The Grain-Mill in Neckarburken: the Branching of the Landis Family in the Neckar Valley of Baden

A connection is established between the Landis family of Switzerland and the "Landeis" family which emigrated to Neckarburken, Baden, in the seventeenth century, and later to Russia and North America. The Grain-mill in Neckarburken: The Branching of the Landis Family in the Neckar Valley of Baden by Roland M. Wagner his article traces the missing years for one accompanied them since she later became married in branch of the Landis family that settled in Jebsheim in 1662. Their older son Rudolf (LS1213) also northern Baden, Germany, during the late sev joined them later in Alsace. Caspar was a barber I surgeon T enteenth century. There, in the small village of by trade. These itinerant practitioners, known as Barbierer Neckarburken, the Landis family acquired ownership of or Landschiirer, wandered from town to town, unfettered the local grain-mill which anchored them in that locale for by the restrictions of a guild, and practiced a mix of bar several generations, well into the nineteenth century. bering combined wit}l rudimentary medical skills. Their descendants eventually lost knowledge of their ori During the following three decades Caspar appeared gins and the very spelling of their name changed under in the records of various villages near Jebsheim. In 1661 he the influence of local dialects. It is only recently that their was described as a "Hintersass" (non-citizen) in the vil original link with the broader family in Switzerland and lage of Diirrenentzen, which showed his lack of rooted in the U.S.A. has been rediscovered. ness at that time. In 1662 he was practicing his trade in During the last decade of the Thirty Years War (1618- Grussenheim. In 1668 he and his son, Rudolf, moved to 1648) the civil authorities of Zurich launched a relentless the mining town of Markirch (Ste-Marie-aux-Mines), campaign to break the spirit of resistance of the located high in the Vosges mountains above Ribeauville. Anabaptists, who had survived in small congregations in There they became house-holders and Rudolf established the remote areas of the canton. By mid-century a mass . a line of the family that persisted for several generations. exodus was underway. Most of the Anabaptists fled to the No documentary evidence has been found concerning north, following the natural corridor of trade and commu Caspar's other sons, Hans and Jacob, during these early nication through the Rhine valley. Many settled in the years in Alsace. Since they were young children when Alsatian plain, near Colmar, where they were welcomed Caspar departed from Switzerland, we may assume that by co-religionists who had earlier established themselves they grew up in the various villages in the lowlands of in villages such as Jebsheim, Grussenheim, Heidelsheim, Alsace where he resided. Their first appearance in the and Diirrenentzen. The Anabaptists left the canton in records occurs after they reached maturity and settled in small family groups, usually siblings with their wives and the lower Neckar River valley in northern Baden. There, children, but they soon drifted apart to pursue whatever in the small village of Neckarburken, an entry in the opportunities for livelihood were available. Some went Reformed churchbook3 states that on January 29, 1678, across the Rhine to the Kraichgau in Baden and others Hans "Landeiss" from Horgen in the district of Zurich, went further north to the Palatinate. The years between Switzerland4, the son of Caspar "Landeiss" the surgeon 1650 and 1700 are a grey period in the histories of most of (Wund Artzt), married (the Jungfrau) Rosina Catharina, the these Anabaptist families. Their appearances are spotty and often missing altogether in the official records of the I This story is covered in detail in a previous article by the author regions where they relocated. entitled "The Exodus of Anabaptists from Canton Zurich to Alsace, A Among these refugees were several members of the Case Study of the Landis Family," Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage 18 Landis family.l Caspar Landis (LS121)2 was the grandson (Apr. 1995): 2-15. 2 The numerical identifications for Switzerland and Alsace are as of Hans Landis, the martyr who gave his life for the assigned by S. Michael Wilcox, "Landis Families of Canton Zurich, Anabaptist faith in 1614. In 1651 Caspar emigrated from Switzerland," Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage 18 (Jan. 1995): 13-18. To Canton Zurich to Jebsheim, near Colmar, with his wife, avoid an overly long numerical sequence, a new system of annotation is Susanna Pfister, and three children- most likely their used for those in Neckarburken, beginning with "LNl." youngest, Hans (LS1214) age 5, Jagli (Jacob) (LS1215) age 3 Microfilm 1189215. All microfilms referred to in this article are available through the Genealogical Society of Utah, under the auspices 2, and Anna (LS1216), age 1. Their older daughter Barbali of the LDS church. (LS1211), who was age 18 at the time, also may have 4 "a us Horch in der Schweiz Ziiricher Gebiets" Pennsylvania Mennonite Heritage 9 October 1995 daughter of Hans Bender, the deceased mill-m.aster of the village. Hans was a journeyman carpenter (Ztmmergesell) by profession, or more accurately a joiner of the large beams out of which houses were constructed in those days. A few months later, on November 26, 1678, the Reformed churchbook in the nearby village of Neckargerach5 reports that his brother, Jacob "Landeyss," married (the Jungfrau) Anna Barbara Lauer, the daughter of Philipp Lauer, a lawyer (Anwaldt) at Reichenbuch, about six miles down-river from Mosbach. Jacob was also stated to be an apprentice carpenter and the son of Caspar from "Horchen" in the district of Zurich.6 A point of interest that can be gleaned from the mar riage entries is the unusual spellings of their surname - "Landeiss" ("Landeyss" is an equivalent form since "i" and "y" were interchangeable at that time). The spelling most likely reflects the Frankish regional dialects that are dominant in the Palatinate, in contrast with the Swiss Alemannic. The High German diphthong "ei" is typically The Thirty Years War (1618-1648) devastated the German shortened to "i" in Swiss dialects (e.g., the suffix "-lein" is principalities and other regions of Europe. One artist's con rendered as "-li," as shown in many Swiss surnames such ception of the siege (summer 1648) of Prague by the as Egli, Warffelli, Aberle, and so on). The Frankish dialect Protestant armies of Sweden illustrates the massive scale of elongates this sound into "ai" or "ei." This linguistic trans this fighting. Rulers whose realms had been depop~lated by wars and famine sought others to settle on theu lands, formation is also found at other points in the including Swiss immigrants such as Hans Landis (LS1214 Neckarburken churchbook. For example, pastor Wonlich and LN1) who was born in Switzerland, emigrated to Alsace, reports that another person originated in the Swiss town and then to Baden. of "Rappersweil" ("Rapperswil" in Swiss). Similarly, in the churchbook of Jebsheim, Alsace, married. In 1669 Caspar Landis in Markirch began sub where a variant of the Frankish dialect also is predomi mitting numerous claims against the estate, to the a~oy nant, the pastor at one point refers to the Swiss town of ance of the Zurich authorities. On the second occasiOn m Wii.denswil as "Wii.ttensweil." We might recall that 1670 they commented that money was given to him ?or although Hans and Jacob were born in Switzerla~d, they the last time, once and for all"! He continued pressmg were raised in Alsace and they probably acqmred the claims until 1676, when he received his seventh and final local dialect. It is possible that their marriage entries payment. Caspar may have dispensed some of these record their surnames as they had come to pronounce it. funds to his sons. Surely it is no coincidence that both The spelling "Landeis" (sometimes with a doubl~ "-ss" at Hans and Jacob became married within but a few months the end) has been retained by descendants of this branch of each other in 1678, and in addition their older brother of the family from the Neckar valley for over three hun Rudolf, who remained behind in Markirch, also remarried dred years, both in Europe and the U.S.A. that same year. What drew these two young men into the Neckar val Yet another factor that undoubtedly played some role ley at that time? There were several likely .factors. B~th, in the appearance of the two young men in the Neckar we note, were journeymen carpenters and It was typical valley at that time was the turmoil of the "Dutch War" for young men of that standing to travel abo?t until the,Y (1672-1677). The population in the Rhine valley had could establish residency and become Metster of theu scarcely begun to recover from the devasta.tion of the trade. Another factor is that they may have been staying Thirty Years' War when this new war, followmg so soo.n with relatives in the Kraichgau, just a few kilometers upon its heels, once again caused widespread econo~c away, before moving on to Neckarburken and collapse. The lower Neckar valley was owned at ~hat time Reichenbuch. Hans Jacob Landis (LS241), their cousin, set by the KurfUrst of the Palatinate, whose landholdmgs (the tled near Sinsheim about 1655 and several of his descen Kurpfalz) straddled both sides of the Rhine. His realm ha? dants remained in the area. It is also possible that there been decimated during the Thirty Years' War and It was a link between the pastors in the home village of remained so for decades afterward. General estimates are Hirzel in Switzerland and Neckarburken.

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