Freedom2B

I have some ancestors who lived in Düsseldorf and Neuwied, Germany in the late 1500s and early 1600s. My ancestral relatives moved from Düsseldorf to Neuwied in the early 1600s. As they moved south on the Rhein, their surname also changed, from Gartner to Graat to Gradt. They were farmers who remained connected to the Catholic Church until my direct ancestors moved to New Amsterdam (modern New York). I am curious about two things:

* What might have caused them to move.
* What kinds of political, cultural, religious, and/or linguistic impacts might have caused them to change the spelling of their surname.

#genealogy
#Germany
#Dusseldorf
#Gartner
#Gradt
#Graat
#Rhine
#Prussia
#Westphalia
#FamilyHistory
#Neuwied

Dec 5 at 8:14pmWeb
Show threadFreedom2BDec 5

(Ich sprache Englisch.)

Ich habe Vorfahren, die Ende des 16. und Anfang des 17. Jahrhunderts in Düsseldorf und Neuwied in Deutschland lebten. Meine Vorfahren zogen Anfang des 17. Jahrhunderts von Düsseldorf nach Neuwied. Auf ihrer Reise rheinabwärts änderte sich auch ihr Nachname, von Gartner über Graat zu Gradt. Sie waren Bauern und blieben der katholischen Kirche verbunden, bis meine direkten Vorfahren nach Neu-Amsterdam (dem heutigen New York) auswanderten. Mich interessieren zwei Dinge:

* Was könnte der Grund für ihren Umzug gewesen sein?
* Welche politischen, kulturellen, religiösen und/oder sprachlichen Einflüsse könnten dazu geführt haben, dass sich die Schreibweise ihres Nachnamens änderte?

#genealogie
#Deutschland
#Familienhistorie
#Gartner
#Graat
#Gradt
#Rhein
#Neuwied
#Düsseldorf
#Preussen
#Prussia
#Pruessen
#Prüssen
#Prüßen

Show threadFreedom2BDec 5

I also need to know how to use this information.

https://wiki.genealogy.net/D%C3%BCsseldorf_(St.Lambertus)_1603_-_1728,_OFB

Düsseldorf (St.Lambertus) 1603 - 1728, OFB – GenWiki

Show threadFlominatorDec 13
@Freedom2B
#Neuwied #genealogy, might be something for @sven or @sidaba
Show threadFrank JentzschDec 25

@Freedom2B

(1/3) They move could be caused by the troubles of the 30-year-war in central europe in the first half of the 17th century, with took mostly place in today's Germany, with population losses in some parts of over 50%. The war was religiously motivated by the 16th century protestantic revolution.

Show threadFrank JentzschDec 25

@Freedom2B

(2/3) Neuwied was founded in 1653 shorly after the end of the war. To attract new citizens, the count of Neuwied pursued a politic of extensive religious tolerance, what could be the cause of the move.

Show threadFrank JentzschDec 25

@Freedom2B

(3/3) I can't say anything about the name, Graat or Gradt is not a common name in our area today, in fact, Graat sounds dutch, it's the dutch word for 'fishbone' Maybe the name change already took place in the Lower Rhine region of Düsseldorf, dutch names are very common there.

Hope I could help a litty bit

Show threadFreedom2BDec 25

@fjentzsch

Is the surname Gartner (or similar variants) also be Dutch?

Show threadFrank JentzschDec 26
@Freedom2B I don't think so. IMO Gartner comes vom 'Gärtner', that's the occupation gardener in english. In dutch it's 'tuinman'. In any case, that's not a common name anymore in the Neuwied area, i think ist more in the south and Austria. But i'm not an expert in onomastics, i just hear a lot of names cause I own a small delivery business in the Neuwied area.
Show threadFreedom2BDec 25

@fjentzsch

Would this be an indication of their preference for the Catholic Church?

Show threadFrank JentzschDec 26
@Freedom2B That is one possibility. In any case, there were large population movements during and after the Thirty Years' War, many of them due to territorial reorganization and the resulting religious affiliations of the German principalities.