Mary, The literal translation is "Sheep farm occupier", but I think Schäfereibesitzer was more than just an occupational name. The "besitzer" or "occupier" wasn't a renter or owner in the modern sense. He owed some combination of services, part of his crop, (in later times taxes/rents), etc. on an annual basis to the lord/bishop/authority who actually owned the land. But at the same time the "besitzer" had hereditary rights to pass on this occupation of the land to his heirs. So while he didn't own the land, he couldn't just be dispossessed either without some sort of due process and justification. Depending on location, this feudal form of ownership and land occupation was converted to the modern sense of ownership and/or rents sometime usually by the 1800's. In many cases the "besitzer" became a true owner and the equivalent of what he formerly provided as service was now paid in some form of taxes. Also if the farms were named in this area, it probably carried the name Schäferei, which may or may not been a sheep farm at the time of your ancestor, but at least at some point in its' early history was a sheep farm from which it received it's name. It is also possible that your ancestor may have been "known" or "called" by the farm name when referred to by other villagers of the area. The actual details of how this played out in your ancestor's area could vary, but the above was what applied in the regions for at least two of my ancestors, Dick In a message dated 11/6/2013 5:22:16 P.M. Central Standard Time, boxerb@aol.com writes: What is this, Schafereibesitzer? I think an occupation but could not find it in any of my books. Mary June Foulk Knoxville Tennessee ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to BADEN-WURTTEMBERG-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message

Thanks to all who answered my question. I thought it had something to do with sheep because many of my ancestors were shepherds. Mary June Foulk Knoxville Tennessee -----Original Message----- From: DStaiert <DStaiert@aol.com> To: baden-wurttemberg <baden-wurttemberg@rootsweb.com> Sent: Thu, Nov 7, 2013 9:55 am Subject: Re: [BW] Schafereibesitzer Mary, The literal translation is "Sheep farm occupier", but I think Schäfereibesitzer was more than just an occupational name. The "besitzer" or "occupier" wasn't a renter or owner in the modern sense. He owed some combination of services, part of his crop, (in later times taxes/rents), etc. on an annual basis to the lord/bishop/authority who actually owned the land. But at the same time the "besitzer" had hereditary rights to pass on this occupation of the land to his heirs. So while he didn't own the land, he couldn't just be dispossessed either without some sort of due process and justification. Depending on location, this feudal form of ownership and land occupation was converted to the modern sense of ownership and/or rents sometime usually by the 1800's. In many cases the "besitzer" became a true owner and the equivalent of what he formerly provided as service was now paid in some form of taxes. Also if the farms were named in this area, it probably carried the name Schäferei, which may or may not been a sheep farm at the time of your ancestor, but at least at some point in its' early history was a sheep farm from which it received it's name. It is also possible that your ancestor may have been "known" or "called" by the farm name when referred to by other villagers of the area. The actual details of how this played out in your ancestor's area could vary, but the above was what applied in the regions for at least two of my ancestors, Dick In a message dated 11/6/2013 5:22:16 P.M. Central Standard Time, boxerb@aol.com writes: What is this, Schafereibesitzer? I think an occupation but could not find it in any of my books. Mary June Foulk Knoxville Tennessee ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to BADEN-WURTTEMBERG-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message ------------------------------- To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to BADEN-WURTTEMBERG-request@rootsweb.com with the word 'unsubscribe' without the quotes in the subject and the body of the message