Origins of George Michael Weisel and Susanna Beyerle

The oldest written document found for Georg Michael Weisel and Susanna Beÿerle is their October 21, 1715 marriage recorded in the parish registers of Schleithal, a village in the Canton of Wissembourg, Bas-Rhin, Alsace.

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1715 marriage record image
Geo Michael & Susanna
1715 Marriage Record

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1715 marriage record transcription
Transcription of German script

Translation   -   In the face of the church of Schleythal, after three customary proclamations and without any impediment found, have been married: the honorable young man Georg Michael Weisslein, tailor, surviving legitimate son of the late Georg Weisslein from Einetzheim in the Episcopy of Euchstätten, with the chaste virgin Susanna Beÿerle, surviving legitimate daughter of the late Jacob Beÿerle, inhabitant of Weissenburg. Witnesses [were] Sebastian Dietenbeck and Johannes Theobald Rohrig.

Notes:

  • While Georg Michael was recorded with surname Weisslein in 1715 by the priest "Werner", in the 1716 birth record of son Frederick Weissel, "Werner" used the spelling Weissel. In the seven birth records of his children beginning in 1716 the spelling variations were "Georg Michael, Georgÿ Michael, Weissel, Weÿsel, Weisel".
  • In the Matricula Online Catholic church records for Eitensheim, Eichstätt, recorded beginning in 1673, no birth record was found for a Weisslein or Weissel between 1684-1699, a death record between 1682-1715 or a marriage record between 1680-1696.

    • The origins of George Michael Weisel and Susanna Beyerle are wrapped up in the history of the Protestant Reformation and the subsequent Thirty Years' War (1618-1648). In the middle of the 16th century, Bas-Rhin was a major center of the Protestant Reformation. Strasbourg and Wissembourg were "Free Imperial Cities of the Holy Roman Empire". A Free imperial city was a self-ruling city that was subordinate only to the Roman emperor as opposed to a territorial prince, bishop, count etc.

    The Protestant Reformation started in Strasbourg when Matthew Zell started preaching Luther's ideas from 1521. The Saint-Aurelie Cathedral was Protestant from 1529 to 1681, when Strasbourg became French. Martin Bucer was its pastor from 1524 to 1530. John Calvin introduced Calvinism when he left Geneva for Strasbourg in 1538, when Martin Bucer asked him to take charge of the small community of French-speaking Protestants.

    The Wissembourgh/Weissenburg Saint-Jean church built between the 13th and the 16th centuries, welcomed Martin Bucer in 1522, who preached in the local language. In 1534, the Reformation was introduced for good in the town's parishes. The Jacob Beyerle family, identified as "Luth", was resident nearby to the Saint-Jean church and with Schleithal being an adjacent parish. In the counterreformation the village of Schleithal was converted to Catholicism in 1709 but the parish continued to service both religions.

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    Wissembourg/Schleithal Historical Map
    Wissembourg/Schleithal Historical Map

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    Weisslein Surname

    According to his 1715 marriage record, George Michael's surname was "Weisslein" and his father was George Weisslein from Eitensheim, Eichstätt, Bavaria. As shown by https://geogen.stoepel.net/ in 2024, Weisslein is a Bavarian surname with the greatest numbers just north of the Eichstätt district.

    As of January 2024 a birth record has not been found for George Michael in Eitensheim, Eichstätt or Schleithal, and a death record has not been found for Georg Weisslein in Eitensheim, Eichstätt or Schleithal, suggesting the family was not a long time resident of Eitensheim. As the Weisel / Weissel surname was a more common surname in Bavaria, for whatever reason, George Michael and his children went by "Weissel" in the Schleithal Parish records.

    The Thirty Years' War was a 17th-century religious conflict fought primarily in central Europe. It remains one of the longest and most brutal wars in human history, with more than 8 million casualties resulting from military battles as well as from the famine and disease caused by the conflict. The war lasted from 1618 to 1648, starting as a battle among the Catholic and Protestant states that formed the Holy Roman Empire. However, as the Thirty Years' War evolved, it became less about religion and more about which group would ultimately govern Europe. In the end, the conflict changed the geopolitical face of Europe and the role of religion and nation-states in society.

    Georg Michael's travels apparently took him from Eichstätt in Bavaria; to Schleithal in Bas-Rhin, Alsace. Given the devastaion and significant loss of population following the Thirty Years' War, the relocation could have been due to finding a Protestant community or finding employment as a tailor.

    "Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle, famine, and disease, while some areas of modern Germany experienced population declines of over 50%".

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    Schleithal-Eitensheim Map
    Schleithal-Eitensheim Map

    In the aftermath of the Thirty Years' War many parishes were unable to begin recording birth, marriage, death, and confirmation records until the middle 1600s or early 1700s.

    1) The baptismal records for Schleithal, Bas-Rhin begin in 1695. Baptismal records for 1695-1698 were scanned for Georg Michael Weisel but no entry was found as his birth is estimated between 1685-1693.
    2) Jacob Beyerle was deceased by 1695 as his wife Susanna Dubs remarried on November 1695. Jacob's death record was not found.
    3) It is assumed Susanna Beyerle was born about 1695 but a birth record has not been found for Susanna but a birth record has been found for her 2 younger brothers.

    Source of the Schleithal, Bas-Rhin parish records (as of November 2023)

    Source of the Eitensheim, Eichstätt, Bavaria parish records (as of November 2023)

    History Sources (as of January 2024)

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