SOUFFLENHEIM GENEALOGY RESEARCH
By Robert S. Wideen
Introduction
The purpose of this work is to share some interesting, unusual and hard
to find Soufflenheim genealogy and historical information, and to describe the various
types of records available for research. The focus is on genealogy research
before 1793, with an emphasis on records prior to 1743, the year of the
earliest surviving church records and the year that genealogy research in
Soufflenheim typically ends.
Soufflenheim genealogy research need not end in 1743. It’s possible to
go back further using inheritance, tax and other records. The information on
this site may well enable you to determine if your ancestors lived in
Soufflenheim prior to 1700. The population of Soufflenheim was not large at
this time. If you find the name you are researching there is a good chance you
are related.
Keep in mind that the same first names are found from generation to
generation. Finding the name of an ancestor is not sufficient to definitively
link them to your direct family line. They may be an uncle, a cousin, or
perhaps no relation at all. You will likely need to hire someone to search the
inheritance records for all individuals with the name you are researching and their
spouses. The idea is to find as many people as possible and then connect them
together.
Your researcher should translate the entire first section of the
inventory, plus any information related to a marriage contract. Avoid
summaries. Translating the entire first section provides assurance that all
information was included. You may well need every clue to correctly identify
your particular branch. All information is important. This method should enable
you to link most or all of your ancestors together even if you don’t find an
inheritance record for a specific person.
When searching for names, don't overlook the land and debt information
in the inventories. Inherited land is described by the owners of adjacent
property, of whom virtually all are from Soufflenheim. Debts will state if the
person owed money is from a community other than Soufflenheim. If they are not
listed as living elsewhere, they probably lived in Soufflenheim.
Note that names in the various records on this site are often spelled
differently from document to document. Spelling was not as standardized in
earlier times. It's also possible that some of the original documents have
deteriorated, thus affecting translation. Some names are undoubtedly spelled
incorrectly as a result of human error in translation or typographical
mistakes.
CONTENTS
Index To The Parish Records: 1600's
- 1792
Duplicate Rural Chapter Records
SOUFFLENHEIM
BAPTISM, MARRIAGE AND DEATH INDEXES
CHURCH RECORDS NEAR SOUFFLENHEIM
Brian Smith's Soufflenheim
Emigrants
Index To the Haguenau Notary
Records
Index To The Roeschwoog Contracts
SOUFFLENHEIM NOTARY RECORDS AFTER 1792
Saint Helene's Medal: 1792-1815
German Genealogy: ELSASS / ALSACE /
ALSATIA
Saint Helene's Medal: 1792-1815
The oldest records in the archives department of Bas-Rhin are known as the Ancient Archives. Records pertaining to Soufflenheim begin in the year 1315 and end in 1793.
The index to the
ancient archives is found in the book “Table generale des inventaires des
archives anciennes de 613 a 1789-1793", by Francois J. Himly and the
Archives departmentales du Bas-Rhin. Published: Strasbourg [P.H. Heitz] 1954,
516 pages (also available on the LDS INTL Microfilm #962677 Item 1). The
following records are listed for Soufflenheim:
· C 28(12) (1496)
· C 50(5-8) (1539-1606)
·
C
54(4) (1608-1610)
·
C
86(34,36) (1608-1615)
·
C
88(76-77,80-81,84,85,88)
(1604-1608)
·
C186 (1757-1789)
·
C
274(111-112) (1471-1759) dime
·
C
313(93-94 sexies) (1521-1780)
·
C
471(74-94) (1777-1778)
·
C
615 (1781)
·
C
628 (1750-1755)
·
C
657(170bis) (1788)
·
C
726(170) (1789-1790)
·
E
1094(2a) (1613) ecoutete
·
E
5172(1) (1517)
·
G
117(1) (1315)
·
G
1923(4) (1660)
·
G
5772(11-18) (1368-1659)
·
G
6634 (XVIIe-XVIIIe s.) fabrique
·
dime C
274(111-112) (1471-1759)
·
ecoutete E
1094(2a) (1613)
· fabrique G
6614 (XVIIIe s.) 6634 (1736)
· foret C 587
(1784)
The records in the index are grouped together in series - from A to H.
Series prior to 1792 (the French Revolution) are from A to H in all archives in
France. Each series begins with bundle number one and continues upward.
The first entry in the index is: C 28(12) (1496)
· C is the series number
· 28 is a bundle of records
· (12) is the document inside the bundle that mentions or is concerned with Soufflenheim
· (1496) is the year the document was written
The second entry in the index is: C 50(5-8)
(1539-1606)
·
C is the series number
·
50 is a bundle of records
·
(5-8) are four documents within
the bundle that mention or are concerned with Soufflenheim
·
(1539-1606) is the range of
years inside the bundle
It is often difficult to know exactly what is contained in each document
in the index without checking the document itself. However, this type of series
often has documents related to fiefs and renewals of fiefs, which vary in
length from 1-10 pages. Some of the documents are categorized as:
·
Dime: A tax due to the church.
·
Ecoutete: Mayor of the village.
·
Fabrique: Administration of the
church's property by an elected group of citizens of the place - the
"council of fabrique". The name is the same in France today
("conseil de fabrique").
·
Forêt: Forests or woods.
Concerns boundaries and uses, such as conflicts concerning grazing inside the
woods, rights to cut wood, hunting, fines, etc.
When translating fiefs and fief renewals, the formal part does need not
to be completely translated, as it is typically very long. The emphasis can be
placed on the description of the land, and the names of the people that share
borders with the land in the fief. This avoids time consuming and expensive
translations of formulas of no genealogical interest.
Records from the Table générale list all possible documents and may
just mention Soufflenheim without naming anyone that lived there, or perhaps
just some of the people. There is probably not a complete list citizens in any
of these documents. If there were, the authors of the two books on
Soufflenheim would have published it. However, as many documents are
probably fiefs, or renewals of fiefs, they will list people who cultivated land
on the boundaries of the fief, just as the inventories do. Fiefs are a good way
to find the names of people living in Soufflenheim prior to 1700.
Fiefs are not always related to the ownership of land. Fiefs can also be
a right to income from a function, such as provost of Soufflenheim
(Schultheiss), or an amount of money due on a tax, such as the “dîme” church
tax.
Regarding the word Provost mentioned in several documents: According to
Marie Peres "In a German dictionary, the term Schultheiss translates
simply into “mayor of a village”. According to the book Soufflenheim un cite, there is a distinction made between the
Schultheiss with a function of justice (which would make them a Provost), and
the “Heimburger” which also translates into mayor. Although Soufflenheim had a
Schulthiess (Provost) and a Heimburger, not all villages had both. Many
functions do not find their exact equivalent in German or French, and depend of
the statutes at one time in one place. So that many historians leave the name
untranslated. I have translated so far all “Schultheiss” in inventories as
mayor; but being related to the justice council, the term provost could be
better."
Most of the Soufflenheim documents in the Ancient Archives are written
in German. Records in Latin come with a German translation, according to
descriptions.
Summary Of The
Index To The Ancient Archives
All documents in
the index to the Ancient Archives have been viewed. Their year, description and
length are listed below. Documents described as a "piece" can be more
than one page. Documents described as two or more pages could also be two or
more pieces. For example, one page may be a letter and the second page a reply
to the letter. Document length is either what is listed in the official
archives, or what was counted when doing research. Documents in RED have been completely translated.
Documents in ORANGE have been
summarized. Documents in BLUE have
only been checked for the names of people from Soufflenheim.
|
Series |
Bundle Number |
Document Number |
Bundle Years |
Document Year |
Document Description |
Length |
Names Checked |
|
C |
28 |
12 |
1496 |
1496 |
Letter |
1 Piece |
Yes |
|
C |
50 |
5 |
1539-1606 |
1539
|
Letter:
Royal Administrative |
2 Pages |
Yes |
|
C |
50 |
6 |
1539-1606 |
06
May 1606 |
Letter:
Royal Administrative |
2 Pages |
Yes |
|
C |
50 |
7 |
1539-1606 |
14
Feb 1606 |
Letter:
Royal Administrative |
1 Page |
Yes |
|
C |
50 |
8 |
1539-1606 |
Dec
1551 |
Letter:
Royal Administrative |
2 Pages |
Yes |
|
C |
54 |
4 |
1608-1610 |
1608-1610 |
Lawsuit |
36
Pieces |
Yes |
|
C |
86 |
34 |
1608-1615 |
14
Dec 1615 |
Letter |
1 Page |
Yes |
|
C |
86 |
36 |
1608-1615 |
18
Jan 1608 |
Letter |
5
Pages |
Yes |
|
C |
86 |
36 |
1608-1615 |
24
Dec 1615 |
Letter |
1
Page |
Yes |
|
C |
88 |
76 |
1604-1608 |
23
May 1604 |
Letter |
1
Page |
Yes |
|
C |
88 |
77 |
1604-1608 |
04
May 1604 |
Letter |
1
Piece |
Yes |
|
C |
88 |
80 |
1604-1608 |
24
May 1604 |
Report |
5
Pages |
Yes |
|
C |
88 |
81 |
1604-1608 |
03
Jan 1604 |
Letter |
1
Page |
Yes |
|
C |
88 |
84 |
1604-1608 |
07
Sept 1605 |
Letter |
3
Pages |
Yes |
|
C |
88 |
85 |
1604-1608 |
19 June 1606 |
Letter |
4
Pages |
Yes |
|
C |
88 |
88 |
1604-1608 |
17
July 1608 |
Letter |
1
Page |
Yes |
|
C |
186 |
17 |
1757-1789 |
1757 |
Community
of Soufflenheim |
2
Pages |
NO |
|
C |
186 |
18 |
1757-1789 |
1781 |
Community
of Soufflenheim |
3
Pages |
NO |
|
C |
186 |
19 |
1757-1789 |
1781 |
Community
of Soufflenheim |
|
NO |
|
C |
186 |
20 |
1757-1789 |
1781
|
Community
of Soufflenheim |
3
Page |
NO |
|
C |
186 |
21 |
1757-1789 |
1783
|
Community
of Soufflenheim |
1
Page |
NO |
|
C |
186 |
22 |
1757-1789 |
1783 |
Community
of Soufflenheim |
2
Pieces |
NO |
|
C |
186 |
23 |
1757-1789 |
1783
|
Community
of Soufflenheim |
16
Pieces |
NO |
|
C |
186 |
24 |
1757-1789 |
1783 |
Community
of Soufflenheim |
3
Pages |
NO |
|
C |
186 |
25 |
1757-1789 |
1783
|
Community
of Soufflenheim |
2
Pieces |
NO |
|
C |
186 |
26 |
1757-1789 |
1789 |
Community
of Soufflenheim |
1
Piece |
NO |
|
C |
274 |
111 |
1471-1759 |
06
Aug 1471 |
Dime
and Fief of Huffel |
13
Pages |
Yes |
|
C |
274 |
111 |
1471-1759 |
07
July 1716 |
Fief of Huffel |
16
Pages |
Yes |
|
C |
274 |
111 |
1471-1759 |
17
Sept 1744 |
Fief of Huffel |
7
Pages |
Yes |
|
C |
274 |
111 |
1471-1759 |
No
Date |
Fief of Huffel |
1
Page |
Yes |
|
C |
274 |
111 |
1471-1759 |
30
Apr 1756 |
Fief of Huffel |
14
Pages |
Yes |
|
C |
274 |
111 |
1471-1759 |
30
Apr 1756 |
Fief of Huffel |
13
Page |
Yes |
|
C |
274 |
111 |
1471-1759 |
1471 |
Fief of Huffel |
1
Page |
Yes |
|
C |
274 |
111 |
1471-1759 |
25
July 1540 |
Fief of Huffel |
1
Page |
Yes |
|
C |
274 |
112 |
1471-1759 |
25
July 1540 |
Dime
and Fief of Huffel |
1
Piece |
Yes |
|
C |
274 |
113 |
1471-1759 |
1759 |
Fief of Huffel |
|
Yes |
|
C |
274 |
114 |
1471-1759 |
|
Fief of Huffel |
|
Yes |
|
C |
274 |
115 |
1471-1759 |
|
Fief of Huffel |
|
Yes |
|
C |
274 |
116 |
1471-1759 |
|
Fief of Huffel |
|
Yes |
|
C |
274 |
117 |
1471-1759 |
|
Fief of Huffel |
|
Yes |
|
C |
313 |
93 sexies |
1521-1780 |
15
May 1521 |
Fief
of Knobloch |
5
Pages |
Yes |
|
C |
313 |
94 sexies |
1521-1780 |
05
Sept 1561 |
Fief
of Knobloch |
7
Pages |
Yes |
|
C |
313 |
94 sexies |
1521-1780 |
13
Dec 1613 |
Niedheimer
Fief |
4
Pages |
Yes |
|
C |
313 |
94 sexies |
1521-1780 |
01
Aug 1662 |
Niedheimer
Fief |
4
Pages |
Yes |
|
C |
313 |
94 sexies |
1521-1780 |
No date |
Niedheimer Fief |
4 Pages |
Yes |
|
C |
313 |
94 sexies |
1521-1780 |
No date |
Niedheimer Fief |
1 Page |