Genealogical Research Leads To Present Day Connections For Sandy Hook Family

By Nancy K. Crevier

Danny Bittman did not realize what a passion would arise in his father or how far from his Rose Lane home in Sandy Hook his project would take him when he delved into his heritage project two years ago at Sandy Hook School.

The assignment, says 10-year-old Danny, now a student at Reed Intermediate School, was to “pretend to be one of my ancestors and write a journal. I chose Bernard Bittmann from Michelbach. He left Germany in 1871 at the end of the Franco-Prussian War and came to New York.”

It was during that immigration, explains Danny’s father, Tom Bittman, that the second “n” in their surname was lost. From New York, the Bittman ancestor traveled to Wisconsin, where he settled in Milwaukee.

For Tom Bittman, Danny’s project, as well as the one his daughter, Laura, an NHS freshman, had undertaken in elementary school, triggered a renewed curiosity about his ancestry that he had originally pursued as a high school student, and again following college. Information he had collected from the mammoth registry of the Church of Latter Day Saints’ Family History Center proved useful to his children, and local genealogists need go no further than the LDS Family History Center located at Saw Mill Road in Newtown. But the availability of the Internet made the search much easier for his son. “It’s a good source to get you started,” says Mr Bittman, when researching genealogy.

As far as Danny was concerned, his work was done when he handed in the journal, but his father continued to pursue the family history to a point that, laughs Danny, “was almost annoying. He had these giant pieces of paper that covered the back of our door with all the history of the ancestors, and all he did was talk about this one or that one.”

One of the intriguing things about genealogy, Mr Bittman says, is that “Research brings up as many questions as it answers.” The questions piled up for this family researcher as he uncovered his roots, bit by bit, and he was determined to find as many answers as possible.

Through parish records, Mr Bittman was able to trace his roots back ten generations, and he discovered that several Bittmanns still lived in the Black Forest village of Michelbach. The village of 2,100 residents, located in the Baden-Wurttemberg region of Southern Germany, celebrated its 900th Anniversary in 2002, a bit humbling to our own mere 300 years celebrated this year in Newtown, says Mr Bittman. “It is unusual for a town to remain intact for so many years,” and he cites nearby towns and villages that were wiped out during the World Wars.

Mr Bittman, who is a vice president and fellow with Gartner in Stamford, travels frequently. His overseas trips gave him ample time to decipher the parish records he had collected, no small feat, as Mr Bittman does not speak or read German, and the ancient records were written in tiny script, often crowded onto the page. With persistence, he was able to unravel pertinent information, such as names, dates, and places of importance. The names and stories began to take shape, and he reveled in sharing them with his family. As he shares the tales he has untangled, says Mr Bittman, “They start to become human.”

By 2004, Mr Bittman knew that it was time to visit Michelbach, where their ancestors had lived for at least 300 years before coming to America. He imagined being able to put faces to the names he had uncovered. His traveling companions-to-be, Danny and Jack Bittman, Tom’s father from Wisconsin, were not quite so enthusiastic at first. As a matter of fact, “I did have to strong-arm my father, but then he started to get excited,” says Mr Bittman.

Danny’s spot was originally offered to Laura, but the September trip coincided with her start of high school and she passed on the opportunity to her younger brother. His reluctance to go, says the young man, was not so much about the adventure or traveling to a foreign country, but hinged more on his fear of flying. Ultimately, though, his father’s enthusiasm rubbed off on him and he opted to overcome his angst. On September 17 the three generations of Bittman men found themselves headed to Germany.

“Grandpa and I were afraid the trip was going to be all about gravestones,” says Danny, and indeed, his father had visions of visiting graveyards and verifying more of the information the parish records had divulged. What they did not know about was the European custom of recycling graveyard plots. “We didn’t find any graves,” exclaims Mr Bittman. “All the graves they have are only there for 25 years, then they are moved. So those plans went out the window.”

Familiar Faces

However, previous correspondence with town officials from Michelbach landed the American Bittmans a meeting with members of the local historical museum, some of whom were Bittmanns. Whether or not they were relatives, Tom Bittman was unsure, but as the men muddled their way through bilingual conversations, it became clear that the Michelbach Bittmanns with whom they sat were their cousins. For Danny, the connection felt immediate upon meeting the group at the museum.

“It felt like seeing regular people, like aunts or uncles,” he says.

That meeting was a turning point for Jack Bittman, too. He found himself face-to-face with Otto Bittmann, who is the spitting image of Jack’s grandfather. His excitement toward his new-found cousin was palpable, and suddenly the gathering warmed up. Tom Bittman says that his father could not get over the uncanny resemblance.

The American Bittmans presented their hosts with tercentennial ornaments from Newtown, and Danny was given a personal tour of the entire museum, which was set up to resemble Michelbach in 1792. “They had him try everything in the museum,” recalls Mr Bittman.

A tour of the town with official Roland Bittmann was arranged and again, says Tom Bittman, the meeting started off politely but cool, until they figured out the family connection. “Suddenly, things were different,” he says. Danny, Tom, and Jack Bittman were invited to the family’s home for dinner, and more connections were made. The dinner with their new relatives was one of the highlights of the trip for Danny, as was meeting his fifth cousin, Sarah, who is 12 years old. The two youngsters made a pact to see who could speak the other’s language better by the time they next meet.

Still overwhelmed by the magnitude of the trip and the thrill of an expanded family, it is hard for Danny to sort out the images he has brought back to America. The topography of the area impressed him greatly, he says. “All of the views. And the roads in town were so small you had to go in the grass if there were two cars.”

All three generations were struck by the sad irony of the World War I and II memorials in Michelbach. “Nine or ten Bittmanns died in the wars,” says Tom Bittman. “We realized that in World War II, American Bittmans were probably fighting German Bittmanns, relatives. It’s chilling. They were just caught up in events like we were here.”

The Michelbach Bittmanns were extremely interested in the research Tom had done and curious as to how they, too, could retrieve the information. As a result, Tom Bittman has decided to take the genealogical research further.

“One thing they don’t know well in Michelbach is genealogy. I’m going to do a genealogy of the town. From 1730 to 1900, everyone’s birth and death dates will be recorded.” So far, he has imaged 2,000 parish records. His deadline is the November 2006 Dorffest, a huge village festival held every two years in Michelbach.

The 2006 Dorffest is a goal for Jack Bittman, as well. He was so enthralled by the September visit that he plans to attend that celebration with his wife. He wants to show her the village of his ancestors and introduce her to the Michelbach Bittmanns.

The thrill of unearthing the family’s past is not to be underestimated, and Mr Bittman offers this advice to others seeking their roots, “Start researching early, before it’s gone, before the artifacts are gone. Then it will be there for you.”