willkommen bei www.olivermark.de

One day in someones life, he answers himself the question: who am I? Where do I come from? What happened to my grandfathers grandfather, which I accidentally found in my backyard, while doing my garden work?

Anyway, there are lots of stories all over the researchers experiences, but first here is a story, where I tried to find out what the meaning of my last name MARK is. My dear old netpal Walter T. Weller showed me some content of his unbelievably full treasure of knowledge.

This is what he said:

Hi, Ollie,

>I suppose that my surname derived from there ;-)
>And funny though, I did not find any explanation for that word "mark".
>Sure I read, that its a bordered area, f.e. but I would rather like to
>know, why someone calles something "Mark", or who invented it. Who said
>it first?

Somebody a long, long time ago. The word "mark" is common to all the Germanic
languages, and to some of their Romance neighbors who have borrowed it
(including late Latin). But it is not common to the other Indo-European
languages, and therefore either (1) pre-existed in the aboriginal North
European language of the ancestors of the Germans, before the Indo-European
invasions of about 2500 BC, or (2) was invented later in the Germanic area
(i.e., modern Scandinavia) after the Celts, Slavs, Italics, etc., had gone
their separate ways but before the Germans began their movement southward
across the Baltic -- maybe 1000 BC or thereabouts, or (3) was forgotten by
all the other Indo-Europeans (not likely).

>Why is our money called "Mark"? I don´t know.

Well, I don't think anybody else really knows either. The best guess seems
to be that the original word "mark" meant the edge or boundary of a tract of
land (the "margin"); then it came to mean the stones or posts set up on that
boundary (and also the border-land itself -- English "march", German "Mark"),
and then it came to mean a sign or a symbol or an imprint of any sort (
English "mark", modern German "Zeichen"). From that, a piece of metal of a
certain weight (1/2 pound), for use in the old scales or balances, with a
symbol stamped on it, came to be called a "mark". And from that it came to
mean a unit of money worth a "mark" (half a pound) of silver. Seems kind of
far-fetched, but that's what the books say. In English both units -- the
mark and the pound -- were used for money. The pound still is, but the mark
is not. Germany kept the mark and dropped the pound. The English mark was
worth 10 shillings or 120 pennies (or "sterlings" in old English, because
they had a star stamped on them). A "pound sterling" was a pound of these
little silver pennies or sterlings, 240 of them, or two marks.

The mark was not in use as a term for money in the oldest Germanic records --
those of the Franks in Gaul and the Saxons in Britain. The Franks used a
debased version of the Roman imperial "solidus" and the Saxons (when they
used money at all) used sterlings. They used the term "shilling" to mean 12
sterlings, but they didn't have a coin worth that much, and they used the
term "pound" to mean 240 sterlings, but didn't have a coin for that either.
Eventually they did make such coins, but not at first.

The first recorded use of the term "mark" as an amount of money in England
was in the 900's, and may have come from the Danes.

So -- you don't know any more than you did. You asked me what time it was,
and I told you how to build a watch.

>Why do you say "Dollar" to your "Dollar"?

Ah-HA! We got that one from Germany! Low German "daler", from German
"Taler", from "Joachimsthaler", from coins minted of silver mined in the
Joachimsthal in the Erzgebirge.

And after all that, genealogical research can give you a fulfillment of sadisfaction, that you hardly can believe.

Maybe this own-experienced story can give you a little peep into the wonders, that can happen, as you search:

mark, found ancestor, genealogy, poland, rawitsch, ancestor, hussar regiment, napoleonic warmark, genealogy, ancestor, poland, rawitsch, find, book, story, german, germany Hi!

today a really fantastic story happened to me.

I wish I had that luck in a lottery, but anyway, here I go:

I lend a book from the University Library of Berlin, here in Germany.
I have to add that I did that by "Fernleihe", that´s lending a book via
your local library from another library. (because I live quite far away
from Berlin)

It was a book about Rawitsch, a former german town in today Poland.
My grgrandfather Alfred lived there, and he had to move after WWI,
because the german Rawitsch became Rawicz, Poland.

Well I got the book, opened it and read something handwritten inside of
it, on the first page.
A man had given that book to his friend Hugo Lieske, for remembering the
old "storm and urge" times, back when they were young.

It was signed 1936 from my grandgrandfather Alfred Mark.

I was so excited that I had problems reading the old german script that
Alfred used.

But he definately wrote that text.

Those are the things that make genealogy so very GREAT!!!

thanks for letting me waste your time (and disk space) ;-)

--
Tschoe mit oeh...
Oliver Mark
o.mark@rhein-neckar.netsurf.de
Germany

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Re: found ancestors book in lib!!!

I don't find your post a waste of time - I think it is wonderful what
happened to you. Thanks for sharing your story with the list.
Nikki

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Genealogical Find

Oliver,

That was an excellent story about your find in the book from the
library. It is also inspirational. When you feel that you have hit the
brick wall in your research, a story like that pushes you on and you
don't give up hope.

I have been trying to find all the LENKNERs in the world. My 2g
grandfather was born in Blaufelden, just east of you, and the family has
spent the last several hundred years just north of Blaufelden.

I met a distant cousin on the Internet who is a teacher in Nürnberg
whose oldest brother has the family proof required by the Nazis and
extended back into the 17th century. When my wife and I visit Germany
again next year, Gerhard has invited us to stay with him. We also have
family in Hohlach.

Although computers have been my hobby for the last 18 years and I have
been doing my genealogy for the last eight years, I just recently
married the two and, while helping my research, it has added problems.
All those Johanns that disappeared in the 1700s and 1800s are popping up
in the United States on the Internet (census indexes) but they are all
listed as 'John Linkner'.

Your story gives me the inspiration to tackle all those 'JOHNs'; I
won't give up!

YTTL,

Al Lenkner

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: found ancestors book in lib!!!

Congratulations!! I'm happy for you, as indeed that was a very fortunate
and remarkable find! May your research continue in such a lucky way.

-----------------------------------------------------------------
Eunice B. Kirkman
Patrick County, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of SouthWest Virginia

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: re:Your Fabulous Find!

Dear Oliver,

You did not waste anyone's time or disk space.

When you have a GREAT FIND you have to shout for joy
and tell someone! Most often you either are alone when it
happens or those around you aren't really interested.

Only your genealogical friends can be happy for you.

Oliver, my good man, that is a find of a lifetime!
Congratulations! 8-)
Sharon

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Grandfather's book

WOW!!

That is the wildest "small-world" story I have ever heard! The odds against
that happening must be astronomical.

I wonder if the library would sell you the book?

Here, the big news is a new grand-daughter. I am writing this message from
our daughter's house in Dallas, Texas, whither we have come to inspect the
new addition (it's a keeper, I think).

Our weather has been too dry but otherwise things are about as good as could
be expected, provided one doesn't expect too much.

Walter

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: WOW

Oliver,
Great story. I had luck looking up relatives on the Internet and found some in England.
I too am researching a german line and hope to have luck when I track down the Braun's from Weisenberg, Germany

John Meyer

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Subject: found ancestors book in lib!!!

> Tschoe mit oeh...
Was ist Tschoe mit oeh.........?
Erkaeltet mit Schnupfen?

Now I have to make also a german signature.

Mit gruessen aus Holland,

Luois Madarasz

So genealogy can help you find friends. And surely makes you happy, after all!



			why genealogy?
geschäftliches		One day in someones life, he answers himself the question: who am I? Where do I come from? What happened to my grandfathers grandfather, which I accidentally found in my backyard, while doing my garden work? Anyway, there are lots of stories all over the researchers experiences, but first here is a story, where I tried to find out what the meaning of my last name MARK is. My dear old netpal Walter T. Weller showed me some content of his unbelievably full treasure of knowledge. This is what he said: Hi, Ollie, >I suppose that my surname derived from there ;-) >And funny though, I did not find any explanation for that word "mark". >Sure I read, that its a bordered area, f.e. but I would rather like to >know, why someone calles something "Mark", or who invented it. Who said >it first? Somebody a long, long time ago. The word "mark" is common to all the Germanic languages, and to some of their Romance neighbors who have borrowed it (including late Latin). But it is not common to the other Indo-European languages, and therefore either (1) pre-existed in the aboriginal North European language of the ancestors of the Germans, before the Indo-European invasions of about 2500 BC, or (2) was invented later in the Germanic area (i.e., modern Scandinavia) after the Celts, Slavs, Italics, etc., had gone their separate ways but before the Germans began their movement southward across the Baltic -- maybe 1000 BC or thereabouts, or (3) was forgotten by all the other Indo-Europeans (not likely). >Why is our money called "Mark"? I don´t know. Well, I don't think anybody else really knows either. The best guess seems to be that the original word "mark" meant the edge or boundary of a tract of land (the "margin"); then it came to mean the stones or posts set up on that boundary (and also the border-land itself -- English "march", German "Mark"), and then it came to mean a sign or a symbol or an imprint of any sort ( English "mark", modern German "Zeichen"). From that, a piece of metal of a certain weight (1/2 pound), for use in the old scales or balances, with a symbol stamped on it, came to be called a "mark". And from that it came to mean a unit of money worth a "mark" (half a pound) of silver. Seems kind of far-fetched, but that's what the books say. In English both units -- the mark and the pound -- were used for money. The pound still is, but the mark is not. Germany kept the mark and dropped the pound. The English mark was worth 10 shillings or 120 pennies (or "sterlings" in old English, because they had a star stamped on them). A "pound sterling" was a pound of these little silver pennies or sterlings, 240 of them, or two marks. The mark was not in use as a term for money in the oldest Germanic records -- those of the Franks in Gaul and the Saxons in Britain. The Franks used a debased version of the Roman imperial "solidus" and the Saxons (when they used money at all) used sterlings. They used the term "shilling" to mean 12 sterlings, but they didn't have a coin worth that much, and they used the term "pound" to mean 240 sterlings, but didn't have a coin for that either. Eventually they did make such coins, but not at first. The first recorded use of the term "mark" as an amount of money in England was in the 900's, and may have come from the Danes. So -- you don't know any more than you did. You asked me what time it was, and I told you how to build a watch. >Why do you say "Dollar" to your "Dollar"? Ah-HA! We got that one from Germany! Low German "daler", from German "Taler", from "Joachimsthaler", from coins minted of silver mined in the Joachimsthal in the Erzgebirge. And after all that, genealogical research can give you a fulfillment of sadisfaction, that you hardly can believe. Maybe this own-experienced story can give you a little peep into the wonders, that can happen, as you search: Hi! today a really fantastic story happened to me. I wish I had that luck in a lottery, but anyway, here I go: I lend a book from the University Library of Berlin, here in Germany. I have to add that I did that by "Fernleihe", that´s lending a book via your local library from another library. (because I live quite far away from Berlin) It was a book about Rawitsch, a former german town in today Poland. My grgrandfather Alfred lived there, and he had to move after WWI, because the german Rawitsch became Rawicz, Poland. Well I got the book, opened it and read something handwritten inside of it, on the first page. A man had given that book to his friend Hugo Lieske, for remembering the old "storm and urge" times, back when they were young. It was signed 1936 from my grandgrandfather Alfred Mark. I was so excited that I had problems reading the old german script that Alfred used. But he definately wrote that text. Those are the things that make genealogy so very GREAT!!! thanks for letting me waste your time (and disk space) ;-) -- Tschoe mit oeh... Oliver Mark o.mark@rhein-neckar.netsurf.de Germany -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Re: found ancestors book in lib!!! I don't find your post a waste of time - I think it is wonderful what happened to you. Thanks for sharing your story with the list. Nikki -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Genealogical Find Oliver, That was an excellent story about your find in the book from the library. It is also inspirational. When you feel that you have hit the brick wall in your research, a story like that pushes you on and you don't give up hope. I have been trying to find all the LENKNERs in the world. My 2g grandfather was born in Blaufelden, just east of you, and the family has spent the last several hundred years just north of Blaufelden. I met a distant cousin on the Internet who is a teacher in Nürnberg whose oldest brother has the family proof required by the Nazis and extended back into the 17th century. When my wife and I visit Germany again next year, Gerhard has invited us to stay with him. We also have family in Hohlach. Although computers have been my hobby for the last 18 years and I have been doing my genealogy for the last eight years, I just recently married the two and, while helping my research, it has added problems. All those Johanns that disappeared in the 1700s and 1800s are popping up in the United States on the Internet (census indexes) but they are all listed as 'John Linkner'. Your story gives me the inspiration to tackle all those 'JOHNs'; I won't give up! YTTL, Al Lenkner -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: found ancestors book in lib!!! Congratulations!! I'm happy for you, as indeed that was a very fortunate and remarkable find! May your research continue in such a lucky way. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Eunice B. Kirkman Patrick County, in the Blue Ridge Mountains of SouthWest Virginia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: re:Your Fabulous Find! Dear Oliver, You did not waste anyone's time or disk space. When you have a GREAT FIND you have to shout for joy and tell someone! Most often you either are alone when it happens or those around you aren't really interested. Only your genealogical friends can be happy for you. Oliver, my good man, that is a find of a lifetime! Congratulations! 8-) Sharon -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: Grandfather's book WOW!! That is the wildest "small-world" story I have ever heard! The odds against that happening must be astronomical. I wonder if the library would sell you the book? Here, the big news is a new grand-daughter. I am writing this message from our daughter's house in Dallas, Texas, whither we have come to inspect the new addition (it's a keeper, I think). Our weather has been too dry but otherwise things are about as good as could be expected, provided one doesn't expect too much. Walter -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Subject: WOW Oliver, Great story. I had luck looking up relatives on the Internet and found some in England. I too am researching a german line and hope to have luck when I track down the Braun's from Weisenberg, Germany John Meyer -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Subject: found ancestors book in lib!!! > Tschoe mit oeh... Was ist Tschoe mit oeh.........? Erkaeltet mit Schnupfen? Now I have to make also a german signature. Mit gruessen aus Holland, Luois Madarasz So genealogy can help you find friends. And surely makes you happy, after all!
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