Help with Places in records from Mecklenburg-Schwerin

Debra Palmer01

I'm researching Anna Maria Dorothea Vick (the wife of Hans Jürgen Range) and her mother Maria Dorothea Vick (the wife of Jochim Friederich Lange). I have found a few records that I think are a match for them but before I make a conclusion, I have a few questions about places in those records. There is a discrepancy with the name (Sophia) and birth date (24 Aug.1788) of the wife of Hans Jürgen Range in the 1819 census that I'll ask a question about in a future post. I'm focusing on places in this post. I included the image of the 1819 census because it has the birth place of Hans Jürgen Range's wife (entry 83). I don't need the translation of the census.

Here's the information about places from the records that I have found for Maria Dorothea Vick and Anna Maria Dorothea Vick. FYI all of these records except the 1819 census have been translated in this research group:

Maria Dorothea Vick (wife of Jochim Friederich Lange)

1) Her marriage record dated16 July 1788 in the Retschow, Mecklenburg marriage register states that she was from Kleinen Grenz. Note: she was married the year after her daughter Anna Maria Dorothea was born.

Anna Maria Dorothea Vick (wife of Hans Jürgen Range) Note: there is a discrepancy because she was apparently known by two maiden names, her mother's name Vick and her step-father's name Lange that I'll ask a question about in a future post.

1) Her baptism record states that her birth date was 4 Feb.1787 (her birth place is not mentioned) and she was baptized in Kambs u Schwaan, Mecklenburg and her mother Maria Vick resided at Lütten Grentz.

2) Her marriage record in the year 1808 in Reinshagen, Mecklenburg doesn't give her birth place but it does state that her mother Maria Vick was from Lütten Grenz.

3) Her death record in the year 1858 in Parkentin, Mecklenburg states that she was born in Kl. [Klein] Grenz.

4) The 1819 census states that Hans Jürgen Range's wife Sophia Range was born on 24 Aug. 1788 (this date does not match the birth date in her baptism record so that is a discrepancy) in Lütten Grentz and the Parish to which the place of birth belongs was Cambs.

Question: the baptism place for Anna Maria Dorothea Vick was Kambs u Schwaan and Kambs is near Klein Grenz. Is Kambs where the church was located and what does Schwaan mean?

Question: I found Klein(en) Grenz and Kambs on Meyers Gazetteer and both are near Retschow where some of the records are found so that makes sense. But the census says Cambs. Do you think Cambs is a spelling variation of Kambs? There is a Cambs in Meyers Gazetteer which is not close to Retschow so I don't know if it is the right place?

Question: I can't find Lütten Grenz or Lütten Grentz (it is spelled both ways in the records) in Meyers Gazetteer. The closest match is Lütten Klein which is north of Retschow. The baptism record says the baptism takes place in Kambs and the mother resides at Lütten Grentz but where is Lütten Grentz?

Question: the death record says she was born in Kl. [Klein] Grenz and the census says she was born in Lütten Grentz (parish Cambs). I think that either these two records are not for the same person or one of the birth places is wrong? What do you think?

I would appreciate any help with my questions about these places.

Thank you,

Debra

Ulrich Neitzel

@Debra Palmer01

Hello Debra,

• Klein(en) Grenz and Lütten Gren(t)z are all the same place. Note that lütten is the Low German word for klein (little); Low German was the common language variant in this area. Klein Grenz in Meyers: https://www.meyersgaz.org/place/10985062
• Kambs and Cambs are the same place. "K" and "C" are often used interchangeably in historic documents. Kambs in Meyers: https://www.meyersgaz.org/place/10920096
• Klein Grenz had no own church/parish (according to Meyers). So all baptisms, marriages and funerals were entered into church books of the nearby parish(es), e.g. Kambs. In fact, in the census record above it is stated that Lütten Grentz belongs to the parish of Cambs (column heading: Kirchspiel, wohin der Geburtsort gehört). The church of Cambs dates back to the 13th century: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorfkirche_Kambs_(Vorbeck)
• Schwaan was the nearest "bigger" town: https://www.meyersgaz.org/place/20765110

Debra Palmer01

@Ulrich Neitzel,

That's so good to know that Klein Grenz and Lütten Grenz are the same place and also Kambs and Cambs are the same! That clears up my questions about these records being a match for Maria Dorothea Vick and Anna Maria Dorothea Vick which I'm very sure now are mother and daughter. So this is progress in my research. I still have research to do about the discrepancy of the given name Sophia and the birth date in the census and the two maiden names of Vick and Lange found in several records. Thank you very much for your answers and the links for Meyers Gaz. and the Church in Kambs. The inside of the medieval Church is amazing.

Debra