Chapter 5: Written History Catches up with the Troesters A
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Chapter 5: Written History Catches Up with the Troesters a. Georg Survives the Thirty Year’s War Born: 1603 in Kohlstetten, Duchy of Wuerttemberg Our Direct Descendant from George: Johannes George Died: 27 October 1689 in Holzelfingen, Duchy of Wuerttemberg (1) aa. Introduction bb. The Duchy of Wuerttemberg cc. The 30 Year’s War, the Grand Backdrop behind Georg’s Life dd. Georg Serves Five Dukes and One Female Regient ee. The Villages of Kohlstetten and Holzelfingen aa. Introduction Georg Troester, our German Patriarch, was born in 1603. This was 86 years after Martin Luther initiated the Reformation, 48 years after the Peace of Augsburg when the German princes agreed that the individual faith of each prince became the faith of his domain (in the case of Georg Troester, that was Lutheran), and four years before Jamestown, the first English settlement in the New World. (2) Georg was born in Kohlstetten, in the Duchy of Wuerttemberg (1495-1803) within the Holy Roman Empire, now part of s.w. Germany, Baden-Wuerttemberg province. (3) Source: Wikipedia: Duchy of Wuerttemberg, 06-01-12 bb. The Duchy of Wurttemberg The Duchy of Wuerttemberg is found in the center of this map and is highlighted in dark blue. It’s capital was Stuttgart, found in the center of the duchy; its language was Swabian German; its religion was Roman Catholic and Lutheran Protestant. (4) The Duchy Flag The Duchy Coat of Arms Source: Wikipedia: Duchy of Wuerttember, 06-01-12 cc. The Thirty Year’s War, the Grand Backdrop Behind Georg’s Life During Georg Troester’s lifetime, he experienced the ravages of the Thirty Year’s War. This war was waged between 1618 and 1648, predominantly upon Germanic soil and initiated by the Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the Catholic Church to bring Protestants back into the Roman fold. It was one of the longest and most destructive wars in modern times. The Duchy of Wuerttemberg was one of many regions denuded by foraging armies on both sides of the conflict. Georg survived this war to be our German Patriarch. The Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the Pope failed to force a unity of its subjects under a Roman banner. Instead, the Peace of Westphalia placed the faith of the Protestant princes and the inhabitants of their states on an equal footing before the law with their Roman Catholic counterparts and gave Calvinism legal recognition. This made it easier for Georg and his family to worship according to the dictates of their conscience. However, it also infuriated Pope Innocence X, who refused to recognize the treaty. (5) dd. Georg (1603-1689) Serves Five Dukes & One Female Regent: Frederick I, 6th duke of Wuerttemberg (1593-1608) While heir apparent to the dukedom of Wuerttemberg, he traveled to England and asked Queen Elizabeth I to make him Knight of the Garter. She finally granted this honor after he inherited his dukedom. Shakespeare makes several jokes about him in The Merry Wives of Windsor. John Frederick, 7th duke of Wuerttemberg (1608-1628) Wuerttemberg suffered severely from the Thirty Year’s War, although the duke took no part in it. Eberhard III, 8th duke of Wuerttemberg (1628-1674) He entered the Thirty Year’s War by allying himself with France and Sweden; however, after the battle of Norlingen in 1634, Imperial troops occupied the duchy while the duke fled into exile. The Peace of Westphalia restored him, albeit to a depopulated and impoverished country. He spent the rest of his life trying to repair the disaster of the lengthy war. Wuerttemberg was a central battlefield of the war. Our German Patriarch, Georg Troester, saw the population of the dukedom fall by 57% between 1634 and 1655 due to disease, declining birthrates, and the mass migration of terrified peasants. If the hand of the Lord had not spared our German patriarch during these turbulent times, we would not be here today. Wilhelm Ludwig, 9th duke of Wuerttemberg (1674-1677) He died unexpectedly at the age of 30. His widow Magdalena Sibylla became regent (1677-1693) until her son Eberhard Ludwig came of age. Wilhelm on death bed Eberhard Ludwig, 10th duke of Wuerttemberg (1677-1733) He became the next duke at the tender age of one. During Eberhard Ludwig’s reign, Louis XIV of France entered the duchy three times, inflicting brutalities and sufferings upon the sparse population of the duchy. In addition, the expensive tastes of Eberhard Ludwig mistress, Christiana Wilhelmina von Graevenitz, added to the economic pressures placed upon Georg Troester and his fellow citizens. Source: All illustrations & information about the dukes of Wuerttemberg from Wikipedia: Leaders of Wuerttemberg and articles bearing the names of each duke, 06-01-12 [Scroll to next page.] ee. The Villages of Kohlstetten and Holzelfingen Kohlstetten (6) Kohlstetten (7) Holzelfingen (8) Holzelfingen (9) Birth Place of Georg Troester Coat of Arms Death Place of Georg Coat of Arms As previously stated, Georg Troester was born in the town of Kohlstetten within the Duchy of Wuerttemberg. (Kohl means cabbage.) (10) There are still Troesters to be found in Kohlstetten today. (11) By the time he died, he was living in the town of Holzelfingen in the district (Kreis) of Reutlingen. (12) (Holz means wood or timber.) (13) We have no reason be believe Georg was anything more than a typical tiller of the soil. Nevertheless, only 5.5 miles from his birthtown of the Kohlstetten lay the Lichtenstein Castle in the Swabian Alps (plateau). A castle had been on the site since 1200 A.D. although twice destroyed, once during the Reichskriegs war of 1311 and again by the city-state of Reutlingen in 1381. By the time Georg was born, the castle had been ruins for 222 years. Not until about 200 years later did the first king of Kingdom of Wuerttenberg, King Frederick I, replaced it with a hunting lodge. His nephew, Duke Wilhem of Urach, added the current castle in 1840-42 and built it according to romatice Neo-Gothic design. Even though the current Duke of Urach still owns the castle, it’s still open to visitor wanting to view its large collection of historic armor & weaponry. (14) On or about 1640, Georg migrated 5.5 miles west to Holzelfinger. Ehrmann tells us that he died here in October 27, 1689, at the ripe old age of 86. (15) Not only did Georg live through most of the 17th century but, unlike many of citizens of the Duchy of Wuerttemberg, he somehow survived the Thirty Years’ War. This may was probably his main contribution to us, his descendants. Troesters can still be found in Holzelfingen to this day. (16) A Rough Bibliography 1. http://www.ehrman.net/hoffnung/hoffnungfam/troester/troester.html , 06-01-12 2. Wikipedia: Peace of Westphalia, 06-01-12 3. http://www.ehrman.net/hoffnung/hoffnungfam/troester/troester.html , 06-01-12 4. Wikipedia: Duchy of Wuerttemberg, 06-01-12 5. Wikipedia: Peace of Westphalia, 06-01-12 6. http://bildertanz-engstingen.blogspot.com/2010/04/kohlstetten-2005-im-dorf.html , 06-01-12 7. http://www.kohlstetten.de/ , 06-01-12 8. http://www.ipernity.com/doc/m.felder/3910309 , 06-01-12 9. http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Wappen_Holzelfingen.png , 06-01-12 10. Langenscheidt’s German-English English-German Dictionary: Pocket Books: NY Ed.The Langenscheidt Editorial Staff: © 1970, p. 160. 11. http://www.123people.de/s/maria+troester, 06-01-12 12. http://www.ehrman.net/hoffnung/hoffnungfam/troester/troester.html, 06-01-12 13. Langenscheidt’s German-English English-German Dictionary: Pocket Books: NY Ed. The Langenscheidt Editorial Staff,© 1970 p. 144. 14. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lichtenstein_Castle, 06-01-12 15. http://www.ehrman.net/hoffnung/hoffnungfam/troester/troester.html, p. 144 06-01-12 16. http://genforum.genealogy.com/troester/messages/29.html. 06-01-12 First posting: 06-02-12.