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Please translation this act:

Year of act: 1897
Locality: Riga
Name (of child/husband/deceased): Alexander
Surname (of child/husband/deceased): Kosse Kosow
Link to the fotos: http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy16 ... khlly1.jpg


Hello,

Can somebody help translate this? Why does it give two last names for Alexander - Kosse and Kosow? Thank you.

Może ktoś pomóc przetłumaczyć? Dlaczego to dać dwa nazwiska Alexander - Kosse i Kosów? Dziękuję Ci.

I can help you but I translate the most important facts not word by word.
The marriage was accomplished in Riga in rome catholic church on 19th January in 1897.
Aleksander Kosse vel Kosow is a bachelor and is 29 years old. He was baptised in Vilnius in St.Peter and Paul's church. His parents are Franc and Salomea nee Ferdinant.
Aniela Anczewska is a maiden and 26 years old. She was baptised in Riga. Her parents are Adam and Maria Melder.
The priest's name Ignacy Rudis. The witnesses are Nicolai Lewinski and Anton Bedel.
Between names Kosse and Kosow is word vel. Do you understand what does it mean?

Thank you! No, I don't understand what vel means.

It's similar to aka .Aleksander Kosse was also known as Aleksander Kosow. Maybe his father also used both names.

Interesting, thank you. All of his children's baptism records have Alexander's name as "Kosse vel Kosow" or "Kosse vel Kossow" too. On the boat from Hamburg to America he was "Alexander Kossow" but on his immigration papers he signed his name "Alexander Kossa".

Is Ferdinant a Polish surname? I read Melder could be German or Latvian. Thank you again.

I think it's German but you should check on FamilySearch the metrical books from St Peter and Paul's church from Vilnius. They are available.

I'm looking through them now. His immigration documents give 24 sept 1869 as his birth date but that would only make him 27 at the time of his marriage, not 29. I'll go through the whole range of possible years.

I have been looking through the whole year of birth in St. Peter and Paul's church in 1869 but I haven't found the act of birth of Aleksander. It's strange.
Is there a place of birth in your documents for example in Alexander's passport?

All of his immigration records say Vilna except for his death certificate. His death certificate says he was born in "Kelich, Poland"

It can make a difference. However, the name of city/town/village Kelich doesn't exist in Polish geographical map.

All of his children's baptism records seem to mention Vilna or Vilenski too... I wonder if there's another Sts Peter and Paul Church in the Vilnius guberniya. Oddly I can't find his wife Anela's baptism records in the Riga church archives either.

http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy16 ... ndnzhw.jpg

http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy16 ... avscsu.jpg

http://i788.photobucket.com/albums/yy16 ... prhy2w.jpg

I wish I could help you. It is very complicated story. The doccuments say that Alexander is the citizen of Vilnius but there aren't any info about him or his brothers or sisters in St. Peter and Paul's church. Please believe me I'm fond of looking through old doccuments, even written in Russia. Usually if there are info about years of living and place of birth I find the act of birth. Here is something strange. I don't think that Alexander was born out of Vilnius. Maybe he was baptised in the other church . There were about 6 churches during this time in Vilnius. One more thing. When I was searching in ST.Peter's church there were usually Polish surnames. Kosse - in my oppinion - it's not Polish surname. Ferdinant, too. What nationality did he write in passport?

He wrote Polish on his passport, but "family legend" has it that some of our Polish ancestors were actually Russians and it was some big secret. He used Kossa on some documents but Kossow on others and his children used Kosse.

His immigration documents list his profession as Mechanical Engineer, so my theory is that he came to Riga to study at the Riga Polytechnicum. Maybe before that he studied at the university in Vilnius. He migrated to the US at the rather late age of 35 with his whole family.

I really appreciate all your help with this mystery. Thank you!

Polish people went to rome catholic church. Russian were orthodox or greek catholic before 1875.