How did I came to this subject?
I think the key moment happened during
my primary school. We had the task
to
figure out the parents and grandparents and to make a small chart. So I
asked my mother. This was then done quite quickly and I think I had nuch more
generations as anybody else in my class. Then I got copies of the
NS-proof of ancesttry of my grandparents (from 1936) and other research
fragments from other related people. And then there was this family book
"Sippenbuch Hiss", which was printed in 1961 from Dr. Albert Hiß). For
me those days, this was a real big amount of data related to my family,
which reached 13 generations back.
Beginning of the research
Once I started searching on my own. That was not that difficult, as my
grandfather lived in that village (Grossheppach) where his ancestors
lived. And this village was only in 35 km distance from my home. I had a
cousin second grade, which was also doing researches. She showed me how
to start. She went with me to the parsonage and I made researches in
those smelly, 400 year old books for the first time in my life. So I
made the researches first in Grossheppach and then in villages
around. In some cases I sent letters to the parish offices and ask for
help who I got in many cases with no problems.
Church records centralized
Once, the church records were disappeared from the parish
offices, as the stadards for fire protection, climate or
theft-protection was too high for them. So almost all gave their old books to the centralized church archive to
Stuttgart. Then I started to rent micro films from the archive of the
protestant church in Württemberg (www.elk-wue.de).
These you were able to order for home and I was able to do researches at home, as long
you have a possiblity to watch the micro films. Today I am searching
online via the church record portal Archion (www.archion.de).
Very easy and in good quality. You can do researches from everywhere of
the world. But unfortunately not all protestant church records from
Germany are available in this portal. Not yet. And the price for access
is reasonable. But for sure, the musty smell of the old books is missing...
(picture: Title of baptist record of Esslingen 1629 -
1644)
Reading old wrting style
The reading of old writing styles was not that difficult for me, I must
say. Ok, it was learning by doing. and I was not able to read everything
(up to now it is not possible - but it is also not easy with new hand
wrting styles, when I think about my own scripture ;-)
But if you know, what your are searching for, it is much easier,
especially of charts. The styles are changing over the hundeds of years.
And, as today, the style is different from person to person and from
young and old people. Some are easy, some not. In chapter Reading old documents I
put in some styles from different epoches.
Documentation of the results
At the beginning I wrote everything in lisft-form with a mechanical type
writer. I did not had a computer. From 1986 I wrote everything - also in
list-form - in my first computer with MS Word. This I am doing still in
this format (see also Tips&Tricks)! And I am also doing hand-made family
drawings.
In the meantime I am also using gemalogical software. This is sometimes
easier to show (genealogical printing program) but especially for
exchanging with other people. You will find something about my
experiences also in this chapter Tips&Tricks.
Ancestors
I can devide my ancestors in some different roots:
1. My father'sgrandfather from father's side: Hermann Willy Callenius and his
ancestors came from northern part of Hesse/Germany. All around Niddawitzhausen,
Wipperode, Harmuthsachsen, Germerode, Albungen, Walburg, Neuerode,
Rodebach, and for sure: Eschwege. Ancestors,
see Callenius.
2. My father's grandmother from father's side: Otto Paul Emil
Kath (father of Hertha Martha Kath) came the
west Pommerania, which is Poland today (Województwo
Zachodniopomorskie), near of Karlino (German: Körlin) and includes the
villages Lenzen (Łęczno), Grüssow (Gruszewo), Dassow (Daszewo) and Alt
Marrin (Mierzyn). My research results are based by 100% on the existing
Proof of Ancestry from 1936. Today's researches are very difficult in
this area. Some years ago I was visiting these villages on some vacation
to Poland. You will find some of my impressions here:
Pommern.
3. The mothers side of my grandmother (father's side): Ida Diebold
(mother of Hertha Martha Kath) came half from
Jungingen/Hohenzollern, the other part from Kaiserstuhl/Badish
(Eichstetten).
4. Both parents of my mother's side: Hermann Jakob
Mayer and Sophie Marie Stilz are
coming from song established families from Großheppach, near Stuttgart.
The ancestors are coming mostly from the lower part of the Rems valley
(Großheppach, Schnait, Grunbach, Beutelsbach, Endersbach,
Strümpfelbach).
