Amanuensis Monday--Elsie Crocker’s Manuscript, Part 14: Animal Tales

To read this project from the beginning, click here.

Well, here we are again. It has been longer than I care to admit since I have posted one of these “weekly” transcriptions, so it’s about time I resumed the habit. This installment tells a few animal tales in the lives of the Underwoods.

One morning Dad came in to the house, Mother could see he was upset about something. “What’s the matter” she asked him. Dad told her that the mother pig refused to let one pig nurse. If this goes on we will lose the little one. I over heard what was going on and volunteered. Dad informed us this little pig had to be kept warm and fed often. Mom agreed to let me take him, if I kept him on a blanket back of the stove. I had to keep him in the kitchen.

I was so happy to have a little pig for a pet. I know how to feed him as had helped feed some calves. I’d get a clean cloth and double it up like a nipple. Put it in a pail of warm milk. Tightly holding on to the nipple, the little pig took to this right away. He was hungry.

Later on I used two fingers held in the pail of warm milk he would suck on my fingers. He seemed to like it. He was hungry all the time. I had a lot of fun trying to keep this little pig in the kitchen and on his blanket back of the stove.

He was pink skin with light short hair. I spent my days chasing this little pig. Mother would say “Get that pig out of here”. So I would run and try to caught him. He was so chubby and fat, I would put both hands around his stomach and try and hold him. Sometimes my hands would slip, I’d get ahold of his leg. He’d squeal something awful. Mother would yell “You’ll break his leg. I don’t think I held him that tight. I would let him go and Mom would yell “Will you get him out of here.” I was trying my best, but pig’s hair grows from the front to the back, making it hard to hang on to.

Well the little pig grewup, he could eat by hisselve now. He got a long with the other pigs. I missed him I wondered did he miss me? I really think Mom missed him too.

I think every child should have a pig for a pet. I’m lucky to have had one, it a great experience.

A magpie is a large bird, very much like a big crow but much uglier. Someone told me if I could catch a magpie and split its tongue it would talk to me. It had to be a baby bird.

Maraget Church my girl friend and I was at the creek, at the far end of our farm. Above us was a big willow tree. There’s nest, after watching for a while, the mom and dad bird appeared. Oh, it’s a magpie couple. We could see the baby birds reaching to be fed. Margaret urged me to climb the tree. So I did. I stole a little bird, we took it home, right into the house. Mom and Margaret’s mom was there. Everything broke loose when my mom saw that bird.

I had never seen Mom mad like that before. She asked what we were thinking about to steal a baby bird from it’s mother. Go back and take that bird to it’s home this minute But Mother we wanted someone to cut it’s tongue so it would talk to us. My mother asked “Who ever put that idea in to your heads? I never heard of such a thing.”

So Margaret and my brother and I took that bird home. The birds parents seemed to be glad it was back. I never found out if we had split it’s tongue if it would talk. The was the first time and last time I ever stold a bird.

Living on a farm the children always had chores to do At least helping with them. Bringing in the wood two kinds kindling, wood for the range and heater. Horses beded doun, and fed, cow to milk, chickens to feed and to gather the eggs, etc.

Our family album has a very decided shortage of pictures from the time covered in Elsie’s manuscript. This is a picture of my grandma, Elsie’s sister Aileen, holding a chicken a decade or so after the incident Elsie describes below.

I used to like to feed the chickens and help gather the eggs. Sometimes one of the hens would decided to sit on some eggs. My brother Bill would, lift the hen up and I would reach under her and get the eggs. Later this hen would be put on a special nest with a dozen eggs to hatch. In a short time we would have some baby chickens. They are so cute. When you hold them in your hand you can feel their little heart beat thru the soft doun feathers.

Never knowing Dad had bought a new rooster, I started to feed the chickens. This rooster knocked me doun and started clawing my face. My dad jumed the fence, grabbed the rooster twisted his head off and threw it over the fence. Mother was upset spending money for the rooster and not having it one day. Dad told her if she had seen that rooster clawing at my face she would have done the same thing. I’m glad my dad was there, I still have the scare right close to my eye.

I remember when Elsie was still alive she showed me the above-mentioned scar. It was faint, so faint that I never would have noticed it if she had not pointed it out to me, but it was visible. I think that this story is the reason that I am wary of chickens to this day.

To continue with the next installment of Elsie's manuscript, click here. 

Walter Underwood: An Unknown Chapter

Although I never met my great-grandfather Walter Underwood, I always had a feeling that I knew him. This was mostly thanks to the many stories that his daughter, my great-aunt Elsie, included in her manuscript. However, even the ancestors you think you know can surprise you.

Walter Underwood had worked as a bobby, or police constable, in England. In the United States he sometimes was gone all night searching for a criminal. Everything I have ever heard portrays him as a fine, upstanding citizen. Yet it seems that shortly before his immigration to the U.S. he had his own brush with the law.

I found this series of articles in the British NewspaperArchive, detailing the episode. Never before had I heard anything about it, and I suspect that he and his wife Flora were inclined to try to forget it. However, it is interesting not only in itself, but also in the timing. This was just over a year before the young family departed for America, and I can’t help but think that perhaps it had something to do with Flora’s willingness to leave England and begin a new life elsewhere. Even though he was acquitted, the vindictiveness of the trial must have been a strain, and one not easily forgotten. I have seen small-town politics at work, and I have seen how a person can come to be ostracized by a community to the point that the only bearable choice is to move away.

Since I cannot add any information to the articles, I will simply present them as they appeared.

Sat 12 Apr 1902, Essex Newsman, p. 2

An Ex-Policeman Charged With Stealing a Bicycle

 On Thursday, at Great Bardfield, Walter Underwood, lately a constable stationed at that place, was charged before the Rev. W. E. L. Lampet, J.P., with stealing a bicycle, the property of Mr. Frank Adams, of the Mount Cycle Works, Great Bardfield. The accused was remanded until the Bench on Monday next. Bail was opposed by the police.

Sat 19 Apr 1902, Essex Newsman, p. 3

Ex-Policeman, the Bike, and the Brace

 At Great Bardfield, on Monday, before the Rev. W. E. L. Lampet, in the chair, Capt. J. N. Harrison, Joseph Smith, and A. W. Ruggles Brise, Esqrs., Walter Underwood, late a police-constable stationed at Bardfield, was charged with stealing a bicycle, the property of Mr. Frank Adams, of Great Bardfield.--Mr. Elliot F. Baker appeared for the accused.--Frank Turner Adams, cycle agent, said: On the 19th of March I was in a cottage in Brook-street, where I keep bicycles. Underwood was there with my brother Ben. Underwood looked at a bicycle which was not finished. I said I had a machine like that, but on looking for it I found it was missing. Underwood said, “You may have sold it, or got it put by somewhere.” On the 9th of April the bicycle was shown to me by P.s. Stock. I value the machine at £9.--Police-sergeant Stock said: On the evening of the 9th inst., on receiving certain information, I had an interview with the accused, and went to a shed in his occupation. He unlocked the shed and I saw something covered up, in a corner. Accused said it was rubbish. I looked and found the bicycle wheels produced, and underneath the other parts produced. Accused said, “This is a nice thing; someone must have put it there while I was away.”

   A second charge against the accused was that of stealing a carpenter’s brace, value 5s., the property of Edward Carder.--Police-sergeant Stock stated: At the interview with the accused I said, “Two or three robberies have taken place since you have been stationed here, and you are suspected. Some boards and a carpenter’s brace have been stolen from the cottage that Carder is building near the chapel.” Accused replied, “I know nothing about them.” Just inside the shed, among some tools, I found the brace. Underwood said, “I borrowed that of a man in this road.” I asked his name, and the accused said, “I cannot think of it now.” Carder identified the brace in the presence of the accused.

   The accused reserved his defence, and was committed for trial at the Adjourned Quarter Session. Bail in two sureties of £40 each and himself in £20 was allowed.

   Underwood is a young married man, and he only resigned the Essex police on April 5.

Fri 30 May 1902, Chelmsford Chronicle, p. 5

At the Quarter Session

 A case which excited more than common interest was that in which Walter Underwood, a young man who had been in the Essex Constabulary but had resigned, was charged, on one count, with stealing a carpenter’s brace, and, on another, with stealing a bicycle at Great Bardfield. The carpenter’s brace was alleged to have been the property of Edward Carder, and to have been stolen on the 8th Feb. last, and the bicycle, the property of Frank Turner Adams, was alleged to have been stolen on the 19th of March. The defence urged was that the brace had been the property of the accused for some years, and that the bicycle was planted upon him by some person who placed it in his shed, in pieces, while he was away on a holiday. Captain Showers, the Chief Constable, gave the accused a good character, and he was found not guilty and discharged.

Fri 30 May 1902, Chelmsford Chronicle, p. 7

Ex-Policeman Charged

 Walter Underwood, 25, a fitter, on bail, a smart handsome man, was charged with stealing a brace, the property of Edward Carder, at Great Bardfield, on Feb. 8; and with stealing a bicycle, the property of Frank Turner Adams, at Great Bardfield, on March 19.--Mr. Warburton prosecuted; and Mr. Jones defended.--Mr. Warburton stated that the prisoner was in the Essex Police Force, but retired on April 5th.--The prosecutor said he was a cycle maker, and had built a number of machines and placed them in an upstair room of a cottage. The prisoner was friendly with him, and was teaching witness’s brother photography. He missed the bicycle.--P.s. Stock deposed that he went to the prisoner’s house, and on looking into a shed where the accused said there was some rubbish he found the missing bicycle. The prisoner exclaimed, “This is a nice thing; someone must have put it there while I was away.” --Cross-examined, witness said he intimated to the accused that he did not think the bicycle was stolen at all.--The prisoner, on oath, stated that he joined the police force on Jan. 11, 1897, and was stationed at Chelmsford, Southend, and Bardfield. He resigned voluntarily, as he wished to take a restaurant at Bardfield, together with a newspaper agency. He also purposed starting a photographer’s business. He went away for two days’ holiday early in April, and on coming back the bicycle was found in his shed. P.s. Stock told him in the presence of his wife that he did not think “this” would have happened had the prisoner stopped at home. The shed was a common one, with a padlock on the door, and a footpath passed close by. He denied most emphatically stealing the bicycle or going into the prosecutor’s shop except when the prosecutor was there.--P.s. Stock stated that he did not use the remark attributed to him by the prisoner.--The prisoner’s wife deposed that there was no bicycle in the shed when she and her husband went away in April.--Captain Showers, chief constable of Essex, said the prisoner bore an exemplary character while in the Police Force.--Mr. Jones, in his speech, suggested that some other person took the bicycle, and, to get rid of any evidence, put it in the prisoner’s shed while the accused was away. The prisoner had also, about this time, complained to P.s. Stock that he had missed some coal from the shed.--The prisoner was found not guilty on the charge of stealing the bicycle.--The indictment for stealing a brace was proceeded with.--Mr. Warburton said the brace was found in the prisoner's possession.--The accused, on oath, said he bought the brace at a rummage sale at Maldon nine years ago. He always had a lot of tools.—Prisoner’s wife stated that her husband possessed the brace in question long before they went to Bardfield.--Other relatives deposed that they believed the brace to be the one they had seen the prisoner use. --Mr. Jones, in addressing the jury, said that in his 13 years’ experience he did not think he had seen a case conducted with greater vindictiveness that this one.--The prisoner was found not guilty of this charge also, and he was discharged.

Incidentally, the July 4^th edition of the Chelmsford Chronicle of that year records that the license for the Engineers Arms in Latchingdon was transferred to Walter Underwood on June 28. I can only presume that this is my Walter Underwood, based on the statement above that “he wished to take a restaurant at Bardfield.”

Sources:

“An Ex-Policeman Charged With Stealing a Bicycle.” Essex Newsman [Chelmsford] 12 Apr 1902: 2. British Newspaper Archive. Web. Accessed 26 Dec 2012.

“At the Quarter Session” Chelmsford Chronicle 30 May 1902: 5. British Newspaper Archive. Web. Accessed 6 Nov 2012.

“Ex-Policeman Charged” Chelmsford Chronicle 30 May 1902: 7. British Newspaper Archive. Web. Accessed 26 Dec 2012.

“Ex-Policeman, the Bike, and the Brace” Essex Newsman [Chelmsford] 19 Apr 1902: 3. British Newspaper Archive. Web. Accessed 26 Dec 2012.

“Petty Sessions: Latchingdon, June 28.” Chelmsford Chronicle 4 July 1902: 2. British Newspaper Archive. Web. Accessed 26 Dec 2012.

A Vision for the Garibaldi Smokestack

The Garibaldi Smokestack in April 2013

Imagine: an approximately 200-foot tall historic smokestack, the centerpiece of a small bayside nature park, complete with informative interpretive signs describing the history (both human and natural) of the area. Over here are some picnic tables, and over there perhaps a bird watching platform, and off that way are a few rustic campsites. This is part of the vision that my dad and I put together when we read in a recent issue of Tillamook county’s Headlight Herald that the iconic smokestack on Garibaldi’s waterfront is in danger of demolition.

It came as no surprise to us that the Garibaldi city council has been advised that the stack has “started to disintegrate and has become a safety hazard”; we’ve been observing its deterioration for decades (Wrabek A1). But a spark of hope was kindled when I read that “councilor John Foulk suggested fiberglassing the smokestack, as was reportedly done with the Astoria Column,” and I was not altogether disheartened at the suggestion put forth by others to demolish only a part of the stack and leave a portion standing (Wrabek A3). Moreover, the article reports that the property owner has offered to donate the stack and a small piece of the surrounding land to the city.

These possibilities got me envisioning what a lovely little park could be created around the smokestack. The article does not state how much land is included in the offer, but I think that our ideas could be adjusted to fit a smaller or larger park. If the city council were to put together a cohesive plan and explain the long-term vision, perhaps they could even raise the money to purchase more land, little by little, or come to an agreement with the property owner.

Naturally, our fondest hopes are that the smokestack might be saved, but the next-best option would be to preserve a portion of it. Even, if worst came to worst, just the remaining foundation could become an attraction. As suggested above, the smokestack (or its remains) would be the centerpiece of the park, with a series of interpretive signs or a kiosk explaining the history of the place. I thought that, given the historical value of the structure, it might be beneficial for the city to partner with the Garibaldi Historical Museum, which stands only a block or so down, on the other side of the highway. Perhaps the park could even be used as an extension of the museum. In fact, if a proposed Miami Cove shoreline trail goes through (see Garibaldi Connections Project), the locations could make a very interesting and appealing complex.

Dreaming even bigger, my dad tells me that a bike route has been proposed along the railroad tracks through Rockaway Beach. If that route were to be continued south through Garibaldi, a park by the smokestack could easily become a nice stopover for bicyclists riding down the Oregon coast. A campsite or two, with a drop-box for fees and donations toward maintenance, might be able to fit in a corner of our imagined park. Although the camp would be primitive, the view would be ample consolation.

The smokestack was built in 1927, the same year that the Hammond-Tillamook Lumber Co. took over the mill from the Whitney Co. Prior to that, two relatively short metal smokestacks served the mill. A photo printed in Jack L. Graves’ book “Now” Never Lasts shows the smoke-enveloped town, virtually invisible through the haze. Clearly the situation was far from ideal. It was decided that a taller chimney was needed to lift the smoke above the city and thereby improve air quality. The result was the now-beloved landmark. Originally built at a height of 225 feet, some of its height has been lost due to removal and deterioration, but it remains one of the tallest manmade structures on the Oregon coast (Graves 201).

Looking across Miami Cove at the smokestack and the Big G on the hill in the distance. Picture taken in April 2013.

Sources:

 

Garibaldi Connections Project Design Action Team. “Garibaldi Connections Project.” City of Garibaldi. Oregon Coastal Futures Project, Feb 2006. Web. Accessed 10 Apr 2013.

Graves, Jack L. “Now” Never Lasts. Bend: Maverick Publications, Inc., 1995. Print.

Wrabek, Joe. “No more smokestack?” Headlight Herald [Tillamook]. 27 Mar 2013: A1 & A3. Print.

Mathernus Thines: A Chronology

As the days go by, and the weeks, I begin to realize that I have too long been silent here, not even keeping up with my regular task of transcribing Aunt Elsie’s manuscript. My mood lately has not been for transcription, and my recent research hasn’t coalesced into any sort of complete form, but still I have not been idle.

My thoughts for the past month or so have returned to the Luxembourg branch of my family tree, and specifically to the THINES family of Hachiville. I don’t know why that particular limb fascinates me when I have so many others to choose from: the STROESSER family of Heispelt and Ettelbruck—with whom I ought to be entranced because they were blacksmiths, a profession I have dreamed of following—or the MERTZ family of Keispelt, for example. But whatever the reason, it is the THINES family that most interests me at the moment.

I have been researching the man who seems to have founded my Hachiville branch, Mathernus THINES. In the multilingual and phonetic nature of the era’s records, his first name is alternately Materne, Matherne, Maternus, etc. and his surname sees variations such as THINNES, THIENES, THÜNES, or most surprisingly HANSEN. I have chosen the spelling “Mathernus THINES” because that is the way he consistently signed his name on documents, regardless of what the clerk may have written. That he wrote his own name is significant in a time when most of his contemporaries signed with a cross. I hope someday to discover the source and reason for his education.

As yet, I have not been able to put together much in the way of a life story for him, being ignorant of many of the social forces that formed him, but I have been putting together a rough chronology, which follows, with comments.

He was born about the year 1737 in or near the tiny village of Stockem, which is only about two miles from Hachiville. The name Mathernus derives from St. Materne, who is credited with Christianizing Alsace, but he was more likely named after his godfather in the Luxembourgish manner, who was in turn named after his godfather and so on until we finally reach one back in the mists of time who really was named for the saint. I do not mean to imply that St. Materne was the godfather of one of my relations, only that naming practices have undergone change and that the practice of naming a child after its godparent must have had its start at some point, and children received names in a different manner before that point.

The only document I have run across naming Mathernus’ parents is his death certificate. It names them as Nicolas THINES and Hanna THINES. Family trees at Rootsfinder and Deltgen also identify them as Nicolas THINES and Anna or Hanna.

Mathernus probably married his wife Anne Marie SCHMITZ in about 1760, basing my guess on the approximate birthdates of their children. The pair had three known children, all daughters: Marguerite, Anna Maria, and Susanna. Once again deferring to the genealogist at Rootsfinder, their dates of birth were about 1761, 1762, and 1765 respectively.

The earliest document in which I have seen the name of Mathernus THINES is the 1771 baptism of Joannes Maternus TOLLER, a son of Philippi TOLLER and Maria PEDERCH. The relationship between the TOLLERs and Mathernus THINES is unknown, but Mathernus served as the child’s godfather. He is identified as “Joes Maternus Thines ex Stockem”; the “Joes” is an abbreviation for Joannes. This record is the one and only time I have seen Mathernus’ name prefaced by Joannes. It also appears that he was still residing in Stockem at this time.

The next time he appears in the records, serving again as a godfather, is in 1775. This time he is identified as living in Hachiville. Once again his godchild is of unknown relationship: Maternus KOIL, the son of Hubert KOIL and Maria VILMES. However, Mathernus often appears on documents also containing the WILMES (VILMES) name. No doubt they were closely allied, at least by 1780. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

Once again he appears as the godfather of a child of unknown relationship in 1776. This time the child is a girl, Anna BOURG, the daughter of Friderici BOURG and Susanna ETSCHET. 

When we arrive at 23 Jan 1780, we see the alliance of the WILMES and THINES families. Although I have accessed this marriage certificate and have a fair amount of experience in reading these old documents, I am no expert. At best I am a persistent amateur. But the irregularities in the document’s form combined with the difficult handwriting and foreign language have me stumped in this case. I can tell that it is a marriage record for Joannis WILHMS and Anna Maria THÜNES and that the groom’s parents are Henrici WILHMS and Elisabetha WELTERS. The bride’s parents appear to be Nicolai COOS and Anna THÜNES, but the additional words before the introduction of their names make me question that. The witnesses to the ceremony are Mathernus THINES (in this case called Materni THÜNES) and Nicolai SCHMITZ. All indications regarding the closeness of the two families would suggest that the bride is Mathernus’ sister, however if that is so, there is a fairly considerable age difference. Mathernus would have been about 43 years old, and Anna Maria, although the record does not explicitly state it, was clearly of childbearing age, as subsequent records prove. She gave birth up until twelve years after this marriage. I would guess her to be at least ten years younger than her possible brother. The tree at Deltgen bears out this hypothesis. Incidentally, Nicolai SCHMITZ may be my 5great-grandfather through a nearby twig on the family tree.

 

Just over a year later, on 4 Feb 1781, Mathernus attended another wedding, but this time as the father of the bride. His daughter Anna Maria married Henricus Josephus HERMAN. Oddly, she is not named on the certificate except where she made her mark at the bottom. Evidently she did not have the benefit of her father’s education.

A few months after that, on 5 Apr 1781, Mathernus served as the godfather for what was possibly his niece, the daughter of “Joannis WILLEM” and “Annee Maria THINUS.” Her name was Elisabeta.

On 3 Jan 1785, his daughter Susanna married Henricus KILLEN. This is the record in which we learn of the HANSEN alias. Surnames were still in flux, and often people would take on the name of the house they occupied, so it was not unusual to find a person recorded in multiple ways. Fortunately, the documents sometimes identified them using both surnames, separated by “modo,” “sive,” or “alias.” In this case, the bride is identified as “Susanna HANSEN,” whereas her father is called “Materni THINES modo HANSEN.” Unfortunately, I did not make this discovery until after going through all the earlier records, and may have missed some in the process by not knowing that the HANSEN name was relevant. I have not yet reviewed them to see if there are any that I missed.

Later that year, on 17 Oct, Mathernus served as a witness at the wedding of Michael PATZ and Anna Maria KAISERS. This is another case of unknown connection. Since this is a wedding rather than a baptism, it seems more possible that they may have just been friends and not related. I may be wrong, but it seems that baptisms generally required a relative to act as sponsor. In marriages I have frequently seen a witness described as an acquaintance.

About two weeks after the wedding, on 29 Oct 1785, Mathernus became the godfather for what may very well have been his first grandson. The child, unsurprisingly named Maternus, was the son of Joseph HERMAN and Anna Maria THINES, or, as she is styled in the record, THIENES. The child was the second born to the couple, the first one being a girl named Margaritha, born two years previous. Her grandfather Mathernus was surely present at her baptism, but, not being a sponsor, he does not appear on the record.

10 Feb 1787 saw the baptism of Anna Maria WILMES, the daughter of Joannes WILMES and Anna Maria THINES (THIENES in this record), and therefore possibly Mathernus’ niece. The official godfather of the child was someone named Simon THIENES of “Stockheim,” that is, Stockem, but apparently he was unable to be there. Mathernus stood in for him. Working on the theory that Anna Maria THINES was Mathernus’ sister, Simon becomes another candidate for a sibling. The circumstantial evidence is consistent with probability; Simon is described as being born and still residing in Stockem.

The last of Mathernus’ known daughters from his marriage to Anna Maria SCHMITZ, Margareta, was married to Joannes RATHS on 30 Dec 1787.

By 1789, Mathernus’ son-in-law Henricus KILLEN has apparently begun to prefer his alternate surname of SCHMITZ. He appears in his son’s baptismal record using only that name, and it is not until the birth of his next child in 1791 that we see the telltale “modo” verifying that it is indeed the same man. Henricus’ and Susanna’s 1789 son is named Maternus SCHMITZ, and it is obvious just by glancing at his Christian name who his godfather was.

Mathernus sponsored another grandchild on 15 July 1790, this time the daughter of Joannis RATZ (RATHS) and Margaretha THINES. The child’s name was Anna Chatarina. I wonder if the birth was a difficult one, because the mother passed away only two months later, on 30 Sept.

Mathernus’ wife Anne Marie SCHMITZ passed away at some point after 1765, although I have seen no record to pinpoint just when. Mathernus was now about 53 years old, his daughters all married and one buried at the Hachiville Cemetery, so apparently the time was right to begin another family. Anne Catherine CREMER (or CREMERS, as she appears in the marriage record) was more than twenty years his junior—in fact not much older than his daughter Margaretha, had she lived—and the two of them founded the branch of the THINES family from which I am descended.

The marriage is one on which I wish I could shed some light. The great age difference makes me curious as to what kind of feelings they had for one another. Although one does occasionally see great age disparities in the marriage records, the vast majority of marriages took place between couples more nearly matched. What sort of pressures might there have been both for and against the marriage? I want, above all, to know if it was a love-match, but no amount of research is likely ever to yield that answer.

What I do know is that they were married on 18 Nov 1790 in Anna Catherine’s hometown of Basbellain. Basbellain, like Hachiville, was the seat of the commune of the same name. (Both communes have since been reorganized: Hachiville into Wincrange and Basbellain into Troisvierges.) It is about four and a half miles from Hachiville, and is one of those unusual towns whose names in the three local languages bear no resemblance to one another. In French it is called Basbellain, but in German it is known as Niederbesslingen, and in Luxembourgish it is Kiirchen. All three names appear in the records. The bride’s parents are identified as Joannis CREMERS and Barbara SCHLEIDGES, but the groom’s parents go unidentified, presumably because of his age.

Their first daughter, Anna Maria, was born shortly after their first anniversary, on 25 Nov 1791. Her godmother was “Anna Maria THINES ex Helzingen,” which could refer to her possible aunt, the wife of Joannes WILMES. The “ex Helzingen” means only that she was residing in Hachiville at the time, not that she was necessarily born there. If we could be sure that this is the same Anna Maria THINES, it would be another layer of circumstantial evidence to indicate that she and Mathernus were siblings. However, since only the name and place of residence are indicated, it could also refer to Mathernus’ daughter Anna Maria from his first marriage. The child’s godfather was Nicolas CREMERS of Kirchen (Basbellain), who I presume to be an uncle on her mother’s side. I will leave that research to another time.

On 13 Oct 1792 the WILMES household makes another appearance in Mathernus’ timeline. This time he is the godfather of their daughter Elisabetha.

Mathernus’ and Anne Catherine’s second child, Anna Chatarina, was baptized on 10 Aug 1793. This time both the sponsors were from the CREMERS side of the family, which will be of interest when I get around to researching that part of the tree, but says nothing about the THINES family.

The next four children appear in the trees at Rootsfinder and Deltgen, but I have not yet seen the original documents. According to those trees, Elisabeth or Elise came next, born on 14 Aug 1795, followed by Susanne on 20 Sept 1797, a stillbirth on 7 Aug 1798, and Jean on either 17 or 19 Feb 1800.

In 1795, Luxembourg came under the rule of the newly formed French Republic, and within the following years eventually became obliged to follow its decrees, including the establishment of a new calendar. The French Republican calendar was a metric calendar, believe it or not, with ten days in a week. Thus, the records from this time seem to have the most extraordinary dates. The next child for which I have a birth certificate—and now they really are birth certificates in the modern sense, not baptismal records—was Nicolas, born on 23 Messidor X. Years in the French Republican calendar are conventionally written in Roman numerals, and are dated from the proclamation of the French Republic. This particular date translates to 12 July 1802. The text regarding the parents and witnesses begins to be very informative to genealogists. On this certificate, the text regarding Mathernus translates to “Mathernus Thines born in Stockem and residing in Hachiville aged sixty-four years, farmer.” Henceforward we will seldom have any doubt as to just whom any record refers.

On 15 Prairial XI (4 June 1803), Mathernus witnessed for the birth of Margretha SCHMITZ, the daughter of Michel SCHMITZ and Anna Maria GLOT alias JEAN PIERRE. Given the name of the child, we can deduce that in addition to being his witness in civil records, our Mathernus was also his godfather. Just what relationship the two families bore one another is unknown, but I suspect that Michel was some sort of relative to Mathernus’ first wife. There is, of course, the added possibility that Michel was a relative of Mathernus’ son-in-law Henricus KILLEN alias SCHMITZ, but the first possibility appears to be much more likely in my opinion. Naturally, there is always the possibility of coincidence, given the commonness of the name, but standing as a sponsor for a child’s baptism does seem to imply some sort of familial relationship.

Mathernus and Anne Catherine had their next child, Anna Margretha, on 14 Thermidor XII (2 Aug 1804). At the end of the following year, much to the relief of confused genealogists, the government of the French Republic abandoned their experiment with a metric calendar and reverted to the familiar Gregorian calendar.

In 1806, Mathernus was a witness on several birth records. First, on 20 Apr 1806, for  Catharina GRAIMAN, the daughter of Jean GRAIMAN and Margretha BREŸER; second, on 6 May 1806, for Mathernus SCHMITZ, the son of Michel SCHMITZ and Marie JEAN PIERRE; and third, on 10 Oct 1806, for Jean Pierre STEMPELS, the son of Nicolas STEMPELS and Lisabetha MERTENS. The GRAIMAN, BREŸER, STEMPELS, and MERTENS surnames are unfamiliar in their relationship to the THINES family, but SCHMITZ has clearly been seen before.

Near the end of that year, on 16 Dec 1806 to be exact, Anne Catherine gave birth to the couple’s last child: Michel. This is the child from whom I am descended, and the father of Barbara THINES mentioned in a previouspost. Mathernus was, at the time of the birth of this final son, sixty-nine years old.

Here I have a ten-year gap in the chronology. It takes a great deal of time and effort to go page by page through the record books, and I have not completed the task. The next record I have that concerns Mathernus is the record of his death.

He died at 10 p.m. on 26 Mar 1816 in his house called Hansen. He was seventy-nine years old. His death was reported to the authorities the following day by Pierre ZEIMES and Jean Pierre WENER. Pierre ZEIMES was his son-in-law, having married his daughter, the second Anna Maria THINES, on 23 Dec 1811. Jean Pierre WENER is identified as a neighbor of the deceased.

Here, of course, ends the chronology. It does not give us much of a picture of Mathernus as a person, but it is something to build upon. I often make these chronologies for members of my family tree. They not only give a picture of a person’s migration (if any) and major life events, but they help to point out leads to other possible relationships and to highlight areas which require more research.

Sources:

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Baptismal record for Anna BOURG; 5 Oct 1776; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances, Mariages, Décès 1743-1782, Vol. 5> Image #140; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 28 Jan 2012.

Baptismal record for Anna Chatarina RATZ; 15 July 1790; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #450; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

Baptismal record for Anna Chatarina THINES; 10 Aug 1793; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #484; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

Baptismal record for Anna Maria THINES; 25 Nov 1791; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #461; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

Baptismal record for Anna Maria WILMES; 10 Feb 1787; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #417-8; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

Baptismal record for Elisabeta WILLEM; 5 Apr 1781; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #358; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

Baptismal record for Elisabetha WILMES; 13 Oct 1792; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #473; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

Baptismal record for Joannes Maternus TOLLER; Dec 1771; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances, Mariages, Décès 1743-1782, Vol. 5> Image #122; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 13 May 2011.

Baptismal record for Margaritha HERMAN; 21 May 1783; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #382; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

Baptismal record for Maternus HERMAN; 29 Oct 1785; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #395; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

Baptismal record for Maternus KOIL; 21 Oct 1775; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances, Mariages, Décès 1743-1782, Vol. 5> Image #136; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 28 Jan 2012.

Baptismal record for Maternus SCHMITZ; 16 June 1789; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #439; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

Birth record for Anna Margretha THINES; 14 Thermidor XII; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1800-1827, Vol. 6> Image #23; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 31 Jan 2012.

Birth record for Catharina GRAIMAN; 20 Apr 1806; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1800-1827, Vol. 6> Image #38; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 31 Jan 2012.

Birth record for Jean Pierre STEMPELS; 10 Oct 1806; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1800-1827, Vol. 6> Image #38; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 31 Jan 2012.

Birth record for Margretha SCHMITZ; 15 Prairial XI; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1800-1827, Vol. 6> Image #16; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 31 Jan 2012.

Birth record for Mathernus SCHMITZ; 6 May 1806; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1800-1827, Vol. 6> Image #38; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 31 Jan 2012.

Birth record for Michel THINES; 16 Dec 1806; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1800-1827, Vol. 6> Image #40; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 19 Oct 2012.

Birth record for Nicolas THINES; 23 Messidor X; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1800-1827, Vol. 6> Image #10; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 31 Jan 2012.

Death record for Margaretha THINES; 30 Sept 1790; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #457; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

Death record for Mathernus THINES; 26 Mar 1816; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #1251; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 28 Feb 2013.

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Marriage record for Henricus Josephus HERMAN and Anna Maria THINIS; 4 Feb 1781; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #362; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

Marriage record for Henricus KILLEN and Susanna HANSEN; 3 Jan 1785; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #398; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 2 Feb 2013.

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Marriage record for Pierre ZEIMES and Anna Maria THINES; 23 Dec 1811; Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923, Images. FamilySearch. <http://FamilySearch.org>. Hachiville> Naissances 1845-1890 Registres paroissiaux 1779-1793 Naissances, mariages, décès 1798-1800 Mariages 1800-1890 Décès 1801-1802, 1805-1856> Image #573-4; citing Luxembourg Civil Registration, 1793-1923. Luxembourg National Archives, Plateau du Saint-Esprit Luxembourg. Accessed 28 Feb 2013.

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