Category: Research

The Wendish Wedding Blessing of 1866 from Serbin

A Wendish Wedding Blessing of 1866 from Serbin, Texas

The following article was written by Trudla Malinkowa for an issue of the Sorbian cultural magazine Rozhlad. Her original article was written in Wendish; however, she graciously translated the original to German, and David Goeke translated the German to English. We express our sincere gratitude to Trudla for sharing her...

World War I Display

In our last issue, we announced plans to prepare a special display of items and photos in our collection that are related to World War I as a way to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the formal U.S. entry into the war. We also put out a call...

Wendish Research Exchange

The following is another letter discovered in the digitally archived issues of the “Serbske Nowiny” – the Upper Sorbian-language newspaper that our ancestors read. I wish to thank Dr. Gerald Stone for translating the article into English. “Serbske Nowiny”. 15 July 1871. pages 221-222. A Letter from America....

Wendish Research Exchange

The Wendish Research Exchange is looking for volunteers who can transliterate handwritten German into printed German. Knowledge of the German language is not required, although could be helpful. We have copies of old diaries that we would like to translate, and the first step in that process is...

A Practical Grammer of Upper Sorbian

A Practical Grammar of Upper Sorbian (Wendish)

In the preface to the first edition, I stated that I hoped the grammar would serve at least two purposes: 1) as a self-teaching grammar for those people of Sorbian (Wendish) descent who wished to learn something about the language 2) as a grammar for a continuing education...

Wendish Research Exchange

To all current members of the Texas Wendish Heritage Society: You are entitled to access the Wendish family tree in the Genealogy section of the Wendish Research Exchange! Click the “Genealogy” tab at the top of the first screen, and then click “continue” at the bottom of the...

Fedor Soder Research

Many people of Wendish descent know the name Fedor Soder, the man who gave his name to the community of Fedor, Texas. Dr. George Nielsen, Rev Gotthilf Birkmann, Rev. Robert Hartfield, and Dr. George Engerrand, among others, have mentioned him in their research. Thought to be Jewish, he...

Prussian or Saxon (Part 2)

Prussia It was in 1817 that the Prussian king, Friedrich Wilhelm III, decreed the creation of a single church that merged the two Protestant faiths-Lutheran and Calvinist-although participation was voluntary. Compliance was anemic, and the king did little more than make the change at the garrison church in...