Amanuensis Monday: Marcel STROESSER’s birth certificate

Yes, I know I have already posted an Amanuensis Monday for my Luxembourg record project this week, but since it is such an enormous project, and since I already have another one ready... well, here it is.

Much as the situation described in the last post, the existence of Marcel STROESSER was first discovered in his father’s obituary, though the relationship was not explicitly stated and could only be surmised. His mother’s obituary strengthened the supposition, but the relationship was not proven until I discovered his 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 und elf, den zwanzig zweiten

des Monats Januer um halbelf Uhr vor mittags ist vor Uns

Armand Spoo, Bürgermeister Beamten des Zivilstandes

der Gemeinde Esch , im Kanton Esch , Großher=

zogtum Luxemburg, erschienen Stroesser Baltasar, Wagner,

alt dreißig fünf Jahre vater des Kinder

wohnhaft zu Esch , welcher Uns ein Kind männlichen

Geschlechts vorgestellt hat, geboren zu Esch vorgestern

um fünf Uhr vor= mittags, im Hause Nr. 1 Norbert Metz platz Gasse,

erzeugt von den comparenten und dessen Ehefrau

Kayser Anna, alt dreissig jahre

und welchem er die Vornamen Marcelle Sébastian Peter

geben zu wollen erklärt hat.

Diese Erklärung und Vorstellung sind geschehen in Gegenwart des Michel

Kinnen , alt zwanzig sechs Jahre Wagner

wohnhaft zu Eschalzette und des Peter Reitz

alt zwanzig drei Jahre Wagner

wohnhaft zu Esch alzette und haben die Komparenten diese

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

Line by line Translation:

In the Year one thousand nine hundred and eleven, the twenty second

of the Month of January at ten thirty o'clock before noon is before Us

Armand Spoo, Burgermeister Officials of the Civil State

of the Commune of Esch , in the Canton Esch , Grand-

duchy of Luxembourg, appeared Stroesser Baltasar, Coach-builder

aged thirty five Years father of the Child

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

Gender has presented, born in Esch the day before yesterday

at five O’clock before- noon, in House No. 1 Norbert Metz place Street,

begat by the appearing party and his Wife

Kayser Anna, aged thirty years

and which he the First Name Marcelle Sebastian Peter

has declared to want to give.

This Statement and Presentation are done in the Presence of Michel

Kinnen , aged twenty six Years, Coach-builder

residing in Esch-sur-Alzette and Peter Reitz

aged twenty three Years Coach-builder

residing in Esch-sur-Alzette and the Appearing Parties have this

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

As you can see, this birth certificate explicitly identifies Marcel’s parents as Baltasar STROESSER and Anna KAYSER, as expected. It also gives the address of the family as 1 Norbert Metz Place, the same residence as given on Edy STROESSER’s (Marcel’s brother) birth certificate.

This certificate also gave me a bit of help on my translations. You may recall from my first post in this series that I had not found a direct translation for the word “Comparenten,” which appears often on these documents. However, in this case the word was written with a K, as “Komparenten,” which I had never before seen. That word, I discovered, still does not appear in my German-English dictionary, but it does appear on Google Translate, where it is translated as “appearing person,” “appearing persons,” “appearing parties,” “appearing party,” or “above appearing.” So it seems that my understanding of the word was accurate, though I had not come up with a convenient English phrase to replace it. However, in the future I will know what phrase to use.

Source:

Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg, birth certificate no. 31 (1911), Marcelle Sébastian Peter Stroesser; digital image #424 of 975, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, “Naissances 1908-1913,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 26 Oct 2014).

Amanuensis Monday: Edy STROESSER’s birth certificate

This week I continue my project of transcribing Luxembourg sources with the birth certificate of Eduard STROESSER.

The obituary of Baltasar STROESSER referred to one of his survivors as “Edy STROESSER.” At the time I first accessed that article, I had never heard of anyone of that name, nor had I any information about the possible children of Baltasar STROESSER. I surmised that this Edy, and the next named Marcel, were Baltasar’s sons. The obituary of Anna KAYSER, Baltasar’s wife, strengthened this hypothesis. Her first identified survivors were Eduard and Marzel STROESSER. Although the names are not identical, they are clearly similar enough to likely refer to the same people.

This thought led me, naturally, to the Luxembourg civil registration digital images at FamilySearch. Luck was with me, as there was indeed a collection of birth records for the time and place that would have been most likely for the children or Baltasar and Anna.

So once again I began the familiar task of looking through registers page by digital page to reconstruct a family. And once again success smiled upon me. About a year after the marriage of Anna and Baltasar, just when a child might be expected, a child appeared in the record. And, sure enough, he was named Eduard.

This image has been trimmed from the original at FamilySearch.

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

Im Jahre tausend neun hundert acht, den achtzehnten

des Monats Oktober um zehn Uhr Vor= mittags ist vor Uns

Jacob Stoffel, Schöffen delegirten Beamten des Civilstandes

der Gemeinde Esch , im Kanton Esch, Großher=

zogthum Luxemburg, erschienen Baltasar Stroesser, Wagner.

alt dreißig drei Jahre Vater des Kindes

wohnhaft zu Esch , welcher Uns ein Kind mannlichen

Geschlechts vorgestellt hat, geboren zu Esch, vorgestern

um neun Uhr Nach mittags, im Hause Nr. 1 Norbert Metz Platz= Gasse,

erzeugt von dem Comparenten und dessen Ehefrau

Anna Kayser, alt acht und zwanzig Jahre

und welchem er den Vornamen Eduard Heinrich

geben zu wollen erklärt hat.

Diese Erklärung und Vorstellung sind geschehen in Gegenwart Sebastian

Kayser, alt dreißig ein Jahre Ackerer,

wohnhaft zu Esch, und des Michel Rinnen,

Wagener, alt zwanzig fünf Jahre

wohnhaft zu Esch, 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 and eight, the eighteenth

of the Month of October at ten o'clock Before noon is before Us

Jacob Stoffel, Alderman delegate Officials of the Civil State

of the Commune of Esch , in the Canton Esch, Grand-

duchy of Luxembourg, appeared Baltasar Stroesser, Coach-builder

aged thirty three Years Father of the Child

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

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

at nine O’clock After noon, in House No. 1 Norbert Metz Place- Street,

begat by the Comparent and his Wife

Anna Kayser, aged twenty eight Years

and which he the First Name Eduard Heinrich

has declared to want to give.

This Statement and Presentation are done in the Presence of Sebastian

Kayser, aged thirty one Years, Farmer,

residing in Esch and Michel Rinnen,

Coach-builder, aged twenty five Years

residing in Esch, and the Appearing Parties have this

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

Apart from the confirmation that Eduard was the son of Baltasar STROESSER and Anna KAYSER, this record supplies another piece of new information: the family’s address in Esch-sur-Alzette. Addresses now inspire me with excitement, ever since the use of Google street view occurred to me last year. So upon translating this certificate, I hurried there. Unfortunately, the address took me to a complicated intersection and I wasn’t able to determine exactly which building corresponded to the address, but I didn’t give up. A regular internet search took me to an auction site called Delcampe containing old post cards of the area. Some of them I was able to recognize as the same area I had seen in street view. Upon closer inspection, several of them included in the photograph a business with the word “Wagner” painted in bold letters on the front. Could this be the home and business location of my Baltasar STROSSER, wagner? I cannot say for sure, but it certainly seems possible. Even more thrilling, one of the post cards depicted a small family standing in front of that particular business. Perhaps it is the STROESSER family in person.

Source:

Esch-sur-Alzette, Luxembourg, birth certificate no. 408 (1908), Eduard Heinrich Stroesser; digital image #107 of 975, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, “Naissances 1908-1913,” FamilySearch (www.familysearch.org : accessed 26 Oct 2014).

Amanuensis Monday: Anna KAYSER’s death

In last week’s installment of my Luxembourg source project, I presented the obituary of Balthasar STROESSER; this week I present that of his wife, Anna KAYSER. It, too, was found at the digitized newspaper archives at the Bibliothèque nationale de Luxembourg.

I find it interesting to note historic political forces at work in these articles expressed through the subtle means of language. Baltasar’s obituary, in 1939, is in French, and the entire newspaper is bilingual. Anna’s, just a few years later in 1941, is in German, as is the entire newspaper. At this time, Luxembourg’s press was under the control of the occupying Nazis.

This was trimmed from the original at Bibliothèque nationale de Luxembourg.

Transcription:

Es hat Gott dem Allmächtigen gefallen unsere innigstgeliebte Mutter, Schwiegermutter, Schwester, Schwägerin, Tante und Kusine

Frau Witwe Balthasar STROESSER

geb. Anna KAYSER

zu sich zu nehmen. Sie starb plötzlich und unerwartet in Esch/Alz. Am 4. Dezember, gegen 3 Uhr nachmittags, wohlversehen mit den hl. Sterbesakramenten im Alter von 61 Jahren.

Das Begräbnis findet statt am Sonntag, dem 7. Dezember, um 3 Uhr 15, ab Sterbehaus Luxemburgerstrasse 40 nach dem Friedhof Lallingen.

Der Leichendienst findet statt am Montag, dem 8. Dezember, um 10 Uhr.

In tiefer Trauer: Herr Eduard Stroesser; Herr Marzel Stroesser u. Frau geb. Mia Kieffer; die Familien Nik. Roth-Kayser, Jos. Kayser-Stemper u. Kinder, Frau J. P. Kayser-Kayser, Frau Seb. Kayser-Dams u. Kinder, Pet. Heymans-Stroesser u. Kinder; die Familien Kayser, Ries, Bock und alle Anverwandten.

Esch/Alz., Rambruch, den 5. Dezember 1941.

Translation:

 

God the Almighty has taken our beloved mother, mother-in-law, sister, sister-in-law, aunt and cousin

Mrs. Widow Balthasar STROESSER

née Anna KAYSER

She died suddenly and unexpectedly in Esch/Alz on December 4^th, about 3:00 P.M., well provided with holy Last Sacraments at the age of 61.

The funeral will take place on Sunday, December 7, at 3:15, from the mortuary [21 July 2015 correction: place of death--Thank you to the Unknown commentator below!] 40 Luxembourg Street to the Lallange cemetery.

The funeral service will take place on Monday, December 8, at 10:00.

In deep mourning: Mr. Eduard Stroesser; Mr. Marzel Stroesser and wife born Mia Kieffer; the family of Nik. Roth-Kayser, Jos. Kayser-Stemper and children, Mrs. J. P. Kayser-Kayser, Mrs. Seb. Kayser-Dams and children, Pet. Heymans-Stroesser and children; the Kayser, Ries, and Bock families and all relatives.

Esch/Alz., Rambrouch, the 5 December 1941.

Like that of her husband, Anna KAYSER’s obituary provides a wealth of information. We learn not only the date and place of her death and burial, but are able to fill in more information on other members of her family.

The Edy STROESSER of Balthasar’s obituary has become Eduard STROESSER, and Marcel STROESSER has become Marzel STROESSER, one through the use of diminutives and one presumably through the change from French to German. We see that since his father’s death in 1939, Marcel has married someone named Mia KIEFFER.

The various KAYSER families listed are presumably Anna’s siblings and their spouses. The HEYMANS-STROESSER family is her sister-in-law’s family, as I mentioned in last week’s post.

Anna KAYSER’s mother’s maiden name, according to Balthasar and Anna’s marriage certificate, was RIES, which explains the presence of the RIES family in the list. I don’t know who the BOCK family was, however. Nor am I likely to solve that mystery any time soon, as Anna is not in my direct line, so I am not inclined to spend much time in the search.

Another obituary, this one in the Luxemburger Wort, provides much the same information.

Trimmed from the original at Bibliothèque nationale de Luxembourg.

 

Transcription: 

Am 4. Dezember verschied in Esch-Alz., im Alter von 61 Jahren, wohlversehen mit den hl. Sterbesakramenten, unsere innigstgeliebte Mutter, Schwiegermutter, Schwester, Schwägerin, Tante u. Kusine

Frau Witwe Balthasar STROESSER

geb. Anna KAYSER

Begräbnis in Esch-Alz., Sonntag, den 7. Dezember, um 3 Uhr, ab Luxemburger Straße 40, nach dem Friedhof Lallingen. Leichendienst am Montag, den 8. Dez., um 10 Uhr.

In tiefer Trauer: Herr Eduard Stroesser; Herr Marzell Stroesser und Frau, geb. Mia Kieffer; die Familien Nik. Roth-Kayser, Jos. Kayser-Stemper, J. P. Kayser-Kayser, Seb. Kayser-Dams, Peter Heymans-Stroesser, Kayser, Ries, Bock und alle Anverwandten.

Esch-Alz., Rambruch, den 5. Dezember 1941.

Translation:

 

Died on December 4 in Esch-Alz., at the age of 61 years, well provided with the holy Last Sacraments, our beloved mother, mother-in-law, sister, sister-in-law, aunt and cousin

Mrs. Widow Balthasar STROESSER

née Anna KAYSER

Funeral in Esch-Alz., Sunday, December 7, at 3:00, from Luxemburger Street 40, to the Lallange cemetery. Funeral service on Monday, December 8, at 10:00.

In deep mourning: Mr. Eduard Stroesser; Mr. Marzell Stroesser and wife, born Mia Kieffer; the families of Nik. Roth-Kayser, Jos. Kayser-Stemper, J. P. Kayser-Kayser, Seb. Kayser-Dams, Peter Heymans-Stroesser, Kayser, Ries, Bock and all relatives.

Esch-Alz., Rambrouch, December 5, 1941.

Like her husband, Anna KAYSER appeared again in the newspaper a while later, when her family gave thanks for sympathy and condolences.

Trimmed from the original at Bibliothèque nationale de Luxembourg.

 

Transcription:

 

DANKSAGUNG

Da es uns unmöglich ist, allen unseren Verwandten, Freunden und Bekannten persönlich zu danken für die vielen Beweise herzlicher Teilnahme beim Tode unserer unvergesslichen Mutter, Schwiegermutter, Schwester Schwägerin, Tante und Kusine

Frau Witwe Balthasar STROESSER

geb. Anna KAYSER

sprechen wir hiermit allen unseren tiefgefühlten und wärmsten Dank aus.

Besonderen Dank für die vielen schönen Kranz- und Blumenspenden.

Die Sechswochenmesse wird durch Stillmessen ersetzt.

Die trauernde Familie.

Esch, den 15. Januar 1942

Translation:

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Since it is impossible for us to personally thank all our relatives, friends and acquaintances for the many proofs of heartfelt participation in the death of our unforgettable mother, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, aunt and cousin

Mrs. Widow Balthasar STROESSER

née Anna KAYSER

we speak here all our heartfelt and warmest thanks.

A special thanks for the many beautiful wreath and flower contributions.

The six-week Mass is replaced by still Mass [?]

The grieving family.

Esch, January 15, 1942.

This article of acknowledgement is rather less informative than that of Balthasar STROESSER. None of the survivors are mentioned by name.

You will note that in my translation I was puzzled by the phrase “Die Sechswochenmesse wird durch Stillmessen ersetzt.” The six-week Mass, or Sechswochenmesse being replaced is apparently the one mentioned in Balthasar’s obituary, but the “Stillmessen” replacing it failed to appear in my German-English dictionary. Google Translate called it a “still fair,” which made no sense at all.

I am somewhat familiar with Roman Catholic funeral customs, having been Catholic my entire life, but I must admit I have never heard of anything that I could imagine translating into “still Mass.” A preliminary search on the internet also leaves me clueless. I wonder whether it is something that Vatican II changed, or if it is perhaps a local custom.

Sources:

“Frau Witwe Balthasar STROESSER,” Escher Tageblatt, 15 Dec 1941, p. 6, col. 1; digital images, Bibliothèque nationale de Luxembourg (www.eluxemburgesia.lu : accessed 21 Oct 2012), Digitized by the National Library of Luxembourg, www.eluxemburgensia.lu. 

“Frau Witwe Balthasar STROESSER,” Luxemburger Wort, 5 Dec 1941, p. 6, col. 1; digital images, Bibliothèque nationale de Luxembourg (www.eluxemburgesia.lu : accessed 15 Nov 2014), Digitized by the National Library of Luxembourg, www.eluxemburgensia.lu. 

“Danksagung: Frau Witwe Balthasar Stroesser,” Escher Tageblatt, 15 Jan 1942, p. 6, col. 1; digital images, Bibliothèque nationale de Luxembourg (www.eluxemburgesia.lu : accessed 15 Nov 2014), Digitized by the National Library of Luxembourg, www.eluxemburgensia.lu.

Amanuensis Monday: Balthasar STROESSER’s death

We will continue my project this week with sources related to my great-grandfather's brother, Baltasar STROESSER.

All you researchers of Luxembourgish genealogy, did you know that hundreds of scanned images of historical newspapers from the Grand-Duchy are available to search online for free? They’re stored at the Luxembourg national library, or the Bibliothèque nationale de Luxembourg. Of course, the articles are in French or German, and occasionally Luxembourgish, but if that is not too daunting a task, many treasures can be unearthed.

One—or rather, two—of those treasures I have discovered are sources for the death of Balthasar STROESSER. His death record is not yet available on FamilySearch, which makes these articles even more valuable. The first is his obituary.

Trimmed from the original at Bibliothèque nationale de Luxembourg.

Transcription:

Avis mortuaire.

Madame B. STROESSER, née Anne KAYSER;

Monsieur Edy STROESSER;

Monsieur Marcel STROESSER;

Monsieur et Madame P. HEYMANNS-STROESSER et leur enfants;

Monsieur et Madame J.-P. KAYSER-KAYSER;

Madame Séb. KAYSER-DAMS et ses enfants;

Monsieur et Madame Nic. ROTH-KAYSER;

Monsieur et Madame Jos. KAYSER-STEMPER et leurs enfants

et les familles apparentées ont la profonde douleur de faire part du décès de

Monsieur Balthasar STROESSER

maître-carrossier,

leur bien-aimé et regretté époux, père, frère, beau-frère, oncle et cousin, décédé subitement à Esch-Alzette, le 30 mai, vers 9 heures du soir, à l’âge de 64 ans, muni des secours de notre mère la Sainte Eglise.

L’enterrement aura lieu à ESCH-ALZETTE, le vendredi, 2 juin, à 3.30 heures de l’après-midi.

Le convoi funèbre partira de la maison mortuaire, rue de Luxembourg No. 40, pour se rendre au cimetière de Lallange.

Le service funèbre avec laudes sera célébré en l’église St. JOSEPH, le même jour, à 10 heures du matin.

Esch-Alzette, Rambrouch, Olivia, Nebraska et Omaha (USA), le 31 mai 1939.

Cet avis tient lieu de lettre de faire part.

Translation:

Obituary.

Mrs. B. STROESSER, née Anne KAYSER;

Mr. Edy STROESSER;

Mr. Marcel STROESSER;

Mr. and Mrs. P. HEYMANNS-STROESSER and their children;

Mr. and Mrs. J.-P. KAYSER-KAYSER;

Mrs. Séb. KAYSER-DAMS and her children;

Mr. and Mrs. Nic. ROTH-KAYSER;

Mr. and Mrs. Jos. KAYSER-STEMPER and their children

and allied families have deep sorrow to announce the death of

Monsieur Balthasar STROESSER

master coach-builder,

their beloved and lamented husband, father, brother, brother-in-law, uncle, and cousin, who died suddenly in Esch-Alzette, May 30, around 9 P.M., at the age of 64 years, provided with the aid of our mother the Holy Church.

The funeral will be held in ESCH-ALZETTE, on Friday, June 2, at 3:30 in the afternoon.

The funeral procession will leave the mortuary, No. 40 Luxembourg Street, to get to the Lallange cemetery.

The funeral service will be celebrated with lauds in St. JOSEPH’s Church, the same day, at 10:00 A.M.

Esch-Alzette, Rambrouch, Olivia, and Omaha, Nebraska (USA), May 31, 1939.

This notice serves as a letter to share.

From this obituary we learn the names of many members of Baltasar’s (or Balthasar, as he is called here) family. Madame B. STROESSER, née Anne KAYSER is obviously his wife, while Messrs. Edy and Marcel STROESSER are probably (and have now been proven) his sons. The HEYMANNS-STROESSER couple is his sister and brother-in-law. The various KAYSER couples are probably the siblings of his wife, though, not being of my direct lines, I have not had sufficient curiosity to research them.

We also learn that the beautiful neo-Gothic church of St. Joseph in Esch-sur-Alzette was the site of his funeral, and therefore presumably his regular parish. If I ever decide to dig more deeply into Baltasar’s line, that would be the parish to contact.

Lastly, we learn that his death was also memorialized in Rambrouch, Olivia, and Omaha. Baltasar’s sister Anna was living in Rambrouch, and his brother Harry (my great-grandfather) in Omaha, Nebraska. Olivia, however, remains a mystery. So far—although, admittedly, I have not tried hard—I have been unable to turn up a town of Olivia in either Luxembourg or Nebraska.

Moving on to the second article I mentioned, we see it is a kind of a public thank-you note from the mourners to all who expressed sympathy in their time of bereavement. There is probably a fancy name for this sort of announcement, but, if so, I am ignorant of what it may be.

Trimmed from the original at Bibliothèque nationale de Luxembourg.

Transcription:

Remercîments.

Madame Balthasar STROESSER-KAYSER; Monsieur Edy STROESSER; Monsieur Marcel STROESSER et les familles apparentées, profondément touchés des nombreuses marques de sympathie et de condoléances qui leur ont été témoignées lors du décès de

Monsieur Balthasar STROESSER,

MAITRE-CARROSSIER,

et se trouvant dans l’impossibilité de répondre individuellement à tous ceux qui se sont associés à leur grand deuil, les prient de trouver ici l’expression de leurs remerciements émus.

La messe de six semaines sera célébrée en l’église St. JOSEPH le jeudi, 13 juillet, à 10 heures du matin.

Merci pour les saintes messes, les prières, les belles fleurs et couronnes.

Esch-Alzette, le 12 juillet 1939.

Au lieu de cartes.

Translation:

Thanks.

Mrs. Balthasar STROESSER-KAYSER; Mr. Edy STROESSER; Mr. Marcel STROESSER and allied families, profoundly touched by the many marks of sympathy and condolences which have been shown towards them on the death of

Mr. Balthasar STROESSER,

MASTER COACH-BUILDER,

and being unable to respond individually to all those who are associated with their great bereavement, hope to find here the expression of their stirred gratitude.

Mass will be celebrated for six weeks at St. JOSEPH church on Thursday, July 13, at 10 A.M.

Thank you for the Masses, the prayers, the beautiful flowers and wreaths.

Esch-Alzette, July 12, 1939.

In lieu of cards.

This article, of course, gives very little information additional to that we have gleaned from the previous article. It does, however, imply that Mrs. Balthasar STROESSER-KAYSER, Mr. Edy STROESSER, and Mr. Marcel STROESSER bore a closer relationship to the deceased than the others on the long list in the obituary. I know now that Edy and Marcel were his sons, a circumstance which these two articles first made me suspect.

Sources:

“Avis mortuaire: Monsieur Balthasar STROESSER,” Escher Tageblatt, 31 May 1939, p. 7, col. 3; digital images, Bibliothèque nationale de Luxembourg (www.eluxemburgesia.lu : accessed 3 Dec 2010), Digitized by the National Library of Luxembourg, www.eluxemburgensia.lu. 

“Remercîments: Monsieur Balthasar STROESSER,” Escher Tageblatt, 12 July 1939, p. 7, col. 4; digital images, Bibliothèque nationale de Luxembourg (www.eluxemburgesia.lu : accessed 4 Dec 2010), Digitized by the National Library of Luxembourg, www.eluxemburgensia.lu.