[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Maiden name in St. Petersburg marriage records: use some caution!

[Jerry Frank]

Unfortunately the information is not always recorded consistently.  In many 
instances, both the widowed marriage name and the maiden name is given but 
sometimes only one or the other.  It is one of those things we have to 
carefully watch for in our research.

Thanks for pointing it out.


At 04:10 PM 16/01/2005, Miles Ertman wrote:
>    I came across something interesting while researching a family using the
>St. Petersburg records.  The surname of the bride given in the records was
>not the maiden name of the bride.  It was her married name from her first
>husband.
>
>    The example in question is the marriage record of Ludwig Wetter + Rosalie
>Stilter (should be Stiller), 29 Sept, 1872.  When we look for children born
>to this couple, we find Gottlieb Wetter, born in Helanka (should be Zylenka
>/ Zelanka, just north of Tuczyn), 20 Nov, 1873.  The problem is, the
>mother's name is given as Rosalie Breitkreuz.  Now if we do a search for
>children with surname, "Stiller" and mother's maiden name, "Breitkreuz", we
>get August Stiller, born in Helanka (Zylenka) to Friedrich Stiller and
>Rosalie Breitkreuz.  Further investigation into the SGGEE Master pedigree
>database reveals the marriage of Friedrich Stiller to Rosalie Breitkreuz, 18
>Jan, 1858 in Turek, Poland.  Thus the St. Petersburg marriage record of
>Ludwig Wetter + Rosalie Stiller is giving the bride's married name not her
>maiden name.  I don't know if this is always the case for marriages in the
>St. Petersburg records involving widows.
>
>Miles Ertman

Jerry Frank - Calgary, Alberta
FranklySpeaking at shaw.ca