Week 14 –Language–Old German Handwriting

Lichtenberg Castle, Germany

Reading handwritten old German church records is difficult but can be done. You don’t need to know German. You will gain a lot of information.

Having some patience, I pursued of my Palatine migrant ancestors who settled in Pennsylvania before the American Revolution. I armed myself with a book written by Katherine Schober and called The Magic of German Church Records. I also used letter charts showing the many different ways old German handwritten letters were formed.

In 1665, Thal Lichtenberg, which is located near the Lichtenberg Castle, belonged to the Holy Roman Empire. It was known as the Principality of Lichtenberg. Today this area is in Germany. Above is a photo of the still standing Lichtenberg Castle.

Old German Handwriting

Reading handwritten old German church records is difficult but can be done. You don’t need to know German. You will gain a lot of information from these records.

Having some patience, I pursued the German records my Palatine migrant ancestors who settled in Pennsylvania before the American Revolution. I armed myself with a book, titled The Magic of German Church Records written by Katherine Schober. I also used charts showing old German letters.

On ancestry.com, I found the 1665 church record for Heinrich Freÿß’s baptism at the Pfeffelbach Reformed Church. Heinrich is my 6^th great grandfather.

Nichlaus and Maria Barbara lived in the village of Thal Lichtenberg. They traveled 2 miles to the southwest of their village to get to their parish church in Pfeffelbach. The custom in those days was to baptize their babies about 3 days after their birth. So, on January 29, 1665, Nichlaus Freÿß and his wife, Barbara, brought their infant son to their church. They likely walked the 2 miles to Pfeffelbach where their infant was baptized. There were witnesses. A record was made by the parish clergy. Here is the record.

The left column, labeled at the top of the page “parentes”, was written in Latin. The translation reads:

The 29^th of January; Nichlaus Freÿß from Thal (Thal Lichtenberg):and Maria Barbara, his wife.

Looking at the baptism record’s middle column where the name of the child is located, we see two names. The first, the spiritual name, often was the same as the father’s if the child was male. A common spiritual name was Hans. Hans has many alternates such as Hannes, Johan, Jan, Jack, John. Interestingly, the German word for son is john.

The second name, the call name, is the name the person became known by. This name is the one that is used almost inclusively. Thus, Hannes Heinrich Freÿß became Heinrich Freÿß.

The middle letter of Heinrich’s spiritual name looks like a cursive “m” is a fused double “n”. These fused double letters often are in the German Kurrent font. Kurrent is an old form of German-language handwriting based on late medieval cursive writing.

The last column, labeled “compatres”, is Latin for compatriots or countrymen. This column included relatives and close friends of the parents. I can’t find any familiar names in this column.

Marriage and Family

Heinrich grew up and married. Like his father he married a woman named Barbara. His wife was called Elisabetha Barbara, and his mother was Maria Barbara. The surnames of these women are unknown.

They had children:

• Maria Margretha Freÿß, married Johannes Michael Pees 12 June 1731 in Baumholder
• Hans Nickel Fräÿß, baptized 4 December 1695 in Pfeffelbach
• Katherina Elisabeth Fräß, baptized Dec 1696
• Johann Ludwig Fräis, baptized 20 Nov 1697
• Maria Elisabetha Freÿß born about 1712, married Johann Nickel Kemmer on 13 Dec 1740

Death

Heinrich Freÿß had died before his youngest daughter married. The marriage record for his daughter, Maria Elisabetha Freÿß, shows a cross above his name indicating that he was deceased. So Heinrich died before December 13, 1740. Here is the record. I circled his name. Notice the cross.

Some References

• Baptism Record for Heinrich Freÿß, Deutschland, ausgewählte evangelische Kirchenbücher 1500-1971,” database, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QP27-HRDN : 14 April 2023), Hanß Heinrich Freÿß, 29 Jan 1665; images digitized and records extracted by Ancestry; citing Baptism, Pfeffelbach, Pfeffelbach, Sankt Wendel, Rheinprovinz, Preußen, Deutsches Reich, , German Lutheran Collection, various parishes, Germany.
• Marriage Record for Maria Margretha Freÿß  https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/26198463?mark=7b22746f6b656e223a224c426367657a6c76574353394e5637333332646c6a63735139646f54392b5467786731653537532b6e57343d222c22746f6b656e5f76657273696f6e223a225632227d
• Marriage Record for Maria Elisabetha Freÿß, “Deutschland, ausgewählte evangelische Kirchenbücher 1500-1971”, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QP23-YZFN : Tue Nov 12 05:41:24 UTC 2024), Entry for Johann Nickel Kemmer and Jacob Kemmers, 13 Dec 1740.