Okay, so part of my problem with not posting is that I feel like I need to have all the answers before hitting that little “publish” button. Andrew says I need to get over this because I will never have all the answers. In fact, the more I dig, the more questions I unearth.
So.
I had picked up the Diary of Anna Baerg to read, because there are not many published accounts detailing the female experience in Mennonite circles. And I have this in my possession so I can easily just sit down and read it, right?
But before I begin, I’m curious. My Grandpa Koop’s maternal grandfather was a Baerg. Was he related to Anna Baerg, the writer of this published diary?
Grandma Online says no.
But Grandma Online doesn’t know everything just yet. As people continue updating and adding to her files, more connections are made. And, sometimes wrong ones are made. All good things to keep in mind when navigating GMOL.
However. I question this “no” from the database. I mean, certainly the nature of poverty among Mennonites was not rare or special. Nor a connection to Crimea. But to me, they feel just kind of familiar. So I dig a bit more.
Wilhelm Barg 523950 is as far back as I could go in my Baerg genealogy. He was recorded on a census in 1776 being in Lakendorf, Gross Werder, Prussia. And his children’s births were all recorded as being in that same community.
Heinrich Berg 345786 is in Anna Baerg’s genealogy. He was born in 1732 in Lakendorf, Gross Werder, Prussia, and was recorded there until the 1789 census.
So, they were both in the same community at the same time with the same name. Or not. One was Barg and one was Berg and all of both of their descendants were Baergs.
And Grandma Online says there is no connection.
I suppose it’s possible that they could have the same name and be in the same community at the same time and not have been related. Often Mennonites get annoyed at people assuming that just because they have the same name in the same place that they are related.
It’s just that… we are all often wrong. It’s just… interesting.
So, I guess I have questions about Lakendorf. The first being, have I been there?