Now and then, I stop, I review old files and folders and usually find some little jewel. Today, I found this post I wrote in 2010, and never published. Nope, I do not remember why I did not publish. Just happened. So, here it is, some six years later. I have not worked on this name confusion in some time. So, for the most part, what I wrote six years ago stands, and so the confusion continues.
On September 18, 2010 I chatted a bit about a brain storm idea I had when ordering Social Security SS5 Application forms.
Well, it sorta fizzled. Sorta.
Here is a bit of the back story. Man's great-grandmother, Charlotte Louise Gehrke, born, well, see, that is the problem, she could be a Gruneman (Grunman) or a Grunbaum, or as I dubbed her, Charlotte Louise Gruendemann-Grunbaum.
Why the confusion over one name?? This family is Lutheran, and I love Lutheran church records, well, for the most part I do, one EXCEPTION is when it comes to her name! What follows is exactly what I have written about Charlotte in her text file on my data base:
"Her maiden name is given as Gruendemann and Grunbaum in church records of St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church in Pigeon/Linkville, Huron County, Michigan. On April 5, 1912 her children Carl (Charles) and Paul were confirmed, the pastor entered her maiden name as Grunbaum. On the 7th of April 1912, just two days later, Charlotte's sons John and Frank were confirmed by the same pastor. He gave Charlotte's maiden name as Grunbaum in John's record and as Gruendemann in Frank's record. The records appear on the same page of the record book. On April 12, 1914 the same pastor (August Deichmann) confirmed Charlotte's daughter, Julia and recorded Charlotte's maiden name as Gruendemann. The Lihue Lutheran Church of Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii records for the baptisms and confirmations and deaths of Charlotte's children all show her maiden name as Grunbaum."
Here is the confirmation record image for sons John and Frank:
SEE, who wouldn't be confused?? She (that she would be me) asks while her head spins yet again. It should be noted that the pastors of the church in Lihue and in Michigan were German, could read, write and speak it. One allows, of course, for dialect differences.
Charlotte only spoke German according to her granddaughter (Man's mother). Charlotte lived in their home for a number of years, Millie had strong memories of Charlotte.
So, last summer when I was ordering some SS5 forms, I realized I had never ordered SS5s for several of Charlotte's children. What if?? Be still my heart! What did those forms reveal about Charlotte's maiden name?? I decide to order one for her eldest son and her eldest daughter. Charlotte had 12 children, 10 of whom I am certain, number 11, I have my suspicions, and number 12 is a total mystery. Of her 10 known children, only 4 survived long enough to have applied for a Social Security number, and one of those is questionable. The eldest 2 children were my best bet.
So, out came the credit $$ and I ordered those SS5s. The first to arrive was for the eldest daughter, the one I was stumped on. The eldest son's application took weeks. It took so long, I actually called the Social Security Adminstration and asked after it.
The application finally arrived, and it gave her maiden name as Gruneman. The eldest daughter pretty much wrote down the same thing, it is very hard to read, but, looks like Grunman to me.
At least they both used the basic same name, Grun(e)man.
So, what is all this Grunbaum stuff in the other church records?? And, Gruendemann??
Fizzle - - - I don't know why I am feeling so let down about this. I guess it would have been even more discouraging if one had written Grun(e)man and the other had written Grunbaum. GROAN
Fizzle - - -
* Again, as I frequently do while I am writing a post, I did some more research, this time turning to my son (he is fluent in German) and daughter-in-law (she is German) for a rough translation of the two names.
Grun = Green baum = tree Greentree
Gruende = gruenden = establish/found mann = man Foundman? Establisedman? OK, that one obviously did not translate real well.
OK, I can almost leap from green tree to green man, but that established/found man thingy has me totally confused.
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