Mary Ann VALENTINE

In the family album there is a photograph of two elderly people, my great-great-grandparents William and Mary Ann UNDERWOOD. The gentleman is standing, looking the very picture of the era with his white beard and serious expression. In his posture I can trace the resemblance to his son, my great-grandfather Walter UNDERWOOD, Sr. The woman is seated, her clawlike hands docilely resting in her lap. Her face bespeaks a life of suffering, which has long intrigued me. She looks so much older than her husband, as though she were his mother rather than his wife. [Note: now that I say that, I am questioning whether this might not actually be a photograph of William and his mother, whose married name was also Mary UNDERWOOD...]

Actually, she was three years younger than William. She was baptized on 2 June 1834, the third surviving child of Charles VALENTINE and Mary Ann REEVE. Her brother William was four years older than she; her sister Sarah scarcely over a year older. And she was soon to have a younger brother Charles about a year and a half later. They were raised in White Notley, in the Braintree district of Essex county, England.

Their childhood seems to have been a bit rocky. Judging from the records, they seem to have lived in poverty, and in what might very well have been a broken home.

In 1841, the first census available, the children are found in a household headed by their mother, but the man who seems to be generally accepted as their father (none of the evidence I have found contradicts his relationship, but none of it proves it, either) is found in the household of his own parents. Granted, he could have been just visiting his parents on the day the census was taken, but the next census increases the mystery.

But before we examine that census, let’s finish looking at the 1841 census. Mary Ann the mother is working as a plaiter, a common occupation at that time for the rural poor. Women could still run a household while straw plaiting, and the children could help with the task. William, the oldest boy, is working as an agricultural laborer, that vague occupation of so many men—and even some women—in British censuses. The age of 11 may seem quite young to begin earning one’s keep, but these were truly the days of Dickensian child labor, and to be an 11-year-old agricultural laborer was probably much more pleasant than it was to be an 11-year-old (or younger) factory worker. With that in mind, it is almost surprising that 9-year-old Sarah has no listed occupation, but she and her sister Mary Ann, and perhaps even little Charles, likely helped their mother with the plaiting.

In 1851, the supposed father Charles is again found in his parents’ household, and is recorded as unmarried. Mary Ann the mother is again heading the household in White Notley, and she is recorded as a widow. This could simply mean that we have the wrong Charles VALENTINE. Or it could imply that there has been some sort of separation or divorce. Charles could have easily resumed his single status, but Mary Ann had a house full of children to account for. “Widow” would certainly have sounded much more respectable to the Victorian ear than “single” with five children.

Yes, five children. That is the second intriguing circumstance. Eight years after the birth of young Charles, another little bundle of joy—or perhaps it felt more like another mouth to feed—arrived. This one was named Harriet VALENTINE, and she is the only one of the family for whom I have been unable to find a baptismal record in the index.

Eight years is a substantial amount of time between children in the Victorian age, particularly when the others had all come one right after another. Mary Ann the mother would have been—and here I’m relying on her own baptismal certificate, not her impossibly slow aging on the census returns—37 years old. If we are going with the theory that the Charles VALENTINE, son of James and Sarah, is indeed her husband, it would seem that they were separated for quite a period of time, and then effected a temporary reconciliation. Either that or Mary Ann had a little—ahem—outside help. (A remarkable thing to find oneself saying about one’s own 3rd great-grandmother!)

The two boys are still living with their mother, and both working in agricultural labor. Harriet, I am glad to say, is apparently attending school; her occupation is “Scholar (first day).” I say apparently because I do not understand what that parenthetical “first day” means. I wonder if it perhaps refers to a Sunday school?

The other two girls, Sarah and my 2nd great-grandmother Mary Ann, are in that most fearful of Victorian institutions, the workhouse. The Braintree Union Workhouse in Bocking, to be exact. Although a workhouse was not quite as bleak a place as depicted in Oliver Twist, it wasn’t what you would call cozy, either. In fact, workhouses were designed to be as forbidding as possible so as to deter all but the most desperate. Therefore, Sarah and Mary Ann must have been pretty desperate. It does seem rather curious, though, to see the two of them in the workhouse when their mother and siblings were still alive and living together.

The former Braintree Union Workhouse, now St. Michael's Hospital.
Robert Edwards [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

They are both listed as straw plaiters, a skill they probably learned from their mother.

There is today a common misconception that a workhouse was like a prison in that a person was “put into” one, and was not allowed to come out. Instead, entering a workhouse was generally a choice. The workhouse system was the welfare system of the times: if an able-bodied poor person wanted relief, that person had to enter a workhouse. The idea was to prevent abuses of the system, to make sure that everyone who received relief did their part in working for it. And, although many who entered a workhouse did so for life, an inmate such as Sarah or Mary Ann could leave at almost any time, provided they gave (usually) three hours’ notice. However, the workhouse provided no assistance in starting a new life: no new clothes, no money, nothing but what had been brought in when a person entered.

I would love to get my hands on Mary Ann’s workhouse records, if they still exist. It is not known at this time when she entered the workhouse or when she left, only that she was there in the census year 1851. By the next census in 1861, she was again living with her mother in White Notley. Her mother’s occupation that year was very vague indeed: “Out door Labourer,” whatever that meant. Mary Ann the younger and her sister Harriet were the only two of the children still living at home, both of them silk winders. They likely worked at the silk mill either in Braintree or Bocking.

Within a few years, Mary Ann had met William UNDERWOOD, who would become my great-great-grandfather. They were married in 1865. Their marriage was recorded in the General Register Office in the Apr-May-Jun quarter, so they were probably married in the spring. I have yet to order a certificate from the GRO, so I cannot vouch for an actual date, but I should admit that the date 13 May 1865 has somehow mysteriously crept into my tree unsourced. I will be curious to discover how accurate the date turns out to be.

By 1871, they were settled in Hawkwell, with three children: Mary Ann, Sarah, and Charles. Fortunately, this third generation of Mary Ann was known—at least according to Aunt Elsie’s typescript—as Mary. Sarah is, of course, “Aunt Sadie,” and Charles, sadly, did not survive. Both the parents were recorded as farm laborers. All three children were born in Hawkwell, so the family must have been living there since at least 1866.

The cottage of the UNDERWOOD family appeared on the census just one entry after the location called “Clements Cottage,” so it would seem that they lived more or less near Clements Hall, one of the two local manors.

The years followed their ordinary course, and the census records reveal that the family moved at least twice in the first twenty years, but stayed in the same general area: 1881 found them in Hockley; 1891 in Hazeleigh. They lost little Charles, but had my great-grandfather Walter. The parents’ occupations remained some variation of agricultural laborer, while the children grew, attended school, took up occupations of their own, married, and moved away. By 1901 William and Mary Ann were empty nesters in Hazeleigh. William still was described as an agricultural laborer, though 68 years of age.

The last census in which they appear is 1911, still together after 46 years. They had moved to 92 Spital Rd in Maldon, and had become old age pensioners.

Note: A few of the questions that were raised in this post about Mary Ann Valentine's mother Mary Ann Reeve have been answered, although more have been raised. See Musings on Mary Ann Reeve for some updates.

Background Sources:

Clarke, Andrew. “Strawplaiting.” Web log post. The Hysterical Hystorian. The Foxearth and District Local History Society, 12 June 2005. Web. Accessed 1 Apr. 2011. <http://www.foxearth.org.uk/blog/2005/06/strawplaiting.html>.

“Hawkwell - From 1066!” Hawkwell History. Hawkwell Parish Council, 2012. Web. Accessed 22 Jan 2015. <http://www.hawkwellparishcouncil.gov.uk/history.asp>.

Higginbotham, Peter. The History of the Workhouse. Web. Accessed 20 Jan 2015. <http://www.workhouses.org.uk/>.

Warner, Sir Frank. The Silk Industry of the United Kingdom: Its Origin and Development. London: Drane’s Danegeld House, 1921. Internet Archive. MSN, 17 Mar 2010. Web. Accessed 22 Jan 2015. <https://archive.org/details/cu31924030128825>. Book contributor: Cornell University Library.

Genealogical Sources:

1841 census of England, Essex, Fairsted parish, Witham registration district, folio 7, page 8, household of James Valentine; digital images, Ancestry, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 Mar 2011); citing PRO HO 107/343/6.

1841 census of England, Essex, White Notley parish, folio 19, page 9, household of Mary Valentine; digital images, Ancestry, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 21 Oct 2007); citing PRO HO 107/343/12.

1851 census of England, Essex, Braintree Union Workhouse, Bocking parish, Braintree registration district, folio 330, page 12, Sarah Valentine; digital images, Ancestry, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 Jan 2015); citing PRO HO 107/1785.

1851 census of England, Essex, Fairsted parish, Witham registration district, folio 377, page 13, household of James Valentine; digital images, Ancestry, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 Mar 2011); citing PRO HO 107/1783.

1851 census of England, Essex, White Notley parish, village of White Notley, Braintree registration district, folio 426, page 10, household of Mary Ann Valentine; digital images, Ancestry, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 Feb 2010); citing PRO HO 107/1785.

1861 census of England, Essex, White Notley parish, Braintree registration district, folio 157A, page 14, household of Mary Ann Valentine; digital images, Ancestry, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 Feb 2010); citing PRO RG 9/1115.

1871 census of England, Essex, village of Hawkwell, ecclesiastical district of Rochester, folio 56, page 3-4, household (cottage) of William Underwood; digital images, Ancestry, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 Mar 2007); citing PRO RG 10/1669.

1881 census of England, Essex, Hockley parish, rural sanitary district of Rochford, folio 100, page 7, household of William Underwood; digital images, Ancestry, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 Mar 2007); citing PRO RG 11/1768.

1891 census of England, Essex, folio 66, page 4, household of William Underwood; digital images, Ancestry, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 14 Mar 2007); citing PRO RG 12/1397.

1901 census of England, Essex, Hazeleigh parish, rural district of Maldon, parliamentary borough or division of South East Essex, folio 57, page 1, household of William Underwood; digital images, Ancestry, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 8 Oct 2007); citing PRO RG 13/1690.

1911 census of England, Essex, 92 Spital Rd Maldon Essex, household of William Underwood; digital images, Ancestry, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 Jan 2015); citing RG 78, RG 14 PN 10194, registration district (RD) 196, sub district (SD) 2, enumeration district (ED) 1, schedule number (SN) 160.

Ancestry, “England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975,” database, Ancestry, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 Jan 2015), entry for Charles Valentine’s 1836 baptism; citing FHL Film Number 560909.

Ancestry, “England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975,” database, Ancestry, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 Jan 2015), entry for Mary Ann Reeve’s 1807 baptism; citing Boreham, Essex, England, reference; FHL microfilm 1,702,171.

Ancestry, “England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975,” database, Ancestry, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 Jan 2015), entry for Mary Ann Valentine’s 1834 baptism; citing FHL Film Number 560909.

Ancestry, “England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975,” database, Ancestry, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 Jan 2015), entry for Sarah Valentine’s 1833 baptism; citing FHL Film Number 560909.

Ancestry, “England, Select Births and Christenings, 1538-1975,” database, Ancestry, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 19 Jan 2015), entry for William Valentine’s 1830 baptism; citing FHL Film Number 1702171.

Crocker, Elsie. unpublished typescript.

Graham Hart, Ben Laurie, Camilla von Massenbach and David Mayall, “England & Wales, FreeBMD Marriage Index, 1837-1915,” database, Ancestry (www.ancestry.com : accessed 21 Jan 2015), entry for William Underwood’s Apr-May-Jun 1865 marriage; citing General Register Office.

Amanuensis Monday: Anna STROESSER’s birth certificate

This week in my Luxembourg record transcription project, we return again to the locality of Heispelt, in the household of my great-great grandparents Peter STROESSER and Barbara THINES. We have already traced the lives and families of their two eldest sons, Michel and Baltasar; now it is time to embark on the line originating in their third child—their eldest daughter—Anna.

The year was 1876. St. Nicholas, called “Kleeschen” in Luxembourg, would have already visited three-year-old Michel and 16-month-old Baltasar on his feast day of December 6^th, leaving sweets or gifts in their shoes or on their plates. They might have been threatened into good behavior by the prospect of being beaten by Kleeschen’s frightening companion Houseker.

Fortunately for the two young boys, Christmas Day was not a day typically designated for the giving of gifts as it is today in the U.S. Perhaps the Christ Child left something for them, but the main gift-giving had already been done on St. Nicholas Day. However, the family did receive a most wonderful gift on that Christmas Day: Barbara gave birth to her first daughter, Anna.

This image has been trimmed from the original at FamilySearch.

Transcription (the italicized parts were handwritten on the record):

Im Jahre tausend acht hundert sechs und siebenzig, den fünfundzwanzigsten

des Monats Dezember um acht Uhr Nach mittags ist vor Uns
Theodore Welbes Bürgermeister Beamten des Civilstandes
der Gemeinde Wahl, im Kanton Redingen, Grossher=
zogthum Luxemburg, erschienen Stroesser Peter Eisenhändeler
alt vierzig zwei Jahre
wohnhaft zu Heispelt, welche Uns ein Kind weiblichen
Geschlechts vorgestellt, hat geboren zu Heispelt heuts uns
funf Uhr Nachmittags von ihn Deklarenten
und seiner Ehefrau Barbara Thines ohne Gewerb
alt dreißig zwei Jahre Eheleute wohnhaft zu Heispelt
und welchem sie den Vornamen Anna
geben zu wollen erklärt hat.
Diese Erklärung und Vorstellung sind geschehen in Gegenwart des Flammang
Martin Taglöhner, alt vierzig fünf Jahre
wohnhaft zu Heispelt und des Biver Peter Ackerer
alt fünfzig Jahre
wohnhaft zu Kuborn und haben diese Urkunde
nachdem sie ihnen vorgelesen worden, mit Uns unterschrieben.

Line by line Translation:

In the Year one thousand eight hundred and seventy-six, the twenty-fifth

of the Month of December at eight o'clock After noon is before Us
Theodore Welbes Burgermeister Officials of the Civil State
of the Commune of Wahl, in the Canton Redange, Grand-
duchy of Luxembourg, appeared Stroesser Peter Iron Merchant
aged forty-two Years
residing in Heispelt, which to us a child of the female
Gender presented, born in Heispelt today to us
five O’clock Afternoon by his Declaration
and his Wife Barbara Thines without Occupation
aged thirty-two Years Married couple residing in Heispelt
and which she the First Name Anna
has declared to want to give.
This Statement and Presentation are done in the Presence of Flammang
Martin Day-laborer, aged forty-five Years,
residing in Heispelt and Biver Peter Farmer
aged fifty Years
residing in Kuborn and have this Deed
having been read to them, with us signed.

As usual, I have added the applicable template (1876 birth certificate) to my online collection of Luxembourg transcription and translation templates. If you would like to try transcribing and translating a Luxembourgish 1876 birth record of your own, perhaps it will help you.

Source:

Wahl, Redange, Luxembourg, birth certificate no. 32 (1876), Anna Stroesser; digital image #133, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, “Naissances 1867-1890-- RINDSCHLEIDEN: Mariages 1796-1797, 1800-1804, 1805-1823 -- WAHL: Mariages 1796-1803, 1805-1890 -,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 30 May 2010).

Scipio WADE’s wife

One of my favorite characters to research in the WADE family is Scipio WADE, not because he was particularly interesting, but because of his name. In a family with a common name like WADE, what a boon it is to find someone with an unusual first name like Scipio!

Scipio WADE was the oldest child of Joseph S. WADE—the younger brother of my great-great grandfather Allen C. WADE, whom I have so often mentioned, and about whom I have promised to write a post. That is a promise I have yet to make good, but I still hope to at some point.

This weekend I decided to again take a look at Scipio and see if I could find anything new. After a few relatively unexciting discoveries (mostly city directories), I took another look at my gedcom file. Although he spent most of his life in California with his sister Carrie, he had been married at one time.

For his wife, Margaret McADAMS, I had only and birth date and a death date, in addition to the marriage date. I wondered if I could find a little information if I were to search the newspapers around the time of her death. According to my information, which had come from Findagrave and an old Rootsweb board, she had died in Kincaid, Anderson, Kansas on 29 Apr 1896. So I went to GenealogyBank and typed in “Wade” in the surname field, “1896” in the date field, and checked “Kansas” for the state to search. It wasn’t long before I found an intriguing article.

Trimmed from the original at GenealogyBank

Mrs. Wade, Mrs. Cloyes and her son Joe went down in the Cherokee nation below Bartlesville to pick black berries. As they started back Sunday they drove into the river that was up and it was too deep for them. They started to float down stream and Mrs. Wade was drowned. Mrs. Cloyes got hold of one of the horses and got out all right. Joe also swam out all right. The last seen of Mrs. Wade she was holding to one of the wheels of the hack. The body had not been found at the last report.

The “Mrs. Wade” of this article is not mentioned by full name, so it is uncertain whether she is Mrs. Scipio WADE or another WADE. Her companions give no assistance, as the name “Cloyes” is new to me. The date of this newspaper is 2 July 1896, a Thursday. Assuming that the “Sunday” mentioned in the article is the most recent Sunday, the date of the drowning would have been 28 June 1896, almost fully two months after the death date I had recorded for Scipio’s wife. The 29 Apr 1896 I had recorded would have been a Wednesday. However, both of my sources for her death date were secondary at best; it is possible they were mistaken. Also, newspapers are not always entirely accurate, and the “Sunday” referred to is not clear. The location is also problematic. However, it can easily be explained by the fact that she is buried in Kincaid, Anderson, Kansas. Perhaps the person recording her death simply assumed she died where she was buried. With all these uncertainties, I can neither confirm or disprove that this Mrs. WADE is Margaret.

Another article continued the story.

Trimmed from the original at GenealogyBank

Mrs. Wade who was drowned in Big Caney in the Territory was found three days after. Her body was found nearly a mile from where she was drowned.

If she had drowned on 28 June 1896, her body would have been found 1 July 1896, a day before the previous article had been published. The news simply did not reach the newpaper in time for publication. Unfortunately, this second article gives no further information useful toward the identification of this Mrs. WADE. Perhaps Scipio WADE’s wife drowned on her way home from picking blackberries in Oklahoma, or perhaps it was another unfortunate Mrs. WADE. Only more research will tell.

Sources:

Alohawahine75@aol.com. “[IOWA] McAdams's Family.” IOWA-L Archives. Rootsweb, 18 Mar. 2003. Web.

“Chautauqua Local Items,” Sedan Lance, 2 July 1896, p. 3, col. 5; digital images, America’s GenealogyBank (http://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 10 Jan 2015), Historical Newspapers. 
 

“Chautauqua Local Items,” Sedan Lance, 9 July 1896, p. 2, col. 5; digital images, America’s GenealogyBank (http://www.genealogybank.com : accessed 10 Jan 2015), Historical Newspapers.

Find A Grave, “Find A Grave,” database and images, Find A Grave (www.findagrave.com : accessed 10 Jan 2015); Margaret McAdams Wade (Memorial #86839890); Record added 15 Mar 2012 by N. Dale Talkington.

Amanuensis Monday: Michel STROESSER’s birth certificate

I can’t help but wonder what happened between 1900 and 1903 in the family of my great-grandfather Harry STROESSER’s brother Michel. Michel had married in 1898, and since then had children like clockwork: first a daughter Catherina in 1899, then a son Johann-Peter in 1900, but then there seems to have been a break until 1903. Was there a miscarriage? Had Michel been away from his wife for an extended period? The records—or at least the ones I have accessed—are silent on the point.

At any rate, they had another child in June of 1903. This one they named Michel, perhaps after his father, but more likely after his godfather. Without seeing his baptismal record we cannot be sure who that godfather was, but he may have been Michel KRIEBS, who appeared as the first witness on the child’s birth certificate.

This image has been trimmed from the original at FamilySearch.

Transcription (the italicized parts were handwritten on the record):

Im Jahre tausend neun hundert drei, den fünfzehnten

des Monats Juni um drei Uhr nach mittags ist vor Uns

Andreas Miller, Bürgermeister Beamten des Civilstandes

der Gemeinde Folscheid , im Kanton Redingen , Großher=

zogthum Luxemburg, erschienen Stroesser Michel

alt zwanzig neun Jahre , Schreiner,

wohnhaft zu Rambruch , welcher Uns ein Kind männlichen

Geschlechts vorgestellt hat, geboren zu Rambruch, vorgestern

um zehn Uhr vor mittags, im Hause Nr. -- Gasse,

erzeugt von ihm Comparenten und von seiner Ehefrau Stomp

Regina, ohne Stand, alt zwanzig fünf Jahre, wohn-

haft zu Rambruch,

und welchem er den Vornamen Michel

geben zu wollen erklärt hat.

Diese Erklärung und Vorstellung sind geschehen in Gegenwart des Kriebs

Michel , alt vierzig drei Jahre , Tagner,

wohnhaft zu Schwiedelbruch und des Gaspard

Nicolas , alt vierzig zwei Jahre , Schreiner,

wohnhaft zu Folscheid und haben die Comparenten diese

Urkunde, nachdem sie ihnen vorgelesen worden, mit Uns unterschrieben.

Line by line Translation:

In the Year one thousand nine hundred three, the fifteenth

of the Month of June at three o'clock after noon is before Us

Andreas Miller, Burgermeister Officials of the Civil State

of the Commune of Folschette , in the Canton Redange , Grand-

duchy of Luxembourg, appeared Stroesser Michel

aged twenty nine Years , Carpenter,

residing in Rambrouch , which to us a child of the male

Gender has presented, born in Rambrouch, the day before yesterday

at ten O’clock before noon, in House No. -- Street,

begat by the Appearing Party and by his Wife Stomp

Regina, without Occupation, aged twenty five Years, res-

iding in Rambrouch

and which he the First Name Michel

has declared to want to give.

This Statement and Presentation are done in the Presence of Kriebs

Michel , aged forty three Years , Day Laborer,

residing in Schwiedelbrouch and Gaspard

Nicolas , aged forty two Years , Carpenter,

residing in Folschette and the Appearing Parties have this

Deed, having been read to them, with us signed.

Source:

Folschette, Luxembourg, birth certificate no. 28 (1903), Michel Stroesser; digital image #302 of 699, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, “Naissances 1882-1923 Mariages 1831-1850,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 22 Nov 2014).

Amanuensis Monday: Johann Peter STROESSER’s birth certificate

In what was technically the last year of the nineteenth century, though many people intuitively think of it as the twentieth century, the family of Michel STROESSER still resided in Luxembourg. As it had been for at least a couple years, their home was in the town of Rambrouch, at the time in the commune of Folschette. In 1979 the commune was reorganized and renamed after the town of Rambrouch, so it can now be said that although Rambrouch used to be a town in the commune of Folschette, Folschette is now a town in the commune of Rambrouch.

However, that diverting reversal would not occur for another 79 years. It was still the year 1900, and Michel STROESSER and his wife Regina STOMP, the brother and sister-in-law of my great-grandfather Harry STROESSER, were expecting their second child. He arrived on the 22^nd of July, and they named him Johann-Peter.

This image has been trimmed from the original at FamilySearch.

Transcription (the italicized parts were handwritten on the record):

Im Jahre tausend neun hundert, den zwanzig zweiten

des Monats Juli, um zwei Uhr nach mittags ist vor Uns

Meyer Peter, Bürgermeister Beamten des Civilstandes

der Gemeinde Folscheid , im Kanton Redingen , Großher=

zogthum Luxemburg, erschienen Stroesser Michel, Schreiner,

alt zwanzig sechs Jahre , Vater des Kindes,

wohnhaft zu Rambruch , welcher Uns ein Kind männlichen

Geschlechts vorgestellt hat, geboren zu Rambruch, heute

um sechs Uhr vor mittags, im Hause Nr. -- Gasse,

erzeugt von ihm Comparenten und von seiner Ehefrau Stomp

Regina, ohne Stand, alt zwanzig zwei Jahre, wohnhaft

zu Rambruch,

und welchem er die Vornamen Johann-Peter

geben zu wollen erklärt hat.

Diese Erklärung und Vorstellung sind geschehen in Gegenwart des Reichling

Johann-Peter , alt zwanzig sieben Jahre , Taglöhner,

wohnhaft zu Rambruch und des Nauert

Michel , alt fünfzig acht Jahre , Sekretär

wohnhaft zu Folscheid, und haben die Comparenten diese

Urkunde, nachdem sie ihnen vorgelesen worden, mit Uns unterschrieben.

Line by line Translation:

In the Year one thousand nine hundred, the twenty second

of the Month of July, at two o'clock after noon is before Us

Meyer Peter, Burgermeister Officials of the Civil State

of the Commune of Folschette , in the Canton Redange , Grand-

duchy of Luxembourg, appeared Stroesser Michel, Carpenter,

aged twenty six Years , Father of the Child,

residing in Rambrouch , which to us a child of the male

Gender has presented, born in Rambrouch, today

at six O’clock before noon, in House No. -- Street,

begat by the Appearing Party and by his Wife Stomp

Regina, without Occupation, aged twenty two Years, residing

in Rambrouch,

and which he the First Name Johann-Peter

has declared to want to give.

This Statement and Presentation are done in the Presence of Reichling

Johann-Peter , aged twenty seven Years , Day Laborer,

residing in Rambrouch and Nauert

Michel , aged fifty eight Years , Secretary [or clerk]

residing in Folschette, and the Appearing Parties have this

Deed, having been read to them, with us signed.

Source:

Folschette, Luxembourg, birth certificate no. 26 (1900), Johann-Peter Stroesser; digital image #256 of 699, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, “Naissances 1882-1923 Mariages 1831-1850,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 21 Nov 2014).

Amanuensis Monday: Catharina STROESSER’s birth certificate

Here we are, back in Luxembourg. It is just nine months before the dawn of the twentieth century, and just one day before Marconi demonstrated his wireless machine by transmitting a signal across the English Channel. But our minds are far from the excitement of modern technology; we have another kind of excitement much closer to home. Michel STROESSER and Regina STOMP have just had their firstborn child.

You may recall that Michel STROESSER was the eldest brother of my great-grandfather, Harry STROESSER. Michel and his wife had been married just over nine months, so clearly they lost no time in starting their family.

This image has been trimmed from the original at FamilySearch.

Transcription (the italicized parts were handwritten on the record):

Im Jahre tausend acht hundert neun und neunzig, den zwanzig sechsten

des Monats März, um fünf Uhr nach mittags ist vor Uns
Glesener Michel, Bürgermeister, Beamten des Civilstandes
der Gemeinde Folscheid , im Kanton Redingen , Großher=
zogthum Luxemburg, erschienen Stroesser Michel, Schreiner,
alt zwanzig fünf Jahre , Vater des Kindes,
wohnhaft zu Rambruch , welcher Uns ein Kind weiblichen
Geschlechts vorgestellt hat, geboren zu Rambruch, heute
um sieben Uhr vor mittags, im Hause Nr. -- Gasse,
erzeugt von ihm Comparenten und von seiner Ehefrau
Regina Stomp, alt zwanzig ein Jahre, ohne Stand,
wohnhaft zu Rambruch
und welchem er den Vornamen Catharina
geben zu wollen erklärt hat.
Diese Erklärung und Vorstellung sind geschehen in Gegenwart des Becker
Johann Baptiste , alt zwanzig sieben Jahre , Taglöhner,
wohnhaft zu Rambruch und des Glesener
Johann , alt zwanzig vier Jahre , Ackerer,
wohnhaft zu Folscheid und haben die Comparenten diese
Urkunde, nachdem sie ihnen vorgelesen worden, mit Uns unterschrieben.

Line by line Translation:

In the Year one thousand eight hundred and ninety nine, the twenty sixth
of the Month of March, at five o'clock after noon is before Us
Glesener Michel, Burgermeister, Officials of the Civil State
of the Commune of Folschette , in the Canton Redange , Grand-
duchy of Luxembourg, appeared Stroesser Michel, Carpenter,
aged twenty five Years , Father of the Child,
residing in Rambrouch , which to us a child of the female
Gender has presented, born in Rambrouch, today
at seven O’clock before noon, in House No. -- Street,
begat by the Appearing Party and by his Wife
Regina Stomp, aged twenty one Years, without Occupation,
residing in Rambrouch
and which he the First Name Catharina
has declared to want to give.
This Statement and Presentation are done in the Presence of Becker
Johann Baptiste , aged twenty seven Years , Day Laborer,
residing in Rambrouch and Glesener
Johann , aged twenty four Years , Farmer,
residing in Folschette and the Appearing Parties have this
Deed, having been read to them, with us signed.

As usual, if you would like to try your hand at transcribing and translating a similar certificate, you can check out my templates here.

Source:

Folschette, Luxembourg, birth certificate no. 8 (1899), Catharina Stroesser; digital image #239 of 699, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, “Naissances 1882-1923 Mariages 1831-1850,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 21 Nov 2014).

Amanuensis Monday: Michel STROESSER’s marriage certificate

I am going to pause at this point in my Luxembourg record transcription project and back up a bit. You may recall that in the post recording the birth certificate of my great-grandfather’s eldest brother, “Mike” STROESSER, I claimed it was the only Luxembourgish civil registration document for him. I was wrong. Recently, while browsing through the Tables décennales for Folschette, I stumbled across a marriage for Michel STROESSER. Naturally, I hastened to find the certificate and see who this Michel STROESSER was. Lo and behold, it was my great-grandfather’s brother!

A little more browsing through the Tables décennales and tracing the records showed that not only was Michel married in Luxembourg, but had at least three children there before his emigration. Incidentally, all this information turned out to be the key to proving that the Michael STROESSER of Manitoba, Canada was indeed my Michel STROESSER—and led me into communication with a new cousin! This post will present Michel’s marriage record.

This image has been trimmed from the original at FamilySearch.

Transcription (the italicized parts were handwritten on the record):

Im Jahre tausend acht hundert acht und neunzig, den sechsten des Monats Juni

um acht Uhr nach mittags, sind vor Uns Michel Glesener

Bürgermeister, Beamter des Civilstandes der Gemeinde Folscheid,

Burgermeister Officials of the Civil State of the Commune Folschette

im Kanton Redingen, im GroßHerzogthum Luxemburg eschienen Stroesser

Michel, Schreiner, alt zwanzig vier Jahre, geboren zu

Heispelt, Gemeinde Wahl , den dritten Dezember tausend acht

hundert siebenzig drei, wohnhaft zu Rambruch

groß jähriger Sohn des zu Schwiedelbruch am

elften Juni tausend acht hundert drei und neunzig verstorbenen Peter

Stroesser und der zu selbigem Schwiedelbruch am achten Juni

tausend acht hundert neunzig verstorbenen Barbara Thines.

Das Geburtsdatum des Brautigams ist laut Beilage bestätigt,

die Sterbedaten seiner eltern sind laut den hiesigen Civilstands-

registern bestätigt einerseits.

Und Stomp Regina, ohne Stand , alt zwanzig Jahre

geboren zu Ospern, den

zwanzig siebenten April achtzehnhundert siebenzig acht, wohnhaft

zu Eltz, Sektion Ospern, minder jährige Zochter

des zu Ospern (Eltz) am acht und zwanzigsten April tausend acht

hundert acht und neunzig verstorbenen Heinrich Stomp, zeit-

lebens Kalkbrenner, und der hier anwesenden und in diese

Heirath einwilligenden Catharina Charpentier, alt ein und

fünfzig Jahre ohne Stand, wohnhaft zu genanntem Eltz.

Das Geburtsdatum der Braut und der Sterbetag ihres

Vaters sind laut Beilagen bestätigt anderseits.

Welche uns ersucht haben, zu der unter ihnen übereingekommenen Vollziehung ihrer Heirath zu schreiten, und deren Verkündigungen

in den Gemeinden Folscheid und Redingen an den Sonntagen

zwanzig zweiten und zwanzig neunten Mai des laufenden

twenty second and twenty ninth of May of the current

Jahres dem Gesetze gemäß

Statt gehabt haben.

Da uns kein Widerspruch genen gedachte Heirath verkündet worden ist, so lassen wir ihrem Begehren Recht wiedersahren; und nachdem wir alle

obenerwähnten Akten und das 6. Kapitel des Civilgesetzbuches, von der Heirath betitelt, vorgelesen, haben wir den Bräutigam und die Braut

gefragt, ob sie sich zum Mann und zur Frau nehmen wollen; da beide jedes besonders und bejahend, geantwortet haben, so erklären wir im Namen

des Gesetzes, daß Stroesser Michel und Stomp Regina

durch die Heirath vereinigt sind.

Und vor Abschluß der gegenwärtigen Urkunde richteten wir sowohl an die Brautleute als an die obbenannten Erscheinenden,

welche zu dieser Ehe ihre Einwilligung ertheilten, die Aufforderung zu erklären, ob ein notarieller Ehevertrag die Civilbestim=

mungen selber Ehe geregelt hätte und, im bejahenden Falle, wann und vor welchem Notar, worauf die Gefragten uns erklärten

ein solcher Ehevertrag sei nicht

beurkundet worden.

Von allem diesem haben wir diese Urkunde errichtet, und zwar in Gegenwart des Reuter

Peter, Wegewärter, alt fünfzig ein Jahre,

wohnhaft zu Schwiedelbruch, Oheim der Braut;

Des Charpentier Johann, Schneider alt fünfzig sechs Jahre,

wohnhaft zu Rambruch, Vetter der Braut;

Des Heiderscheid Peter, Förster, alt fünfzig vier Jahre,

wohnhaft zu Folscheid, nicht verwandt;

Und des Glesener Johann, Ackerer, alt zwanzig vier Jahre,

wohnhaft zu Foldscheid, nicht verwandt.

Welche, nachdem sie ihnen vorgelesen worden ist, dieselbe mit uns unterschrieben haben. die Mutter

der Braut hat jedoch erklärt, nicht schreiben zu wissen.

Line by line Translation:

In the Year one thousand eight hundred ninety-eight, the sixth of the Month of June

at eight O’clock after noon, before Us Michel Glesener

Burgermeister Officials of the Civil State of the Commune Folschette

in the Canton of Redange in the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, appeared Stroesser

Michel, Carpenter, age twenty four Years, born in

Heispelt, Commune Wahl , on the third of December one thousand eight

hundred seventy three, residing in Rambrouch

of age Sohn of at Schwiedelbrouch on

the eleventh of June one thousand eight hundred ninety three died Peter

Stroesser and of the selfsame Schwiedelbrouch on the eighth of June

One thousand eight hundred ninety died Barbara Thines.

The Birthdate of the Bridegroom is according to Enclosure confirmed,

the Death Dates of his parents are according to the local Civil

registers confirmed on the one hand.

And Stomp Regina, without Occupation , age twenty Years

born in Ospern on the

twenty seventh of April eighteen hundred seventy eight residing

in Eltz, Section Ospern, minor Daughter

to the Ospern (Eltz) on the twenty eighth of April one thousand eight

hundred ninety eight the late Heinrich Stomp, in

life Lime Burner, and the here present and in this

Marriage consenting Catharina Charpentier, aged one and

fifty Years without Occupation, residing in so-called Eltz.

The Birthdate of the Bride and the Death Date of her

Father are according to Enclosures confirmed on the other hand.

Who have asked us, to proceed with the mutually agreed upon Execution of their Marriage, and their Pronouncements

in the Communes of Folschette and Redange on the Sundays

twenty second and twenty ninth of May of the current

Year in accordance with the Law

Have been held.

Since no contradiction to the intended marriage has been announced, we can honor their desire; and after we all

the above document and the 6^th chapter of the Civil Code, of the Marriage titled, read, we have the Groom and the Bride

questioned, whether it be that they want to take one another for Man and Wife; because both, each particularly and affirming, have responded, as we explained in the Name

of the Law, that Stroesser Michel and Stomp Regina

are united in Marriage.

And before Entering into the current Act we addressed both the Bride and Groom as to the above distinct Presenters,

which to this marriage their Consent give, the Request to declare, if a notarized Marriage Settlement the Civil

Provisions themselves the Marriage would have settled and, in the affirmative Case, when and before which Notary, whereupon the Requested to us declared

such a Marriage Settlement was not

has been certified.

From all this we have made this Certificate, and in the Presence of Reuter

Peter, Road Watchman, age fifty one Years,

residing in Schwiedelbrouch, Uncle of the Bride;

Of Charpentier Johann, Tailor age fifty six Years,

residing in Rambrouch, Cousin of the Bride;

Of Heiderscheid Peter, Forester, age fifty four Years,

residing in Folschette, not related;

And of Glesener Johann, Farmer, age twenty four Years,

residing in Folschette, not related;

Who, after having it read to them, have undersigned. the Mother

of the Bride has however declared, to not know how to write.

Looking carefully over this record, we learn that Michel STROESSER was a carpenter. For some reason, his birth date is given as 3 Dec 1873, when, according to his birth certificate, he was born on the second. At first, I thought perhaps it was a mistake in which the marriage registrar wrote the date of the birth certificate itself rather than the date of birth, but the certificate was recorded on the fourth, not the third.

However, if the mistake of one day was enough to raise some doubt as to the identity of this Michel STROESSER, the identification of his parents immediately removes that doubt. The names and death dates of both his parents are given. Had I not already been in possession of their death dates, this would have been very convenient information. As it is, it only confirms Michel’s identity.

We also learn that Michel’s bride was Regina STOMP, along with her birth date and birthplace, and the names of her parents. Her father has died, but her mother is still alive and approves the marriage. This is important because Regina is still a minor, and parental consent is required for her to marry.

The marriage had been pronounced in both Folschette and Redange on the two previous Sundays, which, I assume, would have been the publication of banns. In Luxembourg, civil banns must be published for at least ten days before the marriage takes place. (That is the current law; I have not yet uncovered the history of the marriage laws, but it was likely similar in 1898.) If, on the other hand, this refers to church banns, there is a slight problem. The Catholic Church required three weeks of banns prior to a marriage.

There was not a marriage settlement. It would take much more research to delve into all the implications of that statement, but for now it will suffice to say that they did not make out a contract regarding property.

The witnesses included two relatives of the bride: Peter REUTER, her uncle, and Johann CHARPENTIER, her cousin, as well as two men said not to be related to either party: Peter HEIDERSCHEID and Johann GLESENER. Lastly, we learn that Catharina CHARPENTIER, the mother of the bride, did not know how to write.

This being the first 1898 marriage license I have had occasion to transcribe and translate, I created a new template for myself. You can view it here. 

 

Source:

Folschette, Luxembourg marriage certificate 11 (1898), Stroesser-Stomp; digital image #368 of 659, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, “Mariages 1851-1923 Décès 1894-1902,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 21 Nov 2014).