Parents of Maria Bohne.

I have been struggling to find information on my ancestors from Kirchditmold and Wehlheiden in Kassel, Hesse, Germany, due to significant record loss. According to an email I received from the church archives, records from 1753-1830 for these two villages were destroyed during WWII. Over the past few years, I have been working to identify any records that might still be available for this time period. When I reached out to the Hessian State Archives in Marburg, I was pleasantly surprised to receive census records for both Kirchditmold and Wehlheiden. Since then, I have been gradually ordering each census to be digitized.

Marie Elisabeth Bohne is my 4th great grandmother. She was born 25 April 1817 in Germany. Marie married Johann Carl Beyer, and they had thirteen children:

1. Katherina Charlotte Beyer born 5 Nov 1837
2. Catherine Elisabeth Beyer born 1 Sept 1839
3. Martin Beyer born 4 Aug 1841
4. Wilhelm Beyer 12 Oct 1841
5. Nicholas Beyer born 1845
6. Maria Beyer Born 1848
7. Martin Beyer born 23 Jan 1846, died 20 Dec 1847
8. Dorothea Elisabeth Beyer born 6 Feb 1850, died 20 May 1853
9. Ludwig Beyer born 9 Jan 1852, died 12 Jan 1853
10. Martin Beyer born 9 Jan 1854, died d Dec 1857
11. Ludwig Beyer born 9 May 1856, died 24 July 1856
12. Martha Elisabeth Beyer born 11 Oct 1857, died 14 July 1861
13. August Beyer born 11 Jan 1860, died 24 April 1874

I have struggled to identify the parents of Maria and Karl Beyer, as no records have listed their parents’ names. I have not found birth or marriage records, and their death records omit parental information. However, the census records for Wehlheiden have been invaluable. The Hessian State Archives holds census records for Wehlheiden and Kirchditmold for 1834, 1846, 1849, 1854, 1855, 1858, 1861, and 1864. While the 1834 census lists only the head of household, I learned that I could order a full-year download of each census, which I have been doing over the past six months. These records have led me to discover several children who were born and likely passed away without other documentation surviving, and one of the census records revealed Maria’s parents’ names.

In the 1846 Wehlheiden Census I found Karl Beyer living with his wife Maria and five of their children Catherine, Christina, Maritn, Wilhelm, and Nicholas. Nicholas was not a child I had located in church records. Martin and Elisabeth Bohne also lived in the house with the Beyer family. I had seen this name in a couple of the other census records but in this record, it recorded that Martin and Elisabeth were the wife’s father and mother.

I was able to locate the burial records for Martin and Elisabeth.

According to the burial record Martin Bohne was born in Gudensberg in November 1774. He died on 5 July 1850. Martin’s burial record stats that he is the widow of Christina Nuhn and the spouse of Maria Elisabeth Velmar.

Maria Elisabeth Bohne born Velmer was born in 1782 and died 22 December 1853. She is the widow of Martin Bohne. Due to the record lose I have not located any birth or marriage record for Martin and Maria’s daughter Marie Elisabeth Bohne. The only record I have them listed as her parent’s is the 1846 Wehlheiden Census record. I was determined to locate additional records to locate parents’ information, and these census records have helped me fill in some gaps in my family tree. I still have a couple census records left that I am waiting for and cannot wait to see what more I will learn about my family.