| Notes |
- RESEARCH_NOTES:
1. Research summary on the Hartwich family by Rose Green, a Stoker/Roemer descendant and excellent German researcher. Rose provided the following by email 26 Apr 2015:
"I read original German records. My husband is a German professor and we lived in Germany for a number of years, so I learned German. When I was working on the Roemers, I ran into a guy who was born in Birkenau. He isn't blood related to us, but a number of his family members married a number of ours, so we had common interests. He picked up a number of historical booklets for me from the city that had articles about our family in them. Yes, I could get the bare bones out of the church records, but it was so interesting to read about these people. Apparently Johannes Roemer was a tanner and also owned a mill (which is still there). He was quite well respected (a ton of people came to his funeral) and he had the mixed-religion marriage. When issues came up later in town with mixed-religion marriages, he was sort of held up as a standard of, well, he managed to do it, so it must be possible.
Schooling was compulsory from 1705(?). Joh. Michael Roemer who came to America was quite literate -- his signature on his will is in lovely perfect German script.
Joh. Michael Roemer and his wife Charlotta Amalia Hartwich were apparently the first people from Birkenau to emigrate to America.
Charlotta Amalia comes from a really interesting family. The earliest record we can find of her dad, Georg/Jurgen Andreas Hartwig/Hartwich, is that he was a lieutenant in Wolfenbüttel (then part of the country of Braunschweig-Wolfenbüttel) in 1701. In 1703, Georg hired on as a Rittmeister [Cavalry Captain] for Schleswig-Holstein-Gottorf, which was then part of Denmark, to command a regiment in this War of Spanish Succession. (It had something to do with Hapsburgs and was fought all across modern Germany.) He served until 1715, and then moved down to the Odenwald in southern Hessen, first to Michelstadt, then Reichelsheim, and finally Birkenau. In Reichelsheim, he was asked to move because he was training soldiers at a barracks and was apparently too violent with them.
His wife, Dorothea Sophia Schumacher -- I had someone search a series of printed marriage registers for northern Germany for me once, and they did not find a marriage for these people. I have read about a couple of Schumacher families that was sort of middle class in Schleswig-Holstein (i.e. a similar class that Georg was part of -- commissioned army officer, owning land, getting an education), but Schumacher is an awfully unspecial name ... I would really love to nail these people down and find out where they ultimately came from.
With a lack of personal records on him, I turned to the people he knew and where they came from, which is how I traced him to northern Germany. One such person is the Graf (Count) von Erbach. He was a student at the Ritterakademie (Knight's Academy) in Wolfenbüttel at the same time Georg was in town, and he was also I think in the cavalry in this same war. I think he's the one who got the Hartwigs [aka Hartwichs] down to Hessen after the war. His wife, the countess Charlotta Amalia von Erbach, was the godmother of Charlotta Amalia Hartwich (who married Johann Michael Roemer).
The other interesting northern connection is a professor by the name of Johann Justus Bode. He was from Bodenburg (again, up in the Wolfenbüttel area), the inventor of a traveller's sundial and a math and religion professor in Coburg, which is quite far away in today's Thuringen north of Nurnberg. He was the godfather for Charlotta's next older brother, Johann Justus. He didn't show up for the christening, but had a proxy stand in his stead. Why did these people know each other? I don't know.
When Georg came to Birkenau, he bought the Carlebach mill, which is also still standing. It had formerly belonged to the von Bonn family (Lords of Birkenau), but the Lord died and his sisters ended up with it, and they decided to sell it. The new Lord, by the way, was not Lutheran but Catholic, which apparently caused instant friction with the Lutheran Georg Hartwich. (That, or Hartwich's er..."friendly" personality.) (Remember, this was not horribly long after the 30 Year's War--a war between Catholic Hapsburgs and northern Lutherans, devastated the area.) Georg Hartwich started selling I think alcohol without a permit, or else was fishing without a permit, or something -- essentially, he was baiting the lord, who tried to fine him. Georg's oldest son, Georg Ernst Andreas, went to complain, and got to spend a night in jail to cool his heels over it. Things escalated until all the Hartwichs holed up in a mill in an armed standoff. Charlotta was nine. Things did eventually cool down, but let's just say the Hartwigs were not quiet, unassuming people. When Georg died, his funeral text was the hymn "Auf Christenmensch, auf auf zum Streif" (something about, good Christian men, to the fight! to the fight!). Appropriate, I think.
We have no record of the births of the other children, but judging from marriage records, they must have been born during this war. Here is who I've found:
1. Georg Ernst Andreas, b. about 1700? When living in Reichelsheim, he produced an illegitimate child, Johann Peter, with Anna Elisabetha Friedrich of Brensbach. They did not marry, and the child died at age 5. Georg Ernst suffered from depression ("melancholie") and actually shot himself inside the mill. The entry is quite sad; it explains that they knew he had had deep bouts of depression, but that lately he'd been doing better. It also said he was a law student, but I have not found his matriculation records. My husband says that university matriculation records often have gaps, though, and it's quite possible to be true, even if they didn't write him down. In any case, it was believable to the people at the time that he would be in college.
2. Nicholas Adolph married Maria Sophia Hedwich Mettenius in 1739. She was a widow from Rimbach. I found a couple of children for them.
3. Johanna Friderica married Johann Ernst von Hitzacker in 1730, had a child in 1732, and died in 1735. The von Hitzackers were from up north, and they were a lesser branch of the Welf dynasty that ruled Braunschweig-Wolfenbuttel. They were a big military family, with holdings in Ascherode and Luneburg. Their child's christening record reads: "The 22nd of October was born and the 24th baptized the son of well-born Mr. Johann Ernst von Hitzacker, royal Prussian officer, and his wife, Mrs. Johanna Friderica. The son, named Andreas Christoph Wilhelm Otto, was lifted from the holy baptism by [the father's] father-in-law, [cavalry] Captain Georg Andreas Hartwig, as well as Mr. Christoph von Hitzacker, royal Prussian Hauptmann (a military title of some kind of leader) in the Litauisch regiment and heir of Ascherode, and also by Mr. Otto von Hitzacker, heir and Lehnsherr of Lüneburg." Unfortunately, this family has since died out; I've been trying to pursue them and find out what their connection to the Hartwigs might be. And to find out whatever happened to husband and son after Johanna died.
4. There's a Peter Hartwich living in Birkenau in 1741. Hartwich is a northern name and I haven't found anything more about him other than I think paying taxes that year. Is he a relative? Possibly/probably. In 1741, Peter Hartwig contributed money to build a new gallows in Birkenau. (Source: Einwohnerlisten der Zent Birkenau 1439-1841, by Rudolf Kunz and Karl-Ludwig Schmitt, published in 1988) This is the only mention of this person I can find. There are no other Hartwigs in the area, so I assume he is part of our family.
5. Conrad Friedrich married Maria Cordula Walter in 1735 and had children. She was Catholic.
6. Franz Christian married a Maria Magdalena. I don't have a marriage date, but they had a child in 1742.
7. Anton Joachim. Anton's death record lists his age as 62 at time of death; however, this seems to be an estimate, since most entries give the age to the day. Since he was not from the area originally, it would be understandable that his age be only approximated. According to this estimate his birth would have occurred in 1710. He was confirmed in 1727 in Reichelsheim. Lutheran confirmations tend to occur between 12 and 14 years of age, which would move his birth year up to 1713-15, at the end of his father's military service, and in any case, probably predating the family's move to the Odenwald. Anton was a tanner's apprentice, according to his marriage record, but he also ran the family mill (Carlebachmuehle, today Firma Frank on Weinheimerstr. 6). This mill he ran until December 1742 (1200 Jahre Birkenau, p. 241). He also was in charge of the Donels or Nikolai-Muehle (mill) on Lindenstr. 3 jointly with Hans Michael Nikolai (1762 -- see p. 244 of 1200 Jahre Birkenau). Anton also shows up in historical archives because he tried to convince the pastor's daughter to elope with him when she was only 16. The pastor took out a restraining order on him. Later, he married Eva Katharina Romer, the sister of Joh. Michael Roemer. Their kids' christening records play hopscotch in the Catholic-Lutheran records, but Anton actually grew up to be quite respectable. He became a Lutheran church elder. Later, there was a case of a teenage girl whose family was Lutheran and she wanted to be Catholic, or Catholic and she wanted to be Lutheran. At any rate, she actually tried to run away so she wouldn't be forced into the religion not of her choice. Anton intervened, calmed everyone down, pointed out that his father-in-law Johannes Roemer managed to deal with the whole two-religions-under-one-roof thing just fine, and that the girl should be free to follow her own conscience. Anton had a hairy start to life, but it sounds like he grew up to be a wise and respected kind of guy.
8. Johann Justus, b. 16 Oct 1717 in Michelstadt: "On the 16th of October (1717) a little son was born to Georg Andreas Hartwig, cavalry captain, and his beloved wife Dorothea Sophia, born Shumacherin, and the ____ ____ (a date, unreadable) was Johann Justus baptized. The godfather was Mr. Johann Justus Boden, a theology professor in Coburg. In his place stood Mr. Buttner, former chamberlain in Fuerstenau." He d. there 2 Aug 1720: "The 2 day of August (1720), Johann Augustus, age 2 years and 9 months, little son of Mr. Georg Andreas Hartwig, cavalry captain, and his beloved Dorothea Sophia, was buried in the still of the morning at 5 o'clock."
9. Charlotta Amalia (and BTW there is no Maria in her name in any document except for Familysearch): "Steinbach (an area in Michelstadt), 1720: On the first day of July, a little daughter was born to Mr. Georg Andreas Hartwig, cavalry captain, and his beloved [wife] Sophia, nee Shumacher, and on the 5th Charlotta Amalia was baptized. The godmother was Lady Countess Charlotta Amalia, noble wife of Count Philip Carl in Fuerstenau."
Anyway, they were all very interesting people -- and a little notorious sometimes too. I keep coming back to take a stab at the Hartwigs. There were a ton of Hartwig families paying taxes in a printed record in 1678, but I don't know if Georg was attached to any of them. Part of the problem is simply access to the records. I'm sure that if I was in Wolfenbüttel, I could go to the archive and spend a year searching, and find him ... much of the information in these articles about the Hartwich family antics came from the Archiv des Freiherrn Wambolt von Umstadt, apparently..."
2. Family researcher Rose Green reports the following stories arranged by sources concerning Anton Hartwich that she gathered while living in Germany:
A. Source: Die religiöse Erziehung von Nikolaus Hirschbergers Tochter, p. 87 of Beiträge zur Hornbacher und Birkenaur Geschichte, by Günter Körner and Rudolf Kunz, Birkenauer Schiften: Heft 2, Geimeinde Birkenau, under Mitarbeit des Kultur- und Verkehrsvereins Birkenau, 1991:
"Religion in the Odenwald (southern Hessen) affected life in governmental ways in the 17th and 18th centuries. The area was mostly Lutheran, and was a geographic battleground for armies raging across Germany during the 30 Years' War. This was a war between the Catholic Habsburgs of Austria to the south, and the Lutheran Swedes to the north. In the early 1630s, Birkenau was decimated -- 90% of the population in this area died of war, disease, and famine. The town was left vacant for three years before they went back to rebuild, and the church records only start in 1636. Because of the vast emptiness of the land, settlers came up from the south, from places like Switzerland and Austria, and they were often Catholic.
The law at the time was that an area took on the religion of the ruling lord. However, with the influx of Catholic settlers, things became a bit split. At first they shared the church building in Birkenau, with the Catholic parish administered by nearby Abtsteinach (which was very Catholic). But priests were low in numbers and the records are spotty.
One issue that occurred as the two groups settled in was mixed-religion families. What religion were the children to be? Religion wasn't purely a matter of personal conviction in that time and place. There were governmental elements to it. The ruling in 1711 was that sons in a mixed marriage would follow the religion of the father, and daughters, the religion of the mother. This caused problems, and in 1749, the ruling came that they wouldn't do mixed marriages anymore (the ones in effect remained in effect, however). Well. The Hirschberger family got caught in this. Nikolaus Hirschberger was Lutheran; his wife Anna Elisabeth Heckmann was Catholic. Their unnamed 12 year old daughter was supposed to be confirmed Catholic per the law, but she'd been attending Lutheran services for six years, and considered herself Lutheran. There was an appeal to the Ortsherr (lord) Philipp Wambolt, who said that when she was 14, she could choose for herself. But the Lutheran pastor said she wanted to choose Lutheran already. Meanwhile, the girl's Catholic uncle was putting the pressure on for her to be confirmed Catholic. Things went round and round for a year, while the girl was removed from religious instruction in either one. Then in 1763, the ruling came down that she was not allowed to take communion with the Lutherans, but was to be schooled and confirmed Catholic, as per the law. Otherwise, the family would be fined. They took her to Mörlenbach to be taught her catechism, and the whole time, she kept saying, "I won't be Catholic. I want to be Lutheran." She even managed to faint, get let out for fresh air, and run away back home. Amtmann Krauß, the government agent of Lord Wambolt who was charged with making people obey the law, kept having to go after her. He brought her to Viernheim to stay with some of her mother's Catholic relatives to see if they could get through to her. The priest there let her play in the garden for a bit, not putting pressure on her. But she climbed a very high wall and ran away again. The priest told Amtmann Krauß that when he caught her, he was either going to lock her up in the asylum or the cloister, because there was nothing else to be done with her. After that, the girl's parents and the Lutheran pastor decided they needed to do what was best for the girl, no matter how high the penalties were. She got some help and some clothes from her (Lutheran) uncle Anton Hartwig, and continued to be sent to different places as they attempted to Catholicize her. Amtmann Krauß and the Catholic relatives really made a hunt of it, too, and threatened to get the archbishop involved. And then of course her two younger sisters started up, that they also refused to be Catholic. Finally, enough time passed that she turned 14 and the exhausted Lord Wambolt said that she was of age to choose for herself. But, the family still had to pay 20 Reichstaler."
B. Source: Verbotenes Liebeswerben in Birkenau, p. 95 of Beiträge zur Hornbacher und Birkenaur Geschichte, by Günter Körner and Rudolf Kunz, Birkenauer Schiften: Heft 2, Geimeinde Birkenau, under Mitarbeit des Kultur- und Verkehrsvereins Birkenau, 1991:
"In 1736, Sophia Benedicta Hallenbauer, daughter of Johann Heinrich Hallenbauer, the Lutheran pastor, fell wildly in love with Anton Hartwig. When her parents found out that the pair had secretly gotten engaged, they flipped out. But of course, that only spurred the couple on. Meanwhile, the enraged father took out a restraining order on Anton, and threatened to help out the law himself: "if he doesn't quit stalking my house, he will get his feet full of bullets." Anton got mad and started haunting the next door house, and then was forbidden to set foot there, either. Amtmann Krauß, the law enforcer for the Lord Wambolt, agreed with the girl's father. He called Anton in to his office and told him very sternly that he was in no way allowed to sit next door and wait for the girl. Anton was not the kind of guy to back down. He refused. He went over to the next door house that night to wait, and so Krauß came and actually beat him with a stick and forced him to leave. "And if his back is black and blue, it's his own fault." Anton had to take a "cure" for several days to recover, after which he went to Lord Wambolt to complain. The doctor, however, said that while yes, he treated him, he didn't know about any bedrest. Anton gave up his fight in March 1736, and in July, he married Eva Katharina Römer. Pastor Hallenbauer performed the wedding. And then in 1739, Anton's old flame married Johann Heinrich Wenitzky of Mannheim."
MARRIAGE:
1. The following two entries are back to back in the Lutheran church record of Birkenau, Kreis Heppenheim, Hessen. They represent a brother and a sister in one family marrying a brother and a sister in another: "143. Den 18 Jul. [1736] hat sich copulieren lassen Anton Joachim Hartwich, des Rothgerbers Handwerks mit Eva Catharina Römerin, des __ Joh. Römers Rothgerbers u. Gerichtmannes allhier nachgelassene Tochter." [Translation: On the 18th of July [1736] was married Anton Joachim Hartwich of the tanner's craftsmanship (specifically, he's a leather dyer), with Eva Catharina Römerin, the surviving daughter of Joh. Römer, red tanner and judge of this place.] "144. Eodem sind auch copuliert worden Joh. Michael Römer des Rothgerbers Handwerks, und Charlotta Amalia Hartwichin, des Ehr? Rittmeisters Hartwichs nachgelassene Tochter." [Translation: On the same day [18 Jul 1736] were also married Joh. Michael Römer of the tanner's craftsmanship (also specifically a leather dyer), Charlotta Amalia Hartwichin, the surviving daughter of Captain Hartwich.]
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Chris & Julie Petersen's Genealogy
1715 - 1772 (~ 59 years)