[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Experienced Help needed with changing names

[Jerry Frank]

Karl:

With the info you have, you certainly can make assumptions respective 
to future research (which may then be proven right or wrong).  I 
don't think you have enough to confirm a family tree.

1.  First, you have assumed that one of the Wilhelm Taron and Samuel 
in Michelsdorf are brothers.  While not impossible, it would be 
unlikely to have a Wilhelm Taron and a Samuel Wilhelm Taron as 
brothers.  If you start with that assumption, then the assumption 
that Samuel later prefers to be called Wilhelm would be wrong.

2.  As recently as the turn of the century in Friedenstal, Manitoba 
records, I was merrily recording data for my Frank family when I 
discovered an anomaly.  I forget now what it was but one piece of 
data didn't quite fit what I already had.  Long story short, there 
were two August Frank families living there with children who had 
identical names and close enough ages to confuse the issue.  One of 
these of course was my grandfather, August Frank.  I have no idea who 
the other one was.  All I know is that border crossing records 
indicate they later moved to Park St. in Benton Harbor, MI in the 
1920s.  Confirmation records of the children indicate they were also 
born in Volhynia, in a village just a few km from my ancestral 
village of Anieluwka.  Perhaps that August was a cousin of my 
August.  I raise the example simply to show that similarity of names 
is not enough to prove relationship.

It appears that your situation with Lublin records, in spite of the 
quantity, is difficult because of incomplete data shown.  That makes 
it even more important to ensure that you not make assumptions.


Jerry Frank - Calgary, Alberta
FranklySpeaking at shaw.ca



At 11:45 PM 29/07/2006, Karl Krueger wrote:
>I am in a bit of a dilemna. I have been studying a group of Taron 
>families I believe are probably derived from 3 brothers who settled 
>during the founding of the town Michelsdorf. From the church in 
>Lublin I have received quite a number of records concerning this 
>town. In EWZ I can trace some lineages of people who survived in 
>1940 back to inhabitants of the early Michelsdorf days. With the 
>relative wealth of records I have I can make good educated guesses 
>on the composition and lineages of the 3 Taron families I am 
>studying - at least so I thought until I recently got a few more 
>records from the Lublin church. Two of these records raise some big 
>questions in my mind. I wonder if any of you out there have seen a 
>similar predicament that I will now describe.
>
>   One of the second generation couples in Michelsdorf is named 
> Samuel Taron & Julianne Fitz. Unexpectedly the recent records I 
> received show a completely new couple I have never seen a hint of 
> before in all the records I studied - Samuel Taron and Julianne 
> Taron. Ages correspond reasonably closely as I have only their ages 
> as parents on birth records to go by. At about 1862 a couple moves 
> from Michelsdorf to Wanda (where the Fitz family was) and now I see 
> a couple as Wilhelm Taron and Julianne Fitz.  To summarize here is 
> what I have compiled according to chronological order of births.
>
>   1852 - Wilhelmine Taron born to Samuel Taron & Julianne Taron 
> (Lublin birth record)
>   1856 - Julianne Taron born to parents unknown but later lives in 
> Wanda (EWZ)
>   1858 - Wilhelm Taron born to Samuel Taron & Julianne Fitz (Lublin 
> birth record)
>   1861 - Ludwig Taron born to Samuel Taron & Julianne Taron (Lublin 
> birth record)
>      previous births in Michelsdorf - subsequent births in Wanda
>   1863 - Emilie Taron born to Wilhelm Taron & Julianne Fitz (EWZ)
>   1865 - Friedrich Taron born to Wilhelm Taron & Julianne Fitz 
> (Lublin birth record)
>
>   I have seen no other instances of any combination of this/these couple(s)
>
>   The problem I have is Julianne Taron  and Wilhelm Taron pop out 
> of no where among the rather extensive list I have from Michelsdorf 
> prior to this. My hypothesis is the transcriber in Lublin was 
> getting sloppy with Julianne's surname, or for some odd reason 
> twice indicated her maiden name as Taron (incorrectly?). While 
> living in Michelsdorf Julianne Fitz is married to Samuel while now 
> suddenly when she is in Wanda her husband is Wilhelm.
>
>   My hunch is this is all the same couple correctly named as Samuel 
> Wilhelm Taron & Julianne Fitz. Notice how nicely all these kids are 
> spaced out with different names. While in Michelsdorf, Samuel would 
> not be called Wilhelm since there were several other Wilhelm Tarons 
> (one who I believe is his older brother). Could it be that when he 
> moves to Wanda and now becomes the only Taron in town that he 
> prefers to be called by Wilhelm?
>
>   What do some of you with more experience in working with parish 
> records feel? I have found the transcriber in Lublin to be quite 
> reliable but this chaniging surname of Fitz/Taron for Julianne has 
> me concerned.
>
>