Getting Started with the Becker Family
Back in the summer of 2013, we made the decision to start researching our Becker family ancestry. At the time, we knew that prior research had been completed on the Becker family ancestry once before. As such, we did our best to pick up where the research left off and have now added some additional information where possible.
We start by thanking Amanda Cardin for completing the initial research and for doing the hard work (before having the luxury of the internet!) and for uncovering a great deal of Becker ancestry in the first place.
We also want to thank the following family members for their contributions toward the Becker ancestry research and for making this possible:
We start by thanking Amanda Cardin for completing the initial research and for doing the hard work (before having the luxury of the internet!) and for uncovering a great deal of Becker ancestry in the first place.
We also want to thank the following family members for their contributions toward the Becker ancestry research and for making this possible:
- Amanda (Mandy) Cardin
- Diane ("Sis" or "Aunt Sis") Florig (née Schultz)
- Jim (Jimmy) Schultz
- Susan Jankowski (née Becker)
- Charles Ralph Becker
- Mark Philip Gibboney
Brief Summary of Findings
Through our research, we have concluded that there is a great deal of information available about the Becker family ancestors. However, we also discovered there is even more left to question...
At this time, we have confirmed with confidence, that Charles Louis Becker is our oldest family line ancestor. Going further down the family line, we do know that Charles Louis had a father named Thomas, who we also believe we have found. However, for many reasons, we cannot confirm with 100% certainty we found the right Thomas. However, when you read Thomas' biography, the sources argue we have found the right person.
Assuming we found the right Thomas Becker, we have also discovered his father, Christian Becker who could be the oldest ancestor we have been able to identify. But, without enough sources or information about Christian, we cannot confirm with 100% that he is part of our family line.
In addition to finding our oldest ancestor, we concluded that we likely have other living Becker family members that we have never met. Charles Tobias Becker had three younger sisters, in which, none of our family ever stayed in contact with (or maybe they did not stay in contact with us). It is more than likely these sisters are deceased, however, it is just as likely that each sister had their own families. The catch is, since they were all women, they would have likely married and therefore changed surnames, ultimately making it difficult to trace.
It is important to note that there is still a wealth of family history and information to be discovered and interpreted—this is simply a starting point for our very long family history.
At this time, we have confirmed with confidence, that Charles Louis Becker is our oldest family line ancestor. Going further down the family line, we do know that Charles Louis had a father named Thomas, who we also believe we have found. However, for many reasons, we cannot confirm with 100% certainty we found the right Thomas. However, when you read Thomas' biography, the sources argue we have found the right person.
Assuming we found the right Thomas Becker, we have also discovered his father, Christian Becker who could be the oldest ancestor we have been able to identify. But, without enough sources or information about Christian, we cannot confirm with 100% that he is part of our family line.
In addition to finding our oldest ancestor, we concluded that we likely have other living Becker family members that we have never met. Charles Tobias Becker had three younger sisters, in which, none of our family ever stayed in contact with (or maybe they did not stay in contact with us). It is more than likely these sisters are deceased, however, it is just as likely that each sister had their own families. The catch is, since they were all women, they would have likely married and therefore changed surnames, ultimately making it difficult to trace.
It is important to note that there is still a wealth of family history and information to be discovered and interpreted—this is simply a starting point for our very long family history.
Sources Used
Based on Amanda Cardin's previously discovered findings, we sought out a few additional sources to help us uncover even more information about the family. These sources included U.S. Census documentation, actual birth and death certificates, actual baptism certificates, various Illinois, Deaths and Stillbirths Indexes c/o Ancestory.com, and various Cook County, Illinois, Marriages Indexes c/o Ancestory.com, local cemetery plots, and a book entitled: The First 100 Years, 1835-1935, Historical Review of Blue Island, Illinois.
Using these sources, we were able to trace back a little more Becker ancestry, we were able to illustrate an actual “Becker Family Tree”, which show the relationships between family members, important dates, locations and marriage information where possible, and we were able to develop some basic descriptions about the lives some of our family members may have led. It should be noted that the family member descriptions are based on our personal knowledge (when possible), and then on information we discovered directly from a document source, or on information we deduced from a variety of document sources, and in some cases the descriptions have generic assumptions. We did our best to appropriately cite the sources used and to cite when we made assumptions.
Using these sources, we were able to trace back a little more Becker ancestry, we were able to illustrate an actual “Becker Family Tree”, which show the relationships between family members, important dates, locations and marriage information where possible, and we were able to develop some basic descriptions about the lives some of our family members may have led. It should be noted that the family member descriptions are based on our personal knowledge (when possible), and then on information we discovered directly from a document source, or on information we deduced from a variety of document sources, and in some cases the descriptions have generic assumptions. We did our best to appropriately cite the sources used and to cite when we made assumptions.