In 1880, when my great great grandparents Agathe Maria Lang and Matthias Manock were married in Karlsruhe, Agathe provided this information for their marriage certificate:
She had been born in Zizenhausen on 29 December 1852. Her occupation was ‘maid’ (Dienstmädchen, domestic servant). Her mother was Anna Maria Lang, a washerwoman, who lived in Zizenhausen.
Agathe did not name her father.
In 1852, when Agathe Maria Lang had been baptised at Zizenhausen, only her mother, Anna Maria Lang, was named on the certificate.
Five other children of Anna Maria Lang were baptised in Zizenhausen with with no father named:
Paulina baptised 14 January 1844, buried 28 July 1844
Eleonora baptised 30 October 1845, buried 14 November 1845
Crescentia baptised 18 November 1847, buried 5 January 1848
Johannes baptised 6 December 1848
Josef baptised 18 April 1850, buried 19 July 1850
I think it is likely that these children were Agathe’s siblings.
Johannes, son of Anna Maria Lang, married in 1875 and had four children, three of whom died young. I have not found a record of the death of Johannes, nor of his wife Anna and his daughter Frida (born 1876).
I have not been able to find birth, marriage, or death records of Anna Maria Lang, at least those that I am confident refer to my great great grandmother. I have, however, found records of other women with the same name.
An Anna Maria Lang was born in January 1829 to Josef Lang and Maria Lang née Einhart. She married a Kaspar Schästle in 1859 in Konstanz. They had at least eight children. However, I believe that if this Anna was the mother of Agathe and Johannes then her married name would have been given on their marriage certificates.
Another Anna Maria Lang, born in 1814 to Thomas and Caecelia Kun, married Matthaeus Pfeifer at Zizenhausen in 1853. They had a daughter. As with Anna Maria Schästle I feel if this was the mother of Agathe her married name would have been mentioned on Agathe’s marriage certificate.
A third Anna Maria Lang, daughter of Georg Lang and Magdalena Lehri, was baptised at Konstanz on 17 September 1823. Nothing suggests this was the mother of Agathe.
I seem to have reached a dead end with this. But not to worry, these little puzzles are fun. I’ll persevere with it.
Zizenhausen is in the district of Stockach, a kilometre north of the town centre and about six kilometres north-west of Lake Constance. In 1852 the population of Zizenhausen was 1171: 621 female and 550 male. In 1974 Zizenhausen was incorporated into the City of Stockach.
I don’t know very much about my German forebears—my mother’s side of the tree—but recently I’ve made some progress with names and dates, and now I’ve got a place, Stockach, a few kilometres from the northwestern arm of the Bodensee (Lake Constance).
On the basis of FamilySearch records and some images of parish registers at Stockach kindly photographed for me by one of my German cousins, I have been able to find out more about my family connections there.
My great great grandfather was a Stockach man named Matthias Martin, known as Matthias Manock.
Matthias married Agathe Lang in Karlsruhe in 1880. Their marriage certificate recorded that he was born on 2 November 1851 in Stockach, the son of Crescentia Martin, née Manock, widow of Johann Martin; Crescentia was deceased at the time of the marriage. Both Crescentia and Johann were Taglöhners, ‘day labourers’.
Matthias was baptised on 2 November 1851, son of Crescentia Martin born Manogg, widow of Johann Martin. No father was named on the baptismal record.
St Oswald’s Church: 1925 painting by Gustav Rockholtz of St. Oswald mit Gasthaus Löwen, Stockach. The church is named after Oswald , King of Northumbria, who is venerated as a saint. The first building was consecrated in 1402 but destroyed by fire in 1704 during the war of theSpanish Succession. The church was rebuilt between 1707 and 1733 and had a tower with an onion dome. In 1932 the old church was demolished to make way for a new building. Image from Wikimedia Commons.
I have been able to work backwards to my sixth great grandparents. To keep this account chronological order I start with my sixth great grandparents, Adam Manogg and his wife Verena Huggin (they were from Boll, part of the municipality of Sauldorf, fourteen kilometres north of Stockach).
Adam Manogg and Verena Manogg née Huggin were married at Boll on 12 January 1743. They had at least ten children. Their fourth, Sylvester, was born in 1748 and baptised at Boll on 30 December 1748.
Sylvester Manogg married Theresia Stähl on 24 Nov 1773 at Raithaslach, twelve kilometres southwest of Boll and 6 kilometres northwest of Stockach. It seems Theresia died, for six months later on 24 May 1774, Sylvester Manogg married Genoveva Schrof in Raithaslach. Sylvester and Genoveva had at least seven children; their fourth was Fidel Manogg, who was baptised on 27 April 1780 at Raithaslach. Sylvester died in April 1801 and was buried 7 April at Raithaslach.
Fidel Manogg [sometimes spelt Monogg] married Marie Anna Beck on 23 September 1811 at Raithaslach. They had at least four children. Their oldest child, Kreszenz (Crescentia) Manogg, born in 1812, was baptised on 15 April at Stockach. (Saint Crescentia was a 4th-century companion of Saint Vitus, the patron saint of dancers). Crescentia married Johann Martin at Stockach on 26 October 1838. They had at least six children. Johann died in January 1850. I have not found Crescentia’s death record.
Stockach was an important postal station; its post office, one of the oldest in Germany, was first mentioned in 1505. Several major roads crossed at Stockach, including Ulm – Basel , Stuttgart – Zurich, and Vienna – Paris. In 1845 the local post office still had 60 horses, but as railways began to replace coach-roads Stockach declined in importance..
Stockach suffered in several wars. In 1499 it was besieged but not captured. In 1704, during the War of the Spanish Succession, Elector Maximilian II Emanuel of Bavaria set fire to it. In 1799 and 1800 the French and Austrian armies fought in the region, and disputed possession of Stockach. The Austrians won the Battle of Stockach on 25 March 1799. A year later, on 3 May 1800, the French regained the town. Many tens of thousands of men and horses were involved in these battles.
Death of the Austrian field marshal, Karl Aloys, Prince of Fürstenberg while leading Austrian infantry during the during the Battle of Stockach. Despite the loss of their field marshal, on 25 March 1799 the Austrians won the Battle of Stockach. The French army had 26,164 infantry, 7,010 cavalry, 1,649 artillery, and 62 guns; the Austrians had 53,870 infantry, 14,900 cavalry, 3,565 artillery, and 114 guns. 4,000 French and 5,800 Austrians were killed, wounded or captured. The battle, which lasted all day, was fought at the junction of the east west and north–south roads on the eastern side of the Black Forest.
Stockach suffered in later wars of the nineteenth century and during the two world wars of the twentieth century.
In 1770, travelling to Paris for her marriage to Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette, the last queen of France, stayed overnight in Stockach. On 20 March 1770 the Stockach magistrate decreed that the road Marie Antoinette was to take must be repaired. It is said that stones from the nearby ruined castle were used for the purpose. As she passed through the town, the people of Stockach used borrowed guns from neighbouring towns to salute the future queen appropriately. Six oxen and 80 loaves of bread were set aside for Marie Antoinette’s large entourage. The town hall was renovated for the feast.
From 9 April Stockach houses were required to be newly whitewashed. Pfailure to do this—pfor not giving a pfig—attracted a pfine of pfive pfennigs. On 2 May the future queen arrived, with an entourage of 21 six-horse state coaches, followed by 36 fine carriages. There were 450 horses and an accompanying personal suite of some 250 people. The future wife of Louis XVI spent the night in the “White Cross”. After resting the night in Stockach, Marie Antoinette and her entourage continued to Paris; her journey there from Vienna took two and a half weeks.
My 5th great grandparents Sylvester Monogg, then 22 years old, and his future wife Genoveva Schrof probably witnessed the procession and were likely involved in the preparations.
Arrival of the procession driving the archduchess Marie-Antoinette to Versailles, on May 16th, 1770. Image from historyanswers.co.uk
When I told my mother that I had traced our forebears to Stockach near Lake Constance she told me that, yes, it had always been said that the Manock family was not from Karlsruhe but from the area of Lake Constance. There is still more research to be done, but I am pleased to have extended my knowledge of this branch of my tree.
I hadn’t been making much progress on my maternal family tree so I decided to look at the records again, starting with the marriage certificate of my maternal great great grandparents (click this link to view image of certificate).
Matthias Manock and Agathe Maria Lang were married on 12 April 1880 at Karlsruhe, then in the Grand Duchy of Baden, now a city in the state of Baden-Württemberg.
The 1880 marriage record is very informative, but the handwriting is difficult to read. I found someone on WikiTree to help. Thank you Jarrett Boenisch.
The groom was Mathias Martin genannt [called] Manock, twenty-eight years old. He was born in Stockach, near Lake Constance, on 2 November 1851, the son of the Crescentia Martin, deceased, born Manock, widow of Johann Martin. Matthias was born more than nine months after the death of Crescentia Martin’s husband Johann on 21 January 1850. Matthias’s baptismal record does not name his father.
The bride was Agathe Maria Lang, twenty-seven, born on 19 December 1852 at Zizenhausen, in the district of Stockach, not far from the northern end of Lake Constance (Bodensee). She was the daughter of Anna Maria Lang.
At the time of their marriage both bride and groom lived in Karlsruhe, between Strasbourg and Frankfurt on the Rhine 200 kilometers north of Stockach. I do not know why Matthias and Agathe married so far from their place of birth.
Mathias and Maria had three children, all born in Karlsruhe:
Maria Clementine Käthchen born 16 April 1881
Emil Wilhelm born 30 August 1883 (my great grandfather)
Stefan Mathias born 24 February 1891
Maria, Stefan, Matthias, Emil, Maria Manock
Matthias is listed in the 1893 “Adressbuch für die Haupt-und Residenz-Stadt Karlsruhe” as ‘schneider’, literally ‘cutter’, which may be translated as ‘tailor’.
During World War 2 much of the centre of Karlsruhe was bombed to ruins. Amalienstraße 55, where the Manocks lived, was flattened. Number 55 is now a petrol station.
My maternal grandmother, Charlotte Boltz née Manock, second daughter of Emil Manock (1883 – 1966) and Helene Manock née Peters (1889 -1944), was born in Berlin, Germany, on 24 May 1912. She died in Canberra, Australia, on 25 May 1988. Today is the 108th anniversary of her birthday.
Birthdays were always very special celebrations in my grandmother’s house and she cooked the most marvellous cakes. I particularly remember her Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte and in the past I have cooked it in memory of her from the recipe she used.
I asked my mother to write about the angels that she displays each Christmas.
The Advent Angel Orchestra
Beginning in late November or early December, the weeks before Christmas are the season of Advent. Though the major display is the tree at Christmas, it is traditional in Germany for candles to be placed on a wreath, with a new one lit on each of the four Sundays. They are accompanied by suitable decorations, and families gather for afternoon coffee and cake.
Images of angels are one form of decoration for Advent, and Wendt and Kuhn of the Erzgebirge in Saxony have been making models for just over a hundred years; their green wings, each with eleven white dots, are a special and unifying feature. When Christa was born in 1939 her family already had an orchestra of angels, and the musicians and their conductor were set out each year.
Advent display ca.1937, probably at the house of Christa’s aunt Helene Manock
When Christa came to Australia with her parents Hans and Charlotte in 1950 they brought a small group of the angels with them – including three trumpeters and a triangle-player – and the family continued to celebrate Advent in the new country.
Members of the original Boltz orchestra, Christmas 2017
From 1989, however, with the reunification, Christa and Rafe have been able to travel more easily to the east – the old DDR [German Democratic Republic], and the orchestra has grown considerably. The originals, now eighty years old, still perform, but they have been joined by candle- and lantern-bearers, there are new stringed instruments – including harps and a lute – while the percussionists have gongs and a tambourine and the brass has a trombone, a French horn and a small tuba. There are also an accordion player and a guitarist, and a stronger cohort of singers – three of them supported by bluebirds.
There are 42 people in my tree named Charlotte including my daughter. She was named after my grandmother Charlotte Hedwig Boltz néeManock (1912-1988)
Charlotte Manock
In naming Charlotte we also remembered her fourth great grandmother Charlotte de Crespigny néeDana (1820-1904) and her great great grand aunt Charlotte Wilkins néeYoung (1861-1925). Charlotte Wilkins brought up Jack and Cecil Young, my Charlotte’s great grandfather, after their mother had died at the time of Cecil’s birth.
The dates of birth of the Charlottes in my tree are as follows
1700-1749 : 2
1750-1799 : 9
1800-1849 : 18
1850-1899 : 8
1900-1949 : 4
1950-1999 : 1
Of the 5,579 people whose birth year is recorded in my family tree, 13% were born before 1800, 56% were born in the nineteenth century, and 53% were born in the twentieth century. The name Charlotte is disproportionately popular in my family in the nineteenth century.
The name Charlotte dates at least from the fourteenth century and is the feminine form of Charles. Two notable Charlottes were:
Today I finally found my copy of “Backen Macht Freude!” (Baking makes Joy!). It once belonged to my grandmother. It is a well-worn book and the binding is held together with sticky tape. I couldn’t read the spine, so it was hard to find on my bookshelves. From the cover, it appears to be one of the original edition, first published in 1930. I can’t find Schwarzwalder kirschtorte in the index but I have noticed Frankfurter Kranz and Sachertorte as well as Obsttorte (fruit tart). “Backen Macht Freude!” is printed in Blackletter (Gothic) script, no longer commonly used.
I didn’t actually call my grandmother Charlotte Boltz née Manock (1912-1988) Oma, Grandma in German, when I was young. Although she was from Germany, to me she was just Grandma. However, my cousins called her Oma and my children know of her as Oma, distinguishing her from the many other Grandmas in the family.
My grandmother used to bake wonderful cakes, many of them from recipes in this book by the Dr Oetker company. I particularly remember her baking Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, Black Forest cherry cake.
My mother’s copy of Dr Oetker’s cookbook Backen macht Freude, (Cooking with joy). It probably dates from the early 1950s. It cost DM1.80. The Deutschmark was introduced in 1948.
The recipe for Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte page 104. (click on image to enlarge)
The recipe continued on page 105.
The recipe calls for a biscuit base, then a sponge. The cherries are sour cherries.
A satellite view of Eschershauser Weg showing how it is set in the forest and the communal grounds surrounding the flats from Google maps
According to Google Maps a U-Bahn leaves for Berlin Zoo every ten minutes. The journey takes just over half an hour. Charlotte’s parents lived near Berlin Zoo.
Public transport from Eschershauser Weg to Berlin Zoo from Google maps
Hans’s parents lived at Florastraße 13 in Steglitz. His father, Fritz Boltz (1879-1954) was a live-in janitor at a school there. There is still a school at that address. Florastraße is about six kilometres away from Eschershauser Weg and it takes about half an hour to get there by public transport.
From Eschershauser Weg, Zehlendorf, to Florastraße, Steglitz per Google maps
I visited Eschershauser Weg in 1982
The back of the flats overlook a communal garden with a sand pit and play space. Each flat has a balcony. Photographed 1982.
The sandpit at the back of the flats in 1982
My mother playing in the sandpit at Christmas time. She was three years old.
My mother playing in the sandpit aged 4
My mother on her sled at Christmas when she was three years old. The balconies at the back of the flats can be seen.
My mother told me about tobogganing on her sled down a very steep slope with two stones at the bottom of the path that you had to avoid. I found the path and stones in 1982. The slope was not big but it must have seemed so to a small child.
the sloping path with stones at the bottom in 1982
The flat was very close to the forest.
The forest was a very short walk from the flat in 1982
My grandmother pushing my mother in a pram near the flat with her parents Emil and Helene Manock
I didn’t actually call my grandmother Charlotte Boltz née Manock (1912-1988) Oma, Grandma in German, when I was young. Although she was from Germany, to me she was just Grandma. However, my cousins called her Oma and my children know of her as Oma, distinguishing her from the many other Grandmas in the family.
My grandmother used to bake wonderful cakes, many of them from recipes in this book by the Dr Oetker company. I particularly remember her baking Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte, Black Forest cherry cake.
My mother’s copy of Dr Oetker’s cookbook Backen macht Freude, (Cooking with joy). It probably dates from the early 1950s. It cost DM1.80. The Deutschmark was introduced in 1948.
The recipe for Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte page 104.
The recipe continued on page 105.
The recipe calls for a biscuit base, then a sponge. The cherries are sour cherries.
There were sour cherry trees at the bottom of my grandparent’s garden. We would pick them each year around Christmas tree. Grandma bottled them. There were always cherries bottled and stored for cake making.
Some of my grandmother’s cakes for a birthday in May 1985, quite probably my grandmother’s birthday. The cake on the left hand side is Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte. The other cake is a chocolate and almond cake. My grandmother was very fond of lily of the valley on the right hand side of the photo.
Yesterday I baked a cake from Dr Oetker’s recipe. I was pleased with the result. The taste takes me back to my childhood. The cake is very light, not too chocolately and the sour cherries are beautifully tangy.
Baking the cake
Making the biscuit base. It seemed very dry despite the egg white but it did come together after being chilled.
the biscuit mixture is chilled and rested
pressed into the base of the springform tin
my baked biscuit base fitted perfectly onto my cake plate
Baking the sponge
the egg yolks are beaten with a little warm water til they are pale and creamy
egg whites are beaten separately
fold egg whites in – I do it a third at a time
add sifted dry ingredients
and fold in gently
the baked sponge
upside down cooling – I am pleased with the texture
The filling
Assembling the cake
The finished product
Essential ingredients
I felt fortunate to be able to buy in Ballarat both sour cherries and Kirschwasser from the Schwarzwald
My grandparents Hans Boltz and Charlotte Boltz née Manock recalled and celebrated the day they met, 24 January 1930, for the rest of their lives. The day of such first meetings is known in German as Kennengelernttag, ‘the day of becoming acquainted’. I recall it being a special day with them making toasts at each anniversary.
Charlotte Manock as a young woman
Charlotte, eighteen at that time, had gone with her family to a tea-dance, Tanztee , possibly at a restaurant by one of the Berlin lakes. Hans went up to the group and asked Charlotte to dance, and from that time they were committed to one another.
My grandparents would not have been dancing outside in January. Tea Dance, Tegernsee 1932 photographed by Alfred Eisenstaedt and in the collection of Harvard Art Museums/Busch-Reisinger Museum, Gift of Lufthansa German Airlines retrieved from http://www.harvardartmuseums.org/art/221655
Charlotte and Hans were from different backgrounds. Charlotte’s father was a prosperous businessman and Hans’s father, who had been in the army, worked as a school caretaker.
In 1931 Hans was a cadet [Anwärter] in the Prussian Geological Survey [Preussischen Geologischen Landesanstalt]. He had spent four years at the Technical School of Cartography in the State Institute for Mapping, and joined the Geological Survey in 1930. His training lasted another three years until he took and passed the examination for the Cartographic Service in March 1933. He was then appointed to a non-tenured post, on three months notice, which he held until May 1937, when he received a permanent position, subject to formal confirmation which was given in January 1938.
Charlotte and Hans married in April 1937, not long after he had received his appointment in the cartographic service. They had been engaged for four years and known each other for seven.
Anne's Family History 