This detail from a page of burial register of the Lutheran church of Norden, Hannover, shows the 30 Sept. 1842 death and 4 Oct. 1842 burial of Weert Albers of Norden, who died at the age of 54.
By Jared L. Olar
March 2020
Among the Ostfrieslander Germans in my wife's family tree is a family surnamed Alberts, who lived in the borough of Norden on the North Sea coast not far from the Dutch border. In some records, the surname is spelled Albers. Like many Ostfrieslander family names, the surname is a patronymic, meaning simply "Son of Albert." In all likelihood, the ALBERT from whom this family was descended lived in Ostfriesland in the 1600s or early 1700s. At this time we can trace this family's genealogy back for only two generations. The following account of the Alberts genealogy is derived from the Lutheran church records of Norden, although some of the information on the second generation was first supplied to us by our cousin Jim Johnson and is also included in the online family tree of our cousin Dennis Reed.
1. WEERT ALBERTS ("Weert Albers"), parentage and ancestry unknown, born 1788 in Ostfriesland, Hannover (probably in Norden), died 30 Sept. 1842 in Norden, Ostfriesland, Hannover, buried 4 Oct. 1842 in Norden. Not much is known of Weert Alberts/Albers, but his father was probably named Albert or Alber, and the 1856 marriage record of his son Albert identifies Weert's wife as GESCHE FRERICHS, probably daughter of a man named Frerich. The marriage registers of the Lutheran church of Norden indicate that Weert had a daughter named Aeltje Weerts Alberts, born 1814 in Norden, who married 9 July 1836 in Norden to Harm Janssen Fischer, age 21, son of Johann Gerdes Fischer. The same registers also record the marriage of Weert's son Albert Weers Alberts, born 14 Sept. 1829 in Norden, who married 5 May 1856 in Norden to Löcke Janssen Fooken, age 34, daughter of Jann and Elisabeth Fooken. Besides Weert Alberts' children Aeltje and Albert, the Norden baptismal registers record the births and baptisms of several children of Aafke Weerts Alberts, born perhaps circa 1825 in Norden, another of the children of Weert and Gesche Alberts.
Weert died at the age of 54 on 30 Sept. 1842, and was buried a few days later in Norden, as recorded in the burial register of the Lutheran church of Norden.
This detail from a page of burial register of the Lutheran church of Norden, Hannover, shows the 30 Sept. 1842 death and 4 Oct. 1842 burial of Weert Albers of Norden, who died at the age of 54.
The known children of Weert and Gesite Alberts were:
-- AELTJE WEERTS ALBERTS, born 1814 in Norden, Ostfriesland, Hannover, married Harm Janssen Fischer.
2. AAFKE WEERTS ALBERTS, born perhaps circa 1825 in Norden, Ostfriesland, Hannover.
-- ALBERT WEERTS ALBERTS, born 14 Sept. 1829 in Norden, Ostfriesland, Hannover, married Löcke Janssen Fooken.
2. AAFKE WEERTS ALBERTS, daughter of Weert and Gesite Alberts, born perhaps circa 1825 in Norden, Ostfriesland, Hannover. It was probably circa 1845 in Norden, Hannover, that Aafke married DIRK WOBBEN JANSSEN ("Dirk Johann Janssen"), born circa 1813 in Norden, Ostfriesland, Hannover, died 26 June 1862 in Norden, Ostfriesland, Hannover, buried 4 July 1862 in Norden, son of Jann Wobben and Foolka Janssen. In original Lutheran records from Ostfriesland, Dirk's name is given as either "Dirk Wobben Janssen" or "Dirk Johann Janssen." In the 1886 marriage record of Dirks' son Jann (John) in Livingston County, Illinois, Dirk's name is given as "Dirk J. Janssen," the "J." standing for "Johann" or "Jann," which was not a true "middle name" but rather a patronymic specifying that Dirk's father was named Jann or Johann. Recorded in the Lutheran church baptismal register of Norden, Hannover, are the births and/or baptisms of four sons and two daughters of Aafke and Dirk:
Jann Dirk Janssen Sex: männlich Born: 20 Feb. 1846 Baptised: 1 März 1846 Place: Hannover Father: Dirk Wobben Janssen Mother: Afke Weerts
Geesche Dirk. Janssen Sex: weiblich Born: 26 Juli 1848 Baptised: 6 Aug. 1848 Place: Hannover Father: Dirk Johann Janssen Mother: Afke Weerts Alberts
Weert Dirk. Janssen Sex: männlich Born: 3 Sept. 1851 Baptised: 14 Sept. 1851 Place: Hannover Father: Dirk Johann Janssen Mother: Afke Weerts Albers
Jann Dirks. Janssen Sex: männlich Born: 4 Juni 1854 Baptised: 25 Juni 1854 Place: Hannover Father: Dirk Wobben Janssen Mother: Aafke Weerts Alberts
(NN) Janssen Sex: männlich Born: 29 Dez. 1857 Place: Hannover Father: Dirk Wobben Janssen Mother: Aafke Weeaar Albers
Foolka Dirks. Janssen Sex: weiblich Born: 7 Oct. 1859 Baptised: 23 Oct. 1859 Place: Hannover Father: Dirk Johann Janssen Mother: Aafke Weerts Albers
Aafke and Dirk evidently named their eldest child after Dirk's father, named their second son Weert after Aafke's father, and named their youngest daughter Foolka after Dirk's mother Foolka.
This detail from page 34 of the baptismal register of the Lutheran church of Norden, Hannover, shows the 1 March 1846 baptismal record of Jann Dirks Janssen, eldest recorded child of Dirk Wobben and Aafke Weerts (Alberts) Janssen.
The Lutheran church registers of Norden, Hannover, record the death and burial of Dirk and Aafke's eldest child, Jann Dirks Janssen, on 30 March 1853, at the age of 7 years, 1 month, and 10 days. Jann was buried in Norden on 5 April 1853. His death record identifies his parents as "Dirk Wobben Janssen" and "Afke Weearts Albers." The same church registers also record the death of Dirk Wobben Janssen at the age of 49 on 26 June 1862 in Norden, and his burial on 4 July 1862 in Norden. Dirk's death record he was the son of "Jann Wobben Janssen" by his wife "Foolka."
The children of Aafke and Dirk Janssen recorded in the Lutheran baptismal register of Norden, Hannover, were:
-- JANN DIRKS JANSSEN, born 20 Feb. 1846 in Norden, Ostfriesland, Hannover, died 30 March 1853 in Norden, Ostfriesland, Hannover.
-- GEESCHE DIRKS JANSSEN ("Jessie"), born 26 July 1848 in Norden, Ostfriesland, Hannover.
-- WEERT DIRKS JANSSEN, born 3 Sept. 1851 in Norden, Ostfriesland, Hannover.
-- JANN DIRKS JANSSEN ("John Dick Johnson"), born 4 June 1854 in Norden, Ostfriesland, Hannover.
-- (SON) JANSSEN, born 29 Dec. 1857 in Norden, Ostfriesland, Hannover, died within hours or days of his birth, unbaptised and never named.
-- FOOLKA DIRKS JANSSEN ("Folena"), born 7 Oct. 1859 in Norden, Ostfriesland, Hannover, died 23 July 1948 in Kankakee, Kankakee County, Illinois, married George B. Johnson.
Albers Genealogy Resources:
The Reed Family Tree of Albuquerque, N.M., with Dirk Wobben Janssen descendants and Johnson and Oltman family photos. Stadt Norden, offical homepage of the town or borough of Norden in the District of Aurich, Niedersachsen (Lower Saxony), Germany.