Before the days of umlauts.

I’m in love. With the umlaut. The two dots over a German ‘o’ For instance. My German ancestors spelled our surname Brode. With an umlaut ‘o.’ But when they came to America there was no such thing as an umlaut. So they resorted to an ‘oe.’  An Americanized spelling. That made me a Broede. Names with an ‘oe’ in the middle are generally of German origin. The spelling of surnames often change. Over the ages. For instance my relatives in 16th century Switzerland had the surname Brathi. When they migrated to Germany, the spelling became Brode, with the umlaut ‘o.’  That sounded like Brathi in the German language. Makes me wonder. What we Broedes called ourselves. When we lived in caves. Before the days of umlauts. -Jim Broede