From 1566 to 1717, there are references to fifty people in Diefenbach who have no surname. For example, in 1566, Johannes the son of Thomas, the head of the Fullmenbach Hof, was baptized. In 1584, the shepherd of Jerg and Sara had a stillborn child. In 1589, Magdalena, the child of the shepherd Dieterich and his wife Anna, was baptized. In 1591, the mother of Caspar, the child of Thomas, is unknown.
In 1696, Michael was baptized. He was the son of a soldier in the Regiment Baron Preschensky and of Catharina (she is not clearly identified as the wife of the soldier). In 1564, Michel a servant on the Fullmenbacher Hof died at about the age of 13. In the same year, a poor servant from Böblingen died at about the age of 11.
The years around 1566 were bad. A small child of a poor woman from Ellwangen died. In the same year, a poor man of Frankreich died. Also, same year, a poor man from Iptingen died on the road from Sternenfels.
In 1596, Hanss, the shepherd’s servant died. Also, in this year the servant of Caspar Fabers died. In 1621, a peasant’s child about five years old died. In 1622, a child Peter, son of Peter from Münsingen, died.
The last of the no-names was Hanss Jerg, the shepherd’s apprentice, died. He was 13 years old. The pastor added that he was not born here.
Such statistics furnish commentary on what was happening. References to soldiers in a short period of time may indicate a nearby war. The soldier above in the year 1696 was probably in the army protecting against the French invasion. Many deaths in a short period of time probably indicate a plague or period of serious sickness.
The great majority of references to people without surnames occurs in the 1500's. A few are still present in the 1600's, but only early in the century. Only three are given in the 1700's; two of these are for children, and one is for a stone mason from the Tirol.
In Diefenbach, the Pfarrer (pastors) are known from before 1540. (The last Catholic priest was in 1534.) The mayors are known from about 1550. The schoolteachers are known from about 1603. (Jacob Friedrich Braun served for 48 years.)
(07 May 04)
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.