|
|
|
This document describes the auction of emigrant Heini Riggenbacher's property rights some three years after his departure to Carolina in May 1735. He appeared to have the use of a variety of property (though not a great amount in size) and was probably considered well off in Rûnenberg. The following background information will help in understanding the document. Money - The funds listed in this document are in Pfunds and Schillings which along with the Denar (Pfennig) were the Swiss moneys of account. Notionally the Pfund was equal to 15 Batzen, a common coin of the time, but as later notes show, that exchange rate could and did vary. In 1738, 1 Swiss Pound was worth about one-twelfth of an English Pound Sterling or 1 Shilling 8 pence. Land Use - Tillable land was managed under the "Dreizelgenwirtschaft" (three zelg farm) system, a collective system which began in the middle ages to improve the productivity of limited land resources and to minimize the risk of catastrophic crop failure. Each village's fields were divided approximately equally into three "Zelgs" with each field belonging to a single Zelg. Each Zelg was planted on a three year rotating basis. First the ground was prepared and winter grain (wheat or rye) was planted in October/November. This was harvested the next summer in July. The land was then used for pasture until early spring when it was planted in oats. The oats were harvested in July/August and the land then was used for pasture and lay fallow for a little over a year until time to start the cycle again. These were very small fields of about an acre with no access except through other fields. The planting time and sequence for each field was strictly controlled so that a farmer did not destroy his neighbors crop i.e. the outlying fields were planted first. For an example of modern day fields in a zelg see: Our Fields in the Zelg. Land Measures - The land measures used in this document are believed to be Juchart (J.), Mannsmahd (M.), and Saat (St.). These were customary land measures whose actual size varied with time and place. The Juchart was used for tillable land. It was the land area that a yoke of oxen could plow in a day. In Switzerland it was just under an acre (0.9 acres or 0.36 hectares). The Mannsmahad was used for pasture and meadow land. It was the land area a man could mow in a day. It equaled about an acre and a quarter (0.5 hectares). The Mannsmahad (man mowing/reaping) was sometimes known as a Tagwerk (days work). The Saat was used for grain land. It was the land area that could be planted with a bushel of seed. Size varied considerably but was somewhere around a third of a Juchart or about 0.3 acres. All told, besides his house and garden, Heini Riggenbacher had about 4.4 acres of high meadow, 1.9 acres pasture, and 12.9 acres of tillable land, of which he could plant between 7.5 and 10.2 acres each year depending on which fields had to lie fallow. In total, he had leasehold on only about 20 acres of land. You can see how the prospect of 50 acres of land per person could be very attractive. Acknowledgement - Many thanks to Ulrich Stroux, a fellow Rickenbacher researcher, who transcribed the original handwritten document. Without Ulrich's effort, a translation would not have been possible as the handwriting in the original document is very hard to read. |
Page 105a - Image FileNB: dem Siechenhaûs eijnzuhändigen Rünenberg, den 8.tn Aug_ [August] 1737 Ingrohsirt Gants Ganthmeister: Hs Georg Handschin der Ammtspfleger Zû Dessen Bürgen in fol: per den Einzug und die Lu_erûng? Termin :Drey, allwegen auf Verenen Tag, und Ao. 1738. Ligende Gütheren : Ohne den heurigen Lehnzins, so heiter (?) vorbehalten wird; _________________ Latus per Se. |
Page 105aNB: the Hospital first to be given. Rünenberg the 8th August 1737 Tax Auction Auctioneer: Hs Georg Handschin the District His guarantors for the move-in and the [Lu_erûng?] Terms: Three, always on September 1, and Yr. 1738 Real Estate : Without the quit-rent for this year, so happily to save; _________________ Only entry on page [Lat.] |
|
Notes for Page 105a: The top line is apparently a note that the hospital (sick house) is to have first claim on the proceeds of the auction. A single underscore at the end of a word represents the Old German character that I call "l with tail". It is not an "l" but rather signifies that the rest of the word was left off. The date of this document is a classic example: "den 8ten Aug_ 1737". The abbreviation,"ged_", apparently represents a term so common that it did not need to be written out in full. A Swiss expert says it represents "gedachten" meaning "before mentioned. With the new transcription of "aûßgekündet" meaning "publicly? announced" it is clear that this part of the sentence was just to say that the auction was properly announced. The auction price was to be paid in three payments, each to be made on Sept. 1, with the first payment to be next year in 1738. The "New Taler" mentioned was the Swiss name for the French "Ecu Blanc" which circulated in Switzerland at a value of 38-42 Batzen. Notionally there were 15 Batzen to the Pfund but this document suggests a Pfund had a value of about 13.5 Batzen at this place and time. An "Ecu Blanc" was worth about 5 English Shilings or 1/4 Pound Sterling in London at this time. The auction prices listed here are the cost of the lease-hold on the property. In addition there were annual quit-rent payments which had to be made. These generally amounted to about 5 percent of the harvest. The quit-rent on the house and associated property was suspended for the first year "so happily to save". The abbreviations "B:" and "K:" must stand for "Burg" (guarantor) and "Kaufter" (buyer). I don't know what the abbreviation "N." stands for but suspect it means "Nachbar" - neighbor or "Nahr" - near. It could also mean something entirely different. |
|
Page 105b - Image FileMatten w. 1/2 M. Z'Matemmatt, Häfel,, | Aus w. 1 M. bey der Rappenfluh | Aus w. 2 M. in der Gründel,, _________________________ |
Page 105bHigh Meadow : w. 1/2 M. Z'Matem[pasture], Häfel-, | From w. 1 M. by the Rappenfluh | From w. 2 M. in the Gründel- _________________________ |
|
Notes for Page 105b: There is a common symbol in all of these descriptions that looks like a lowercase omega followed by a dot. We have transcribed it as "w.". it's meaning is unknown but it appears at the beginning of all land descriptions. Matte means alpine meadow so what are described here are grazing or haying rights. I've translated "M." as the land measure "Mansmahd". My dictionary translates "Holder" as "Slave". In this case it means the hay house goes with the meadow rights. "Rappenfluh" must be a place name but I cannot find it on current maps. The closest similar place name is Rothenfluh, called RothieFluh in 1750. |
|
Page 106a - Image FileWäyd(?) : w. 1 1/2 M. in Griden, N. Hans Riggen,, Schoberen(?) Zelg(?) auf Leyer(?), so heür Korn w. 1/2 J. beym Layenbronnen N. w. 1/2 J. außem Rauft, N. Hs _________________________ |
Page 106aPasture(?) : w. 1 1/2 M. in Griden, N. Hs Riggen,, Tillable Land(?) Zelg on Leyer, which this year grain w. 1/2 J. in Pfäflinacker, N. Hans w. 1/2 J. by Layenbronnen N. w. 1/2 J. outside Rauft, N. Hans _________________________ |
|
Notes for Page 106a: We believe Wayd = Weide meaning pasture, however, "Waydjager" and "Weidmann" are old names for a hunter so this section may describe hunting rights. A Juchart was a land measure whose size was about 0.36 hectares or just less than a US acre. "Schoberen" would normally translate as open-sided barns or haystacks. That doesn't seem right here. All of the rest of the properties are tillable land in zelgs so that must be the meaning of this heading "Korn" in this context means the principle bread making grain, usually wheat or rye. In this area it was wheat. A Zelg was a group of fields planted on a rotating plan: one year winter grain (wheat/rye), the next summer grain (oats), the next fallow. These fields made winter wheat this year and are now in pasture until next spring when they will be planted in oats. Leyer is probably a location name, perhaps a hill name. An Armenschafner was the local official who looked after the poor. A Bannbruder was a village official who, along with the Pastor, watched over village dicipline and customs. |
|
Page 106b - Image Filew. 1 J. allda, N. Hs Joggi Riggen,, w. 1 1/2 St. daselbst, N. Hs Joggi Sigrist, w. 1 1/2 J. auf der Tauftägerten(?), w. 1 St. vor Tiemetstauden(?), N. w. 1/2 J. im Mattenacker, N. _________________________ |
Page 106bw. 1 J. there, N. Hans Joggi Riggen- w. 1 1/2 St. there, N. Hans Joggi Sigrist, w. 1 1/2 J. on the Tauftägerten(?), w. 1 St. vor Tiemetstauden(?), N. w. 1/2 J. in the Mattenacker, N. _________________________ |
|
Notes for Page 106b: An Armenschafner was the local official who looked after the poor. |
|
Page 107a - Image FileHaberzelg vor Stein und Forte_: w. 1/2 J. vor Stein, N. dem w. 1/2 J. allda, N. Fridlin Bitterlin, w. 1/2 J. vor Fortel, N. Joggi Grie,, w. 1/2 J. allda, N. Fridlin Bitterlin, w. 1 J. auf der Hinderrütin, _________________________ |
Page 107aOat Fields in front of Stein und Forte_: w. 1/2 J. before Stein, N. the w. 1/2 J. there, N. Fridlin Bitterlin, w. 1/2 J. before Forte_, N. Joggi Grie,, w. 1/2 J. there, N. Fridlin Bitterlin, w. 1 J. on the Hinderrütin, _________________________ |
|
Notes for Page 107a: Stein is a location name and I suspect Forte_ is also. The wooded area NW of Runenberg is called Steinholz and the field area to the SE of Steinholz is called "Vorstein" on current topo maps. Haberzelg fields made oats this year and had just been or were being harvested. These fields must now lie fallow for a year. That is possibly why they seem a bit cheaper. We've translated Vogt here as a guardian, rather than the governmant official. |
|
Page 107b - Image Filew. 3 st. bey d Zeckholdern(?), N. Hs Aus w. 1 J. Z'Zemmetreley(?) den Aus gemeldtem Stuckh den obern w. 3 st. im Heübaumackher, _________________________ |
Page 107bw. 3 st. by the Zeckholdern(?), N. Hans Out of w. 1 J. Z'Zemmetreley(?) the From the mentioned part the above w. 3 st. in the Heübaumackher, _________________________ |
|
Notes for Page 107b: Aus gemeldtem Stuckh = from mentioned part Heübaumackher = Heu-baum-acker |
|
Page 108a - Image FileBrachzelg Zu Schlatt: So sammt dem Saammen, w. 1/2 J. im Rhyblen, N. Hs Riggen,, Aus w. 1 J. im Holtzäpfelacker Aus gemeldtem Stck. den Aus w. 1 J. in Schlatt den undern halben Theil, N. Hs Joggi Aus gemeldtem Stck. den obern hal,, _________________________ |
Page 108aBrachzelg at Lake: so together with the seeds, w. 1/2 J. in the Rhyblen, N. Hans Riggen- From w. 1 J. in the Holtzäpfelacker From mentioned part the From w. 1 J. in Schlatt the lower half share, N. Hans Joggi From mentioned part the upper half _________________________ |
|
Notes for Page 108a: A "Brachzeld" is a zelg comming off the fallow year and ready to be broken (tilled) and sown. The previous holder should have saved the seed so he will be required to sow the field. These fields will be productive for the next two years. That is probably why they seem a bit more expensive. |
|
Page 108b - Image Filew. 1/2 J. aus Eckh(?), N. Hs. Bürgin Latus per Se Sa. Gantzer Loosung Th_ |
Page 108bw. 1/2 J. on Eckh(?), N. Hans. Bürgin Only entry on page [Lat.] Sum Auction Purchases Th_ |
|
Notes for Page 108b: |
|
References:A. B. Faust and G. M. Brumbaugh, Lists of Swiss immigrants in the Eighteenth Century to the American Colonies, Vol. II, p. 91: Heini Riggenbacher of Rünenberg is the only emigrant of this year [1735] of whom we still hear after 1736. In 1739 he sent through the agent Hans Spring a letter to his brother in which he asked for the release of some money and property of his. The government took great pains to get hold of the letter, but made no haste to settle the business, for this was not done until 1798, i.e., nearly sixty years later when the property was divided among the heirs in the Canton (GAV 21, 39, Sept. 24, 1798). John J. McCusker, Money & Exchange in Europe & America, 1600 - 1775, p. 9. |
| Genealogy Home | Translations in Pogress |
Copyright © by J. E. Rickenbacker. All rights reserved.
3-3-06