Finding Your Roots

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Narrator

We now set out to discover how Wilhelm and Elizabeth came together. And whether Katherine's family story, that Wilhelm had married a French woman, might've held a grain of truth. We knew that Elizabeth was just 17 when she met Wilhelm. And we knew that her surname, Thernes, is not invariably of German origin. Could she have been a young French woman traveling through Prussia when she caught his eye? The reality proved to be more mundane. So these are excerpts from the city directory of the wonderful metropolis of Cologne, from the year 1854. And as you could see on the left, Wilhelm and his wife, Catarina are living at Ehren Strasse 50. And on the right, you could see the name of the man who lived at Ehren Strasse 48, just a few doors down. Could you read his surname? Anton Thernes. And who's surname was Thernes? Hers. Now that's right. - Yes. They were living next door to each other. Ugh. Anton Thernes was Elizabeth's or Eliza's father. So you know what this means? Elizabeth was the daughter of Wilhelm's neighbor. God, there's so much done bad right there. Eliza, Elizabeth. I mean, wow. That is so complicated.