(Napoleonic) French Laws of 18 August 1811.
{Translated}
The surname certificate of Pieter Roelfs, living in Appingedam:
Appeared to me R.P. Cleveringa Maire [*French for "Mayor"] deputing the functions of Officer of the Registrar’s Office of the Municipality of Appingedam, "Canton" of Appingedam, "Arrondisement" of Appingedam, "Department" of the Wester Eems, Pieter Roelfs, living in Appingedam, who declared to accept as his Family-name the name of Mulder and as First name or names, the name or names of Pieter Roelfs; that he has one Son and ------ Daughter ------ Grandson ----- Granddaughter, named Rudolphus.
And has the Appearer beside me undersigned this certificate in Appingedam, the 10-th January 1812.
[*signatures]
Pieter Roelfs Mulder
R.P. Cleveringa.
The surname certificate of Jan Jelles, living in Appingedam:
Appeared to me, R.P. Cleveringa, Maire... etc. etc... Jan Jelles, living in Appingedam, who declared to accept as his Family name the name Pelmulder and as his First name or names, the name or names of Jan Jelles; that he has ------- Son and --------- Daughter ----------- Grandson --------- Granddaughter, named --------
And has the Appearer besides me undersigned this certificate the 5-th February 1812.
[*Signatures]
Jan Jelles Pelmulder
R.P.Cleveringa
The surname certificate of Fokke Hendriks, living in Appingedam:
Appeared the me, R.P. Cleveringa, Maire... etc. etc.... Fokke Hindriks, living in Appingedam, who declared to accept as his First name the name of Fokke Hindriks and as his Family name the name of Fokkens; that he has Three Sons and ------ Daughter, one Grandson and two Granddaughters, named:
Derk ) Fokko)
Hindrik) Sons
Antje )
Grandchildren
Willem)
And has the Appearer besides me undersigned this certificate, the 4-th February 1812.
[*In the marginal line the following text]:
Approved on the sixth line of above [*the word] "surname"; on the eigth line "family" cancelled, on the nineth line "daughter".{NOTE L.W.: in translating and noting this, the line numbers are not consistant with the original text.}
Pieter Roelfs chose as head of his Family - he was married before 1811 - the surname Mulder, where Jan Jelles chose the surname Pelmulder, while his father Jelle Jans deceased about 8 months earlier. Although in the beginning of 1812 the 18 years old son Jan Jelles Pelmulder was quite under-aged, he probably was seen by the government as the new "Head of the Family", not only for himself, but also for his (yet unmarried) sister Jantje Jelles of 26 years and his younger brother Kornelis Jelles of (just) 14 years.
There’s no surname certificate of the old mother Anje Pieters in this list. Why she kept her name Anje Pieters, officially or not, I don’t know. Maybe older people were free of these rules?
In 1810 Napoleon had annexed the Netherlands and made it a part of his Empire France, dividing the Netherlands in "Mairie’s", "Cantons", "Quarters" and "Departments". That was the end of the of the municipalities Tjamsweer, Opwierde and Solwerd, which became now parts of the "Marie Appingedam", like I read in a Groningen history book.
Transcriptions: Albert Geurink.
Date: October 3, 2004.
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