Johann Heinrich Springorum

Who was Johann Heinrich Springorum?

Little is known about Johann Heinrich Springorum, living in Heinrichenburg, Vest Recklinghaussen. It appears that Johann Heinrich first married Sibylla Vasolt. Could she be related to Johann’s grandmother, Catrinen Vasolt? After Sibylla’s death, he married Helena Herdinck.

Ancestors

I haven’t yet found solid proof that Johann Heinrich is the son of Johannes Springorum — for example, a birth record in the church books. The volume that likely contains records from the time he was born is missing, although records for his older siblings still exist. However, there is strong DNA evidence connecting me — and therefore Johann Heinrich’s descendants — directly to Johann Bernhard II, who is a direct descendant of Reinhard Springorum.

Descendants

In 1742, Johann Heinrich Springorum and his wife Helena Herdinck are explicitly named as witnesses at a baptism, identified as the grandfather and grandmother of Josephus Bernhardus Henricus (Barend) Springorum. This provides a clear and direct link between them and the next generation. From that point on, the descendants of Johann Heinrich are relatively well documented. Their family line can be traced with confidence, eventually leading to the emigration of two of their grandsons — Barend and Willem Springorum — to Amsterdam in the Netherlands. This part of the family history is well established and leaves little room for doubt.

Johann Heinrich Springorum and Helena Herdinck had three children together:

1. Johan Joseph Springorum (1711 - 1795)
2. Fransiscus Antonius (Franz Anton) Springorum (1726 - ?)
3. Johann Heinrich Springorum, Jr. (1728 - ?)

Interesting remark for Johann Heinrich Springorum

In genealogical research, it's important to avoid making assumptions. However, when comparing the birth dates of Johann Heinrich Springorum’s children with those of Pastor Johannes Springorum’s grandchildren, it appears that Johann Heinrich was likely around the same age as Pastor Johannes’s children — or possibly even their younger brother.

Interestingly, the pedigree on the Heimatkunde-Schwelm website includes a notable remark about Johann Heinrich Springorum. The unnamed author of the family tree suspects that Johann Heinrich may presumably be a son of Pastor Johannes Springorum.

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).

DNA Match – Bridging the Branches

As I followed my father’s family line further back in time, I quickly found that it led to Henrichenburg, in Vest Recklinghausen. There, I discovered Johann Heinrich Springorum and his wife Helena Herdinck — the earliest known ancestors of what I call the Amsterdam branch of the Springorum family.

At the same time, I was also exploring another part of the family — the German branch. This line led me to Reinhard Springorum, born in 1593, and his descendants: Johannes Springorum, Caspar Springorum, and Johann Bernhard Springorum. Their lives were well documented in Germany, and it was easy to follow the family tree through several generations.

But something important was still missing. I couldn’t find a clear, direct connection between these two branches. There were no records showing a link between Caspar Reinhard Springorum (born 1660) and Johann Heinrich Springorum, or between Johann Bernhard Springorum (born 1695) and Johan Joseph Springorum (born 1711). It felt like two parts of the same story, but with a key chapter missing.

That’s when I decided to try DNA testing. I wanted to see if my DNA would match with anyone from Reinhard Springorum’s family line. Not long after I sent in my sample, the results came back. And there it was — a strong DNA match with someone who had traced a family tree of over 2,000 people, including a direct link to Johann Bernhard Springorum (1695).

Even though I still haven’t found written proof, this DNA match gave me the missing connection. It shows that the Amsterdam and German branches of the Springorum family are indeed part of the same line. The documents may be lost, but the connection lives on in our DNA.

Is Johann Heinrich Springorum a Son of Pastor Johannes Springorum?

All known descendants of Johann Heinrich Springorum and his wife Helena Herdinck are well documented, and nowhere in those records is there a clear connection to the descendants of Reinhard Springorum. So if a link does exist — as the DNA evidence strongly suggests — it must lie in the generation of Johann Heinrich himself, or in the generations before him.

That raises the question: could Johann Heinrich be a son of Pastor Johannes Springorum?

At this point, there is no direct documentary proof to confirm this — no birth or baptism record that clearly names Johann Heinrich as one of Pastor Johannes’s children. In fact, the church book that would cover the likely time of Johann Heinrich’s birth is missing, although records of his supposed older siblings are still available. This missing piece makes it hard to confirm or rule out the connection based on paper records alone.

However, comparing timelines offers a clue. The birth dates of Johann Heinrich’s children closely align with those of Pastor Johannes’s grandchildren, which suggests Johann Heinrich was of a similar age to the pastor’s children — possibly even a younger son. Without written records, it’s only a theory, but it’s one supported by the available evidence, including a compelling DNA match linking Johann Heinrich’s descendants to the line of Johann Bernhard Springorum, a confirmed descendant of Reinhard.

Until more records come to light, the idea that Johann Heinrich was Pastor Johannes’s son remains unproven — but increasingly plausible.