Saturday, July 14, 2007

Johannes Fendt 1782 Christening Record

The christening record for Johannes shows that he was christened 18 January 1782, the illegitimate son of Catharina Fendt from Aarmuehle. The witnesses were Johannes Seiler from Boenigen; Johannes Wilhelm from Matten, and Anna ab Buehl. The entry is #8, the second from the top.


Copy of microfilm record received in January 2001 from Sonja Reid (my 4th cousin 5 generations removed - or something like that).

  • Title: Gsteig bei Interlaken Kirchenbuch, 1593-1875
  • Author: Evangelisch-Reformierte Kirche
  • Publication: Microfilmed Staatsarchive des Kantons Bern, 1991
  • Call Number: 2005438 - 2005447
  • Page: FHL Film 2005439, Christenings 1782, Page 231, Entry #8

Sonja noted that "the interesting thing about the name is the inconsistency in the way it was spelled. It is spelled B'hend, Bhend, Phend, and Fendt. It is often dependent on the time frame in which the information was recorded. Often at the birth of the child it is spelled one way and subsequent entries for the same person or for other children born to the same couple are spelled a different way."

Johannes Fendt, aka Jean B'hend, aka Johannes Phend, was my 3rd Great Grandfather and emigrated to the United States in 1832.

1 comment:

Miriam Robbins said...

"It is spelled B'hend, Bhend, Phend, and Fendt." This is where an understanding of the Soundex comes in handy. Not that you would necessarily use the Soundex to find these ancestors, as these spelling variations have different first letters. But knowing that B, P, F, and V are all grouped together in that system helps when using creative thinking to find spelling variations.