I began my search for information on my Sichard grandparents (William Sichard and Anna Bangert) at the Family History Library at Salt Lake City in 1994. I found immigration index cards for them

Wilhelm Alexander Sichard was born on 13 Mar 1876 possibly in or near Sangerhausen, Saxony, Germany. His father was also named Wilhelm He worked as a miller in "Weslar". At the age of 18, along with his 12¼ year old sister, Anna, he departed Bremen on 24 Nov 1894 on the ship Braunschweig and arrived in Baltimore on 10 Dec 1894. They were going to join their aunt at 918 Druid Hill Avenue, Baltimore. He paid for his passage and had $3.00 when he arrived. The aunt paid for Anna's passage. His sisters Martha and Louise and brother Paul also immigrated to Baltimore. Sister Anna married Adolph Heinrich about 1908 and became known as "aunt Tante" to the Sichard children. I don’t know Wilhelm’s aunt’s name.

In 1995 I had found a copy of the manifest of the ship on which Anna "Bengert" sailed to the US in March 1898. From a close look at the manifest, I decided that her place of origin was Breunigweiler, (Broy´-nik-vyler) not Breinengweiler as was written on the immigration index card which I had found in 1994. The ship’s manifest also listed a Wilhelm "Bengert", age 25, who was a US resident returning to his home. At the time, I considered that to be a coincidence. I also found a book that said that Breunigweiler was a Lutheran parish and that records existed from 1702.

In 1996 I hoped to find some records from Breunigweiler. I found more than that. There was a book in the library, printed in Heidelberg in 1968, "Sippersfeld - Pfrimmerhof und Breunigweiler Ein Heimatbuch Herausgegeben von Rudolph Gillmann, Pfarrer i.R.". It is a large volume of about 450 pages detailing the history of a small area in the present German state of Rheinland Pfalz. (Sippersfeld and Breunigweiler are only about 2 miles apart). Most parish records were kept in Sippersfeld, the largest town within a few kilometers. Only from 1763 to 1780 did Breunigweiler keep its own records. Rudolph Gillmann was the retired pastor.

Imagine my surprise when I read the following on page 207 in a section about people who had left the village.

Which is translated:

I made copies of several pages from the book so that I could study them after returning home. (We only had two days in Salt Lake City.) The library also had microfilms of the parish records going back to 1702. I scanned them looking for "Bangert" and "Thielmann", and made copies of several pages.

Several facts which contradict family tradition have become apparent from my study:

Anna’s surname is definitely Bangert - not Bankert. The book includes a paragraph where it discusses the origin of the family name. It states that the name most certainly does not come from "Bankert" (which is "illegitimate child" in English), but probably is derived from "Baumgarten" ("orchard" in English).

Anna’s birthdate is 25 January 1877, not 26 January. (Verified from her birth/baptism registration.)

Anna’s mother was named Jakobina not Philippina.

Anna’s brother, Wilhelm, had emigrated to Baltimore earlier, and when he was 25, apparently went back to Germany and brought his sister to Baltimore. Her passage was paid by an uncle. I discovered that two uncles had moved to Baltimore earlier - Peter and Philip Tilman (Thielmann in Germany). They were younger brothers of Anna’s mother. They were shoemakers in Baltimore.

Why do the Breunigweiler parish records only go back to 1702? Why was so much said about the Bangert family in Gillmann’s book?

Sippersfeld is thought to have been founded around 750 - 800. Breunigweiler may also be that old, but it is first mentioned in a document from 1130. The village stood until the late 1600s. It had gone through hard times during the 30 Years’ war (1618 - 1648). Later, however, French forces of Louis XIV under General Mélac destroyed the villages and cities of the Rhineland Palatinate (Pfalz) area under a scorched earth policy of military operations. In the early 1700s, the village was re-established with 15 families. Gillmann’s book lists stipulations for the settling families, their land holdings, names, and other facts. (Unfortunately, where these families came from is unknown.)

One family was that of Johann Peter Bangert. He was a tailor by profession and had a single story house and several acres of fields, pasture, and garden. He had three sons. Johann, born about 1695 and confirmed in 1709, Johann Paul, born about 1703 and confirmed in 1717 (I have a copy of their confirmation record), and Johann Peter born in 1710.

The Tax roll of 1824 lists Heinrich Bangert, farmer, who owed a yearly tax on his house, lands, and business of 6 fl (florin ?), 38 kr (kroner ?).

1781 - 199
1802 - 301
1825 - 381
1828 - 464
1835 - 315
1885 - 351
1895 - 297
1910 - 304
1959 - 321
1961 - 287
1996 - 415

In 1802 there were 251 Lutheran, 13 German Reformed, 14 Catholic, and 23 Jewish citizens in Breunigweiler.

Anna Bangert was baptized in the school house on 11 February 1877. I would assume that she went to school here, also.

Ingesamt 111 Familiennamen mit Vornamen

These Bangert cousins would most likely be descendants of Wilhelm Bangert, Anna’s uncle, since her only brother also emigrated to the United States.

(When Rudolph Gillmann was finishing his book in 1966 - 1968, I was living in Bitburg, Germany, a half day’s drive from Breunigweiler!)

Many old documents still exist and are available on microfilm. The oldest records were simply hand written in a ledger book kept at the parish office in Sippersfeld. These oldest records include the confirmation registrations from the early 1700s. They are simply a list of boys names by year. I have a copy of the pages showing confirmations from 1702 to 1728. These pages list Joh. Bangert, J. Paul Bangert, and Joh. Pet. Bangert. Later, confirmations were written in a specially printed book with columns for writing in names, birth dates, parents names, where they lived, where confirmed, religious qualification, etc. I have copies of the pages listing the confirmations of Anna’s parents.

Other books from the 1800s were printed with registration information for baptisms, marriages, and burials. I am including the documents for Anna’s baptism, her parents’ marriage, and her grandfather’s burial.

German handwriting is considerably different from English, as is obvious from looking at these documents. This has made it quite a challenge trying to read them. Sometimes, however, names were written in English handwriting to make them stand out.

Also among the older records were genealogical charts of the parish families. These are extremely hard to read as they are scribbled all over the page and use abbreviations. I found three charts for the Bangert family and one chart for the Thielmann. One chart shows the Bangert lineage from Johann Peter [(J) Pet] born in the mid 1600s to Philipp Heinrich [Ph Hr] born in 1806 and confirmed [cf] in 1821. The father of Philipp Heinrich (1806) is listed as either Ph Hr or Joh Hr. This Philipp or Johann Heinrich is listed in both charts as son of Phil. This Phil (top name on the first chart - probably born in mid 1700s) I assume to be the son of J. Paul on the second chart, but the relationship is not apparent as a generation appears to be missing on that chart. Further study of the microfilms may clear up some of these problems.

The third genealogical chart shows the Bangert lineage starting from Philipp Heinrich (born in 1806) and going down to Anna (1877) and five of her siblings. In it, Philipp Heinrich is simply listed as S. v Hr (son of Heinrich).

I only found one chart for the Thielmann family - on page 275 of the register. It shows three generations before Anna. On the left, it registers the marriage of Peter Thielmann and Elisabetha Schreiber in 1842, and on the right it lists their children - Jakobina (1846), Peter (1849), and Philipp (1853). A note written under Peter Thielmann says, "born 1815 son of Jakob… and …Margaretha Knapp who died in 1873 at the age of 79 years" The note "in Amer" is written over Pet and Phil. By this time, they had emigrated to America. In fact, I believe that Philipp arrived in Baltimore on the vessel "Baltimore" on 19 Jun 1869, and I may be able to verify that in the future if a copy of the ship’s passenger list is still available.

Anna had a brother and five sisters.

She also had several cousins in Germany and in the United States. She had at least three uncles.

Her Mother had two brothers, Peter and Philipp.

Peter Thielmann (Dec 1849) and his wife Elizabeth (Feb 1851) had five children.

Philipp Thielmann (Jun 1853) and his wife Fannie (May 1858) had at least eight children.

Her father - Johannes (4 Feb 1846) - apparently had five brothers and a sister.

Philipp (1835), Johann (1836), Valentin (1841), Philipp Heinrich (1844), and Margaretha (1849-1871) are mentioned on a parish genealogical chart, but I have not yet seen their names elsewhere.

Wilhelm (1838) lived in Breunigweiler. He and his second wife, Friederika Schneider, had seven children (that I know of).

Jakob and Johannes are on this honor roll of World War I dead (left). Johann’s name is the second one down on the memorial which stands at the Breunigweiler cemetery, while Jakob’s name is at the bottom. To us who are Anna’s grandchildren, they are first cousins twice removed.

Rudolf Gehrmann
geb. 21. 2. 1892, gef. 2. 11. 1914 bei Wytschaete (Westflandern)

Johannes Bangert
geb. 13. 1. 1887, verm. 1914, vermutlich in den Vogesen

Friedrich Müller
geb. 11. 2. 1888, gef. 15. 3. 1915 bei St. Eloi (Westflandern)

Johann Wilhelm Müller
geb. 23. 6. 1894, gef. 15. 3. 1915 bei St. Eloi (Westflandern)

Albert Naumer
geb. 16. 6. 1893, verst. 7. 6. 1915, nach Verwundung, im Lazarett zu Suwalki (Polen)

Ludwig Deutschle
geb. 24. 2. 1892, gef. 7. 11. 1915 bei Auchy (b. Lille, (Nordfrankreich)

August Enders
geb. 18. 8. 1884, gef. 1916 bei Wingles (b. Lens, Nordfrankreich)

Helmut Lehmann
geb. 26. 11. 1891, gef. 1916 bei Verdun

Josef Küchler
geb. 22. 8. 1894, gef. 12. 7. 1917 bei Neuville (b. Arras, Nordfrankreich)

Heinrich Gehrmann
geb. 15. 2. 1881, gef. 21. 8. 1918 bei Péronne a.d. Somme (Frankreich)

Jakob Bangert
geb. 15. 9. 1880, verst. 1918, nach Verwundung, in Metz

Note: The honor roll lists Jakob’s birthday as 15 September 1880, but his baptismal certificate of 3 October 1880 lists the birth date as 19 September 1880.

Here are some samples of the baptismal, wedding, and burial documents that I found.

At the age of 21, Anna departed Bremen on 17 March 1898 on the ship Roland and arrived in Baltimore on 30 March 1898. She had $20.00 when she arrived. Her passage was paid by an uncle named Tilman with whom she was going to live in Baltimore. We now know that she had two uncles in Baltimore - Peter and Philip Tilman. (Supposedly, her uncle was buried in Prospect Hill Cemetery, Towson, MD. However, an official of the cemetery said that no one named Tilman is buried there.) Since the ship’s manifest lists a Wilhelm Bangert, I assume that she was escorted by her brother who had emigrated to the United States earlier.

After her arrival, most documents -- at least through 1920 - refer to her as "Annie".

"William Sichardt" and "Annie Bangard" were issued a marriage license on 23 Nov 1899. They were married on 26 Nov 1899 by Rev. Marcus Bachmann, pastor of St. Paul's Evangelical German Reformed church. The Minister's Certificate was filed on 7 Dec 1899, and had a name correction to "Annie Bangert", which I now know is the correct last name.

Their first son, William, was born on 6 Apr 1900.

      He died on 17 Jun 1905 of "diphtheric croup" after two days of sickness.

Their first daughter, Elsie Emma, was born on 6 Nov 1901.

      She died on 14 Oct 1902 of "teething" and "infantile atrophy" of three months duration.

Their second daughter, Emma Anna Marie, was born on 9 Sep 1903.

      She died on 20 Feb 1990.

Their second and third sons (twins) Harry William Moritz and Herman Paul were born on 16 Jun 1906.

      Harry died on 2 Dec 1968.

      Herman died on 27 May 1991.

Their third daughter, Rose Martha Anna Louise was born on 17 Jan 1910.

      She died on 16 Jan 1991.

Their fourth daughter, Margaret, was born on 6 Dec 1914.

      She died on 18 Aug 1988.

Their Fifth and sixth daughters (twins) Dorothy and Daisy B. K. were born on 31 Mar 1919.

      Dorothy died on 23 Dec 1919 of "acute Brights disease" of three weeks duration and "Dropsy & Genl. Weakening" of 5 days duration.

      Daisy died on 24 Mar 1920 of "... teething & bronchitis Wt. 7 pounds".

Their fourth son, Robert William Henry was born on 18 Feb 1922.

The four children who died in infancy are buried in a unmarked grave in Baltimore's Loudon Park Cemetery (plot K-80) with some of the Heinrich family. The library in Salt Lake City also has the Loudon Park records.

There are, in fact, no markers at all on lot 80. Who is Henry Vonderheide, the first person, and only adult, buried in lot K80N½ ?

Later in 1920, they moved to the farm on Irish Avenue in Monkton, MD. Wilhelm's brother Paul and sisters Martha and Louise and their families moved to Michigan about the same time.

In 1910, when they were living at 2017 Clifton Avenue, their next door neighbors at 2019 were Wilhelm’s sister Anna and her husband Adolph Heinrich. In fact, the 1910 census says that Adolph (age 33) and Anna Sichard Heinrich (age 27) had been married 2 years and were living there along with a daughter Margareth (6 years old) and son Erwin (2 months old). The census also states (1) that Anna Heinrich was the mother of three children, two of which were still alive, and (2) that Adolph had a previous marriage, and (3) Adolph was a wagon driver for a steam laundry. The Heinrichs also remained in Maryland after 1920. [Erwin Heinrich was born 14 Feb 1910, and died in 1969.]

William Sichard died on 2 Feb 1947 of "Heart disease, coronary occlusion - sudden".

Anna Sichard died on 18 Nov 1968 of "bilateral lobar pneumonia, congestive heart failure, and generalized arteriosclerosis".

William and Anna are buried in Western Cemetery (section Park, plot 97) in Baltimore.

Anna Sichard has been referred to by many different surname variations. I have seen the following:

Bengert      Immigration index card (1898)       Ship manifest (1898)

Bangard     Record of marriages (1899)

Bangert      Record of marriages (1899)       Daisy's death cert. (1920)

Banit           Elsie's birth certificate (1901)

Bankard     Dorothy's and Daisy's birth certs. (1919)      Dorothy's death cert. (1919)

Bankerd    William's death cert. (1905)

Bankert     Wilhelm's death cert. & obituary (1947)        Anna's death cert. & funeral card (1968)

I have now chosen to use "Bangert" since it is the earliest recorded version. (The parish records in Breunigweiler, Germany, go back 300 years for the Bangert family.)

"Sichard" is also sometimes spelled "Sichardt". (e.g. marriage registration, 1899; William’s death certificate, 1905)

It is spelled "Sichartt" on Elsie’s birth certificate, and "Sichart" on Dorothy’s and Daisy’s birth certificates.

One of the reference books that I have seen explains that exact spelling of names has not been too important in Germany as long as the pronunciation was reasonable. This has resulted in a wide variation in the spelling of German names.

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