The Ancestors of Johann "Hans" Adam Biebel

In November of 1996, I made a visit to the villages of Preuschdorf and Goersdorf, in the extreme northeastern corner of the French province of Alsace. The two villages are located just south of the German border, and a few miles west of the Rhine River. To the north, lies the German State of "Rheinland/Pfalz"; or the Palatinate, as it is known in English. I had first visited this ancient countryside, about thirty years earlier, when my wife and I lived in the German city of Kaiserslautern. Many times, on nice weekends, we would drive around the narrow, country roads of the Palatinate, and the neighboring parts of Alsace and Lorraine. We never tired of exploring the tiny farm villages, seeing the beautiful old churches, and meeting the wonderful, unpretentious, farm folks who lived in the area. Both my wife and I are of primarily German extraction, and somehow the places we visited on those leisurely trips always seemed like some sort of spiritual homecoming. Although my command of the German language was very limited, we were always able to meet and talk with local people at the small weinstuben (wine shop/bar) and Gasthäuser (pub). We both came to love the land and its people. Always, in the back of our minds, we felt that we were very close to our roots, from some long ago time period. Now, after so many years, we know those feelings were justified.

The German Palatinate is a land steeped in history. Its villages and their populations were virtually destroyed during the Thirty Years War. Even today, many of the low mountain peaks are still crowned with the ruins of a castle or fortress, which was constructed centuries ago from the red sandstone quarried from the steep hillsides by peasants, working for their nobleman. The almost vertical banks along some sections of the Rhine, Mosel and Saar Rivers are lined with the grapevines which have existed on those slopes since the Roman occupation of the Palatinate, two thousand years ago. The people and the grape are inseparable. Each October, as the newly harvested grapes are brought in to the tiny villages for crushing and fermentation, a celebration is always nearby.

The people of the German Palatinate are an outgoing, happy sort. It doesn't take much of an occasion to make them gather around the Stammtisch (central gathering place; literally: gathering table) to drink their hearty beer and visit with old comrades. Saturday is an especially carefree day. Early morning card games and beer are indulged in by the male population; while the ladies tidy up the house, and clean the stone entrance steps and the sidewalk in front of their home in the village. Saturday afternoons are usually reserved for the family. Most parents with children, along with the older couples, take a long walk through the nearby forest. Late in the afternoon, they all gather at their favorite local Gasthaus. The festivities of music, card-playing and visiting last far into the night.

Spring is a festive period, with each village having its own May Pole, and Maifest. Tents are set up for the selling of delicious regional foods; Pferdefleisch (horse meat) among them. The horse meat is cooked into a large patty, similar to an American hamburger, and served with the local Brötchen (bread roll). Pork, both domestic and wild, is a favorite food of the region. Wild game, such as deer and wild boar, is often found on the menus of country restaurants and inns; served with potatoes, onions and wild mushrooms. Hot tea, or a strong black coffee, is brought out with the desserts. Sometimes a splash of Kirschwasser (a potent alcohol distilled from cherries) is served with the after-dinner coffee. It is a sure cure for congested nasal passages. A strong cigar is sometimes enjoyed by the older men, after such a meal. The cigar ends are always freshly clipped by the Ober (head waiter). The art (and it is an art) of waiting on tables is a highly sought-after, and respected, occupation among males in Germany. The service is always impeccable at small inns.

This is all a rather rambling description of daily life in the beautiful region of Germany that we know as the Palatinate or Die Pfalz. It is the lifestyle of the people from when we came. If one of our German ancestors, who came through the Port of Philadelphia in the mid 1700s, could be transported by some sort of "time-warp," to the old village into which he was born, he probably would feel very much at home. In the rural countryside, little has changed. Many of the ancient stone farm houses have been occupied by the same families for several centuries.

The surrounding parts of Alsace and Lorraine differ only a little. Although the two provinces are once more a part of France, since 1945, the culture of the two former German provinces is pretty much the same, with some smattering of French ways occasionally thrown in. It is not uncommon to hear names like Jean Pierre Schmidt.......a blending of the two cultures. Today, French is once more the official language of the people, but almost anyone over fifty can, and will, converse with outsiders in the German dialect they spoke as children. In the mid-1960s, when my wife and I lived in Germany, almost all of the older citizens in Alsace and Lorraine spoke only German, as it had been their first language until 1918. The dialects of German found in Alsace and Lorraine are very hard to understand, even if one is fluent in German. The people of the German Palatinate have a similar distinct dialect, known as Pfälzische. Many words in the dialect are not recognized by Germans from other regions, who sometimes make light of the local speakers. The dialect of the Palatinate, has always been laced with words of French origin. The persons know as Pfälzers, long ago came to terms with being different. They have a favorable opinion of themselves, and are not overly concerned with what others think of them. Their strong sense of self reliance has served them well through some very hard times, down through the centuries.

This bit of background is given in order to familiarize those who have not visited or studied this region, with the daily life of the people there. Some knowledge of the people and the customs is, I feel, necessary to properly understand, and appreciate, the story of our Biebel ancestors who left Preuschdorf and Goersdorf, to make a life for themselves in the "new land."

When I briefly visited the two villages in 1996, it was under less than ideal circumstances. A hard winter storm was blowing across the mountains from Germany. The isolation of the villages from the closest train station, made it necessary for me to use a taxi, which became pretty expensive. My primary goal that day, was to see the signature of our ancestor Johann "Hans" Adam Biebel, on the church records; if in fact it did exist, as some sources indicated. I was very disappointed to learn that all old marriage records from the churches were now in the Archives of Alsace, located in Strasbourg.....several miles south. The wife of the pastor of the church at Preuschdorf was very helpful in allowing me to see the early records of baptism. She also told me how to contact the proper authorities in Strasbourg, in order to see the original documents of marriage.

I made a short visit to the office of the Mairie (Town Hall) of Goersdorf, in order to learn if any members of the Biebel family remained in the village. He told me that there were no longer any persons by that name living in Goersdorf, but there had been many in the past. He told me that the old mill of the "Goersdorfer Müller" was no longer standing; but that the farm house (Bauernhof) was still occupied as a farm residence. Records discovered in the past few years, indicated that the wife of Hans Adam Biebel was Maria Eva Müller....the daughter of the "Goersdorf miller". We now know this to be true. Her signature is to be found on the marriage records¹ from the church at Goersdorf.

But, I'm getting ahead of the story...... My next contact was with the Archives du Bas-Rhin, and with Monsieur Daniel Peter, a professional archivist with a very special interest in the history and people of the northeastern Alsace. His help in locating the records of members of the family of Hans Adam Biebel, has been invaluable. He also has a fantastic knowledge of the entire area, and of the families who have lived there for centuries. Most importantly, he has written a book about the particular area of interest to descendants of Hans Adam Biebel. The book is written in French, but still has much of interest to those who do not read the language. Some pages pertaining to the Biebel family have been translated by Terri Strotman. It literally brings to life our family history in this region. For instance, one part of the book reveals that in the aftermath of the Thirty Years War, only three families survived in Goersdorf......and all were named Biebel. (The Thirty Years War spanned the years 1618-1648 and was fought mainly over religious and political issues related to the Protestant Reformation, the Roman Catholic Counter-Reformation, and the control of Germany).

This is the sort of family history that one can never hope to discover from conventional sources. The 288 page book by M. Peter was completed as a part of his doctoral degree work. It is a story of the life of the people of the region, as far back as three hundred and fifty years ago. The title of the book is Naître, Vivre et Mourir dans l'Outre-Forêt (1648-1848), which roughly translates to : "To be born, to live, and to die in the far forest, (1648-1848)". It is an historical, demographical and statistical study of the population of northern Alsace.

After my initial contact with M. Daniel Peter, he agreed to help me learn about the family of Hans Adam Biebel, in the villages of Preuschdorf and Goersdorf, and the surrounding area. He told me that time constraints kept him from personally doing all of the research; but that his son, who was studying to be a professional archivist, could do the work under his supervision. I jumped at the chance to have someone with such knowledge of the region to do the research and the critical translations from the old written Alsatian German. The work has been done for me over a period of more than one year, as the two men had time to devote to it. I have not been disappointed. While all the information received is not purely genealogical material, it has been of great interest to me. I think others of the Biebel descendants will find it equally fascinating.