Roy Faulkes
17-05-2008, 9:42 PM
My grandmother's maiden name was Mary Elizabeth VON BARGEN she was born in Stratford in 1881 . Her Father was John Henry VON BARGEN born in Whitechapel in 1858 . Her Mother Anne Elizabeth KNAUSS was born in Wandsworth in 1859. They were married in West Ham in 1880.
John Henry's father , Johann VON BARGEN was a Sugar Baker by trade and was born in Germany in 1830. Does anybody know how one could find out where in Germany he might be from . He must have arrived in Britain between 1830 and 1858 and it seemed that a lot of German Immigrants to Britain worked in the Sugar Industry and all seemed to live in the same street district in the Whitechapel area , according to some Census records I have seen.
The origin in Germany intrigues me as the VON was dropped from the name during the late 1800's , it isn't a title and literally means "from " . Logic then says one would look for a place called BARGEN ? which there is , on the Swiss border.
Any ideas where I go from there.
Any suggestions appreciated.
Thank you ,
Roy
John Henry's father , Johann VON BARGEN was a Sugar Baker by trade and was born in Germany in 1830. Does anybody know how one could find out where in Germany he might be from . He must have arrived in Britain between 1830 and 1858 and it seemed that a lot of German Immigrants to Britain worked in the Sugar Industry and all seemed to live in the same street district in the Whitechapel area , according to some Census records I have seen.
The origin in Germany intrigues me as the VON was dropped from the name during the late 1800's , it isn't a title and literally means "from " . Logic then says one would look for a place called BARGEN ? which there is , on the Swiss border.
Any ideas where I go from there.
Any suggestions appreciated.
Thank you ,
Roy