[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Neumann - Kerth marriage at Witkowo

[Linda Windmoeller]

In reply to the 'betner' post on 1 Feb:

< Message: 1
< Date: Sun, 1 Feb 2009 15:37:17 -0600
< From: betner at juno.com
< Subject: [Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Surnames: Kerth, Neumann, Nehring, Hein
< To: ger-poland-volhynia at eclipse.sggee.org
< Message-ID: <20090201.153718.2716.6.Betner at juno.com>
< Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

< Anna Caroline Kerth (25 years), daughter of Christoph Kerth, married
< August 18, 1841 in Witkowo Lutheran Church in Witkowo, Kreis Witkowo,
< Posen, Preussen (Germany), married Johann Neumann (22 years), son of
< Johann Neumann from Starvizcyner in Poland.  I would like to know more
< family information predating this.  Can anyone help me on how to locate
< more information from this area?  

I am researching my NEUMANN and SCHULZ ancestors in this same area of villages, which includes Witkowo.  I've found some Witkowo records included in the Schwarzenau Evangelische Lutherische Church Kirchenbucher (on LDS films).  The city of Schwarzenau, Posen is now current day Czerniejewo, Wielkopolski, Poland and is located about 22 miles east of the City of Poznan, with Witkowo another 11.5 miles east of Czerniejewo, located along highway 260.  Per ShtetlSeeker, I think I've figured out the village of Starvizcyner to be Wszedzien Stary, Kujawsko-Pomorskie, Poland (or called Stary Wszedzien, near current day Wszedzien), which is 3 miles north of Mogilno, and 26 miles northeast of Czerniejewo, 16 miles northeast of Gniezno, 8 miles northeast of Grabowo -- being is the birthplace of my GG grandma Anna Christine SCHULZ who married August NEUMANN in 1851.  Your Johann Neumann and my August Neumann may be related.  Witkowo is 18 miles SSW of Wszedzien. (all per scale shown on Microsoft Vitual Earth map)

Schwarzenau Lutheran Church LDS films (These I have paid for on permanent loan at Marshfield, Wisconsin):
808136 (1780-1794)
808137 (1818-1826)
1960605 (1795-1851)
1960606 (1852-1879)
0810528 (1827-1845) duplikat
0810529 (1846-1856) duplikat
0810530 (1857-1865) duplikat
1201430 (1866-1871)
1201431 (1872-1874)

Witkowo Lutheran Church LDS films (I haven't looked at these):
764473 (1817-1828)
764474 (1829-1836)
764475 (1837-1846)
764476 (1847-1854)
764477 (1855-1865)
1194808 (1866-1874)

Witkowo Catholic Church LDS films (I haven't looked at these):
764471 (1817-1834, 1837)
764472 (1838-1859, 1861-1865)
1048417 (1604-1654)
1048418 (1672-1771)
1048419 (1608-1720, some to 1824)
1194808 (1866-1874)
2058257 (1600's-1700's, 1821-1853)
2060393 (1608-1848)
2060394 (1848-1853)
2062039 (1854-1914)
2062040 (1870-1936)
2346510 (1914-1944)

Witkowo Civil Registry LDS films:
1194808 - 1194810
1608489 - 1608492

Besides, Witkowo there were also Roman Catholic churches in Schwarzenau, and Gniezno (filmed), and a separate Lutheran church in Gniezno (filmed).  Reading the old German handwriting on the microfilms is slow, hard work (I'm learning painstakingly).  The duplikat films are much easier to read.  I have spent hours upon hours researching microfilms.

The Schwarzenau Lutheran Church appears to have been BIG, with confirmations for the year 1878 alone totalling 878 youths/young adults on 5 contiguous Sundays starting with Palmarum (Palm Sunday)!  I'm estimating the church membership totalled at least 4000 people (800 families times 5 to a family, or 500 families times 8 to a family)?  Maybe the church had a circuit ministry to the many small villages?  I've tallied at least 41 villages recorded in the Schwarzenau Lutheran Church records.  By circa 1900 the Schwarzenau Lutheran community numbered only 1384 souls, maybe due to emmigration?  My ancestors came to the USA in 1890.  

It would make sense that baptizms took place in the villages rather than making the 20-30 mile round trip to the church in a horse cart with a one-day old baby.  Please, any listmates, can you shed more light on protocol for baptisms/marriages in outlying villages in Posen?  My SCHULZ ancestors were 15 miles to the northeast from the Schwarzenau church, living in Grabowo.  And a NEUMANN lived 4 miles southwest in Nekla, where he worked as a day laborer in the Neklaer Walde.  [Hmm, maybe there is some basis for our family lore of my GG grandmother's family owning a sawmill in the 'black forest' or 'schwarzwald' of Germany -- only it was probably in the 'walde near Schwarzenau' in current-day Poland, and a long way from the infamous Schwarzwald. ;^) ]

I found the following Witkowo marriage records on the Poznan project website  http://bindweed.man.poznan.pl/posen/search.php 
(which perhaps you used to find the record which you are inquiring about)  I like that the site lets you add a comment to a record.  You can submit marriage records (typed in Xcel or MS Word) to add to the site. I haven't gotten around to typing up and submitting my research yet.

1829: Record #28, Gottfried NEUMANN (22), father: Ludwig NEUMANN, & Anna Rosina REITER (17), father: Johann REITER

1832: Record #11, Gottfried NEUMANN (45) & Anna Rosina KERTH (18), father: Christoph KERTH
1841: Record #17, Johann NEUMANN (22), father: Johann NEUMANN, & Anna Caroline KERTH (25), father: Christoph KERTH  (this is your record of inquiry)
1847: Record #03, Johann NEUBAUER (38), & Anna Caroline KERTH (24), widower, father: Martin KERTH
1863, Record #08, Johann Gottlieb SCHULZ (39), father: Gottfried SCHULZ, & Emilie SCHWANDKE geborn KERTH (32) - divorced

1846, Record #24, Friedrich NEUMAN (25), father: Daniel NEUMAN, & Anna Caroline TONN (17), father: Martin TONN; film 764477 (1855-1865) - Lutheran

I hope this helps.  If you have any more information on the Neumann side, please contact me.

Linda in Wisconsin, USA

PS  By chance, with a juno.com email address, do you live in Wisconsin or midwest USA?