German Name change Inquiry
Hello all,
Hopefully someone can help me with this question. I have an ancestor from Baden-Baden Germany, who married a man named Franz Joseph Metzmaier in 1811. Her name was Magdalena Lorenz. In research, I obtained the birth/baptism record for her legitimate daughter, Apolonia Metzmaier born in 1814 baptized the same year. I also know through research that Magdalena Lorenz' maiden name was Lorenz. Although in her daughter's record I see a note from a local german court in which the court decreed a surname "correction" as they call it. This occured in 1939 about 125 years after the fact. I will past the record and the decree below. I would appreciate it if someone can clarify what was going on? Magdalena Lorenz was the wife of a farmer so I can not see how it could be a change later to Germanize a name. She was already German and why they would correct the name of someone who was a farmer's wife 125 years later is a mystery to me. I would appreciate the help.
Much metta,
Masaki
THE DECREE:
<note at the bottom:> By order of the Local Court Karlsruhe dated 9 May 1939 (No. III 15/39), the entry for No. 11 is corrected to the effect that the surname of the mother of Apolonia Metzmeier must not be Schmitt, but Lorenz.
THE BIRTH/BAPTISM RECORD:
Apolonia Metzmeier, Gunzenbach
Baden, in the year 1814, 27 January 6 p.m. was born and on the 28th of the same month and year 3 p.m. was baptized by Mr. Joseph Mutz (or Muty?), currently chaplain here: a girl named Apolonia, legitimate daughter of Joseph Metzmeier, citizen and farmer in Baden Gunzenbach, and his wife Magdalena née Schmitt. The witnesses present at the baptism were Joseph Sulger, sacristan at the local parish church, and Johannes Jörger, local citizen and farmer in Thiergarten. Baptismal sponsor of the child is Maria Anna née Seitginger(?), the wife of the aforementioned Johannes Jörger.
Baden, 28 January 1814 Johannes Andreas Lorenz, town priest
<note on the margin referring to the name Schmitt:> née Lorenz, see below
<note at the bottom:> By order of the Local Court Karlsruhe dated 9 May 1939 (No. III 15/39), the entry for No. 11 is corrected to the effect that the surname of the mother of Apolonia Metzmeier must not be Schmitt, but Lorenz.
答え
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Hello Masaki
you are quite right that the correct maiden name of Magdalena was Lorenz. However, in the baptism record of her daughter the priest erreneously noted her maiden name as "Schmitt". This was just a mistake, Magdalena never had this name.
The error in the document was later corrected by a court decision (not clear to me why this was done after 125 years).
By the way, both Schmitt and Lorenz are common German family names.
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Mr. Neitzel,
Thank you very much for clarifying this it greatly helped. Were mistakes such as this common at the time?
Much metta,
Masaki
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