Magdalena Hergott Haßelbacher

Magdalena was the wife of Georg Hasselbacher, my 5G Uncle.  This death record and her marriage record to Georg are the only ones of her primary documents I have in hand at present.  She is important to the family in general because three of her 9 children came to America. This death record is particularly important because it summarizes an otherwise difficult to understand marriage record, and adds additional information in a relatively more expansive notes section.

Diespeck 1875, Seite XXX
Diesp. 13.
Magdalena Hasselbacher geb. Hergott

Ehefrau, res*. Wittwe das Georg Hasselbacher, Büttner Meisters zu Diespeck.  (Died 3 Nov 1866) zuletzt Almofen [Almosen]-Empfängerin. Evang. luth. Conf

Diespeck No. 116 |:Gemeinde Haus.:|

Wittwe

Entkräftung. 6 Woche kr. #[Hatte ein Paar Monate vor ihrem Tode **** Versuch gemacht, im Aischflusse sich zu ertranken!]


Freitag, zehnten September, fünf eins. 10 Sept. 1875

Sontag XVI p. Trin, Zwölften September, Mittags zwölf zu Diespeck

circa 82 Jahre.

Saöbert?

Geb[orn]: Anno. 1793 zu Neustadt (illeg.), |: Stief-Tochter des Johann Priess, Melbermeisters zu Diespeck.:| Cop[ularet]: 28 Juni 1819 zu Diespeck. Kinder 9,- davon 8 p.t. lebend.; War im den letzten Jahren ganz verarmt! Einsegnung.

Diespeck Record #13 in book. [? for month or year]
Magdalena Hasselbacher, born Hergott


Wife, *** Widow of Georg Hasselbacher, Barrel Maker Master of Diespeck (who himself died 3 Nov. 1866); Most recently an alms-beneficiary. Evangelish Lutheran confession.

Living Diespeck House number 116. (Community House)

Widow

Died of enfeeblement/ starvation/ prostration 6 weeks kr.; A few months before her death ** she made an attempt in the Aisch River herself to drown.

Died Friday tenth September five one [?time]. 10th Sept 1875

Burial Sunday XVI Trinity, twelfth Sept. Midday noon in Diespeck.

Age about 82 years.

Pastor ?Saöbert

[Important Notes] Born in 1793 in Neustadt of unmarried parents [illegitimate]. Was stepdaughter of Johann Preiss who was a flour merchant master in Diespeck. Married 28 June 1819 in Diespeck. Had 9 children 8 of whom are alive.; Was in the last years totally impoverished. A benediction was said..

Comments:.

• This is an important record. The handwriting is quite good and it summarizes earlier entries in the church books and adds otherwise unavailable information about her final condition.  The church abstract of this death record is here.
  
  
• Even with good handwriting, I still struggle discriminating between e's n's and the like. Some letters are slurred together.  This is particularly true as my limited German vocabulary does not allow me to see the word as a whole. My computer German-English dictionary and the on-line German Leo dictionary are tremendously helpful because they allow me to enter placeholders for uncertain letters. It is like working out a puzzle. Abbreviations are still tough!
  
  
• It is clear that Magdalena had a difficult old age. She lived in a community house and was recipient of alms. Things were so bad for her that she attempted to drown herself in the Aisch River. (Recall that one of her brothers-in-law drowned accidentally in the same river.) This is difficult for me to understand because the river today is not very large or swift. Perhaps in former times things were different, Certainly there were numerous millponds on the river including at the Glöbenmuhle where the Hasselbachers of that time seemed to have some connection.
  
  
• With 98 living children, how could she have been so alone?   Nine years before when her husband Georg died, he was living with his son Andreas Friedrich who took over the Barrel making business. The answer is likely related to the fact that Andreas Friedrich and his family emigrated to America three years before Magdalena's death in 1872. Daughters Elizabetha and Margaretha also had already emigrated in 1856 and 1855 respectively. There were other daughters, but I have no death records nor marriage records in Diespeck so they may have moved away. Several of the daughters had illegitimate children and may have had problems of their own. Another remaining son, Johann Konrad, moved away for a while and may not have been around. As I work through the records of the children, perhaps things will clarify.
  
  
• There has always been another puzzle in this particular family that I haven't; yet solved. I have birth records and abstracts seeming to indicate that Georg and Magdalena had two daughters named Eliazbetha born in 1825 and 1834. The older left for America while the younger was still alive. I have a death record for the younger Elisabeth in Diespeck. While it is not unusual for a family in these times to reuse the name of a child who died [or to use the same godparent for whom the child is named], I have not previously encountered two living children with the same name. Perhaps there was a nickname used or some error in the church books.
  
  
• The younger Elisabeth above died before her mother in 1852. An earlier child, Barbara, died at age two in 1825, also before her mother. Magdalena's death record says that 8 of 9 children were living. I can only account for 9 children, two of whom are Elisabeths. This is another puzzle not yet solved.
  
  
• Magdalena's stepfather Johann Preiss was a Melbermeister. My trusted dictionary says that a melber was a flour merchant. I do not understand the relationship between a Melber and a Muller (miller) but both worked with grain-flour and would have some business connection.
  
  
• I am assuming that the Gemeindehaus is rather like a poorhouse. I have no idea how bad it might have been to live there.
  
  
• It would appear that Magdalena's mother brought her child to the marriage with Johann Preiss. Perhaps I will be able to find some record in Neustadt to recover the mother's name.

 

Return to Johann Georg Family Tree