Those of you who have been reading along know that I've been fumbling my way through German parish records for the first time, working on two of my family lines with some modest success.
To educate myself, I've been to many German genealogy sessions at
conferences, bought (and read) books on German genealogy and
history, used Web translators, pestered friends and relations
who speak German, and referred to sites that interpret vintage handwriting. And all of those things were valuable and helped.
But sometimes the smartest and most effective thing is
to hire a translator.
Last week, I found the marriage record for my great-great grandparents, Friedrich Wilhelm Alexander KIRSCHSTEIN and Florentine Mathilde BRAUN. I could make out the date, the pastor, the names of Friedrich and Florentine and her father Heinrich, their ages, and the dates the
banns were announced. And that was about it.
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| The marriage of Friedrich Kirschstein and Florentine Braun, Rawitsch, Prussia, 1847. |
No. 48
October 20th at 1 o' clock in the afternoon
Pastor
Haake [?]
Mr. Friedrich Wilhelm Alexander
KIRCHSTEIN, 31 years old, citizen and master soap maker, a bachelor from
here, with Miss Florentine Mathilde BRAUN, 33 years old, 2nd unmarried
daughter left behind by the deceased Mr. Heinrich BRAUN, former
merchant, dyer of colored goods from here. Proclamation [on] the 3rd,
10th, and 17th of October.
And now you must excuse me - I have some new information to put in my tree!
Isn't it wonderful that a marriage announcement would give so much information?
ReplyDeleteoh how cool is that! yay for translators.
ReplyDeleteYes, I was very pleasantly surprised. A friend got "soap boiler" for occupation, but that was about it. So all in all well worth finding a translator.
ReplyDeleteThank you for saying this - from a translator.
ReplyDeleteIt's my pleasure, Greta. Do you do a lot of genealogical translating? Would you like to put your contact information up here?
ReplyDeleteIt's fun to try to figure it out on your own, but you are right - sometimes it just pays to hire an expert!
ReplyDeleteI have made 'genealogy' friends and, though posting my family tree online, met distant cousins, one of which is German. He has helped me greatly in translating some german notes written on the back of photos. Luckily the Catholic church records I located on microfilm where easier to read once I understood a few key terms. The genealogy friend I mentioned first is a French-Canadian who also has been Extremely helpful in translating some of the very hard to read French records. Another good hint is to post the query on a board - I have had very good luck getting a Hungarian translation done that way. There are so many helpful people in our community. They are a blessing.
ReplyDelete