Let’s take a look at the history of one of the villages that we have talked about. Thanks to a translation by Elke Hall, we can look at Dußlingen (Dusslingen), the home of the BROYLES/BRILES family. It is located south of the city of Stuttgart.
In 1969, a stone age settlement was found in the region. Other artifacts, from the Hallstatt age, from the Latene age, and from the Roman era, have been found. The village itself existed in the 7th century as was proven by a grave discovered in Uffenhofen Street. Parts of the village are still called ‘Uffhofen’ and ‘Niederhofen’ which suggest an origin resulting from the combination of two farms. The first known appearance of the village in the written record is in 888, when it is called ‘villa Tuzzilinga.’ In 1135, it was called Tuzzelingin, and in 1216, Tusselingen. With the conversion of the T to a D, the modern form appears.
Growth has been continuous. In the 7th century, there were residences on both sides of the river Steinlach. In 1729, there were 53 houses, combined with a barn under one roof, while 78 barns were separate from another 101 houses. These numbers indicate a typically strong rural or agricultural influence.
In 887, the Emperor Karl gave the German King Arnulf a life interest in the church of Dußlingen. Arnulf transferred this interest to his chaplain, Otolf. Included with the church were a farm estate, house, acreage, meadows, fields, forests, creeks, tithes, and serfs. After the death of Otolf, the property returned to the King.
Late in the 14th century, the Herters of Dußlingen owned the village as free property. In 1393, Jakob Herter divided the property with his brothers, Hans and Friedrich, and obtained Friedich’s part in 1406/7. In 1446/7, Jakob and his nephew sold the village, with all appendages, to Count Ludwig of Wirtemberg. Jacob’s son Wilhelm rose in the services of Württemberg and was given the fief of Dußinglen in 1458 by Count Ulrich, as guardian of Count Eberhard. This included the estate and the two residences, plus the castle barns and chapel. The Herters owned the property until 1614, when the last male died. The village then became part of the court and administrative district of Tübingen, where it has remained.
Little remains of the castle on the north side of the village. A part of the wall which surrounded the old castle was incorporated into the foundation of the former mayor’s residence and the town hall. A part of the moat is still visible. The church in the village is mentioned first in the 9th century, when it was owned by the empire. St. Petrus was named to be the Patron Saint in 1320. Later, the church, its income, and other property belonged to the Herters. They sold their rights, plus the right to the tithe, to Count Ludwig.
After the Reformation, Michael Beck became pastor; however, when it became known that his wife Margarethe, who came with him, had already been married once in Cannstadt, the town court of Tübingen had her drowned in 1537 for bigamy, even though a divorce decree by the Züricher marriage court of 1530 was presented. Michael Beck was banished from Württemberg.
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.