[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Breitkreitz/Breithrenz

[Jerry Frank]

At 06:59 AM 14/04/2003 -0600, Delores Stevens wrote:
>Is it possible that Breitkreitz and Breithrenz may sound similar when 
>translated from German to English?  I am unable to figure this out as do 
>not speak any german.  Also could someone please tell me where Bessarabia 
>was located.  Am having difficulty finding that one.

Hi Delores.

Gunther's response is correct.  In assessing material you find, you have to 
consider both translation and transliteration.  The last is the effort of 
someone, often unfamiliar with foreign surnames, to copy in some way what 
someone else wrote many years ago, often with sloppy handwriting.  This is 
especially a problem in such sources as the Ellis Island records and the 
St. Petersburg extractions which are on line.  When you think of the 
strokes required to write out Breitkreitz, one can easily visualize how it 
might have been interpreted as Breithrenz.

Kreitz / Kreutz also stands alone as a surname.  Since the Germanic "eu" 
and the English / German "ei" have a similar (though not identical) sound, 
you often can find this as a variant spelling - with or without the "t" as 
Gunther pointed out.

If you can find Moldavia on a modern map, on the west side of Ukraine, you 
will have found Bessarabia. I believe that some small portions of 
historical Bessarabia on the south and east sides might now be in Ukraine.



Jerry Frank - Calgary, Alberta
jkfrank at shaw.ca