Requesting some translation/explanation

bonniesamuel1

This is the death record for Johann Arnold Windfuhr, died 10 July 1882 in Elberfeld, Germany, found in the church books of 1882, now archived in Wuppertal Archives. Surviving wife-Laura; occupation Armenhauser or "Father of the Poorhouse" - he was a Section with the Lutheran Church and as such did much "Good Samaritan " work in the community; the funeral is said to have been well attended, many recipients of Arnold's kindness. 

What I'd like translation help with is the info in the 3rd and 4th column on top section; then the notations on the bottom section, esp. "III, IV, 636, 637," ? This was the most detailed death record I've ever found! 

Many thanks, Bonnie

J.A. Windfuhr_Eintrag Sterberegister_p002.jpg

J.A. Windfuhr_Eintrag Sterberegister-page-001.jpg

Annette Unrau Adams

Working on this. :)

Annette Unrau Adams

Bonnie, thank you so much for your query. I ran into an issue with the pictures you posted. When I go to look at them, on my end, I can barely read them, because they are too small. I made a snippet of the image, and then put it in Power Point, to better read the script. This didn't take me very long. I then ran into the next issue, which is even after enlarging the screen shot, the smaller print was too blurry.

I went to Archion.de, where I figured you pulled the records from, and found the entries. For future reference, it's much easier, if you provide the link to Archion.de. And, it's best not to post images from Archion.de online.

I have provided the link to the pages you shared. From parish to parish, column headers may have different entries. It will be crucial for you to watch some of the really amazing deciphering tutorials in the FamilySearch Help Center. Charlotte Noelle Champenois gave a week long seminar that covers, church and civil registration records, and the printed script as well as the handwritten entries. The hand-outs are excellent, and will help you immensely.

The link will suffice. https://www.archion.de/de/viewer/?no_cache=1&type=churchRegister&uid=270900

Digital Image Nr. 82

For now, here's a run down of the column headers:

column 1: No.

Columns 2,3,4, and 5, are bracketed, ( Des Gestorbenen) and are the given name, surname, occupation (circumstantial) Residence, Age.

Then the three columns, bracketed: Ob der Verstorbene Hinterlassen, column 5, spouse, 6, children of legal age, and then 7, minor children.

Column 8, Month, Day and Hour of death (in numbers and letters), 9, Illness and the way the deceased passed on. 10, Month and Day of the Burial. 11, If the burial occurred in silence, 12, if there was a Graveside speech, and then if there was a sermon at for the deceased.

This is what I read:

Johann Arnold Windfuhr, husband of Laura Windgassen geb. Lenn[sch?]e. Resided at the Poorhouse on Ludwigstr. Nr. 26. (Please note the above address is at Bachstr. Nr. 92, maybe this neighborhood has streets named after musicians? This may be useful if there is a directory for this area, which you might find online). The deceased was 56 years old, 2 months, and 22 days (this will allow you to calculate his birthday). Johann left behind a wife, adult children, and minor children. Johann died the 10th of July, 1882, in the evening at 11 1/2 o'clock. [Asmathischer Anfall b. Lungendzuendung] Asthma attack while sick with a pneumonia. Buried 13 July. If I am understanding this right, the bells rang for 40 minutes. Here is where it gets murky, you have that random note: [? Joh. Arnold Windfuhr Siehe d. Zahlung u. 513. III, IV, 636/637, and then we see what look like numbers with decimals]. Zahlune means payments. The numbers with the decimals, look like cash amounts. At first I thought they might be scriptural references, and maybe they are, and am not seeing an abbreviated Bible book name, and then the numbers. I would look through death entry collection and see if there is a pattern. The biggest clue here, is the word Zahlung, which tells me, it probably cost money to ring the bells for forty minutes. The III, and IV 636/637 may be the registration numbers or receipt numbers for the entry. I think they accounted for each time a speech was given at the gravesite. and then the Leichenpredig. I need to ask about this. I think this more like a funeral service and one had options on how to honor their dead.

Here's a super helpful link for Germany Church Records on the FamilySearch research wiki, that should provide a little more understanding. Here's a tutorial on how to decipher the script. German Paleography Seminar: Introduction. There are 10 lessons, and these come with handouts to download.

Ulrich Neitzel

@bonniesamuel1 , @Annette Unrau Adams

Just some additions to Annette's extensive and excellent translation:

• the wife of Johann Arnold Windfuhr is Laura Windgassen, born in Lennep (https://www.meyersgaz.org/place/20051050)
• Johann Arnold was an Armenhausvater. That means he cared for the poor in the poorhouse, but he did not himself live there; his adress in Ludwigstr. 26. Elberfeld had a rather progressive system for aiding the poor in the time of industrialization, know as "Elberfeld system": "Key to the system was that the almoners and overseers served voluntarily. They came mostly from the middle class, being minor officials, craftsmen or merchants."(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elberfeld_system).
• Regarding the numbers etc in the last columns: Unfortunately the copy is somewhat unsharp and I don't have access to Archion. However, I would agree with Annette that this is a list of payments in connection with the burial. In the last column there is first an address and a time: "Dammstr. 5 Uhr". This might be the address of the Armenhaus. Then there are the items "4 Träger (pallbearers), 11 Wagen (wagon) à 6 Mk = 66 Mk, 16 P. Gdsch.? à 0.40 = 6.40. Dammstrasse is near the railway in an area where formerly also the orphanage, lunatic asylum and the hospital were situated, Maybe there was a funeral cortege from the poorhouse to the church/cemetery.

bonniesamuel1

Thank you, Annette. Your efforts are most appreciated and comments helpful. Thanks!

Ulrich Neitzel

Hello Bonnie,

the funeral service would have been held either in a church or in a chapel on the cemetery. At that time, Elberfeld (now part of the city of Wuppertal) was already rather large town with more than 150.000 inhabitants and several churches. There were several central cemeteries; burials near the church were probably no longer possible.

Here is a historic map of Elberfeld-Barmen (Elberfeld to the left/west): http://images.zeno.org/Meyers-1905/I/big/Wm05594a.jpg You can see the cemeteries in the north of the city center (plane squares C1/C2). There was a cemetery of the lutheran parish and one of the reformed parish. I would assume that Johann Arnold was buried on one of these. His home Ludwigstrasse was close by (C2/D2). Dammstrasse is in B3; barely visible, but it can be found on modern Google maps (I have put a link in my previous answer).

It was certainly not common to mention the funeral charges in the church book, but I have seen other, earlier instances as well.

bonniesamuel1

Hello Ulrich, I appreciate your explanations and additional info regarding the death register for Johann Arnold Windfuhr, who at the time of his death, he was the Sexton of the old Lutheran Church, Elberfeld. He had been long known in Elberfeld as a Good Samaritan. So it makes sense that there was a procession of people he’d help to the funeral.

I will read up on the Elberfeld System … so interesting.

in those days, would the funeral have been held in the church or graveside? And was it common for the funeral charges to be in the death and burial register? Also the document does not say where the deceased was buried, so assumed the burial was in the church's burial ground.

thank you very much, Ulrich