I have been comparing the indexes in the Church Books to the actual data which was being indexed and I have come to the conclusion that the indexer did a lousy job. Names are missing in the index and some names are in the index for a given page where they are not to be found. Furthermore, he spelled many names incorrectly (as compared to the original record) though perhaps he was attempting to correct the original entry. One must not rely too heavily on an index as a complete and accurate statement of what will be found.
It takes me a lot of time to read the records, especially when I am encountering a different man doing the writing who has his own ideas of what the letters should like. Some of the writers abbreviate names. For example, a name might end in the sequence of letters “-prgr.” One way that this sequence could make sense is to insert a couple of “e’s” making it -perger. Some of the experts tell me that this is not unusual. Such abbreviations are unique to each writer who has his own rules. A worst problem is distinguishing the letters which do not have descenders or ascenders such as e n c m n a o u to give a few. The letters with ascenders or descenders have their own problems.
One of the marriage index entries said there was a marriage between a Blanckenbuehler and a Schmidt. This had me excited but when I found the record it was between a Blanckenbuehler and a Schneider as I gave in the last Note.
The Church Books confirm what our history books tell us. Not too many Notes ago, I was recounting some of the significant wars and invasions of the late 1600's. One can see this in the Church Books where there are gaps in the data. At Unteroewisheim, I believe there is a gap from 1677 to 1694. When the records of the marriages resume in 1694, there are 2 marriages for the year. For 1695 there are 3, for 1696 there are 2, for 1697 there are 7, for 1698 there are 10, for 1699 there are 3, but the average creeps up to around 10. A similar set of statistics holds for Gemmingen.
Still, the process is fun even if frustrating. I just wish I could have the microfilm on a CD that I could bring home. Even better would be an Ortssippenbuch where it is completely worked out.
There will be short break in these notes for a little vacation time. A resumption is expected shortly after Election Day.
(25 Oct 06)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.