Do you think these are the same person/people?
I'm working on Paul A Brigman (https://www.familysearch.org/tree/person/details/K42D-861), trying to loc) ate origin in Germany.
Multiple records in the U.S. state that he was born on September 2, 1865 in Germany.
Multiple census records state that he was born in Prussia.
On his marriage record (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3QS7-89VW-NDK9?i=1184) it looks it says he was born in Osterwi(c)k, Prussia (he married Katherine Lipp on February 7, 1887 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania).
MeyersGaz has no results for "Osterwik" but a handful for "sounds like" results: https://s.meyersgaz.org/search_sl.aspx?search=osterwik.
I did a search on Ancestry and came up with this (the record's also on FamilySearch): https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:NZ3H-5V4. It lists him as being christened in Osterwick, Konitz, Westprueßen on September 13, 1865 as Paul Nikolaus Brüggmann. His parents are listed as Jacob Brüggmann and Anna Schweminska.
However, his death record in 1938 (https://search.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/sse.dll?viewrecord=1&r=an&db=PADeathCollection&indiv=try&h=3189018) lists his name as Paul A Brigman. His birth date is given as September 2, 1865 in Germany. His parents are listed as Jacob Brigman and Katherine Lipp. His wife's name is listed as Katherine Brigman.
So, there are a few issues with matching the Osterwick birth record with the Pittsburgh Paul Brigman:
- There are a lot of places in Prussia that have names sounding like "Osterwik". How do I know that I'm looking at the right person?
- The middle initials don't match in Germany and the U.S. - in the U.S. he's known as Paul A Brigman, while the name in Germany is Paul Nikolaus Brigman. However, the death record and the Find-A-Grave are the only records to list him as Paul A Brigman - every other record in the U.S. lists him as just "Paul Brigman".
- The names of the mothers don't match. The Osterwick birth record lists the mother as Anna Schweminska, while the death record lists the mother as Katherine Lipp. However, it is worth noting that his wife's maiden name was Katherine Lipp. Is this just a clerical error?
Any thoughts as to whether these records are talking about the same person?
Thanks so much!
Cody Bailey
P.S. The cause of death is certainly not your typical one...