A different surname

One of my earliest memories is of listening to my mother spelling out our surname Keehner in shops when she put things on account. I was interested in where this odd name came from - after all no one else had the same name as I did.
Then when I was about 7 I discovered my paternal grandmother still had the family's original naturalisation papers and although I obviously wasn't in any position to do any researching then, my curiosity was piqued. The existence of photos of these people was also a spur to find out more about their lives and although I didn't start seriously researching until the mid 1980s I put my interest down to a dear nana who was happy to allow me to ask questions and look at photos.

 

Now you've really made me curious Maggy. What is in fact the origin of your surname?

 

The chap in the photo is Johann Christoph Kuhner, my great great grandfather, and when he and the rest of the family were naturalised they changed the spelling of their surname to Keehner. He came from a small village in south-west Germany, Crispenhofen, and only because that was written on the 1881 census instead of just 'Germany', I was able to find my long-lost German cousins!

 

Thank you, Maggy. I can imagine how excited you were to find your long-lost German cousins. I'm sure the discovery has been celebrated by all of you.

 

Hello Maggy

My great grandmother also wrote on the 1881 Census Mexborough, that she was born in Kocherstetten, Germany, and I, too, was able to trace her family. Her name was Margaretha Brück and her two brothers changed their name to Briggs. She married a Hermann Pfisterer and this was changed to Fisher. Kocherstetten is near to Crispenhofen and I visited the Brück house last year and as yet I haven't found any living "Brücks". Most of my ancestors came to Yorkshire and my grandfather came to Northwich, Cheshire, to be with his cousins, the Heinzmanns.

Your great great grandfather appears in a database, entered by Richard Ford who was also in our party as his ancestors came from the same parts.

I will send you a PM with my email and maybe we can exchange family history.

 

This is exciting - I have been waiting for two Forum members to be connected!

 

Hello Margery, did you mean connected as Blood Relatives (Cousins) or would a connection via marriage be sufficient?

Perhaps you missed the 'announcement' on this forum several months ago but Liberty and I are connected via a marriage between William Chalker and Sarah Booker in Sussex, 1892.

 

I guess that I meant any type of connection, even from the same village, perhaps?? Yes, I missed your relationship with Liberty, hope that you have been able to help each other.

 

Dear MaggyC

I haven't sent you a PM as yet as I have been hoping to hear from you here first of all. The email idea was so that we could share maybe interests that would not be of great interest on a GB Forum.

 

I've been tracing one of the Canadian recipients of the Victoria Cross through various official and genealogical records and it's been an exercise in the difficulty of establishing surnames. All the official records recognise him as Joseph Kaeble but on his attestation paper his name is spelled Kable, and I found him under that name in the 1911 census. When the coast guard vessel "Caporal Kaeble" was named in his honour in 2012 his two nieces with the surname Keable were there to represent the family. Drouin records historically favour the Kaeble spelling and there are few Cabels in censuses and census corrections. There are apparently some letters he wrote during WWI still around and I wonder if they would solve the mystery as to his own preference.
Here's a link to his story.

 

Hi Marguerite,
I've sent you a message.

 

Hi Marguerite
Thanks for your message - I'll be in touch! This is quite exciting!