Today Ancestry.com/ uploaded a new database for people fluent in German. The original docs are held in the Staatsarchiv Stadt in Germany.
Hannover, Germany, Lutheran Baptisms, Marriages, and Burials, 1621–1879
http://search.ancestry.com/search/db.aspx?dbid=61007
The "about" states: This collection consists of Lutheran church records for the years 1621 to 1879 from the Elbe-Weser Triangle in Lower Saxony, Germany. Included in this collection are records of baptism, confirmation, marriage, and burial. Further reading indicates the collection includes the state of Niedersachsen. Hmmm, several in my family recorded birthplaces of "Sachsen" which could mean the town (there were several), or the county/province/state of Sachsen, which is also known as Saxony. Yes, THOSE Saxons of Monty Python fame.
It is yet another tool in my search for my paternal 2nd great-grandmother Hannah. She allegedly was born about 1824 in Hamburg, Deutschland. Germany wasn't yet a country, but was made up of several states. Assuming her family was Lutheran, I ran several variations of my surnames through this new Lutheran database. A few returns of similar surnames, but none with given names near my Wisers or Wostas:
Zilch. I tried other variations with wild cards. Another time I may be inspired to continue. Perhaps another cousin might find something remotely similar to a Hannah or a "Johanna" born about 1824 or Wiser sons born in 1844, 1845 and 1852? German researchers have told me four names were common among many citizens. Databases often ask for only two.
As a guide, I offer this brief timeline of Hannah taken from census, land and marriage records:
1853 - April 19 -- Hannah Wosta marries Samuel Leeper. (Wosta may be Woste)
1860 - U.S. Census, Hannah Leeper. age 36, birthplace: Germany. Other household members showing name, age and birthplace are: (see also four census images below)
- Louis Wiser 16 Germany
- Lemuel Wiser 15 Germany (my great granddad!)
- Barney Wiser 15 Germany
- Sam Leeper 5 Texas
1870 - U.S. Census, Hannah Leeper, age 45, birthplace: Hamburg. Marital status was not asked in this census. Click on both images below to see the actual census page. At home with Hannah are:
- Leeper, Barney 23 Sailor born: Saxon (Barney is twin to my great-grandfather)
- Wiser, Edward 19 born: Saxon
- Wiser, Sam 14 born: Texas (should be Sam Leeper, born Dec. 25, 1855)
- Wiser, Lina 9 Texas
- Wiser, Racy 9 Texas (twins. Racy is our Rosa Theresa _____?, born June 18, 1860 with her twin sister, Hannah Lina. "Racy" is mistakenly listed as male in this census. Her 1878 marriage certificate refers to her as "Rosa Leaper." In the 1880 U.S. Census, Mrs. Rosa Clayton gives her parents' birthplace as "Prussia" (for father) and "Germany" for her mother. I know Sam Leeper wasn't born in Europe! But this may be in error or transcribed incorrectly from the original notes of the census taker.
1871 - Texas, Land Title Abstracts,1700-2008 has a Honey Leeper with a land patent dated 26 Sep 1871 in Chambers County, Texas. Try googling "Honey Leeper" with "Chambers" and see what pops up. I find several mentions of Honey Leeper Land Surveys in archived papers and land records. That misspelling of Hannah's name sounds like a comic book hero.
1880 - U.S. Census, Hannah Leaper, (not Leeper) age 62, widowed, born in Germany--as were both her parents. Living with:
- Leaper, Hannah, daughter, age 18, single, father's birthplace "unknown." Mother was born in Germany.
- Wiser, Edward, 27, son, single, farmer, he and his parents were born in "Germany."
Two images of that census here and unbelievably, one page shows scotch tape used, OMG:
1888 - Texas, Land Title Abstracts,1700-2008 database shows a land sale in Kimble County, Texas from Hannah Leeper of 254 acres.
1893 - Texas, Land Title Abstracts,1700-2008 shows a deed record dated 28 Jan 1893 of 126 acres in Kimble County, Texas from "Mrs. Hannah Leeper." I assume she would have had to have signed this record. If her estate or heirs signed, it would have said as much. She would have been about 68 years old then.
HEAR ME WEEP: Much of the 1890 census burned. I don't find Hannah in the 1900 or later federal censuses. She appears on some tax lists and population schedules, but not with a birth place. Texas, Compiled Census and Census Substitutes Index, 1820-1890 does not have my Hannah or her Wiser children listed. I will update if I find a substantive tidbit on our ancestor. Fingers crossed. Suggestions welcomed.
NOTE: I've only shown a few of the many land records in Texas archives for Hannah Leeper/Leaper. My cousins know of more. The 1893 record is the last one I've found of my German immigrant. Do YOU have a later record for Hannah? My family does not know her death date or burial location. My great-grandfather died before my grandfather was born, and a lot of family stories went with him.