Andy & Mary's Wegner/Eiting Mollon/Zarnoth Genealogy

      ANDY AND MARY'S GENEALOGY
      FAMILY SUMMARIES

      ANDY'S FAMILY - RIESS / RAUSCH BRANCH

      This page contains brief family summaries for one ofAndy's
      ancestral branches, the Riess, Rausch, Jahn, Meichner,and
      related families from Kreis (County) Wunsiedel, Bavaria,
      Germany (near Czech border).

      It should be noted that these Family Summaries pagesare not a
      complete listing of ancestors or of their siblings orof descendants.
      They were intended to help you determine if you wantto look at
      the Detailed Genealogies or Ancestorspagesof this website.

      Contents of this Page:
       


      Links to Other Pages on this Web Site:



      Riess / Rausch / Jahn / Meichner:

      Introduction:

      After the death of his first wife (Anna WilhelminaSommerfeldt), my grandfather Herman Wegner (born 1850) (see separate page)was married in 1883 to Sabina Magdalena (Lena) RIESS, who was born in Helenville,Jefferson County, Wisconsin in 1862.  Lena was previously married toJohann Gottlieb WOHLFEIL, with whom she had a daughter, Alma [SCHMELING].Johann Gottlieb committed suicide.  Herman and Lena had six children:Elsa (died at age 12), Ewald [WAGNER], Alvin [HUTH], my dad Oscar [marriedMarie EITING – see separate page], Gertrude [HUTH], and Martin [yep, anotherHUTH].

      The NAMES in CAP’s in [SQUARE BRACKETS] are thesurnames of their spouses.

      Where do I start in the telling of Lena’s ancestors? I cannot do justice to their story in this limited format.  What followsis but a scant -- and somewhat ‘dry’-- outline.  The reader is referredto the Detailed Genealogies pages of this website, for a more complete (butstill distinctly dry) account.  We intend to publish a book within thenext year (or so) that will hopefully give a little more of the flavor oftheir lives.


      Children of Herman Wegner
      & Lena Riess. L to R:
      Gertrude, Alvin, Ewald,
      Martin, & Oscar.

      We traced Lena’s various ancestors to twenty threesmall villages all located within an eight mile radius in Kreis Wunsiedel(pronounced “Vun ZEE del) in far northeastern Bavaria.  See list aboveand Click Here for map.  Over the last few centuries,Bavaria was, among other things, an independent Kingdom, a part of the GermanConfederation, and is now a province in Germany.  One of Lena’s (andour) family lines leads across the border into what was then Bohemia. We have not yet ventured there, but perhaps a reader will see an opportunityfor an interesting search in what is now the Czech Republic.  Anotherlines comes from Kärnten, Austria to Kreis Wunsiedel in the mid-1600’s.

      Lena’s parents were Johann RIESS born 1834 in Grafenreuth,Bavaria, and Elisabeth RAUSCH born 1840 a few miles away in Thierstein. Elisabeth emigrated to Wisconsin with her parents in 1847, and Johann, alsowith his parents, in 1852.  Both families settled in Jefferson County. Johann’s parents were Georg Wolfgang RIESS born 1811, and Anna MargarethaJAHN born 1815, both in Grafenreuth.  Elisabeth’s parents were JohannGeorg RAUSCH born 1800 in Thierstein, and Magdalena MEICHNER born 1806 inSchirnding.

      Each of these four Bavarian lines (Riess, Rausch, Jahn,and Meichner) is discussed briefly below; but, first a word about the villageof Grafenreuth -- since so many of our ancestors came from there.

      It is late afternoon the last day of August 2000. We approach Grafenreuth from the north having just driven thru Thiersheim,the larger market town a couple miles away.  We creep along thru athunderstorm, the dark hanging clouds hide the tops of the Fichtelgebirgehills, and we are assaulted by pelting rain and a few sharp close strikesof lightning.  The narrow tree-lined road leads south-southwest, windsaround a couple bends, and drops toward a small village nestled in a valleyjust ahead.  The sign says ‘Wampen’ -- with a left arrow indicating‘Grafenreuth’.  We follow the arrow, onto an even smaller but stillwell-paved road.  The map says we should be there, but there is no hintof a town.  The road climbs a rounded hill, open farm fields all aroundexcept for a small woods to the left at the very crest of the hill. A lane leads toward the trees, the hint of a park or something there -- asomething we would later discover had historical significance.

      The road bends right, and sharply downward.  There,halfway down the hill not more that 300 feet ahead, are the red and blacktiled roofs of Grafenreuth!  Here is where the Riess’s and many otherof our ancestral families were ‘geboren’ and where they ‘wohnt’ (lived),a tight cluster of a few dozen hillside homes, some with adjoining barnsfilled with tan cattle.  The road snakes south thru the tiny village,with narrow lanes branching laterally between the homes and farm buildings. Except for along the south side, a small, bricked road circles the village. Beyond this clearly defined perimeter is open land.  The farm fieldshave been consolidated somewhat now, but an 1800’s map shows small, pie-shapedfields reaching out like spokes from a hub.  Inside the hub are a mixof well kept, old -- some very old! -- buildings, and a few newer homes,built of a style that does not clash with the old.

      There was once a major castle in Grafenreuth, the homeof a family of robber barons some say.  At the summit of the hillabovethe village stood a tall and substantial tower called the Hohen Warte. It was not used as a residence, but for surveillance, signaling, and defensivepurposes.  A lane now leads to a woods which hides a small tower commemoratingthe spot. From the vantage point of the Hohen Warte, I doubt the villagelooks much differently today than it did to our ancestors in their last lookback, 150 years ago this November (1852 – 2002).

      Many of the 100 or so current residents are elderly. In 2001 alone, three of them died.  One has the bittersweet feelingof the passing of an era – of changing times fueled by the energy of youth,a newfound national identity, and the commerce of a gleaming four-lane autobahnvisible to the southwest, just beyond earshot of the traffic.

          ***********************


      Now back to the four main family lines from Bavariamentioned above, starting with the RIESS’s:

      Georg Wolfgang Riess (see above) was born in Grafenreuthin 1811, but if we go back one more generation to the birth of his fatherJohannes in 1770, we find ourselves in a strange place, a ‘town’ called“Ottenlohe” (Oat ten LOH ay).  The Germans have a name for such places. They are called “Einzelhaus”, or in English, “a single house”.  That’sright, the town consisted then and does yet today, in its entirety, of asingle house.  It is only because of an associated barn and other outbuildings, that you can see it at all.  Still -- it maintains its listingon modern maps.  At least three generations of Riess’s lived there:Johannes in 1770 and his father Georg in 1741 were born there; and Georg’sfather Johann died there in 1769 at the age of 61.  This latter Johannwas born about a mile away in Dietersgrün in 1707, and his father GeorgJohann (the son of yet another Johann Riess) married in 1698 in close-byArzberg.

      Ancestral Villages of Riess andRausch and Related Families in Bavaria

      Ottenlohe sits by itself in a small open valley, literallyonly a few potato tosses from the Czech border.  To the east on a hill,the larger village of Hohenberg is easily visible.  What kept them here? Did they just work on the farm?  Did they own it?  As a slang name,area folk called the place “Schmecken”, meaning something like “tastes good?” One gets the distinct feeling this Einzelhaus has stories that need telling. The current farmer, however, looked none too friendly, and we decided notto ask.

      The marriages in this RIESS line were as follows: JohannesRIESS born 1770 married his first cousin, Magdalena RIESS (RIESS marriedRIESS) born Grafenreuth in 1777; Georg RIESS born 1741 married Anna RosinaGEBHARDT (also see JAHN section below for more GEBHARDT's) the daughter ofJohann from Raithenbach; Johann RIESS born 1707 married Magdalena BAURNFEINDthe child of Johann Adam; and Georg Johann RIESS born estimated 1673 marriedCatharina SEIDEL the daughter of Mathäi.  See the Detailed Genealogiessections for the siblings and descendants of many of the people given aboveand below.

      The parents of Magdalena RIESS born 1777 (see above),were Johann Lorenz born 1745 (whose ancestors are the same as for Georgborn 1741, given above) and Margaretha JAHN born 1753 (another Jahn line). Margaretha  parents (JAHN / MEYER) were from Grafenreuth; and her paternalgrandparents (JAHN / KÜNZEL) were born in Röthenbach.  Thenext two earlier generations of KÜNZEL’s were from Asch (now ‘As’ inthe Czech Republic), the more recent generation of whom married a SCHERZERfrom Röthenbach.  We probably have more than a little Bohemianblood in our veins.  It is said that it was common practice for menon both sides of the border to recruit brides from the other side -- andthese are not the only lines of ours that lived very close to the border! It should be noted though that the areas of territory inside the north,west, and east borders of what is now the Czech Republic were for centuriesheavily settled with people from various "German" states. Those areas, knownas the Sudetenland, were in fact politically associated with German-speakinggovernments until the end of WWI in 1918, at which time they were made partof Czechoslovakia -- against their wishes it might be added.

      The paternal line of the above MEYER was from Grafenreuth,and included the BENKER family.  Her maternal line were SCHRICKER,that for at least two generations, were from Unterwoltersgrün (“underWolter’s  green”), a barely existent place deep in a valley, a placewhich should not  be confused with Ober (over) Woltersgrün thatsits on a hill less than half a mile away.

          ********************


      The second of the four main Bavarian branches, theJAHN’s:

      The parents of Anna Margarethe JAHN born 1815 (seeearlier paragraph) were Johann Georg born 1787 in Grafenreuth, and RosinaWUNDERLICH born 1794 in Fischern -- which is right on the Czech border. Johann George’s father and grandfather, Andreas and Sebastian JAHN, were bothfrom Grafenreuth., while his mother, Anna Margaretha NURNBERGER and her father,grandfather, and great grandfather, Johann, Nicol, and Nicol, respectively,were from Habnith (“Hob nit”).  Anna Margaretha Nurnberger’s mother,Maria GEBHARDT was from nearby Hebanz, while Maria’s father Erhard was alsofrom Habnith.

      Anna Margarethe JAHN (born 1815) had a sister, MargaretheKatharina Jahn. After her marriage in 1846 (to a THOMA), she lived in House#27 in Grafenreuth; and in fact, to this day a hand-carved wooden ironing(Mangbrett) board and roller that was given to her as a wedding presentstill hangs on a wall in that same home, now occupied by Anton Röll.Anton also has the original of a ‘funeral letter’ written by the sisters’father (my great, great, great, grandfather, Johann Georg Jahn, born 1787).

          ******************


      Third, is the RAUSCH line:

      The parents of Johann Georg RAUSCH born 1800 (referredto earlier) were Georg Rausch born 1768 in Heidelheim, and Margaretha BAURIEDELborn 1764 in Thierstein the daughter of Peter.  Georg’s father andgrandfather were Erhard born 1740, and Johann Rausch, both from Heidelheim. Johann married Eva Catherina RIEDEL born 1706 in Spielberg.

      The parents of Magaretha BAURIEDEL (born 1764) wereJohannes born 1726 in Thierstein (the son of Jacob and Catharina SIEGLER ofThierstein), and Magdalena LIPPERT born 1725 in Rügersgrün (thedaughter of Bernard LIPPERT born 1678 in the same town, and Anna CatharinaGEIER of Lauterbach).  Bernard Lippert’s parents were Nikol born 1645in Rügersgrün and Barbara SOMMERER (died 1712), the daughter ofHans of Hauenreuth.  Anna Catharina Geier’s father was Nikol of Lauterbach.

          ********************


      Lastly, the MEICHNER branch:

      The parents of Magdalena MEICHNER (referred to earlier),born 1806 in Schirding, were Johann Nikol born 1776 also in Schirnding,and Margaretha Barbara RIESS, born 1783.  Now, it just so happens thatMargaretha Barbara was the sister to the Johannes RIESS born 1770 whose ancestorswere given earlier in the Riess section – so we will not repeat here. This duplication of ancestors [in one sense, you could say we were gyppedout of a set of ancestors – or more importantly, out of the diversity oftheir gene pool] results of course because, two generations later, a granddaughterof Margaretha Barbara marries a grandson of Johannes (this refers to the marriageof my great grandparents, Elisabeth RAUSCH and Johann W. RIESS, second cousinsof one another).  This was not an uncommon practice, and you will notethat in an earlier section, there is even an instance of first cousins marrying[we really got gypped out of ancestors there!].

      Before giving more ancestors, the story of MagdalenaMeichner’s descendants and kin is also worth mentioning.  Magdalena hada daughter, Sabina, several years before her marriage to Johann Georg Rausch. Sabina later took the Rausch name, emigrated with her parents in 1847, marrieda Lutheran minister [WALTHER], and is the ancestral matriarch of a very largepopulation of current day Wisconsinites.

      Magdalena Meichner, born 1806, had a younger sister,born 1810, who also went by the name Magdalena.  Many years later, thisfact has caused confusion -- as well as an error in a book written by FritzMeichner and his daughter Gerda: “The Meichner Family in Upper Franconiaand Hannover” (pages 155-186 in “Deutsches Familienarchiv, Ein GenealogischesSammelwerk”, Band 59, 1974, Verlag Degener & Co).  The book failsto recognize what recent research has revealed, that there were two Magdalena’sborn to the same parents, and that both survived to adulthood and left descendants. The second Magdalena, it turn out, also had a child out of wedlock, a WolfgangGeorg Bernhard MEICHNER born 1831.  While the older Magdalena emigratedto America with her subsequent husband and with her two surviving daughters,the younger Magdalena did not marry nor emigrate.  The descendants ofWolfgang Georg Bernhard were numerous, and most of them still live in Germany.

      Now to give the ancestors of the Johann Nikol Meichner,born 1776 in Schirnding, his parents were Johann Heinrich born 1742 andBarbara GEWINNER the daughter of Johann, all of Schirnding.  JohannHeinrich’s parents were Andrea born 1711 in Schirnding and Anna RIEDEL ofFischern.  Andrea’s father was Lorenz born 1679 in Schirnding, and hismother was Margarethe MARTIN born 1683 in Neuenreuth.  The parents ofLorenz were Thomas (born 1634 in Kärten Austria, died in Schirnding)and Margaretha THOMA of Fischern.  Thomas’s father was Zacharias born1602 also in Kärten, Austria, and dying in Fischern, Bavaria.

      I quote now parts of several paragraphs about Zachariasfrom the above-mentioned book by Gerda & Fritz Meichner, as translatedby Frauke Rosenbohm and Robert Greiner:

      “The history of the counter-reformation in Kärnten was crucial for the Meichner family. This is a historical fact, from whichone must assess the individual representatives of the family. Parish registersof Arzberg and Schirnding  attest to the fact that the Meichner family,who abandoned their home in Kärnten under pressure of the Roman Catholics,sometime around 1650 immigrated to Upper Franconia and settled in Schirnding,in order to remain true to their Protestant faith.

      The ancestor of this family was Zacharias Meichner,a wagoner.  It is possible that he came from Feldkuchen (in Kärnten)as did his relative Ruprecht Meichner.   Wagoners lived in mountainpasses and not on the summits; the family may have made their arduous waythrough the Glan valley. In the new homeland they called Zacharias and hisson Friedrich, who was also a wagoner, the Fouhamanna [?]. It is noteworthythat male descendants chose their occupation with the Federal Railway.

      Several Meichners worked in the porcelain factoriesof Arzberg and Schirnding. Besides their artistic talents, the porcelain paintershad to have the skillful dexterity of other occupations. While the porcelaingrinder only works on white porcelain, polishes grains of sand from the china,and sands the rough bottom of the plates, etc., the decorative grinder reworksrichly decorated, i.e. printed, painted etched porcelain. Defective spotsare polished off. He has to do it with finished porcelain, which is shortlybefore distribution. The preparation of the porcelain mixtureby the mixturemiller is an arduous task.”

      Fritz Meichner goes on to describe a family seal, whosewords say,  “‘In arte pax’ – these Latin words mean …. ‘In the finearts and crafts, peace blossoms’.  The four small symbols - pretzel,plow, coffee pot and two crossed brushes, and trowel with bricks - representthe four most frequent occupations of the greater Meichner family: baker,farmer, among them several wagoners, porcelain firer and painter and finallybricklayer. The rearing, winged steed named Pegasus is the very well-knownwonder horse of poets and authors.

      “In Memory of Zacharias Meichner”, Fritz writes, “Allwho bear the name Meichner stand, without exception, on the shoulders ofour ancestor. Certainly each had in their time their own challenges and sorrows.But above all these things we all have something in common: our faith, whichhas lifted us above all of this world and the transience of our existence…. However, it is never intended to make something special or real heroesof them. That would have been completely contrary to the man who was the headof our family, a wagoner. The fact that he, nevertheless, may be a model toall of us is accounted for in his attitude.  His example was outwardlyseen as a simple act: he set out with his family to come into a country inwhich a guarantee was given to be able to live in their Protestant faith.This was, however, for him and his family Brandenburg- Bayreuth, the provinceof the young count Christian Ernst. He lived from then on in the small villageof Schirnding in the Fichtelgebirge.  The consequence of his act wasthe gaining of his inner freedom. This realization prevents us from surroundinghim with a false halo ….”
       

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