SEARCHING FOR ROOTS
I grew up in a small village in the middle of Bavaria, south of Nuremberg. My father, Kurt Geuther, was a handsome and charming man, who tried all his life to be an artist, a painter, though his talent for painting hardly rivaled his imagination. The fantastic stories he told about his past and where he came from did justice to the meaning of his last name (= braggart). He also was very secretive and left his wife and four children, often for weeks and months without explanation. I was nine when my parents divorced and my father disappeared for good. We never had a chance to meet our paternal grandparents.This lack of knowledge caused a great fascination with my father and his mysterious family. But only when the Wall came down between East and West Germany in 1989, was it possible to search for him. Unfortunately, he was already dead by then. My father had hidden in the former DDR for 25 years, painting goldrims on Meissner porcelain in the last years of his life. My sister and I discovered that he had died 5 years earlier. His parents and all his brothers were dead as well. We found only one aunt who refused to be reminded of her Geuther upbringing and didn't want to talk to us. But the desire to find the truth behind my father's stories, to find my roots, always stayed with me. And, thanks to the internet, my search for family and answers has finally been successful. Gaby Geuther |
Weissenburg civic center, oil painting by Kurt Geuther, 1952 |
THE BEGINNING OF OUR FAMILY CIRCLE
Only a few years have past, since I googled my last name on the internet and found, to my delight, two gentlemen from Germany, Kurt and Eckhard Geuther, who had already begun the rewarding task of tracing their family roots. We quickly realized that our ancestors came from the same stretch of land in northern Bavaria and the southern part of Thuringia. We also knew from the phone book that this area showed a concentration of Geuther families. So it was only fitting to organize our first family meeting in Sonneberg, Thuringia.
More than sixty participants came to our first reunion in September 2005. And the enthusiasm of that gathering inspired the creation of our nonprofit Geuder/Geuter/Geuther Family Circle. Meeting so many Geuder and Geuther sharing their individual research was positively overwhelming.
Another surprise was finding my personal family connection to the oldest Geuther tree that, to date, reaches back to 1441. Thanks to many contributors, especially, Andreas Jahrow and his mother, who combed through church archives for Geuder/Geuther entries and then organized them into an ancestor tree, my larger family has now grown to more than 4500 individuals. It feels very reassuring to have roots that go so deep.
JOIN US!
Today, we have about 65 member families in Germany, Netherlands, England, New Zealand and United States. Most members save their data on the FamilyTreeMaker program. Our collected information is shared only within the group. For that purpose, we have set up a private Yahoo Group that functions as our on-line archive as well as a platform for exchanges. The research in Germany and the US is growing in leaps and bounds. But not all members are actively involved. Some members are searching through old tax and lien books to trace our lineages even further back. Others look through local church archives and internet files or collect historical information for a broader picture of the lives and circumstances in which our ancestors found themselves in. Every little pebble helps to build our Geuder/Geuther project.
Although, we are just at the beginning and a lot of work needs to be done, hopefully one day, we will be able to connect all living Geuder/Geuther descendants to the one ancestor that carried this name first. You can help us by contributing your family tree, regardless how short or long it is. You can also become a member of our family circle. The small annual token of $15 for the membership will inspire us to continue and keep you informed of your growing family tree. To sign up, send messages and share information see Contact and Guestbook. Not every one has the time and knowledge for active research. There are other ways to participate: You can also contribute by participating in our DNA surname project or by donating to our DNA project fund. See DNA project.
CLUB ORGANISATION
Club President and Treasurer: Christa Geuther, Mainz, Germany
Substitute President: Carolin Liebermann
Club Auditor: Dr. Eckhard Geuther, Seefeld, Germany
Working Committee: Dr. Eckhard Geuther, Hans Geuther, Andreas Jahrow, Carolin Liebermann, Arno Engelhard, Heinz Geuter, Gaby Geuther
Webmaster Germany: Kurt Geuther, Kiel
Webmaster USA: Gaby Geuther, Topanga, California
To get in touch, see Contact page.
FAMILY CLUB CHARTER
1. Name, Definition, Business year, Usage of Funds
The Family Research Circle Geuder/Geuter/Geuther-Ancestors is an alliance of all carriers of the surname Geuder/Geuter/Geuther, whose traced or assumed origins are in the area of South Thuringowa and Frankonia. [center of Germany]. The Family Circle is a noncommercial association. The members contribute on a voluntary basis. The business year is the calendar year. Funds can only be used as directed in the Charter.
2. Purpose
Goal and purpose of the Family Circle is the research of ancestors, and the commitment to mutual help in drawing up individual family trees of the members. The Family Circle is politically and ideologically neutral.
3. Benefits of the Family Circle
The Family Circle offers its members the opportunity to exchange their results and the experiences of their ancestor research. Occasional meetings will be arranged for the purpose of personal exchanges and fostering of social relations. The Family Club homepage serves as information platform with access to the data collection as well as the possibility to contact our research team.
4. Membership
Membership is by written or verbal application. All interested can become members. For reoccurring costs a yearly membership is requested. The amount is determined by the assembly of the members and is to be paid by March 31st of the current year. Preferred method of payment is by bank transfer. In the US by check mailed to local contact. Resignation from the Family Circle can be requested anytime. Though paid contributions will not be returned. A member can be excluded from the Family Circle through the Member Assembly, if he or she violates the interests of the Family Circle or if the membership fee is not paid on time in spite of warning. The members agree to share their personal data and research results to be used within the purpose of the Family Circle.
5. Bodies of the Family Circle Geuder/Geuter/Geuther-Ancestors
Member Assembly
Working committee
5.1 Assembly of Members
The Member Assembly is the highest body of the Family Circle, called to order by the Working Committee. Individual members can request the Member Assembly through contacting the Working Committee.
The day’s agenda of the Member Assembly should contain:
+ Business report of the Working Committee
+ Cash report
+ Report of the treasurer
+ Relief of the Working Committee
+ Decisions about finances
The Member Assembly convenes in particular over the
+ Agreement on the membership dues
+ Selection and recall of committee members
+ Changes to the Charter
+ Dissolution of the Family Circle
The decisions are made based on the majority vote of the members present, as long as no other rules exist. A member chosen by the assembly records the decisions that are ratified by the acting coordinator.
5.2 Working Committee
The Working Committee consist of
1. The coordinator
2. Substitute for the coordinator
3. Treasurer
4. Research team
5. Team for preparation of the member assembly
6. Team for USA contacts
7. Archivist
The Working Committee directs the business of the Family Circle according to the Charter and the resolutions of the Member Assembly. All members of the Working Committee are of equal rank and equally responsible. Resolutions are to be obtained by simple majority of members present. The Working Committee restricts the obligations of the Family Circle to the club funds.
6. Cash Report
The Working Committee chooses a member for auditing the Club register, who presents the cash report at the Member Assembly.
7. Dissolving the Family Circle Geuder/Geuter/Geuther-Ancestors
The Family Circle can be dissolved by resolution of the Member Assembly. A 75% majority of the members present is necessary to make this decision. The coordinator and his or her substitute are equally authorized as liquidators, as long as the Member Assembly does not agree otherwise. The remaining club funds go to the Staatsarchiv Coburg.
8. Last regulation
All mentioned member positions are gender neutral. The Charter is effective from March 15, 2006.