GUS-REEB-L Archives

From: John Reeb <>
Subject: Reeb Spouse Heroine
Date: Thu, 26 Aug 2004 21:09:31 -0700 (PDT)

On page 26 of my book Reeb Roots in Europe and America, citing Gerhard Ch. Schilderg's book titled Keskastel und Schopperten, I wrote the following paragraph.

"In 1685 the King of France, Louis XIV, abrogated the Edict of Nantes which in 1629 had established toleration of religious freedom. This action now authorized a wild oppression by the Catholics, and the Jesuits used every way possible to force conversion upon the population. One lone woman in Keskastel, "Elisabetha, wife of Johann Theobald Reeb," was very courageous and resisted the forced conversion even under the treat of death. Johann Theobald was a son of Heinrich Reeb, who had earlier lived in Bissert."

From the first time I read the above information in the book Keskastel und Schopperten
I have wondered if the actual record actually provided the name of Theobald's spouse as Elisabetha because the Lutheran Churchbook of Bockenheim showed that Hans Thiebold, son of Heinrich Reeb, was married 14 Feb 1679 to Margaretha Hertzog, daughter of Hans Georg Hertzog of rmingen. The Catholic Churchbook of rmingen gave the baptismal date of Margaretha, daughter of Johann Georg Hertzog, as Feb. 1654 in Diemeringen. I should mention that at this time Lutherans in many towns had no choice of which church their children could be baptized in since the Lutheran ministers had been driven out of the region by the officials in Lorraine in 1629. Margaretha Reeb's older sister, Kunigunda is believed to have been the first wife of Johann Theobald's older brother, Johann Heinrich. No record is available for their marriage.

Most of the following names will not mean much to you however just to provide what I consider to be interesting in light of the above paragraph. This is a list of the inhabitants in Keskastel who did convert to Catholicism in 1686 just in order to escape what they had been told would be certain death if they failed to submit to the conversion.

Georg Bauer; Anna Catharina Betz; Eva Reeb, wife of unknown Chattillion; Agnes Fischer, wife of Elias; Anna Fischer; Anna Appolonia Fischer; Elias Fischer; Jacob Fischer; Johann Jost Fischer; Anna Magdalena Herder; Bartholomeus Herder; Anna Maria Glad; Georg Klein; Margaretha Klein; Nickel Klein; Johann Adam Meyer; Johann Thiebold Reeb; Johann Heinrich Reeb; Catharina Reeb; Anna Schleger; Johann Adam Schmidt; and Anna Margaretha Schmidt.

I understand that some of you may find some of these names confusing due to differences in spelling often found in records in this area. If you have any questions please feel free to ask and I will try to explain to the best of my ability. I just found this interesting as kind of a side light to Reeb history.

John V.

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• Reeb Spouse Heroine by John Reeb <>