Glassmakers part 11 In 1691 Jean Stenger was named Provost of the glassworks. Martin Gerard and Michel Moser had sons Gaspard and Samuel who will sign the document on the establishment of Harreberg. Another son of Martin Gerard, named Martin will be the Provost at the glassworks at Troisfontaines in 1699. The parish records indicate the dwellings of the glassmakers in different ways: at the glassworks situated between Walche and Abreschviller, annex near Walche named Meyedal, Ayendal, glassworks of Abreschviller, or close to Walscheid. The glassworks was situated between the actual well and the chapel which was constructed in 1952 - or at the exact location of the chapel. One cannot determine the closing of the glassworks which probably took place when many of the workers migrated to Troisfontaines about 1700. A canonical visit in 1714 lists fifteen glassmakers in the two glassworks of Troisfontaines and Eigenthal, not to mention the great number of laborers hired at certain times of the year. The only reminder of their existence is the hamlet of Eigenthal and the deforestation created by the glassmakers and maintained by their children Martin Moser and Joseph Gerard, Pierre and Jean Stenger among others who seem to have remained in the area. Two crosses were erected, one in 1717 by Pierre Stenger and his wife, Ursule Walter who did not follow the exodus to Troisfontaines and the other in 1766 by his son Pierre and Marie Madeleine Reiman, his wife. The Glassworks At Troisfontaine (page 60) Otto Flory gives 1699 as the date of establishment of this glassworks by the glassmakers of Eigenthal. On December 3 the Count Antoine of Lutzelbourg and his wife Marie Helene of Schallenberg leased to Martin Gerard and Guillaume Peron (alias Wilhelm Stenger) the land for a duration of thirty years which would begin on the Feast of St. George in 1700. The conditions were: There could be only one furnace. The sale of cider, wine or beer would be tax free. They could fish in the Bievre and in the streams passing through the property. They could not hunt without permission of the lord. High, middle and low justice would continue under the lord who would appoint the mayor, the sheriff and the alderman. Houses built by the buyers and their spouses could be disposed of when the lease expired. The houses could be constructed of fir or non-fruit woods which would be designated by the foresters. In case of need, they could use oak but only if the forester permitted. Every year they would give to the lord two dozen crystal goblets and six bottles the size of a pitcher. All of them "a fine crystal". They will give a young calf every year at Easter to the lord and no more than six of their pigs can roam the forests to eat the acorns. The glassmakers can cut their wood in the forests of Reberg but they cannot cut the oaks. The present lease price is 300 pounds, payable every year on the Feast of St. George. Both parties agree to respect and obey all the charges, clauses and conditions of the lease. The signing of the lease took place at the town of Imling. The witnesses were: Jean Chretien, mayor of Imling and Etienne Hillaire of Saarebourg. The Count signed himself. The glassworkers who signed were: Gaspard Gerard, husband of Anne Marie Stenger, who signed with his mark, a gothic initial H of his first name Hans; Guillaume Peron (alias Stenger), husband of Ursule Betz, who used the sign of a footed goblet; Martin Gerard, husband of Anne Andres, who used a capital H; Pierre Andres, spouse of Anne Marie Fischer, who signed with a cross; Balthazar Gerard, spouse of Odile Walter, who signed with a lower case B; Jean Stenger, husband of Anne Marie Walter; and Christian Stenger, husband of Christiane Gerard. The last two signed their first and last names in gothic style. The parish records of Walscheid continue to show documentation about these people although one cannot establish the exact date of the change from Eigenthal to Troisfontaine. The registers of Brouderdorff, opened in 1703, mention the new glassworks at Troisfontaine from about 1704. It is called "Hofter Glashutte" or "vitriaria" Fontiun (Latin for fountain glassworks). The placename Hoft was already in usage at the beginning of the century in reference to Dreibrunnen, which was also called the Glassworks of Imling residence of the lord, or glassworks of St. Louis according to Lepage. Eigenthal will still be called the glassworks of Eigenthal in 1713 and the "old glassworks" in 1718. The majority of the glassworkers will use the parish of Walscheid. It is not until 1719 that the church of Biberkirch is re-established. [to be continued] ==== KUNKEL Mailing List ==== To send a message to everyone, send it directly to: [email protected], or reply to an individual message and note "send to all recipients" or whatever your system has for this option.