Notes for Anton Friedrich MAMER

Notes for Anton Friedrich MAMER

SOURCE: birth record
ALIAS: Anthony / Antoni / Antonius. Friederichs
SOURCE #2: Children's birth baptismal and marriage records
LDS FILM #0425112 Septfontaines Luxembourg (birth & death)
GODFATHER: Anton PETERS from Septfontaines

It's known from Anton's childrens baptismal records, that they were all born in the house known as the "Friedges house". I have also seen the house name of Friedges spelled as / Frickes / Frietdges / Fritdges / Fridges and Fritges. Anton Mamer descendants were also known by this house name. "Friedges". Friedges comes from the given name Friedrich. On Anton birth record his name is written as Anton Friedrich von Mameren (from Mamer) In 1680 Friedrich Mamer was living at the house known as "Friedges house" in Septfontaines, Luxembourg. In the year 1751 Margaret Mamer daughter of Anton Friedrich Mamer lived at this same house with her husband Mathias Weiler. In the 1700s the Weiler / Weyler family shared the above house with the Mamer family.The Weyler family also had the Friedges house name associated with their surname. Example: On the side of a Friedges baptismal record we find the name Joannes Baptiste Fridges written (writing the name of the side of the record was a type of indexing system used in some of the early Luxembourg records books). Looking at Joannes Baptiste Fridges name, one would conclude that "Fridges" is the surname, but they would be wrong. A closer examination of the baptismal record one would see where Joannes's name is written as Joannes Baptiste Weyler vel Fridges (or Fridges) son of Catharina Weyler. The Weyler surname was omitted and the house name of Fridges was used this being a Luxembourg custom. (House names is a custom that toook place in Luxembourg before the year 1780, it was to designate individuals not by their family name, but by the the traditional name of the house they were born / living in).

I agree with other researchers that Anton Friedrich is the progenitor of the Mamer family in Septfontaines, Luxembourg and that his house was known as the Friedges house. A book on Septfontaines, house names "Haus un Familienchronk Simmern 1654 - 1985" mentions in 1680 a Friedrich Mamer was living at the Friedges / Kaischen house Nr. 55.. I deduce that Anton Friedrich and Friedrich Mamer are the same person. The early records for Septfontianes Luxembourg do not yield much information on our earliest known acestor, Anton Friedrich, but sometimes one can interpert from what is not written, that normaly would of been written on a birth / baptismal record. Example: on Anton Friedrich birth record theres, no fathers name, only the mothers name, Margaret Peters and the godparents names, Anton Peters and a Katharina Lentzen or maybe Leshen ? (not sure about the spelling of her surname) This would lead one to suspect that Anton Friedrich was illegitimate. On this same birth record, underneath Anton Friedrich surname, by the side of the record, it is written that Anton Friedrich was from Mameren (von Mameren) this is odd, as his mother's residence is 7born. In German it would be written as Siebenborn or in French as Septfontaines or in Luxembourg Simmern. I find this strange as the other records on the same page have the children, being from the same town as the parents. Only our Anton Friedrich is from a town different than his mothers.

An old naming custom used in giving surnames to individuals, was to call them by a location or even the name of a town they might of been from. If I was asked to make an educated guess of why Anton used the name Mamer as his surname, I would reply that it had to do with him being from Mameren / Marmer. The town of Mamer is about 4 to 5 miles south of the town of Septfontaines. It was named for a de Mamer / Mammern.

written by Richard J. Duprel. Lacey, Washington (1997)