This document gives the rationalization for linking Christoph Koberstein of Althutte, Posen as the same Christoph Koberstein at Colonie Brinsk, West Prussia.

For the Ludwig Koberstein line, I have combined the information from my original research in the church book microfilms for Colonie Brinsk and the data from the book "Koberstein Genealogie" by Edith Schuette for Christoph Koberstein in Althutte.  Here is the rational for merging this data.

On first look at the church book data from Colonie Brinsk Maria Elizabeth Ikert's last name looks like Jokert.  See photocopy below:

  However:

1. All the old german scripts, I have seen, have the capital J with a loop at the bottom and the capital I without. The entry in the church book at Colonie Brinsk has no lower loop, therefor I conclude it is an " I ". See the german script page.

2. Furthermore what looks like an "o" after the capital I and the K is probably just a swirl leading into the lower case "k". Other records I have seen have this lead in.  See the example given in 4.  Admittedly the preceding swirl has a closed top as if it was a lower case 'o' but the other evidence is persuasive.

3. Jokert is a very uncommon name as seen from entries in the ancestry.com database. The few that exist are probably remnants of just this error.

4. For instance the New York Passenger Lists, 1851-1891 has 4 matches for Ikert.  Here is one for Caroline Ikert:

and one for St Ikert

another interesting example is a record of detained passengers ( Ancestry.com - New York Passenger Lists, 1820-1957: June 20, 1910) for Kunegunda Ikert which is typed as Ikert:

however Kunegunda is listed as goint to his aunt in Newark, N.J.:

This hand written spelling for his aunt is Mrs. Julius Ikert with the curl before  the k that makes it look like Jokert.