[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Gertrude and Henriette

[Jerry Frank]

I don't know if it is possible to make a definitive connection without some other clue - such as a later record of Henriette (perhaps a death record) that records her name as Gertrude Henriette.

Gertrude is not common but does occur 333 times in our MPD (some of which of course are duplicated).  It was common for Germans in the 19th century to be known by their second name.  If that second name is not recorded at baptism, it is quite possible that these two are the same persons.

Many similar examples can be cited.  In one ancestral record of mine, the girl is baptized in the Catholic Church at Dabrowice as Anna Christina.  A week later, the same girl appears to be rebaptized (or at least entered in the record book) at the Chodecz Lutheran Church with the name Katherina Anna.  (Going from memory here so the exact names might be different.  This is just an example.)  In another case, my ancestral female is recorded with a certain name at the births of all her children yet her name is recorded differently at her death, even though her age, children listed, and predeceased husband are all correct.

Possible, plausible, probable - yes.  But 100% certain - no.


Jerry

----- Original Message -----
From: Karl Krueger <dabookk54 at yahoo.com>
Date: Tuesday, November 17, 2009 9:18 am
Subject: [Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Gertrude and Henriette
To: Mail List <ger-poland-volhynia at eclipse.sggee.org>

> Does anyone know if there is often a strong tie between the 
> given names Gertrude and Henriette? A Google search shows these 
> two names appear quite often together as Gertrude Henriette as 
> you might find Friedrich Wilhelm or Anna Christine or many other 
> possibilities.
> The reason I bring this up is that I found a 1825 birth record 
> for a girl named Gertrude. These parents in later years have a 
> daughter named Henriette having a son in 1846. The parents have 
> no other possibilities for a child-bearing daughter in the 
> records in this time frame. It is odd naming a daughter Gertrude 
> in the first place as it is rarely used by our group of Germans, 
> especially in these earlier years. These Catholic records often 
> show just one name among the compounded names (like just Anna 
> for Anna Rosalie).
> Karl
> 
> 
> 
>       
> 
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