German grandmother

[Peonie]

My English must be absolutely lousy.
There are two places called Osterode, one am Harz, the other one in Eastprussia. In 1900 both of them in Prussia. Where  did you get Harz from?
In your later Post you say there are the letters oftpw after the name. When you check out Sütterlin Schrift you‘ll see the letters say ostpr (Eastprussia)
Regards Peonie

[Rena]

My English must be absolutely lousy.
There are two places called Osterode, one am Harz, the other one in Eastprussia. In 1900 both of them in Prussia. Where  did you get Harz from?
In your later Post you say there are the letters oftpw after the name. When you check out Sütterlin Schrift you‘ll see the letters say ostpr (Eastprussia)
Regards Peonie

Peonie,  my history with mainland Europe ended in the 1860s at a time when there were several little states, princedoms and the Kingdom of Hanover.   These little countries were merged when Prussia and Austria insisted on there being one Germanic State (actually Prussia's army marched into the Kingdom of Hanover).  The USA acknowledged the new large Republic as "Prussia" but it took GB quite a while to recognise the Republic as "Germany".  As for "Osterode Am Harz" - it looks to me as though that was a "newly" organised civil district where the land around Osterode came under one civil authority and as you say, it's part of Niedersachsen.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Osterode_(district)

[Berlin-Bob]

Just to be absolutely clear, there are definitely two places called Osterode,

(As a tip for anybody seeking places in Germany, Prussia, etc,)
click on
http://gov.genealogy.net/search/name and enter "Ortsname" (Place name)
If you enter Osterode you will see a map showing both locations, with a list of contexts for this name

- one is the Osterode, Harz, http://gov.genealogy.net/item/show/OSTODEJO51DR

- the other is in what was then Germany (East Prussia) and is now in present day Poland
http://gov.genealogy.net/item/show/object_190244

The links are all to a german site GOV - Geschichtliche Orts-verzeichnis (Historical Place Directory),
which shows where places names can be found (and in which context : parish, town, bishopric, admin-district, etc.), and where they "belonged" at different times.

regards,
Bob

ps. I used to visit a customer in Osterode, Harz, so I definitely know where that one is !

[Berlin-Bob]

Some locations in Eastern and Central Europe "changed hands" so often, that they could have been labelled as being in Germany / Prussia / Poland / Austro-Hungarian-Empire at different times.
 

In your later Post you say there are the letters oftpw after the name. When you check out Sütterlin Schrift you‘ll see the letters say ostpr (Eastprussia)

So you are most likely looking for the second link

i looked on ancestry but cant find census for kessler osterode

There were very few censuses in Germany / Prussia / Poland / Austro-Hungarian-Empire.
Certainly none of this "every ten years", as in USA, UK, Ireland and some other places
(we don't realise how spoilt we are, until we start looking outside these "regular census" countries )

regards,
Bob

[Rena]

Some locations in Eastern and Central Europe "changed hands" so often, that they could have been labelled as being in Germany / Prussia / Poland / Austro-Hungarian-Empire at different times.
 

In your later Post you say there are the letters oftpw after the name. When you check out Sütterlin Schrift you‘ll see the letters say ostpr (Eastprussia)

So you are most likely looking for the second link

i looked on ancestry but cant find census for kessler osterode

There were very few censuses in Germany / Prussia / Poland / Austro-Hungarian-Empire.
Certainly none of this "every ten years", as in USA, UK, Ireland and some other places
(we don't realise how spoilt we are, until we start looking outside these "regular census" countries )

regards,
Bob

Whilst I was researching my family I found that Napoleon's reign early 1800s set up a regular six monthly "buildings and people count" on 30th June and 31st December  After a few decades names of ordinary people started to be listed.  You could be lucky and find some.  I've attached a copy of part of a people count of Strasse 88, Salzgitter taken on 31st December 1852 when my gt.grandfather's Aunt Charlotte was six years old.  The several columns were for quick calculations, e.g. to separate children from adults and males from females and a column for religion.

[smayne]

Do you have your grandmother's birth certificate which may(?) give her mother's full name?

Where was your grandmother born? If I were you I would be looking for her birth certificate. Birth certificates generally give both mother and father's names.

If the family moved to the UK, depending on dates, have you checked the censuses?

Re reading, I think I may have misunderstood. Can I confirm? ....
F. Kessler is your father's grandmother?
It was only your father who moved to the UK? 

yes it was only him

[smayne]

Some locations in Eastern and Central Europe "changed hands" so often, that they could have been labelled as being in Germany / Prussia / Poland / Austro-Hungarian-Empire at different times.
 

In your later Post you say there are the letters oftpw after the name. When you check out Sütterlin Schrift you‘ll see the letters say ostpr (Eastprussia)

So you are most likely looking for the second link

i looked on ancestry but cant find census for kessler osterode

There were very few censuses in Germany / Prussia / Poland / Austro-Hungarian-Empire.
Certainly none of this "every ten years", as in USA, UK, Ireland and some other places
(we don't realise how spoilt we are, until we start looking outside these "regular census" countries )

regards,
Bob

thankyou that looks right.. so will check east prussia

Whilst I was researching my family I found that Napoleon's reign early 1800s set up a regular six monthly "buildings and people count" on 30th June and 31st December  After a few decades names of ordinary people started to be listed.  You could be lucky and find some.  I've attached a copy of part of a people count of Strasse 88, Salzgitter taken on 31st December 1852 when my gt.grandfather's Aunt Charlotte was six years old.  The several columns were for quick calculations, e.g. to separate children from adults and males from females and a column for religion.