READING GERMAN SCRIPT.

 

This weekend I am attending a two day class on reading German Script.

It is proving to be great.   What we covered is Sutterlin and Kurrent.   We can now read the letters when printed with much accuracy but, as with any cursive writing, it is difficult with the variations of penmanship.

Tomorrow we will learn Fraktur.   My Mutti had a Fairy Tale Book written in Fraktur, so  perhaps I can read it, or at least identify what is written.   

What I found on reading some of the old Church records is that there is a combination of styles in some of the records.   Some of the letters are Roman Script and some German Script.    The Roman letters are no problem. 

After this class I (hopefully) will be able to read the old records, or at least give it a shot.

 

LOST BUT NOW FOUND

Since my last entry I posed my question to the PA ALLEGHENY COUNTY ROOTS WEB and a kind soul, Larry found them in the 1910 census.

Why I was wrong, John was listed as Robert. I do not know if he went by Robert or John, or John was someone else and I was chasing a wild goose with that name.

Anyway this is a great discovery. His wifes name was Olive. Olive and Robert were married in 1891. It appears that Robert was twenty five years older than Olive. There were four children listed, James b. 1894, Irene b. 1896, Mary 1900 (my grandmother in law) and Leonard b. 1903. The surprising thing was that I had not known about Leonard.

And on the 1900 census I also found them but the name was spelled Stevens instead of Stephens. 1900 listed the immigration year as 1862 and also in living with them was a brother James Stephens who was born in Kentucky.

Another person (Bev) on the Roots Web list had given suggestions on many sources to search and a third (Donna) suggested to contact the Genealogy Department of Salem OH, which is in Columbiana OH. That is close to Pittsburgh, so I think a day trip may be in order. Donna said that the library in Salem has a large Genealogy Department.

These ancestors are proving easy to find if you only know their names and where they live.

TRY AS I MIGHT……

Did you ever come to a mystery that you can't solve? I am still looking for the Stephens Family in Allegheny County PA. My grandmother in law, Mary Stephens was born April 1900. Her sister Irene was born about 1896. There was also a brother and I do not know when he was born or when he died.

They lived in Allegheny County PA, I can find Mary And Irene after in the 1920 and 1930, after they both had married, so why can I not find them earlier?

This is proving to be a challenge, I guess I will have to pose the question on the Allegheny County Roots Web list. They are a great group of people who seem to be able to solve problems and help everyone.

This mystery is making me a little crazy, I do not think it is a brick wall, just a load of bricks on my pathway.

John and Mary wedding photo, 1918 and sister Irene and Johns brother standing. Do not know which one, it is either Charles or Joseph. I will have to ask Aunt Edna.

STEPHENS FAMILY

I talked to Chucks Aunt Edna again. We are going out to lunch a Sunday in September. What she remembered is that Robert Stephens was Mary Stephens Sperls father. He is buried in the Civil War Plot in Uniondale Cemetery. Edna also said that Marys brother Jim is buried there too. I read her some of the names with the John Stephens but she did not think any of them were familiar.

But, Chuck said (according to his father) that there were two uncles who were Civil War Vets. Jim Stephens was born somewhere 1890-1900 so that would not be him. He could be there too, I have to do more work on this line. I am thinking that Johns could possibly be another Stephens Family brother. He also had daughters named Irene and Mary.

I have a picture of them from Marys Wedding which was 10 April 1918, at St. Anthony's Church, Millvale PA Irene and Ed Scheuring pictured above, c,1918.

She did not remember what Mary Stephens Sperls mother's name, but she did remember she was buried in Salem OH. I asked her if the parents were divorced and she said "no" Edna thought that the mother went to live with the daughter after the death of her husband. That daughter was Irene Stephens Scheuring, I found her living in Millvale PA close to her sister Mary Sperl. So, MY THEORY is that UNK mother died in Salem OH between 1913 and 1920. In the 1930 census Irene and Edward were living in Millvale PA, which was close to her sister Mary Stephens Sperl.

Irene died in 1957 and Mary in 1986, they are buried in St. Anthony's Cemetery, Shaler PA. Their brothe Jim had died early because Mary took in his son, Jimmy and he was about eight or so at the time.

WORD OF THE DAY

Progenitor (noun)Pronunciation: [prê-'jen-ê-tê(r)]

Definition: (1) The originator or original ancestor of a line of descent, a direct ancestor; (2) the founder of a family; (3) the originator of anything, a founder, as the progenitor of a philosophical school.Usage: A progenitor produces progeny, the descendants of a single ancestor (or pair thereof). Back when English was allowed to distinguish between males and females, a female progenitor was known as a progenitrix (plural "progenitrices"). The state or stature of being a progenitor is "progenitorship" and the adjective for this noun is "progenitorial."

Suggested Usage: The white families who claimed President Thomas Jefferson as their progenitor were recently confronted by black families who claimed (with reason) to be the progeny of the same man. Jefferson was certainly one of the progenitors of our system of government. While Jews and Christians hold Adam and Eve to be the progenitors of all humankind, it is certainly true that we are all progeny of one couple at some point way back in prehistorical time.Etymology: From Latin "progenitor," the noun of progignere "to beget."

This word is based on pro- "forward" + gignere, gen- "to beget," containing the same gen- that we see in "generate," "generation," "gender" and "genus." It appears without the vowel all but hidden in "pregnant," from the Latin word meaning "before giving birth." In English this root became "kin," also seen in "kindred" from Old English cyn "race, family, kin" but also "king" from a time when ruling had genetic connotations. "Kind" originally meant pretty much the same thing as Latin "genus," so it should come as no surprise that they both derived from the same Proto-Indo-European root word. –

Dr. Language, Your Dictionary.com

This word appear on my "Word of the Day" list and I thought it was very applicable to genealogy. We have many progenitors that make us what we are today.

ANOTHER DISCOVERY

Sometimes I feel like a butterfly flitting from flower to flower.   I had a doctors appointment  and the office was close to UNIONDALE CEMETERY.    This cemetery was on my list of places to go.  My husbands paternal grandmother, MARY STEPHENS,  had two relatives; who were Civil War Veterans who were buried there.

Joe would go there every Memorial Day to put flowers on the graves.   I had never been there and neither had my husband.

There we found Robert in the Grand Army of the Republic section, all the graves were decorated with flags.

Then we looked for John, the office staff had given us directions and a list of who was in the plot. In the plot were listed     Rachel A Stephens, David J Stephens, Daniel Stephens, John Stephens, Mary Stephens, Mary Jane Axton and Irene Axton.   This is indeed the Civil War Veteran, but where is the Family plot located?

                                                                                  In the plot that we had the information contained the   Stephenson  family, not the Stevens.   We were hungry and wanted to go to lunch after searching for John Stephens for about one hour. 

Mary Stephens had told the tal of her family being English and Scotch-Irish.  With the help of Ancestry.com  I found listings for the Stephens Family.    The family was Welsh.  The owner of the lot was the veteran John Stephens born October 1834 and died  27  April  1912.   His wife Mary born February 1840 and died 26 October 1915.

Who were the others ???  With a little investigation  I found that Rachel A Stephens born 1844 and died 16 January 1875 and David J Stephens born 1883 and died 30 January 1883.   They were John and Mary' children. 

Daniel Stephens was born 1826 and died 21 March 1900.   In the census records it lists him as married with a wife Jeanette (born 1829)  Jeanette was not buried there.  Daniel and Jeanette were listed in the 1870 an 1880 census. Son Morgan born 1859, daughter Gwenllian (born 1883) and a adopted son, John Robert age 14.   Was John Robert a nephew???

Mary Jane Axton was the daughter of John and Mary Stephens who was       born  1866, married 1890 and widowed sometimes before 1900.  Mary Jane died 5 June 1945.

Irene Axton was Mary Janes' daughter born 1890 and died 1 July 1908.

Chuck had found a listing of those two uncles in his fathers wallet, I  will have him find that list and see exactly where they are.

MY THEORY is John, Robert and Daniel Stephens were brothers.

Every answer begets twenty more questions.

 

UPDATE ON THE GERMANS

Got an update on my handwritten note. The name Kalli Beckman which I had thought was female is in reality Karl. I would have never guessed that one.

Mile siberne Hochzeit is Silver Wedding 12 September 1929. Which of the sisters is this? They would have been married in 1904. My THEORY is that it is Emilie and Willie Beckmann, because their first child was born in 1907.

On the second page daughter Leni is struck out, possibly died by 1928.

Belle Alliance on the margin is the Prussian word for the battle ground at Waterloo, when the Prussians and British beat Napoleon. No clue why it is there. Unless some relative fought in that war.

All this information is from Klaus and I am very grateful for it.

My theory on the birthdays of Vater and Mutter being Willis parents has been proven correct also by Klaus.

With the birthday 8 April 1868, Anna Meta Margarethe Schridde, geb. Hackmann was on the LDS site. Anna was born in Bremen. Then there Ernst Friedrich Wilhelm Hackmann and Elsie Johanne Rettel geb. 13 July 1844 in Bremen. Elsie and Ernst are my great great grandparents and Elsies parents are Carl Friedrich Rettel and Anna Metta Margarethe Lurssen. Carl Rettel and Anna Lurssen are my great great great grandparents.

All of this information gleaned from a small scrap of note paper with birthdays. It also means some descendant of my great grandmother is also searching and doing genealogy.

Do they know of Willi and wonder what happened to Willi and do they have a clue he had emigrated to the USA and wonder if they have relatives in the USA? Do they have a picture of Anna HACHMANN Schridde, like I do?

That is something that I ponder now.