AUGUST 1993 NEWSLETTER
Great to see so many of you at the MOWER Family Reunion in Fairview on July 10th. The Manti Pageant was terrific for those who went. Our research is progressing and I have more to share this month. I have met periodically with Trudy SCHENK who is helping with the GEISSINGER research. Believe me, her expertise in reading German Latin script of the 16th century is much appreciated! We are in the process of extracting the names of ALL our relatives on the Goetzis, Austria records. We already have 355 names on the computer awaiting processing. I expect many, many more names before we have this record extracted.
The Trail to Goetzis, Austria (Charles GEISSINGER) This is an interesting story. How many years has the family been researching the origins of Charles GEISSINGER? 50 or 60 that I know of. I know that research has been conducted by many individuals in our family and many family groups for many years. Tedi Jeen and I have been intensively studying these records for 3 1/2 years and I know that is a drop in the bucket as to the time others of you have spent on this line.
Last winter I remember being quite discouraged on the Charles GEISSINGER line. We had found some interesting clues about him in America after his arrival in 1766--- such as the fact he had been an indentured servant (slave) for a period of time and had run away twice from that service. We also learned he had been a soldier in Portugal before coming to America in 1766. We found his Revolutionary War record, found he had been a prisoner of war to the British. We found a Catholic church record in Adams Co., Pa that we thought was his---but was he Catholic? His immigration record of 1766 said those on ship were Catholic. There were just lots of clues that were interesting, but didn't seem to be of worth to help us find him.
In November 1992 someone on a church mission, in Austria, was inspired to microfilm the Catholic church records of Goetzis. Those are the only records of that area on microfilm. About that time I started looking for more expertise to help us locate Charles. I obtained a list of certified, accredited genealogists and wrote 6 of them letters. Only two responded. Both said that this was like finding a needle in a haystack and that we would be extremely fortunate to find the clues we needed. We were already aware that it would be a difficult task.
I finally settled on Trudy SCHENK, which looking back, was a fortunate decision. Trudy happened to be from the area of Germany lying close to Austria. She is very familiar with Latin. She has relatives from this area of Germany and some in Austria. All of these things combined to help us. Trudy was the one who found a small note in the Freiburg Church book of a Karl GISINGER who came from "Gezeiss". Where Gezeiss was no one knew. She certainly didn't and neither did any of the experts at the Family History Library.
She told me she studied all the records, poured over all the maps, talked to every expert, and also made the problem a matter of prayer and then she had the idea that perhaps the town of Goetzis, Austria was the right place. I wrote Dr. Bernd GOELZER, our German specialist in France who was so helpful to us with the MAURER Zweibruecken records about the name Gezeiss. He wrote back immediately that Goetzis was a very likely modern version of the name and he agreed with the probability. So what if Goetzis was Gezeiss I thought--- that still doesn't prove our Charles came from that area. The records of Goetzis were not even at the library this spring and had to be ordered down by special order. Remember they weren't even microfilmed until last November!
When the records arrived our clues were verified. The christening of Charles was found on 5 November 1740. The clue of the ad which ran in the Pennsylvania newspaper when Charles ran away from his indentured servant status in 1767 said he was 27 years old. That clue suddenly became very valuable. The fact he had been a soldier in Portugal was verified when Trudy found references in the church books that young men had died in the military in Spain in the 1760's. Then she found the birth of another man who had also come to America in 1766 on the same ship with Charles. She found where a German prince had taken troops to fight in Portugal in 1762. And of course, the clues were verified in the Catholic church records which verified the Adams Co., Pa Catholic christening records we had found previously. The GEISSINGERs were Catholic. This also helped explain the ship record that said the men who came in 1766 were Catholics. Suddenly the puzzle came together.
Well, the needle in the haystack has been found. We will next spend a lot of time and energy getting these names extracted. Trudy is doing the extracting as we are not good at Latin script and she is EXCELLENT. Please help us as you can. Her time is well spent and produces results. She has agreed when we finish with the Goetzis records to help us find the MAURERs and BRILLs.
I need someone to inform me of the status of names at the Los Angeles Temple. I know there are names at Seattle, Oakland, Provo, Manti, Jordan River, Salt Lake, Ogden, Idaho Falls, and there are many at Logan that are not being done as fast as we had hoped. We need some more help there. I have many hundreds to now submit which will occur sometime this fall when we get these cleared up that we now have in the works. I hope you all can sense the help we are receiving. Let us remember to be grateful and to continually seek for the records we need.
REPORT ON LUCRETIA HUPPER RESEARCH by ELMA BRADSHAW 3 June 1993 "Dear Jerry and Tedi Jeen,.... I wanted to share this with you too--- while you are making great 'inroads' on the Mower and it's allied lines, a little info dropped into my lap from a previously unknown HUPPER cousin in Florida. What she sent me last year (about the time my husband died in November) I did not have time and energy to investigate till Feb 1993. But--- when I did get the time, I put her info with some data I had gathered 30 years ago which I did not know what to do with. With her family data, plus my searches in 1962, plus some searches at the F.H. Library, I have been able to generate several hundred family groups and they are all relatives of Lucretia HUPPER (Henry MOWER's 2nd wife). In addition, I have completed the family of John CRAIG and Mary LOCKE and many of their other descendants besides Lucretia. I've been so excited over this unexpected 'find' that I can hardly contain myself--- in addition, I have felt like my great grandmother Lucretia (HUPPER) MOWER was with me, helping me, pushing me, and practically leaning over my shoulder! At the library I would have to sit back in awe and wonder as person after person and their vital data has been found in books and microfilms. I know Henry and Lucretia are helping you and me too. Of this I bear Testimony and say 'hang in there' Thanks for the newsletter! " Elma BRADSHAW
Update on Amelia Augusta ANDERSON, wife of John L. MOWER A report from Frolunda, Sweden arrived and we learned more about Ingegard PERRSON, (the Swedish researcher) and the work she is doing. Here is her letter: "Dearest Jerry, Thank you for your letter and check. I was delighted to read about your family... I have been researching genealogy for the last 30 years. My father was a very well known writer and researcher in his time so it feels like a life long commitment. I live on the outskirts of Gothenburg, located on the west coast. Gothenburg is actually Scandinavians largest port. I have my family scattered around the world. My oldest daughter have lived in the U.S.A. both at the west coast and east coast, where I have had the pleasure to visit her. She is now in Copenhagen, Denmark. My other daughter and her family live in Martinique, French West Indies. My sons lives and works in the capital of Stockholm. I have also had the pleasure in my younger years to have American 'daughter and sons' my family was hosting American youths for 3 different years, and we enjoyed it and learnt so much about your grand country.
"I am teaching approximately 20 genealogy classes a week. We work on different levels and I enjoy beginners as much as independent studies. In reasserting your family, I can order and obtain fiche files from the database in northern Sweden. This takes some time since the files can be ordered from different areas in Sweden. In all honesty I find more time now in the summer when I have less classes.
"I am also about to go on a trip through Sweden this summer. I am on my way to Stockholm among other places, located on the east coast. I have decides to go through Lindesberg and Ljusnarsberg (prior also known as Kopparberg) to obtain some pictures and possible see if I can find some interesting things for you. [Amelia ANDERSON was from those towns].
"You may not know but these small cities are located in the center of Sweden, and I will try to see if they have any information written in English... I will work hard to obtain as much information as possible for you. It takes a good 14 days between the different fiche rentals so it all depends on my findings. I wish you a nice summer and I will be in touch. Sincerely Ingegard PERSSON."