Researching Gerhard Wessel
Delve into the history of Gerhard Wessel using the links below. We hope you find this information useful!
 | Did you know that in the 1881 UK census there were 7 people with the Wessel surname? In that year Wessel was ranked number 3572 for popularity in the UK. |
Records of Gerhard Wessel on Ancestry
Ancestry is a major source of information if you are filling out the detail of Gerhard Wessel in your family tree. Many large databases are available to search covering from births, deaths and marriages, military records, census records and immigration records with many other smaller collections too. Free trials are normally available and are a good way to fill out a lot of your tree quickly.
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Ancestry.com Global records search results for Gerhard Wessel. |
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Ancestry.com US records search results for Gerhard Wessel. |
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Ancestry.co.uk UK records search results for Gerhard Wessel. |
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Ancestry.ca Canadian records search results for Gerhard Wessel. |
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Ancestry.com.au Australian records search results for Gerhard Wessel. |
DNA
Sometimes you can run into a brick wall in your tree and you just don't have enough evidence to make that next step back in time. A DNA test can sometimes help to make a link to a particular family name if you find you share common DNA with people who have the same or similar surnames as each other. If you are lucky then you may get a match within a few generations and discover some Wessel ancestors. Additionally, the modern DNA test can give you a breakdown of your ethnic mix - you may be surprised at the results!
Have you reached a brick wall in your Wessel Tree?
Birth, Death and Marriage Records for Gerhard Wessel and the Wessel Genealogy
Birth, Death and Marriage records are often the best method of making the links to the Wessel Genealogy that will form part of your family tree. Although records vary from country to country, they are normally the most formal record of a person's relations. From the sources below you will be able to find a birth record and, from that, a birth certificate can be ordered which lists the names of the mother and father, taking you back another generation in your tree. A marriage certificate may also list the names of the respective fathers of the bride and groom which may then help you to find them earlier in life on a census record enabling you to fill out more detail in the Wessel family tree.
Search Parish Records for Gerhard Wessel at Find My Past.
Look at for the UK registered births, marriages and deaths of Gerhard Wessel using the FreeBMD database.
Study Genealogy Bank for Gerhard Wessel records.
Search MyHeritage for Gerhard Wessel information.
Explore the LDS Database for records about Gerhard Wessel.
Research the Wessel surname using fold3 Military Archives and view images of original Wessel Military records.
Wessel Genealogy Databases
Another way to build your tree quickly is to use the research other people have already done. This can help to confirm or refute your own deductions - however, be wary of taking this data at face value as other researchers may not have been as meticulous as you. Always try to back up deductions with some definitive sources rather than relying too heavily on others.
Explore the WikiTree database for user contributed records for Gerhard Wessel.
Study MyTrees for information on the Wessel family and people looking to contact living Wessel relations.
Study One Great Family for Wessel records submitted by people who are already researching the Wessel Family Tree.
Find Gerhard Wessel from Ireland on findmypast.ie
Wessel Forums
There are a number of forums which are dedicated to rearching particular surnames. These can be good places to share your findings and also to tap into the knowledge that others may already have. These can sometimes be a good way of finding living relations as these tend not to show up on the other sources of information for privacy reasons.
Research the Wessel surname using Genealogy.com forums .
| Did you know that there are currently 6076 people with the Wessel surname in the USA? Wessel is ranked number 155 for popularity in the USA. |
Miscellaneous Wessel Databases
Look at the Ellis Island Database for information on Gerhard Wessel. This database contains over 25 million immigration records detailing passengers arriving in the United States of America.
Some Famous People called Gerhard Wessel
Gerhard Wessel
Gerhard Wessel (December 24, 1913 – July 28, 2002) was President of the Federal Intelligence Bureau from May 1968 to December 1978. He previously served in the Reichswehr (1932–35) and Army, including the Foreign Armies East of Reinhard Gehlen during World War II. After the war, he was part of the Gehlen Organisation, and then the Bundeswehr (1956–1952).
He was head of the BND, Germany's Federal Intelligence Service from 1 May 1968 to 31 December 1978. According to his obituary in the Los Angeles Times, entitled Gerhard Wessel, 88; Did Espionage Work for Hitler, West Germany, the "former intelligence officer in Adolf Hitler’s anti-Soviet spy operations" ... "is credited with modernizing the BND by hiring academic analysts and electronics specialists".
The obituary issued by the New York Times News Service summarized some of the BND's successes under Wessel: "It informed the government three months in advance of the Soviet Union's plans to invade Czechoslovakia in 1968. It also gathered early information about dissatisfaction among shipyard workers in Gdansk, which eventually led to upheaval in Poland in the 1980s". The coverage also discusses the adverse incidents under his leadership. For example, it mentions a "number of incidents of East Germans infiltrating the West German government, particularly intelligence agencies, on Gen. Wessel's watch".
Wessel was born in the Holstein city of Neumuenster; his father was an Evangelical pastor. Gerhard Wessel joined the army in 1932. He died in Pullach.
Source: Gerhard Wessel, Wikipedia, The Free EncyclopediaOther names that sound a bit like Wessel
Family names can get corrupted over time, particularly where literacy was not as good. The following list contains some names that have similar sounds so you may want to also look at one or two of the more likely possibilites.
Wachal Wachel Wackley Wackly Waegele Waggle Wagle Wagley Waikle Wakelee Wakeley Wakely Waklee Wakley Waschell Wasiel Wasiela Wasley Wassell Wazelle Weagley Weakley Weakly Weasel Weccle Weckel Weekley Weekly Wegley Weichel Weigel Weigell Weigle Weigley Weikel Weikle Weisel Weisell Weissel Weixel Wesel Weseloh Wesley Wessale Wessell Whechel Whichelow Whissel Whissell Whygle Whysall Wical Wichael Wickel Wiekel Wiesel Wiesle Wiessel Wiezel Wigal Wiggall Wiggill Wigle Wigley Wigsell Wigzell Wikel Wikle Wisel Wiseley Wisely Wisley Wissel Wisswell Wiswall Wiswell Witchell Witchillo Wooseley Woosley Wyekel Wygal Wykel Wykle
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