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And so end the lives of our Andreas and Barbara, and with those this chapter. Well sort of. There is another subject which must be woven into this story somewhere. This looks like a good place. It has to do with the clergy, the church books and some of the curious entries made in those, particularly during the 17th Century. Some Curious Comments and Customs The parish clergymen of the 17th Century often wrote very personal comments in the various vital records registers - at least in the parishes of our Swabian ancestors. By the 18th Century, the entries are far more objective. Apparently their superiors advised them to keep their opinions to themselves - or at least not put them down in black and white. From thenceforth, the reading becomes somewhat less entertaining! Here are some examples of both caustic and kind, mean-spirited and compassionate, put to paper by those men of the cloth. In October of 1659 in Laichingen, Georg Wäng died. The parson entered a thorough description of the deceased: "....nicknamed Hägers from Setzingen in the Ulm, age 43, married 12 years, has left 6 unmannerly, unruly children behind; was an angry man who treated his wife badly and beat her; had been bedridden for 14 days with Seittenstechen before he died." His widow was Margretta, born Schwenk who remarried in 1661. We read about her in the first chapter. She and the "angry deceased" were ancestors of our Cousin Elsbeth. Just beneath that marriage entry, the pastor's postscript tells us something of the conditions in 1661. "...because of the famine and not a loaf of bread available, only the closest friends of the couple were invited for a mid-day meal the day after the wedding." In the same year, a widower Georg Gürr married a widow Barbara Huber. After entering the pertinent facts, the parson added, "A specimen of a wicked wench." It seems apparent Barbara had a bad reputation in the community. In another death entry during the same time period, the spiritual leader of the community could not restrain venting his feelings toward the deceased: "He hardly ever attended church services." Two months after penning in the very unflattering words about the late Georg Wäng, this same shepherd of the church had this to say about another recently departed: "Anno 1659 on St. John the Evangelist's Day (Dec. 27) before 11, was buried Anna Wegst, a 16 year old unmarried daughter, was a pious, modest, virtuous young woman, who during the past two years remained so frail, finally developed edema; was patient, prayed devoutly, prepared herself joyously for death, kept a clear mind until death, was aware of its approach, received on Thomas Day (Dec. 21) the holy communion." Next door in Feldstetten in 1668 after entering the facts of a christening, the pastor added, "It arrived 36 weeks too soon." But that same man had a very compassionate heart. He would, if the infant died within a year of its birth, draw a small mound beneath the name of the infant, sketch in a cross and two flowers on the grave mound. One flower would have a drooping head, the other, upright in full bloom. This writer's interpretation: The two flowers represent the body and the soul; "the body has perished, but the soul lives on." A copy of a portion of a christening book page in 1668 appears below. Directly above the " Magdalena with cross, mound and flowers" appears the birth entry of Anna Maria Hilsenbeck . She will join our Bernhard as his wife in the next chapter.  The subject of illegitimate births was treated in various ways. A few - not many -kept separate birth registers for these. In the regular birth registers, the word, "illegitimate" was always entered, usually beneath the infant's name. Some pastors used the latin word SPUR, meaning the same. Occasionally - this is always strange to observe - the infant's name was entered upside down! If the "wayward" mother knew the identity of the father and would admit this, his name, occupation and town of residence was recorded in the entry. This is another curious (only from our enlightened 20th Century point of view) entry made in 1707 in the Feldstetten birth register: "Died on the 18th of May early morning, 8 day old illegitimate child of Hans Jacob Weidenkollers from Winterthum out of Switzerland. The Mother is Anna Margaretha Strigedahin from Münsingen. The infant was buried on the following day in the Churchyard with no pomp or ceremony." Before we move on to Bernhard's chapter, one more curious subject found while wandering through those old Kirchenbücher . It is often lamented today by many, that our merchants have tried to "take Christ out of Christmas." Could be. But it was interesting to discover that back in the 1600s some clergymen abbreviated certain words whose prefix was the word, Christ. "Xbris" = latin for Christmonth = December. Or "Xmonat" = Christmonat = December. "Xtoph" = Christoph = Christopher. "Xlich" = Christian, the adjective. Were these pastors trying to save time and space, or was there another reason? §§§ | |
