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Margaretha Lauers
1643 - 1707
On March 23, 1643, Margaretha Lauers was born in Niedermoschel and was taken by her parents, Johannes and Catharina Lauers, to the Reformed Church in Alsenz to be baptized. The history of the Lauers family in the region dates from the birth of Jacob Lauers and his father, Arnolds, who was the great-great grandfather of Margaretha. The following ahnentafel report summarizes the information we have on the Lauers and related families in the Alsenz River Valley. Families of the period were usually large, as is obvious from these records.
Other spellings of the family name in some records are Löhers,
Lowers and Lauer. I have chosen to use the Lauers spelling for
all of the generations. Women typically have the suffix "in"
on their names. For example Margaretha, daughter of Johannes
Lauers, is recorded as Margaretha Lauersin.
Note that it was common during
the period for children to be given the same name as their deceased
siblings.
Ancestors
of Margaretha Lauers
For a chart of her ancestors,
CLICK
HERE
1. Margaretha Lauers, born 23 Mar 1643 in Niedermoschel, Pfalz, Germany; died 23 Apr 1707 in Alsenz, Pfalz, Germany. She was the daughter of 2. Johannes Lauers and 3. Catharina (?). She married Johannes Meÿ 7 Mar 1665 in Alsenz, Pfalz, Germany. He was born 24 Dec 1638 in Callbach, Pfalz, Germany, and died 25 Jan 1720 in Alsenz, Pfalz, Germany. He was the son of Heinrich Meÿ and Appollonia (?).
Notes for Margaretha Lauers:
Her family line comes from genealogy work commissioned by Robert
V. May of Virginia Beach, Va. [LDS film #1395560, batches 8311720
& 8309620]
Parents
2. Johannes Lauers, born 16 Sep
1618; died 3 Jun 1665 in Alsenz, Rheinland Pfalz, Germany. He
was the son of 4. Augustunus Lauers
and 5. Otillia Faber. He married
3. Catharina (?) Bef. 1640.
3. Catharina (?), born Abt. 1612;
died 20 Dec 1676 in Alsenz, Rheinland Pfalz, Germany.
Children of Johannes Lauers and Catharina (?) are:
i. John Adam Lauers, died 10 Sep 1720 in Alsenz, Rheinland Pfalz,
Germany.
ii. Anna Catharina Lauers
iii. Hans Peter Lauers, born 6 Nov 1640 in Obermoschel, Rheinland
Pflaz, Germany.
1 iv. Margaretha Lauers,
born 23 Mar 1643 in Niedermoschel, Pfalz, Germany; died 23 Apr
1707 in Alsenz, Pfalz, Germany; married Johannes Meÿ 7 Mar
1665 in Alsenz, Pfalz, Germany.
Grandparents
4. Augustunus Lauers, born 28
Aug 1577 in Pfalz, Germany. He was the son of 8.
Jacob Lauers and 9. Margaretha
Lorentz. He married 5. Otillia Faber
31 Dec 1603 in Alsenz, Pfaltz.
5. Otillia Faber, born 16 May 1584.
She was the daughter of 10. Sebastien
Faber and 11. Maria (?).
Children of Augustunus Lauers and Otillia Faber are:
i. Susanna Lauers, born 17 Nov 1605; died 8 Jun 1609 in Alsenz,
Rheinland Pfalz, Germany.
ii. Appolonia Lauers
iii. Hans Jacob Lauers
iv. Margaretha Lauers
v. Margaretha Lauers
vi. Ottilia Lauers
vii. Sebastian Lauers
viii. Susanna Lauers, born Aft. 1609; died 13 Jul 1613 in Alsenz,
Rheinland Pfalz, Germany.
ix. Ottilia Lauers, born 21 Sep 1610; died 13 Jul 1613 in Alsenz,
Rheinland Pfalz, Germany.
x. Hans Peter Lauers, born 7 Feb 1614.
2 xi. Johannes Lauers, born
16 Sep 1618; died 3 Jun 1665 in Alsenz, Rheinland Pfalz, Germany;
married Catharina (?) Bef. 1640.
Great-grandparents
8. Jacob Lauers, born Abt. 1555;
died 14 Sep 1604 in Alsenz, Rheinland Pfalz, Germany. He was
the son of 16. Arnolds Lauers. He
married 9. Margaretha Lorentz 16
Dec 1576 in Alsenz, Pfaltz.
9. Margaretha Lorentz, died 31 May
1608 in Alsenz, Rheinland Pfalz, Germany. She was the daughter
of 18. Bernhart Lorentz.
Children of Jacob Lauers and Margaretha Lorentz are:
4 i. Augustunus Lauers, born
28 Aug 1577 in Pfalz, Germany; died 14 Sep 1604 in Alsenz, Rheinland
Pfalz, Germany; married Otillia Faber 31 Dec 1603 in Alsenz,
Pfaltz.
ii. Matthias Lauers, born 24 Feb 1579; died 13 Feb 1581.
iii. Sebastian Lauers, born 14 Nov 1580 in Alsenz, Rheinland
Pfalz, Germany.
iv. Christina Lauers, born 23 Apr 1582; died 4 Aug 1582 in Alsenz,
Rheinland Pfalz, Germany.
v. Ottilia Lauers, born 25 Aug 1583.
vi. Frederick Lauers, born 4 Dec 1585 in Alsenz, Rheinland Pfalz,
Germany.
vii. Bernhard Lauers, born 21 Mar 1588.
viii. Margaretha Lauers, born 14 Nov 1590; died 8 Jul 1599 in
Alsenz, Rheinland Pfalz, Germany.
ix. Johannes Lauers, born 18 Feb 1593 in Alsenz, Rheinland Pfalz,
Germany.
x. Hans Jacob Lauers, born 7 Jan 1598 in Alsenz, Rheinland Pfalz,
Germany; died 8 Jul 1599 in Alsenz, Rheinland Pfalz, Germany.
xi. Lorentz Lauers, born 16 Apr 1599.
10. Sebastien Faber, died 23
May 1586 in Alsenz, Rheinland Pfalz, Germany. He married 11. Maria (?).
11. Maria (?)
Children of Sebastien Faber and Maria (?) are:
i. Catharina Faber
ii. Petrus Faber, born 24 Mar 1580.
iii. Walburga Faber, born 4 Sep 1582.
5 iv. Otillia Faber, born
16 May 1584; married Augustunus Lauers 31 Dec 1603 in Alsenz,
Pfaltz.
Great-great-grandparents
16. Arnolds Lauers, born in Hademor.
Child of Arnolds Lauers is:
8 i. Jacob Lauers, born Abt.
1555; died 14 Sep 1604 in Alsenz, Rheinland Pfalz, Germany;
married Margaretha Lorentz 16 Dec 1576 in Alsenz, Pfaltz.
Although there is no record, other children
probably were in this family.
18. Bernhart Lorentz, born in
Alsenz, Rheinland Pfalz, Germany.
Child of Bernhart Lorentz is:
9 i. Margaretha Lorentz,
died 31 May 1608 in Alsenz, Rheinland Pfalz, Germany; married
Jacob Lauers 16 Dec 1576 in Alsenz, Pfaltz.
Although there is no record, other children
probably were in this family.
We don't know the family name of Margaretha's mother, but her grandmother was a Faber and her great-grandmother was a Lorentz. Such information was commonly written in the marriage records in the church. Her home village of Niedermoschel was founded in the Thirteenth Century at the location of a castle that was built about 1180. During the terrible Thirty Years War (1618-1648) all of the villages in the valley were severely damaged and up to 75 percent of their people died or fled the region.
This
modern-day map shows the location of Niedermoschel, the home
of Margaretha Lauers prior to her marriage in Alsenz to Johannes
Meÿ in 1665, relative to Alsenz. A record from 1675 shows
there were only 21 families living in nearby Obermoschel, the
largest village on the Moschel River that flowed by her home.
The distance along the road to Alsenz, located on the Alsenz
River, was is two miles.
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Following
its damage during two wars in the Seventeenth Century, the church
in Niedermoschel was left in disrepair into the Eighteenth Century.
The "War of the Grand Alliance" [1688-1697], which
was touched off by King Louis XIV of France in his quest for
control over the Rheinland Palatinate, was the last to devastate
the region. The great castles along the Rhine were destroyed
during this period. The wife and five children of Johann Nickel Meÿ, the fourth son of Johannes and Margaretha, immigrated from nearby Niederhausen an der Nahe to America in 1748. Johann Nickel died in 1743. |
Family of Johannes and Margaretha Lauers Meÿ
| Born | Married | Died | |
| Johannes
Meÿ Margaretha Lauers |
24
Dec 1638 23 Mar 1643 |
7 Mar 1665 | 25
Jan 1720 23 Apr 1707 |
| Hans Philips | 31 Mar 1666 | 10
Aug 1688 Anna Appollonia Baums |
9 May 1736 |
| Hans Bernard | 7 Jun 1668 | 11
Oct 1698 Maria Catharina Rapp |
27 Jan 1749 |
| Hans Sebastian | 28 Sep 1670 | 21
Jul 1693 Margaretha Nuss |
|
| Johann Nickel | 29 May 1673 bapt. 4 Jun 1673 |
18
Apr 1699 Anna Catharina Beyers 14 Feb 1708 Maria Catharina Graeff |
21 Feb 1743 |
| Johann Jacob | 18 Mar 1677 | 14
Nov 1702 Anna Barbara Zepp |
17 Nov 1752 |
| Anna Elilzabetha | 26 Oct 1679 | 3
Aug 1704 Johann Jost Bloss |
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| Anna Maria | 12 Feb 1681 | 3 Apr 1682 | |
| Johann Adam | 28 Oct 1683 | 14
Oct 1710 Magdalena Catharina Horner |
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| Anna Sara | 19 Nov 1686 | 26 Jan 1689 | |
| Johannes | 15 Apr 1689 | 27
Jan 1711 Elisabetha Catharina ( ) |
1750 |
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Interior of Evangelische Kirche in Alsenz where Margaretha and her ten children were baptized in the Seventeenth Century. |
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Facsimile of entries in the church register for births, marriages and deaths of the children of Johannes and Margaretha Meÿ |
Known descendants of Johannes and Margaretha Lauers Meÿ
At the time of Margaretha's death in 1707 she had at least fifteen grandchildren. Most of them were born in Alsenz and a few in nearby villages. We know from Johannes death record that forty-nine grandchildren and three great-grandchildren had been born by 1720.
For a chart of the Lauers ancestors, CLICK HERE
The primary source of information for these family records
is a microfilm [LDS film #0193751] of two registers in the Kirchenbuch
[Church book] of the Reformed Church in Alsenz.
For an essay telling more about Johannes Meÿ and Margaretha Lauers in Alsenz, Rheinland Palatinate, click here.
