I would like to present the following scenario to someone familiar with German research associated F
FAMILY HISTORY RECORDED IN THE BRACKWEDE PARISH REGISTER
FAMILY OF Anne Eliesebeth Meier Zu Borgsen, MJRL-XLT
The register can be accessed by going to a source in any of the children listed below
Marries Cordt Henrich Meier Zu Ummeln MJRL-XLD on 28 Jul 1751
CHILDREN
Johann Hermann Helweg alias Meier zu Ummeln K6M7-L5K, bap. 7 November 1751 (Image 311 of 588)
· Mother: Anne Eliesebeth Meier zu Borgsen
· Father: Cordt Henrich Meier Zu Ummeln
Anne Marie Liesebeth Meyer Zu Ummeln GM86-57M, bap. 10 Mar 1754. (Image 322 of 588)
· Mother: Anne Eliesebeth Meier zu Borgsen
· Father: Cordt Henrich Meier Zu Ummeln
Anne Margrete Meier Zu Ummeln GM8X-M2C, bap. 15 Nov 1755 (Image 325 of 588)
· Mother: Anne Eliesebeth Meier zu Borgsen
· Father: Cordt Henrich Meier Zu Ummeln
SIX YEAR GAP
· Cordt Henrich Meier Zu Ummeln is out of the picture. No death entry between 1754 and 1764 inclusive
· Anne marries Caspar Henrich Bentrup on 28 Nov 1762 (Image 234 of 588, lower right) (Fits nicely, except for the difference in the second husband’s last name. All subsequent children show Casper Henrich zu Ummeln as the father.)
Anne Marie Liesebeth, bap. 4 Dec 1763. (Image 362 of 588)
· Mother: Anne Eliesebeth Meier zu Borgsen
· Father: Caspar Henrich Meier zu Ummeln
Marie Agnese, bap. 10 Aug 1766 (Image 378 of 588)
· Mother: Anne Eliesebeth Meier zu Borgsen
· Father: Caspar Henrich Meier zu Ummeln
Anne Marie Ilsebein, bap. 27 March 1769 (Image 403 of 588)
· Mother: Anne Eliesebeth Meier zu Borgsen
· Father: Caspar Henrich Meier zu Ummeln
Johann Henrich, bap. 10 Feb 1771 (Image 426 of 588)
· Mother: Gret Eliesebeth Meier zu Borgsen (Name change of mother / variant spelling? / misinterpretation of first name?)
· Father: Caspar Henrich Meier zu Ummeln
QUESTIONS:
1. I think the 6-year gap suggests a death or divorce and a remarriage to a brother or close relative for a small farming community such as Ummeln. Is it reasonable for me to assume that?
2. The interstitial marriage to Caspar H. Bentrup concerns me. Do I ignore the marriage and leave the spouse unknown, since all the children born thereafter carry the surname Meier zu Ummeln and offspring of Caspar? My analysis would lead me to believe that the marriage applies to this family, and that Casper lived in a farming community called Bentrup and then changed his surname name to zu Ummeln when he moved there and married Cordt’s sister, or whomever. Zu borgsen and zu Ummeln are extensions to the Meier name that show where they lived. What bothers me is Meier was not included in his surname. MEYERSGAZ.org recognizes the name Bentrup or Barntrup as larger communities considerable distances away. However, other small communities like Quelle and Ummeln in this area are recognized by meyersgaz.org as larger communities in other parts of Germany. This is not about what I think or what I want to believe, but about what is best or right or standard protocol.
3. Is it reasonable to assume that the name entered for the mother is Anne Eliesabeth is one she was commonly called by, or should I create a second wife for Caspar and the 7th and last child?
Your professional and inspired opinions would be appreciated in considering my final course of action.
Respuestas
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(1) Are you familiar with the concept of "farm names" in Westphalia?
Here are two links about farm names:
First link:
https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Westphalia_(Westfalen)_Names,_Personal
Note the following sentence in the middle of the paragraph: "Men often take on the wife's surname if moving onto her property."
Second link:
http://freepages.rootsweb.com/~ehrhard/genealogy/Farm%20Names.htm
Read the section entitled "Farm Names" (especially the last sentence) and the next section entitled "Westfalen".
You may be dealing with a farm name with this family as follows:
Cordt Henrich Meier zu Ummeln marries Anne Eliesebeth Meier zu Borgsen in July 1751, and this couple has several children.
Cordt Henrich Meier zu Ummeln dies sometime between 1755 and late 1762, and his wife inherits the farm, which has the farm name Meier zu Ummeln.
Anne Eliesebeth Meier zu Borgsen next marries Caspar Henrich Bentrup in November 1762, and he adopts as his surname the name of the farm. Thus, in the birth records of his subsequent children, he is identified as Caspar Henrich Meier zu Ummeln. Caspar would not necessarily be related to the first husband as a brother or close relative in this circumstance.
(2) Here is the link for Brackwede from Meyers Gazetteer:
https://www.meyersgaz.org/place/10221074
Click on the "Map" link in the gray bar at the top of the entry.
You will see that Brackwede is at the intersection of four roads which go northeast, southeast, southwest, and northwest.
Follow the road going northwest about two inches from the intersection in Brackwede and you will come to a place called: Meier z. Borgsen. Continue northwest another two inches on the map and you come to a place called Meier z. Bentrup. I could not find either of these place in Meyers Gazetteer, but they do appear here on the map.
Now here is the link for Ummeln from Meyers Gazetteer:
https://www.meyersgaz.org/place/20989047
Again click on the "Map" link. Ummeln is to the southwest of Brackwede, about six inches from the main intersection. Ummeln is directly south (as the crow flies) from Meier zu Borgsen and Meier zu Bentrup.
So, Ummeln, Meier zu Borgsen, and Meier zu Bentrup are all reasonably close to one another. It is likely that Anne Eliesebeth Meier zu Borgsen comes from Meier zu Borgsen, and it possible that Caspar Henrich Bentrup comes from Meier zu Bentrup.
This places all three people (first husband, wife, second husband) in the general vicinity of one another.
(3) I am unable to view the actual birth record of the last child born in February 1771. But the name "Anne" and the name "Gret" (probably Grete or Greta) are distinct and I am not aware that one is a nickname for the other.
Have you found a death record for Anne and a subsequent marriage record for Caspar Henrich to a woman named "Gret" which would support these two women being different people?
Comment: I thought your analysis and presentation were excellent.
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Thanks for you quick response, kind words, and thoughtful insights. It was encouraging, since I had created the family structure exactly as you outlined it. The relationship of Caspar didn't matter in the construct, but your knowledge of the customs puts in in proper context. As for the name Gret, I wondered if it was a shortened form of Margret, which ahs been used as a middle name in the family. Some girls share the same first name and I thought is reasonable to assume they went by a middle name and that it might be a middle name used by the mother. At any rate the last child remains with the same mother as her siblings until I can find a death record for Anne Meier zu Borgsen. Many people don't bother to look for death records. They can be useful in solving problems like this. I will look at the links you provided. Again, many thanks for your effort.
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BTW. How did you use find the information on Ummeln in Wkik or Meyersgaz. I don't know how to use it so that it produces useful information. You process in finding the data might speed up my learning curve.
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If you click on the blue "How to" Guides link off to the right in the Germany Community group, it'll take you to the Germany "How to" Guides page on the FamilySearch Wiki. Under "Meyer's Gazetteer Online: Meyersgaz.org" is listed an Instruction handout that'll walk you through the basics of using Meyersgaz.
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Thank you, @Charlotte Noelle Champenois for providing the links about how to use Meyers Gazetteer. Very helpful indeed!
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Yes, you're correct @Dean, Barton David that Gret could be a shortened form of Margret.
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I am in the company of sages! First, a superlative response from Robert, and now I have the pleasure to address the German Paleography diva. I listened to all 10 of your courses. The next two days I spent pouring over the Brackwede Transcript. My "analysis" was in Robert's hands in two days. Within two days--with help from above and your classes--I was able to easily read 95% of what I saw. The other 5% I attribute to sloppy handwriting. I do better now reading the German records than the English ones. (Of course you know Germans are obsessively tidy and started ruling their transcripts before lined paper was invented). I deeply appreciate both your responses your responses and the classes, I will practice with meyersgaz and other tools. I hope I might refer to you with the tough cases, which I hope won't be many.
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Thank you for your very kind words! Much appreciated indeed!
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@Dean, Barton David, that is absolutely wonderful to hear! I am so glad you have been enjoying my German paleography classes so much and that they have helped you advance in your skills! That is exactly my hope for everyone who listens to the series! Learning and then practicing reading the German script takes persistence, but it is so very worth it, as you experienced with your document. Thank you for letting me know about your success, and please, feel free to post any questions you have here in the Community and I and others will gladly help you out to the best of our ability.
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BEWARE!!! Your offer is accepted!
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