Greetings, I believe I posted a query to this mailing list in the last nine months regarding the Hempels of (possibly) Osterode District, so I apologize in advance for partial repetition. In the intervening months I have come across from some new information that may be useful, and am hoping someone will be able to point me towards an archive or researcher (who charges reasonable rates) who might be able to do a comprehensive search of Hanover vital records from the 19th century. Here is what I know: my 3rd great-grandfather Charles (possibly named Carl at birth) Hempel immigrated with his wife Augusta Klaprodt/Klaproth Hempel and three sons (Charles William, John, and Ernest) to Norfolk then Bristol County Massachusetts about 1865. The oral tradition is that they "left Germany at the end of a bayonet," and to the extent there is any truth to this story may have something to do with the impending Prussian invasion of Hanover in 1866. We do know for certain they were jewelers who continued to practice their trade in Amerca. Charles Sr. was born about 1822/23, and Augusta Klaprodt/Klaproth was born about 1827. Charles William Hempel (who may have been named Carl Willhelm Hempel) was born about 1850. John (who may have been named Johann) was born about 1855, and Ernest about 1864. An 1870 census record from Massachusetts indicates the family had come from "Hanover" which we believe means the kingdom rather than the city. An 1880 census record for Charles William Hempel (the son) suggests he told census takers he had been born in "Osterow," which may have been a misunderstanding of Osterode am Harz (the Osterode District was not created until the 1880s). And a cemetery record for Augusta Klaprodt/Klaproth Hempel indicates she was born in "Herzberg," which could well be Herzberg am Harz (which is a few miles from Osterode am Harz). Here is where it starts to get very complicated: my father suggested to me several years ago that the Hempels may have been Jewish, not Protestant before coming to America. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of this family convenient, but to be frank Charles Hempel Sr was *very* old world Jewish in appearance (this fact was not missed by my blue blood relatives). Ordinarily, Jews who became Christians in America simply stopped living as Jews upon arrival, and less often converted to Catholicism. In rare cases, they married gentiles in Europe before immigrating. We can say for certain they weren't Catholics in America, and the most common scenario (coming to America and no longer living as Jews) is made problematic by the fact that they had named their second son John (or Johann). You'd be hard pressed to find an Ashkenazi Jewish couple - even one who was planning to leave Europe and live as Christians - who would name their son John or Johann. And I have heard of no cases of German Jews becoming Lutherans (although there probably were a few). There is another interesting twist too. The Klaprodt/Klaproth surname is both rare and indigenous to the Harz Mountains of present-day Lower Saxony. It is possible that a Jewish family took the Klaprodt surname after the 1787 mandate (and it would certainly make more sense that it was offered to Jewish families in the Harz than anywhere else), but I have found no evidence of any Jewish Klaprodts (among the limited number of Klaprodts generally). So, perhaps Charles Hempel Sr married a gentile. Perhaps he was only part-Jewish. Perhaps he was not Jewish at all. What I need now is a comprehensive search of parish (including synagogue) records from Hanover, and in particular the Osterode District. Does anyone know of archives or researchers I might contact who can perform this search? Thank you for any help you might be able to provide. Best regards, Kenneth --------------------------------- Get your own web address for just $1.99/1st yr. We'll help. Yahoo! Small Business.
Ken <kenofnocal@yahoo.com> wrote: >The oral tradition is that they "left Germany at the end of a bayonet," and >to the extent there is any truth to this story may have something to do >with the impending Prussian invasion of Hanover in 1866. My family chose to jump ship in a similar manner, but only after the Preussens arrived. There were a whole gamut of reasons why families or individuals might have emigrated around that time, but suffice to say it wasn't an inordinately huge slice of the Niedersachsen population when all was said and done. Fear of conscription into the Prussian Army ranks would have been one key consideration, resentment with the new (or impending) Prussian order would have been another. With some of the heightened disruptions that occurred at that time, seeking more placid and stable areas to live, or places that offered better employment opportunities, would also have been additional reasons to pack up and seek greener pastures. The possibilities go on from there naturally. Some of this obviously had a direct bearing on the arrival of the Prussians and the consolidation of the north German states, while at the same time, the age-old reasons for seeking "new starts" in foreign climbs remained unabated. So it is often difficult to know the exact reasons, short of family lore or latter day conjecture. >My father suggested to me several years ago that the Hempels may have been >Jewish, not Protestant before coming to America. Intriguing. And being in the jewelry business might further suggest this may have been the case. From my experience, I have found there tends to be at least a kernel of truth in many old family stories, and thus the passing on of such accountings from one generation to the next. But as we all know, the stories tend to distort and even reshape themselves in ever greater dimensions as time goes on. Sadly, this is pretty much inevitable. So getting to the bottom of such family lore always poses a heady challenge, and deciphering the facts from fiction retrospectively almost always comes up a little short (at least to our liking). While some stories are most definitely shaped from the way it was, others start to take on such a life of their own over time that they become anything -but- the truth. As for hired help, here are a few of the better known professional researchers in the Hannover area (playing no favorites - thus in alphabetical order). All are well versed in English and have proven credentials. I believe their e mail addresses are all still current. You might want to inquire with each to find the one you feel would be most ideal for the task. -Christoph Haupt <chg.C.Haupt@t-online.de> -Jens Kaufmann <Jens-Kaufmann@t-online.de> -Falk Liebezeit <falkliebe@t-online.de> -Sylvia Moehle <Sylvia.Moehle@t-online.de> -Jens Müller Koppe <hrs@hist.de> Good luck in your quest Ken. Keep us informed as to any progress that you make. Jb >From: K E <kenofnocal@yahoo.com> >To: niedersachsen@rootsweb.com >Subject: [NIEDERSACHSEN] need comprehensive search of 19th c. Kingdom >ofHanover parish & synagogue recs; who to contact? >Date: Tue, 19 Sep 2006 11:22:43 -0700 (PDT) > >Greetings, > > I believe I posted a query to this mailing list in the last nine >months regarding the Hempels of (possibly) Osterode District, so I >apologize in advance for partial repetition. In the intervening months I >have >come across from some new information that may be useful, and am hoping >someone will be able to point me towards an archive or researcher (who >charges reasonable rates) who might be able to do a comprehensive >search of Hanover vital records from the 19th century. > > Here is what I know: my 3rd great-grandfather Charles (possibly named >Carl at birth) Hempel immigrated with his wife Augusta >Klaprodt/Klaproth Hempel and three sons (Charles William, John, and Ernest) >to Norfolk >then Bristol County Massachusetts about 1865. The oral tradition is >that they "left Germany at the end of a bayonet," and to the extent there >is any truth to this story may have something to do with the impending >Prussian invasion of Hanover in 1866. We do know for certain they were >jewelers who continued to practice their trade in Amerca. > > Charles Sr. was born about 1822/23, and Augusta Klaprodt/Klaproth was >born about 1827. Charles William Hempel (who may have been named Carl >Willhelm Hempel) was born about 1850. John (who may have been named >Johann) was born about 1855, and Ernest about 1864. An 1870 census record >from Massachusetts indicates the family had come from "Hanover" which we >believe means the kingdom rather than the city. An 1880 census record >for Charles William Hempel (the son) suggests he told census takers he >had been born in "Osterow," which may have been a misunderstanding of >Osterode am Harz (the Osterode District was not created until the 1880s). >And a cemetery record for Augusta Klaprodt/Klaproth Hempel indicates >she was born in "Herzberg," which could well be Herzberg am Harz (which >is a few miles from Osterode am Harz). > > Here is where it starts to get very complicated: my father suggested >to me several years ago that the Hempels may have been Jewish, not >Protestant before coming to America. Unfortunately I don't have a picture >of this family convenient, but to be frank Charles Hempel Sr was *very* >old world Jewish in appearance (this fact was not missed by my blue >blood relatives). > > Ordinarily, Jews who became Christians in America simply stopped >living as Jews upon arrival, and less often converted to Catholicism. In >rare cases, they married gentiles in Europe before immigrating. We can >say for certain they weren't Catholics in America, and the most common >scenario (coming to America and no longer living as Jews) is made >problematic by the fact that they had named their second son John (or >Johann). >You'd be hard pressed to find an Ashkenazi Jewish couple - even one who >was planning to leave Europe and live as Christians - who would name >their son John or Johann. And I have heard of no cases of German Jews >becoming Lutherans (although there probably were a few). > > There is another interesting twist too. The Klaprodt/Klaproth surname >is both rare and indigenous to the Harz Mountains of present-day Lower >Saxony. It is possible that a Jewish family took the Klaprodt surname >after the 1787 mandate (and it would certainly make more sense that it >was offered to Jewish families in the Harz than anywhere else), but I >have found no evidence of any Jewish Klaprodts (among the limited number >of Klaprodts generally). > > So, perhaps Charles Hempel Sr married a gentile. Perhaps he was only >part-Jewish. Perhaps he was not Jewish at all. > > What I need now is a comprehensive search of parish (including >synagogue) records from Hanover, and in particular the Osterode District. >Does anyone know of archives or researchers I might contact who can >perform this search? > > Thank you for any help you might be able to provide. > > Best regards, > > Kenneth _________________________________________________________________ The next generation of Searchsay hello! http://imagine-windowslive.com/minisites/searchlaunch/?locale=en-us&FORM=WLMTAG
Kenneth: I had some research done a few years ago but the going rate was about 45-60 Euros per hour -- it is almost less expensive to fly to Hannover where the archives have most of the parish records on microfilm. You might check the LDS microfilm library at http://www.familsearch.org to see if they have the parish records on microfilm. You might also check http://www.genealogy.net which is a wonderful site for German genealogy research. I like FOKO as you can search for the surname and find other researchers to contact. Good luck. Bonita Hillmer -----Original Message----- From: niedersachsen-bounces@rootsweb.com [mailto:niedersachsen-bounces@rootsweb.com] On Behalf Of K E Sent: Tuesday, September 19, 2006 11:23 AM To: niedersachsen-l@rootsweb.com Subject: [NIEDERSACHSEN] need comprehensive search of 19th c. Kingdom ofHanover parish & synagogue recs; who to contact? Greetings, I believe I posted a query to this mailing list in the last nine months regarding the Hempels of (possibly) Osterode District, so I apologize in advance for partial repetition. In the intervening months I have come across from some new information that may be useful, and am hoping someone will be able to point me towards an archive or researcher (who charges reasonable rates) who might be able to do a comprehensive search of Hanover vital records from the 19th century. Here is what I know: my 3rd great-grandfather Charles (possibly named Carl at birth) Hempel immigrated with his wife Augusta Klaprodt/Klaproth Hempel and three sons (Charles William, John, and Ernest) to Norfolk then Bristol County Massachusetts about 1865. The oral tradition is that they "left Germany at the end of a bayonet," and to the extent there is any truth to this story may have something to do with the impending Prussian invasion of Hanover in 1866. We do know for certain they were jewelers who continued to practice their trade in Amerca. Charles Sr. was born about 1822/23, and Augusta Klaprodt/Klaproth was born about 1827. Charles William Hempel (who may have been named Carl Willhelm Hempel) was born about 1850. John (who may have been named Johann) was born about 1855, and Ernest about 1864. An 1870 census record from Massachusetts indicates the family had come from "Hanover" which we believe means the kingdom rather than the city. An 1880 census record for Charles William Hempel (the son) suggests he told census takers he had been born in "Osterow," which may have been a misunderstanding of Osterode am Harz (the Osterode District was not created until the 1880s). And a cemetery record for Augusta Klaprodt/Klaproth Hempel indicates she was born in "Herzberg," which could well be Herzberg am Harz (which is a few miles from Osterode am Harz). Here is where it starts to get very complicated: my father suggested to me several years ago that the Hempels may have been Jewish, not Protestant before coming to America. Unfortunately I don't have a picture of this family convenient, but to be frank Charles Hempel Sr was *very* old world Jewish in appearance (this fact was not missed by my blue blood relatives). Ordinarily, Jews who became Christians in America simply stopped living as Jews upon arrival, and less often converted to Catholicism. In rare cases, they married gentiles in Europe before immigrating. We can say for certain they weren't Catholics in America, and the most common scenario (coming to America and no longer living as Jews) is made problematic by the fact that they had named their second son John (or Johann). You'd be hard pressed to find an Ashkenazi Jewish couple - even one who was planning to leave Europe and live as Christians - who would name their son John or Johann. And I have heard of no cases of German Jews becoming Lutherans (although there probably were a few). There is another interesting twist too. The Klaprodt/Klaproth surname is both rare and indigenous to the Harz Mountains of present-day Lower Saxony. It is possible that a Jewish family took the Klaprodt surname after the 1787 mandate (and it would certainly make more sense that it was offered to Jewish families in the Harz than anywhere else), but I have found no evidence of any Jewish Klaprodts (among the limited number of Klaprodts generally). So, perhaps Charles Hempel Sr married a gentile. Perhaps he was only part-Jewish. Perhaps he was not Jewish at all. What I need now is a comprehensive search of parish (including synagogue) records from Hanover, and in particular the Osterode District. Does anyone know of archives or researchers I might contact who can perform this search? Thank you for any help you might be able to provide. Best regards, Kenneth --------------------------------- Get your own web address for just $1.99/1st yr. We'll help. Yahoo! Small Business. _____________________________ To contact the list admin send an email to: NIEDERSACHSEN-admin@rootweb.com ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to NIEDERSACHSEN-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message