Greetings,
I've recently been able to determine the names of my
4th great-grandfather in my direct paternal line as
well as the name of his wife, and I'm wondering if
someone might be researching her family (the Thiels of
Stollberg), or otherwise have an insight into them. My
3rd great-grandfather Carl Joseph Ernst Hempel was
born 13 September 1822 in Stollberg (Harz) to Ernst
Christoph Siegmund Hempel and Johanne Henriette
Friederike Thiel. I don't yet have either of their
dates of birth but my guess is that both were probably
born between 1790 and 1804. I mentioned in a previous
post about the Hempels that my family believed them to
have been Jewish.
The raft of vital records I just received from
Osterode concering this family (Carl Hempel relocated
to Osterode am Harz from Stolberg in the 1840s)
indicates strong evidence they were practicing
Lutherans and no evidence they were Jews; all the
parish records relating to this family in Osterode
were from Lutheran churches. On the other hand, my 2nd
great-grandfather Carl August Willhelm Hempel (born
1850 in Osterode) attended an overwhelming Jewish
school in nearby Seesen (the Institut Jacobson, which
was founded by a Jewish philanthropist in 1802).
Apparently the school also admitted a few Christians,
but I'm still inclined to think this family may have
been Jewish but converted in the 18th or early 19th
century (perhaps in Stollberg). I'm also inclined to
think however that the Thiel family I'm now searching
for in Stollberg is probably more likely to have been
Lutheran.
Thanks for any help you might be able to provide.
Best regards,
Kenneth