{"id":475,"date":"2014-06-16T12:50:47","date_gmt":"2014-06-16T17:50:47","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/?page_id=475"},"modified":"2026-09-15T11:39:20","modified_gmt":"2026-09-15T16:39:20","slug":"the-blomberg-diary","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.karenfurst.com\/blog\/genealogy\/families\/blomberg\/the-blomberg-diary\/","title":{"rendered":"The Blomberg Diary"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Blomberg Diary is one of the most remarkable surviving objects in our family collection. Rather than a conventional diary, it is a family Poesie-Album passed through several generations and filled with verses, inscriptions, drawings, and other entries written in old German and Danish. Its pages span more than seventy years, from the earliest entries in Rendsburg in 1792 through the nineteenth century, preserving the handwriting and voices of family members and friends long before the Blombergs came to America.<\/p>\n

Our family has in its possession a journal kept by our earliest Blomberg ancestors. In Germany they called it a Poesie-Album. Most little girls when they were old enough to read got one as a birthday gift from a sister, aunt or female family friend. Friends and relatives had to put some verses or other wisdoms into it. Some were rather deep; others silly or funny.<\/p>\n

This book was kept by several members of the family and is written in old Danish and German. It has not been translated. (Perhaps you could help with that! Do you read old Danish or German? If so, please leave a comment below!) Even if I could read those languages, deciphering the handwriting is a problem. I’ve learned that until about 1900, the Danish used a style known as the “German hand.” Pre-1800 Norwegian records are likely to be in Gothic script.<\/p>\n

The first part of the book was written in as early as 1792 while author lived in Rendsburg, a Danish city. The family at that time (1792) wrote in German. There are many entries written by friends, especially the Witte (Wittn) family in March 1799.<\/p>\n

The book continues until 1865 when the authors were living in Schleswig, which became part of Prussia. Perhaps the book was owned by Jacob Wilhelm\u2019s mother (died 1810) or father (died November 2, 1825 at age 52). He apparently lived or stayed in Copenhagen for a time, speaking German.<\/p>\n

There are several unexplained names in the book:
\nSophie Amalie Charl. Dose, born? April 26, 1793
\nJacob Friedrich Dose, 1582-1737
\nSophie\u2019s father was C.G.W. Goricke, 1762-1829, died in Christianshaven near Copenhagen at age 67.<\/p>\n

The owners of the diary are as follows:
\n1. female Dose 1792-1803 married Blomberg
\n2. Jacob Wilhelm Blomberg 1826-1835
\n3. Wilhelm Theodor Blomberg 1880\u2019s-1920\u2019s<\/p>\n

Dates of diary
\nCopenhagen 1826, 1827, 1828
\nRendsburg 1792-1798, 1803, 1826
\nFaaborg 1837, 1844
\nLanning or Lonning 1800<\/p>\n

History
\n1. Earliest entries March 31 to May 1792
\nmost entries in Plattdeutsch
\nGerman, not Danish handwriting
\nMostly German, not Danish names
\n1792-1803 owned by female Dose, entries written by brothers and sister
\nno 1796, 1801 entries
\nshe died 1810, born 1778? married 1799?, husband died 1825
\n2. March 9, 1826-1835 owned by Jacob Wilhelm Blomberg
\nwritten in by wife Caroline and brothers
\nJWB was member of Prince Carl Frid. Regiment
\n3. comments put in JWB\u2019s years by Wilhelm Theodor Blomberg and his wife Catherine Tandrop in 1880\u2019s and 1920\u2019s<\/p>\n

Here are photographs of the pages.<\/p>\n