I'm so mad at myself . . .

Let me give you all a little tip:  When you take something out of a drawer or closet, put it back where you found it!!  A couple of years ago, I took some old, old photos out of my storage box, scanned them, and then did not put them back where they belonged.  I have been searching high and low all day, everywhere I can think of, but have come up with nothing.  Nada.  Niente.  Nichts.  And the hard drive the scans were on has long since had a total meltdown.  Any language you can say it in -- I'm an idiot.

Why is it so important?  Missing are pictures of Grandma Sophie's family when she was a young woman, Grandpa Berneburg as a sailing man, and most important of all, a picture of Grandma Sophie with her sisters, Lina and Hanni, standing in front of the church where they were all confirmed.  If I could find that, I could send it to the FamNord list, and someone would be able to recognize it, I'm sure, and then I would know where to write for information . . . Would anyone else have that picture?  (I'm looking at you, ML . . . )

However, I did find one bit of treasure, Grandma's birth certificate, which has at least more complete names of Max Langer and Wilhelmina Schulze -- they are:

Maximilian Joseph Langer
Christiane Wilhelmina Luisa Schulze

See what the problem is?  All this time I've been looking for Wilhelmina when I should have been looking for Christiane!  And it says Grandma was born in Geestendorf, not Geestemuende, although they're right next door.  Sigh.

Klicken Sie, bitte!  (Soon you will know a little bit of German)

This is a postcard I just ordered from Germany -- it's a picture of the harbor at Bremerhaven where Grandpa Gustav Berneburg used to sail on steamships like the big one on the right.  3Z's and W:  Would you like to sail on a big ship like that?

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Looking for a German Surname? Try Geogen.

Image
This morning I was contributing to a thread in the German Genealogy facebook group; a researcher had asked for help in figuring out the German equivalent of the surname Workman . One of the most useful sites I've found for investigating German surnames is Christoph Stoepel's "Geogen" sites. "Geogen" stands for "genealogical geography," and his site will help you locate possible points of origin for your German ancestors. When you put in a name, a map will show you where your family name is found today; the information is current rather than historical but still very useful, since German families tend to be a lot less mobile over the years than are families in the United States. A caveat, though:  if your ancestor's name is Schmidt or Meyer, you'll have a much harder time getting a lead because those names are so common. The less common the name is, the more luck you're likely to have.  Also, the site is most helpful if your family came
Read more

Blog Caroling 2017 -- The Holly and the Ivy

Image
Joining footnoteMaven's annual tradition of Christmas blog caroling!  I've chosen one of my favorite carols to present: All Free Download.com "The Holly and the Ivy" is an English carol that probably had its origins in the 18th century.  Holly is an ancient symbol for Christ, sometimes referred to as "Christ's thorns," and the berries stand in for drops of blood.  The holly and the ivy together represent Jesus and the Virgin Mary.  The use of holly and ivy as decorations predates Christ, however -- they go back to Roman times and pagan celebrations.   The melody is simple and sweet.   Why does the ivy appear so little in the song?  Folklorists guess that it's a holdover from older songs like "The Contest between the Holly and the Ivy," in which the holly represents the masculine and the ivy the feminine. The symbolism is embedded in the lyrics. 1 The holly and the ivy, When they are both full grown,
Read more

Sentimental Sunday: Mother's Day, 2016

Image
We siblings have missed our mom for a very long time -- she passed away far too soon, in 1989, when she was only 62 years old.  Because her side of the family is so long-lived (her mother died at 96, her brother at 94), we expected to have her for many more years, and her passing left a great hole in our hearts that can never be filled.  There's so much we'd like to talk with her about, show her, ask her -- especially whether she's doing fine now, and is she with our dad and everyone . . . I think this might be my favorite picture of her.  I can't quite figure out where it was taken -- it seems it might have been on an airplane, but there's a companion photo of my dad, and it looks like they weren't sitting together.  Oh well, yet another genealogical mystery never to be solved. Waltraud Marianna Sophie Berneburg Ortman This is what I love:  Our mom, all dressed up, hair all done nicely, looking so pretty.  What's most attractive is her look o
Read more