THE NONNENMACHERS OF BERG
The head of the Nonnenmacher family in Berg was Marcel and his wife was Catharina. Much research remains to be done on Marcel and his family. He was a clerk in Berg, in addition to several other occupations over the years. He is mentioned in more than 50 baptismal records. It appears that he was the son or nephew of Martzel Nonnenmacher, a farmer in nearby Rexingen. (A stepdaughter of the late Martzel Nonnenmacher was married in Rexingen in 1715.)
At this time, Nonnenmachers lived in the nearby villages of Weyer and Rexingen. They appear in the records of Berg, Drulingen, Boquenom/ Bockenheim, Lorentzen, and Weyer. Marcel seems to be the first to live in the village of Berg. The earliest record of him is in the registers of the Drulingen church where the Berg and Thal Parish records were set down in the years between 1703 to 1712. It seems most likely that he was born in Rexingen.
New Information on Marcel. In the hope of finding Marcel's parents, I researched the records of several churches near Berg. My findings are mixed. I found the February 1666 marriage record (recorded in Bockenheim/ Bouquenom) of a Marcel (spelled variously) Nonnenmacher and Catharina in the parish of Weyer of the right age to be our Marcel's father. This couple had a son christened Hans Nickel in November of 1666, but then they disappeared from the Weyer records. By 1672, a Marcel and Catharina Nonnenmacher appear in nearby Rexingen. In December of 1702, a Martzloff Nonnenmacher and wife Barbara have a son baptized. In 1715 a stepdaughter of the late Martzel Nonnenmacher was married. This is likely the same Marcel that lived in Weyer, and he's pretty likely to be the father of our ancestor. It doesn't look like there are any surviving church records to prove this possibility.
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The document below shows the first appearance of the Berg Nonnenmachers and their children as witnesses at baptisms in Berg. The witness is the first name on each line. Next is their relationship to the head of the house, Marcel, followed by his occupation, town, and the date of the baptism. The last three columns provide the location of the source in the Berg Church records (on-line): the digital book (B 1712 - 1749), the page number, and the record number: SOURCE: BERG CHURCH RECORDS ON-LINE, JUMP TO THE LINKS PAGE
At this time, Nonnenmachers lived in the nearby villages of Weyer and Rexingen. They appear in the records of Berg, Drulingen, Boquenom/ Bockenheim, Lorentzen, and Weyer. Marcel seems to be the first to live in the village of Berg. The earliest record of him is in the registers of the Drulingen church where the Berg and Thal Parish records were set down in the years between 1703 to 1712. It seems most likely that he was born in Rexingen.
New Information on Marcel. In the hope of finding Marcel's parents, I researched the records of several churches near Berg. My findings are mixed. I found the February 1666 marriage record (recorded in Bockenheim/ Bouquenom) of a Marcel (spelled variously) Nonnenmacher and Catharina in the parish of Weyer of the right age to be our Marcel's father. This couple had a son christened Hans Nickel in November of 1666, but then they disappeared from the Weyer records. By 1672, a Marcel and Catharina Nonnenmacher appear in nearby Rexingen. In December of 1702, a Martzloff Nonnenmacher and wife Barbara have a son baptized. In 1715 a stepdaughter of the late Martzel Nonnenmacher was married. This is likely the same Marcel that lived in Weyer, and he's pretty likely to be the father of our ancestor. It doesn't look like there are any surviving church records to prove this possibility.
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The document below shows the first appearance of the Berg Nonnenmachers and their children as witnesses at baptisms in Berg. The witness is the first name on each line. Next is their relationship to the head of the house, Marcel, followed by his occupation, town, and the date of the baptism. The last three columns provide the location of the source in the Berg Church records (on-line): the digital book (B 1712 - 1749), the page number, and the record number: SOURCE: BERG CHURCH RECORDS ON-LINE, JUMP TO THE LINKS PAGE
FIRST APPEARANCE OF NONNENMACHERS AS BAPTISM WITNESSES
| Name | Relation | Head of House | Occupation | Town | Date | Book | Page | Record |
| Marcel | self | Marcel Nonnenmacher | farmer | Berg | 20 Feb 1716 | B1712 -1749 | 17 | 8 |
| Catharina | wife of | Martzloff Nonnenmacher | farmer | Berg | 25 May 1717 | B1712 -1749 | 23 | 8 |
| Anna Christina | daughter o | Marcel Nonnenmacher | farmer | Berg | 12 May 1721 | B1712 -1749 | 37 | 13 |
| Hans Martin | son of | Marcel Nonnenmacher | farmer | Berg | 21 Nov 1721 | B1712 -1749 | 40 | 27 |
| Catharina | daughter o | Marcel Nonnenmacher | farmer | Berg | 27 Apr 1728 | B1712 -1749 | 79 | 14 |
| Joseph | son of | Marcel Nonnenmacher | innkeeper and schoffen | Berg | 16 Sep 1731 | B1712 -1749 | 99 | 16 |
| Hans Theobald | son of | Marcel Nonnenmacher | farmer and innkeeper | Berg | 23 Aug 1733 | B1712 -1749 | 112 | 17 |
NOTES
Marcel Nonnenmacher of Berg may have been married twice. A 1702 baptismal record in Lorentzen for Marcel and Anna Barbara Nonnenmacher's son, Hans Caspar, was witnessed by Hans Feuerstein, carpenter of Thal. The other possibility is that Anna Barbara is the second wife of an older Marcel Nonnenmacher of Rexingen who was probably in his early 60s at the time.
Later, in the registers of the Berg Church, Marcel's wife appears only as "Catharina", but her name is written Anna Catharina on some of the records of the nearby Drulingen Church. It's a pretty good bet that her birth name was Anna Catharina.
The burial records of Hans Martin and his wife record him as Johann Martin, but he was baptized "Hans Martin".
Hans Conrad does not seem to appear anywhere except in his baptismal record. He most likely died during the "Drulingen years" and it appears that the burials recorded in Drulingen for the Berg and Thal Parish have not survived.
Daughter Catharina was baptised "Anna Catharina", but she was usually recorded as just "Catharina". The birth/baptismal records of Joseph and Hans Theobald give the names Johann Joseph and Johann Theobald. The majority of the people in Berg and Thal were known by their middle name so this repetitive use of first names caused no confusion.
NEWS FLASH RE: CATHARINA. In 2018, a French cousin discovered (rediscovered actually) the baptismal record for Anna Catharina in the records of the Drulingen Church. She was born on 2 August 1711 at midday and her father was given as Marcell Nonnenmacher. (These particular baptismal records do not give the mother's name.) --Additional Nonnenmacher records in this church: on 10 July 1704 Hans Martin was born, on 23 October (8bris as it appears in the record) 1706 Anna Christina was born, and on 9 May 1709 near evening, Hans Conrad was born. This seems to be the only record anywhere of Conrad, so his life was presumably pretty short.
Marcel Nonnenmacher of Berg may have been married twice. A 1702 baptismal record in Lorentzen for Marcel and Anna Barbara Nonnenmacher's son, Hans Caspar, was witnessed by Hans Feuerstein, carpenter of Thal. The other possibility is that Anna Barbara is the second wife of an older Marcel Nonnenmacher of Rexingen who was probably in his early 60s at the time.
Later, in the registers of the Berg Church, Marcel's wife appears only as "Catharina", but her name is written Anna Catharina on some of the records of the nearby Drulingen Church. It's a pretty good bet that her birth name was Anna Catharina.
The burial records of Hans Martin and his wife record him as Johann Martin, but he was baptized "Hans Martin".
Hans Conrad does not seem to appear anywhere except in his baptismal record. He most likely died during the "Drulingen years" and it appears that the burials recorded in Drulingen for the Berg and Thal Parish have not survived.
Daughter Catharina was baptised "Anna Catharina", but she was usually recorded as just "Catharina". The birth/baptismal records of Joseph and Hans Theobald give the names Johann Joseph and Johann Theobald. The majority of the people in Berg and Thal were known by their middle name so this repetitive use of first names caused no confusion.
NEWS FLASH RE: CATHARINA. In 2018, a French cousin discovered (rediscovered actually) the baptismal record for Anna Catharina in the records of the Drulingen Church. She was born on 2 August 1711 at midday and her father was given as Marcell Nonnenmacher. (These particular baptismal records do not give the mother's name.) --Additional Nonnenmacher records in this church: on 10 July 1704 Hans Martin was born, on 23 October (8bris as it appears in the record) 1706 Anna Christina was born, and on 9 May 1709 near evening, Hans Conrad was born. This seems to be the only record anywhere of Conrad, so his life was presumably pretty short.
BIRTH DATA FOR THE NONNENMACHER CHILDREN
| Child | Father | Occupation | Town | Mother | Birth Date | Source | Book | Page | Num |
| Hans Martin | Martzel Nonnenmacher | not given | Berg | not named | 10 July 1704 | Drulingen Baptismal Record | Drulingen BMS 1704-1771 | 59 | na |
| Anna Christina | Martzloff Nonnemacher | not given | Berg | Anna Catharina | 23 Octobris 1706 | Drulingen Baptism Record | ditto | na | |
| Hans Conrad | Marcell Nonnenmacher | not given | Berg | not named | 9 May 1709 | Drulingen Baptism Record | ditto | na | |
| Anna Catharina | Marcell Nonnenmacher | not given | Berg | not named | 2 Aug 1711 | Drulingen Baptismal Record | ditto | na | |
| Johann Joseph | Marcel Nonnenmacher | farmer | Berg | Catharina | 12 Jan 1714 | Berg Baptismal Record | Berg B1712 -1749 | 7 | 1 |
| Johann Theobald | Martzloff Nonnenmacher | farmer | Berg | Catharina | 4 Apr 1718 | Berg Baptismal Record | Berg B1712 -1749 | 26 | 9 |
BAPTISMAL RECORD OF aNNA cATHARINA nONNENMACHER
TRANSCRIPTION: Anno 1711. Anna Catharina. Den 2ten Augusty ums Mittag ist Marcell Nonnenmacheren zu Berg ein Tochterlein gebohren und den 8 ejusdem in desiger Kirch getauf worden. Testes waren 1 Caspar Dintinger von Thal 2 Anna Maria, David Eulerts, jetzigen Schulmeister zu Berg ehelichen hausfrau 3 Catharina, Christophell Kleins einwohners zu berg ehelichen hausfrau empfing den Nahmen Anna Catharina. TRANSLATION: The second of August around midday is Marcell Nonnenmacher of Berg a little daughter born and the eighth of the same (month) in that Church (Berg) was baptized. Witnesses were etc. Christened Anna Catharina. NOTE: In these particular records, the mother is not identified.
MARRIAGE RECORDS OF THE NONNENMACHER CHILDREN
This slideshow has four images showing the marriage records of the Nonnenmacher children, except Anna Catharina. Her record is on the Johannes Feuerstein page. You can pause the show.
A partial translation of the marriage records above
1) Jacob Scheurer, Daniel Scheurer of Thal's legitimate son, with Anna Christina, Marcel Nunnenmacher of Berg's legitimate daughter, after three proclamations from the chancel in the Church at Berg became married. -After many years, Christina is widowed and marries Ludwig Freund. She lives to be 77, dying in 1783.
2) Hans Martin Nunnenmacher, Marcel Nunnenmacher of Berg's legitimate son, with Catharina Dorothea, the late Daniel Scheurer of Thal's legitimate daughter after three proclamations from the chancel in the Berg Church publicly became married.
3) Joseph Nunnenmacher, Marcel Nunnenmacher of Berg's legitimate son, with Catharina, Jorg Klein of Rexingen's legitimate daughter after three proclamations from the chancel in the Berg Church publicly became married. (Jorg is pronounced York.) Catharina was a step-granddaughter of the late Marcel Nonenmacher of Rexingen.
4) Johann Theobald Nunnenmacher, Marcel Nunnenmacher of Berg's legitimate son, with Anna Eva, the late Jorg Klein of Rexingen's single daughter after three proclamations from the chancel in the Berg Church publicly became married. Interestingly, Anna Eva and her sister Catharina Klein Nunnenmacher just above were the step-granddaughters of an older Marcel Nonnenmacher of Rexingen.
Disclaimer: The webmaster is not a professional translator and his knowledge of German and of this dialect are limited. However, he has studied hundreds of the Berg Church records and consulted German and Latin dictionaries and fellow genealogists. The translations above are believed to be completely accurate. These translations omit the occupations of the fathers, which are given in some detail.
1) Jacob Scheurer, Daniel Scheurer of Thal's legitimate son, with Anna Christina, Marcel Nunnenmacher of Berg's legitimate daughter, after three proclamations from the chancel in the Church at Berg became married. -After many years, Christina is widowed and marries Ludwig Freund. She lives to be 77, dying in 1783.
2) Hans Martin Nunnenmacher, Marcel Nunnenmacher of Berg's legitimate son, with Catharina Dorothea, the late Daniel Scheurer of Thal's legitimate daughter after three proclamations from the chancel in the Berg Church publicly became married.
3) Joseph Nunnenmacher, Marcel Nunnenmacher of Berg's legitimate son, with Catharina, Jorg Klein of Rexingen's legitimate daughter after three proclamations from the chancel in the Berg Church publicly became married. (Jorg is pronounced York.) Catharina was a step-granddaughter of the late Marcel Nonenmacher of Rexingen.
4) Johann Theobald Nunnenmacher, Marcel Nunnenmacher of Berg's legitimate son, with Anna Eva, the late Jorg Klein of Rexingen's single daughter after three proclamations from the chancel in the Berg Church publicly became married. Interestingly, Anna Eva and her sister Catharina Klein Nunnenmacher just above were the step-granddaughters of an older Marcel Nonnenmacher of Rexingen.
Disclaimer: The webmaster is not a professional translator and his knowledge of German and of this dialect are limited. However, he has studied hundreds of the Berg Church records and consulted German and Latin dictionaries and fellow genealogists. The translations above are believed to be completely accurate. These translations omit the occupations of the fathers, which are given in some detail.
BURIAL RECORDS OF cATHARINA AND MARCEL nonnenmacher
CATHARINA, HOUSEWIFE OF MARCEL NONNENMACHER, BURGER AND CLERK AT BERG (MOTHER-IN-LAW OF JOHANN NICHOLAS), DIED OCTOBER 26, 1747, 65 1/2 YEARS (AND SO BORN IN 1682).
MARCEL NONNENMACHER, BURGER AND CLERK AT BERG (FATHER-IN-LAW OF JOHANN NICLAUS), DIED DECEMBER 2, 1753, 79 YEARS (AND SO BORN IN 1674).
THE BERG CHURCH FROM THE WEST EDGE OF BERG
