Index
Spelling of Personal and Place Names
From Dub to Dube
Our Dube Lineage
Notes
Christoph Dube and His Wife
Michael Dube and Johanna Rosina Tanniger
Johanne Rachel Dube and Ferdinand Jacob Moerbe
Other Dubes
SPELLING OF PERSONAL AND PLACE NAMES
The German language employs modified vowels (Umlaut – Umlaute) ä, ö and ü. As a rule, all German names of persons, places, etc., on church and archive records and maps employ umlauts to indicate modified vowels when applicable. We retain the umlauts in English by writing ä, ae; ö, oe; and ü, ue. Thus, BÄHR is written BAEHR; MÖRBE, MOERBE; and WÜNSCHE, WUENSCHE. The spelling of place names with umlauts has been retained throughout this history. However, the spelling of personal names with umlauts was discontinued after the names were “transplanted” in Texas.
8-23-96
Revised: 11-18-02
FROM DUB TO DUBE
My search for my Dube ancestors took me to the region called OBERLAUSITZ in what was East Germany. In English it is called UPPER LUSATIA and at the time of the Wendish Emigration of 1854 it was a part of the Kingdom of Saxony (Königreich Sachsen). The oldest Dube ancestor I could identify was Christoph Dube, born in 1767and who lived in the village of Trauschwitz, about 10 miles east of Bautzen. The people living in Trauschwitz attend the church at Nostitz.
In 1813, French soldiers, fighting under apoleon, plundered Trauschwitz and Nostitz and both villages were set on fire. ll houses were burned down but the church in Nostitz was spared. The church records, which were in the parsonage, were destroyed; therefore, there are no records dating prior to 1813.
Trauschwitz is called TRUŠECY in Sorbian, which means “folks of one Družk.” Evidently, the German name, TRAUSCHWITZ, was formed by taking the first syllable TRUS (Trausch) and adding a diminutive suffix witz to it. This procedure of naming villages and hamlets in the vicinity of Bautzen was common and there are numerous names of villages and hamlets that end with itz and witz. In Sorbian NOSTITZ is NOSAĆICY, which means “folks of one Nosata.”
DUBE, which means oak (Eiche in German), is a derivation of the Sorbian dub, pronounced “dup.” Dube appears in some of the records as DUB and DUBA. DUBE is a common name in some parts of Upper Lusatia.
OUR DUBE LINEAGE
[1]
Christoph Dube
B. 27 Oct 1767
D. 27 May 1843: Trauschwitz, Saxony
[2]
Michael Dube married 19 Jun 1830, Kittlitz, Saxony to Johanna Rosina Tanniger aka Tanner
B. 27 Sep 1807: Trauschwitz, Saxony B. 15 Dec 1807: Bellwitz, Saxony
D. 29 Sep 1854: Ireland D. 18 Aug 1889: Serbin, Texas
[3]
Anna Holfeld married 14 May 1854, Baruth, Saxony to Ferdinand Jakob Moerbe
B. 2 Dec 1828: Neudörfdel, Saxony B. 6 Dec 1828: Guttau, Saxony
D. 30 Nov 1854: On BEN NEVIS at sea D. 13 Dec 1896: Thorndale, Texas
Johanna Rahel Dube [+] married 17 May 1855, Serbin, Texas to Ferdinand Jakob Moerbe
B. 4 Aug 1834: Sohland am Rotstein, Saxony
D. 15 Aug 1917: Thorndale, Texas
[4]
Carl August Moerbe married 09 Feb 1883, Fedor, Texas to Ernstine Michalk
B. 17Jan 1860: Serbin, Texas B. 14 Oct 1862: Sandförstgen, Silesia
D. 6 Sep 1944: Taylor, Texas D. 15 Jan 1936: Thorndale, Texas
[5]
Lydia Lina Moerbe married Jan 17 1905, Thorndale, Texas to Johann Otto Biar
B. 8 Feb 1885: Fedor, Texas B. 1 Oct 1879: Serbin, Texas
D. 24 Jan 1957: Taylor, Texas D. 14 Nov 1956: Taylor, Texas
NOTES
Names of persons born in what is now Germany are spelled the way they appear in the church records where the baptisms are recorded.
Spelling of places for OUR DUBE LINEAGE (P.) was taken from a modern German map. States, countries, etc., are in English.
“Also known as” was used to translate the German “genannt.” It indicates that a person underwent a name change.
B. indicates date of birth. D. indicates date of death.
[+] indicates our ancestor when there was more than one marriage.
A little over 50 percent of the Wends who migrated to Texas in 1854 came from the Province or State of Silesia (Schlesien) in the Kingdom of Prussia (Königreich Preussen). They came from the counties (Kreis – Kreise) of Rothenburg and Hoyerswerda. The rest came from the Kingdom of Saxony (Königreich Sachsen), from the counties of Bautzen and Löbau (Loebau). After the unification of West and East Germany in 1990 the area covered by the above counties is now included in the newly-formed Province or State of Saxony in modern Germany.
[1]
CHRISTOPH DUBE AND HIS WIFE
Our Dube ancestors can be traced to Christoph Dube and was born 27 October 1767. He was a farmer (Grossgärtner) at Trauschwitz. His wife’s name and date and place of birth are not available. The church records at Nostitz mention two brothers, Johann and Andreas, and a sister, Agnes. He died on 5 May 1843 at Trauschwitz.
After French soldiers burned his house to the ground Christoph rebuilt his house and from all indications built well, because the house was still standing with the monogram “C D” on it in 1972. The house passed from the Dube family in 1860 when the widow of a descendant, named Adam Dube, married Andreas Schneider. Dube descendants of Christoph live in Zschorna and Löbau.
Christoph’s son, Michael, was our ancestor.
[2]
MICHAEL DUBE AND JOHANNA ROSINA TANNIGER
Michael Dube was born at Trauschwitz, County (Kreis) of Löbau, Saxony, on 27 September 1807. His father’s name was Christoph, who was a farmer (Grossgärtner) at Trauschwitz. His mother’s name is not available.
An entry in the church records at Nostitz attests that Michael married Anna Rosina Tanniger on 19 June 1830. The church records at Kittlitz list her name as Johanna Rosina Tanniger genannt (also known as) Tanner. The name also emerges as TANIGER, DANIGER and TANGER in some of the records. Back in the 1830s spelling of names had not yet been standardized. However, when the German gennant was used it indicated a change of
surname due to a change in status or the assumption of someone else’s property or some other reason. The name change was probably effected by her father. The origin of TANNIGER is problematic. Since they were Wends, the name could have come from a Slavic stem word, such as, dan which means “given,” instead of the German Tanne (fir tree).
Since Mrs. Dube was born at Bellwitz, which belongs to the parish of Kittlitz, Johanna Rosina were probably her correct given names. If the custom was followed to call a person by the given name immediately preceding the surname, she was called “Rosina.” Johanna was often recorded as Hanna or Anna in other records. She was born on 15 December 1807, the fifth daughter and tenth child of Johann Christoph Tanniger, a resident of Bellwitz, and his wife, Anna Elizabeth GÄRTNER from Eibau. Anna Elizabeth was born at Ebersbach near Zittau. By occupation Christoph Tanniger was a weaver.
Michael Dube and Johanna Rosina, nee Tanniger, alias Tanner, had a large family, with theirchildren being born at a number of places. There are nine children listed on the Ship Register of the BEN NEVIS. However, we have found records of eleven children. Their names appear in various parish baptismal records as follows:
NAME BORN PLACE PARISH
1. Johann Carl August 1831 Bellwitz Kittlitz
2. Johanne Christiane 1832 Sohland am Rotstein Sohland am Rotstein
3. Johanne Rahel 1834 Sohland am Rotstein Sohland am Rotstein
4. Johanne Eleonore 1836 Sohland am Rotstein Sohland am Rotstein
5. Johanne Marie 1838 Bellwitz Kittlitz
6. Carl Traugott 1839 Mauschwitz Kittlitz
7. Johanne Ernstine 1841 Sohland am Rotstein Sohland am Rotstein
8. Johann Traugott 1843 Grossdehsa Kittlitz
9. Marie Therese 1847 Rachlau Hochkirch
10. Johann Ernst 1849 Rachlau Hochkirch
11. Louise 1851 Rachlau Hochkirch
It is interesting to note that the first name JOHANN was given to three of the above-named boys and JOHANNE was given to five of the above-mentioned girls. It was the custom to call children by the given name immediately preceding their surname, so that the first boy was called “August” and the first girl, “Christiane,” and so on. However, this was not always followed because I understand that my great grandmother, Johanne (also Johanna) Rahel (Rachel) Moerbe, née Dube, went by the name “Anna” or “Anne” for Johanne. It would be interesting to know by what names all of the above were called. Johanne Marie and Johann Traugott were not listed on the Ship Register. It is assumed that they died in early childhood.
The fact that the children were born at various places, as indicated in the above list, presented quite a problem when I first started to research the Michael Dube family. On the birth records of his children Michael Dube’s occupation is listed as Schäfer (shepherd) until the family moved to Grossdehsa. Here he was identified as a Häusler (cotter or cottager), which means that he owned a house and probably a small plot of land for gardening within the confines of the manor at Grossdehsa, near Löbau. Later the family moved to Rachlau and then to Rodewitz. Both of these villages belong to the Parish of Hochkirch. At the time of the emigration of 1854 he was identified as a Halbbauer (half-farmer) at Rodewitz. A peasant, identified as a “Bauer” (farmer), owned what was known as a Hufe (hide) of land, which varied in size from about 20 to 27 acres. A hide of land was supposed to support a family. Being a half-farmer, Michael Dube owned a house and a half of a hide of land within the confines of the manor. In those days it was a long way from shepherd to half-farmer. It is assumed that the property at Rodewitz was sold to finance the immigration to Texas.
Michael Dube died on the Ship BEN NEVIS on 29 September 1854 and was buried in Ireland. Thus Mrs. Dube arrived at Galveston, a widow with 9 children. One of the daughters, Maria Therese, born in 1847, died in the Houston area on 22 December 1854, the first of the Wends to die on Texas soil. It must have been a trying time for the Dube family to start a new life in Texas without a husband and father. Rosina Dube died at Serbin on 18 August 1889. She was buried in the Serbin cemetery.
[3]
JOHANNE RACHEL DUBE AND FERDINAND JACOB MOERBE
Johanne Rahel (Rachel) Dube was born on 8 August 1834 at Sohland am Rotstein, Saxony. Her parents were Michael Dube and Johanne Rosina, née Tanniger, alias Tanner. She was the third of 11 children. Sohland am Rotstein is about 16 miles east of Bautzen and about 5½ miles east of Löbau. It is about 7 miles southeast from Trauschwitz, where her father was born. Sohland am Rotstein is not to be confused with Sohland an der Spree, which is south of Bautzen. The Sorbian name for Sohland is ZAŁOM, which means “the village behind the break in the terrain.” At the age of 20 years she, together with her parents and brothers and sisters, was a member of the large Wendish immigration to Texas in 1854. On 17 May 1855, she married a young widower, Jacob Moerbe, who also was among the Wends that came to Texas in 1854. The writer’s mother told him that when Jacob’s first wife lay on her deathbed she suggested that he marry Anna (Johanne). Anna and Jacob reared a family of 9 children as follows:
NAME BORN DIED SPOUSE
The Jacob Moerbe family moved to Fedor in the latter part of 1872.
Ernst Adolph was a farmer at Fedor while August, John and Carl were farmers in the Thorndale area.
Herman and John Michalk operated Moerbe and Michalk Mercantile in Thorndale. In 1911 Hermann and his wife and family moved to Bishop, where he was a farmer.
Emil was a Lutheran pastor, who from 1892 until 1895 served as a missionary, based at Cisco, also served Abilene, Baird and Big Spring. He spent a considerable amount of time in Abilene. When an Episcopal chapel became available he borrowed $500 from his father to buy it. The congregation repaid some of the debt, but not very much. When he married, his father, as a wedding gift, canceled the remainder of the debt. This was certainly an unusual wedding present. He was the pastor at Giddings from 1895 until 1909 and then at Hamilton from 1909 until 1939, when he retired. He served on the Texas District Mission Board for 36 years. When Pastor Moerbe visited Thorndale he always visited his brother, August, and this writer had the pleasure of hearing him relate his experiences as a member of the Texas District Mission board, one such experience being a trip to Mexico City.
Maria Magdalene married Ernst Waiser and Johanna Emma married Paul Schultz, both farmers in the Thorndale area. Johanna (Anna) married Wilhelm Eifert from Cisco in 1895. She died a year later and was buried at Thorndale. In 1893 Jacob and Johanne moved to Thorndale. He died on 13 December 1896 and was buried in St. Paul Lutheran Cemetery. After Jacob’s death Johanna made her home with her son, August. She died on 15 August 1917 and was buried beside her husband.
Our Dube line continues with CARL AUGUST MOERBE AND ERNESTINE MICHALK in the Moerbe family history entitled FROM DZICK TO MITSCHKE TO MÖRBE.
OTHER DUBES
The Ship Register of the BEN NEVIS lists Johann Dube and his wife, Magdalene, and son, Carl August, from Prauske. This has reference to Ober Prauske, which is a short distance southeast of Weigersdorf, Silesia. Some time ago the writer was asked whether or not Johann Dube and Michael Dube were related. My investigation revealed that Johann was born on 24 April 1826 at Cortnitz, Saxony, which belongs to the parish of Gröditz in Saxony. His father was Andreas Dube, who was born at Trauschwitz. His mother was Anna, nee Reisner, who was born at Baruth, Saxony. At his baptism on 26 April 1826 one of his sponsors was his uncle Johann Dube, from Trauschwitz. His father and uncle were brothers of the above-mentioned Michael Dube, so that the subject Johann Dube was Michael’s nephew. Since Johann was a member of the congregation at Weigersdorf, one of the two “Old Lutheran” congregations served by Pastor Johann Kilian before the emigration of 1854, one wonders what influence he had on the decision of his uncle’s family to emigrate. He was 28 years old when the Wends migrated. After the Wends arrived in Texas, he, together with Carl Lehmann, went ahead of the trekking colonists to select a place for the settlement.
Johann Dube’s first wife was Magdalene Gross from Wuischke, Saxony. She was born on 22 June 1829 and died on 19 December 1860. His second wife was Maria Symny from Rackel, Saxony. She was born on 6 October 1842. Her date of death is not available.