Erkenntnisse zu Pfarrer Agricola von Xavier Maillard, Franceder nachfolgende Schriftverkehr erhellt die Zeit in der Hans Guggisberg in Rittershofen lebte und erklärt die Lücke in den Eintragungen im Rittershofener Kirchenregister. Xavier Maillard, einem Nachfahren des Pfarrers Agricola und gleichzeitig auch mit Kochersperger-Vorfahren, verdanken wir diese Erkenntnisse. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dear all and distant cousins (I am myself a descendent of the Kochersperger of Rittershoffen), As I read your page regarding the Lutherian parish records of Rittershoffen, I just wanted to point out that the Lutherian Church minister Agricola was in fact 'Pfarrer' of Hatten at the same time, with Rittershoffen as 'daughter' (subsidiary) of the Lutherian Parish of Hatten. He was assisted by a Lutherian diacon, named Dick. Pfarrer Agricola did the same as the previous minister of Hatten: it seems he wrote the Rittershoffen records in the Hatten church book.
Yours sincerely, Xavier Maillard Bonsoir everybody,
Thank you Barbara and Daniel for your replies, and for Barbara's chart. Sorry for the delay of this answer.
I only have "a few" Guggisberg (Kochersperger) ancestors. Enclosed to this message please find a PDF file with these Guggisberg/Kochersperger ancestors in Rittershoffen. The line ends with a daughter marrying a Knab of Rittershoffen (the Knab daughter in turn got married with a Fischer and then the line became Roman Catholic, eventually the Fischer grand-daughter of that Fischer/Knab couple got married with a Walliser, still in Rittershoffen - and the grand-daughter, also born in Rittershoffen, of this Walliser/Fischer couple got married with a Kremser of Hatten, then the line moves to Hatten and the grand-daughter of this Kremser/Walliser couple got married with a Maillard, and there we are).
Note that I wrote the first names in French only because I'm French and because Alsace is part of France, though I obviously know that these people did not speak French and had there first names said in there German language way.
They may be some mistakes in that ancestry so please feel free to correct me if I wrote such mistakes in the chart. Upon arriving back to the lack in the Rittershoffen records (one year ago), I found Daniel's datas on Internet, also the pictures of some records and of places in Switzerland (http://www.kochersperger.zoomshare.com). I also understood there is, as well, a lack in the Swiss records. I then add some of Daniel's datas in my chart.
Now, regarding the Revd. Emmanuel (Immanuel) Agricola, Lutherian Minister of Hatten and Rittershoffen (I also found the website talking about the Guggisberg/Rittershoffen and the Agricola's lack in the records): he also is one of my direct ancestors, so this why (in addition to the fact the lack of records for Rittershoffen is a pity for me as this made me miss some other direct ancestors records) I know more about him.
- Lutherian Church records of Rittershoffen goes back to 1664 (with the lack under Pfarrer Agricola administration)
- Hatten Church records of Hatten goes back to 1706/1707.
It is our opinion that the previous Hatten records were lost or destroyed a long time ago (at least a long time before WW2 as there were not detroyed during the Jan. 1945 Battle).
Some records for Hatten inhabitants may be found in the Oberbetschdorf records.
Emmanuel Agricola first served as Feldprediger (end of the Thirty Years War) then served as Minister in a parish close to Karlsruhe, Baden - then in Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines, Alsace - then he was in Strasbourg, and eventually (1666/1667-1673) in Hatten/Rittershoffen - later (1673-1675) in Obersoultzbach, Alsace.
We have come to the conclusions that:
- he wrote in the Church records of Sainte-Marie-aux-Mines (no lack)
- he wrote in the Church records of Obersoultzbach as well (it was hard there due to the war)
[I have not seen the Baden records but assume he also wrote there in the Church book]
- at the time he served in Rittershoffen, Rittershoffen Lutherian Church was "aus Hatten bedient"
- at the time he served in Rittershoffen, there was a Diakon on duty in Hatten (Diakon Dick)
- on the marriage record in Strasbourg of Pfarrer Agricola's daughter, Emmanuel Agricola is said "gewesener Pfarrer in Hatten" in the Hanauerland
- on several Notary records, Pfarrer Agricola is also said to be gewesener Pfarrer in Rittershoffen
- the previous Lutherian Minister of Hatten was, as well (but for a short time, and a few months before Emmanuel Agricola's arrival in the Hattgau), Pfarrer in charge of Rittershoffen, and he is the one who began writing the Rittershoffen bapt./marr/death records in the Hatten Church book.
It is thus our opinion that Pfarrer Agricola followed him and wrote only in the Hatten Church book as well.
And these records are lost. Which is also a pity for me as I have a lot of direct ancestors in Hatten.
N.B. : I now that a subsequent Minister later wrote a note in the Rittershoffen records saying/stating that Emmanuel Agricola had not filled the records while on duty there. At the time when that subsequent Minister wrote that note, Pfarrer Agricola's second daughter (at that time a widow), was still living in Rittershoffen.
We think that Pfarrer Agricola was the chief Minister for both Hatten and Rittershoffen (ie Minister of Hatten, also in charge of RIttershoffen, with a Diakon assisting him) but that he lived in Rittershoffen (rather than in Hatten), for unknown reason - yet as he had a family, maybe it was only for "material" reasons, I mean, maybe the house allocated to him in Rittershoffen was better or bigger than the one allocated to him in Hatten / maybe the Hatten one was under repair or broken due to the war, etc... - though Hatten was chief town of the bailliwick of the Hattgau area in the county of Hanau). And as a consequence the Diakon was living in Hatten instead.
However, I do not know if at that time the Hatten parish (with Rittershoffen as subsidiary), at that time, also had other villages close to Hatten/Rittershoffen as subsidiaries, so I do not know if Emmanuel Agricola was also Minister of other villages, at that time.
In other Alsatian parishes, also in the 16th/17th centuries, I also saw that the Minister wrote the records in one book only (not several books ie one in each church), although that Minister was in charge of several other churches. He wrote only in the chief church book, stating, for each records, where the bapt./marr./death event occured (the main church, the other village's church, the third village's church, etc).
I hope I explain myself in the right way and that you understand what I want to describe!
In Barbara's chart, are Omi/Oma real first names of a "granny" equivalent?
Mispelling was very frequent. Which religion did they follow in the US?
Daniel, I guess you made your own research at the Archives départementales du Bas-Rhin center in Strasbourg, on the Church records microfilms there (or perhaps you view the microfilms through the LDS centers). If you went to Strasbourg, at the Archives départementales du Bas-Rhin center, have you already searched in the archives notariales (Notary records) for the Rittershoffen inhabitants (étude notariale de Soultz-sous-Forêt / Soultz Royal Notary)? These files go back to 1620s approximately, for what regards the inventaires après décès (inventories after death). If so, have you found an inventory for Bendicht?
The same inventories do exist for the Hatten inhabitants. And this helps sometimes a lot, since the older Church records do not exist anymore.
A lot of the descendants (through women) of the Kochersberger/Kochersperger in Ritterhoffen also emigrated to the USA in the 19th century. As in every place of Nothern Alsace at that time.
I can easily read German (in der Schule gelernt, habe doch ein Schweizer als Unkel, ich meine, schwitzerdütsch).
Looking forward to hearing from you,
Best regards,
Xavier Maillard
Cannes, French Riviera
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