This is the usual structure of baptismal records for this time period. It mirrors what a old-country record would look like. To save space, I have not included the page header for every entry, but if there is a particular interest for a person, let me know. I also try to include adjacent entries so that other examples of the writing style are available for comparison. Karl's entry is number 151 for the year 1854. He was baptized on 13 July, his name was Karl Friedrich Ecker. He was born 20 Nov 1853. His parents were Jacob Ecker, Zimmerman (carpenter) here, and his wife, Anna Maria birth-name (gebornne) Jetter (I think). Godparents include Johann Fischer and Friedrich Ecker. The 7 month delay from birth to baptism is longer than customary and raises the possibility that Jakob and his family only immigrated recently, joined the church recently, or lived some distance away. We know that none of these Eckers appear in the NJ census indexes. In 1860, the family was living in Orange, NJ where their oldest daughter, Caroline was said to be born in NJ about 1852. I did not find a birth record for Caroline or a marriage record for her parents, but I did not look specifically for them. In the 1860 census, Karl appears to be called Frederick, and in 1870, Charles F. He was apparently named after his Uncle Friedrich Ecker and was likely called Friedrich. I believe Karl survives and is seen in the 1910 census living with his wife on Highland Ave in Newark. I do not know who Johann Fisher is, but that is the family name of his maternal grandmother who remained in Germany. It is therefore possible he is related. When time permits, examination of the Unterreichenbach records may unearth him. |