Transcription Thursday ~ Nicolas Schmitt x 2

Nicolas is a popular name among my Schmitt ancestors, given to several grandfathers and both my third and fourth great-granduncles. I've attempted to transcribe and translate the great-uncles' death records below.

UPDATE July 5th - The words in green are the ones I received help translating.

Transcription Décès d' Nicolas Schmitt
L ‘an mil huit cent onze le six Avril à dix héures du matin, par devant nous Maire de Hellimer sous comparu François Schmitt tanneur et Jean Doubach meunier tous deux domicilié audit lieu, lesquel nous ont déclaré que que Nicolas Schmitt age de quatre mois douze jours fils du presence et d' Elisabeth Grosse son épouse est décèdé le jour d' hier à onze heures du soir dans la maison paternelle, de quoi nous, avon dressé acte que huitiéme les comparu nous ont signé avec nous après lecture faite.

[signed] Franz Schmitt Jean duBach Chibauer

Translation Death of Nicolas Schmitt
The year one thousand eight hundred and eleven on April 6 at ten in the morning, before us Mayor of Hellimer appeared François Schmitt tanner and Jean Doubach miller both domiciled at that place, which ones said us that Nicolas Schmitt age of four months twelve days son of the first and of his wife Elisabeth Grosse died on the day of yesterday at eleven o'clock at night in his father's house, what we have compiled the note that the declarants have signed with us after reading done
[signed] Franz Schmitt Jean Dubach Chibauer

The 2nd Nicolas Schmitt died in 1826:

His death record starts on the page above and ends on the page below.

Transcription No. 37 deces de Nicolas Schmitt aged d’ 49 ans
L' an mil huit cent vingt six la vingt-sept avril a midi par devant nous Joseph Pinet, Maire et officier de l' etat civil de la commune d' Hellimer et Diffenbach canton de Grostenquin, département de la Moselle, sous comparu le sieur Jean Pierre Schmitt, serrurier age de quarante sept ans et M. Hubert Bienfait avocat agé de quatre vingt un ans tous deux domicilié a Hellimer lequel nous ont déclaré qu' aujourd huÿ a dix heures du matin, Nicolas Schmitt célibataire, age de quarante neuf ans frere du premier déclarant, et fils de Claude Schmitt et Anna Marie Schmitt son epouse tous deux defunt, et décédé an son domicile á Hellimer et ont les déclarant ti qué avec nous d' present acte décédés, après lecture faite.

[signed] Bienfait xxx Schmitt Pinet

Translation No. 37 death of Nicolas Schmitt aged 49 years
The year eighteen hundred and twenty six of April 27 at noon in front of us by Joseph Pinet, Mayor and Officer of the vital statistics of the town of Hellifield and Diffenbach Grostenquin Township, department of Moselle, appeared in the Mr. Jean Pierre Schmitt, locksmith age of forty seven years and Hubert M. Bienfait old lawyer eighty years a resident of both Hellimer which we have stated that today at ten in the morning, Nicolas Schmitt single, age forty-nine years brother of the first registrant, and son of Anna Marie Claude Schmitt and Schmitt's wife, both deceased, and died a year and his home in Hellifield oiot declaring ti us to present act dead, after reading done.

[signed] Bienfait xxx Schmitt Pinet

As always, I owe many thanks to my friends at Rootsweb!

Wordless Wednesday ~ Mystery Record

Translation Tuesday ~ Claude Schmitt

I created a rough draft transcription and translation of my 5th great-grandfather's death record. Then I asked fellow members of the Alsace-Lorraine list to review my efforts and share comments or corrections. What a lively discussion ensued!

Did the death occur the day the record was created or the day before? (At 2am the same day.) Is "de Françoise" a surname or a woman's given name? (Françoise is Claude's mother's first name.) Did both Claude's parents die in Boulay or just his father? (Both parents.)

Having many pairs of eyes look at the same document gave me greater confidence about the correctness of our final draft. I found the discussion fascinating because it demonstrated the intricacies of the French language as it was used in 1814. One letter made all the difference when determining my sixth great-grandparents' place of death!

Updated Transcription - Deces d’ Claude Schmitt
L’ an mil huit cent quatorze le douze Novembre à huit heures du matin par devant nous maire officier de l’ etat Civil de la commune d' Hellimer et Diffenbach sont comparus François Schmitt tanneur agé de quarante ans et Jacob Sadler instituteur agé de trente sept ans tous deux domiciliés à Hellimer lesquels nous ont déclaré que Claude Schmitt, agé de soixante et quatorze ans veuf de défunte Anne Schmitt, fils de Jean Schmitt et de Françoise Adam décédés à Boulay, est décédé aujourd'hui à deux heures du matin dans sa maison à Hellimer, de quoi avons dressé acte que les déclarants ont signés avec nous après lecture faite.

Updated Translation - Death of Claude Schmitt
The year one thousand eight hundred and fourteen November 12 at eight in the morning appeared before us Mayor officer of the civil status of the municipality of Hellimer and Diffenbach, François Schmitt, tanner, aged of forty years and Jacob Sadler, teacher, 37 year old, both domiciled in Hellimer, who declared to me that Claude Schmitt, aged seventy-four years widower of deceased Anne Schmitt, son of Jean Schmitt and Françoise Adam (who both died at Boulay), died today at two in the morning at his home in Hellimer, which we have registered, and declarants have signed with us after reading done.

Many thanks to all those on the A-L list who helped with this record!

A Child Lost ~ Annie Bacon

From the July 7, 1890 issue of the Chicago Daily News, "BACON-ANNIE, infant daughter of John and Margaret Bacon, aged 5 months and 25 days. Funeral from 2124 LaSalle-st., Thursday at 10 a.m., to Calvary by carriages."

First I did an Advanced Search for Annie's death certificate on FamilySearch. Her name, date and place of death, and name of the cemetery confirm this is "our" Annie:

I added her to Find A Grave and ran a quick check for her parents' marriage certificate:

Then I looked for the couple on Find A Grave. Margaret's entry includes a transcription of her obituary. She has a daughter named Catherine. No Illinois birth record match for Catherine on FamilySearch.

In the 1892 Chicago City Directory, John A Bacon, policeman resides on Portland Ave. And here's a possibility for the family in the 1900 census:



Did you notice Margaret had five children, but lost two? Here's the other child:

Catherine, Mary and Elizabeth still live with their parents in 1910:

In the census above, Elizabeth is called Bessie. Her middle initial is G, just like in the marriage certificate below. So we know Elizabeth is the daughter mentioned in Margaret's obituary.



But how do we know this family is Annie's family? If these were my ancestors, I would search for more documents with the address mentioned in Annie's obituary. I'd also like to see a reference to her in either parent's obituary.  

Since this is a rudimentary search, I hypothesize that Annie's family moved often. While there are multiple addresses, the same group of family names appear together frequently enough to believe John and Margaret are Annie's parents. I added John's death to Find A Grave and linked Annie with her parents. If you know more about this family, I hope you'll add a comment below.

Note: I have no connection to this child. In A Child Lost ~ Introduction, I shared my hope of reuniting these children with their parents. If you are a Bacon descendant, I hope you'll give Annie a special place in your family tree.

My own genealogy work-in-progress is online at Living in the Past Lane.

Transcription Thursday ~ Claude Schmitt

The day before yesterday, I shared a death notice from the 1876 Cincinnati Volksfreund for Nicolas Schmitt, my third great-grandfather.

My latest trip to the Family History Center was really exciting. To the left is the death record of Nicolas' grandfather, Claude Schmitt.

(Note to the grandkids - Claude is your seventh great-grandfather. Read on to see the names of your eighth great-grandparents!)

My attempt to transcribe and translate Claude's record is below. Any and all comments that may refine my rough draft are welcome and appreciated:

Deces d’ Claude Schmitt

L’ an mil huit cent quatorze le douze Novembre à huit heures du matin par devant nous maire officier de l’ etat Civil de la commune d' Hellimer et Diffenbach est comparu François Schmitt tanneur age de quarante and et Jacob XXX XXX age de trente sept ans tous deux domicile à Hellimer les quel nous ont déclaré xxx Claude Schmitt, fils de Jean Schmitt et en d' Française xxx A Boulay, et décédé avous hui a deux heures du matin sans la maison a hellimer de quire avous dresse acte aque les decarant ont signes avec nous après lecture faite.

Death of Claude Schmitt
The year one thousand eight hundred and fourteen November 12 at eight in the morning before us Mayor officer of the civil status of the municipality of Hellimer and Diffenbach has appeared François Schmitt tanner age of forty years and Jacob XXX XXX age of 37 years both living in Hellimer xxx said Claude Schmitt, son of Jean Schmitt and of French xxx a Boulay, and died at two in the morning at home in Hellimer quire AYou presents the act Aque declares signed with us after reading done.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Grandma's Little Lamb

Translation Tuesday ~ Death Notice in Fraktur

Awhile back I shared my attempts to learn to read French. While I am still far from fluent, I can muddle through enough of a document to get the gist.

And now I have another language to learn! Of course I turned to my Rootsweb friends when I received this copy of my 3rd great-grandfather's obituary. Color me embarrassed, I referred to the font as "German script". I quickly learned this artful style of writing is called Fraktur.

My French Schmitts hail from Moselle in Lorraine, a region of France that shares a border with Germany. They spoke Moselle Franconian, kind of a mix of German and French that was unique to their birthplace. It makes sense that they would read a German-language newspaper when they relocated to Cincinnati Ohio.

Three Cincinnati courthouses (and the documents therein) were destroyed by fire, so this clipping from the February 23, 1876 issue of the Cincinnati Volksfreund may be the only source of Nicolas' date of death:

In German it says, "Todes-Anzeige. Starb am Montag, den 21. Februar 1876, Abends um 11 Uhr, unser innigst geliebter Vater: Nikolaus Schmitt, im Alter von 64 Jahren, geboren in Hellimer, Lothringen. Die Beerdigung findet statt am Donnerstag Morgen um 8 Uhr, vom Trauerhause aus, No. 637 Race Straße, und wird ein feierliches Todtenamt in der St. Johannes Kirche abgehalten werden. Freunde und Verwandte sind ohne besondere Notiz dazu freundlichst eingeladen von den trauernden Hinterbliebenen."

And in English, "Death notice. Died on Monday February 21st 1876, in the evening at 11 o’clock, our beloved father Nikolaus Schmitt, at the age of 64 years, born in Hellimer, Lorraine. The entombment will take place on Thursday in the morning at 8 o’clock, starting at [the] house of mourning, 637 Race Street, and there will be solemn obsequies at St. John’s Church. Friends and relatives are invited to this without special note by the mourning bereaved."

A Child Lost ~ Josie A Gilman

From the May 15, 1882 edition of the Chicago Daily News, "GILMAN-May 15, 3 a.m., JOSIE A. GILMAN, aged 10 months. Funeral from late residence, 227 Ohio-st."

I located Josie's death certificate using her surname and date of death. The address is the same one found in her obituary. But her parents aren't named.

From her birth certificate above, I learned Josie is the 5th child of George Gilman. But I still don't know her mother's name. For that, I turned to the 1880 census:



Josie's parents are George and Kate Gilman. Her father is a liquor dealer. She had three older sisters and a brother. The family has lived on Ohio Street for at least two years. At first I wasn't sure this was Josie's mother:

But the family's address in the 1900 census confirmed it:

Josie's father George P Gillman died in 1909.

Josie and both her parents are buried in Calvary Cemetery in Chicago.

May they rest in peace.

With the information above, I updated Katie's page on Find A Grave.

Note: I have no connection to this child. As I said in A Child Lost ~ Introduction, my goal is to reunite children with their parents. If you are a Gilman descendant, I hope you'll give Josie a special place in your family tree.


My own genealogy work-in-progress is online at Living in the Past Lane.

Transcription Thursday ~ Pierre Victor Schmitt

I thought my second great-grandmother Elisabeth Schmitt was one of 12 children. But last week I found a 13th child born to Nicolas Schmitt and his wife Marie-Anne Gury on the microfilm "Naissances, mariages, décès 1811-1861 - FHL INTL Film #1898553" at my local Family History Center:

Pierre Victor appears first on a birth record, and one day later a death record.

This is my (hopefully accurate) transcription of the birth record:

Naissance de Pierre Victor Schmitt No 41
L’an mil huit cent quarante le deux juin a cinq heures de xx par devant moi Jean Scherer, Maire officier de la etat civil de la commune de Hellimer, canton de Grossequin département de la Moselle est comparu Nicolas Schmitt tanneur age de vingt Sept ans domicile à Hellimer, lequel nous a présenté un enfant du sexe masculin aujourd hui a dix heures du est accouchée dans sa maison a Hellimer de lui déclarant et de Marie Anne Gurie son épouse sans profession age de vingt deux ans et auquel il a declaré donné le prénom de Pierre Victor laditte a declaration et presentation faite en presence xxx Pierre George Dubach age de quarante trios ans et Jean Dubach age de xxx neuf xxx deux xxx domicile et Hellimer et tous les père et témoins signe avec nous le present acte de naissance après que lecture leur en a été faite.
[signed] George du Bois, Nicolas Schmitt, Jean du Bois, Scherer

If my translation is correct, the birth record says:

Birth of Pierre Victor Schmitt No. 41
The year 1840 on June 2nd at five hours xx, before me Jean Scherer, Mayor officer of the civil status of the town of Hellimer, Canton Grossequin department of Moselle has appeared Nicolas Schmitt tanner age of twenty seven years of Hellimer, which gave us a male child today, Mary Anne Gurie, his wife age of twenty two years gave birth in her home in Hellimer and which he claimed gave the first name of Pierre Victor xx the statement and presentation xxx made in the presence of Pierre George Dubach age of forty three years old and Jean Dubach age of nine xxx xxx xxx home. Both the father and all witnesses signed this birth certificate with us after the reading was done.
[signed] George du Bois, Nicolas Schmitt, Jean du Bois, Scherer

This is my (slightly incomplete) transcription of the death record:

Deces de Pierre Victor Schmitt age d un jour No 42
L ‘an mil huit cent quarante de trois juin de un heure de XX par devant moi Jean Scherer Maire Officier de l’etat Civil de la commune de Hellimer canton de Grostenquin départment de la Moselle de est comparu Nicolas Schmitt tanneur age de vingt Sept ans et Jean Dubach xxx age de trente neuf ans tous deux domicilié d Hellimer lesquels nous est declare que aujourd'hui décédé Pierre Victor Schmitt age d un jour fils de presxx declarant et de Marie Anne Gurie son épouse sans profession age de vingt deux ans est décédé au domicile xxx xxx ses père est xxx a Hellimer avil staib et lui déclarant ont signe avec nous le présent acte après que lecture leur en a été faite.
[signed] Nicolas Schmitt, Jean Dubach, Scherer

and my attempt at translation:

Death of Pierre Victor Schmitt age of one day No. 42
In the year one thousand eight hundred and forty one hours of June 3 XX before me by John Scherer Mayor Officer of Civil Status of the town of Canton Hellimer Grostenquin department of the Moselle is appearing Nicolas Schmitt tanner age of twenty seven years and Jean Dubach xxx age of thirty nine years both domiciled Hellimer of which we are now deceased said that Pierre Victor Schmitt age of one day declaring presxx son of Anne and Mary his wife housewife Gurie age of twenty-two years died home xxx xxx xxx his father has Hellimer avil Staib and declaring him signing with us this note after reading them was made.
[signed] Nicolas Schmitt, Jean Dubach, Scherer

There are some words I simply can't make out and others I cannot translate. If you are able to do either, I hope you'll share your thoughts with me.

17 Jun 2011 Update:

A special thank you to Charles on the Rootsweb Alsace-Lorraine mailing list for the following corrections (in red):

Naissance de Pierre Victor Schmitt No 41
L’an mil huit cent quarante le deux juin a cinq heures de relevé par devant moi Jean Scherer, Maire officier de la etat civil de la commune de Hellimer, canton de Grostenquin département de la Moselle est comparu Nicolas Schmitt tanneur age de vingt Sept ans domicile à Hellimer, lequel nous a présenté un enfant du sexe masculin né ce jour d'hui a dix heures du matin est accouchée dans sa maison a Hellimer de lui déclarant et de Marie Anne Gurie son épouse sans profession age de vingt deux ans et auquel il a declaré vouloir donner les prénoms de Pierre Victor. Les d[ites] declaration et presentation faites en presence des sieurs George Dubach age de quarante trois ans et Jean Dubach age de trente neuf tous deux menuisiers, domiciles à Hellimer et tous les père et témoins signe avec nous le present acte de naissance après que lecture leur en a été faite.

and

Deces de Pierre Victor Schmitt age d un jour No 42
L ‘an mil huit cent quarante de trois juin à une heure de relevé par devant moi Jean Scherer Maire Officier de l’etat Civil de la commune de Hellimer canton de Grostenquin département de la Moselle sont comparus Nicolas Schmitt tanneur age de vingt Sept ans et Jean Dubach menuisier age de trente neuf ans tous deux domiciliés à Hellimer lesquels nous ont declare que cejourd'hui à midi Pierre Victor Schmitt age d'un jour fils de premier declarant et de Marie Anne Gurie son épouse sans profession age de vingt deux ans est décédé au domicile des dits ses père et mère a Hellimer où il était et les déclarants ont signe avec nous le présent acte après que lecture leur en a été faite.

Wordless Wednesday ~ Father's Day 2011

Seeking Schmitts

A weekly trip to the local Family History Center has become part of my routine. Old-fashioned as the microfilm may be, it is nice to play in the sandbox with other researchers during my visits.

The French records with which I'm working are wonderfully organized. Each volume starts with a cover page that shows the when (in this case 1840) and the where (Hellimer, Moselle, France) of the records to follow. After locating the year I want, I scroll ahead to the index.

Every year the Maire (mayor) alphabetically listed all the births, marriages, and deaths for the year ended. Then the books were copied by hand and the copies were forwarded to a governmental agency at the county level.

The indices tell me whether or not I need to look more closely at the individual records. The 1840 index for the town of Hellimer looks like this:

The title on the right page of the left image is Naissance or births. Births continue on the left page of the right image, followed by Marriages. The index on the far right are Décès or deaths.

I'm looking for members of my Schmitt family, specifically my 2nd and 3rd great grandparents' siblings. There is only one Schmitt on the list of births; #39 Pierre Victor, who appears near the top left of the image on the right.

There's also a Schmitt marriage (2nd from the last) and two deaths; Pierre Victor (which explains the X next to his name on the birth index) and Caroline. I write down the numbers near the names and the dates of the events, then scroll back to check the records, starting with Pierre Victor:

His birth and death entries are on the left page. I search for names in each record and see my 3rd great grandparents, Nicolas Schmitt and Marie Anne Gury. That makes Pierre Victor my second great-grandmother's brother. Next I check Caroline's death record. Her father's name is Jean Michael. Not a Schmitt I know at this time. The last Schmitt record in 1840 is the marriage record:

Marriage records tend to be fairly long and include names, ages and occupations of the bride and groom and their parents. What genealogical treasures they are! This bride's parents are François Schmitt and Elisabeth Grosse, my 4th great-grandparents.

This trip to the FHC was very productive! Transcribing and translating these newest additions to my collection ought to keep me busy until my visit.

A Child Lost ~ Katherine Casey

From the November 13, 1880 edition of the Chicago Daily News; "CASEY-Nov. 11, 1880, of diptheria, KITTIE, youngest daughter of Capt. Cornelius and Mary Casey. Funeral from residence, 2906 ?cliff av, at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 14, by carriages to Calvary Cemetery. Friends of the family are invited."

Katie's date and cause of death and the legible part of the family's home address led me to her death certificate:

Katie was only 2-1/2 years old. With that information I located this:

Katie's parents are Cornelius and Mary Casey. Her father is a fireman. This is the first time I have seen the entire dates of birth for both parents on a 19th century Chicago birth certificate. Katie is Mary Casey's fifth child. When she was born the family lived on 35th Street. Here they are in the 1880 census, shortly before Katie arrived:



With the information above, I updated Katie's page on Find A Grave.

Note: I have no connection to this child. As I said in A Child Lost ~ Introduction, my goal is to reunite children with their parents.  If you are a Casey descendant, I hope you'll give Katie a special place in your family tree.

My own genealogy work-in-progress is online at Living in the Past Lane.

Genealogy Success Team ~ Week Four

Love the anticipation of my weekly phone meetings with Jenny. Love love the rush of adrenaline that hits me at half time. Love love love the action that takes place in both time zones after we hang up. You rock Jenny, thanks!

Last week's goals (i.e. this week's accomplishments):

• Add Pierre and Sophia to my web site check
• Create a page for Elisabeth check
• Work Elisabeth's birth through my Document SOP (see upcoming post)
• Plan a format and schedule for my It's a Relative blog check
• Add links from my web site to my blog and vice versa check

What must I accomplish before the next meeting?

• Prepare blog posts for two lost children
• Transcribe two French documents and translate one of them
• Attend two Jamboree webinars (today - what fun!)
• Photoshop Thursday's FHC finds
• Work Elisabeth Schmitt through my Document SOP (yes, again!)

This is a pretty ambitious list - I'd better get started!

A Child Lost ~ Introduction

Toward the end of the 19th century it was common for 20% or more of all infants in many populations to die before they reached their first birthday. Often mortality rates were even higher for children between the ages of one and five.

Genealogists researching in the US are probably familiar with the 1900 census and the columns headed "Mother of how many children born" and "Number of these children living". Too often the numbers recorded in each column are different. Obituaries of infants and children are sprinkled over many pages of archived newspapers.

As a parent and grandparent these notices break my heart. As a genealogist I wonder how many of these children are missing from family histories. Anyone who was born and died between census years could easily be overlooked.

I devote a fair amount of time to 19th century obituaries and Find A Grave. I won't be able to reunite all the children in those notices with their parents. But maybe I can guide one lost child to the family history in which they belong. Wouldn't it be wonderful if it was yours?

Wordless Wednesday ~ School's Out

FGS 2011 Registration

It's official. I'm registered for September's FGS 2011 Conference in Springfield Illinois! (Doing my genealogy happy dance!)

Mr. IAR is registered too which makes the upcoming trip twice as exciting. We'll be joining forces for a few workshops and exploring others on our own. Should be a talkative return trip as we compare notes and share our new-found knowledge! There were so many interesting tracks from which to choose! Here are my Friday/Saturday picks:

• After Mustering Out: Researching Civil War Veterans
• Family Search Community: Together We Can Find Our Ancestors
• Immigration and Emmigration Records on Ancestry.com
• Beginning Swiss Research
• Gateway to the West: Researching in Ohio
• Lessons from a Snoop: Collaterals and Associates
• Don't Get Burned: Getting Around the Great Chicago Fire of 1871
• Developing Effective Research Strategies
• Discovering the Goldmine of Knowledge in Court Records
• Burned Counties Research
• The Circle of Life: Genealogy Research with Vital Records
• The 1940 Census

Just glancing at the list above, I see myself ending the conference with ideas that will help when researching my Clarkes and Littrells (Civil War, Court Records, Burned Counties); the Muellers (Immigration, Swiss Research, Chicago Fire); my Schmitts (Ohio, Burned Counties, 1940 Census); the Shartzers (Civil War, Collaterals and Associates, Court Records), and my Tolfs (Court Records, Vital Records, 1940 Census).

And I'm drooling (not literally of course...okay, maybe just a little) over the Family Search Community and Developing Effective Research Strategies tracks. The countdown of days to the conference begins!!

FGS 2011 Conference

This is the Face of Genealogy

Wordless Wednesday ~ Summer Fashions 1918