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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Anne Marie Schmitt nee Schmitt

The Thursday before Thanksgiving I visited the Family History Center to view film #2083956.

I found my 5th great grandmother Anne Marie Schmitt in the 1791 records of burials for the Roman Catholic Church of Hellimer, Moselle, France. The record (last on the page) was a bit challenging to transcribe and translate because part of the text is written in Latin. (Many thanks to the French and German gentlemen who shared their knowledge of the Latin language.)

Burial record transcription: L’an mille sept cent quatre vingt onze, le neuf août vers les cinq heures du matin décéda subitement Anne Marie Schmitt, âgée de quarante sept ans, épouse de Claude Schmitt, tanneur à Hellimer, son corps fut inhumé le lendemain dans le cimetière de cette paroisse en présence des témoins soussignés avec les cérémonies ordinaires. [signed by the] curé de Grossetanquin [and the] curé de Hellimer.

Burial record translation: On August 9th in the year 1791, about 5 am, suddenly died Anne Marie Schmitt, 47 years old, wife of Claude Schmitt, tanner in Hellimer; her body was buried on the next day in the cemetery of this parish, in the presence of the undersigned witnesses, with the ordinary ceremonies. [signed by the] priests of Grossetanquin and Hellimer and [Anne Marie's husband] Claude Schmitt.

The record does not include Anne Marie's date of birth or her parents' names. At the time of her death, she had at least six children.

Saturday, November 26, 2011

Surname Saturday ~ The Name Game

Ready to test your name-knowledge? (Names for Round 5 of The Name Game were inspired by the Geneabloggers who attended FGS 2011, friends and coworkers.)

Step right up and try your luck guessing the country of origin and the meanings of these names:


Ackerman
Clark
Eastman
Geiger
Ingsby
Kline
McEntee
Ortega
Quist
Seaver
Uebele
Wolcott
Youngquist


Give yourself one point for each country guessed correctly and another point for each correct meaning.

Scroll down...



to see...



the answers...


Ackerman, Ackermann, Acreman (German/English) One who plowed the lord's land and tended his plow teams.

Clark, Clarke (English) A clergyman, scholar, scribe or recorder. (British pronunciation of clerk.)

Eastman (English) One who came from the east; descendant of Eastmund or Estmunt (east, protection); one who came from the Baltic countries.

Geiger (German) One who played a violin.

Ingsby (Dan., Sw., Nor.) Dweller at Ingi's farm.

Kline (German) Varient of Klein, q.v.

Klein, Kleine (German) The small man; the nice, neat man.

McEntee (Irish) The son of the scholar.

Ortega, Ortego (Spanish) Dweller at the sign of the grouse; one with the charactoristics of a grouse.

Quist (Swedish) Twig.

Seaver, Sever, Seavers (English) One with a grave and austere demeanor.

Uebele, Uebel (German) Descendant of Oppo or Ubo, pet forms of Audoberht (possession, bright).

Wolcott (English) One who came from Woolscott (Wulfsige's cottage), in Warwickshire.

Youngquist (Swedish) Heather, twig.

Hope you enjoyed Round 5 of The Name Game!

Saturday, November 19, 2011

November Anniversaries

Happy November anniversary to the following couples in my family tree:

My 4th great-grandparents Matthew CLARKE and Rebecca Margaret RIDENOUR were married on 13 Nov 1818 in Washington County, Maryland. (Wish I knew exact dates of birth for either of them!)

My 3rd great-grandparents Lars PETERSSON and Anna SVENSDOTTER tied the knot on 21 Nov 1856 in Agunnaryd, Kronobergs, Sweden. Their son Carl took the military name Clarin and would later immigrate to Chicago Illinois.

The direct line ancestors with whom I spend much of my time these days; my 2nd great-grandparents Jacob K MUELLER and Elizabeth SCHMITT were married in Chicago on 28 Nov 1874.

Other November brides and grooms include:

Norman A CLARKE and Hester Ann LEFFEL were married 23 Nov 1887 in Springfield, Clark, Ohio. 

John PETERSON and Amanda Sofia Karlsdotter TOLF were married in the 1st Swedish M.E. Church in Chicago, Cook, Illinois 21 Nov 1900. (I wonder why? They both lived in Batavia Illinois, 30 or so miles west of Chicago.)



Lawrence Charles YOUNGBERG and Alma S SANDSTEDT were married 17 Nov 1909 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.

John Alfred LUND and Hannah Christina TOLF were married 10 Nov 1910 in Kane County, Illinois.

Amanda Ida MANGELS and Stephen Taylor GILES were married 22 Nov 1910 in Chicago, Cook, Illinois.

Are any of these people in your family tree too?
Please contact me at find.an.ancestor [at] gmail [dot] com.
Let's compare notes!

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Wordless Wednesday ~ Cousins

Harriet Kathlyn Tolf and cousin Ruth Ogren

Sunday, November 13, 2011

Five Pages of Written Testimony

A thick envelope arrived yesterday from the Cook County (Illinois) Medical Examiner's Office. I carried it from the mailbox to my desk with trembling hands. Gone were thoughts of doing the Genealogy Happy Dance. This is my family. Otto V. Mueller is my great grand-uncle. The documents inside this envelope from Chicago contained five pages of testimony telling how and why he took his own life.

Otto's half-sister Alma and two of Otto's neighbors testified that Otto had behaved differently during the week after his divorce. He was drinking heavily and talking about leaving the city he loved. On the night he died, Otto went home, turned a gas jet on high and blew out the flame. He climbed into bed and lay there waiting for the "illuminating gas" to fill his lungs and end his grief. 

How could he know that 99-1/2 years later a woman he had never met would sit at her desk blinking back tears and grieving for him?