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The Family

This website consists of family history information about the Albach family of Burkhardsfelden and Grimsby. Peter and Catherine Albach and their seven daughters left the village of Burkhardsfelden in the Grand Duchy of Hesse and moved to Grimsby, Lincolnshire, England in 1853. Burkhardsfelden became part of Prussia in 1867 then part of the German state in 1871. Today Hesse is a federal state within the Federal Republic of Germany. The family had a Hessian passport that was issued to them at Darmstadt on 25th April 1853. The passport says it was:-

"Valid for one year in the name of His Royal Highness The Grand Duke of Hesse and The Rhine"

and was issued to:-

"Johann Peter Albach, Builder, of Burkhardsfelden, who, in order to carry out his business there, is desirous of going to England, to let him travel and return again safe and unmolested, also to afford the necessary protection and assistance."

The document includes this description of Peter:-

Age - 39 years
Height - 63 inches in Hessian Dec.
Hair - blonde
Forehead - covert
Eyes - grey
Nose - thick
Mouth - ordinary
Beard - none
Chin - round
Shape of Face - long
Complexion - fresh

Peter's wife Catherine was not mentioned in the passport but it did list all the children and their ages:-

Elizabeth - 14 years
Anna Marie - 11 years
Christine - 9 years
Catherine - 7 years
Maria - 5 years
Elise - 3 years
Phillippina - 1 year

The family travelled to the port of Rotterdam in the Netherlands and got a ship across the North Sea to Grimsby, England. Many emigrants from Europe travelled to the east coast of England by ship and then onwards to the USA and Canada in the 19th and 20th Century but Peter and his family appear to have planned to stay in England. Peter never became a British citizen (British Subject) few foreign-born people in England ever went through the naturalisation process. In most cases where foreign-born people claimed to be naturalised on census records they were either mistaken in their belief that they were naturalised or were knowingly assuming a status that they had not yet obtained for themselves. The family had the following added to the passport in 1867, the year that Burkhardsfelden became part of Prussia:-

"I, William Marshall, Royal Prussian Vice-Consul at Grimsby certify herewith that the possessor of this passport lives with his family in this place and leads an honest and respectable life and that this passport although it has long expired can nevertheless serve him as legitimation.

Royal Prussian Vice-Consul at Grimsby, June 4th, 1867.

Per Pro. Wm. Marshall, Vice-Consul,

Arthur J. Lilley."

This passport was issued to the Albach family at Darmstadt on 25th April 1853

The Marriage of Johannes Peter Albach and Katharine Rühl at Burkhardsfelden, Hesse, Germany on 2nd December 1838

In the year of Christ eighteen hundred and thirty-eight on second December was married, without proclamation before, because of pregnancy, after showing certificate of Landrat - Administration and Court of Law dated twenty-seventh and thirtieth November that there were no more reasons against marriage, and after canonical laws were taken care of, the consent of bridegroom's parents and of the bride's father was given to the pastor.

Johannes Peter Albach, son of Heinrich Albach - citizen and farmer and landlord (inn keeper) in Burkhardsfelden, with Elisabetha Catharine maiden name Launspach, legitimated unmarried son, newly created citizen and farmer here - twenty-three years, two months and three days old (born 29 September 1815) and Katharine Rühl, daughter of Johann Heinrich Rühl, citizen and farmer here formerly with Anna Marie maiden name Stumpf, legitimated unmarried daughter, twenty-two years, two months and twenty days old (born 12 September 1816).

Witnesses:

1. Heinrich Albach, bridegroom's unmarried brother
2. Johann Heinrich Rühl, bride's father

Heinrich Albach
Heinrich Rühl

The Origins of the Surname

Albach is a topographical German surname it's associated with people from a certain location. It's believed that the surname comes from medieval settlements near the "Ahle", a small stream in Lower Saxony, Germany. The word "Bach" is the German word for stream or brook. People who lived near the "Ahle" would have been "Von Ahle Bach" (of the Ahle stream) or "Ahle Bache Bauern" (Ahle stream farmers). Over time these phrases would have been shortened to form the surname Albach or developed into one of the many variations of the surname such as Allbach, Alback, Allebach, Albeck, Albaugh etc. There's a village called Albach to the south of Burkhardsfelden this suggests that some Albachs might have taken the surname because they lived in places called Albach.

Doughty Road Cemetery Grimsby

Peter and Catherine are buried in Doughty Road Cemetery in Grimsby. Catherine died on 23rd December 1886 aged 70 years. Peter died on 31st July 1894 aged 78 years. They were buried in section 68 grave 120. The recording of grave inscriptions at Doughty Road was carried out in 1892. We are not aware of any later recordings so we have the following inscription for Catherine but don't know what inscription was added in respect of Peter :-

"In Affectionate Remembrance of Catherine, the beloved wife of Peter Albeck who died December 23rd 1886 aged 70 years. Christ will gather in his own, To the place where he has gone, Where their heart and treasure lie, Where our heart is hid on high."

The inscription appears to quote an old German Hymn, "Deiner Kinder Sammelplatz", by Nikolaus L. von Zinzendorf that was translated into English by Catherine Winkworth as "Christ Will Gather In His Own":-

Christ will gather in His own
To the place where He is gone,
Where their heart and treasure lie,
Where our life is hid on high.

Day by day the voice saith, Come,
Enter thine eternal home;
Asking not if we can spare
This dear soul it summons there.

Had He asked us, well we know
We should cry, O spare this blow!
Yes, with streaming tears should pray,
Lord, we love him, let him stay.

But the Lord doth naught amiss,
And, since He hath ordered this,
We have naught to do but still
Rest in silence on His will.

Many a heart no longer here,
Ah! was all too inly dear,
Yet, O Love, ’tis Thou dost call,
Thou wilt be our all in all.

Doughty Road Cemetery Grimsby opened as a municipal cemetery in 1854 and closed after the first world war due to fear of bombs in the undergrowth. It was cleared of bombs, tidied and then became a garden of rest. In 1959 the council lifted the headstones and buried them under turf before turning the cemetery into a recreational park. There are no headstones remaining at ground level they are under the grass.

Photographs of John Peter & Catherine taken in Grimsby

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Mike for sharing his records. Mike did a lot of the research and has visited Burkhardsfelden on a number of occasions. Thanks also to Christina for the scans of the Albach passport. There are a lot of people out there researching this Albach family hopefully this website will be a useful resource to you all.