Hello,
I was told that my husband's great uncle Wilhelm was killed in World War I. When I found his birth records he was born in 1875. I thought that was a bit old for dying in WWI... 39?! Anyway, I remembered seeing a record of a Wilhelm Jesse on Ellis Island. I checked and he gives his age as 33years and 3 months in 1908......exactly the age that my husband's great uncle would be ...to the month! His place of origin: Rostock! And that is where our Jesse family was living in 1908! What am I to think? Is there some way that I can determine if this Wilhelm Jesse is the same as our Wilhelm Jesse or just some weird coincidence? I searched the Hamburg list and did not find any Wilhelm there, although the Ellis Island record says that is where he came from.
Might he have returned to Germany and still died in the war? Might there be a naturalization record that might give a full birthdate and even a full name? Any suggestions on how to proceed?
Carola Jesse
familyjesse@sbcglobal.net
familyjesse schrieb:
Hello,
I was told that my husband's great uncle Wilhelm was killed in World War I.
When I found his birth records he was born in 1875. I thought that was a
bit old for dying in WWI... 39?! Anyway, I remembered seeing a record of a
Wilhelm Jesse on Ellis Island. I checked and he gives his age as 33years
and 3 months in 1908......exactly the age that my husband's great uncle
would be ...to the month! His place of origin: Rostock! And that is where
our Jesse family was living in 1908! What am I to think? Is there some
way that I can determine if this Wilhelm Jesse is the same as our Wilhelm
Jesse or just some weird coincidence? I searched the Hamburg list and did
not find any Wilhelm there, although the Ellis Island record says that is
where he came from.
Here it could help looking through the address-books year-by-year. If the Wilhlem
Jesse from 1906 disappears out of the register after 1908 the probability that
this one is the emmigrated one. Wilhelm is on the other side not to seldom, so
one cannot exclude two Wilhelm Jesse born the same month, same region.
Might he have returned to Germany and still died in the war? Might there be
a naturalization record that might give a full birthdate and even a full
name? Any suggestions on how to proceed?
There is a possibilty writing to the:
DEUTSCHE DIENSTELLE (Wehrmachtauskunftstelle)
Eichborndamm 167 - 209
12167 Berlin
They are the official institution to gather the dates of soldiers and give answer
to relatives and other legitimated people. They can tell you, what has become of
your Wilhelm Jesse, born 1875 at M�nchehangen or Rostock. That would clear the
identity of the person. It would not clear, if he meanwhile had stayed some time
in the USA. Don't be upset bei the title of that administration, "Wehrmacht"
doesn't exist anymore, it is simply the archive-name and a very good help for
genealogist clearing up the fate of soldiers in action World War I and II. There
will be some fees, I don't now exactly about the amount.
Good luck and with kind regards Hans Peter Albers
Another possibility is the "Krankenbuchlager Berlin". They keep records of any soldier that was sick, injured or wounded. In the case of my grandfather the "Deutsche Dienststelle (WASt) " had no record on him for WWI or WWII. The Krankenbuchlager was able to give me a complete chronologie of his WWI military service from enlistment to discharge. The cost for their research was DM40.- at the time (2001).
Krankenbuchlager Berlin
Wattstraße 11-13
13355 Berlin