u/C-line_k9

This is really long and I’m sorry. Basically I need some help getting pointed in the right direction on a study.

I’ve decided to build a large family tree. It’s turned into a pretty big project, even tho there's less that 550 people in the world with my last name. I’ve known my last name (Siebrasse) is German my whole life, but my dad’s side of the family became very disconnected in the 1950s/60s, so I don’t know anyone from that side personally.

With the help of someone on Reddit, I was able to find the ship and exact dates my family immigrated in 1884. Now I’m going further back, and I’ve run into something I don’t fully understand.

My ancestors were farmers in the area around Bielefeld (Brake, Heepen, Stieghorst, Schildesche). I’ve found references to numbered farms (like “Nr. 32”), which I believe are older farm/house numbers rather than modern addresses.

I found one useful map from 1721 where farm Nr. 32 belonged to a family named Grundmann. In 1724, one of my ancestors married into that family, which suggests they may have taken over that farm.

Basically, I’m trying to figure out where these farms were located and how to connect them to modern locations.

Here are the dates and locations and farm numbers I’ve found:

(Presumably ~1630)

Nr. 1 Brönninghausen, Stadtteil von Bielefeld im Stadtbezirk Heepen

1673

Nr. 1 Brönninghausen, Stadtteil von Bielefeld im Stadtbezirk Heepen

1742

Nr. 6 Stieghorst, Stadtbezirk im Osten der kreisfreien Stadt Bielefeld in Nordrhein-Westfalen

1699

Stieghorst Nr. 6, Stadtbezirk im Osten der kreisfreien Stadt Bielefeld in Nordrhein-Westfalen

1738

Brake Nr. 32, Stadtteil von Bielefeld und gehört zum nordöstlichen Stadtbezirk Heepen. Bielefeld, Westfalen

1767

Brake Nr. 32, Stadtteil von Bielefeld und gehört zum nordöstlichen

1812

Bauerschaft Nr. 10, Schildesche, Bielefeld, Nordrhein-Westfalen, Deutschland

My questions:

Are there archives or websites where I can find historical maps showing these farm numbers in this region?

Is there a way to match these old farm numbers to modern locations or addresses?

I lived in Germany for a few years as a child, and my brother is currently stationed there with the U.S. Army. I definitely plan to visit again someday and would love to actually find these places in person.

I also find it interesting that my family name seems to evolve over time: Obersiebrassen → Obersiebrassenhofe → Siebrassen → Siebrasse

I’m really enjoying this whole process, I just don’t know where to go next with this part of it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

There's less than 550 people in the world with my last name. My mom had done a metric ton of family tree stuff before she died, but I have no idea how to access it. So I started on my own. I don't know a lot about my dad's or my biological mom's family. We don't talk to them. So I've done some family tree stuff on ancestry dot com. I actually got really really far into it. All the way back to 1520! But now I'm focused on exactly when my family came to America from Westphalia Germany Prussia. I know it was 1886, but I want to know the boat. Lol. I've found my last name in some onboarding paperwork from Germany. I've found my last name in Castle Garden offboarding paperwork. But I'm not able to link them to anybody in my direct line. Just distant cousins. I have the year, and of course my last name. The person I'm focused on now, his dad died in Germany but his mom brought him here when he was 10. I'm not finding her under her married name or maiden name. Well, that's a lie. I have a place to look, a very detailed place to look, but I have no idea how to look their. I'll put it here⬇️⬇️

MUELLER, FRIEDRICH. "Westfaelische Auswanderer im 19. Jahrhundert-Auswanderung aus dem Regierungsbezirk Minden, Part 1: 1816-1900 (Erlaubte Auswanderung)." In Beitraege zur westfaelischen Familienforschung, vols. 38/39 (1980-1981), pp. 3-711.

I'd be happy to share my ancestry dot com link to someone if it helps. It appears she traveled using both her maiden name and married name and says she traveled with a 10yr old. I'm just looking for some help finding the date and the boat. Any help is greatly appreciated.