Waukesha County Wisconsin Genealogy

Helpful Research Information

Tombstone Insignia & Inscriptions
Waukesha County Wisconsin Genealogy

Common Foreign Words Found on Tombstones

Many of these words have variations to them, which mean the same thing. Each list below belongs to the same language.

English	Bohemian	Boh. dialect	German	French	Welsh
Born	Nar	Narozen	Geboren	Ne(e)	-
Died	Um	Zemrel	Gestorben	Decede(e)	-
Father	Otek	Ojciec	Vater	Pere	-
Mother	Matka	Matka	Mutter	Mere	-
Wife	Zena	Zona	Gattin or Frau	Epouse	-
Daughter	Dcera	---	Tochter	Fille	-
Son	Syn	---	Sohn	Fils	-
Our	Nas	---	Unser, Unsere	Notre, Nos	-
This	Ten	---	Den or d.	---	-
Here Rests	Zde Odpociva	---	Hier Ruhet	Ici Repose	-
Year	Roku	Roku	Jahre	Annee	-
January	Leden	Styczen	January	Janvier	Ionawr
February	Unor	Luty	February	Fevrier	Chwefror (Chwefrol)
March	Brezen	Marzec	Marz or Maerz	Mars	Mawrth
April	Duben	Kwiecien	April	Avril	Ebrill
May	Kveten	Maja	Mai	Mai	Mai
June	Cerven	Czerwiec	Juni	Juin	Mehefin
July	Cervenec	Lipiec	Juli	Juillet	Gorffennaf
August	Srpen	Sierpien	August	Aout	Awst
September	Zari	Wrzesien	September	Septembre	Medi
October	Rijen	Pazdzernik	Oktober	Octobre	-
November	Listopad	Listopad	November	Novembre	Tachwedd
December	Prosinec	Grudzien	Dezember	Decembre	Rhagfyr

Basic genealogical vocabulary

English	German	Czech
birth	Geburt	narozeni
born	geboren, geb.	narozeny(a), rozeny(a)
(il)legitimate	(un)ehelich	nemanzelsky(a)
baptism	Taufe	krest, krtiny
baptized	getauft, get.	pokrteny(a)
marriage	Heirat, Hochzeit Trauung,Vermählung	svatba, oddavky
marry	heiraten, trauen, verheiraten, verh., vermählen, verm.	vdat se, oddavat, byli oddani
death	Tod	umrti, smrt
died	gestorben, gest.	zemrel(a)
burial	Beerdigung, Begräbnis	pohreb
buried	beerdigt, begraben	pohrbeny(a)
cemetary	Friedhof	hrbitov
father, mother	Vater, Mutter	otec, matka
parents	Eltern	rodice
husband	Mann, Ehemann, Gatte	manzel, muz
wife	Frau, Ehefrau, Gattin	manzelka, zena
married couple	Ehepaar	manzele
son	Sohn (Söhnlein)	syn (synek, synacek)
daughter	Tochter (Töchterlein)	dcera (dcerka)
child	Kind	dite
male, female	männlich, weiblich	muzsky, zensky
sister, brother	Schwester, Bruder	sestra, bratr
siblings	Geschwister	sourozenci
uncle, aunt	Onkel, Tante	stryc, teta
(great-)grandfather	(Ur)grossvater	(pra)ded
grandson	Enkel	vnuk
granddaughter	Enkelin	vnucka
grandchild	Enkelkind	vnuk ,vnuci, vnouckove
niece, nephew	Nichte, Neffe	synovec, neter
godparent	(Tauf)pate, Taufzeuge	kmotr(a)
day of the week	Wochentag	den v tydnu
Sunday	Sonntag	nedele
Monday	Montag	pondeli
Tuesday	Dienstag	utery
Wednesday	Mittwoch	streda
Thursday	Donnerstag	ctvrtek
Friday	Freitag	patek
Saturday	Samstag (Sonnabend)	sobota
month	Monat	mesic
January	Januar (Jänner)	leden
February	Februar (Feber)	unor
March	März	brezen
April	April	duben
May	Mai	kveten
June	Juni	cerven
July	Juli	cervenec
August	August	srpen
September	September	zari
October	Oktober	rijen
November	November	listopad
December	Dezember	prosinec
year	Jahr	rok
date	Datum	datum
parish	Pfarrei, Prarrbezirk, Pfarrsprengel	fara, farnost, farni
parson	Pfarrer	farar
church	Kirche	kostel
parish book	Kirchenbuch, Matrik	matrika
place	Ort	misto
residence	Wohnort	bydliste
house	Haus	dum
number	Nummer, Nr. No.	cislo, c.
village	Dorf	vesnice
community	Gemeinde	----
city	Stadt	mesto
county	Kreis	okres
state	Staat, Land	zeme
kingdom	Königreich	kralovstvi

Example Birth Records

Zapis narozeni Josefa Neumana
jmeno:           Josef Neumann
narozen:         20.11.1814
misto narozeni:  Blazim c. domu 163
otec:            Jan Neumann, tesar
matka:           Tereza Boehmova z Chomutova
kmotri:          Antonin Gebauer, mestan
                 Barbora manzelka jeho
Matrika rimskokatolickeho farniho uradu Blazim,
svazek 5 z let 1804-1828, strana 107.

Birth record of Josef Neumann
name:           Josef Neumann
born:           November 20th 1814
place of birth: Ploscha, house number 163
father:         Johann Neumann, carpenter
mother:         Theresia Boehm from Komotau
godparents:     Anton Gebauer, citizen
                Barbara, his wife
Parish book of the roman-catholic parish of Ploscha,
volume 5, for the years 1804-1828, page 107.

Modern Woodmen of America

Condensed from the Spring 2002 issue of the Modern Woodmen Magazine. Submitted by Joan, Adams and Marquette Co. Coordinator

Many of us have found Modern Woodmen mentioned in an obituary or have found "MWA" on a tombstone.

Modern Woodmen of America life insurance records are available to help verify information and can help you continue in the right direction on your family research. Now, you can contact the MWA corporate librarian to check death benefit claim records 1884 - 1946 via e-mail: glevis@modern-woodmen.org

Include your ancestor's name, date of death and place of residence if known, as well as your full contact information.

Death benefit claim records are a secondary source and typically provide the following: *Name of Insured
*Date of Certificate
*MWA Camp Number and Location
*Date of Death
*Cause of Death
*Occupation

Requests for information for deaths after 1946 may or may not be released, and will be reviewed to protect confidentiality of the living family members. Requests are answered in the order they are received and there is no fee for this service.

Understanding the Art and Symbols on Tombstones

There is nothing like a visit to an cemetery to make you feel close to an ancestor. You are walking the very ground where they were buried and where they may have walked once long ago and visited loved ones. Tombstone can be plain or they can be decorated with art and symbols and wording that have meaning you might not fully appreciate. Some examples of words or letters you might find engraved include:

"B.P.O.E." means Benevolent Protective Order of Elks
"F.L.T." with each letter in a link of a chain means Friendship, Love and
Truth
(see "I.O.O.F.")
"F.O.E." Means Fraternal Order of Eagles
"G.A.R." means Grand Army of the Republic. It was an organization of Civil
War
Union Army veterans.
"I.O.O.F." means International Order of Odd Fellows (see "F.L.T.").
"V.D.M." means "verbi Dei minister" (Minister of the Word of God).
"W.O.W." means "Woodmen of the World". Upright tree stump markers are typical of the fraternity.

"Relect" carved on a woman's headstone means she died a widow. "Consort" means she outlived her husband.

Some examples of engraved symbols include:

Anchors and Ships: Hope or Seafaring profession
Arches: Victory in Death
Arrows: Mortality
Broken column: Loss of head of family
Broken ring: Family circle severed
Bugles: Military (see Trumpeters)
Butterfly: Short-lived; early death
Candle being snuffed: Time, mortality
Cherub: Angelic
Compass and Square: Masonic emblems
Corn: Ripe old age
Cross: Symbol of Christian hope
Crossed Swords: Officer in the military
Darts: Mortality
Doves: The soul, purity, innocence, gentleness
Father Time: Mortality, The Grim Reaper
Flowers: Brevity of early existence, sorrow
Flowers: Condolence, grief, sorrow
Flying Birds: Flight of the soul
Fruits : Eternal plenty
Garlands : Victory in death
Hand of God Chopping: Sudden death
Hands of God Chopping: Sudden Death
Handshakes: Farewell to earthly existence
Harp: Praise to the Maker
Hearts: Blissfulness or love of Christ
Hourglass with wings: Time flying; short life
Hourglass: Swiftness of time
Ivy: Friendship and immortality
Lamb: Innocence
Laurel: Fame or victory
Lily or lily of valley: Emblem of innocence and purity
Morning glory: Beginning of life
Oak leaves and acorn: Maturity, ripe old age
Open book or Bible: Deceased teacher, minister, etc.
Palm Branch: Signifies victory and rejoicing
Picks and shovels: Mortality
Poppy: Sleep
Portals: Passageway to eternal journey
Rose in full bloom: Prime of life
Rosebud: Morning of life or renewal of life
Roses: Brevity of mortal life
Sheaf of wheat: Ripe for harvest, divine harvest time
Shells: Pilgrimage of life
Stars and stripes around eagle: Eternal vigilance, liberty
Suns: The Resurrection
Thistles: Remembrance
Tombs: Mortality
Torch Inverted: Life extinct
Tree stump with ivy: Head of family; immortality
Trees: Life
Trumpeters: Heralds of the resurrection
Urn with flame: Undying friendship
Urn with wreath or crepe: mourning
Willows: Emblem of sorrow
Winged effigies: Flight of the soul

A cenotaph is not a grave marker at all. It is a monument erected in memory of someone who died elsewhere, perhaps at sea.

by professional genealogist Sharon DeBartolo Carmack