Birth of Gottfried Arndt

For my very first blog post, I wrote about the Russian documents that propelled me into my interest (obsession) with family history.

One of these papers was the marriage certificate for Gottfried Arndt and Paulina Kot.¹Certification of Marriage for Arndt-Kot. Original Owned by Donald Norenberg (1932-2012). Photographic copy owned by Karrie Blees, 2024.

Petrowski Region                               For the conscription (to the army)
Petrowski county                                or census of population
Kischenowski town

CIVIL STATUS CERTIFICATE

It shall be certified that Gottfried Arnt
son of unknown father and Karoline Arnt [mother] has entered into marriage
at Julian calendar 31 October 1882
at Gregorian calendar 12 November 1882 with Pauline
born Kot
document issued April 3/15 1883
Pastor and registrar
personally signed by civil registrars.²Translation by a member of the Facebook Genealogical Translations Group.

This certificate was issued 6 months after the marriage for the purpose of military conscription or for population census. Because the document was produced a short time after the marriage, we can trust its accuracy. Since this document was owned by a grandson of the couple, the provenance is established.

Unknown father?
Kischenowski?
Birthdate?

Conflicting Clues

For years, I searched for clues to Gottfried’s birth and parentage. Because Gottfried lived in American for only 11 years, there are only a half dozen places where his birth information is recorded:

• 1862 or 1863, in Russia (1909 Ship Manifest: 46 years old)³“Canada Passenger Lists, 1881-1922,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2QS2-ZMQ : 23 February 2021), Godfrey Arnd, May 1909; citing Immigration, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, T-4760, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. S. S. Corsican, page Steerage B, line 27.
• 1859 or 1860, in Germany (1910 Census: 50 years old)⁴Census. 1910. Minnesota, Cass County, Cass Lake Village, SD 6, ED 14, page 7B, Godfrey Arndt, line 53, family number 116 (father-in-law in Edward Shanborne household), cannot read or write. April 1, 1910.
• November 19, 1858, in Russian Poland (1918 Minnesota Alien Registration)⁵Cass County MN Alien Registration of Fred Arndt, February 26, 1918. Minnesota Commission of Public Safety. Alien Registration Correspondence and Other Records. Minnesota Historical Society. He signed with an X.
• 1856 or 1857, in Russia (1920 Census: 63 years old)⁶Census. 1920. Minnesota, Cass County, Cass Lake Village, SD 6, ED 102, page 1B, Fred Arndt, line 51, number 15, cannot read or write. January 3, 1920.
• December 15, 1856, in Russia (1920 Death Certificate: 63 years, 5 months and 13 days)⁷Minnesota Department of Health. Frederick Arndt Death Certificate. 1920-02072. Informant is Gottfried’s son-in-law Constantin Nurenberg.
• December 15, 1856 (Church Record: 63 years, 5 months and 13 days)⁸Immanuel Lutheran Church. Kirchenbuch, Volume 1. Cass Lake, MN. Todten-Register, page 203, number 3.

Wow!

These birthdates vary a lot: 1856 through 1863!

Where to look next?

Gottfried married Pauline Kot in 1882. Research indicates that Pauline was born in Jozefina, Turek (what is now Wielkopolski, Poland). See this post about Pauline.

What if Gottfried and Pauline grew up near one another in Jozefina?

Baptism Record

1858 Baptism of Gottfryd Arndt⁹Archiwum Państwowe w Poznaniu Oddział w Koninie [State Archives in Poznań, Branch in Konin] “Akta stanu cywilnego Parafii Ewangelicko-Augsburskiej Turek, Księga urodzeń, małżeństw i zgonu” [Civil status files of the Evangelical-Augsburg Parish in Turek, Book of Births, Marriages and Deaths]. Reference Code 54/859/0/-/27, https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1835744, image 45: accessed February 8, 2024, entry for Gottfryd Arndt, 1858, Turek, baptism, No. 165.

Gottfryd was born 7/19 November 1858 in Jozefina, baptized 13/25 November in Turek church. Mother is Anna Karolina Arndt, age 18. Father unknown. Witnesses/attesters: Daniel Hentschel, age 39, Gottlieb Schultz, age 30, Gottlieb Arndt, age 24. Godparents are Anna Schultz and Josef Grabke.¹⁰Translation by Rosemarie Ingram of the PL Polish Genealogy Facebook Group, February 10, 2024.

Is this Gottfried Arndt, born November 7/19, 1858, the same man that died in Cass Lake, Minnesota in 1920?

Conclusions

November 19, 1858 (the Gregorian calendar date) in the baptism record matches exactly with the date Gottfried/Fred supplied for his 1918 Minnesota Alien Registration.

Pauline Kot, who married Gottfried, was also born in Jozefina and baptized in Turek. Although not direct evidence, this close proximity adds weight to the argument for believing this baptism record to be the man who would marry Pauline Kot.

Both the baptism and marriage record stats that Gottfried’s father was unknown. Again, this is circumstantial, albeit consistent evidence.

There are no other baptisms for a Gottfried Arndt, born of a single mother in Turek. Could there be a Gottfried Arndt in another parish? Maybe.

What about all the other varying birthdates in the American documents?

First, remember that Gottfried could neither read nor write. In fact, almost all of Gottfried and Pauline’s family were illiterate. Each of the family members filed their Minnesota Alien Registration paperwork on February 26, 1918. The only one to sign their own name was son-in-law Constantin Nürenberg. Because Gottfried lacked basic skills, he was unable to check any of his own documents for accuracy.

Son-in-law Constantin was the informant for Gottfried’s death certificate and very likely for the church record book, since the dates are identical. Constantin listed his father-in-law’s name as Americanized Frederick, not Germanic Gottfried. It is very likely that Constantin did not know, or was mistaken about Gottfried’s birth.

Census records for non-English speaking persons are notoriously inaccurate.

There are no family Bible records.
Immanuel Lutheran Church did not create family records.
Gottfried did not apply for citizenship.

So, until there is evidence to disprove this assumption,

Gottfried Arndt, husband of Pauline Kot,
was born November 18, 1858
in Jozefina, Turek

SOURCES

• 1
  Certification of Marriage for Arndt-Kot. Original Owned by Donald Norenberg (1932-2012). Photographic copy owned by Karrie Blees, 2024.
• 2
  Translation by a member of the Facebook Genealogical Translations Group.
• 3
  “Canada Passenger Lists, 1881-1922,” database with images, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:2QS2-ZMQ : 23 February 2021), Godfrey Arnd, May 1909; citing Immigration, Quebec City, Quebec, Canada, T-4760, Library and Archives Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. S. S. Corsican, page Steerage B, line 27.
• 4
  Census. 1910. Minnesota, Cass County, Cass Lake Village, SD 6, ED 14, page 7B, Godfrey Arndt, line 53, family number 116 (father-in-law in Edward Shanborne household), cannot read or write. April 1, 1910.
• 5
  Cass County MN Alien Registration of Fred Arndt, February 26, 1918. Minnesota Commission of Public Safety. Alien Registration Correspondence and Other Records. Minnesota Historical Society. He signed with an X.
• 6
  Census. 1920. Minnesota, Cass County, Cass Lake Village, SD 6, ED 102, page 1B, Fred Arndt, line 51, number 15, cannot read or write. January 3, 1920.
• 7
  Minnesota Department of Health. Frederick Arndt Death Certificate. 1920-02072. Informant is Gottfried’s son-in-law Constantin Nurenberg.
• 8
  Immanuel Lutheran Church. Kirchenbuch, Volume 1. Cass Lake, MN. Todten-Register, page 203, number 3.
• 9
  Archiwum Państwowe w Poznaniu Oddział w Koninie [State Archives in Poznań, Branch in Konin] “Akta stanu cywilnego Parafii Ewangelicko-Augsburskiej Turek, Księga urodzeń, małżeństw i zgonu” [Civil status files of the Evangelical-Augsburg Parish in Turek, Book of Births, Marriages and Deaths]. Reference Code 54/859/0/-/27, https://www.szukajwarchiwach.gov.pl/en/jednostka/-/jednostka/1835744, image 45: accessed February 8, 2024, entry for Gottfryd Arndt, 1858, Turek, baptism, No. 165.
• 10
  Translation by Rosemarie Ingram of the PL Polish Genealogy Facebook Group, February 10, 2024.