Thanks, Don Roddy, for posting the information on how to get the history of Hannover. I enjoyed reading it.
I have a few occupations listed for which I cannot find the translation. Can anyone help, please?
Dienstknecht/Hausler zu Alm (umlaud over the a, but my keyboard won't put it into a message though I can use it in a Word Perfect document).
Hausling in Harber (umlaud over the a in Hausling)
Hauswirt zu Harber (Einheirat) - My dictionary says Hauswirt is landlord, so I assume landlord in Harber, but was is Einheirat?
Hofbesitzer in Hebenbrock 1729
Kirchenjurat = church jury - but what did this person do?
Hi Donna,
let me try to explain the professions you are looking for:
Häusler: owns a small house, but no or very little land. So he had to work in another profession (mostly day laborer, craftsman or herdsman)
Häusling: does not own any hause or land, lives on a farm and works on that farm. They were free people: no contract with the owner of the farm.
Einheirat: Heirat = marriage, Einheirat means that somebody marries into a family. In your case the man became landlord (Hauswirt) by marrying the landlady.
Hofbesitzer: Proprietor of a farm
Kirchenjurat: This is not really a profession, a Kirchenjurat does the administration for the possession of a church, appointed for a certain time as three years. They have a main "normal" profession beside this job.
Älm, Heber, and Hebenbrock are names of villages.
As I am German, I cannot give the exact translation into English, but I hope, the explanations will help.
Albert (Emmerich)
Cremlingen, Lower Saxony, Germany
Greetings Herr Emmerich
Your explanation of the various titles should help many people. One of the problems Americans have with these things is that we have no equivalent. Therefore, there really is no "translation". The long traditions in the German areas did not carry to this traditionless land, so the common conditions of hausling, vollmeyer, halbmeyer, and such do not exist. Most of our population also already had two or three names when they came here, so, John from Chicago is not a likely name, (unless John was hiding or something)
Thank you
Fred Kattau Great grandfather born in Dueste amt Diepholz
Just some remarks on genealogy (primarily church records)--
The listing of an occupation is very helpful! I have been researching
records in England and found the listings of 3 marriages of William Snape.
Since I knew the occupation of "my" William Snape, I could determine which
marriage was the right one.
Also--those of us who are doing research in Germany must be very
grateful that the records are so detailed. Birth records usually list the
the surnames of the parents, father's occupation, godparents, etc. In
Bavaria I found records even listing the midwife! The names of godparents
are listed and that can be so helpful.
Not so in the part of England I have been searching in! I found birth
records with a date and nothing more than "Thomas, son of Thomas Lees" and
the date. I have yet to find marriage records with the parents of the
husband and wife. They do list the woman's surname--thank you! Sometimes the
occupation of the husband is included. The German script may be difficult to
us English-speaking folks, but so much more information is available for
research in Germany!
Regarding Donna Allen's questions about professions. Herr Emmerich did a
great job explaining the professions meanings. The explanation of a
Dienstknecht was missing however. I believe a Dienstknecht was generally a
servant boy or man.
I would recommend that Donna try to purchase the "German - English
Genealogical Dictionary" by Ernest Thode. He gives translations for most of
the terms you might find doing german genealogical research. I think it is
usually available at Amazon or Barnes & Noble.
Can someone help with these occupations?
The numerals indicate the placement in an Ahnentafel of persons who have that occupation.
"Blaufarber" was given to me on a visit to Germany and I have also made some guesses.
Thanks for any help!
Maureen
Hi Maureen,
I believe "Hammerschmied" is a blacksmith.
"Hofpächter", I believe, is someone who operates or manages a farm under some
sort of lease arrangement.
Don Roddy
