Common practices - Alswede

Jenealogy

I have some questions on the attached parish register page, the witnesses to the baptism highlighted in green:

Gevattern Ludolph SSutte? Ludolff Wisbrökers ad Nobbe, Joh. Ernst Bucholtz frater. NB. seijn Copuliert Dienstag post octavam post Trinit.

1) Ludolff Wisbrökers ad Nobbe. I understand that when a man married a woman and then went to live on her family's property he would sometimes take her surname. So for this witness, would his birth name be Wisbrokers and then he took the surname of his wife as Nobbe?

2) Joh. Ernst Bucholtz frater. Would the relationship here indicate that Joh. Ernst Bucholtz was the brother of the father of the child, Moritz Bucholz?

Is there a way that I should be indicating an "u-Bogen" when typing it, or just enter a plain "u"?.

Thank you

Ulrich Neitzel

@Jenealogy

Unfortunately, I cannot give any definitive answers to your questions. In particular, since I am not very familiar with the customs of this area (other than the use of farm names were common). I would agree that your assumptions seem reasonable, but would love to hear a comment by somebody who is an expert for this area.

The "u-Bogen" is only used in handwritten text (mainly to distinguish it from the letter "n"). In printed text just the plain "u" is used.

Regarding the name Ludolph ?utte: the letter "ß" (or double s) cannot be used as an initial. So it must be something different. Most similar would be a "B", but the other Bs on this page look different.

Suzi_Trotter

I'm answering these in a different order than they were asked because I tackled the simpler pieces first.

An u-bogen (which can be called a u-loop) is only used to distinguish a u from the letters n and e. These letters in the German alphabet are almost indistinguishable. When writing in the Latin alphabet (what we use for English), it is just the letter u.

There are several reasons a man would have an alternative surname, farm names being the most common in certain parts of Germany. The word ad used between these two surnames does appear to indicate that this man had alternative surnames. He may appear on other records with only one of these two surnames, so if you are looking for him, consider seeking him as just Nobbe or Wisbröker. This is important because it may be several generations earlier that the alternate surname was adopted. All you know from this record is that he carries both names, not which name is the original and which is the alternate. You could theorize he was born Wisbröker and adopted Nobbe, but further research is needed to determine more. (see Germany Naming Customs https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/Germany_Naming_Customs)

This record contains mixed usage of German and Latin, which can make understanding it confusing at times. The word frater is Latin for brother. Thus, Joh. Ernst Bucholtz was the brother of someone. To this I'll add that 1) witnesses were adults, so over the age of 18; and 2) generally speaking, the witnesses relationship is to the child. If this record were pure Latin, the declension of frater should provide clarity that is lacking here. In this case, however, I think this record is saying that Joh. Ernst Bucholtz is the brother of Moritz Bucholtz, the father of the child. However, finding the original records identifying these men (Ernst and Moritz) as brothers or father and son is necessary to prove either theory is fact.

Jenealogy

Thank you both! So I'm off to see if I can find more records with the possible relationship shown in this record.

I appreciate learning the difference between the umlaut and the u-Bogen. That will help me be more accurate in my transcriptions.