Schladetsch Family Tree Blog

Author and Researcher – Me

Who am I? 

I have been asked – so what nationality is Schladetsch?  And I used to answer my father was from Germany.  Then, in hearing some of the family tales, it became my father was from Germany, but his ancestors came from Russia.  As I delved more and more into surnames, their meanings and origins, and the history of surnames, I was lead down some interesting paths, that we will get to shortly.

So, I am …. Linda Christien Schladetsch.  Yes, the spelling in Christien, is not normal.  I was always told that it was just the way it was spelt on the birth certificate.

With such an unusual last name, it has always been a bit of a pride thing too – being the only Schladetsch family in Australia would kind of do that for you.  But as the years have gone by I have always wondered – where are the other parts of the Schladetsch family? Do they also wonder about our family tree? What do others know?

Then, several years ago, I received a parcel in the mail with a bundle of genealogy certificates all neatly photocopied, with a note from my mum that this had been done in Germany, by a professional researcher and this was a copy for my records.  Now, as my mother, and her mother, had just spent the previous 30 years researching her family tree of Field’s and McCaskey’s, she was not particularly interested in undertaking any further research on my father’s side.  But the challenge as there for me – did I want to take it up?

Over the years I fiddled around with a little bit of internet research here or there.  But even up to 2002, there wasn’t a whole lot available online.  Then in 2006, I seem to have started a bit more search, as I have quiet a number of printouts of various census records, or immigration lists in my files, but even at that time I hadn’t been able to make a whole lot of connections with the data I had.  It isn’t until now in 2011, that I am finally able to make any headroads into making ‘sense’ of the names, dates and events that I have before me.

What has changed?  Well for one the internet.  It is an amazing resource for researchers now, and although time consuming in being lead down proverbial rabbit holes,  there is a wealth of information to be found.  Also back in 2006, I had just had a major attack of MS ( Multiple Sclerosis), which meant that I really didn’t have the physical ability to sit for long periods of time.  Then the year after that we started homeschooling, which took a lot of my focus for the next couple of years.  Then, with the pending ill health and subsequent passing away of my husbands grandfather, I took an interest in tracing the ancestory of my husbands family, being the Richardson’s. 

Now, finally, in 2011, I feel like if I don’t make the time, or invest some energy in writing this down, both the ancestory, and my efforts so far, may be lost!  There is so much information already that I have collected, and that is only after a few months  of concerted effort – what would be like after  a year!  So after recently reading some very good advice on writing your family research – was to start writing as soon as you start researching.  Which is what I am going to do.

As of now, early February 2011, we had 9 generations of Schladetsch, ending with the puzzle of Sladetzki in 1738, and as of today ( 19 May, 2011), there are 11 generations.

Questions. Where did the surname change?  Why? What are the origins of name?