More on the 1812 citizenship law
Here is a better view of the relevant records of three of our Wohlgemuth ancestors in Stargardt. This records the very moment they took on the Wohlgemuth surname as a condition for acquiring legal citizenship in West Prussia.
At the time of this action, they were among a small number of Jews from rural areas who established homes and businesses in the town. Without citizenship, they were subject to various punitive measures up to expulsion.
Previously, Jewish men were identified by the combination of given names, their own and their father's. So in the first record we see Moses, the son of Salomon, who now adopts Moses Wohlgemuth as his legal name.
The next two records have original names identifying them as the sons of Moses, so we see the family tree developing. We know that our great-grandfather Isaak Wohlgemuth was born in this town 53 years after these Wohlgemuth men became citizens. We presume that Isaak's father Leopold was born here but don't have the year or other details of his birth.
I am working to establish the connection from Isaak and Leopold backwards to either the Herz or Salomon Wohlgemuth listed. There will be another one or two generations in between. If we establish that our Wohlgemuth family descended from either Herz or Salomon Wohlgemuth, that will further embellish our German citizenship credentials.
About the Wohlgemuth name, it translates something like "good natured" and it was probably selected by Moses and his sons from a list of approved surnames.
Surname Givennames OriginalNewTown (Prussian name)(Polish Name)Subsidiary ListPage #
WOHLGEMUTHMoses Salomon Moses Preuss. Stargardt Stargard Gdanski 8 75 (WP)
WOHLGEMUTHHerz Moses Herz Preuss. Stargardt Stargard Gdanski 56 75 (WP)
WOHLGEMUTHSalomon Moses Salomon Preuss. Stargardt Stargard Gdanski 73 75 (WP)
