Managing the North Sea

Guest Post by Elizabeth Thaden Stewart

One of the biggest obstacles presented to the Fresians living in Dornum in the seventeenth century was the North Sea. Both friend and foe, the North Sea presented many opportunities for the Fresians to prosper, but it also proved to be a mighty force to be reckoned with. On the one hand, the North Sea made seafaring possible, an opportunity that the Fresians took advantage of. In fact, the Fresians were the chief seafarers of the day before the Vikings began using the seas. The North Sea also made the land quite fertile for farming and raising livestock. However, living on the water’s edge also brought plenty of trouble. Over the years, the North Sea crept above the land due to the melting ice from the north and south poles. This combined with the gradual sinking of the earth draws a pretty clear picture of the problem the Fresians were presented with. The North Sea was overtaking their land. It was necessary for them to claim it back to preserve their lives.

Conquering the sea and recovering their land was no easy feat. The Fresians had to build mounds on which they could construct their homes and other buildings to keep them safe from the rising waters. They also constructed dikes, which are long barriers that prevent flooding. The Fresians also turned to the windmill (pun intended J), which they used to pump water out of the lowlands back into the sea. The historic Blockwindmühle, constructed in 1626, still stands today as a fully functioning mill. (It was restored in 2010.) 

With the waters of the sea better managed through the construction of mounds, dikes, and windmills, the Fresians were able to retain their lifestyle of farming, trading, and breeding horses.

http://www.fhana.com/the-fresian-horse/friesian-history

http://www.everyculture.com/Ma-Ni/The-Netherlands.html 

Photo by http://wunderkammertales.blogspot.com/2015/01/i-have-sailed-over-rungholt-town-today.html

Adolphus and Lucretia

Adolphus Lutz was born in North Carolina and was the grandson of John and Sallie Frye Lutz. By the time Dolph was of marrying age, the Lutz family lived in Missouri. There he married Missouri-born Lucretia Boydston. I am curious about their given names.

According to Behind the Name, Adolphus is the Latinized form of the Germanic Adolf. Dolph's ancestry was indeed German, but why did his parents use the Latin version? It was most popular in 1893 when it ranked 330 in popularity. Dolph was 40 years old at this time.

Likewise, the name Lucretia is ancient Roman in origin. It was most popular in America in 1882 when it ranked at 205; Lucretia was 19 years old.

So both of these individuals were born before their names were trendy. Perhaps their parents helped to set the trend. Research has found that during the time these two were born, Americans were fascinated by ancient Rome. Classical style and philosophy seeped into their culture, and therefore their naming traditions.

Historically, Lucretia was a legendary ancient Roman woman whose tragic fate set in motion a revolution that removed the Roman monarchy sometime in the 500s BC and replaced it with a republic. Lucretia was ever after honored for her sacrifice.

As for Dolph, perhaps his parents wished to bestow a name reminiscent of his German culture. Adolf means noble wolf and was borne by several Swedish kings. Latinizing the name brought it to current cultural standards.

It will be interesting to notice how many other names in the family history were influenced by Roman Classical interest.

John and Sallie Frye Lutz, mentioned at the top of this post, are my husband's 3rd great grandparents.