tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7513923484855965760.post4263239851853884539..comments2023-06-21T02:05:41.610-07:00Comments on Mennonite Genealogy Forum: Is it Mr., Mrs., or the whole family?Steve Fasthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04246074243878183427noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7513923484855965760.post-46687563930102895562017-12-15T11:11:34.775-08:002017-12-15T11:11:34.775-08:00There's a long article about the Warkentin sur...There's a long article about the Warkentin surname at http://mennonitehistory.org/warkentin/ - unfortunately written without paragraph breaks, so I gave up skimming it. But it might answer your question.<br />Steve Fasthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04246074243878183427noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7513923484855965760.post-74254873062665162602017-12-15T06:33:46.926-08:002017-12-15T06:33:46.926-08:00Aside: I was surprised when I first came across th...Aside: I was surprised when I first came across the fairly common Mennonite name “Warkentin”. Do you have any idea why the last name is in the feminine form? P.D.Mlynekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00922785988182030330noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7513923484855965760.post-57456479011274312732017-12-15T06:33:28.050-08:002017-12-15T06:33:28.050-08:00Thank you for posting this, Steve. That is very i...Thank you for posting this, Steve. That is very interesting. I have not yet studied the Mennonite records in German language yet (I am working on the US side first), but I am somewhat familiar with genealogical records in German language in other parts of Europe (specifically, Austria/Austro-Hungary). A couple of observations and questions:<br />(1) Some of the Austrian records refer to a women last name in the same format as for the man. Other records use the female version, which is made by adding the suffix “-in”, to mirror, for example, occupations: Lehrer/Lehrerin, Verkäufer/Verkäuferin, Arzt/Ärztin. I have not come across the “-sche” suffix, but appreciate that any custom eaily varies across time and geographical location.<br />(2) I imagine that in German, as in Slavic languages, there may be various ways of designating the last name of a woman. One is to make it into a feminine form, such as by using the ending “-in”, as presented in (1). This would be comparable, in English language, to changing last names “Salesman”, “Waiter”, and “Master” to “Saleswoman”, “Waitress” and “Mistress”. The second way of designating the last name of a woman is to use a possessive of the name’s name. This would be comparable, using the same examples, to “Salesman’s”, Waiter’s”, and “Master’s”. My understanding of German is limited, but I think that the possessive would be designated by the “-sche” ending. Thus, I believe the wife in your article was not referred to as “Mrs. Abraham Reimer”, but rather “Mr. Abraham Reimer’s [wife]”.<br />P.D.Mlynekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00922785988182030330noreply@blogger.com