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Archiver > GUS-REEB > 2007-12 > 1198254490


From: Diann Dillow <>
Subject: Re: [GUS-REEB] question for Didier
Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2007 10:28:10 -0600


Ron,

Isn't it possible that the some of the Reeb's using a different spelling also fled the 30 yr. war to Switzerland?
Maybe under the name Reb. Since it was so devastating why wouldn't some of the Reebs leave also. Are there not Reebs who married Swiss? I have not studied the 30 yr war for sometime. I will surely do it now.

Thanks, Diann


dcdr

> From:
> Date: Fri, 21 Dec 2007 09:45:29 -0500
> To:
> Subject: Re: [GUS-REEB] question for Didier
>
> Hello Didier and "the group":
>
> Thank you for the information about your Mertz family. I noted that your
> Mertz family had come from Switzerland after the 30 Years War. I thought that
> the group might be interested in a little history lesson about the Reebs and
> this period in Alsace. So, I am going to summarize what I have found in my
> research. If your understanding of the situation is different or if you would
> like to expand on this, please educate us from your information.
>
> There are a number of reasons that we can feel lucky that we have so much
> information about our Reeb ancestors. (Besides all of John Reeb's hard work.)
> To name a couple, we are lucky that both they and the records from the
> churches they attended, survived the Thirty Years War (1618-1648). In a previous
> posting, I mentioned all the families that I am descended from in that area.
> In most cases, I can only go back to 1648 because the records prior to that
> were destroyed. However, I later learned that it didn't matter because most
> of my ancestors were not from there anyway. You see, there was so much
> devastation during the war that most towns in the area were destroyed along with
> their churches. The people either died from the war, died of disease, or fled.
> For example, in Herbitzheim the last house standing was buried in 1645. By
> 1654 there were only three families there. So, after the war, the Duke of
> Lorraine, who controlled the area, brought a lot of people from Switzerland
> there in order to reinforce the Catholic population. Didier's Mertz ancestors
> were among this group, as well as my Miller (Muller) ancestors, and various
> other families I've researched.
>
> Our Reeb ancestors were among that lucky few who survived the war, probably
> by being mobile enough to move to a quieter place when danger approached, and
> strong enough to avoid the plagues that the war brought. Their Lutheran
> church at Bockenheim (now Sarre Union) also survived along with the records so
> we have good documentation back to 1596. It is interesting to see the pages
> of the books during the time of the war. From 1629 to 1642 there are gaps in
> the records. I don't know if this was because there was nobody left to be
> baptized, married, or buried; or if the minister just didn't write anything.
> Also during this period there were many different handwritings. Instead of
> the expected same clear hand of the minister for a number of years, there were
> many styles of writing, as though, the ministers were "on the run" or the
> families themselves filled in the book.
>
> I could go on and on, but ought to cut this short. If you have questions,
> let the group know and we'll go from there.
>
> Ron Miller
>
>
>
>
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