Once upon a time in the Buseck Valley
It were turbulent times around the turn of the 16th century in the little village of Alten-Buseck. Located among the rolling, green hills of mid-Germany, near the medieval town of Giessen, it is an old place with a name going back to about 1210. Ik has a long history of independence under the Freiherren von Buseck that only ended in 1827 when the transfer of the legal and policing rights were transferred to the grandduchy of Hessen. Until that time it was a so-called “Ganerbschaft” in which all possessions of the Von Buseck family – primarily property – was jointly owned according to the rules of the medieval German inheritance laws. The “Ganerben” could only make joint decisions on the common goods.
(Ill. 1: Map of Ober-Hessen, showing (at the top) Alten-Buseck near Giessen; 1866.)
The family name Seuling first surfaces in 1620, when a Martin Seuling is mentioned in the so-called Giessener Amtsrechnung as a tax paying citizen of the small mid-German city of Alten-Buseck.[1] The next edition of this registration, in 1629, refers to his widow. It also includes the name of a Philipp Seuling, however, who – retracing the roots from the current carriers of the name Seuling (Suijling) spread across three continents – must be considered to be the archfather of the family. Of course there is reason for guarded optimism; perhaps we will be able to dig deeper still. It could very well be that Martin and his spouse are the parents of Philipp. On the other hand, the Amtsrechnung of 1640 also mentions the name of the widow of Ebert Seuling; those of nearby Rödgen show up a Enders Seuling, Opfermann (1620) and a Johannes Merga Seuling (1620; 1629). Most probably the latter married Catharina Bellof early in 1634, possibly in a second marriage, and was wiped out with his whole family of five by the pest the very next year. Still, lacking further evidence, for the time being the place and year of birth of Philipp Seuling – Alten-Buseck, 1604 – provide us with the ultimate traces of our family roots.
(Ill. 2: Church of Alten-Buseck. Source: “Buseck”.)
As often happens, the information on our most distant forefathers is sketchy. Philipp Seuling is mentioned in various capacities in the years 1629, 1640, 1657, and 1669; his year of death is 1689. Most probably he is the one that was mentioned in records of 1670: “Verzeichnis der veräußerten landgräflich-hessischen Lehnsgüter der Familie Ruser von Buseck, erstellt von Heinrich Rodenhausen, Hermann Gänzer, Philipp Becker und Philipp Seuling, alle von Alten-Buseck“.
Of his wife we only know her name, Christine. We are not even certain of the number of children they had. The church archives of Alten-Buseck[2] mention a Hans Georg, who was born around 1638 as son of Philipp and who later on married Elisabeth Völcker. Hans Caspar followed in 1644; the twins Anna Dorothea and Jeremias in 1647. The birth of Johann Georg in 1651 is a source of confusion as in various documents he also is called Hans. As yet we have not been able to make perfect sense out of the family mix. German families apparently provided most sons with a first name Johann (and daughters with that of Anna or Maria). The actual name for day to day use then was the second one. Thus oldest son Hans Georg could very well have been called “Georg”, son Hans Caspar would be “Caspar”. In that case little Johann Georg may have been called “Hans”, but we admit it stretches the imagination. For the time being we thus must once again live with some uncertainty. We do know, however, that little Hans married three times, with Anna Margaretha Magel (in 1674), Anna Margaretha Kahl (1681), and Anna Elisabetha Zehner (1699). Given the fact that out of these three marriages he had at least fifteen children over a period stretching from 1671 to 1701, it is a bit too much – even for those very productive times – to assume he is the same as the Hans Georg who was born around 1638.
(Ill. 3: The roots of the Seuling family: the descendants of Philipp Seuling (1604-1689).)
Of the daughters Johann Georg had with Anna Margaretha Magel, the oldest – named after her mother – apparently never was married. Her sisters Agnes, Anna Maria and Elisabetha married local beaus Johann Jost Jares, Johann Caspar Kutscher, and Johannes Freund, respectively. They all lived and died in the same community. Two daughters (out of three) from the other marriages married – Anna Juliana with Anton Schäfer, Anna Elisabetha with Johann Philipp Loth. However, out of seven sons only Jacob (born in 1688) passed the age of seven. In 1722 he exchanged wedding vows with Marie Elise Debus and became the proud father of Maria Catharina (1723), Johann Philipp (1727) and Johann Georg (1734). Jacob must have died at about the birth year of his youngest child. Mother Marie Elise apparently remarried and had no less than eleven further children.[3] Whether her sons produced any Seuling offspring, is not known however.
The Seuling name was carried forward by Hans Caspar who we first find in the archives in 1664. Seven years later he married Anna Maria Schwan, the daughter of Caspar Schwan and Catharina Haas. He passes away in 1718, she is buried in 1733, both in their native village. Of their eight children, four reached maturity. Maria Elisabetha (1675-1703) in 1701 married Caspar Eberhardt Schwartz. Two years later she must have died giving birth to a daughter who followed her mother less than a year later. Her youngest sister Anna Margaretha (1691-1764) set up shop with Johannes Wagner. At least one of their six children reached age fifty. Brother Johann Matthäus (1679-1741) married Anna Elisabetha Schmitt. As far as we know, of their nine children only Johann Philipp (1712-1740) grew up to a marrying age. No information is available on any offspring so we must assume that this Seuling branch was cut short.
Johann Philipp, finally, was born in 1688 and once again stayed true to Alten-Buseck his entire life. On November 10, 1718 he exchanged wedding vows with Anna Elisabetha Wagner, the daughter of Johann Wagner and Anna Bechtold from neighboring Oppenrod and also the sister of his brother in law Johannes. Of their six children, four grew families of their own.
Oldest daughter Maria Elisabetha did not deviate from the trusted path: from her birth in 1719 through her marriage with Johannes Becker to her death in 1780, it is Alten-Buseck across the board. In the meantime she had seven children, at least three of whom grew families of their own. Her example was closely followed by sister Anna Margaretha, only the dates and husband differ: 1726 – Johann Wilhelm Kahl – 1761. The number of children also was somewhat smaller – five with two raising families. Their marriages highlight another aspect of life in small-town Alten-Buseck before the year 1900. The family tree of the Seulings shows that no less than … sons or daughters were married to Beckers, … to Kahls whereas another … were united with Wagenbachs, … to Leppers, and … to Wagners.
(Ill. 4: The descendants of Johann Philipp Seuling (1688-1754).)
Sons Johann Philipp and Johann Jacob continue to carry the torch forward. The latter (1731-1783) married – there also is remarkably little variation: either all girls in Alten-Buseck were given the same name or the Seuling men had a deviation – Anna Margaretha Schäfer (1735-1800). For the first time we now pick up a signal that a Seuling assumes a position of societal responsibility when Johann Jacob becomes a church elder. We also know that in 1777 the couple lived on the Anger (also: Dorfanger), the commons near the center of the village. Their house, currently numbered Anger 19, still recalls days long gone.
(Ill. 5: The house “Leppersch” at Anger 19 where Johann Jacob Seuling and Anna Margaretha Schäfer lived in 1777. The house – in 1777 with stable and shed – probably stems from the middle of the 18th century. Source: “Buseck”, p. 105.)
(Ill. 6: Residencies in Alten-Buseck, 1777. Of the children of Johann Philipp, it is possible to retrace the houses of Maria Elisabetha (1719-1780), Johann Philipp (1722-1780) and Johann Jacob (1731-1783). Source: “Buseck”, p. 224/5.)
(Ill. 7: Map of Alten-Buseck around 1800. Source: “Buseck”, p. 330.)
Three children grew up past twenty. Anna Maria married “Gerichtsschöffe” Johann Jost Lepper; grandson Johannes continued to raise the Lepper banner in Alten-Buseck and like his parents (1813) also remained in the old Lepper home (1821; 1840) where he was succeeded by his descendants Johannes III (1862; 1871) and Johannes V (1891; 1910). Anna Clara passed away at age 22, possibly while giving birth. Finally, son Johann Melchior (1769-1832) was united with Maria Gertraud Stephan. Importantly in this incredibly steadfast family, the bride was not from Alten-Buseck but from neighboring Großen–Buseck where – even more surprising – the young couple, who wrote their name as Säuling, in 1795 lived in the Bismarckstraße 4 (current name and number). It is almost certain that of their six children at least Anna Maria as well as Johann Philipp (1794-1850) and Christoph (1803-1863) were married. We have no information on their spouses, however, and also don’t know much of offspring. In 1833 Christoph lived in his parental home; in 1864 it was Christoph II, in 1905 Christoph III. With a fair chance the Philipp who in 1843 lived in the Ernst-Ludwig-Straße 4, is the same as son Johann Philipp. On old photographs of Großen-Buseck we also recognize Maria Kumpf (born around 1898) and Gerda Vogel (born around 1935), both of whom later married a Seuling.
(Ill. 8: The house Bismarckstraße 4 (second from the left) in Großen-Buseck where Johann Melchior Säuling and Maria Gertraud Stephan lived in 1795. The old foundations were later used to build a new house at this location. Source: “Buseck”, p. 263.)
To the extent of our current knowledge, the straight line of the Seuling family continues with Johann Philipp (1722-1780). A surprising note in the Alten-Buseck church archives leaves us with a number of questions for further study: whereas other Seulings appear in the books with the qualification “farmer”, Johann Philipp is described as “serf”[4]. In 1777 he had moved to the Großen-Busecker Straße 28, in a house that was appropriately named Lepse (derived from Philipp’s). His spouse Anna Clara Wagenbach bore him five children, all of whom started families of their own. Son Georg Balsar (1750-1803) married Maria Elisabetha Göbel; their two daughters both died in infancy. Only daughter Anna Maria (1762-1841) and her husband Johann Caspar Vogel got one son, who also died very young. The other three sons – Johann Jacob, Johannes, and Johann Caspar – became the starting points of three significant branches of the family tree, descendants of which still live today. In the next sections we will, to the degree our current insights allow us to do, follow their adventures as the Seulings moved from the eighteenth into the nineteenth century.
[1] Most of the factual data in this text stems from the independent search efforts of distant Dutch descendants Hanno de Iongh and Marjolijn Hermans-Suijling.
[2] The authors are highly grateful to Ms. Frieda Ebert (Westrain 4, 35418 Buseck), who – based on her research in the church archives – provided us with very detailed and complete data on our ancestry within this small community over the period 1600-1850.
[3] (This information should be checked with Ms. Ebert. Is it correct that Marie Elise moved to a town named Reiskirchen? If so, this could be the missing link to the Zettmannsdorf clan of Seulings; as yet we have found no trace of the two sons Johann Philipp and Johann Georg. N.b.: Reiskirchen is a small town just east of Großen-Buseck.)
[4] In Dutch: lijfeigene.