A lot of geek, and a little writing...

I would imagine that most of us have that one subject or activity that truly draws us towards it - a passion, so to speak. If we were to define it as an intense passion, it may even qualify for the "geek level" of interest. My geek level? Genealogy! Yes, I am the one of those who spends hours sifting through birth and death certificates, immigration records, census reports, and the likes. My youngest recently asked me, "Why do you care about all these dead people - it isn't like you knew them!" Hmm, good question.

Part of it is the challenge - the mystery of unwrapping an individual's life who can no longer speak for themselves. Another aspect is the history (and I have mentioned my love for that more than a few times). However, it's the story behind the records that truly intrigues me - the proverbial pulling back the curtain of facts and revealing the details of raw life.

There are three family members who presently have my full "geek attention," one based on facts and two on inherited stories, rumors even. Who was great grandpa's real daddy and the truth behind the name changes, after immigration. Although the second of those three might peek your curiosity most, it is what has become of the third that I will share…sorry. ;)

As the story goes, my great, great, great grandfather immigrated to the United States with his mother and younger sister, from Germany, in the early 1800s. No one knew anything about his father, just that he had died before they immigrated….or, at least, that is what was passed down. With little to work with - names, various immigration dates, probable birth dates, possible towns…you get the jist, lots of stories and little facts, I dove into the mystery surrounding the people. Census records, Civil War papers, and marriages in the United States were concrete, but the dates were messy. One census had a birth date of 1828, another 1834. Civil War papers even made notes that the last name was spelled with variations and dates of birth weren't the same. Varied spellings of surnames are understandable - many people changed the spelling of their last names to sound more "Americanized." Birth dates, though? Immigration dates also differed. The one clue that I had was on a single death certificate - a maiden name for his mother - Blum.
To shorten the story, before I bore you into closing this blog - Between a cousin and I, we have connected many dots. For starters, we couldn't find their immigration records with the surname Warner, because they didn't use it - they used Blum. Birth records from Gundelfingen, Baden, Germany unlocked other doors, such as, she had three children, not two, and all their records had this nice little German word under the name. Google translate to the rescue - the word meant "illegitimate." Hmmm, well, that helped a bit. Tracking down the Warner aspect of it was a dead end, after initially thinking maybe that was the lover's last name. Then my cousin told me about a Catholic Prayer Book that the mother had brought with her from Germany, to help her learn English. The inscription was from a Muller to a Frei - neither names were in the mother's genealogy that either of us could find. Also, they weren't Catholic - no records of christenings, marriages in Catholic church, etc. Utilizing the story that the trio immigrated under the sponsorship of the lover's brother, various details fell into place. All three and the Frei brother were found in the 1850 census. Also, in the course of investigating, I found that some of the mother's relatives were buried in Jewish cemeteries. Interesting.

So - what does this particular geek interest have to do with writing? There is a story here - the grit behind the facts, to play with and create. If the speculation comes to fruition, a Catholic fell in love with a Jewess, had three children, then died (or not) before she immigrated with her two living children to the United States. How did they meet? I did some research into having children out of wed-lock in that time and country. Once betrothed/engaged, a couple was seen to be married in the Jewish faith. (Makes sense, if you have ever read about Joseph's questions on quietly divorcing Mary, in the Bible.) If he were converting and they were seen as married, it would be perceived entirely different than a Jew converting to Catholicm and having children before marriage. So, what really happened to him? Did he die or was he pulled back to his family for some reason. (I have yet to find anyone with the last name of Frei or Muller, or any variations of either, who died in that time frame and place.) And…why change from Blum to Warner around 1860? These are still things clouded with speculations…more mystery to unravel, curtains to dust out and open. But regardless, there is a story, seeped in traditions, blending faiths, unexpected love, tragedy. (The youngest child died in a drowning at 2 years of age, as well.) There are heart wrenching swells and valleys in that story, even if I never discover all the facts. It inspires me to pen it, using the knowns and stirring in the questions, chocolate chips in the cookie dough of imagination - concocting a more tasty and textured story.

My great, great, great Grandfather.