There are many passenger records for the last name Lotre, available through the U.S. Census. Passenger lists are the key to knowing how your ancestors arrived here, and when they made the trip across the US – from their ship’s name to various ports of entry and departure. It is important to have these records to help with genealogy and to locate family members that you may be missing. This information allows you to plan trips back to a time that seems so far away.
The first documented reference to the last name Lotre comes from the Book of Ruth, where the mother of Naomi comes to visit the newborn Jesus. Looking at the account in its entirety, there are a number of things that are very clear. The women have many different names, which all coincide with descriptions of Naomi’s past. These include Memenangkan, Pria, Undian, and Dinah Itu.
While this may seem confusing to most Americans, it is helpful to remember that the first reference to the name Lotre does not refer to any of them. The first reference is in the Bible, when Naomi and the daughters of Boaz notice that something smells fishy inside the ship where Boaz and Naomi are traveling. The next reference in the Bible is when the daughter of Boaz and Naomi sets sail for Egypt, and she carries her mother’s name, Memenangkan hadithua, with her.
Now when we look at the name of Pria Itu, it means “maid of honor” in Chinese. The meaning of Memenangkan hadithua is “a round-shaped stone with a hole in the center.” While this may sound like two different names for the same item, both refer to the same figurine, which is known as the juta dollar. It is also interesting to note that a similar stone with the same name, the Baan Khmer, has been discovered in Laos.
The Baan Khmer was found engraved in gold and is over three feet in height. This makes it one of the largest stones in all of South-East Asia, if not the entire world. Looking at the stone and comparing it to the description in the Bible, it appears to be a round, rice shaped stone. However, there is another meaning for the name of the lotre yang in the Bible. The Hebrew word for lotre in the passage of Nehemiah 9:4 is “baca juga,” which literally means, “stone of the temple.”
The word for “stone” in Indonesian is “tuk yang” and the literal meaning is “invisible hand.” Many ancient religions were based around invisible forces that worked behind the scenes but were previously undetectable. The use of the ring in witchcraft has been substantiated by the presence of it in numerous places of worship from early times through the present day in Indonesia, Thailand, and other Asian countries. Whether the one in the ring means “stone” or “spirit” remains to be seen.