A VISIT TO HELFERSKIRCHEN

I learned originally about Helferskirchen on Find A Grave.com.  According to Find a Grave.com, the Assumption of Mary Church "was built in 930-959 as a fortress church".  "The present church was built in 1769" and "is considered one of the most beautiful baroque churches in Westerwald".

My husband and I drove into town and headed towards the Catholic Church -- Katholische Maria Himmelfahrt.  I was disappointed to find that the doors of the church were locked but that didn't stop me from exploring the church grounds and taking some photos.  Then to get a better feel of the area, we walked east of the church and saw some cows grazing in a pasture.  Walking a bit further in that direction, we discovered a darling little prayer chapel, hidden by some large trees.

Of course, we went in the chapel to see what was inside.  I wonder if I can find out the history of this little chapel.

I was amazed at how beautiful the area surrounding Helferskirchen is.  Okay, you know I need to show you one more photo!

WHY HELFERSKIRCHEN?

My 7th Great Grandfather Valentin Zirfas was born and died in Helferskirchen.  His daughter Anna Catharina Zirfas (my 6th Great Grandmother) was also born in Helferskirchen.  Collateral ancestors of the Hober and Zirfas family branch were born and died in Helferskirchen.  In addition, members of the Ramm family branch also lived in Helferskirchen.

Helferskirchen has a population of about 1100 people.  It is north of Wirges, northwest of Staudt and northeast of Dernbach.  Helferskirchen is 34.3 kilometers and 25 minutes from Koblenz. So it is an excellent place to start visiting my German ancestral home towns.

The Dilemma

For awhile now I have been contemplating including my research and stories of my German ancestors, beginning with my Grandma Theresa who was married to Grandpa Charlie in this blog.  Would that confuse people?  Maybe those people following the Irish ancestry don’t want to hear about the German ancestry.  What should I do?

          Well, about six weeks ago, I did encourage my son to start his own blog – not on genealogy – but on something that interested him.  I do believe that blogs need to be about your passions.  Well, he graduated with a degree in Creative Writing and his passion is fiction – books, movies, TV shows.  After giving him the advice that he needs to make the theme general enough so that he would have stuff to write about, I decided perhaps to follow my own advice.  

          So, from now on, I will be incorporating information about the Nebgens, the Homrich’s, the Simons, etc., along with the Sherlock’s and Chambers.  After all, the two families assimilated almost 100 years ago. 

Grandpa Charlie married Grandma Theresa on 23 March 1918 in Crown Point, Indiana.    Charlie Sherlock was 17 years old and perhaps was trying to be independent from his mother Bridget, stepfather Joseph and 5 year old brother Joseph.  Theresa Nebgen, on the other hand, was the youngest of 3 daughters.  Her oldest sister Helen had gotten married in 1917 to Albert Cedargreen.  I can’t tell whether her older sister Ann was already married in 1918 or was to be married shortly.  Theresa also had an older brother Emil who wasn’t married yet.  Needless, to say, whether it was young love or a chance to escape, Charlie and Theresa married in 1918.  Of course, I am sure that they were deeply disappointed when their parents told them they would have to live back with their own families for awhile.  Knowing my grandparents, I am sure that didn’t set well with them. 

          It is rather interesting that in the 1920 census, Theresa is listed as Theresa Sherlock and married while living with her parents, while her spouse Charlie was listed as “single” and he was living with his mother and step dad.  Fifty years later in March of 1968, we celebrated the 50^th Anniversary of Charlie and Theresa.  I was in the 7^th grade and remember the anniversary Mass celebrated at St. Genevieve’s Catholic Church in Panorama City, Los Angeles, California and the party that followed at Uncle Eddie’s and Aunt Dolores’ house.  Their 3 sons, daughter-in-laws, and 14 grandchildren and a few great grandchildren celebrated Grandpa Charlie’s and Grandma Theresa’s 50 years together. 

Note: Grandpa Charlie and Grandma Theresa are on the left in the above photo. My Dad, their son, Donald, is 2^nd to the far right.  The photo was taken in the Cocoanut Grove in Hollywood, California in 1946. 

Unrelated Note: For anyone who may be interested, my son’s blog in which he analyzes fiction is at alltherobots.wordpress.com.