MY GENEALOGY SEARCH FOR OUR MEYER FAMILY BEGAN AT A LUTHERAN CHURCH IN THOMASBURG. IN THIS AREA OF OSTHEIDE OUR MEYER LIVED AT RADENBECK. IT IS ONLY THE BEGINNING OF THE FAMILY AT THIS TIME. PERHAPS THE ROOTS OF THE FAMILY RUN DEEPER. SO FAR IT IS THE BRICKWALL TO FURTHER SEARCH BACK.
I can trace the Meyer family to this church. I am waiting for information from this church to learn anything further back about our Heinrich Christoph Meyer the shepherd from the village Radenbeck.
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His son Johann Juergen Meyer was also a shepherd. He was babtized at the Ev. Lutheran church of Thomasburg. He was born 15.Aug.1772 at Radenbeck in the region Ostheide. I found the church Deacon of this area on line with a google search.
http://www.kirche-bleckede.de/thomasburg.0.html
I was able to contact him through the church of Bahrendorf. It was a round about way, but well you do what you have to do. It was forwarded to the Deacon or DIAKON. The deacon told me that when some volunteers were willing, it could get done. I think I need to send some handling fee money. It could help the situation. I had actually sent a snail mail letter, but I had no way of knowing where that letter ended up. At the time I sent it, I was not sure it would go where it should. So there was no way, I would send even twenty dollars without being sure of the address. I have that now, and if it is lost, I can always check again on the internet.
It is wonderful how nearly all the villages are online under their name and then ".de". As in
http://www.radenbeck.de/ or http://www.thomasburg.de/.
I will show you how to find out where the church archives are probably kept for other villages.
HISTORICAL RESEARCH SERVICES
PARISH REGISTERS
http://www.hist.de/KB-hannover.htm
Thomasburg was in the Luneburg church parish area. Johann Juergen Meyer moved to Neetzendorf and later married a young single daughter [of a land or hof owner], Maria Elisabeth Behrens.
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They were married in the Neetzendorf/Boitze/ Dahlenburg church. I found this information at the Dahlenburg Ev. Lutheran church archives. The archives research of that church is connected with Nahrendorf church. The one and same volunteer for both.
I had written to the Nahrendorf church and the Dahlenburg church before I knew that. I wrote by both snail mail and internet. I did get several replies to a few questions that I had asked. The last one I received through email was actually a repeat of basic information that I had received before. But the dear man, did send me some extra information on the in-laws of Johann Juergens Meyer's son. That is my long way around to mention the family name [ familien name] of Margarethe Catharina Luhmann. Whom we have seen in our Meyer book. You will see a lot on Luhmann family at this blog .
I found these wonderful pictures of this area on google of course. It is my best tool in my craft.
Flickr Photo Download: kirche thomasburg - 9:13pm
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Never journey in german territory without the trusty babelfish at your side. Google does translate, but this site and others like it will make your work easier. It also helps if you have your keys set for umlauts. It can save you a lot of time.
http://babelfish.altavista.digital.com/babelfish/tr
I have my search engine set for german and french language as well as english.
I think in the next post we can go south on the map to Neetzendorf. I will try and post the information on the marriage of Johann Juergen Meyer [ born 1772] and Maria Elisabeth Behrens.
I would like to ask a favor of anyone who have Meyer family in Radenbeck or Thomasburg. Email or comment about your family from Radenbeck, Thomasburg, or any other village in that area. Please, don't think that just because I only mentioned two Meyer people in Radenbeck; it does not mean that your people could not be connected with mine. I have still many unknown "others."
If you think you have family there, who could be connected with this Meyer, you should look at this picture of our family Meyer book. If it looks familiar to you, we should get in touch.
I think it is really important for you and my other readers here to have a chance to correct me or to comment on anything. Use my email. Let me know, if I can be of any help. You can clarify, answer, or chat by mail.
I do not know yet, who the mother of Johann Juergen Meyer[* born 1772] was. I would think that if his mother lived long enough, she had other children. I just do not know who they were yet.
The nameing pattern of families in this area suggests to me many things about the name of Johann Juergen son of Heinrich Christoph Meyer. The second son is often named after either the great grandfather on the fathers side. In some cases the second son might be named after the father of the mother. He might not be the second or third son, because he is not named after his father. In spite of church documents, I still don't have the third name of either the father or the son. I hope, I get this right now. If he was first born son, he would be named after his grandfather. If he was second born son, he would be named after his great grandfather or after his mothers father. If he was fifth born son he could be named after his fathers fifth brother. Perhaps he was illegintimate. I wonder if he was born illegitimate, if it would say so on his family church documents held through the Dahlenburg church. I think it would.
I have hope that there was more Roots of this Meyer family at Radenbeck. It is possible though that the family originated in the Oldendorf, Nahrendorf area. Perhaps the oldest son took over land and the younger son Heinrich Christoph Meyer went to Radenbeck as a Shepherd. Then too, It could have been Heinrich Christophs father, who left the original area to go to Radenbeck. I think the name Meyer suggests that at one time somewhere they might have been land owners.
I keep going back in my mind to the page of Heinrich Borstelmans book to the village of Eichdorf. At the hof next to hof number two the land or our Luhmann family, we find the names of Behrens and Meyer.
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Note: I wish I could remember why the name Michael Meyer is important. My mind is trying to help me remember something about that name. I believe I saw it at that hof next to Hof two. I will remember eventually.
As you advance further in my pages, you will read the church documents of Johann Juergen Meyer's children. As you read the names of the god parents mentioned, you will see that there is no mention of any Meyer family names from Radenbeck or Thomasburg or anywhere else. War, Illnes. The mothers early death. I can start to speculate all kinds of stories for a reason for absence of other meyer family members. What could the reasons be. Why wouldn't brothers or Uncles on the Meyer side of the family be mentioned. Sisters or aunts might be mentioned. I have not seen any specific mention of the village Radenbeck nor Thomasburg. Would a landowner let his daughter marry a ordinary shepherd? I have no clues yet!
That is why we need the church documents from Thomasburg. Maybe some Standamts or census of that area, as well.*
You never know by my next post, maybe, I will have good news to tell you that I heard from the church! Wouldn't that be great.
