Re: Peter Schildt in Ettringen, Rhineland, Germany
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In reply to:
Peter Schildt in Ettringen, Rhineland, Germany
12/21/01
WHO WAS THE FATHER OF JOHANNES CASPER SCHELL?PETRO SCHILD?NOT EVERYONE AGREES WITH THIS THEORY. THERE ARE SEVERAL OTHER POSSIBILITIES ---------
PARENTS AND BIRTH PLACE OF JOHANNES CASPAR SCHELL - SEVERAL POSSIBILITIES -Johannes Casper Schell - there are several possibilites for his parents and birthplace.
1)Hendrik Schell of Amsterdam, Netherlands - Dr. Harvey Shell of Missouri, a descendant of Johannes Caspar Schell, said his family tradition stated that Johannes Caspar Schell was Holland Dutch.Dr. Shell hired a professional genealogist in the Netherlands, Erika Niederhander, and she found the following baptismal record that is a possible match for Johannes Casper Schell.The baptism of Jan (short for Johannes) Schell, son of Hendrik Schell was recorded 26 JAN 1725 at the Old Kirk in Amsterdam. The church and the baptismal font still exist.See the attached image of the baptismal record.It is interesting to note that the name Hendrik (Henry) was passed down to descendants of Johannes Caspar Schell.Dr. Harvey Shell of Missouri had a website for several years and shared his research and family information.He distributed DVDs with family history information to interested parties.(GF obtained one in 2009)
2) Other Schell families in Germany - Johannes Caspar Schell may have come from the Palatinate area of Germany. Many people left this area, because of war, severe winter, and religious persecution. William Penn offered an invitation to these Germans asking them to come to Pennsylvania.At least six individuals names Johannes Caspar Schell (or something similar) were christened in Germany between 1710 and 1730, according to a search of the data base GERMAN BIRTHS AND BAPTISMS 1558-1898 that is available on familysearch.org.All of these individuals should be researched.
3)Petro Schild of Ettringen, Germany - Several years ago a couple of individuals posted claims on several genealogy forums saying they had found the parents of Johannes Caspar Schell - the Petro Schild family of Ettringen, Rheinland Prussia, Deutschland (Germany). They did not offer any research notes or explanation of why or how they came to this conclusion.This researcher has made several unsuccessful attempts to obtain more information from them.Several questions seem obvious - Why the name change from Schild to Schell, and why wasn’t the name Peter (Petro) repeated in later generations of the family? This Petro Schild theory has been widely circulated, but it remains an unproven theory, in the opinion of this researcher.
ADDITIONAL RESEARCH AND DNA ANALYSIS - Additional research is needed to determine the birthplace and parents of Johannes Caspar Schell.DNA analysis might be valuable in this search.It may be impossible to prove the identity of his parents or his place of birth without DNA analysis of descendants.A Shell/Schell DNA project has been established with FamilyTreeDNA.com.Direct Schell descendants (male) are encouraged to take a DNA test and add to this project.