FAMILY GET TO THE ROOT OF THEIR SURNAME AT SLUDDS REUNION
THE search for the origins of wellknown surname Sludds led Sarah Byrne Sludds from Enniscorthy to Liverpool, New York and finally to Germany. Sarah was one of the many members of the Sludds family in Enniscorthy who recently met with their distant relatives the Schlütz from Germany. The celebrations in the Riverside Park Hotel brought an end to the mystery surrounding the origins of their surname. ‘After hitting many brick walls, it was fantastic to see years of research come to fruition at the Riverside Park Hotel where many members of the Sludds and Dietrich families from the UK and all over Ireland came to meet Johannes Anke Schlütz and family from Hainhausen Germany,’ said Sarah. Sarah began to research her family history in 2002, when she began to look into the life of her great great grandmother Elizabeth Ryan of Oylgate who she knew had worked in Liverpool for many years. On her return from Liverpool to Oylegate, it was known that Elizabeth brought with her a son Cornelius (Kearns) Sludds and no husband. His arrival marked the first record of the Sludds name in the county as Kearns Sludds was listed at Coolanick Beg Oylegate in 1884. Through obtaining birth certificates and marriage certificates, Sarah found that Cornelius’ father had been shoemaker Diedrich Schlütz from Germany, who married Elizabeth at St Joseph’s Chapel Liverpool on November 7 1872. Both members of the couple had already been married in the past. The pair’s parting on Elizabeth’s return home was eventually resolved by Sarah, who found that Diedrich had moved to New York City. In the New York City Directories of 1879, Diedrich was listed as working from 60 James Street and in the New York City Directories of 1880 from 45 Madison. He was living at 288 Madison Street New York with his 15-year-old son Louis, who he had with his first wife Catherine. This is where his story ends as the 1890 United States Federal Census was destroyed by fire and there was no record of Diedrich in the 1900 Census. However, on tracing the lives and deaths of Diedrich’s children, Sarah discovered that Diedrich had died at 45 Madison Street New York on February 1 1889 and buried at Calvary Cemetery in New York. He had lived in the USA for 15 years at the time of his death and he was buried in the same grave as his son Louis, daughter-in-law Maggie and grandson Harry. Fast forward to 2011, when Sarah got in touch with a German man named Johannes Schlütz via Facebook asking for help in finding the birthplace of her great great granddad Diedrich. Johannes and his father-in-law spent hours searching for answers and through collaborating with Sarah, they discovered that Diedrich was born on December 11 1831 in Hainhausen Estate in Germany. Johannes also found Diedrich Schlütz Hainhausen shoemaker noted in the Chronicle of Erwitzen as having left Germany in 1861 for North America, stopping in Liverpool on his way. During his research, Johannes also discovered that his great Aunt Martha is the closest living relative to the Sludds family in Ireland. In June, Sarah took a trip to Germany and visited the home of her ancestors which is still occupied by the Schlütz family. After receiving a warm welcome from Johannes and his wife Anke, she went to visit the house where Diedrich was born in 1831, the church he was baptised in and the church where he parents married. ‘It was an amazing and emotional journey,’ said Sarah. In October, Johannes Anke and family came to Enniscorthy to meet his family and friends. ‘I would like to say a special thank you to Johannes Schlütz. Without his help, I could not have brought a 20 year search for the parents and homeland of Cornelius Kearns Sludds/ Schlütz of Riverview Glenbrien to a conclusion,’ said Sarah.