It turns out that the actual spelling of my ancestors’ surname was Groth.  That would have been one of the reasons why I couldn’t find any information about them, beyond my Great, Great Grandfather, in Prussia.  It has also emerged that Ferdinand was actually named Jacob Ferdinand, and his father, who was named as Frederick on Ferdinand’s wedding certificate, was actually called Jacob Abraham.  Absolutely fascinating stuff.  An extremely helpful person from Poland got in touch with me to give me some very valuable information and it has opened up a whole new line of the Groth family for me.  Carolina Grott’s name was actually Agathe Carolina R⍥ss/R⍥ssein.  She had been married previously and had a daughter, Wilhelmine R⍥ss/R⍥ssein.

Ferdinand had brothers too, and I’m particularly interested in finding more about any descendants of his brother, Johann Ernst Groth, b 1832, d 1914.  I’m fairly sure that he married  an Amalie Erdmuth Koslowski in 1858.  They had 2 children, Oscar Ferdinand (b 1859) and Maria Tusnelda (b 1868).  It’s important to stress that I haven’t had this information confirmed as yet.  Oscar Ferdinand Groth married an Agnes Maria Theresia Kowalewski in 1888, and they had 3 children, namely Hermann Arthur (b 1889), Ella Eugenie (b 1890) and Anna Gertrude (b 1893).

More to follow …