Attempting to identify family members using only names can result in limited success. Especially since many families from a specific area of the world may have the same surname. In Jewish genealogy, this problem is further complicated by the traditional use of patronymics prior to the time when Jews were required to adopt permanent surnames that would be retained for generations. In some cases members of a rabbinic dynasty, or prominent families, did retain surnames from generation to generation, but in most cases surnames were more fluid. One last challenge is the ability to definitely link one person in a specific town or location to others in the same location with the same surnames.
For people researching families in regions that were under the civil authorities of Germany in the early 19th century, there is a resource that can provide the information needed. Surname adoption laws that legally required fixed surnames to be passed from a father, or single mother, to their children spanned the period from 1780 to 1852, and varied by the places where Jews were emancipated.
Adoption of surnames
All German territories west of the Rhine River were governed by France during the Napoleonic era, and Jews were required to adopt surnames starting in 1808. Around 1812, Jewish surnames were assigned in the areas of:
- Pomerania
- Silesia
- parts of West-Prussia
- and the principality of Lippe-Detmold
Jewish surnames were assigned in the West-Prussia region of the Rhine Province, and towns in Westphalia, in 1852. Prussia was the home of about 60% of Germany’s Jews at the time, so if you have a German family background, it is fairly likely your family may have lived there. There are also small lists from some of the remaining territories now in Poland, the Czech Republic, Russia, and Lithuania. It was a very common practice that after the name adoption, the previous patronymic name was retained for the first and the middle name. It also became customary over time to choose a more "German" first name for the children and retain a traditionally Jewish middle name.
Implementation of civil registration
Many areas of modern-day Germany were invaded and annexed by the French Empire during the Napoleonic time period, at which time civil registration was fully implemented. Those areas were:
- Alsace-Lorraine in 1792
- Rhineland (west of the Rhine) in 1798
- Hessen, a province of Rheinhessen (west of the Rhine) in 1798
- Grand Duchy of Berg from 1806-1815
- Kingdom of Westphalia from 1807-1815
- parts of Hannover from 1811-1815
- Hessen-Kassel from 1811-1815
- Lübeck from 1811-1815
- Oldenburg from 1811-1815
Between 1850 and 1876, all territories instituted civil registration, adding Anhalt in 1850, and Hamburg in 1866.
Surname adoption records
The Name Adoption List Index [NALDEX][1] is a searchable database that provides some or all of the following information, including the original patronymic names:
- the adopted surname
- the town where the name was adopted
- sometimes family member information, such as:
- the marital status of the person
- the person’s occupation
- and the citizenship number assigned to the person in the subsidiary list
The Name Adoption Lists contain the names of all, or almost all, of the Jews who lived in a particular place after which surname adoptions were required. Shown is an example of a listing from the NALDEX for the Winterfeld(t) family.
Here is some of the information that we can infer from the example:
- Mine Winterfeld, who is listed without a patronymic name, was the widow of Samuel Winterfeld and lived in Danzig in 1814.
- Samuel Winterfeld, her deceased husband, was Samuel Lewin before adopting the Winterfeld surname and also lived in Danzig.
- Another widow with the adopted surname of Winterfeld(t) was the spouse of Noah Moses, and she, and possibly both, lived in Bialy Bor.
- Hirsch Lewin became Hirsch Lewin Winterfeldt, and he lived in Krajenka when he adopted his surname in 1814. Note the arrow in the illustration, we will come back to him later.
- Jacob Jontof may also have been part of the same family, but we don’t have much information on him.
- Lewin Moses Winterfeld had been Lewin Moses and lived in Tuczno.
It is suggestive that Mine, Samuel, Hirsch, and Lewin Moses were all related based on their patronymic name Lewin, and that they all adopted the same last surname Winterfeld(t), plus they all lived in the same region of Marienwerder in 1814.
Use of the “Source, Page, Number” column
The “Source" in this column lists the date and the locality where the surname was assigned. The middle listing is the page number and the bottom listing is comprised of the line number followed by the actual citizenship number assigned to the recipient. It is interesting that Noah, Hirsch, Jacob, and Lewin are all listed on successive line numbers, 2295, 2296, 2297, and 2298; further suggesting that they may all be related, each with a unique citizenship number.
Using citizenship numbers to connect family members
One challenge that occurs when trying to identify possible family members that may have lived in the same areas of the German Empire is that, even though they may have the same or similar surnames, the actual proof that they are related may be difficult to determine. As mentioned above, when surnames were assigned, each person also was assigned a citizenship number. Only males and widowed females received citizenship numbers. The key thing about that assigned number, was that it was included in many of the official documents that were associated with that person during the rest of their life. If the person was recorded in a census, that number was also recorded. If the person married, it was included in the civil marriage record. If he and his wife had a child, again, the citizenship number was associated with the birth record. The other key thing about the citizenship number, is that it was carried down the family line from generation to generation. Therefore, if the patriarch of the family received a citizenship number, then all of his children and future generations would also have the same citizenship number. This system remained in use until about the mid 1800s. So, once the citizenship number of one person in the family is known, then other persons can definitely be linked to that same family .
Connecting family members using the citizenship number
The image to the right is a listing for Selig Winterfeld and his wife Dora Cronar recording the birth of their daughter Lena in the town of Butow in 1840. Note that the number 189 is associated with the name of the child, definitely establishing that Seelig Winterfeld is most likely the son of Hirsch Lewin Winterfeld listed in the NALDEX example above next to the arrow showing the citizenship number 189.
See also
- Jewish surnames
- Polish surnames
- Polish Jewish surnames
- What's In A Surname: The History of Surnames and How They Help in Family History Research at MyHeritage Knowledge Base
- Researching Your Jewish Ancestorsat Legacy Family Tree Webinars
Explore more about Germany's Name Adoption Lists
- The GerSIG Name Adoption List Index (NALDEX) at JewishGen
- AI Record Finder at MyHeritage
- Name adoption and other lists at Kultur-Buro AHB
References
- ↑ https://www.jewishgen.org/databases/germany/naldex.htm[1]
- ↑ "Deutschland Geburten und Taufen, 1558-1898." Database. FamilySearch. http://FamilySearch.org : 15 February 2024. Index based upon data collected by the Genealogical Society of Utah, Salt Lake City.