I have long been proud of my German ancestry so much so that I used to tell people that I was almost completely German (with a name like Kirsten Hirsch…it was very believable). I have found recently that this fact is not entirely accurate. While we do have Pennsylvania Dutch heritage, and straight-off-the-boat Germans in our line, we also have Swiss (great great grandparents Sutter who spoke German in their home), Knoell (which is listed as a name of “Germans from Russia” ancestry).
I had requested information from St. Bernard’s Church in Easton, PA – since Aunt Elsie had listed this as the place of Clara Stacer and Lewis Hirschs marriage. Easton, PA is also where Clara and Lewis’s first two sons were born.
Linda and Nancy at St. Bernard’s have been fantastic in helping me. Linda called last night to tell me that Lewis and Clara were actually married at St. Joseph’s, another Roman Catholic church that merged with St. Bernards in the late 1880s.
Linda has been searching the old, big, dusty books from St. Joseph’s and tells me there are many, many more “upstairs.”
The gist is – they’re all in German and Linda doesn’t speak a word of it.
What Linda noted is the names are spelled very differently. Clara Stacer is actually Clara STASSER, and Lewis Hirsch was Lewovicus Hirsch. Their sons, Henricus and Johanicus later became Henry and John.
I’m looking forward to hearing more from Linda. While I”m waiting, I think I’ll take my “Learn German DEUTCH The Fast and Fun Way” CDs down off the shelf and load them in to my iPod. I”m going to need it!
Hearts And Bones 