Getting to the Roots of Your Family - RootsWeb - Ancestry.com

• If the ancestor was born illegitimately, he may be listed in the records under a different surname
from the one he used later in life. Possibly the locality listed was last place of residence or
where the ancestor had lived for some time, but did not create records.
Example:
According to the Hamburg passenger list Friedrich Winterfeld, Maria Schmoldt, and their 9-month old baby Wilhelmine Schmoldt
had last resided in “Blűcher, Mecklenburg” when they emigrated in 1872. The goal was to find their births and marriage record.
Solution:
1. The Mecklenburg gazetteer listed four localities that included “Blűcher” in the place name. All were checked. Neither surname
was found.
2. The 1867 Census of Mecklenburg was searched for both surnames plus “Blűcher”. Winterfeld was not found, but Schmoldt
families were found in “Blűcher, Ritteramt Wredenhagen.”
3. None of the localities searched previously were associated with Wredenhagen, so “Blűcher + Wredenhagen” was entered into
a search engine. This brought up a Wikipedia article about a village called Göhren-Lebbin, which had been called Blűcher from
1843 to 1914. The Lutheran church was in Poppentin, an affiliate of Sietow parish.
4. Baby Wilhelmine’s baptism record and her parents’ subsequent marriage were found in the separate books kept for Poppentin.
PROBLEM #5: MY ANCESTOR HAS AN ENGLISH-SOUNDING NAME, BUT CENSUS RECORDS
AND OTHER DOCUMENTS SUGGEST THAT HE IS FROM GERMANY.
Surnames were frequently anglicized by clerks, census takers, and the immigrant himself, to facilitate
record keeping and “blend in.” This can take the form of literal translations [Schwarz to Black], phonetic
equivalents [Jüngling to Yingling], abbreviated or completely different names [often beginning with the
same letter as the original name], or a combination of the above. Family members may choose to
change their names in different ways, or use both German and anglicized names at the same time in
different settings.
Example:
Louis Churchbaugh’s tombstone inscription in St. Louis stated that he was born in Stuttgart on 28 Sept 1833. He also had a brother
Charles.
Solution:
1. The surname is probably anglicized. Proposed German spelling : Kirchbach[er]. The suffix „bach“ is often written as „baugh“ in
English.
2. The microfilmed church records for Stuttgart include family group sheets that cover all city parishes. A search produced one
sheet listing Ferdinand Ludwig Kirchbacher, born 28 Sep 1833 , and his older brother Franz Joseph Karl as children. Additional
notes spell their surnames “Kirchbach”.
CONCLUSION
Researchers can greatly increase their chances to successfully locate their “lost” ancestors by following
sound basic research practices und using a variety of inventive strategies.
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