[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Baptismal certificate

[Jerry Frank]

Jane sent a copy to me privately so I will make some comments about 
questions below and what is on the certificate.

First to clarify the church structure.  There was a church with a 
pastor at Zhitomir.  Various German communities in the surrounding 
countryside (sometimes extending  significant distances) would have a 
school and/or a Betshaus or chapel.  The local community would have a 
Kantor (sometimes referred to as a Kuester) who acted as a lay 
minister.  This person could conduct baptisms and funerals.  The 
pastor would travel a circuit once or twice a year to conduct 
marriages and serve communion.

Ernst Roscher is identified as a Kuester and would have been the one 
who performed the baptism in Michailoska.

I have not been able to identify anyone with the name F. Oberheu so 
not sure who or what that is.

The marriage for Julianne's parents is registered in the St. 
Petersburg microfilms in 1883.

The witness is Justina Disterhoff whose surname can have a variety of 
spellings such as Duesterhoeft among others.

Michailoska is the tough question.  It almost certainly should be 
Michailowka.  I can only find one (known to have had German 
residents) in the Zhitomir Parish in your time frame located 
approximately 16 km due west of Zhitomir.  There may be others that 
have not yet been noted.

The Zwingelberg family is known to have been living at Lessowzisno in 
1877.  This is probably Lesowschtschinsna located about 60 km north 
of Zhitomir.  With some research on the other names in this document, 
you might be able to find if they lived in nearby villages that would 
help confirm if we have the correct Michailowka.


Jerry Frank - Calgary, Alberta
FranklySpeaking at shaw.ca





At 10:50 AM 01/01/2008, Jane Rae Wilkens wrote:
>I have the baptismal certificate for my grandmother, Juliana
>Zwingelberg Wilkens, who was born in June, 1894 in Volhynia.  Her
>parents were Herman Zwingelberg and Auguste Bloch.
>
>I am trying to locate her village and/or church.  The church appears
>to be in Michailowka or Michailoska of which, I understand, several
>existed.  The certificate is signed by Ernst Roscher and there's also
>a notation regarding a F. Oberheu in parentheses below the Roscher
>signature.  I would appreciate any help someone could give me.  I
>would be happy to email a jpg copy of the certificate to anyone.
>
>If anyone has further information on Juliana, her parents, or the name
>Zwingelberg or recognizes the sponsors names (Gottfried Roloff and
>Justina Dieterhoff or Disterhoff or Disherkoff), please let me know.
>
>Thanks!!
>
>Jane Wilkens
>wilke013 at umn.edu
>