DNA Match

Bridging the Amsterdam and German Branches

Through many evenings of research, I’ve managed to trace my Amsterdam ancestors all the way back to Johann Heinrich Springorum and Helena Herdinck. The earliest mention of them appears in a 1742 baptism record from the St. Lambertus Church in Henrichenburg, where both are listed as the grandparents of Barend Springorum.

Efforts to find additional records—particularly a marriage certificate for Johann Heinrich and Helena—have turned up nothing. The church books from Henrichenburg are incomplete and poorly preserved. Many pages have been damaged or lost over time, leaving frustrating gaps in the historical record.

A Parallel Line in Germany

On a separate track, I began exploring the name “Springorum” more broadly, starting with a simple search and sorting results by birth-date. What I found was an entirely separate thread of the family, based in and around Dortmund, Germany, that stretches back to the early 17^th century. At its root is Reinhard Springorum (1593–1666), who married Catrinen Vasolt and had six children. Over time, their descendants settled in nearby towns such as Herdecke, Bochum, Schwelm, and Unna.

This German branch appears well documented and stretches across multiple generations, suggesting a well-established family line. Naturally, I hoped to find a connection between Reinhard’s descendants and my own Amsterdam line. But despite long hours digging through various online archives, no direct link emerged. I couldn’t find any registration that connected Johann Heinrich Springorum, my earliest confirmed ancestor, to Reinhard Springorum or any of his known descendants.

A Missing Link Close to Home

The mystery is frustrating, especially given that Henrichenburg lies less than 15 kilometers from Dortmund—geographically close enough that some connection would seem likely. The two branches share a rare surname, live within the same regional context, and exist only one or two generations apart. And yet, the paper trail stops short.

Still, three key clues suggest there may be more beneath the surface:

1. The rarity of the “Springorum” surname makes unrelated lines unlikely. It’s not a name that appears frequently in historical records, which significantly increases the chance of a common ancestor.
2. The proximity of Henrichenburg to cities like Dortmund, Herdecke, and Unna, where Reinhard’s descendants settled, strongly supports the idea of an eventual family link.
3. A crucial note from a historical website in Schwelm hints that Johann Heinrich may have been the son of Pastor Johann Springorum of Ende (Wickende)—a known son of Reinhard. If true, this would place Johann Heinrich squarely within the German Springorum line.

Image: Detail of the Stambaum of Springorum @Heimatkunde-Schwelm website showing the interesting remark about Johann Heinrich presumably being a sun of Pastor Johannes Springorum in Ende (Kirchende).

Turning to DNA

After weeks of stalled progress in the archives, I realized I needed a different approach. If documents couldn’t provide the answers, perhaps DNA could. I decided to submit a sample to MyHeritage in hopes of finding living relatives who might bridge the gap between the Dutch and German Springorum families.

Ordering the kit was easy, and within weeks my sample joined a global database of over 6.5 million DNA profiles. As I waited for results, I checked the portal regularly, hoping for some breakthrough.

When the analysis was finally complete, I was matched with more than 8,000 individuals. Unfortunately, most of them led nowhere—people with incomplete trees, or no tree at all. Many had tested simply to learn about their ethnic background, offering no help in tracing shared ancestors.

But then, buried among the lower matches, I found a promising lead: Christian S., a German DNA match, with an estimated fourth cousin relationship. We share 0.6% of our DNA, across 41.3 cM in three segments, with the largest segment measuring 28.9 cM. What set Christian apart wasn’t just the genetic connection—it was the fact that he manages a detailed and well-sourced family tree with over 1,000 individuals. One of his ancestors in his family line is Johann Bernhard Springorum, a direct descendant of Reinhard Springorum.

This match may be the breakthrough I’ve been searching for. While not conclusive on its own, it’s the first piece of concrete genetic evidence suggesting a link between the Amsterdam Springorums and the older German line that descends from Reinhard.

Image: "Possible relations to Christian", a DNA match doesn’t specify the exact relationship—it only gives an estimate of how likely you are to be related.

From DNA match to family Link

My DNA matches Christian S., who directly descends from Johann Bernhard Springorum I, councilman in Herdecke. Now that I have a confirmed genetic link to Johann Bernhard’s line, the next step is to figure out how he connects to Johann Heinrich, my earliest known ancestor.

Image: The pedigree of Christian S. shows how he is directly related to Johann Bernhard Springorum I (1695 - 1778).

• Johann Bernhard Springorum I (1695 - 1778)
• Johann Bernhard Springorum II (1726 - 1790)
• Johanna Elisabeth Philippina Springorum
• Henriette Friedrike Clementine Marcks
• Elisabeth Philippine Hermine Emilie Von von Eicken
• Elisabeth Adeline Friederike Julia Clara Clementine Heinzelmann
• Margarethe Elisabeth Emilie Forelle
• Christian S.

Image: Descendants of Johannes Springorum — Johann Heinrich is likely connected to one branch.

I need to rule out a few theoretical possibilities, so I’m working through several scenarios:

Little is known about Johann Heinrich Springorum. He was first married to Sibylla Vasolt (1667–1704), so he was likely born around the same time. After Sibylla’s death, he remarried Helena Herdinck, though only her date of death is recorded. Together, they had three children, born in 1711, 1726, and 1728.

Johann Bernhard Springorum I was born in 1695 and married with Gertrud Brenschede with whom he had eight children, born in 1724 to 1742. His father-Caspar Reinhard-was born in 1660, married with Anna Mayland and they had three children born in 1695, 1696.

1. Was Johann Heinrich a son of Johann Bernhard? Impossible, Johann Bernhard was born in 1695 while Johann Heinrich's oldest son was born in 1711, a time difference of only 16 years. Johann Bernhard can not be Johann Joseph's grandfather at the age of 16.

2. Was Johann Heinrich a brother of Johann Bernhard? Doubtful. That would mean both were sons of Caspar Reinhard Springorum (b. 1660). Records suggest Johann Bernhard was Caspar's eldest son. If Johann Heinrich were his brother, he would have to be born around 1696 or later—implying fatherhood at age 15. Even for the time, that’s implausibly young. It would mean that Casper Reinhard became grandfather of Johann Joseph at the age of 51.

3. Was Johann Heinrich a nephew of Johann Bernhard? Unlikely, and the evidence is weak. He would have to be the son of Johann Georg (b. 1664), Johann Friedrich (b. 1672), or Bernhard Jacob. Johann Georg had a son in 1693, so Johann Heinrich could have been born around the same time—fatherhood at 19 is young but feasible. However, Johann Friedrich’s children were born between 1710 and 1716, and Bernhard Jacob’s between 1706 and 1720, making it very unlikely either had a son old enough to father a child in 1711. It would mean that Johann Georg became grandfather of Johann Joseph at the age of 49, or Johann Friedriech became grandfather of Johann Joseph at the age of 39.

4. Was Johann Heinrich the uncle of Johann Bernhard? This is the most plausible scenario: Johann Heinrich was likely the brother of Caspar Reinhard and son of Johannes Springorum. Johannes’s children were born between 1660 and shortly after 1672, which fits the timeline. If Johann Heinrich became a father between age 20 and 50, and Johannes became a grandfather at 86, it’s not unreasonable—especially since Johannes had Caspar Reinhard at 35 and Johann Friedrich at 47. This is also the conclusion drawn by the author of the pedigree on the Heimat site in Schelm, and based on the available data, it’s the most convincing.

Image: Graph showing that if Johann Heinrich became a father at 20–50, his birth falls within the same timeframe as Johannes Springorum’s other children.

I know—there’s still no hard proof, like baptism records, to back this up. But based on what we have, this seems like the most likely way the Amsterdam and German branches are connected is via Johann Heinrich being the brother of Caspar Reinhard, both son of Johannes Springorum.

Explaining an Unexpected strong DNA Match

Connecting the dots—by identifying Johann Heinrich as the son of Johannes—places me as Christian’s 9th cousin, once removed (C9R1). But a 41.3 cM DNA match points to a much closer relationship. Typically, a C9R1 match shares 0–6 cM, and over 98% of such distant cousins share no DNA at all. The most likely explanation is that Christian and I are also related through a closer, undocumented line. In other words:

• We may actually be 3rd–5th cousins through another shared ancestor.
• The 9C1R connection is valid, but most of the DNA we share comes from a much closer relationship.

A more likely relationship for a 41.3 cM match would be one of the following relations:

Table: The most likely relationship for 41.3 cM of shared DNA (from the Shared cM Project v4 – based on real DNA match data)

Christian and I most likely share another common ancestor about five or six generations back. It's also possible we have multiple shared ancestors further up the tree. A single DNA match doesn’t prove anything on its own—but considering that only 2% of C9R1 relatives share any DNA at all, my match with Christian is still pretty remarkable.

Image: Fan charts for both Christian and me, extending seven generations. Our DNA match points to a likely additional common shared ancestor (not in the Springorum branch) somewhere in the outer three rings (C3-C5).