I went back to Sulzfeld to see if I could obtain more information of interest there. This is where I found the Baptismal Record for a child of Christoph Zimmermann, where one of the sponsors was Ludwig Fischer Bürger zu Tiefenbach. I have not found Ludwig in Tiefenbach yet, but I thought there might be more clues in Sulzfeld, perhaps to other people.
Christoph Zimmermann, who emigrated to America, had three children born in Sulzfeld. By his first wife, Dorothea Rottle (not everyone agrees on the spelling of this surname), they had Johannes, baptized in April of 1711. (This child became John Zimmerman in the Robinson River Valley, where he married Ursula Blankenbaker.) The three sponsors of Johannes were: Johannes Dersche/Dirsch, Johannes Schuster, and Anna Barbara Fischer zu Tiefenbach. It does not say so, but no doubt Anna Barbara and Ludwig had some connection, most probably as husband and wife, but perhaps as brother and sister.
The same parents (Christoph Zimmerman and Dorothea Rottle) had a still-born child, born 26 April 1713, who appears in the Baptismal Register, but without any other indication that the still-born child was baptized.
Dorothea died and Christoph Zimmermann married Anna Elisabetha Albrecht. One child, Johann Martin, was born in Sulzfeld on 15 June 1715. There is no further mention of the boy, so perhaps he died en route to America. The sponsors of Johann Martin were: Hans Martin Schegler, Ludwig Fischer (as referred to above), and Maria Barbara Dersche.
The appearance twice of the name Dersche and of the name Fischer (who had come about six miles from Tiefenbach) would indicate to me that these families were close to Christoph Zimmermann (and not to his wives).
As you can see, I am able to read the names of the sponsors without unusual difficulty. My general impression is that the sponsors were probably relatives. It would seem to be rewarding to study the records in Sulzfeld which, in comparison to some others, are not as difficult to read. There are several families who came to Virginia, the Zimmermans, Kablers, Uhls (Yowells) and Lang (Long). Maybe more came that we might find with study.
Just as I was typing this, I noticed one name that I hadn’t seen before. Georg Frid. Dolp (or perhaps Delp), married. It was not a true Marriage Record, though it was included in the Marriage Register. It did include the word “informator”. Georg Frid. Dolp was “von Härdlingen”. I could find no village just immediately of this name, so the spelling is probably off. The other possibility is that it is part of his name. We had instances such as this with the von Gemmingens.
(31 Mar 04)
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