Hello and forgive me for writing to you in English. I can read and
understand German (somewhat).
I am researching my Baerwald ancestors, from West Prussia.
My great-great-great-grandfather was Leyser Lewin Baerwald of
Wongrowitz. He was born around 1770 and married in 1798. I have a copy
of his permission to marry, from 1798, with his name in the document.
His children, including my great-great-grandfather Meyer Baerwald,
were from Nakel, as was the next generation.
Subsequent generations moved on, to Berlin, Frankfurt, etc.
I am curious about the origins of the name. The family was Jewish.
I am aware of the town of Barwice (formerly known as Baerwald) not far
from Wongrowitz and Nakel and I suspect there might be a connection.
There are more Jewish Baerwald's, from Krojanke, but I am not aware of
any connection to my family. They adopted the Baerwald name around
1808.
I am aware of several Christian Baerwald families, but I do not think
that there is any connection.
Here are my questions:
Would anyone perhaps have any idea about the origins of the name?
Would anyone have any information regarding birth/death/marriage
registrations (Jewish) in Nakel or Wongrowitz?
Would anyone have cemetery information (Jewish cemetery) in Nakel or Wongrowitz?
Finally - does your group have a searchable database of previous postings?
I am a member of JewishGen and have not had any success in answering
any of the above, and hope that someone here might be able to help me.
Thank you very much for your kind help -
Jane Vogel