The Birth of Jacob Hamman

When doing genealogy on our immigrant ancestors we are always advised to gather all the information possible before we start looking for information in the country that ancestor came from.

Over the years I have gathered information on my maternal 2^nd great grandfather Jacob Hamman in the United States.  I possibly have Jacob on a passenger list, I know when he filed his immigration paperwork, when he obtained his US Citizenship, when he purchased land and when he died.

There are still questions to be answered but I always wondered about his life in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg prior to his immigration to the United States in the late 1850s.  Who were Jacob’s parents and siblings?  Where exactly was he born in Luxembourg and when?

The information have I been able to gather about Jacob’s birth, parents and siblings:

• According to the 1880 US Census for Jacob in Iowa he was 40 years old and born about 1840 in Luxembourg.
• According to the 1900 US Census for Jacob in Iowa he was 60 years old and his birth date was July 1839 in Luxembourg.
• According to Jacob’s obituary in 1900 he “was 64 years old and born at Hesper, Grandduchy, Luxembourg on the 25^th day of August 1836”.
• According to Jacob’s Iowa death record he was born in Luxembourg about 1835.
• According to Jacob’s tombstone his birth is listed as 1830 and at his death in 1900 he was 70 years old.

Based on this information I can narrow down Jacob’s birth from 1835 to 1840.  That is definitely a discrepancy.  Is the birth date and location reported in his obituary, correct?  Can I locate a birth certificate in Luxembourg?  Will this tell me his parents’ names?  Is it possible to determine his siblings?  Did any of them also immigrate to the United States?

Reminder:  just because a record isn’t in an online database you are searching today it doesn’t mean it won’t be there tomorrow or ...years from now.  Keep searching!!

Fast forward many years of searching and I happened to find the following record on FamilySearch:

 

Wow!  Major Happy Dance!!  I think that is my ancestor and WOW there are his parents’ names.  I begin to search under their names and believe I have found Jacob’s siblings.  Major excitement!

After justifiably being excited about finally finding what I think is my ancestor’s birth record and other family records including Jakob’s parents’ names I realize that the index has only basic information and I don’t know about you but…this is never enough for me.  I can see the actual ledger in the photo but I want to know more of the information that is there but …I don’t read or write German.  UGH!  What do I do next? 

I need someone to translate these for me and I’m up to about 25 records now.  Where to go?  I could post this on a genealogy site or try to find someone who speaks German.  An idea starts to develop.  These are records from Luxembourg.  Several years ago I joined and visited the Luxembourg American Cultural Society and Center in Belgium, Wisconsin.  I wonder if they’d have any suggestions? 

How exciting it was to learn that yes, they could definitely help me.  They actually contract with someone in Luxembourg and they informed me of the fee for services.  All the records were emailed to LAC and then all I had to do was, not so patiently, wait for a reply.  At last, this was the reply for Jacob’s birth record:

Translation:

In the year 1840, on July 28, at 7 a.m. before us Mayor, registrar of the civil status records of the municipality of Hesperange, canton of Luxembourg, in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, has appeared Jakob Hamman, aged 37 years, road maintenance supervisor, residing in this municipality, who presented us a child of male sex, born on the 27^th of this [month], at 11 a.m. of him deponent and his wife Barbara Clement, both residing in Hesperange, and whom he declared to give the first name of Jakob.

Which declaration and presentation took place in the presence of Nikolas Zahlen, aged 45 years, farmer, and of Johann (=John) Didesch, aged 64 years, day laborer, who are residing in this municipality, and they have all signed this present birth record, after having previously been given lecture thereof.

[signatures]

Wow! WOW!! 

From the translation I now know that:

• Jakob was born on 27 July 1840 at 11 am.
• His parents were Jakob Hamman (37 years old and a road main supervisor) and Barbara Clement.
• They lived in Hesperange.
• Witnesses were Nikolas Zahlen (45 year old farmer) and Johann Didesch (64 year old day laborer) who lived in the Hesperange.

Interesting that the 1880 US Census was the only record with his correct year of birth.  The obituary showed his birth date but was several days, a month and four years off.  I’m sure birthdays were not remembered and celebrated the way we do today. There were language and cultural differences and so many adjustments when traveling and becoming established in the United States that I’m sure your actual date of birth was just not that important.  Reminder: know that dates may be off by months, days or years as you are researching.

The amazing translator I had even provided the following additional information:

The spelling of the name is nowadays Hammang. On the Hammang family and descendance, see: Prosper Kayser & Paul Vanolst: Familienchronik der Gemeinde Hesperingen. Um 1650-1923. Publ. 2018 pp. 169-170.

Someone who spoke German could have translated the document but this additional information is extremely valuable for further research.

Being connected to Historical Societies from locations your ancestors lived or to Cultural Societies whose goals are to help preserve the cultures of the countries your ancestors immigrated from are very valuable sources of information.  I would definitely recommend LAC if you have ancestors from Luxembourg to provide another level of support as you research your ancestors.

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

Enjoy the journey,

Debby

The following posts help tell the story of Jacob's life: Jacob Hamman's Land Deed, Sunday Obituary-Jacob Hamman, My First Naturalization Papers-Jacob Hamman, Searching for the Will and the Land of Jacob Hamman, Finding Jacob Hamman's Land-First Understanding Iowa Land.

Sharing the Discovery

 As a Genealogist we are always searching for information.  We naturally gravitate to the easy sources first.  All those great sources that are at our fingertips online.  As we go back in time many records are harder and harder to find.  Where to go from there?  Local records seem to be a great place to start.

Searching for records about my paternal grandfather’s family seems to be a little bit easier because I grew up in the area and have a good understanding of the history of the area.  Have you ever tried to find out who might have the written cemetery records for a smaller local cemetery?  Who kept the records if any were kept for a family reunion?  Who holds the church records for a church that is no longer in existence?  Where can you find old newspapers?  All of these ‘other’ records are not as easy to locate.  Many records are kept by individuals and not in a central location that is easy to access.  How do you locate those individuals?  Many people don’t have the advantage of traveling to the area to search for records.

Once you find these lesser-known records what do you do with them?  Yes, I can use the information to add to the stories of my ancestors but is that enough?  In this digital age I often wonder how to share the tidbits of information I can finally locate with other genealogists.  Large companies like Ancestry and Family Search have done such an amazing job of locating and scanning information for us to access but what about the rest, often small collections, that are out there?  Often, it takes me a while to search for these ‘other’ sources and the people who might have the records.  Frequently, I have found, it takes making the personal connections to locate and see these records.  Recently, I have been fortunate enough to find some valuable sources of local information and think I can share them with other genealogists by not only describing the sources in an article on my blog but by also posting them in separate tabs on my blog for others to be able to access. 

Warner Family Biographies

The first one I’d like to share comes from the Warner Family Reunions. (see blog posts Family Reunions-Warner Family Picnic, Warner Family Picnic 2017)  For many years (starting in the 1970’s) the secretary, Clara Mae Crouse Ryder (great granddaughter of Daniel & Eleanor Howell Warner, granddaughter of Eugene G. Warner) would interview and write a biography about a family member. Each summer when it was time to send out a notice about the upcoming family reunion, she would include one or two of these biographies along with the minutes of the previous reunion’s business meeting. 

Last Summer before our reunion I happened to remember these biographies and decided I would try to collect all the ones I could find.  So much time and effort were put in to researching and writing these that I thought, what a shame it would be for these to be lost to future generations.  I will place as many as I can find on a tab on my blog entitled Warner Family Biographies.  What a great source of information, usually, directly from the person themselves or an immediate family member to give us information and insights into ancestors who may no longer be with us.

It is only fitting that the first biography is about Clara Mae herself, written in 1994:

 

As I obtain other biographies, they will be posted on the Warner Family Biographies tab on the blog home page.  Hopefully, I can obtain many of these and you will be able to learn more about a family member you are interested in. 

Please let me know if you have any of these tucked away somewhere.

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

Enjoy the journey,

Debby

Celebrating the Life and Memory of James Warner

 

 James Warner

Understanding the life of an ancestor who lived over 150 years ago can be very difficult.  Yes, often we can  find birth/baptism, marriage and/or death dates but that really doesn’t tell us much about the life they lived.  If there was a diary or letters or newspaper accounts of their life more insight into their beliefs, hopes and dreams would be available but we rarely ever have that.  So much of our ancestors’ lives, like ours, are dependent on life that is happening around us at a particular time.  A knowledge of the time period and what was happening in the town or village our ancestor’ lived adds so much to that understanding. While there is still uncertainty about how an ancestor was influenced by events, a better understanding is available about how their lives were possibly shaped given these events.

James Warner is my paternal 4^th great-grandfather

26 April 1762  James was born in Southold, Suffolk County, New York to parents Daniel and Hannah (Petty) Warner.  James was the 3^rd of 10 children born to the couple.  Birth date confirmed by record in mother’s Bible.

• Southold is proclaimed to be the first settled town on Long Island and the oldest English town in the State of New York.  Founded by the Puritans in 1640 when the New Haven Colony magistrates purchased the land from the Corchaug Native Americans.  Geographically “Southold” encompassed the eastern end of the north fork of Long Island from what is known today as the land from Orient Point to Wading River.  This is important to know when “Southold” is listed in documents as a location of a marriage of a residence during this time.

12 January 1769  James was 7 years old when he and siblings Nathaniel, Deborah, John & David were baptized together at the Aquebogue Presbyterian Church by the Reverend Benjamin Goldsmith.

16 December 1773  James was 11 years old when the Boston Tea Party occurred.  Resentment of the British and colonial support for the American Revolution began to intensify.

• 1774  The Coercive Acts were punitive measures passed by the British Parliament, initially to punish Boston, and marked a major turning point between the British government and the colonies.  The Quartering Act, also passed in 1774, allowed local governors, though out the American colonies, to find homes and buildings to house British soldiers.  This included uninhabited houses, outhouses, barns and other buildings.

March-April 1775  James was almost 13 years old when his 2 older brothers (Daniel & Nathaniel), a younger brother (John) and sister (Hannah) died tragically within a month’s time.  James was now the oldest of the children.  Did they succumb to Small Pox, Cholera or the Influenza Epidemic?  How devastating for parents to lose 4 children within a month’s time.  The grief must have been unbearable for all the remaining family members.  The family dynamics changed so suddenly and dramatically for James.  The children are buried in the cemetery known at the time as ‘Lower Aquebogue’ in what today is the village of Jamesport.

April 19, 1775, a week before James’ 13^th birthday, the Battles of Lexington and Concord occur and the American Revolution begins.  How long did it take for information to reach James’ family about the Revolutionary War beginning?  There were no newspapers in Southold during the eighteenth century.  At this time people would have gotten their news from travelers, Connecticut newspapers or from Taverns, which were the center of social life.  The population of Southold at this time was just over 3,000, excluding slaves.

July 4, 1776 when James was 14 years old, Congress formally ratified the Declaration of Independence and it was signed. 

• 1776  The Suffolk County Militia formed its first Regiment of Minute Men.  All able-bodied men were required to quickly assemble and serve when notified or faced a fine and the possibility of imprisonment.  Typically, those chosen were 25 years of age or younger due to their physical strength, enthusiasm, and reliability.  At times when the men weren’t needed, they returned to their usual farming tasks.  The British occupied Southold with about 500 infantry and 50 cavalry.  What was it like to have British soldiers living in your home or barns and taking your crops and livestock for food?  Did the local colonists have enough to eat? What must it have been like to be occupied and know there were British soldiers so close, on a daily basis, for seven years?  During this time there was an epidemic of cholera and dysentery in the area.  Many colonists in the area were forced to take an oath of allegiance to the King.  I have been unable to find any indication of James or his father signing this oath of allegiance or of the family leaving Long Island for Connecticut as many others did.
• August 1776 the British won the Battle of Long Island.  The battle took place about 70-80 miles away from where 14 year old James was living.  What did James know about what was happening and the significance of this to his family?  Resentment of the British on eastern Long Island had begun long before the Revolution began.

25 November 1783, when James was 21 years old and nearly three months after the Treaty of Paris was signed ending the American Revolution,  the last shipload of British soldiers left rounded Montauk Point.  The people of New York City and Long Island were no longer captives of the invading British Army.  This is the only such time a part of our country was held by an invading force and under its complete domination.

How was James’ life molded by the events of the country’s struggle for independence?  The family lived in an area referred to as the “Great Woods”, miles away from the main town of Southold.  Was this a move his father made to take the family as far away from the struggles happening in the towns and villages nearby and the British troops or just a move to gain good farmland and area for his family to spread out?  While I probably will never know the answer to this question for certainty there was a lot for the James to experience in his young life.  What would be in store for the rest of James’ life?  More to follow…

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

Enjoy the journey,

Debby

      Suffolk County Historical Society

300 West Main Street

Riverhead, New York

Registration

 

Carrie's Letters A Glimpse into Rural Family Life 

Baiting Hollow, NY

A box of long-forgotten letters written by a young woman, mainly to her sister, provides an intimate insight into her life as she studies to be a teacher, becomes the wife of a farmer, then the mother of six sons before her untimely death at the age of 48.  You will get to know Carrie, her thoughts, sense of humor, and views of the world around her.  The addition of detailed sidebars containing connections of family members, along with newspaper accounts of events referred to in the letters offers an amazing glimpse into rural family life from 1880-1910.

For additional posts and information click Tab Carrie’s Letters

Hope to see you there,

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

Enjoy the journey,

Debby