Inheritance were under the German Reichs law, and that included the Egerland with parts of Bavaria. In 1135 the regio Egere is recorded as a part of the Bavarian March of the Nordgau under the rule of Count Diepold III of Vohburg. After his death in 1146, the Egerland was inherited by the later Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa of Hohenstaufen by marriage with Diepold's daughter Adelheid. The marriage took place at Eger and the city was promised Reichsstadt status. The Staufer finally severed the Provincia Egrensis from Bavaria and built it up as an exemplary model of a Reichsgut territory under immediate rule of the Holy Roman Emperor. Along this development Eger became the site of a Kaiserpfalz residence. Later, Emperor Rudolf documented the city's Reichstadt status in a declaration of June 7, 1279. No mention is made in this writ that there were any Czechs or Slavs in the area. I have never seen this document mentioned in any of the Czech history versions but I have found the German wording translated from Latin on a recent German website: http://www.egerer-landtag.de/Dokumente/Privilegien1279.htm The inheritance, you mentioned, La Verne, is part of these old laws under which family possession were distributed over inheritors. I believe that these laws were very old and I know that they were bumped up to my lifetime. I remember that larger farms or what is generally described as a "Gutshof" (farm estate) were under complicated and very old rules. There was a provision that farm-land could be distributed among siblings only up to a certain farm-size, and beyond that, there were no land gifts allowed. This was to safeguard the farm's agricultural income potential. I cannot remember how much land was safe-guarded in this way, but I think that 20 hectares were the lowest limit. The way this worked out is such (that is, if the farm did not get sold - like in your instance, LaVerne) i.e. the family picked one inheritor among the siblings, it mostly was the oldest or the youngest, but later on they allowed the most "apt" to do become the farmer and Chief inheritor. To become the inheritor was a mixed blessing, and I want you to think that the burden of maintaining the farm might have been a consideration in your ancestors emigration. That he owned horses puts your ancestor into a Gutshof bracket. The inheritor was the only one remaining at the family's ancestral land, while the other male siblings apprenticed in other professions and moved away. Each inheritor (of each successive generation) had to acquire the possession by paying out equal shares of his inheritance to all siblings; this required at least 20 years. The siblings got yearly payments and they had to find their livelihood elsewhere. Mortgages were frowned upon. The farm-revenues of the next 20 years where put into improvements of the farmhouse, farm buildings, wells, machinery, livestock, etc, so that when the next generation took over, the inheritor took over a place that was in good repair, because he in turn would eventually have to pay out his siblings and maintain the farm in at least as good a shape as he received it. This is why these "Gutshöfe" were such proud and well cared for estates. In this way the family wealth was contained and perpetuated. These governing German laws, were going back to the 12th century and they were terminated upon the expulsion of the German population in the 20th century. Aida -------------------------------------- On 8/20/09, LaVerne <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > > Thanks, Aida for your input. I had forgotten about that Rootsweb site. > > Fortunately, I have actually seen some of the Hofs and the areas were my > Anspanner relatives lived. In one instance it was sold before they came to > America and I was privileged to meet the widow who now lived there. The gate > post still had a horse on it. The sale actually specified that he would have > use of some of his cattle and a horse for traveling until he left. > > In another instance I have a copy of the many pages of a will where the > personal effects and the farm were divided. In that case one son bought the > farm from the others. > > My Gaertner information is not so clear, because I have not seen the > property. But in the German records he is called a Buerger which I > understand meant he had to have a certain financial standing so he probably > owned a small farm. > > It does make me realize how difficult it is to take a word and just give it > one meaning. > > LaVerne, > > > > --- On Thu, 8/20/09, Aida Kraus <[email protected]> wrote: > > > From: Aida Kraus <[email protected]> > Subject: Re: [GERMAN-BOHEMIAN] Specific names for farmers > To: [email protected] > Date: Thursday, August 20, 2009, 4:49 PM > > > The explanation given for > EINSPAENNER -farmer with one horse; outsider; odd character; > grass widower ------------ should not be taken literally, as listed > here. Because the meaning for "Einspänner" is also a bachelor, or an > unmarried man, or one whose wife was gone for a visit for a few days. > It was also used for a hermit, etc. But generally it is a person who > uses his one horse-cart for taxi services. > ANSPAENNER - is also not quite correctly described, because while the > person of such a name could be a horse groomer, he would also be the > "driver of the team" : i.e. for a brewery, a transport company, or as > a farmer logging his land, pulling out tree trunks, loading his carts > with heavy loads........before the time when there were engines. In > fact, some horses were still used when they had steam engines, because > they were not adaptable to all terrains. A horse was! > Also, do not presume that the farming was the main occupation of your > ancestors, it was mostly - like in the case of a "gardener" - just the > provision for food for which no money was spent. The income of the > small farmer or gardener was less from his crops and more likely by > the services of his profession. They lived in the country side, had a > small farm, but worked as waiters, cooks, chefs, tailors, shoemakers, > leather workers, horse groomers, railroad employees, postmen, delivery > men, blacksmith, coopers, weavers, glassblowers, tanners, carpenters, > well drillers, masons, bricklayers, lumberjacks, transport persons > using their horses, and much more. > When in doubt, write to me for a more accurate description. > Aida > > On 8/20/09, Aida Kraus <[email protected]> wrote: >> La Verne, there is a glossary on rootsweb for this. Anspänner can be >> both, firstly, a farmer, and secondly, that he uses his horse-team for >> transport of goods, also. Most farmers had a profession besides >> their farm, and an Anspänner is definitely a person who uses his >> horse-team and wagon for transport. There is another word >> "Einspänner" which means that a single horse is used like a taxi >> pulling a coach, and that use is mostly for local or short distances. >> Like from the railroad station to the home, or pickup of luggage. >> "Anspänner" use more hefty drafthorses and would be hired out for >> harder work. You can compare it to a car (taxi) or a truck >> (transport). I have posted links of various profession before on >> this site, so if you look in rootsweb and archives, you will find the >> various professions in both languages. Otherwise you can go there: >> http://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~romban/misc/germanjobs.html >> Aida >> >> ------------------------. >> >> On 8/20/09, LaVerne <[email protected]> wrote: >>> My dictionaries are failing me. >>> >>> I am looking for the specific German words used to describe farmers of >>> various kind. At some point I learned that an Anspanner was a farmer with >>> a >>> full size farm with draft horses. >>> Now all the dictionaries seem to say is that an Anspanner is a farmer. >>> >>> Then there is Gaertner which is translated as gardener. But some where I >>> learned that while a Gaertner might be a gardener in our sense of the >>> word, >>> it might also mean that he had a small farm, sort of a market Gardener. >>> >>> I know there were half farmers, which I believe was a Halbbauer, and even >>> quarter farmers. And of course there where hopbauer, weinbauer >>> . >>> Does anyone know of a site that discusses the various possibilities? >>> >>> LaVerne, >>> >>> German-Bohemian Heritage Society web site http://www.rootsweb.com/~gbhs/ >>> ------------------------------- >>> To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to >>> [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without >>> the >>> quotes in the subject and the body of the message >>> >> > > German-Bohemian Heritage Society web site http://www.rootsweb.com/~gbhs/ > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message > German-Bohemian Heritage Society web site http://www.rootsweb.com/~gbhs/ > ------------------------------- > To unsubscribe from the list, please send an email to > [email protected] with the word 'unsubscribe' without the > quotes in the subject and the body of the message >