The overall picture of Trupbach, the home of the Richters, Otterbachs, and Fischbachs in the Germanna Colonies, is a small village that was a dependency of a larger city, in this case, Siegen. In 1713, it had 25 homes, up slightly from the century before. It still did not grow until the nineteenth century, when mining became important. However, even in the early twentieth century it retained the flavor of a smaller agricultural village. Today, it is much larger, with hundreds of homes at the core of the older village and in the surrounding area.
In 1713, it was definitely an agricultural village. The design of the older homes has been maintained, and they show the agricultural flavor. Nearly all of the 1713 homes had an interest in the "Hauberg" cooperative which grew wood, bark, and grain, and was used for some pasture. These Haubergs had been established centuries earlier in an effort to supply the region with bark for tanning, large wood for charcoal, and small wood for heat.
The photographs that exist from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, even up to 1950, show that a major element in the labor force was made up of females of all ages. They harvested grain and hay, and stripped the trees in the Hauberg of their bark. It was not a division of labor. More exactly, both sexes worked at everything. (The practice continues until today. The men ride the tractors and mow hay, and the women use the scythes to cut the edges and the corners missed by the mower.)
Some of the men were trained in other activities. John Jacob Rector was a metal worker. His family had been clockmakers for a few generations. The Fishbacks seem to be carpenters. John Huffman, who came from Eisern, seemed to be in training as a carpenter. His brother, Henry, who came later, apparently was a master carpenter. The process of becoming a master in any of these trades was extensive and took many years. Depending upon the trade, it might take ten or more years of training before a person could say he was a master of the trade, and able to go into business on his own.
How did one become a "Master" of anything? The process was controlled by the guilds, one for each trade. They admitted individuals into training, under the immediate supervision of a Master in the guild. This lowest level was the Apprentice, and the training might start as early as the age of ten years. The responsibilities at this age were minor, but, as the Apprentice was growing, the Master was judging whether the boy had any potential. Eventually, if the Apprentice did show an aptitude for the work, he would advance to the level of Journeyman. Then he would work with other Masters and broaden his knowledge and skills. Eventually, when he was in his late twenties, he would pass an examination and be called a Master.
Johann Jacob Richter was a member of the Guild of Steelsmiths and Toolmakers of the Freudenberg District, having been admitted at the age of 37 years. Just the previous year, he had married Elisabeth Fischbach. This was typical, as people in training were not allowed to marry. Philip Fischbach was apparently a carpenter. I will presume he was a Master also, as he was said to be a carpenter in the church records, and one was not entitled to the title until the level of Master had been reached. The two sons of Philip seemed to have been in training as carpenters, but they were not old enough to have reached the level of Master.
(09 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.