Jennifer, Bruce, thanks for your thoughts.
There seems to be a Presumption that my Bechmann ancestor emigrated from Switzerland (which most certainly cOntributed the vast majority of post-war immigrants to SW Germany). However, my suspicion is that my patriarch migrated to Baden from Saxony / Thuringia, for two reasons: 1) my patriarch appears to have been Catholic, as all of the ancestral BMD records were maintained in the local Catholic Church; and 2) I have identified (but not contacted) Bechmanns living today in that part of Germany.
In regards to my original question, it seems my query to the Karlsruhe Landkreisse Archives should be about locating 17c tax records for the area to see if any notes were made at my ancestor¡¯s appearance. Has anyone had experience with getting a such tax records for their own research?
Thanks,
Stuart
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Stuart,
I found that many of the church records mentioned the town where a
person emigrated from.? For many of my Baden and Alsace ancestors,
it was their marriage record in their new location that gave the
key information.? For others it was their burial record.
Also there are several books on Swiss emigration that include
lists of names and the locations where they originated and
settled.? Go to and search their catalogue for
"Swiss Emigrants".
And, here is a journal article:
1983, Mennonite Family History:? p. 132-136.? Swiss Emigrants from
1694-1754 Who Settled in the Palatinate, Alsace-Lorraine,
Baden-Wurttemberg, and Pennsylvania, Karl Joder.?
At the time I was actively researching this group of ancestors, I
was also able to find a number of online sources that included
lists.? Unfortunately, all the links no longer work.
Hope this helps,
Jennifer Clark
On 1/22/2020 5:42 PM,
sbechman@... wrote:
Hi all,
i am hoping that someone on this list can direct me to whatever
information might exist for the repopulation of towns in Baden and
W¨¹rttemberg after the 30 Years¡¯ War (1618-1648)?
it is my understanding that most of the towns in these provinces
lost something between 50% and 70% of their populations, and that
many (most?) of them invited people from outside the provinces to
come and repopulate their towns. ?But I have not been able to
identify any records that would show such immigration? I have to
believe that SOME records must exist, because: 1) Most towns had
to vote to accept a new ¡°citizen¡± into their midst (and assign
them a role, such as farmer, cooper, lumberjack, etc.); and 2) The
regional Lord would have wanted to ensure that any new residents
were added to their tax rolls.
i have an ancestral line which I have traced back to the Rastatt
District near Karlsruhe in Baden; as best as I have been able to
confirm based on local parish records, my patriarchal ancestor
suddenly appears in the town of Rotenfels about 1700 or so, with
no other relatives living in the area prior to that point.
i know that most of the town records from that time have long ago
been collected and shipped to the Karlsruhe archives, and that I
probably need to contact them; but I don¡¯t know exactly what I¡¯m
asking for?
can anyone offer me any advice on this?
thanks in advance,
Stuart
