Transcription Thursday ~ Marie Catherine Gury

Marie Catherine is one of at least eight children born to my 5th great-grandparents, Joseph François Gury and Barbe Richard. Below the image of her 1809 birth record is my attempt to transcribe and translate it.

I transcribed in green and translated in black. The words I couldn't quite figure out are red:

While I was working on this post, a kind gentleman from the Alsace-Lorraine list shared his thoughts:

"Today the 11th day of January, eighteen hundred and nine, at eight in the morning at the townhall of Altroff, in the arrondisement of Chateau Julline, in the department of Muerthe. Appeared before Peter Bocage, the Mayor and civil officer of the commune of Altroff,  Mr. Joseph Francois Gury, an artist residing in said Altroff, age forty-five years accompanied by Nicolas Geurolt, a farmer with forty eight years, and Peter Fuhrmann, a forty-two-year old teacher residing in the same commune. They presented us with a female child, born between midnight and one o'clock in the morning at the home of Pierre Gury and Barbe Richard, the thirty-one year old legitimately married wife of the declarant. They have given the child the first name of Marie Catherine

The last line is a little unclear but, it basically says that the record was read aloud to the Father and witnesses and that they have signed their names in agreement."

It was nice to see someone else felt the last line was unclear, I was stumped by that. Thanks also to Stephan for desciphering "teacher" as Pierre Fuhrmann's occupation.

That makes one record down, a hundred or so more to go!

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!

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!

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.

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."

Wordless Wednesday ~ France before 1789

Researching Gury and Schmitt in Moselle, Lorraine, France

Surname Saturday - Gury

My third great-grandmother was Marie Anne Gury, born April 1818 in Francaltroff, Moselle, France. After marrying Nicolas Schmitt, Marie moved to Hellimer and had 10 children before immigrating to the United States in the early to mid 1850s. The family settled in Cincinnati.

Another Gury descendant shared a photograph of a woman who may have been Marie's sister Christina. There are women named Christina in nearly every generation of the Gury family, so the possibility of a connection is strong. The Christina in question was the Mother Superior in a convent in France. This makes me cautiously optimistic; there may be some interesting records available.

Surname Saturday ~ Grosse, Gury, Schmitt

Fashionable women ~ 1850

I'm enamored with my paternal French line; learning to speak French while driving, reading French history books, translating birth records during my lunch hour, ordering films from the Family History Library every Tuesday evening. Some might say I've become addicted, but that's not true. I've been addicted all along.

New clues show themselves frequently, but most often they come accompanied by more questions. 

The knowns:

• My 3rd great-grandfather, Nicolas Schmitt, was born in 1813 in Hellimer, Moselle, Lorraine, France.
• His parents were Francois Schmitt and Elisabeth Grosse.
• His wife was Marie-Anne Gury, born in 1818 in Francaltroff, Hellimer, Lorraine, France.
• Nicolas had at least two siblings, younger sisters Elisabeth and Barbe.
• He traveled to America with his eldest son Jules in April 1854.
• Nicolas and his family settled in Cincinnati Ohio.
• Several children, including my 2nd great-grandmother emmigrated to Chicago where they raised their children.

The unknowns:

• When did the remaining family members arrive in America?
• What happened to Francois, the last child born in France?
• What happened to Joseph, the first child born in Ohio?
• Did Jules really die in Ohio, or did he relocate to Chicago leaving his wife and children behind?
• Was Nicolas the first, one of several, or the only Schmitt that left France?
• Where is the elusive marriage record of Nicolas and Marie-Anne?
• and so many more unknowns; far too many to list.

The next steps:

• Order microfilm for 1792-1810 birth, marriage, death records for Hellimer.
• Continue checking the mailbox for the will that will tell if the French-born Ohio-residing Emile Schmitt who married Mary Kauffman is "my" Emile.
• Translate Barbe's birth record; it includes her parents' ages.
• Search passenger lists for my 2nd great-grandmother and her siblings.
• Determine whether the brother mentioned as co-owner of John Schmitt's restaurant in Chicago is Jules.

And so, as we French say, la recherche se poursuit!

In memory of Nicolas Schmitt 09 Mar 1813

Nicolas Schmitt is my 3rd great-grandfather. He was born in Hellimer, Moselle, France on this day in 1813.

France was unchartered genealogical territory for me for decades. First because I believed what my family believed; we're Swedish and German. Then after coming to terms with my French DNA, I was intimidated by the enormous task of learning to research records that had been created in France.

But I was fascinated by Nicolas, who left his country of origin with his wife and seven children in 1854. The family settled in Cincinnati Ohio. Two more children were born in Ohio and sadly, Nicolas became a widower before 1870.

So little is known about this man. Schmitt, a common name with many spelling variations, isn't easy to trace. And Cincinnati experienced not one, but three courthouse fires.

So I started by learning about France. For example, when Nicolas was born, Napoleon Bonaparte was the Emperor of France. Nicolas and his children hailed from Moselle, a département (number 57 to be exact) in Lorraine named after the Moselle River. Lorraine is rich in coal and steel, commodities highly-desirable to bordering countries. Conflicts over who had the rights to these riches left the area war torn for many years.

Learning something new everyday keeps our minds sharp. I'm taking a free class in french genealogy, I signed up for a french blog, and I joined a french mailing list. France is a country rich in beauty, history, and genealogical treasures ~ ours for the taking. Vive la France!