Recent inquiries about the Richter family, usually known in the U.S. as Rector, have been answered partially. The name Richter in Germany occurs quite often, so it should not be assumed that all Richters and Rectors in the U.S. are related. (The Richter scale for earthquake measurement was invented by a Richter, who I believe was at the California Institute of Technology.)
The Richter history is rich in knowledge. The house in which Johann Jacob Richter lived in Germany (at Trupbach) stood until about fifty years ago, when it was destroyed during World War II. Pictures of it exist, and one is displayed on the German Photo Page for Trupbach. The actual site of the home is known, and even the door threshold still exists. An implement shed for a farmer now stands on the site.
I thought that we might go back to Trupbach as of 1707. There were 25 homes in the village then, and the occupant of each is known. Incidentally, each house had a name and I believe that the names have continued down to the present. The surnames of the inhabitants of the village in 1707 were Jung (Young), Zimmerman, Becker, Heide, Otterbach, Heite, Richter, Schneider, Goebel, Becker, Schneider, Otterbach, Otterbach, Wisse, Fischbach, Jung, Hugo, Fischbach, Lück, and Schneider. One house had no named occupants. One of the houses is claimed to have been built in 1563, but the rest were built in the 1600’s. Two of these 25 houses are no longer standing, and one was rebuilt in 1948. Buildings don't die in Germany; they are just born again.
The locations of the 25 houses are known. Usually the ownership can be traced down to the present. Several farmers live in the heart of the village even today. In 1707, each house was the home of a farmer, even if he had another means of earning a living. Almost universally, the houses were built on three levels. The first level was the stable, or barn, for the animals which always included at least one cow, usually pigs, and, commonly, sheep. The number of horses was very limited and the basic draft animal was a cow (ox).
Above the ground floor used for the animals were the quarters in which the family lived. Then, above this was the hay mow (pronounced as in "now", not as in "no"). The hay mow was excellent insulation for the humans and the animals and people were mutually supportive. This arrangement, not unusual in Germany, was particularly important in Trupbach, because iron processing was done in the region and it consumed prodigious amounts of wood for charcoal. For every pound of iron that was smelted, it took about fifty pounds of wood to make the charcoal. Wood for heating a house was scarce. Essentially, what was available were the twigs and small branches that were left after heavier wood was taken for charcoal. So it was very important to conserve the heat in the homes.
Many of the homes were large enough that, without the animals, they would be too large today. So many have been converted to duplexes and split in the middle to make two homes.
I am quoting here from a recent article in
Beyond Germanna
. It in turn was based on the book, "
Trupbach 1389 1989, Ortgeschichte in Texten und Bildern
". The book was published in German by individuals in Trupbach who were interested in its history.
(06 Feb 01)
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.