Some believe he was a Huguenot, born in France and fled to Germany at revocation of Edict of Nantes( but no proof ever offered for this)
From records of Helen Repair Cox, St. Louis, MO Records at Evangelical Parish House, Mannheim, Germany Birth records KB II p. 408 Death records KB Michelstadt II p 803 Marriage records Jugelfinger, Book III p 64
' From Ancestral Lines of Chester Everts Howell' by Jessie Howell Finch, 1965
Many Minier descendants have conjectured concerning the origin of the family of Christian Minier, the first settler in Big Flats, Chemung County, NY and because a name of much the same spelling is to be found in France the supposition that his ancestors were French Huguenots. Quite possibly they may have been however the wedding record of Christian's grandfather show that his great grandfather Wilhelm, was living in Germany as early as 1703. Wilhelm was an armorer and at that date was in the service of the Count of Hohenlohe at Ernstbach in the Odenwald, a region just east of the Rhine River where the Neckar meets the Rhine near Heidelberg. Ernstbach's vital records as well as much else there, was destroyed in WW II when German metal working installations in the vicinity were bombed. It is more than possible that these destroyed documents might have shown that Wilhelm Minier came from France to this Palatine countryside during the French and German conflicts 1689 & 1693. If so he may have stayed there quite voluntarily for this place after the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 still welcomed Protestants as France did not. His son and grandson were married in the Reformed Protestant Church in Palatinate region. The Palatinate was an electoral district of the old German Confederation of small governments near the middle of the Rhine River's course and south of the lands of the Duke of Hesse. Wilhelm's name in the old German Chjurch records is spelled Minnir which today is pronounced in the locality of this Church as "me neer" with almost equal accent on each syllable. Although the Ernstbach records are lost, references to his residence there in 1703 & 1705 are to be found in the old Church books in a village near Heidelberg where his son married and where his grandsons, among them Hans George, the father of Christian of Big Flats, was born. An account of the life and family of Hans George Minier found in the Moravian Church Archives in PA, shows that he was born in LutZelsasse near Heidelbery in the Palatinate. Litzelsasse is an old spelling of the place now on the map as Lutzelsachsen, ½ mile from the church in Hohensachsen where the church records for the 2 villages are to be found, in the keeping of the Pffarer, Peter Kohler. The old church with it's onion-shaped tower so common in this part of Germany stood in Hohensachsen until July 1956 when it burned. It had been built about 1772 replacing an older building. Although picturesque, it was not as ancient as are many of the very old structures surrounding it. These adjoining villages just north of Heidelberg are on the east side of the old Bergstrasse or "Mountain Rd" which was, histories say, first laid out by the Romans as part of a route for trade. This highway closely hugs the base of the steep and wooded slope of the Odenwald hills to the west slope of which the village clings. Small streams tumble down beside the downward sloping streets of colored plaster that covers the stonework, few of these old buildings have been altered since they were built. It is claimed that most of these old houses are the same ones that were there 200 or more years ago, their tiny windows then as now, overlooking the Neckar and Rhine valleys. During WWII no military objective was near. So the valleys escaped bombing. Also in 1689 and 1693 the invading French found them of too little importance to destroy, (the great castle of neighboring Heidelberg has been a ruin since those years), but the Church Books at Hohensachsen have remained undisturbed since the first entries were made in the oldest book on 1650.
\\\\\\\
Wilhelm MINNIR(2) was born about 1650 in Ernsbach, France/Germany. He died after 1705 in Germany. The earliest records for this family come from Helen Repair Cox, 1205 South Drive, St. Charles, MO, 63301 last heard from in 1980. There is also an unsigned, undated excerpt (pages 62-64) sent to me by Mrs. Cox titled, "Christian Minnir, Immigrant 1st(?) Generation; Christianus, 2nd(?) Generation," containing background from the early 1700s. The family constellation is that given by Mrs. Cox which she documents with the follow ing: Records at Evangelical Parish House, Mannheim, Germany. Birth records, KB II, p. 408. Death records, KB Michelstadt II, p. 803. Marriage records, Jugelfinger, Book III, p. 64. Details on this first documentation can be found in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, June 1954, page 67-68 in an article by Mrs. Frank E. Finch, "The Minier Family in Germany." According to the unsigned document, Wilhelm was living in Germany as early as 1703 at the wedding of his son, Christian, though conjecture assumed they were French Huguenots. Willhelm was an armorer in the service of the County of Hohenlohe at Ernstback in the Odenwald, a region just east of the Rhine River where the Neckar meets the Rhine near Heidelberg in 1703. The article further identifies Willhelm as the great grandfather of Christian Minier, the first settler in Big Flats, Chemung County, NY. Ancestor of Phyllis Mossing, 1565 Eleanor Avenue, Toledo, Ohio 43612 (mossing@@norden1.don). 1994.
Children were: Christian MINNIR, Hans Georg MINNIR, Johann Crafft MINNIR, Wilhelm MINNIR, Johann Philipp MINNIR.
From: Web Page: My Family
Who to contact for More Information Send E-mail to roach.fl@citynet.net Send mail to: Cara Dawn (Criss) Roach Rt 1 Box 242 Flemington , West Virginia 26347 (304)842-5216
Created 4 Nov 1997 with Family Origins 6.0 from Parsons Technology
More About Wilhelm Minnier: Fact 1: armorer.7771, 7772 Fact 2: lived Ernstbach, Germany.7773, 7774 Fact 3: Serv ice of Count Hohenlohe, master of the forge.7775, 7776 Fact 4: ? Huguenot.7777, 7778 Fact 5: see notes.7779, 7780, 7781 Fact 12: 7782, 7783 Fact 13: 7784, 7785
More About Wilhelm Minnier and Eva Susanne Ehl: Marriage: Bet. 1671 - 16967786, 7787
Children of Wilhelm Minnier and Eva Susanne Ehl are:
Wilhelm Minnier (b. Abt. 1656, d. Abt. 1703)
Notes for Wilhelm Minnier: