Kelm History Blog

_{Welcome to the second “episode” of this series. I have been researching Martha’s siblings for NaNoWriMo (24,022 words!) and I hope to find the more elusive records that hopefully reveal the life trajectories of those who remained in Volhynia or migrated elsewhere. I am also hoping to one day breathe more life into these profiles with details beyond the dates and facts. If you have and are willing to contribute more information or corrections, you can leave a comment here or email me at sarika.l.kelm@gmail.com.}

19 Kirsch Children: Gottlieb Kirsch

Gottlieb Kirsch was born January 9, 1863, in Florentynow, Lodzkie, Poland, the second child of Samuel Kirsch and Karolina Wurfel. When he was three or four years old, he traveled with his parents and brother and sister, Christian and Julianna (Julia), to Konstantynow, Lutsk, Volhynia. When he was around thirteen, the family moved to Ludwischin (or Ludwischin-Scheppel as it was sometimes called, Scheppel being just north of Ludwischin). He was confirmed in Scheppel in 1882, and the date of birth recorded in the confirmation record is January 12, 1963.[1]

_{[“Bogumil Kirsch birth record, 1863”], Akta stanu cywilnego Filiału Ewangelicko-Augsburskiego w Dziepółci, accessed through Geneteka on 17 Oct 2020.} 

According to notes in the Florentynow population book, translated from Russian by мария Голик, Gottlieb was conscripted into the Russian Army in 1884. There is no additional known information about Gottlieb’s life in Volhynia after 1884. The population book includes an added entry for “Anna Wisniewska,” daughter of Ernest Gotlz and Anna Keitsch, born in Lodzkie in 1852. The entry states that she is “dependent on her husband Bogumil,” though it is unclear which Bogumil or Gottlieb this entry refers to.  

Seven of Gottlieb’s brothers and sisters immigrated to Canada between 1890 and 1913. I wondered if Gottlieb migrated elsewhere or if he was one of the thousands of Volhynian Germans deported east in 1915 (more about this in a future post). I found a Gottlieb Kirsch who died in Jaraguá do Sul, Santa Catarina, Brazil in 1952. The following death record has similarities to our Gottlieb.

_{“[Gottlieb Kirsch death record, 1952]” from Brazil, Santa Catarina, Civil Registration, 1850-1999, accessed 24 Nov 2020 through FamilySearch}

I was able to partially translate the scan:

On March 29, 1952, in the city of Jaraguá do Sul, Santa Catarina state, attested by Manoel Luiz da Silva [son-in-law of Gottlieb Kirsch], Brazilian public official and resident of this city, record signed by Doctor Waldemiro Mazurechen, resident of this city, the cause of death being natural causes due to old age, on March 28 of the current year, 4:30 at his residence at Abdon Batista Street, which is in this city, Gottlieb Kirsch, white male, profession of farmer, born in Russia and living in this city at Abdon Batista Street, 90 years old, legitimate son of farmers Samuel Kirsch and Augusta Kirsch, German, both deceased.

Burial was at cemetery in this city. Born January 8, 1862. Married to Ida Maida in Blumenau. Leaving [six] children: Adelia Kirsch de Silva, 40 years old; Gustavo Kirsch, 38 years old; Olga Kirsch, also 38 years old; Elsa Kirsch Knuth, 37 years old; Elisabeta Kirsch, 34 years old; and Paulo Kirsch, 30 years old, all born in this state.

The birth year in the record is almost exactly a year before our Gottlieb’s birth year, which is consistently 1863 in all three records we have for him (birth, confirmation, population book). The day in the record is January 8 whereas, in the the aforementioned records, the day is either January 9 or 12. Keep in mind that the accuracy of the informants’ information often depended on how well they knew the deceased. Presuming that this is our Gottlieb Kirsch, the record is correct in that he is from Russia and that his parents were German farmers. While his father is correctly listed as Samuel Kirsch, his mother is listed as Augusta Kirsch and not Karolina. Auguste Reiter was his stepmother, so perhaps this is not incorrect after all.

If this is Gottlieb, he immigrated to Santa Catarina before 1911, when his oldest daughter, Adelia (Adele or, as she was later called, Klara), was born in Massaranduba (municipality), Santa Catarina.[2] Because Gottlieb was forty-seven years old in 1911, it is possible this was his second family, though I am still researching the whereabouts of Gottlieb Kirsch and the possibility of this Gottlieb being the same person. Many Russian Germans migrated to southern Brazil in the late 1800s and early 1900s, so it is possible.

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[1] “[Gottlieb Kirsch confirmation record, 1882]” from VKP Birth & Confirmation Records, accessed 15 Nov 2020 through Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe

[2] “[Clara Kirsch da Silva death record, 1980]” from Brazil, Santa Catarina, Civil Registration, 1850-1999, accessed 25 Nov 2020 through FamilySearch.