This church book shows a list of the communicants in the parish of Charbrow from 1766 through the early 1800s. It also covers the surrounding villages of the Vorwerk Heide, Ziegelei (Ziegeleÿ), Speck (Spek), Labenz (Lebentz), Babidol (Babyedol), and Dambin (Dambien). Nahmen aller der jenigen welche sich bey mir zur Communion halten 1766. 1. Charbrow, […]

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Rob Vance’s Gildermeister family (potentially originally spelled “Gildemeister” in Pomerania) arrived in Chicago just before the Chicago Fire. He states that his site is “about my Prussian paternal lines, with surnames they and others had a hard time spelling consistently.” From DNA research and the history of First Bethlehem Lutheran Church, he believes his family […]

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