The "Brick Wall" has weakened. BLIESEMER to BLISSMER WELCOME......... FAMILY TREES Be sure to sign our GUESTBOOK Site URL: http://freepages.family.rootsweb.com/~blissmer
From the Fehmarn Island, Germany to Calumet City, Illinois.
all family, all friends, and all who are interested in a challenging tale of the famous genealogical wonder,
"The Brick Wall". Our American BLISSMER name was no different from thousands of other families performing research. The ancestors had chosen to be clever and elusive, and American clues were non-existent. But neither did they think that anyone would be interested in finding them 140 years later. In this case, a small fragmented piece of information, combined with sheer luck, poked a hole in the wall.
The "American Blissmer" history, as we know it, went rather well. In 2001, a clever cousin, with a lot of the data for the original 9 living children, got me hooked. With much work to follow, we were able to generate the American Blissmer Family Tree, with maybe 80% of the family and descendents.
THE PROBLEM:
Ancestors were the problem. And the frustration, the aggravation, the headaches, and the impending insanity. The proverbial needle-in-a-haystack.
The individuals were my Grandfather, HEINRICH BLISSMER, and my Grandmother, DORA LANGBEHN. From Germany. Period. Both of them died decades before I was born.
Yes, this is all we knew to begin searching an entire country for them. Neither Henry nor Dora had left any clues as to their parents names, the names of any siblings, or their location in Germany.
Research began to produce names ..... lots of names. But there was absolutely NO clue that could associate them with any particular family or location. More names appeared, and the list continued to grow, but all remained as "speculation" in several areas of Germany. The obvious choice to chase Blissmer even resulted in contact with a living Blissmer in Germany. Interested, and applying a great deal of effort on their part, a nice German Blissmer Tree took shape, with about 45 names. Tantalizing gaps were spots where we thought Henry may fit. Where was that elusive clue that would pinpoint a connection?
THE CIRCLE NARROWS
Spelling changes were never discounted. 16 varieties to be exact. Finally, a database of the Fehmarn Island in Germany turns up a HEINRICH BLIESEMER, with an assumed match of the birth date. His father is a Marcus Casper BLIESMER. A spelling change already! There are 9 children in the family. This Heinrich comes to the top of the list, but I am still not convinced this is MY Heinrich. Other data is possible, and more clues are necessary.
The LANGBEHN name is also there. But again, there are many Langbehn with a variety of given names, and it was not possible to put our Dora into a specific family. Henry and Dora were married in the USA, not Germany. A passenger list indicates that Dora traveled to America, alone, in 1881. None of the USA records provided the specific information we needed. Fehmarn data was well observed, but that vital clue was still missing.
USA HELP
A referral led me to the South Suburban Genealogical and Historical Society in Hazel Crest, Illinois. In providing much assistance for my needs in Calumet City, Illinois, SSGHS also had church records. The Blissmer church had been located. Some baptism, marriage, and death records appeared. We already knew most information about these events, but now had the original German church record.
But the baptism records became interesting. Other names were listed as God-Parents. Was another Blissmer name a sister of Heinrich, or another relation? Could other Langbehn's be siblings of Dora, or otherwise related? There were still too many families with similiar names. Dangling threads would not permit them to all come together.
But one other name caught my eye. The name of WULF. I had seen the Wulf name on Fehmarn. Now here it is, on a church record in Calumet City, Illinois, beside Blissmer? It became another avenue to search, but no positive results. With 3 family names in the same USA location, this had to be more than coincidental, but where was the clue? What was I missing?
THE MAGIC MOMENT
As it happens, research became sidetracked for other matters. There was always thinking, always speculating, and always wondering, but not the applied action for research. There was also some laziness which comes from frustration. What's that??
Until October 2004. An e-mail came in, with the subject "Langbehn". A person was searching, and had come across a note I had posted regarding Dora. He simply wanted to refer me to the Fehmarn database, because it had Langbehn names (which I already knew).
But this kind sole, a stranger taking a moment of his time to share an idea, also included an incredible statement. His Great-Grandfather WULF, from Fehmarn, had married a LANGBEHN, and they lived in Calumet City, Illinois.
WULF? LANGBEHN? BLIESEMER? FEHMARN? CALUMET CITY?
BINGO !!!!!
The bells really started ringing now. What a startling and magnificient moment. The mails started flying to share the uncanny information, and put the pieces together. The specific Langbehn and Wulf family was identified. Seeing the name Wulf on a Blissmer/Langbehn baptism record was such a tiny fragment, yet became so vital. All the information had been right there, but here was "the clue" to help pinpoint all the specific people involved ..... 3 families from Germany, together in America.
The stranger, himself amazed with the turn of events, became a distant relative via 2 Langbehn sisters from the 1860's. Calumet City was also a stumbling block to his own research. But he was soon overwhelmed with data, as having names, I was able to locate tons of information for his Wulf/Langbehn in Illinois. Both trails are hot, and it would be nice to identify further living descendants.
THANK YOU, Mr. Wolf, (new spelling again) for that moment of your time.
A text format presentation with annotations.
BLIESMER-BLIESEMER A Bliesmer-Bliesemer Family from the Fehmarn Island, Germany, which leads to the American Blissmer Family History. Connections to Langbehn. LANGBEHN FAMILY Langbehn Family on the Fehmarn Island, Germany, with connections to Blissmer and Wulf, and to USA. WULF FAMILY Wulf Family on the Fehmarn Island, Germany, with connections to Langbehn, and to USA. BLISSMER FAMILY Family history of the American name Blissmer (1880-Present). Now, BLIESEMER ancestors to 1750. Surnames, and research links. FEHMARN GENEALOGY Excellent family histories from the Fehmarn Island, Germany, Church parishes. Surnames galore. Cemeteries. Queries. USA. A superb presentation, over 140,000 names, and still growing. PICTURE REFERENCE Several photos and maps depicting the characteristics of Fehmarn, and our ancestral village. NEW: 2006....a visit to the Fehmarn Island. GERMAN CENSUS A database of partial Schleswig-Holstein census. Great on-line searching. Sprechen German or English.