The gentleman I hired to research the records of Helmershausen, Thuringia, Germany, has located the children of my 4th great-grandparents who apparently lived most (or all) of their lives in that village. As a little bit of “cousin bait” I will post a summary of what was located along with some thoughts on moving forward.

Johann Heinrich Derle and Dreißigacker, Regine

Johann was born 21 November 1781 in Helmershausen and died there on 25 June 1825. He was married on 15 July 1806  in Helmershausen to Regine Dreißigacker. She was born on 13 March 1784 Helmershausen.  The Derles had eight known children.

1. Sophia Elisabeth Derle–Born 21 September 1807 Helmershasuen
2. Anna Margaretha Derle–Born 29 May 1810 Helmershausen—her baptismal entry indicated she died in 1852.
3. Kaspar Adam Derle–Born 27 July 1812 Helmershausen—his baptismal entry indicated he died in 1874
4. Regine Derle–Born 25 December 1815 Helmershausen
5. Johanne Maria Derle–Born 30 September 1818 Helmershausen
6. Johann Heinrich Derle–Born 02 June 1821 Helmershausen and died 22 November 1821 Helmershausen
7. Maria Dorothea Derle–Born 06 December 1822 Helmershausen
8. Johannete Lisette Derle–Born 17 July 1825 Helmershausen

Every date with a location of Helmerhausen was obtained from the corresponding baptismal, marriage, or death record in the church. Johann’s death entry indicated he was survived by seven children.

Oldest daughter Sophia Elisabeth married Johann Georg Trautvetter in Wohlmuthausen in 1832. Nothing is known of the other six children who were alive when Johann died in 1825. Because Anna Margaretha and Kaspar Adam’s years of death are referred to in their baptismal entries, it is believed that they remained in the Helmershausen area. Sophia Elisabeth (Derle) Trautvetter and her family immigrated to Hancock County, Illinois, where several other members of the Trautvetter family settled.

Not Closely Related to Lewis

For a time it was believed that Sophia may have a sibling relationship to a Lewis Derle who settled near Dallas City, Illinois, in northern Hancock County, Illinois. Based upon the information obtained on Sophia Elisabeth’s siblings in Helmershausen that is no longer a conjecture. It is possible that Lewis is more distantly related to Sophia Elisabeth–perhaps so distant that it’s not really documentable. It is also possible that he is not related to her at all. Some last names are more common than one thinks.

Going Forward

At this point, I need to determine how I want the research to continue on Sophia Elisabeth’s family. My goal in having her siblings established was to determine if the Lewis Derle of Dallas City was her sibling. Now that it has been determined he is not, I need to decide what my goals are. In the interest of time and money, I am leaning towards finding out what I can about the siblings of Sophia Elisabeth from the Helmershausen records and stop at that point–instead of tracking down all the descendants. Taking a similar approach to her ancestors in Helmershausen may also be the way the rest of the research is conducted on her ancestors in Helmershausen. While I realize the validity of researching the entire extended family, that approach is (in my opinion) not necessarily warranted when the extant church records are complete and fairly clear–and my budget is not unlimited.