Theresia Schnepf and Alsace Lorraine

My Great Grandmother Theresia was born in Neuhaeusel, Alsace Lorraine. With the help of a distant relative I was able to find her birth certificate. Theresia was born on December 11, 1853 at 8 am the legitimate daughter of Sebastien Schnepf Junior who was 36 at the time of her birth.  Her mother Marie Anne Mathern Schnepf was 38 at the time. The witnesses of her birth were Miss Jean a school teacher also 38 and Frank Martin, 29, a plougher. Both were residents of Neuhaeusel.

Neuhaeusel is in the Bas Rhin region of Alsace Lorraine. At the time of Theresia's birth Alsace Lorraine was a province of France. By 1871 less then 20 years later it had been taken over by Germany. Nine years later my Great Grandmother Theresia would give birth out of wedlock to a baby girl named Gertrude. Gertrude was born on November 17, 1878 six years after Germany took over Alsace Lorraine. How different their lives were under two different countries. When Gertrude left Alsace Lorraine was still under. German rule. While Gertrude was growing up the government would not allow anyone in the province to teach French. Theaters were not allowed to show French plays. German was spoken and is still spoken by the majority of the residents.


According to Hansi's book "My Village" life was difficult for the Alsacians. They were not allowed to show there patriotism for France. But the villagers still found ways to celebrate their patriotism through their holidays, culture and customs. Even though local Alsacians lost their jobs to German citizens or were imprisoned if they said anything about the government, they still continued to believe that one day Alsace Lorraine would be retuned to France.

Although we do not know why Gertrude left Alsace Lorraine at such a young age I do believe that part of the local politics played an important role in her reason for leaving.  Gertrude arrived with her friend and cousin Ottilia Grossholtz in 1895. She was just 17 years old, one month before her eighteenth birthday. Gertrude returned to Alsace Lorraine to visit her father and to show off his grandchildren, John and Gertrude in the summer of 1906. Unfortunately she never got back to Neuhaeusel especially after the province was returned to France.

Neuhausen

My grandmother Gertrude Grossholtz was born in Neuhausen, Germany which was part of Alsace Lorraine. The problem that I am having is determining which Neuhausen she was referring to on her marriage certificate. Is it Neuhausen ob Eck which is in Baden Wurttemberg on the southern side of the Swabian Alb. According to my sister my Grandmother was Catholic even though they brought the children up to be Lutheran. This fact would lead me to believe that she was from Neuhausen ob Eck and I have sent for information from a family history book by Hans-Georg Strizel entitled Ortssippenbuch Neuhausen ob Eck: Kreis Tuttlingen in Wurttemberg; 1633 - 1920.

The history of Neuhausen ob Eck is as follows; "First settlement finds come from the late Hallstatt culture (700-450 BC) in the form of 21 burial mounds in the won Hatzgerwiesen between Neuhausen whether corner and Worndorf.

Had its first documentary mention is found in the year 1095 in a document of Pope Urban II confirmed that Count Eberhard VI. of Nellenburg and whose son Burkhard the monastery leave various possessions from the area of the villa Nuwenhusin Allerheiligen in Schaffhausen.

1465 Count Johann to Nellenburg had sold the Landgraviate of Nellenburg (which encompassed the area around Neuhausen) for 37.905 guilders to Duke Siegmund of Austria, making the area around fell to Neuhausen am front Austria. Count Eberhard von Württemberg, in turn the elder bought finally the actual village Neuhausen his cousin, Count Eberhard the younger before 1481 for 1,690 of guilders, which was the village to Württemberg. A centuries-lasting dispute between the Habsburgs and Württemberg started to the ownership and rights to the village. The Vogt in Stockach demanded the jurisdiction for Austria because of Neuhausen in the forest of Nellenburg.

To completely confuse the ownership, the monastery was also all Saints the largest landowners of the area and Church Mr. Over the centuries, the Mellisa therefore lived as "Servant of three Masters". The dispute was settled only in 1750 with the Division of the village. Austria and Württemberg agreed that the Customs facility should each be Austrian and Württemberg to the half.

On the 4th December 1632, during the thirty years war, Neuhausen was invaded by Überlingern. Were killed many inhabitants and burned the place to a large extent. in 1792 there was again a great fire, which almost all building to the victims fell. in 1806, Neuhausen was whether corner associated by Napoleon, the Kingdom of Württemberg and thus Oberamt Tuttlingen.

1938 was an army airfield (EDPH, today EDSN) in Neuhausen (Neuhausen airfield whether corner) set up, this lasted until 1994, after the garrison was disbanded. Last 20 were the German army aviators Corps Regiment in the Ludwig-Erhard-Kaserne and the army Squadron associated with the 10th armoured Division stationed 10 with helicopters of the type Bell UH-1 d and BO105 and the military police training company 750

The frazione of Swan village was mentioned 1145, the Schwandorf, Holzach already in the year 785. Also this village belonged to Nellenburg, came to Württemberg in 1805 and 1810 was Baden. The municipal area lies the remains of the castle of Schwandorf.

The village of Worndorf was first mentioned in 993. It was part of an own rule, which came to the Grand Duchy of Baden in 1806.

In the course of municipal reform in Baden-Wuerttemberg they were the former Württemberg Neuhausen on 1 January 1973 until then formerly Baden municipalities Schwandorf and Worndorf if amalgamated with corner.

"Neuhausen auf den Fildern is a municipality in the district of Esslingen in Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. It is located 13 km southeast of Stuttgart." I had an opportunity when I was visiting Langenbrand to visit this village in Baden Wuttemberg. This town had several churches and I was able to visit the church grounds as seen below. St. Urban and Vitus parish church is "located east of the main road in the middle of the village. A strong lining wall shields the church yard against the tiefergelegene road." A wedding was taking place at the time of my visit to the church and so I didn't feel comfortable entering the church.

This Neuhausen auf den Fildern was founded during feudal Germany.  According to the town website ".. each community in the area had two mayors, who were responsible for the accounting department.... The inhabitants of the village were divided into two classes the community's citizens and Sojourners. Only large potatoes were harvested in the second half of the 19th century. Fields were sold for a loaf of bread." A week's salary was a loaf of bread.

The village was until 1754 ruled only by the Lords of Neuhausen. Since 1655 it was a joint sovereignty of the Lords of Neuhausen and the Lords of Rotenhan. In 1806 it became part of Württemberg. 

Neuhausens was first documented in 1153 when the place was under local nobility, the Lords of Neuhausen. In the 14th century, the village under Habsburg rule and was associated with Austria. In the Reformation, all surrounding villages of Württemberg were Protestant; Neuhausen thus became a leading Austrian Catholic island. in 1769, the prince-bishopric of Speyer bought the place. The reorganization of southwest Germany by Napoléon Bonaparte first 1802 resulted belonging to the Grand Duchy of Baden, but already in 1806 Neuhausen came to the Kingdom of Württemberg. With the municipality reform of 1973,

The third village of Neuhausen Enz were my Grandmother could have come from is located in the district of Enz in Baden-Württemberg in Germany. Neuhausen is on the plateau between Nagold and Würm, also named Biet (from German Gebiet (area) between 430 and 570 metres sea level.

 The so-called Biet-villages to them belong Neuhausen and its districts too were probably created as forest homestead villages. The first documentary evidence followed later: 1073 Schellbronn, 1150 Neuhausen and 1157 Steinegg. Hamberg was mentioned documentary in 1453 the first time, but it is probably Hamberg to have been created in the 11. century on initiative of a Stein von Rechtenstein. They subjected the Freiherren von Gemmingen (barons of Gemmingen).

Little Germany & The German Community

When my Grandparents came to America they settle in German neighborhoods. My Grandfather Gottlieb Frederick Ohnmacht immigrated to the United States in 1893. He met and married my Grandmother by 1899. Before they were married my Grandfather lived at 332 West 40th Street and my Grandmother lived at 345 7th Avenue according to their marriage certificate. So how did they meet.

 They lived approximately a 16 minute walk away from one another. Why did they settle in the neighborhoods that they had chosen to live in before they got married. Perhaps they moved to the area because they knew someone who lived in the area or maybe it was close to where they worked. They weren't close to  St Mark's Evangel Lutheran, 339 East 84 St., New York, it was necessary to take a subway to get to the lower East side and Little Germany. A trip that would take today 28 minutes to make via subway. "In 1845, Little Germany was already the largest German-American neighborhood in New York; by 1855, its German population had more than quadrupled, displacing the American-born workers who had first moved into the neighborhood's new housing, and at the beginning of the 20th century, it was home to almost 50,000 people. From a core in the riverside 11th Ward, it expanded to encompass most of the 10th, 13th, and 17th Wards, the same area that later became known as the Jewish Lower East Side."

They were  married by a minister by the name of  J. Ressber who was the Minister of the Gospel who lived at 126 West 35th Street, New York. The marriage probably took place at City Hall. By 1910 her friend, Ottillie Jaeger was living at 464 Amsterdam Avenue all the way up on the Upper West Side of New York. The picture to the left was taken on their wedding day.

My Grandmother was Catholic and my Grandfather was Lutheran. They decided that the sex of the first child born would determine what religion they would adopt for the family. My Uncle John was the first child born to the family and therefore they decide to raise the children according to the Lutheran religion. German Evangelical Lutheran Church of St. Paul was located near where they lived in 1900. They rented an apartment at 339 West 40th Street and the church was located at 315 West 22nd Street. "In 1897, a tract was purchased on West 22nd Street, between 8th and 9th Avenues. The German architect, Francis A. Minuth, was commissioned to design the third and present building. On July 4, 1897, the cornerstone was laid, and only seven months later, on February 13, 1898, the church was officially opened – debt free!" It is a today a 10 minute subway ride  from their address to the church. By 1910 they were living at 2222 8th Avenue which was about 16 min ride on today's subway.