Category Archives: Genealogy tips

Do you know about Fiske?

Posted on January 4, 2012 | Leave a comment

Started by professional genealogist Arthur D. Fiske, the Fiske Genealogical Foundation and Library is housed in Seattle’s “Pioneer Hall” just at the end of Madison Street on the west shores of Lake Washington.

I was lucky enough to learn about the Fiske Foundation by word of mouth. I visited the library one day early in my research, and Gary Zimmerman was a great help to me with WorldCat and other research. Since then, I have been receiving the quarterly newsletter, a fantastic resource.

Begun by Arthur Fiske in 1971 (as the Fiske Genealogical Center), today’s Foundation cites these major goals:
-to provide on-going education in genealogical research techniques.
-to build a library of genealogical materials not readily available, especially for those townships east of the Mississippi River.

In addition to an extensive library, Fiske offers a series of classes. Winter 2012 classes begin January 25, and cover many different topics, including (but not limited to): Advanced Search of WorldCat, American Catholic Records, Methodist Church Records, Homestead And Bounty Land Records and the National Archive, and an off-site visit to the University of Washington Library’s Seattle Campus Map Collection. Click here for a complete listing.

Interested in a little post-holiday shopping? They also have surplus genealogy books for sale!!

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German customs: first names

Posted on December 26, 2011 | 8 comments

There seemed to be no rhyme or reason to the repetitive nature of first names in my German ancestry.

For example, I have ancestors named Johann and ancestors named Johannes. Both male. What’s the difference?

In the mid-19th century, just about everyone had the name Jacob or Philipp. The preponderance of Elisabethas, and Katherinas, and Margarethas is also striking. How did they tell one another apart?

Furthermore, if a baby died in infancy, why was the next one given the exact same name? I would not be inclined to name a child after one who had died. Call it superstition, or a painful reminder of unutterable grief, but in my 21st century reality, it seems a bad idea.

And why did I find Philipp Heinrich Handrich in the 1850 census under Henry Handrich. Why didn’t he go by his first name of Philipp?

Recently I came across a family genealogy write-up that referenced German first name “patterns.”

“The first son is named after the paternal grandfather.
The second son is named after the maternal grandfather.
The first daughter is named after the maternal grandmother.
The second daughter is named after the paternal grandmother.”

But that’s not all. Check out this article by Charles F. Kerchner, Jr., at 18th Century PA German Naming Customs. Apparently, until about the 1870’s, often every male in a family was named after the same saint (for example St. John, St. George, St. Philipp). Hence, it was generally their second first name by which they were differentiated. Kerchner also enlightens us on the difference between Johan and Johannes (Johan coming first refers to St. John. Johannes is the name John, and normally is the second first name.)

With enough information, this system could even offer clues to names of ancestors not yet uncovered.

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Posted in Freinsheim and Palatinate history, Genealogy tips

Illnesses of old

Posted on November 29, 2011 | 1 comment

Medical science has come a long way. So long in fact, that over the past 100 years formerly common medical terms for illnesses are no longer familiar to us.

Infant deaths, in particular, plagued 19th century Clevelanders. In an 1875 letter, excerpted below, my cousin Angela and I discovered the following:

This passage is about the infant death of Herman Harm, the fourth child of Michael and Elisabeth Harm, in August of 1874: “He was so healthy and happy, so well behaved. We rarely felt that we had a child. He woke up with laughing mouth and that’s also how he went to sleep. Until he went to the eternal rest after three days of being sick. He died of the childhood sickness Summer Complaint. His baptized name was Herman.” In that same time period, the letter goes on, a 2 year old girl of Uncle Jakob also died.

Summer Complaint? In the German, Michael uses the term der ruhr Krankheit (Sommer Complain). The modern term for it is “dysentery.” The term “Summer Complaint” came from the increase in frequency of dysentery in the summer due to poorer water quality in the warm months of the year.

A friend Bill Sherertz recently pointed me to a helpful site for sleuthing out antiquated medical terminology, which might appear on death certificates, in letters, or any number of genealogy documents. Rudy’s List of Archaic Medical Terms. Best of all, in addition to the English, there is an index for German and French medical terms.

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Posted in 19th century history, Cleveland and Ohio history, Genealogy tips, The Last of the Blacksmiths: A Novel

German Singing Festivals

Posted on November 17, 2011 | 2 comments

This cover of the 27th Sängerfest German Singing Festival, held in 1893 in Cleveland, Ohio, is courtesy of The Western Reserve Historical Society Library. (Double-click on it to enlarge) The program alone is 101 pages. Seventy different songs were presented in afternoon and evening concerts, ranging from Schubert’s “The Wanderer” to Mendelssohn’s “Walpurgis-Night.”

Included in the program is a history of the North American Sängerbund, which began in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1849. At the first singing festival, five societies came together from nearby towns, for a total of 118 singers. By 1860, there were 25 societies and 450 singers. In 1868, after a hiatus during the Civil War, there were 58 societies and 1200 singers. For a complete history of the society, still in existence today, visit their web site at Nord-Amerikanischer Sängerbund.

About a month ago, a friend told me about a German music program put on by the Sacramento German Genealogical Society (SGGS): Liedermatinée: an Afternoon of Favorite German Songs with Michael Mayer-Kielmann. Their program offered songs by Brahms and Haydn and the 20th century Heino, as well as classic folk songs like Silcher’s Lorelei. I have since learned the SGGS is a very active organization, with over 900 members and an award-winning journal, Der Blumenbaum.

How I would have loved to hear the SGGS program, and the 1893 Cleveland concerts, too. In the German song tradition, musicians such as Schubert and Silcher and countless others set poetry (of Goethe, Heine, Schiller and so on) to music. Popular music is always a favorite, as evidenced in this quote from the 1893 Sängerfest program: “Of all numbers on the programme the “Volkslieder” (Folks’ Songs) invariably please the most. In the first place, the singers prefer them, (because they require less study), secondly, because the sound effects of a grand chorus in sustained, not polyphonic works, are brought out better, and thirdly, the audience recognizes dear old friends in them, and as it requires no exertion to follow the music, the enjoyment is the greater.”

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Posted in 19th century history, Cleveland and Ohio history, Genealogy tips, The Last of the Blacksmiths: A Novel

What day was that?

Posted on October 6, 2011 | 2 comments

When writing about our ancestors, sometimes we want to find not only the date, but also the day of the week. My ancestor Michael Harm arrived in New York Harbor on the packet ship Helvetia on June 30, 1857. What day, exactly, was that? There are various sites to help us figure this out, such as Ancestor Search.

And here’s a find, specifically for the 19th century, through the University of Pittsburgh Library System. A digitized publication from 1886, called “The 19th Century Almanac: A complete calendar from 1800 to 1900.” There are options for viewing the almanac, depending on the format (and power of your computer). Below is a page snipped from the alamanac. (Double-click to enlarge.)

(double-click to enlarge)

Especially fun are lists of important events in a given year. Here are the events of 1853.

Since the Almanac was published in 1886, what about 1887 and following, the “time that is to come”? In those years, the Almanac lists upcoming presidential elections and congresses and so on, and centennial events from 1787 to 1800. There are also pithy quotes at the bottom of each page. For 1887, it’s:

“We take no note of time, but from its loss.”

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Posted in 19th century history, Genealogy tips

Sütterlin – Old German Script

Posted on September 22, 2011 | 2 comments

My relatives in Freinsheim discovered a packet of old letters, from early in the 1840s up into the 20th century, from relatives who emigrated from the Rhineland-Palatinate to Cleveland, Ohio. They’re written not only in German, but in Alte Deutsche Schrift (Old German Script), or Kurrentschrift, based on medieval cursive.

Here’s a sample of the handwriting, written by Johann Rapparlie. This snippet says:


Cleveland on the 14th November, 1847
Much loved brother-in-law and sister-in-law,
With great joy I pick up the pen to let you know about our matters how all of us are here amongst each other in Cleveland.

Sütterlin script is named after the graphic artist who standardized the Old German Script, but that did not happen until 1911. Before then, variants were the rule, not the exception. The cursive is a problem to anyone lucky enough to possess old letters, church records, land deeds, and so on, hand-written in German.

It’s also a problem for those of us researching German ancestry, because signatures of Germans on, say, marriage documents, may have been typed up by people who knew only the English alphabet. Here’s just one example. I have had great difficulty finding my ancestor George Scheuermann. It turns out the Old German Script is one source of the problem. The letter “e”, in Old German Script, looks like this: which strongly resembles the English cursive “n”.

This revelation occurred to me on a recent visit to the Ohio Historical Society archives in Columbus. In the typed-up book of Cuyahoga marriages in the 1840s and 1850s, I found him at last.

Fortunately, like most challenges of the 21st century, there is help on the web.
Here You Can Learn Suetterlin
Write Your Name in Suetterlin

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Posted in 19th century history, Genealogy tips

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Look in your attic

Posted on July 19, 2011 | Leave a comment

Seriously. If you’re doing genealogy, look in your attic. Or in those boxes in storage. Better yet, call up your siblings and ask them to look in their attics. That’s how I found another cache of letters and photos. Just recently, my brother dug around and turned up a fresh packet of 19th century letters written from Cleveland and Germany in Sütterlin German.

I’ve only managed to scan a couple so far. This letterhead is found on one dated 1864, written from Bremen. An interesting perspective for the time, an “aerial view.” How the …? Was the artist in a hot air balloon? A cathedral spire?

Here is a “bird’s eye” view of Cleveland from 1877, also quite detailed. (A high resolution version can be obtained from Historic Mapworks.)

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Posted in Genealogy tips

German immigrants to Cleveland 1855-1860

Posted on July 5, 2011 | 1 comment

After the banner immigrant years of 1852-1854, arrivals dropped off some. The list below, from the The Jubilee Edition of the Cleveland Wächter und Anzeiger 1902, shows the year of arrival in Cuyahoga County, followed by name, year of birth, place of birth, and occupation.
1855: Dröge, Friedrich, born 1828 in Celle, Hanover, furniture maker.
    Kneiss, Louise M., born 1837 in Frankfurt am Main, Hessia-Nassau, private person.
    Rink, J. P., born 1832 in Zweibrücken, Rhenish Palatinate, private person.
    Sältzer, Carl, born 1829 in Ilbersheim, Rhenish Palatinate, bookkeeper.
1856: Clauss, Jeanette, Deidelsheim, Baden, private person.
    Freese, Christoph, born 1834 in Rabbar, Hanover, smith.
    Ganss, Jacob, Frankenthal, Rhenish Palatinate, police sergeant.
    Kauel, Christian, born 1829 in Switzerland, railroader.
    La Marche, Franz C., Blieskastel, Rhenish Palatinate, furniture business.
    Lards, Heinrich, born 1833 in Stavenhagen, Mecklenburg, building contractor.
    Mayer, Adolph, born 1826 in Mettenheim, Rhenish Hessia, merchant.
    Seeholzer, David, born 1829 in Baden, Baden, private person.
    Stohlmann, J. H., born 1839 in Bünde, Westphalia, cabinetmaker.
    Stüber, Christian, born 1829 in Obersilmingen, Württemberg, cabinetmaker.
1857: Brommhardt, Jacob, born 1839 in Schlierbach, Electoral Hessia, tavernkeeper.
    Ebert, George E., born 1831 in Central Franconia, Bavaria, smith.
    Egert, Kilian, born 1834 in Oberzelle, Electoral hessia, private person.
    Giessen, Carl, born 1834 in Zweibrücken, Rhenish Palatinate, private person.
    Harm, Michael, born 1841 in Freinsheim, Rhenish Palatinate, wagon manufacturer (the subject of my thesis).
    Krauss, George, born 1830 in Rhenish Palatinate, private person.
    Lätsch, William F., born 1842 in Leipzig, Saxony, letter carrier.
    Löber, C. W., born 1836 in Darmstadt, Hessia-Darmstadt, cabinet maker
    Löber, Julia, born 1839 in Homburg, Hessia-Darmstadt, private person.
    Miller, Charles, born 1857 in Holzhausen, Hessia-Darmstadt, tanner.
    Schendel, Ludwig Sam., born 1831 in Colmar, Prussia, insurance business.
    Schuch, John, born 1838 in Hattenbach, Electoral Hessia, house painter.
    Trope, George, born 1833 in Lüchte, Waldeck, private person.
1858: Behm, Whilhelm, born 1844 in Motsdorf, Mecklenburg, farmer.
    Heidinger, Josef, born 1838 in Baden-Badenm Baden (sic), baker.
    Lang, Josef, born 1832 in Romelsbach, Württemberg, private person.
    Morawetz, Isidor, born 1831 in Kranwitz, Prussia, tailor.
    Stern, Jacob, born 1837 in Ziegenhain, Electoral Hessia, shoemaker.
1859: Beil, Sigmund, born 1833 in Stetten, Baden, shoemaker.
    Kunze, Carl, born 1837 in Angermünde, Prussia, iron founder.
    Moser, Arnold, born 1837 in Burgdorf, Switzerland, bookkeeper.
    Müller, Ferdinand, born 1836 in Lübersdorf, Mecklenburg, coal dealer.
    Reissland, Auguste, born 1835 in Rudolfstadt, Schwarzburg, private person.
    Schmidt, F. W., born 1840 in Wimmern, Hanover, shoemaker.
1860: Bittschofsky, Carl, born 1827 in Breslau, Silesia, private person.
    Emerich, U., born 1839 in Odenheim, Baden, saddler.
    Forsch, Abraham, born 1840 in Teschenmostel, Rhenish Palatinate, insurance agent.
    Gehring, John, born 1842 in Walsheim, Rhenish Hessia, farmer.
    Hach, John, born 1842 in Uttrichshausen, Electoral hessia, saddler.
    Heck, Paul, born 1841 in Schönengrund, Württemberg, baker.
    Müller, Christine, Brecksville, farmer.
    Schröder, Fred W., born 1824 in Trabitz, Prussia, teacher.

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Posted in Genealogy tips, List of German Immigrants to Cleveland

German immigrants to Cleveland in 1854

Posted on July 5, 2011 | 2 comments

From the The Jubilee Edition of the Cleveland Wächter und Anzeiger 1902, the list below shows the year of arrival in Cuyahoga County, followed by name, year of birth, place of birth, and occupation.
1854: Abel, George M., born 1828 in Bernhausen, Württemberg, formal gardener.
    Barner, David, born 1825 in Oethringen, Württemberg, weaver.
    Beckerle, Heinrich, born 1833 in Biblis, Rhenish Hessia, machinist.
    Bennhoff, Hermann, born 1847 in Barkhausen, Hanover, machinist.
    Blahd, Heinrich, born 1826 in Bernkastel, Rhenish Province, merchant.
    Butter, Katharina, Landeshut, Prussia.
    Daus, William, born 1827 in Kirchbrack, Brunswick, machinist.
    Diener, Adolph, born 1846 in Radolfzell, Baden, mason.
    Eckhardt, A. W., born 1846 in Amorbach, Bavaria. machinst.
    Eisel, Philipp, born 1835 in Gemünden, Nassau, insurance business.
    Emde, Christ. F., born 1832 in Mengeringhausen, Waldeck, shoe business.
    Etzenberger, Jacob, born 1826 in St. Gallen, Switzerland, shoemaker.
    Gaennsslen, Philipp, born 1830 in Metzingen, Württemberg, bookbinder.
    Günther, Emanuel E., born 1833 in Nagold, Württemberg, bookbinder.
    Guenther, Felix, born 1843 in Wied-Selters, Nassau, art dealer.
    Häfele, Jacob, born 1832 in Flochberg, Württemberg, vegetable gardener.
    Haller, Martin, Württemberg, butcher.
    Haker, John P., born 1839 in Gewerzien, Mecklenburg, bookbinder.
    Hoff, John P., born 1825 in Pansweiler, Rhenish Province, private person.
    Hoffmann, Heinrich, born 1826 in Hattenbach, Electoral Hessia, silk weaver.
    Kachel, Johann, born 1832 in Stetten, Württemberg, private person.
    Käufer, Heinrich, born 1827 in Weingarten, Rhenish Palatinate, tailor.
    Kimmerle, Jacob, born 1836 in Württemberg.
    Kleinschrodt, Christian, born 1828 in Ermetzhofen, Bavaria, shoemaker.
    Köckert, August C., born 1830 in Renden, Saxony, shoe business.
    Kohlmaier, Adam, born 1832 in Rehborn, Rhenish Palatinate, tailor.
    Krämer, H. S., born 1827 in Bunde, West Prussia, iron founder.
    Lohrer, Jacob, born 1835 in Donaueschingen, Baden, police captain.
    Menke, Carl, born 1835 in Woldegk, Mecklenburg, tailor.
    Miller, Philipp, Dürkheim, Rhenish Palatinate, shoe business.
    Portz, Johann, born 1832 in Saarlouis, Rhenish Province, shoe business.
    Scherwitz, Friedrich, born 1835 in Rheinbischofsheim, Baden, butcher.
    Spengel, Friedrich, born 1821 in Hungen, Hessia-Darmstadt, tailor.
    Wagner, John, born 1832 in Kastel, Rhenish Province, building contractor.
    Weber, Dr. Gust. C. E., born 1828 in Bonn, Rhenish Province, physician.
    Wendorff, Louis, born 1835 in Neubrandenburg, Mecklenburg, oven facgtory.
    Wetzel, Katharina, born 1831 in Halger, Hessia-Nassau, private person.

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Posted in Genealogy tips, List of German Immigrants to Cleveland

Cleveland German immigrants in 1853

Posted on July 4, 2011 | Leave a comment

From the The Jubilee Edition of the Cleveland Wächter und Anzeiger 1902, the list below shows the year of arrival in Cuyahoga County, followed by name, year of birth, place of birth, and occupation.
1853: Amann, John G., born 1824 in Württemberg, private person.
    Diemer, Frederike, born 1830 in Württemberg, private person.
    Faulhaber, Martin, born 1834 in Königheim, Baden, private person.
    Fix, George, born 1830 in Lichtenau, Baden, butcher.
    Geissler, George, born 1827 in Central Franconia, Bavaria, smith.
    Hanf, Andreas, born 1838 in Altmannshausen, Bavaria, cigar maker.
    Hitz, Joseph L., born 1838 in Obersäckingen, Switzerland, insurance agent.
    Kaltenmacher, Magdalena, born 1834 in Unterwalden, Switzerland.
    Kraus, C. F., born 1834 in Hirschfeld, Saxony, wood dealer.
    Kurtz, Johann George, born 1842 in Betzingen, Württemberg, machinist.
    Marquardt, Bernhard, born 1832 in Messkirch, Baden, private person.
    Meckes, John, born 1843 in Maikammer, Rhenish Palatinate, merchant.
    Mitchel, Katharina, born 1825 in Heidelberg, Baden, private scitizen.
    Ortli, Fridolin, born 1835 in Glarus, Switzerland, sheet metal worker.
    Probeck, Philipp, born 1834 in Oestrich, Nassau, private person.
    Rauch, Carl, born 1845 om Standenböhl, Rhenish Palatinate, wagon factory.
    Riedel, Jacob C., born 1850 in Neuhofen, Rhenish Palatinate, janitor.
    Riedel, Michael, born 1835 in Neuhofen, Rhenish Palatinate, farmer.
    Rinderspacher, John, born 1833, tailor.
    Ruhland, John, born 1827 in Münster, Alsace, butcher.
    Schlatterbeck, George A., born 1829 in Sinbronn, Bavaria, insurance agent.
    Semlow, Theodor, born 1824 in Burg, Mecklenberg, private person.
    Spitzig, Wilhelm, born 1832 in Königheim, Baden, building contractor.
    Stein, Jacob, born 1842 in Rheingönnheim, Rhenish Palatinate, perviate person.
    Tripphahn, Friedrich, born 1825 in Anklammer, Pomerania, private person.
    Würtz, Christopher, born 1836 in Ottersheim, Rhenish Palatinate, sheet music dealer.
    Young, John P., born 1833 in Krumbach, Prussia, private person.

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Posted in Genealogy tips, List of German Immigrants to Cleveland