Old Paintings from Old Family Portraits

I recently met a "new" Peters cousin through Ancestry and we have been sharing photos and other information. She sent me two paintings that her family believed were of William Peters (1850-1927) and his wife, Mahala McFarland (1859-1906). William was a son of Joachim Peters (1815-1894), the immigrant patriarch I've been sharing about recently.

Cousin's Painting Labeled William Peters,
son of Joachim Peters. Used with permission.

Cousin's Painting Labeled Mahala
(McFarland) Peters, William Peters' wife.
Used with permission.

When I saw the paintings, I thought they looked really familiar. My family has a photo of our Peters' immigrant couple, Jochim and Henriette (Bünger) Peters, which is shown below.

The two paintings and the photo looked incredibly similar! Even the hair styles and clothing looked a lot alike. I decided to look at the photos and paintings side by side:

Portrait and painting of Joachim Peters (1815-1894). Photo taken circa 1870.

Portrait and painting of Henriette (Bünger) Peters (1817-1874). Photo taken circa 1870.

I think it is obvious the paintings of the man and the woman were actually made from the photo. Both the dating of clothes (likely 1860's or 1870's) and the couple's age (probably in their 50's or 60's) indicate the couple is Joachim and Henriette Peters, and not William and Mahala Peters.

I love that two branches of the family have now, about 150 years after the fact, digitally brought together these images of our immigrant couple. And, I wonder if other families have seen old paintings which were known to have been made from an original photo? If so, please let me know! I am wondering how common this practice was!

Do we have common ancestors? If so, I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

How I Traced My Immigrant Family to Germany

In October, I started telling the story of one of my immigrant families: the Peters. My purpose was to find additional details about this family and their immigration, but I ended up tracing them back to Germany! I also broke through a "brick wall" and found their parents, too! This post is a summary of that discovery with links to the posts I shared as I traced this immigrant family.

Custom Map Created by My Dad

At some point, I heard a lecture or podcast about finding your ancestor's ship arrival in a New York newspaper. And, that is where this journey started. I found a short blurb in The New York Times announcing the arrival of my ancestors' ship. The account listed several places their ship had passed, so I learned more about their passage by locating those places. My dad created a custom map showing those locations, and I learned more about their passage on the Steamship Bavaria.

My great aunt, who got me started in genealogy in 1998, had found a copy of the New York passenger list for our Peters family. But, in the past few years, I found their Hamburg Passenger list on Ancestry.com. As I discussed and compared these two lists I had my breakthrough: I realized that one of the children had listed the village of Bellin as his last residence!

My great aunt had always said the Peters family had come from Güstrow. By using Meyers Gazetteer online, I realized that the small village of Bellin was located near Güstrow. Thinking this was likely the village my family had come from, I ordered an FHL microfilm of church records for Bellin and waited.

Evangelisch Kirche [Evangelical Church] Bellin, Kirchenbuch [Church Book], 1650-1873, page 154, item 10, taufen [baptism] of Friedchen Elise Johanna Peters; FamilySearch mircofilm #68993.
[Page 1 of 2. Lists item number, birth date, baptism date, father's name and occupation, and mother's name.]

Evangelisch Kirche [Evangelical Church] Bellin, Kirchenbuch [Church Book], 1650-1873, page 155, item 10, taufen [baptism] of Friedchen Elise Johanna Peters; FamilySearch mircofilm #68993.
[Page 2 of 2. Lists child's name, 3 baptismal sponsors, and unknown.]

When the microfilm came in, I eagerly scrolled through it for baptism records of the six children. Though the first five children were not listed, I found the sixth child! And, with that record, I had found my Peters family in Germany! Finding the confirmation of the two oldest children on that same film gave me the clue I needed to find the family before they had moved to Bellin.

Ancestry.com, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1519-1969 (Lehi: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016), online database,marriage record of Joachim Carl Otto Peters and Henriette Maria Magdalena Bünger, 21, July 1843, Dobbertin, Mecklenburg, page 12, item 49. [Columns include month and day; banns; groom's name, occupation, and town; bride's name and town; groom's father's name, occupation, and town; bride's name, occupation, and town; whether either previously married; and priest's name.]

Back at home, I discovered the German Lutheran church records were online at Ancestry.com! Using those records, I found the marriage record of my Peters immigrant couple, Joachim and Henriette Bünger Peters, which listed their hometowns and their father's names. The "brick wall" was falling down!

Using Joachim's father's occupation from the marriage record, I was able to find Joachim, two of his siblings, and his parents, Jacob and Hedwig, in the 1819 census. The record also listed Hedwig's maiden name: Borgward.

Ancestry.com, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1519-1969 (Lehi: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016), online database, baptism record of Hedwig Margaretha Johanna Borgward, 25 September 1785, Lübchin, Behren , page 90.

I didn't blog about it, but I was also able to find Hedwig's parents and siblings using baptism records contained in the German Lutheran records on Ancestry. Her parents were Eckhard Joachim Borgward and Anna Margaretha Ahrends.

Ancestry.com, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1519-1969 (Lehi: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016), online database, baptism record of Henriette Maria Magdalena Bürger, 09 July 1817, Dobbertin. [Columns list day of birth; day of baptism; father's name, occupation, and town; mother's name and town (of birth?); child's name; sponsors; and unknown.]

I had more trouble finding Henriette Bünger's parents. The key to my success? MyHeritage. Another member at MyHeritage had Henriette Bünger listed on their tree along with her parents and siblings. Using one of her siblings, I was able to find a baptismal record in the correct church and then scroll through the records until I found Henriette's baptism. I hadn't been able to find the family because the surname had been transcribed incorrectly.

What surprised me the most about this family was how much they moved around. When I found my Kaechle family's origins in Germany a few years ago, I discovered church records in the same church going back to the late 1500's! But, the Peters family moved every few years. Without the Lutheran church records available on Ancestry, I would not have been able to discover so much so quickly. It was an amazing experience!

There are still more records that need to be found. And, there are still some records I've found that need transcribed, translated, and/or analyzed. But, I am excited at what I was able to uncover about my family and their history. And, I hope my family members enjoyed these discoveries, too, and that others might have discovered something they can use in uncovering their own family history.

Are we related? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Finding Wrongly Transcribed Surname in a German Record

I spent hours looking for the baptismal record of my great, great, great grandmother, Henriette Maria Magdalena Bünger. I believed she was born on July 15, 1817 in the present day state of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in Germany. I knew her father's name from her marriage record, Johann David Bünger, but I could NOT find her. I was trying every trick I knew. Then, I remembered MyHeritage and how it had helped me with another German family.

I went to the site and put in Henriette's name. Immediately, I found her on someone's tree! It not only had her parents full names and dates, but also listed seven siblings! And, it gave Henriette's place of birth: Dobbertin.

So, I went back to Ancestry, but I STILL could not find her baptismal record! So, I thought I'd look for one of her siblings. I found her oldest brother's birth, Theodor, who was born in 1813 in Dobbertin. From there, I scrolled through the pages until I got to July 1817 where Henriette should be listed. And, there she was!!!

Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1519-1969 (Lehi: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016), Evangelische Kirche Dobbertin, baptismal record of Henriette Maria Magdalena Bünger, born July 4, 1817, baptized July 9, 1817, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 1 November 2016).

So, why hadn't I been able to find her? Just like with records written in English, the family's surname had been wrongly transcribed! It listed their last name as Bürger instead of Bünger.

Now I have Henriette's exact date of birth and baptism! And, I know her mother's maiden name. I spent a few hours last night adding all of her siblings to my tree, too, and locating each of their baptismal records. I have also sent a message to the owner of this MyHeritage tree - a potential cousin who appears to be German - and hope to be able to share more information with him. It's exciting!

Tip: Use Occupations to Help Locate Census Records

In the U.S., most of my ancestors were farmers. But, my newly found German ancestors had a variety of occupations. As I tried to locate the birth family of my 3rd great grandfather, Joachim Peters, using his father's occupation as a "keyword" helped me find the correct family.

Mecklenburg-Schwerin, where the Peters family lived, did not take many censuses. In fact, the only ones I'm aware of are for the years 1704, 1751, 1819, 1867, 1890, and 1900. Since the family emigrated in 1859 and Joachim was born about 1815, the only useful census would be 1819. However, the 1867 census might be useful for finding other family members.

To search the 1819 census, I went to Ancestry.com and went to "search" and then "card catalog." For "title" I used the words "1819" and "census." There were only two results, and one of those records was the Mecklenburg-Schwerin 1819 census.

From the couple's 1843 marriage record, I know that Joachim's father was named Jacob or Jakob. Since Joachim was born about 1815, I approximated Jacob's birth year as 1790..

In the search fields, I typed "Jacob" and "Peters" marking the surname as "exact & similar." I added a birth year of 1790 and clicked search. This search resulted in 566 results.

At this point is when I remembered Jacob was a cheese dairy owner which is "holländer" in German. So, I edited my search and added "holländer" to the keyword field and marked it "exact." Now, I had only 4 results. Of those, one of them had a son, Joachim, who was born in 1815 and was living in the correct area. Perfect!

Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany, Census, 1819 (Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007), Groß Bützin Township, Ritteramt Güstrow District, page 34, line 86, Jacob Peters household, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com : accessed 30 October 2016). 

Mecklenburg-Schwerin, Germany, Census, 1819 (Provo, Utah: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2007), Groß Bützin Township, Ritteramt Güstrow District, page 35, line 90, Carolina Peters of the Jacob Peters household, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 30 October 2016). 

I still need some of the words translated, but I was able to discover Joachim's mother's name, Hedwig Borgward, and two of his younger sister's names, Anna and Carolina, from this record. It also gives the year and place of birth for each member of the family. For the parents, it even gives the exact date of birth! 

Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1519-1969 (Lehi: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016), Evangelische Kirche Belitz, Belitz city, Belitz parish, baptismal record of Joachim Carl Otto Peters, born 27 Juni 1815, baptized 30 Juni 1815, digital image, Ancestry.com (http://www.ancestry.com: accessed 31 October 2016).

After finding Joachim's mother's name, I was also able to locate Joachim's baptismal record! Unfortunately, it is quite smeared. I might order the microfilm and see if I can get a better copy. One item of interest is the list of sponsors! Two of them share the Borgward surname: Joachim Gustro Borgward and Jacob Otto Borgward. 

Do we share common ancestors? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Getting Help Translating an 1843 German Marriage Record

Although I didn't get a word by word translation, volunteers at the Facebook group "Genealogy Translations" helped me to translate the marriage record of Joachim Carl Otto Peters and Henriette Maria Magdalena Bünger, my third great grandparents who would later immigrate to America.

Ancestry.com, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1519-1969 (Lehi: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016), online database,marriage record of Joachim Carl Otto Peters and Henriette Maria Magdalena Bünger, 21, July 1843, Dobbertin, Mecklenburg, page 12, item 49.

The page this entry was found on was for 1843. The first column shows the date which both the translator and Ancestry said read June 21st.

The second column the translator suspected was the "3 dates the banns were read in church." However, I don't see this yet, and I'm hoping to get more help on it.

The third column is about the groom, Jochim [sic] Peters. His profession is written after his name, and we had a horrible time transcribing this word. Thankfully, one of the volunteers transcribed it as "Müllergeselle" which means an "apprentice of the miller" according to European Roots Genealogy's "List of Old German Professions." This makes sense as Joachim was a master miller when he immigrated 16 years later in 1859. The record says he was a master's apprentice "to" [German word "zu"] the village of Bergfeld.

The fourth column just says the bride, Henriette, is from Klaber, not Thlaber as I had first read it.

The fifth column is about Joachim's father, Jakob, and says he is a "holländer." At first both the translator and I thought perhaps this meant he was Dutch. But, the same "List of Old German Professions" that I mentioned earlier defines holländer as a "cheese dairy owner." Interesting! Also, it shows his dairy is in Bergfeld.

The sixth column is about Henriette's father, Johann David Bünger. It says he is a Koch, or cook, in Klaber. I'd love to know more!

The seventh column indicates "whether bride or groom were unmarried, divorced or widowed before the present." This column has a line through it which I assume means they were both "none of the above."

And, the eighth and final column tells the "name of the priest performing the marriage." In this case, the priest was named Ludwig.

As I mentioned on my last post, this record helped my family reach beyond Joachim and Henriette to their fathers which had eluded us for decades! Now, records are just falling into place as Ancestry.com has the Lutheran church records online.

I want to give a special thanks to the "Genealogy Translations" Facebook group and, in particular, to Carolina Meyer, Lisa Sheer, Anne Callanan, and Regula Wegmüller-Schreyer. Thank you!

Do we have ancestors in common? I'd love to talk! Please leave a comment or email me at drleeds@sbcglobal.net

Brick Wall: Busted!

I started researching our family in 1998, and my dad's aunt, Beulah, had probably researched several decades before that time. But, discovering the full name of my third great grandparents earlier this week - Joachim Carl Otto Peters and Henriette Mary Magdalena Bünger - busted a hole in our brick wall. Now, it is falling down. [Read part 1 and part 2.]

Yesterday morning, I found the marriage record of Joachim and Henriette. It shows the Peters family was from Bergfeld, which is one of the pieces of information I'd learned on Monday. And, most excitingly, the marriage record includes the names of both Joachim's and Henriette's fathers: Jakob Peters and Johann David Bünger! Our family tree has now reached back another generation and extended into the 1700s in present-day Germany.

Ancestry.com, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1519-1969 (Lehi: Ancestry.com Operations, Inc., 2016), online database,marriage record of Joachim Carl Otto Peters and Henriette Maria Magdalena Bünger, 21, July 1843, Dobbertin, Mecklenburg, page 12, item 49. 

Several more records have been found on Ancestry's "Germany, Lutheran Baptism, Marriages, and Burials, 1519-1969" which includes over 45 million records! All of them need transcribed, translated, correlated, and analyzed. I feel like I'm in an avalanche of records right now, but it's a wonderful feeling!