Pennsylvania Chapter, Palatines to America

Fraktur

This fraktur is a birth and baptism certificate made for Elisabeth, daughter of Peter and Dina (Bouskirch[van Buskirk]) Grim. Elisabeth was born in Whitehall Township, Northhampton County, Pennsylvania, on June 20, 1802. Added notes say that Elisabeth died September 1, 1871.

 

For Enlarged View

What are fraktur?

Family historians of German heritage, including those of Pennsylvania German ancestry, often overlook fraktur as important primary sources. For some, fraktur are little known or misunderstood. In a nutshell, fraktur are 18th and 19th decorated manuscripts made by and for Pennsylvania Germans. They were made anywhere Pennsylvania Germans settled, including Ohio, western Maryland, the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, what is today West Virginia, the Carolinas, and even Canada. Most, however, were made in Pennsylvania.

Fortunately for genealogists, most fraktur are birth and baptism certificates. These certificates are wonderful primary sources in that they give the three pieces of information (names, dates, and locations) that everyone hopes to find on a single document. In addition, fractur more often than not provide the mother’s maiden name, a crucial piece of information rarely found on documents of the period.

Fraktur birth and baptism certificates are an American form of folk art. They come from the Medieval tradition in Europe of decorating manuscripts, but their texts differ, for fraktur often include genealogically significant data. It is difficult, if not impossible, to locate similar documents in German-speaking Europe. In fact, Europeans use the term “fraktur” to describe a type of handwriting or typeface. They do not use “fraktur” to refer to decorated manuscripts as we do. And because manuscripts in Europe were decorated only if they were important documents or religious texts, most lack genealogy data that would benefit family researchers.

Many books have been written about fraktur, including several by Penn Pal’s contributing editor, Corinne Earnest, and her husband, Russell. For more about fraktur, visit the Earnest’s website at www.rdearnestassociates.com.