ViewMate - Image Archive, Image 115350 - Translation - German - Germany - Weinheim district - Hirsch


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Information

Picture

Question

Category: Translation - German
Approval Date: 9/13/2026 4:35 PM
Family Surname: Hirsch
Country: Germany
Town: Weinheim district
Date of Image: 1840

Click the picture to enlarge

From Wuerttemberg Family Registers.

Record #3. I would like to know if this is a Hirsch record. If it is, what names are included and is this a birth record? Thank you.

Response

9/13/2026 11:48 PM

Hello,
Yes, No. 3 is for HIRSCH!

Birth: Leutershausen, 19 April 1840, 12:45 at night [a.m.]

Circumcision: Leutershausen, 26 April 1840, 7:00 in the morning [a.m.]

Child: Isak, legitimate

Father: Löb HIRSCH, Jr., resident and Jewish merchant here

Mother: Carolina née WETTERHAHN[?]

Witnesses: Götz HIRSCH and Löb EPPSTEINER, both protected persons and Jewish merchants

———

Additionally, one of the witnesses to record No. 2 is Bernhard HIRSCH. Also, the index on the left page references someone named Maier HIRSCH on page 168.

9/14/2026 2:31 AM

Hi I am testing AI tools: The following is output (cut & paste) from "Claude" shared as is -

This is a genuinely difficult read — 19th‑century Kurrentschrift (German cursive), tightly written, with a scan resolution that doesn't fully resolve individual letters even at 3× zoom. I want to be upfront: I cannot give you a certified, archival‑grade transcription from this image alone. What follows is my best‑effort reading with explicit confidence flags, organized as you requested. Treat anything not marked "confident" as provisional and worth verifying against the original (or a professional Kurrentschrift transcriber / the holding archive).

## 1) Type of record

This is **not a standard civil birth register** — the recurring formula "**Israelitischen Gemeinde Carlshafen**" (Jewish/Israelite congregation of Carlshafen), the term "**Glaubensgenossen**" (coreligionists/fellow believers, used for witnesses), the status term "**Schutzbürger**" (a legal residency status specific to Jews in pre‑emancipation German states), and — in entry 3 — the word "**Beschneidung**" (circumcision) with a name given ("**Isaac**") strongly indicate this is a page from a **Jewish community birth/circumcision register (Geburts‑ und Beschneidungsregister der israelitischen Gemeinde Carlshafen)**, most likely for the town now known as **Bad Karlshafen, Hesse**. The entries are dated Jan–Apr 1840; the page is numbered "46" in the top-right corner.

The **left-hand page is a separate name index** ("Register," underlined at top), not a fourth entry — it cross-references surnames (grouped by initial: F., H., S.) to page numbers (167, 168) elsewhere in the bound volume. This is standard practice for indexed community registers.

I'd flag this identification as **moderately confident**, not certain — I can't rule out that this is a synagogue/community record of a different type (e.g., a mixed vital-events register) without seeing surrounding pages.

continues in next post

9/14/2026 2:33 AM

continues....

## 2) Prosopographical breakdown

I'm separating **document content** (what I can make out, with confidence noted) from **inference** (my reasoning, not stated in the text).

**Entry 1 — dated Carlshafen, [7th?] January 1840**
- Document states (low–moderate confidence): a father, described in relation to the "israelitische Gemeinde," married to a wife whose name reads approximately "Jamida" (**very uncertain**) née [surname illegible]; a legitimate child ("eheliches Kindlein"); witnesses named Ruben [surname illegible] and Joseph Held, both described as "Glaubensgenossen."
- Inference: Given entries 2 and 3 follow the same formula and are confirmed births, entry 1 is almost certainly also a birth/circumcision record, though the child's given name is not confidently legible to me.

**Entry 2 — dated Carlshafen, 20 March 1840**
- Document states (moderate confidence): a birth occurring around 19 March; witnesses named **Levy Jacobi** and **Salomon Jacobi**, the latter a "Schutzbürger," with his wife née **Wolf**; further witnesses including "his son-in-law" (Schwiegersohn) **Lazarus Graff**, both described as "Schutzbürger und Glaubensgenossen." Right-margin index tag: "Levy Jacobi."
- Inference: The family network suggested (Jacobi family, married into Graff and Wolf families) is my reading of relationships stated in the text, not an independent genealogical claim — I have not verified these people against any external record.

**Entry 3 — dated Carlshafen, 27 April 1840**
- Document states (moderate–high confidence, this entry is clearer than 1–2): a child born around 19 April, circumcised on the eighth day, **named Isaac**; associated with a father possibly named **Lob Graff (junior)**; witnesses **Getz Graff** and **Lob Graff**, "both Schutzbürger and Glaubensgenossen." Right-margin index tags: "Isaac," "Graff."
- Inference: "Lob" and "Getz" appear to be given names within a Graff family; whether "junior" indicates father/son or a naming convention to distinguish two same-named men in the community, I cannot determine from this page alone.

**Cross-entry inference:** The surnames Graff and Jacobi recurring in the entries match the surnames Graff (p.167/168) on the facing index page, supporting that this index page indexes (at least in part) the very entries on this page or nearby ones in the volume.

I want to be direct that **I would not treat any given name, exact date, or relationship above as reliable enough to enter into a family tree without independent verification** — the script quality is right at (or past) the edge of confident transcription for personal names, which is exactly where transcription errors are most costly genealogically.

continues next post....

9/14/2026 2:35 AM

continues...

## 3) Literal translation attempt

Given the uncertainty in point 2, I can offer a **template-level translation** of the formulaic register language that I'm relatively confident recurs across all three entries, rather than a word-for-word translation of names/dates I can't confirm:

- "In the year 1840, on the [date], was born to the father [name], of the Israelite congregation of Carlshafen, married to his wife [name], née [name], a legitimate [child], named [given name] at the circumcision, which was performed on the eighth day. Witnesses were: [name] and [name], both coreligionists [and Schutzbürger], together with [name]... Carlshafen, the [date] 1840."

I'm deliberately **not** filling in the bracketed specifics with false confidence — that would misrepresent illegible handwriting as a certified translation, which for a legal/genealogical document could actually mislead you.

## 4) Unclear/illegible words by section (top to bottom)

| Section | Word/phrase | Issue | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Left index, line "F." | Surname after "F." | Overwritten/looped initial letter, could be "Graff" or similar | Low |
| Left index, line "S." | First name under "S." | Heavy cursive loops, possibly "Weinheimer" or "Oppenheimer" | Very low |
| Entry 1, line 1 | Opening word (before "Jahr"?) | Faded/compressed, could be "Im" or an abbreviation | Low |
| Entry 1, line 2 | Mother's given name ("Jamida"?) | Unusual letterforms, may be misread | Very low |
| Entry 1, line 3–4 | Father's occupation/status phrase | Dense cursive, multiple words run together | Low |
| Entry 1, line 5 | Witness name "Ruben [?]" | Surname after "Ruben" not resolved at this resolution | Low |
| Entry 1, date line | Day of month ("7ten"?) | Numeral partly obscured by flourish | Moderate |
| Entry 2, line 1–2 | "in der ehelichen Verbindung..." opening clause | Words compressed, some letters ambiguous (v/w, e/i) | Low–Moderate |
| Entry 2, line 3 | Exact status phrase before "Schutzbürger" | Word choice uncertain, could be alternate legal term | Low |
| Entry 2, line 6 | "Sarawitha" (wife's name, née Wolf) | Highly uncertain reading of first name | Very low |
| Entry 3, line 1–2 | Location phrase ("...auf dem...") | Possible place/street reference, not confidently parsed | Low |
| Entry 3, line 4 | Number "zwanzigsten" or similar (day count to circumcision) | Numeral word partly legible | Moderate |
| Entry 3, line 6 | "Lob Graff, junior" | "junior" reading uncertain — could be a different qualifier | Moderate |
| All entries | Closing signature line after each date (e.g., "Hennuss..."/"Frennuss...") | Consistent recurring word/name after each "Carlshafen den..." line — likely a title (e.g., an officiant's role) or standard closing phrase, not resolved | Low |
| Right margin, all 3 entries | Underlined index names (Offenheimer?, Jacobi, Isaac, Graff) | These appear to be marginal cross-reference tags added by a clerk/indexer; readable in outline but exact spelling uncertain | Moderate |

**My overall recommendation:** for anything genealogically load-bearing here (a name, a date, a relationship), I'd treat my reading as a **starting hypothesis only**. Given the Carlshafen/Bad Karlshafen Jewish community angle, I'd suggest cross-checking against LAGIS Hessen, the Hessisches Hauptstaatsarchiv Wiesbaden, or JewishGen's German-Jewish records indexes, which may hold a verified transcription of this same register (the "167/168" page references on the index side suggest this is a bound, paginated community register that may already be catalogued elsewhere).

Ends

ViewMate Posting VM 115350

Submitted by Marjorie Geiser

Learn more about our organizational leadership, mission, and values. There are numerous opportunities to get involved yourself!

Search millions of records from around the globe, including more than 4 million records related to the Holocaust, and more than 4.2 million burial records. Records are continually added each month - check back often for new information!

Discover your ancestral town, explore geographic/regional based sections of the JewishGen site (Research Divisions), and explore what daily life was like for your ancestors - and what we can learn from them today.

Enhance your research with online classes and dozens of helpful articles. University students can apply for the Bennett & Robin Greenspan L'dor V'dor Legacy Program, and those "out of school" can help preserve Jewish Heritage in Poland with unique study & volunteer experiences.

Connect with tens of thousands of other JewishGen members via the Family Finder, Discussion Group, Facebook Group, and ViewMate. It's a great way to share success, ask questions, and stay informed of the happenings throughout the Jewish genealogical community.

The JewishGen site is offered as a free public resource. However, it costs a lot of money to maintain and expand our services. If you are in a position to do so, please consider a contribution today - your support will make a difference!

ViewMate Posting VM 115350

Submitted by Marjorie Geiser