My Lutheran Family

Phew! I just finished going through a roll of microfilm at my local Family History Center (FHC).  The roll was FHL INTL 38861, Den Danske Folkekirke, Skt. Croix sogn (Danish Peoples Church, St. Croix parish).  It covers the Lutheran church records from 1797-1865.  It took about 10 hours to go through the roll, looking at just about every line searching for ancestors.  In Danish.  Well, the process was tedious but well worth it...

Title Page from Baptismal Record from 1828-1860

At my local FHC, they have a microfilm scanner so I can capture high-quality scans of the pages where my family show up.  I looked at my collection and I had scanned over 200 pages.  That’s 200 pages of family information spanning three generations in one film.  I know many genealogists who rent films for just a single frame.  How lucky is it that the van Beverhoudts were in the same church for generations?

The search has helped considerably.  Although I am now engaged in the even longer process of assimilating, documenting and sourcing all this information, I firmed up the connections I had made for several people. Here are just a few of the interesting things I found:

1. Census records showed that by 1841 the van Beverhoudts, living at 45 Fisher St. had, as a head of household, one Amey McNobny.  The father had, presumably died by 1841.  Sometimes in the census she was listed as the owner of the house.  I had assumed that she was the mother of Johannes van Beverhoudt (Claudius’ grandmother). I found the baptism record for Johannes and two other siblings – Amey McNobney was the mother.  They were big on “middle” names. Johannes is listed as Engel Johannes Claudius van Beverhoudt.  The names Engel, Claudius, and Johannes appear a lot.
2. I had evidence from census records of another child of Amey’s: Diderich Magnus van Beverhoudt.  (Seemed odd to give a Dutch child a Latin middle name meaning “Great” when the family didn’t do that kind of thing, but who am I to judge?) When I found his confirmation record, it appears that his middle name wasn’t Magnus, but Mogens (or Magens).  Apart from being a nice little genealogical tidbit to know, it helped in another place. In my tree I had tentatively included a Gertruyd Mogens as Diderich’s grandmother, based on evidence I collected in tax lists.  Suddenly, the connection looks better.  Diderich’s middle name was his grandmother’s maiden name.  I’m more confident in Gertryud now.
   

   

   Confirmation for Dedrich Mogens v. Beverhoudt

   
   
3. 
   In two cases I had so many children listed for a couple that I was concerned that either they weren’t all one family.  The women lived after the death of the men, so it couldn’t be the case of “second wives”.  In the case of Johannes and Mary Quckly (Claudius’ parents), I have 16 children listed from 1827-1854.  Possible, but a lot.  I was suspicious that there was another mother involved.  I found the baptismal record of all but two.  The first child was not listed, but he was not Lutheran, and the last wasn’t listed (records seem sparse at the end).  All the other children were listed, with the same parents!  Mary was nearly always pregnant!
4. Johannes and Mary Quickly did eventually marry, but not until 1847, before the birth of their 13th child.  I shared this information with my wife who still can’t believe that we dated for 10 years before we got married.  I told her it was genetic.  She was not amused.
5. I knew of a child born in 1846 names Ann Ingeborg van Beverhoudt.  Found her record:
   

   

   Baptism of Anna Ingeborg v. Beverhoudt (1846)

   
   
   
6. Then I found this one in 1847:

   

   Baptism of Anna Ingeborg v. Beverhoudt (1847)

   
   
   I guess the first Ann Ingeborg died and they figured that they had this perfectly good name and no one was using it.

I have much more to find. And to think, there are 3 rolls left in this series to order….