Anna Maria Ratermann Woltering

 I've been told many times that you should start with a research question. My research question is where and when was Anna Maria Ratermann baptised.

What do we think we know? 

• She was born in Germany.
• She immigrated with 6 children to the United States on or around 1871
• She was buried from St. Rose Catholic Church on 4 April 1891
• Her death record from St. Rose Catholic Church states
• Her husband was Theodore Woltering
• Her maiden name was Ratermann
• She was born in Merzen, Hannover, Germany April 1819
• She died 2 April 1899 (location not specified)
• There is a commonly attached baptism record from Saint Johannes Roemisch
• Baptism 15 January 1820
• Birth 14 January 1820
• Altenberge, Westfalen, Germany

Familysearch.com. Belleville Diocese Death Record 1729-1956.

Problem: Either the baptism record attached is wrong or the death certificate is wrong. No other records are attached to support either one. The two baptismal sites are 190 miles apart.

Records to explore

• Baptism, confirmation and matrimony records from Merzen available on Matricula Online for Anna Maria and Theodore and for children that immigrated and, possibly, children that died prior to immigration
• 1880 Census
• Marriage records of children that immigrated with Anna Maria
• Naturalization records
• Land records
• Wills and probate

Over the next several posts, I will explore available records for each child to see what additional information these might provide. I anticipate some problems with reading the German handwriting and Latin words so I will need to explore available options to handle this.

Can you think of other records that might shed some light on the reference question? Please leave your comments below. Also, subscribe to this blog so you don't miss any of the updates.

Thanks for reading

        Elaine