My children descend from a variety of cultures.

The BRIGHT family relocated from Pennsylvania to the booming riverfront town of Wyandotte, Kansas, shortly after the Civil War.

The MOORE family, of Scots-Irish descent, lived in the upcountry of South Carolina for a hundred years or more.

The THADEN family came from German immigrants and Tennessee Scots-Irish clans.

The NICHOLAS family originated in Tripoli and Beirut, Syria, and lived among a Syrian colony in Jacksonville, Florida.

The HAHN and LUTES families raced for land in the Oklahoma Land Run of 1893 and had been ever on the frontier prior to that time.

The ROMEO and MOTTA families immigrated to this country at the turn of the century from Sicily.

Saturday, January 9, 2016

The Ortssippenbuch of Dornum



"The Ortssippenbuch (OSB) is a book of the compiled records from a parish and sometimes from other local sources that organize people and their events into family groups. Each family group is usually assigned a number within this book and that family number leads to other family numbers so that you can connect numerous family generations together. Dates are given for births/baptisms, marriages and deaths and burials. It lists all the children that are born in this village and also if parents have come from elsewhere as well as other useful information. You might even find a reference if your ancestor immigrated to another country."--https://familysearch.org/blog/en/ortssippenbuch-shortcut-german-family-history-research/.

 Not every region in Germany has them. Many of the towns in the region of Ostfriesland have OSBs, local kinship books, and more are being added all the time.  We are very fortunate that the OSB for Dornum was published in 2012.  This two-volume set cost me a pretty penny, but it has been worth it.  

 Brothers Herman and Bernard Thaden emigrated from Dornum to the US in the 1860s. In the OSB, I have found them listed with their siblings and parents. This OSB lists quite a few Thaden families going back several generations.  It is a goldmine of information.  Above is a picture of a typical page within an OSB.

 Of course it is written in German, and I have to have the Google translator open while reading the entries.  The symbols are intriguing.  An asterisk (*) appears before a birth date like it's the day the child burst forth into the world.  A tilda (~) appears before a christening date.  It looks like baptismal water.  An infinity symbol (∞) appears before a marriage date.  That's kinda cool since some people belive in eternal marriage.  The Christian cross (†) appears before a death date.  That's logical.  And an open box symbol appears before a burial date.  It looks like a coffin.

 I have learned that most christenings took place in the family residence with three or four witnesses.  Emergency christenings took place when a baby had but little time to live.  And the infant mortality rate was really high.   

 I really love the OSBs.  They are a valuable genalogical tool.  
Posted by at
Labels:

No comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)