The Marriage of Jacob Hamman and Barbara Clement

After years of searching for records in Luxembourg I have found many of the family records I thought I’d never find and so many more. A mystery until 2024 when I learned Jacob Hamman and Barbara Clement were the parents listed on the birth record of my maternal 2^nd great grandfather, also named Jacob Hamman (b 1840). Next the search to find a marriage record.

The marriage record of my 3^rd great grandparents was finally located and translated from German:

                                                (click on image to enlarge)

Translation from German:

In the year 1824 on 8 September at six in the evening, before us Mayor, registrar of the civil status records of the municipality of Luxembourg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, have appeared Jacob Hamann, day laborer, aged 22 years, born in Luxembourg on 16 pluviôse year 10 of the Republic (=5 February 1802), as noted in record delivered by us, residing in Luxembourg, major son of the late Sabastian Hamann, retired military, residing in this municipality where he died on 24 February 1814, as noted in record delivered by us, and of Barbara Raipmann, widow of the above-mentioned Sebastian Hamann, without profession, residing in this municipality, here present and consenting. Finally, the future husband states by certificate that he has complied with the militia law,

And Barbara Clement, without profession, aged 23 years, born in Bissen, in the month of May 1801, as evidenced by record of notoriety set up in front of the justice of peace of Luxembourg 10 Aug 1804, residing in Luxembourg, major daughter of Francis Clement, day laborer, and of Elizabeth May, married couple, both residing in this city, here present and consenting.

Who requested us to proceed to the celebration of the marriage agreed amongst them and the publications of which have been done, namely in Luxembourg on the Sundays 29^th of last August and 5^th present September, at the hour of noon.

Having not been notified of any opposition to said marriage, we do justice to their request, after having given lecture of all the above mentioned documents and of Chapter 6 of the Civil Code, bearing the title “Of Marriage”, we have asked the future spouses, whether they take each other as husband and wife, each one of them having answered separately and affirmatively, we declare in the name of the law that Jacob Hamann and Barbara Clement are united by marriage.

Of all this we have set up record in the presence of the witnesses enumerated below, namely:

Of Francis Reuter, aged 50 years, weaver, residing in Luxembourg

Of Martin Zangerlé, aged 38 years, low wage worker[1], residing in Luxembourg

Of Dominic Jusion(?), aged 67 years, messenger/delivery man, residing in Luxembourg

And of Frederic Wirtgen, aged 28 years, nail smith, residing in Luxembourg.

Who after also having been given lecture, have signed with us and the contracting parties, with the exception of the bride, her father and mother, and the mother of the groom, who have declared to be ignorant of writing.

Done at the Hotel de Régence [designation of City Hall at that time] on the day, month and year as above.

Translators note: As per article 70 of the Cicil Code, the bridal couple has to submit a birth record in order to get married. In some cases, those births were not documented, which happened frequently at the time of the introduction of the law on the civil records. For this eventuality article 70 provided that in order to replace such missing record an “acte de notoriété” had to be set up by the justice of peace. In accordance to article 71 of said Code a declaration of seven persons testified about the identity of the individual concerned and that is/was of public notoriety that such individual was born on the date of xxx in the locality yyy and was the child of the parents fff and mmm. That declaration was then signed by the deponents and the justice of peace]

Wow, I now have not only the marriage record of my 3^rd great grandparents but I also know the names of four of my 4^th great grandparents. This record tells me where they were all living and the occupations of all the men.  How fascinating to see the careers of my ancestors in 1824.  I also now know that I will probably not be able to find an actual record of Barbara’s birth.  Luxembourg has such wonderful records and how great that I was able to locate these on FamilySearch.

Now to learn more about the family of Jacob and Barbara.

If you have any corrections or additions or stories to share, I look forward to hearing them.

Enjoy the journey,

Debby

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Lost Heritage - Luxembourg Fest 2025

As genealogists we cherish our ancestral stories, photos, customs and food.  But what do you do when this was all lost over time?

My grandfather James Hammond (see post Celebrating the Life of James Jacob Hammond) was born in Remsen, Iowa.  All four of his grandparents were born in Luxembourg and emigrated here in the 1860s.  James’ mother died when he was five and he and his siblings spent time in an orphanage for part of their lives and at other times were back with their father.  As a young adult my grandfather wound up and raised his family miles away in upstate New York.  Were the stories, customs, and food of the old country gone because there were no siblings or family nearby?  Was my grandfather too young to remember and or were any memories he had too painful?  All I knew growing up was that his family was German.  After researching my grandfather’s family, I learned while they spoke German, they were all in fact from Luxembourg.  Over the years I have been fortunate to learn the names and ancestral villages of many of my ancestors back to the 1700s.  But even with the names, dates and locations that still doesn’t help me understand the food and culture of the area and country they were from.  Several years ago, I joined the Luxembourg American Cultural Society (LAC) in Belgium, Wisconsin.  In 2022 I was able to stop and visit the Museum and the Center on a trip across country.  I hoped this would help me learn more about my Luxembourg heritage.

For 39 years LAC has held a Luxembourg Festival.  I have tried to go for several years but was unable to.  This year I was asked to be one of the Presenters for Luxembourg Fest.  I was asked to do a presentation (see post Upcoming Presentation at Luxembourg Fest 2025) on basic genealogy, particularly in the United States, regarding researching our Luxembourg ancestors.  I gladly accepted because I was honored to be a presenter and I would also have an excellent reason to experience Luxembourg Fest and immerse myself in the food and some customs of Luxembourg. Best of all, I could meet others with the same heritage.  Who knows, perhaps even meet a distant cousin.

On Thursday, August 7^th I was able to attend the Annual Meeting of the Society for the first time. 

I presented at the Cultural Forum on Friday morning, August 8^th at the Cedarburg Cultural Center.  

photo courtesy of LAC (click on images to enlarge)

Jean Ensch, a native of Luxembourg, presented after me and spoke about the types of records available in Luxembourg.  

Jean Ensch and I -photo courtesy of LAC

Friday night there was a fabulous fundraising dinner Luxembourg Under the Stars to support LAC at the Buechler Farm complete with Luxembourg wine, beer, hard cider, Hors D'oeuvre, dinner and dessert.  

On Saturday there was the Luxembourg Fest Main Street Parade in Belgium, Wisconsin.  

What a fun time followed by food and drinks that the local American Legion was selling.  

A great chance to meet with other descendants of Luxembourg ancestors, talk about our ancestors and show our support for that heritage!  

Later I attended the showing of a 40 minute documentary talking about Luxembourg heritage in the US and the 38th Luxembourg Fest entitled "Luxembourg in America" by director Geoff Thompson.  There was also time to do some research at the Center.

Sunday there was a Roman Catholic Mass at the festival grounds in Belgium, the installation of the 

2025 Duke and Duchess

and more chances to eat some food typical of Luxembourg.  Yes, I finally tried the Treipen. 

There was also a Sheepshead Tournament.  

Sheepshead is a card game competition which is an American version of the German game Schafkop.   I asked my mother if she ever remembered my grandfather playing this game?  She remembered him teaching her a card game when she was young but didn’t really remember the name or how to play it.  Could this be some part of the heritage that endured?  I’ll need to see if my uncles remember this at all.

"The Luxembourg American Cultural Society’s mission is to preserve the roots of our heritage and nurture the leaves of ongoing relationships between Luxembourg and America."  What an amazing job LACS is doing in preserving this heritage!

Join and support your heritage societies.  You never know what you may learn about your ancestors and just experiencing the heritage can be so much fun.  Now to go on an actual tour in Luxembourg and hopefully, visit some of my ancestral villages.

If you have any corrections or additions or stories to share, I look forward to hearing them.

Enjoy the journey,

Debby

Upcoming Presentation at Luxembourg Fest 2025

 Luxembourg Fest 2025

Several years ago, after learning I had ancestors in Iowa who emigrated from Luxembourg, I joined the Luxembourg American Cultural Society.  Joining Cultural Societies is always highly recommended as a way to learn more about the country your ancestor emigrated from and as a way to possibly help with your research.  A few years later (2021) while traveling across the country I made a plan to stop and visit the Luxembourg American Cultural Society & Center in Belgium, Wisconsin.  What a treat this was!  I met some wonderful people and was able to do some research.  Maintaining my membership over the years was important to me and I continue to hope that one day I will be able to take advantage of one of the wonderful tours to Luxembourg they sponsor. 

Recently, I became aware of some long sought after records in German for my family on FamilySearch and LAC was able to help me get them translated. (See Blog post The Birth of John Bentz).  What a treasure trove of information I was able to find and continue to find!

An opportunity arose for me to present at Luxembourg Fest 2025 and help others who are beginning their journey of researching their ancestors.  As genealogists we are always excited to share our discoveries.  Ever the teacher, I also enjoy helping others on their journey.  

My co-presenter is from Luxembourg.  Jean will be presenting on records available in Luxembourg.  I should be able to learn so much more about the records available from his presentation.  What an amazing opportunity and honor this is for me to be one of LAC's Presenters, learn more about records that might be available to me for my research and experience my Luxembourg heritage at this festival!

If you have any corrections or additions or stories to share, I look forward to hearing them.

Enjoy the journey,

Debby

The Birth of Nathaniel Warner

Often, if you are lucky when researching your ancestors in the 1600s, you can find an index that contains the birth dates of your ancestor but I always prefer to find the original record.  No matter how careful people are in transcribing from the original record to create the index there is still the possibility of errors or additional information that was not transcribed.

Recently I was able to locate the original birth record of my paternal 6^th great grandfather Nathaniel Warner. 

 

(click on image to enlarge)

Hatfield [Hampshire County, Massachusetts Bay Colony] Births 

Transcription:  

Nathaniel son of Lieutenant Daniel Warner and Martha his wife born 15 October 1690

 

Nathaniel was born to Daniel Warner and his second wife Martha Boltwood.  Daniel and his first wife Mary Whiting are believed to have had 6 children before her death.  Daniel and his second wife Martha Boltwood are believed to have had 11 children.  Nathaniel was the last child believed born to Daniel and Martha, the 17^th child born to Daniel.

Nathaniel’s father died two years after his birth.  His mother lived another 20 years after his birth.  I wonder...what lead Nathaniel to make his way from Hatfield, Massachusetts to Southold, New York?

If you have any corrections or additions or stories to share, I look forward to hearing them.

Enjoy the journey,

Debby

Women's History Month Presentation

 I am pleased to announce my next presentation, 

in honor of Women's History Month, 

at

Hallockville Museum Farm 

in 

Riverhead, New York 

on 

Sunday, March 30th at 2:00pm

In celebration of Women’s History Month, we will have a presentation about the life of an East End farm wife and mother between the years of 1880 and 1910. Author Debby Warner Anderson will explain how the discovery of a shoebox of letters written by her great grandmother Carrie Warner of Baiting Hollow launched Debby on a journey through local history, family genealogy and a woman’s life on Long Island around the turn of the 19th century.

Sunday, March 30 at 2 p.m.

Free but registration is required. Click here: https://secure.lglforms.com/form_engine/s/6YBlrqcBknR-G93r0iE6dQ

Hope to see you there!

The Children of Willhelmus/Wilhelm and Maria Petesch Bentz

 

When looking for the birth record of my 2^nd great grandfather John Bentz in Luxembourg I also found records for his parents (Willhelmus Bintz and Maria Petesch) and siblings.  What did his family unit look like in Luxembourg and what new information can I find?

After searching and getting the records I found translated (see post The Birth of Jacob Hamman for translations in Luxembourg) I can now put together a fairly good idea of John’s parents and siblings, their family unit:

Parents:  Wilhelmus Bintz and Paria Petesch

Children:

1814 Peter Birth

No birth record found.  Birth year based on age at time of death.

     1816 Peter Death

1816/7 Maria Birth

Birth based on year of birth (1817) stated in 1871 census.  At her marriage in 1852 she was 36 years of age putting her birth year about 1816.  According to her death record Maria was 80 (information given by son-in-law) at time of death in 1906 which would have made her birth year 1826, the same year sister Ana was born?  My guess is 1817 for her birth.

     1906 Maria Death

1819 Catherine Birth

1820 Pierre Birth

      1821 Pierre Death

1822 Michel Birth

     1825 Michel Death

1824 Catherine Birth

1826 Anna Birth

1828 Johan Birth- my 2^nd great grandfather (see blog post The Birth of Johan Bintz)

Thoughts:

• I believe this is a fairly accurate record of the family unit based on the information I was able to locate  
• Eight children were born to Wilhelm and Maria
• Four of eight children died at a young age
• All were born in Weiler-la-Tour, Bettemboug, Luxembourg
• Only one son lived to adulthood
• My ancestor Johan was the only son to grow to adulthood and was the last child born
• Wilhelm’s occupation was listed as a day laborer from 1816 until 1826 when his occupation became that on a linen weaver
• Wilhelm's age listed on each record is not consistent with what I would expect them to be based on his birth year of 1782.  The records may have been difficult to read, there could have been a transcription error or Wilhelm might have given the incorrect age at the time of the record.
• I wonder if there were other children I was unable to find records for?

 

Now that I have a good idea of John’s family, I wonder if any of his sisters also came to America?  If they stayed behind in Luxembourg, will I be able to trace them to descendants still living there?  I hope to take a research trip to Luxembourg and would love to meet descendants of Wilhelm and Maria.

If you have any corrections or additions or stories to share, I look forward to hearing them.

Enjoy the journey,

Debby

The Birth of John Bentz

       

Recently, I was able to find and have translated the civil birth record, in German, for my maternal 2^nd great grandfather John Bentz.

Index found on FamilySearch:

Original register:

Translation:

In the year 1828 of 14^th February, at 10 a.m., before us Peter Alesch, registrar of the civil status records of Weiler-la-Tour, canton of Bettembourg in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, has appeared Willhelmus (William) Bintz, aged 42 years, linen weaver, residing in this municipality, who presented us a child of male sex, born of him and of his wife Maria Petesch, on this day at one a.m., and whom he declared to give the first name of Johan.

Which declaration and presentation were done in the presence of Nicolas Hengen, schoolteacher, aged 28 years, and of Nicolas Kries, aged 37 years, field warden, who are residing in this municipality. And have the father and the witnesses signed the present birth record, with us after having been given lecture thereof.

[signatures]

At times I have come across information in someone else's tree or on a data base.  I use this information as a 'lead' but still want to prove what I see elsewhere.  With the information in John's birth record I can now verify information previously seen and possibly learn something new:  

• a confirmation now on the birth dates (7 years off from what I previously believed) and time of Johan Bintz’s birth.  Interesting that only 9 hours after Johan's birth his father registered the birth.
• a confirmation on Johan’s parents (my 3^rd great grandparents) - Willhelmus [William] Bintz and Maria Petesch
• a confirmation that Johan’s parents lived in Weiler-la-Tour, Bettembourg, Luxembourg
• new information that Willhelmus was a linen weaver
• name change from ‘Bintz’ in Luxembourg to ‘Bentz’ in the United States

The translator I used in Luxembourg also informed me that “In some records Weiler-la-Tour is mentioned to be part of the canton of Bettembourg, in other records of the canton of Luxembourg. This goes back to the partition of Luxembourg in 1839 (London Treaty at the end of the Belgian Revolution). The partition went right through some of the cantons, with some municipalities becoming Belgian and others remaining Luxembourgish. There was an urgent need for administrative redistricting, which was done by the royal-granducal decree of October 12, 1842. Esch-sur-Alzette then became the seat of the canton of Esch, which was formed with some eastern parts of the cantons of Messancy (the remaining parts formed the canton of Messancy in Belgium) and  some parts of the canton of Bettembourg. Some other parts of the canton of Bettembourg  (including Weiler-la-Tour) were reattached to the canton of Luxembourg. The canton of Bettembourg ceased to exist as of 1841."

Important information to be aware of as I do further research.

If you have any corrections or additions or stories to share, I look forward to hearing them.

Enjoy the journey,

Debby

See also post The Wedding of Johan Bintz and Margaretha Rovin.  

For information on translation of German records in Luxembourg see post The Birth of Jacob Hamman.