In a prior post, I was at a stopping point, having found that my earliest (so far) Huber ancestor, Johann Huber, married in 1696.[1] He apparently was married previously and that marriage did not name his father. There were many Johann Hubers in the parish of Oberkirch. The only potentially helpful information was that he lived in “der
Gnad,” which was in the Bauerschaft [farming community] of Wälden.[2] I did determine who his father was, but it took several steps to accomplish.
I started by looking through earlier marriage records, hoping to find Johann’s first marriage. A man’s first marriage record usually gives his father’s name. There were thirteen marriages for a Johann Huber before 1696. Fortunately, only one of them was for a man who lived in der Gnad. He married Brigitta Vogt 25 January 1680. His father was Mathias.[3] I was a little skeptical of this one being sixteen years before the second marriage. With his second wife, he had twelve children, the last born in 1717. That is almost forty years of potentially having children. Of course, this is possible for men.
I then went through the earlier baptisms and found only one Johann born to Mathias Huber. His mother’s name was Eva.[4] They had eight children and those baptisms show they lived in first in Ödsbach and later in Giedensbach. While these are close to der Gnad, it is a different location. How do I know if I have the right family?
I then searched marriages for the children of Mathias and Eva. One daughter married in 1673 and in that year Mathias lived in Wälden.[5] Now we’re in the right area. Two more children married in 1675. Their father lived in der Gnad.[6] Then in 1680, we already know Johann was in der Gnad. This looks like I have proven the family moved from Giedensbach to der Gnad sometime before 1675.
I had one more step to take. See if you can follow my logic. There was more than one Mathias in Oberkirch at this time. There was only one who had a son Johann, but I need to make sure the siblings who married belonged to the correct Mathias, which means their mother would be Eva. The marriage records only name the father, not the mother. I searched the indexes and I did not find other candidates for Johann’s siblings.
Johann was born in 1757, making him twenty-two when he first married in 1680. He was thirty-nine when he married the second time. When their last child was born in 1717, he was sixty years old. Presumably, his wife was younger than him. But at the age of sixty, it’s not unreasonable that he fathered a child.
So now, I can be sure that I have identified the correct family for my Johann. He was born 24 June 1657 to Mathias and Eva (Haas) Huber.
With answers, there are always more questions. Now I wonder how many children he had with his first wife! Stay tuned!
[1] Katholische Kirche (Oberkirch, Offenburg, Baden), Heiraten [Marriages], 1647–1815, 19 May 1696, Hueber-Bauman; image, FamilySearch, FSL 995,509, IGN 7991490, image 96.
[2] Katholische Kirche (Oberkirch, Offenburg, Baden), Taufen [Baptisms], 1647–1739, p. 28, 19 January 1717, Laurentius Huber; image, FamilySearch, FSL 958,814, IGN 7991479, item 3, image 20.
[3] Katholische Kirche (Oberkirch, Offenburg, Baden), Heiraten, 1647-1815, 25 January 1680, Huober-Vogten; image, FSL 955,509, IGN 7991490, item 1, image 72.
[4] Katholische Kirche (Oberkirch, Offenburg, Baden), Taufen, 1647-1739, 24 June 1657, Joannes Hueber; FHL 958,814, IGN 7991479, item 1, image 55.
[5] Katholische Kirche (Oberkirch, Offenburg, Baden), Heiraten, 1647-1815, 28 September 1673, Huober-Huober; image, FSL 955,509, IGN 7991490, item 1, image 56.
[6] Katholische Kirche (Oberkirch, Offenburg, Baden), Heiraten, 1647-1815, 17 October 1675, Vogt-Huober; image, FSL 955,509, IGN 7991490, item 1, image 62. Also, Katholische Kirche (Oberkirch, Offenburg, Baden), Heiraten, 1647-1815, 17 October 1675, Huober-Erhenfelß; image, FSL 955,509, IGN 7991490, item 1, image 62.
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