MyHeritage.com

Check this website out. I signed up for the free version. We might want to do the annual membership.

http://www.myheritage.com/site-167953482/vassel

This is a press release about the website. I am finding that as we put our information out on various websites, many relatives contact me and help our family tree to grow.

NEW YORK, USA, LONDON, UK & TEL AVIV, Israel – August 26, 2011 -MyHeritage.com, the world’s largest online family network, today announced its continued rapid growth and the beta release of its new Family Graph API platform. Approaching 60 million registered users, MyHeritage.com is the leading online destination for families to explore their family history, share special moments and keep in touch. In order to help families better leverage their connections and relationships across mobile and web, MyHeritage.com is making its Family Graph API platform available to developers at www.familygraph.com in beta, and is running a competition for the creation of the best family app. 

I already have portions of our familytree on:
www.ancestry.com
rootsweb.ancestry.com
www.geneanet.org

Having our family tree out on the Internet is a great way to find cousins!

Fröbel information

Yesterday my son Bryce and I went to the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah where he helped me copy the book Stammtafel Fröbel, Middendorff, Langethal, Barop with my digital camera. I am very pleased to have this small book because it gives the names of the children of various of the Fröbel and related families, many with the birth and death dates. I am working on entering the information into my Legacy database, and will update my file on rootsweb.ancestry.com and on geneanet.org when I've finished entering. Here's pictures of the cover and first page.

Finding our Vassel ancestors

I began the quest to find the ancestors of my father, Bruno Vassel II, and my mother, Mary Erety Elmer Vassel, some 53 years ago during my teen years in Brazil.

On my father's side of the family, my grandmother Else Leist Vassel had two large pedigrees tracing the Vassel and Leist family lines back into the 1600s which she had taken to Brazil when she and my grandfather, Bruno Vassel I, moved there from Germany in 1922. I copied those charts in Brazil when I was 17 years old in 1958. They were written in old German Gothic script which I had not been trained to read. It amazes me, after many years of tracing the families from those charts, how helpful they have been in spite of my errors transcribing errors.

Another great help tracing the Vassel lines has been the two books my 1c1r, Klaus Vassel, wrote in the 1970s in Germany about the Vassel family and their spouses. He went to Caen, Normandy, France from Germany where he researched the Vassel direct line back to 1500, as well as doing research in Germany. These books are:

• Vassel, Klaus, Vassel family: Ahnenliste Vassel (Jens, Eick, Jörn), (Aachen, Germany : K. Vassel, c1974)
• Vassel, Klaus, Vassel family: Die Vassel aus Neuilly-le Malherbe: Department Calvados der Normandie - eine Bestandaufnahme, (Aachen : K. Vassel, c1972) 

Klaus Vassel found a study in Caen that had been done by René Dubourg in 1924 which traced the Vassel family from the early 1500s, when they were lesser nobility, into the 1600s as they became officers, jurors, administrators, businessmen, lawyers and farmers. The Vassel crest on the title of this blog was granted to Nicolas de Vassel, Sieur de Neuilly, Sieur de Long Buisson, Sieur de Fontenay in 1598. He was my 11th gg uncle.

I was very pleased to find that the Family History Department in Salt Lake City, Utah had filmed the René Dubourg study. I made a printed copy for our family. The source may be found at:

• Dubourg, René, Quelques Pages d'Histoire Locale: Les Vassel Seigneurs de Neuilly-le-Malherbe, Estrait de l'Annuaire de l'Association Normande (Année 1924) Congrès de Vernon (1923) (Caen, France: A. Mouville, Ozanne et Ct., 1924) FHL INTL Film 661894 Item 1. 

When several of us visited relatives in Germany in 2005, we were pleased to obtain a copy of the updated Die Vassel aus Neuilly-le-Malherbe, 2nd Ed. which Klaus Vassel did in 1986 with information on recent family events.

In recent years we have also found wonderful additional information about Vassel ancestors and the families they married into. Here is a list of some of the sources found:

• Koerner, Bernhard, Deutsches Geschlechterbuch : Genealogisches Handbuch bürgerlicher Familien, (Limburg an der Lahn : C.A. Starke, 1889- )  FHL International 943 D2dg.
• Deutsche Zentralstelle für Genealogie, Die Ahnenstammkartei des deutschen Volkes : Teil II, (Salt Lake City : Gefilmt durch The Genealogical Society of Utah, 1991-1992) FHL INTL film 1807415 item 8, file no. 1929. 
• http://www.fundkatalog.de/ - This website, Familienforschung, gives family trees for several of the families the Vassels married into including the Cotta and Klopstock families.
• Langensalza (Sachsen, Preußen). Stadtrath, Familienstammtafein 1379-1900 (Salt lake City : Gefilmt durch The Genealogical Society of Utah, 1987). These pedigree charts have led to over 90 surnames we tie into.
• E. Thomas Gutbier, Familien-Stammbaum (Der vorliegende Familien-Stammbaum ist von mir auf Grund selbstgefertigter Kirchenbuchs-Auszüge und andered genealogischen Unterlagen aufgestelt, was ich hiermet bescheinige. Langensalza, am 7.7.1933. Thomas Gutbier, Stadtarchiver i. R.) 
• Maier, Helmuth, Sindelfinger Familien: 188 Stammtafeln von 1500-1950 (Im Auftrag der Stadtverwaltung Sindelfingen Verlag Adolf Röhm Sindelfingen, 1962). 
• Geßner, Gerhard and Heinz Reise, Mitteldeutsche Familienkunde, (Neustadt/Aisch : Verlag Degener & Co., 1960-1992) Band III, Jahrgang II, Heft 1, Jan-Mar, 1970. 
• Orban Family Tree (http://andreorban.tripod.com/orban.html)
• Greiner, Gerhard, Der Schwabe Hans Greiner, 1465-1532, Familiengeschichte der Thüringer Greiner als genealogische Stammfolge über XI/XII Generationen, (Privatdruck 1995) vierte, neubearbeitete und erweiterte Auflage 1988, 412 Seiten.
• Gergard Greiner, Glas War Ihr Leben - Glas War Ihr Schicksal: Familiengeschichte und Lebenswerk Bedeutender Glasmachergeschlechter in Thüringen, (Altendorf bei Bamberg: D. Gräbner, 1996).  
• Greiner-Adam, Dr. Rudi, Der Schwabenhans und Seine Nachkommen: Die Gründer von Lauscha und Limbach, ([S.l.] : R. Greiner-Adam, 1997) FHL 929.243 G863g. 
• Andre Gressler, Gressler Ahnentafel (http://www.goldlauter.com/Gressler-Ahnen/index.html). 
• Kühnert, Herbert, II. Der "Schwabenhans" und seine nächsten Greiner-Nachkommen, vorwiegend in Lausch und Schmalenbuche, bis zur 1. Hälfte des 18. Jahrhunderts, Mitteldeutsche Familienkunde (Neustadt/Aisch : Verlag Degener & Co., 1960-1992) Band I, Jahrgang 7, Heft 1, Jan-Mar, 1966, pgs. 328-339. 
• Kühnert, Herbert und Wolfgand Huschke, Zur Genealogie der Glasmacherfamilie Greiner in Thüringen IV. Herkunft und nächste Nachkommen von Hans Greiner gen. Fichtelberter, Mitteldeutsche Familienkunde (Neustadt/Aisch : Verlag Degener & Co., 1960-1992) Band III, Jahrgang II, Heft 1, Jan-Mar, 1970, pgs. 1-13. 
• Aurbach, George Wilhelm, Aurbachisches Stamm - und Familienbuch aus Verschiedenen alten Schriften und Monumentis (Microfilm of the original: Langenslaza, 1748. FHL Intl. film 1608867, item 3). 
• Anne Frobeen, "Familie Frobeen," database and images, Familie Frobeen (http://www.annefrobeen.de/index.html). 
• Friedrich Froebel translated by Emilie Michaelis and H. Keatley Moore, Autobiography of Friedrich Froebel; PDF download, books.google.com  
• Kirchenbuch (Church Books) from many German towns.
• http://www.cegecal.org and http://www.geneabank.org. Through these two sources I have been able to access the French parish records for many villages in Normandy where our ancestors lived. I wrote to Le Cercle de Genealogie du Calvados and joined the genealogical society of Normandy. They gave me a password to access their searchable database on Geneabank.

I keep parts of our Vassel-Elmer database on three websites:

• rootsweb.ancestry.com
• www.geneanet.com 
• www.ancestry.com

Enough for today. Next time I will discuss the research we have done on my mother, Mary Erety Elmer's Mid-Atlantic and New England lines. 

Cari's Ancestors in Missouri

Today I added three adults and one child to new.familysearch from Cari's family lines in Missouri. Persons added:

J. F. Daniel was born about 1872 in Wayne, Missouri, United States. Another name for J. F. may have been Frank Daniel.
General Notes: 
1880 Census:
Possibly son of Wiley and Harriett Daniel,  1880 - Missouri > Wayne > Benton > District 183 > 32.
Eight years old, Frank, b. 1872 MO
1880 Census:
Possibly son of Kibble and Martha Daniel, 1880- Missouri > Wayne > Benton > District 183 > 10
Eight years old, James, b. 1872 MO
1900 Census: 
J. F. Daniel, 1900, Chouteau, Madison, Illinois, United States. Servant in household.

J. F. married Laura L. Briar on 19 Mar 1903 in Greenville, Wayne, Missouri, United States. Laura
was born on 6 Jun 1874 in Williamsville, Wayne, Missouri, United States, and died on 2 Apr 1904 in Wayne, Missouri, United States at age 29, and was buried in Daniel Cemetery, Wayne, Missouri, United States. http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wcmc/daniel_cemetery.html

I have not figured out yet who J. F. Daniel's parents were. However, since his wife was buried in the Daniel Cemetery in Wayne County, Missouri I imagine he is related to William Daniel and Sarah Ann Turner, who are Cari's 2 gg uncle and aunt. More work needed to figure out the relationship.

----------------------
The other family I worked on was:
John Daniel, son of James Ellis Daniel and Jane Williams, was born on 6 Dec 1849 in Benton, Wayne, Missouri, United States.
John married Mary Emily Baird on 2 May 1869 in Ripley, Missouri, United States. Mary was born on 9 Oct 1846 in Potosi, Breton Twp., Washington, Missouri and died on 26 Jan 1893 in Piedmont, Wayne, Missouri, United States at age 46.
They had a son: Rody.
Rody Daniel was born on 17 Jun 1870 in Wayne, Missouri, United States, died in 1877 in Piedmont, Wayne, Missouri, United States at age 7, and was buried in Daniel Cemetery, Wayne, Missouri. See his tombstone at:
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~wcmc/daniel_cemetery/daniel_rody.JPG

John Daniel and Mary Emily Baird are Cari's great aunt and uncle. Their son Rody is Cari's 1c2r.

Translating portions of book "Vassel family: Die Vassel aus Neuilly-le Malherbe"

I am working on the biography of Dieter Vassel and want to include information about his - and our - ancestors from Germany. Klaus Vassel's book Vassel family: Die Vassel aus Neuilly-le Malherbe written in German has lots of interesting information on various of our ancestors. Therefore, I am using Google-Translate to translate some of the book into English. Here's what I have done so far:

Stanislas Vassel – Translation

This is a translation of the text from Klaus Vassel’s book Vassel family: Die Vassel aus Neuilly-le Malherbe: Department Calvados der Normandie ... eine Bestandaufnahme, (Aachen : K. Vassel, c1972) FHL 929.273 Va447v, p. 16-20. 

I am typing the test into Word, using Google Translate to do the translation and then editing the English to improve the flow of the text.

GERMAN: geboren 11. 8. 1809 in Caen, gestorben 26. 4. 1846 in der Charité in Berlin

ENGLISH: born 11 Aug  1809 in Caen, died 26 April 1846 in the Charité  [hospital] in Berlin

GERMAN: Sohn von Louis Marin Jacques Vassel – siehe oben –

ENGLISH: Son of Louis Marin Jacques Vassel - see above –

GERMAN: Er kam an einem Donnerstag um 10 Uhr abends in der Rue St. Martin, Division du Nord, zur Welt (Nr. 588 der Register 1809 der Stadt Caen.)

ENGLISH: He came into the world on a Thursday at 10 clock in the evening in the Rue St. Martin, Division North, (No. 588 of the register in 1809 the city of Caen.)

GERMAN: Am 12 Aug 1809 wurde er in der Pfarrei St. Etienne katholisch getauft, Paten waren sein Groβvater Jean Jacques François Clément Bardel, ein Buchdrucker, und seine Urgroβmutter Marie Duthot, Witwe des Philippe Vassel (3). Obwohl er nach den standesamtlichen und kirchlichen Urkunden nur den Vornamen Stanislas bekam, wurde er auch Henri Antoine Stanislas genannt.

ENGLISH: : On 12 Aug 1809 he was baptized a Catholic in the parish of St. Etienne. His godparents were his grandfather Jean Jacques François Clément  Bardel, a printer, and his great grandmother Marie Duthot, widow of Philippe Vassel (3). Although only the first name Stanislas appears in the church and civil registrations, his full name was Henri Antoine Stanislas Vassel. 

Greiner - Fröbel family information and history

Our Greiner and Fröbel ancestors have a very interesting history. We connect into the Fröbel family through Johanna Sophie Dorothea Fröbel who married Johann Gotthelf Greiner who was famous in Europe for making porcelain. This picture is of their five sons, also noted porcelain makers:

The two on the left in the picture are our 4th great grandparents. The daughter of  Daniel, on the far left in the picture, was Johannette Friedericke Sophie Greiner. She married her first cousin, Christian Friedrich Traugott Greiner, on 5 Dec 1816 in Steinheid, Sachsen-Meiningen, Thuringen, Germany. He was the son of  Johann Friedemann Greiner, second from the left in the picture. One of the 10 children of the marriage of the two first cousins, Christian and Johannette, was Mathilde Clotilda Adelheida Greiner. She married Georg Heinrich Theodor Libermann on 5 Dec 1848 in Großbreitenbach, Schwarzburg-Sonderhausen, Thüringen, Germany. Mathilda (Greiner) Liebermann is our 2nd gg mother.

The mother of the 5 sons, Johanna Sophie Dorothea Fröbel who married Johann Gotthelf Greiner, had a brother named Johann Jakob Fröbel (born 28 Jan 1730 in Neuhaus Am Rennweg, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Thuringen, Germany). He was a Lutheran pastor and married Jakobine Eleonore Friderika Hoffmann (b. 24 Mar 1744 in Singen, Thüringen, Germany) on 22 May 1764 in Elxleben, Ilm-Kreis, Thüringen, Germany. Their youngest of 6 children was Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel (b. 21 Apr 1782 in Oberweißbach, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Thüringen, Germany.) Friedrich developed the first kindergarden! Amazing!!! He loved children, did not like the firm style of German schooling of his day, and felt children should laugh and play in a garden of flowers, trees, birds and sunshine. Here is a timeline of his life:
http://www.froebelweb.org/webline.html

This website is for the Oberweissbach Church where Friedrich Wilhelm August Froebel was baptized:
http://www.ozpod.com/gallery/church.html  There is a link to more information about him.

Johannes Froebel-Parker, who also descends from Friedrich wrote "a book for children which tells how kindergarten began and what it was meant to be." The Vassel Family Organization financed the purchase of this precious book which you can enjoy at the home of Mary Vassel Hill in American Fork, Utah.
http://www.firstkindergarten.com/bios.html

Here is a link to the autobiography of Friedrich Wilhelm August Fröbel on google books:
http://tinyurl.com/3buvd5g
How exciting it is to discover more about the lives of these wonderful ancestors!

Elisabeth Vassel Anderson's comments on our genealogy

Hi Family,

See Aunt Marety's new blog on the link below. 

She wrote, among other things:

Mary Vassel Hill is updating the Vassel-Elmer database of about 32,500 persons on a daily basis.

Astounding the work she has done and is doing! And what an amazing family we come from - on so many different family lines.  What a heritage!

The Greiner Family comes into our lineage from the grandmother of my father's mother -- my grandmother Oma Vassel -- for whom I am named: Elisabeth Leist Vassel.

Her grandmother was Mathilde Clotilda Adelheida Greiner. Remember the porceline tea cup Oma showed us in Brazil which she kept on her bookshelf in her bedroom, with 4 long "strange-to-us" names carefully painted in gold on the lovely decorated cup?  

 Mathilde Clotilda Adelheida Greiner

 Her father was one of the famous 5 Greiner  brothers.  Aunt Marety mentions the fascinating story about their maternal ancestors, a Jewish family connection, Martin Luther, and her Catholic-priest-turned-Protestant "pioneer" minister husband!!

 ... 1533 he became the first Protestant minister in Stadtilm. He married a Jewish convert in 1530 in the town of Ichtershausen. When she was baptized Martin Luther was her godparent. Amazing! We do not know her Jewish family name. She took the name "Christine" when she was baptized.

Imagine - these people's genes contribute to what your genetics are and culturally how you were raised and who you are!

Love,  mom / Elisabeth

Worked all day on Fröbel ancestors

I worked all day entering Fröbel family members into Legacy. Johanna Sophie Dorothea Fröbel, born 7 Dec 1736 in Neuhaus Am Rennweg, a town near Schwarzburg, Thüringen, Germany, married our 5th gg father, Johann Gotthelf Greiner, on 24 Sep 1754 in Steinheid, Thüringen, Germany. They were the parents of the 5 famous Greiner brothers two of whom are our 4th gg fathers because their children, first cousins, married and are our 3rd gg parents. Johanna Sophie Dorothea Fröbel's pedigree goes back to Volckmar Frobenius (the Latin version of Fröbel) who was born in 1470 in Grosshettstedt, Schwarzburg-Rudolstadt, Thüringen, Germany. Volckmar was a Catholic priest who became a friend of Martin Luther, and in 1533 he became the first Protestant minister in Stadtilm. He married a Jewish convert in 1530 in the town of Ichtershausen. When she was baptized Martin Luther was her godparent. Amazing! We are not sure of her Jewish family name, although one source says it was Mandel. I checked on http://www.jewishgen.org/jgff/ and Mandel is a known Jewish name. She took the name "Christine" when she was baptized. She is our 11th great grandmother! They had at least five children, and we descend from their son Johannes Frobenius. I submitted about 60 of these people today into new.familysearch. I also put a copy of the information on:
http://wc.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi?op=GET&db=vassel-elmer&id=I19639

Purpose of Vassel Family Organization blog

This blog has been created to share genealogy research efforts in the Vassel Family Organization. Several projects are being worked on as of June, 2014:

• Mary Vassel Hill is updating the Vassel-Elmer database of about 46,500 persons on a daily basis. She is coordinating each person with www.familysearch.org and doing research on persons with incomplete information.
• Cari Edwards Vassel is building the Edwards-Kessinger-Short database and finding many new connections. She is also coordinating her information with www.familysearch.
• Mary Vassel Hill has completed a personal history of Dieter Vassel and his wife, Lottie Kipke Vassel. Dieter was Vera Vassel Schlofmann's father and Mary's uncle.
• Bruno and Cari Vassel were serving in the Jordan River LDS temple presidency in 2011. They are now serving the LDS Church in Frankfurt, Germany and are very busy there.