My ancestor listed his wife as being born in what I believe says Ragned, Germany, but I can't find a place with that name online. Wondering if the transcriber misheard him? Any ideas?
by fjsjshahaisnakal
My ancestor listed his wife as being born in what I believe says Ragned, Germany, but I can't find a place with that name online. Wondering if the transcriber misheard him? Any ideas?
by fjsjshahaisnakal
4 comments
It is most likely “Ragnit”, if you say “Ragnit” in the German pronounciation an English speaker might transcribe it at “Ragned”.
[https://www.meyersgaz.org/place/20539064](https://www.meyersgaz.org/place/20539064)
[http://www.kartenmeister.com/preview/City.asp?CitNum=2155](http://www.kartenmeister.com/preview/City.asp?CitNum=2155)
It could be [Ragnit, East Prussia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neman,_Russia). After WW2 it became part of Russia.
Curious, as the English “R” sound at the beginning of words is often difficult for Germans to pronounce as it is a different sound to what the German R sounds like. I would definitely bet it’s a wrong transcription.
No idea of what it could be though unfortunately.
Edit: because people seem to be taking offense to this, I’m talking about how an American immigration official might have heard the pronounced word differently due to the different sounds the R makes in German vs. English. No insult toward the ability of Germans to pronounce the letter R. (**English speakers have the same problem in Germany**)
[https://www.archion.de/de/alle-archive/berlin-/-brandenburg/evangelisches-zentralarchiv-in-berlin/kreis-ragnit-provinz-ostpreussen](https://www.archion.de/de/alle-archive/berlin-/-brandenburg/evangelisches-zentralarchiv-in-berlin/kreis-ragnit-provinz-ostpreussen)