beermann. This was not a surname that I had ever heard before. Further, all I knew about my 2nd great-grandfather was that he emigrated to the United States from Hanover, Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony) in Germany. Because I didn’t know where this family was from, I doubted that I would ever find any record of my 3rd great-grandmother, Elizabeth Heimsath. I had no vital records for her, nor for her husband, Christ Beermann.

This post is not as much about Elizabeth as it is about the good deeds of others who helped me locate my ancestors. I chose Elizabeth as my example of a selfless “random act of genealogical kindness” that added generations to my family tree and identified the birthplaces of multiple ancestors.

In November, I decided that I should look for my ancestor, Johann Schulte. I knew from his obituary that he was born in Lorup near Sögel in Hannover. I have joined a number of Facebook groups for genealogy. I made an inquiry to the Lower Saxony genealogy group and asked about locating Catholic Church records for Lorup. I was told by one member that the catholic church records for Lorup, Sögel, and all other neighboring parishes are available on microfilm at the church book office in Meppen (and also in the Diözesan archive in Osnabrück). That was a little daunting to hear; but one of the group members, Monika Thölking, offered to do a lookup for me. In a few weeks she was planning to visit the archive in Osnabrück and, if would send her a private message, she would see what she could find.

I sent Monika a private message through Facebook, but I did not hear back from her. As the day she had planned for research approached, I posted to the group to ask her if she had gotten my message. She had not. (For those of you who may not realize it, messages from people who are not friends go to your “other” inbox on Facebook. It is really easy to miss those messages.) Monika and I “friended” on Facebook and I realized that she lives in Osnabrück. That was where another ancestor of mine, Franz Maune, originated. Monika said she would look for him as well. She did research on both families and found them. Knowing that I was asking a really big favor, I began to muse if William Joseph Beermann and Mary Elizabeth Maune married in nearby Belm. I thought they may have known one another before they came to the United States, but I believed they married in Cincinnati. Monika kindly agreed to see if she could find my 2nd-great grandfather as well. She did. (This was the subject of my last post of the year in 2014.) Not only was Monika instrumental in helping me find another four generations of ancestors, but, additionally, she contacted a friend of hers to help with reading the church records of Borgloh for more information on my Maune family. He contributed additional extensive research to my tree. Finally, Monika realized that someone else she was assisting is a distant cousin of mine and she put us in touch. We can now work on our tree together.  My map of ancestral birthplaces went from three pins to 19 pins in a very short period of time:

Elizabeth Heimsath was Maria Elisabeth Hemesath. She was born on 9 December 1791 in Georgsmarienhütte, Lower Saxony, Germany. Her father was Eberhard Heinrich Hemesath and her mother was Catharina Elisabeth Abkemeyer. Elisabeth first married Joducus Heinrich Casting genannt Beermann, and they had one child together in 1826. He died and she married Johann Christian Konersmann gennant Beermann.  They had two children together between 1832 and 1837. The second child, Bernhard Anton Beermann, born 1 January 1837, I discovered on my own.  There is a record for permission to emigrate for William’s brother; the spelling on it is Behrmann, but the parents are correct. Bernhard Anton probably emigrated to North America in 1857, but I have not yet been able to identify him in the United States. Maria Elisabeth died on 24 February 1865 in Vehrte, Belm, Germany, at the age of 73. My family tree went from being a black hole for my Lower Saxony family to looking like this (click on the chart to enlarge):

Ancestors of Maria Elisabeth Hemesath

Monika is not the only person to have done a “good deed” for me with her genealogical help, but she certainly was among the most generous. Through the years I still remember people like Mark M. and Merry Anne P. from the Meigs County, OH, mailing list and Anne B. from the Hamilton County, OH, mailing list. In fact, this post should be like the Academy Awards of genealogy.  There are just too many outstanding kindnesses to mention here!  Also, it is worth mentioning a long-standing group of people who belong to “Random Acts of Genealogical Kindness.” They now exist as a Facebook group, and it is a good place for novices to find assistance. There are many specialized groups out there, and Facebook has simplified posting documents and photos, something that the old mailing lists couldn’t handle.  Also, I have found the German transcription group on Facebook to be very helpful.  It isn’t a place to have entire documents translated, but a place to go when you need some extra assistance making out the handwriting in an old German document.  When you join a Facebook genealogy group, they are likely to screen you so that they know you aren’t a spammer.  Be prepared to tell the administrator why you want to join the group.

While I highly recommend Facebook for genealogical help, do not join a group and expect someone to do your research for you. Monika’s help was more than I ever could have expected, and it was not typical. Most of the time, groups will help you help yourself. But some people who have resources (including me), will help others when they can, as their time permits. I have done entire family trees for friends with no expectation of compensation. I like to think that helping others creates good karma that will come back around in help with my searches.

By the way, I also posted on Monika’s research back in December:

Johann Christian Beermann – How the Word “Genannt” Shakes up Everything – 52 Ancestors #52