Can't read the town and country

[joger]

So ,John MICHEL seems to have been born in Germany near Nassau. You may try to find his birth there.

Bur his ancestors may have come from Alsace ( there are a lot of Michels in Haut Rhin.)

[oldohiohome]

I couldn't find a birth record for John Michel's son John Lewis Michel (Dec 15, 1890, Philadelphia). So no help there for a birthplace for John Sr.

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I found John L with his maternal grandparents in Norriton, Pa, in 1900. but his mother is not there. He is  listed as John L Mitchel, age 9. Grandparents are Mathias, 69, and Kunigunda, 60.

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Also, here are some records from the Philadelphia City Directory which might help you determine when John Michel arrived in Philadelphia, and maybe in the USA. Also to figure out when the family broke up:

1875, 1878, 1879, 1880 Philadelphia City Directory
no John Michel at all

1881 Philadelphia City Directory
John Michel, shoemaker, home at South 22nd corner of Pine

I skipped 1882 to 1889
1890
John Michel, shoes, 2417 Ridge Avenue
1895
John Michel, shoes at N 26th corner of Montgomery. home at 1901 Judson Place
1896
John Michel, shoes, 2430 Ridge Avenue

1897
no John Michel, shoemaker
1898
no John Michel, shoemaker
1900
there were 4 men named John Michel. none were shoemakers

skipped 1901 to 1908
1909
John Michel, clerk for the Pennsylvania Railroad, home 1810 N VanPelt [note: the son]
there were 8 other men named John Michel. none of them was a shoemaker

[bob165]

Thank you all so much! I'll have to go through each of your responses and see how it may align with what I may have. Very encouraging.

Some of the information I had regarding his son (John Lewis, my grandfather) but did not have the origin of John Michel from the marriage license.

A family written narrative had him at 66 years old when he died (birth approximately in 1865) and is buried in Mt. Vernon Cemetery, 3499 West Lehigh Avenue, Philadelphia, PA.
I could not find a death certificate for him which I don't understand why. Are these records that spotty?

[oldohiohome]

The Pennsylvania death certificates for that time period are at ancestry.com. I haven't found them spotty. But I don't see John Michel, b 1865 in Germany or France, d 1931 in Philadelphia. None of those fields were checked as exact, and ancestry usually widens the search.

Could he have died elsewhere and been brought back to Philadelphia for burial? But that might imply that the family knew where he was and kept in touch.

Have you contacted the cemetery, or are you pretty certain of the information that he is buried there? They should be willing to verify it, at least. Some cemeteries are more helpful than others.

I didn't find him at all in 1900 or 1910 in Phila. And the City Directories imply he left the area about 1896, which "does not bode well" for finding him. It is turning out to be a common name, so only the profession and the birth place might help find him.

[bob165]

Dear Oldohiohome,
Thanks!
My work shows that his wife (Bertha) remarried after the birth of John Lewis and before his father John Michel the shoemaker died, supposedly in 1931 or so. I have lots of info for her (Bertha) but John Michel's past is murky. Perhaps he was an alcoholic or an abuser?
The cemetery is evidently closed; I haven't called to see if I could visit yet as I was trying to nail down his details better.

[Rosinish]

My work shows that his wife (Bertha) remarried after the birth of John Lewis and before his father John Michel the shoemaker died, supposedly in 1931 or so.

When did she remarry & what is her status on the re-marriage i.e. Divorced/Widow?

Would it not be an idea to 'home-in' on the entry you're interested in & post a bigger/enlarged snip with some surrounding text to compare as the snip posted is unreadable (to me) & likely others?

Annie

[shanreagh]

Biedenkopf,  Hessen Nassau

https://www.meyersgaz.org/place/10166020
Dave

I would support Dave's conclusion.

[bob165]

Thank you all; I haven't been able to source a death certificate and Census entries for his son in the 1900s lists Germany and Alsace as birthplaces for his father so that complicates narrowing down the birthplace just a bit.
He could have emigrated as a shoemaker but then changed jobs; there is a John Michel running a bar at that time so he could be him.
I'm not discounting the hard work down here to date; I'd like to be able to confirm with a second source. Perhaps a better image of the church record might help.

[Karen McDonald]

Biedenkopf,  Hessen Nassau

https://www.meyersgaz.org/place/10166020
Dave

I would support Dave's conclusion.

Here's another vote for Biedenkopf, Nassau. (From someone who used to live in Hessen.  )

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biedenkopf