Whats in a Name?

This posting is the beginning of my documented search for my ancestral roots. Where did my family come from? What did my ancestors do? and How did this lead to where our family is today?

I think it was Einstein that said: “I owe everything I am today to the men an women that came before me.” It is this knowledge that I seek, this link to the past that interests me.

The Rosenblath family name has changed over the years. The oldest form I’ve seen so far is written as Rosenblat. The name as it exists today is an ornamental modification of the common German spelling of Rosenblat. Some historians say that that many Jews added an H on the end of their name to make it stand apart from the original. The again modified Jewish spelling is Rosenblatt. Rosenblat translated from German to English means Roses Leaf. I remember my father showing this english translation to me written in an old family bible by my Great Grandfather Adolphous when I was just a child.
All three variations can be found in family history records.

Its interesting that this Linen Weaver’s name was already changed.

Name: Johann George ROSENBLATH
Given Name: Johann George
Surname: Rosenblath
Sex: M
Birth: 18 Dec 1693 in Lichtenau, Hesse, Germany
Death: 31 Mar 1735 in Lichtenau, Hesse, Germany
Occupation: Linen weaver
Burial: Lichtenau, Hesse, Germany

his fathers name was:

Name: Hans Jakob ROSENBLATT
Given Name: Hans Jakob
Surname: Rosenblatt
Sex: M
Birth: 25 Aug 1656 in Lichtenau, Hesse, Germany
Burial: 21 Mar 1717/18

It’s also interesting that Rosenblatt (extra t) translated to rosen and blatt means roses sheets, so I speculate that the profession you had also helped determine how you decided to spell your last name.

It appears that sometime between 1656 and 1693 the name was modifed to back to Rosenblath. I say back to Rosenblath, because Jacob’s Father’s name was:

Name: Johannes ROSENBLATH
Given Name: Johannes
Surname: Rosenblath
Sex: M
Occupation: Cabinet maker

Pulpit in Laudenbach built by Johannes Rosenblath

Johannes Rosenblath was a Cabinet maker, he built several pulpits in the area of Lichtenau and Laudenbach, many thanks to Thomas Blumenstein for his research! His DOB and Death is not currently known.

Prior to Johannes, it is likely that the name was Rosenblatt or Rosenblat and that Jewish family members converted to Christianity perhaps around the time of the Lutherin Reforms or thereafter.

As my search continues I hope to qualify and confirm some of these facts and paint a more concise picture of the lives of my ancestors leading up to mine.

The names and dates contained in this posting come from the www.myfamily.com website of Coleen Lopez. I found coleen by searching the Jewish Geneology Database Last year and made contact with her based on an email address in the database. It was to my surprise that she sent me a picture of my great Grandparents! The same picture my father had. (seen below)

This is Archie (Adolphous) Rosenblath and Jane Ann Rosenblath (nee Vilneff)

After we made contact, Coleen gave me a login to her website and thus began my adventure into researching my family history. Coleen and I share common Great Grandparents. Many thanks Coleen for providing me with all this information.

This ends my first post. More to follow on this topic as the story unfolds.