- In the record of this marriage at the church in Sonneborn, the names were recorded as Johann Berend Starkebaum and Christine Elisabeth Strate.
It was not an uncommon practice in parts of northwestern Germany for a husband to assume his wife's family name upon marriage if she inherited the property rights of the family farm. The children born to this couple also often took on the mother's family name. Evidence of this practice will often appear in church records when a person will be identified with two surnames joined by the word oder (=or) or by the word genannt (=named). This has clearly already happened in the family of "Christine Elisabeth Strate oder Fisher."
Occasionally this practice will be less readily evident. Instead of the use of both surnames at once, one or the other of the names may also be used interchangeably during the course of the family's life, with no apparent consistency. At the births of their children, parents may sometimes be identified with both surnames together or with only one or the other of their family names. Later on, the children themselves may be recorded with one surname at their confirmation and perhaps another at the time of their own marriage.
This mixed practice can be found in the records of this family. When Johann Bernhard Starkebaum married and took over farm number 86 in Sonneborn, he was also known by his father-in-law's surname, Strate. His children also appear to have been known by either family name, but adopted Strate when they married.
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Children |
| 1. Starkebaum, Anna Christine Elisabeth, b. 25 Oct 1795, Sonneborn, Principality of Lippe , d. 10 Dec 1795, Sonneborn, Principality of Lippe (Age 0 years) |
+ | 2. Starkebaum, Anna Maria Christine, b. 14 Apr 1797, Sonneborn, Principality of Lippe , d. 2 Apr 1875, Sonneborn, Principality of Lippe (Age 77 years) |
| 3. Starkebaum, Friederike Ilsabein, b. 25 Jan 1799, Sonneborn, Principality of Lippe , d. Yes, date unknown |
| 4. Starkebaum, Jobst Henrich, b. 17 Apr 1800, Sonneborn, Principality of Lippe , d. 22 Oct 1873, Banter bei Hannover [Germany] (Age 73 years) |
| 5. Starkebaum, Friederike Louise Wilhelmine, b. 28 Aug 1802, Sonneborn, Principality of Lippe , d. 11 Oct 1879, Sonneborn, Principality of Lippe (Age 77 years) |
| 6. Starkebaum, Christine Friderike, b. 24 Aug 1804, Sonneborn, Principality of Lippe , d. 1804, Sonneborn, Principality of Lippe |
| 7. Starkebaum, Friederike Wilhelmine Elisabeth, b. 7 Mar 1811, Sonneborn, Principality of Lippe , d. 16 Mar 1811, Sonneborn, Principality of Lippe (Age 0 years) |
| 8. Starkebaum, Friederike Dorothee, b. 24 May 1812, Sonneborn, Principality of Lippe , d. 7 Apr 1843, Barntrup, Principality of Lippe (Age 30 years) |
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