|
A GENEALOGICAL HANDBOOK OF GERMAN RESEARCH |
|
Table of Contents
Introduction
Acknowldegements
Chapter 1 Historical And Geographical
Chapter 2 Emigration Before 1800
Chapter 3 Emigration After 1800
Chapter 4 Determining The Place Of Origin L.d.s. Sources
Chapter 5 Determining The Place Of Origin U.S. Sources
Chapter 6 Determining The Place Of Origin European Sources
Chapter 7 Analyzing Surnames And Place Names
Chapter 8 Locating The Parish
Chapter 9 Determining The Present Name Of Localities
Chapter 10 Conducting An Area Search
Chapter 11 Record Repositories
Chapter 12 Naming Practices (patronymics And Occupational)
Chapter 13 Naming Practices (farm And Locality)
Chapter 14 Handwriting And Terminology Beginning
Chapter 15 Handwriting And Terminology Intermediate
Chapter 16 Handwriting And Terminology Advanced
Chapter 17 Feast Days And Calendars
Chapter 18 Finding A Birth Record
Chapter 19 Finding A Marriage Record
Chapter 20 Finding A Death Record
Chapter 21 Corresponding For Records
Chapter 22 German Genealogical And Family Organizations
Appendix A
Appendix B
Appendix C
Appendix D
Appendix E
Appendix F
Index
Family names evolved from four areas or sources. These are:
Patronymics and occupations account for the derivation of many of the German surnames that exist today. As you trace your family back to when they were being used, you will become involved in many different types of research problems.
Webster's definition- “a name derived from that of the father or a paternal ancestor usually by the addition of an affix.” Patronymics are found primarily in the Northwestern areas of Germany; however, the earlier in research you get the greater the chance of encountering it in other parts of Germany as well. Only two areas dealing with patronymics will be covered here. They are the Schleswig-Holstein and Ostfriesland areas.
This was a Prussian province bordering on the south of Denmark. Through the centuries the rule of this area has fluctuated between Denmark and Germany. The patronymical system used here naturally resembles the Danish form. The formation of names for sons and daughters was usually in the following manner:
For daughters, often the genitive or possessive form was used as in the following:
There are two major problems that often result from the patronymical naming system. These are:
To resolve this type of research problem, you must use the process of verification in order to determine and verify your own ancestor and eliminate the others. The following records could be used to accomplish this:
To trace an ancestor who was christened with a permanent surname but who went by his patronymical name in life, you must first determine the ancestor's date of birth or at least the year of birth. This may be possible by using any type of record that would give the individual's age, such as confirmation, marriage, death, census and sometimes military records. Once the date or year of birth is known, then the records for that time period can be checked to find a child by that given name being born at that time. If more than one child has the same name and was born about the same time period, you will have to follow the process of verification mentioned earlier in order to determine the correct one.
The Ostfriesland area was somewhat different than Schleswig-Holstein. It was located in the western part of the Prussian province of Hannover, which borders the country of Holland. For this reason, the patronymical system used in this area resembled the Dutch form, which was primarily genitive and which added the “S” after the father’s name. The following are some examples of this:
In 1811 a decree was issued which required the patriarch of each family (father, grandfather, etc.) to register a permanent surname for his whole family. Unlike Schleswig-Holstein, the people here for the most part complied with the decree.
The main research problem that occurs is that a researcher will be tracing a family name back and then suddenly about 1811 the name will disappear. Lack of knowledge on the part of some researchers concerning this decree may lead them to think that the family moved in from another parish at this time, and they would lose valuable time and money searching the surrounding parishes when the family was actually in the same parish only under a different name.
To determine the former patronymical name, two records could be checked in conjunction with the birth or christening records. These are the confirmation and death records. One, or both of these, will usually give an individuals age and perhaps the actual birth date. The main procedure to follow would be to look up the birth date or year and find a child with the same name being born on that pate. To verify and to eliminate others by that same name being born during the same time period, you would need to go through the process of verification which was mentioned earlier.
From the way in which a person's name is spelled, you can sometimes tell the general area he was from. For example, the occupation of Smithy: Schmitz is from Rheinland and Schmediding was from the Westfalen area. For Butcher: the name Fleischer comes from the east German area and Knochenhauer comes from the Hannover area. For Baker: In south and central Germany is Beck or Back. The “ing” added to an occupational name indicates he was from the Niedersachsen area. The ending “en” indicates that he was from the Rheinland area.
It is difficult to trace a name back to its original spelling because when family names were being formed, there were not many official recorders that could write the names as they actually were. Most of the names back then were recorded according to the way they sounded. Because of the dialect of an area, the same name was written differently in different areas. Family names did not really begin until after the 1100s. They came about as towns and villages began to grow, as people began to move from one place to another especially from the farms to the cities, as the craftsmen became more self-sufficient, and as the farmers and citizens became freer.
Previous Document Next Document
Copyright 1996, by Larry O. Jensen. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be translated or reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, including photocopying, without permission in writing from the author. Printed in the U.S.A.
Chapter 12 Naming Practices (Patronymics and Occupational)
Patronymics
Schleswig-Holstein
Peter Jensen son of Jens Nissen
Bertha Jens daughter of Jens Nissen
Jens Nissen son of Nis Ericksen
Elizabeth Nis daughter of Nis Ericksen
Nis Ericksen son of Erick Carlsen
Christina Ericks daughter of Erick Carlsen
Erika Peters
Barbara Hendricks
Christening records of the brothers and sisters to determine the name of the mother.
Death records to eliminate those with the same name that died before or after your ancestor died.
Marriage records to eliminate those with the same name that married earlier or later and who married someone other than the person your ancestor did.
Move-in and move-out records to determine those that moved in or out before your ancestor did.
Additional problems occurred when decrees were issued to discontinue the patronymical naming system. In Schleswig-Holstein the first decree was issued on November 8, 1771. The following are some of the points covered in this decree:
Parents had to determine a permanent surname for their child at the time of the christening.
Each child in the family could receive a different surname than that given to the other children.
Ministers had to announce the name of the child at the time of the christening and see that it was recorded properly.
Once the name was given, it was against the law to change it. This aspect of the law shows that there was little thought put into it when it was made, because when a woman married and took her husband's name she was in violation of the law.
Surnames could not be given that would elevate one's social standing or position.
There were three major problems which resulted from this decree. These problems were:
Children born just prior to this decree received the patronymical form and had the right to give their children permanent surnames after they married. This extended the time period when new surnames were being given to as late as the 1820s.
Children, who were given permanent surnames at christening, reverted back to the patronymical form when they were confirmed, married and raising their families.
With parents and some children having patronymical surnames and others having permanent surnames, it makes it very difficult to put families together.
Because the people were reverting back to the patronymical form, a second decree was issued on July 25, 1812, and a third decree was issued on May 14, 1822. Still, for many years after this the people went by the patronymical name and not their permanent surname.
Ostfriesland
Harm Peters
Aje Hinrichs
Klass Behrens
Eva Friedrichs
Jan Gerds
Krijnte Dirks
Occupations
[FamilySearchTM: Research Guidance
Version of Data: 6/7/2001]