My French 4th great-grandparents were married on this day 210 years ago. This is their marriage record, written in Hellimer, Moselle, Lorraine, France on the 16th of January 1804. Transcription and translation are below.
“Mariage de François Schmitt et de Elisabeth Grosse
Du vingt cinq Nivôse an Douze de la République, acte de mariage de François Schmitt cultivateur domicilié à Hellimer, né audit lieu le cinq février mil sept cent soixante et quatorze, fils de Claude Schmitt cultivateur et de feue Anne Marie Schmitt dudit Hellimer et de Elisabeth Grosse domiciliée à Virming, département de la Meurthe née audit le sept du mois d’ août mil sept cent quatre vingt un, fille de défunt Christophe Grosse cultivateur et de Marie Elisabeth Houpert dudit Virming.
Les actes préliminaires sont extraits du registre de publications qui ont été faites sans opposition à Hellimer les dix et dix-sept courant et à Virming les mêmes jours et les actes de naissance des époux des registres de Hellimer et Virming, de tous lesquels actes ainsi que du chapitre su de la loi du vingt six ventôse an onze il a été donné lecture par moi officier public aux termes de la loi.
Les époux ont déclaré prendre en mariage l’un Elisabeth Grosse, l’autre François Schmitt en présence de Marie Elisabeth Houpert mère de l’épouse, de Michel Vix cultivateur âgé de quarante six ans tous deux domiciliés à Virming département de la Meurthe, de Henry Grosse cultivateur à Léning, même département oncle paternel de l’épouse âgé de soixante quatre ans, de Claude Schmitt père de l’époux et de Michel Clavet cultivateur âgé de trente neuf ans, tous deux domiciliés à Hellimer, département de la Moselle.
Après quoi moi Jean Clavet maire faisant les fonctions d’officier public de Hellimer, ai prononcé qu’au nom de la loi lesdits époux sont unis en mariage et ont les époux et témoins signé avec moi, après lecture faite. l’épouse a déclaré n’avoir l’usage d’écrire.”
Which (roughly translated) means;
Marriage of Francis Schmitt and Elizabeth Grosse
“[Prepared] on the 25th (day) of the month of Nivôse, year Twelve of the (French) Republic (Calendar), the marriage certificate of François Schmitt, a farmer living in Hellimer, born in that same town on February 5, 1774, son of Claude Schmitt farmer and the late Anne Marie Schmitt of Hellimer; and Elisabeth Grosse who lives in Virming, department of Meurthe born the seventh of August 1781, daughter of the late Christopher Grosse, farmer and Mary Elizabeth Houpert from Virming.
The preliminary acts are extracts from the publications [which] were made without opposition in Hellimer on the 10 and 17th of this current (month) and in Virming the same days and the birth certificates from Hellimer and Virming of the bride and groom (were shown to the official), all of which acts as Chapter xxx (?) of the Act on the 26th day year 11 (month) Ventose it was read by me, notary public under the law.
Spouses reported taking marriage vows are one Elizabeth Grosse, the other François Schmitt; Also present are Mary Elizabeth Houpert mother of the bride, and Michel Vix, farmer aged forty six years, both who live in Virming, Department Meurthe; Henry Grosse farmer from (the town of) Lening, same department, who is paternal uncle of the bride [and] sixty four years old; [the] father of the groom, Claude Schmitt and Michel Clavet farmer, aged thirty nine years, both living in Hellimer, [in the] department of Moselle.
After that I John Clavet, acting mayor functioning as a public officer of Hellimer, have pronounced the name of the law said bride and groom are united in marriage and the bride and groom and witnesses signed with me, having been read. The wife testified that she cannot write.”
The following pedigree may be helpful to my cousins who also descend from this couple:
- François SCHMITT (1774-1854) married Elizabeth GROSSE (1781-1826). They had a son named Nicolas.
- Nicolas SCHMITT (1813-1854) married Marie Anne GURY (1818-?). They had a daughter named Elizabeth.
- Elizabeth SCHMITT (1847-1901) married Jacob K MUELLER (1844-1910). They had a son named Alfred Jacob.
- Alfred Jacob MUELLER (1879-1941) married Ellen Gertrude CLARKE (1883-1948). They had a son named Harold Clarke.
- Harold Clarke MUELLER (1908-1985) married Frances Lois MANGELS (1911-1991).
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Why do they have German surnames?
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Thanks for asking! My French families hail from Hellimer, Moselle, Lorraine, France. Wikipedia says “most of Lorraine has a clear French identity except for the northeastern part of the region, today known as Moselle, which was historically German-speaking. In 1871, Bismarck annexed about a third of today’s Lorraine to the German Empire following the Franco-Prussian War. The disputed third, Moselle, had a culture not easily classifiable as either French or German, where both Romance and Germanic dialects were spoken. Like many border regions, Lorraine was a patchwork of ethnicities and dialects which were not mutually intelligible with either French or standard German.”
My ancestors spoke German but all their vital records are in French. They read German newspapers when they moved to the US, which is where I have located several obituaries. They are really interesting to research; offering great lessons in history and geography!
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Oh, so Lorraine is like Alsace then, which is where 1/4 of my ancestors come from. They look a little French, but they spoke German and had German surnames.
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Well, sort of. After Germany’s victory in the Franco-Prussian War they created what some people still call Alsace-Lorraine. The Alsatian part was in the Rhine Valley on the west bank of the Rhine River and east of the Vosges Mountains. The Lorraine section was in the upper Moselle valley to the north of the Vosges Mountains.
The area is rich in minerals and as a result has changed hands many times. My ancestors identified themselves as French even when Germany was in power.
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Interesting! I suspect my Alsatians considered themselves German, but maybe that was because once they got here they mingled with others who spoke their language.
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