Last updated on 12 May 2012
© 2008-2012 by S P Hank
Ottersheim Hanck Ancestors
Fifth great grandfather - Joannes Marcus (Marci) Hanck
The earliest record found of my ancestors is the marriage of Joannes Marcus Hanck (my 5th great grandfather) to Anna Eva Hatzenbuhler on May 27th of 1738 as witnessed by Georgio Seither and Sebastiano Hazenbuhler. The record describes Marcus as a distinguished young man from Insheim and Anna Eva as a chaste virgin from Ottersheim. Insheim in located 7 kilometers to the southwest of Ottersheim.
Research is continuing for clues to Marcus' parents and/or siblings.
From the early church records it is clear that Marcus worked as a shepherd. According to Steegmüller (reference p. 229), shepherds were community employees, hired to herd the local livestock of the village. Often times, candidates for the position from other communities, did not hold land locally, and were provided with a cottage on the north side of the Hintergasse for a small fee. It was not uncommon for the position to be passed down from father to son and thus keep the work in the family for generations.
There were usually two shepherds, one for cattle and oxen, the other for pigs and geese. There was not much competition for the positions as the pay was low and shepherds were usually on their feet from dawn to dusk managing the livestock. Thus, there was little time for engaging in any other type of agriculture. Shepherds were tasked with rounding up the village livestock each morning and herding them out to a 40-acre meadow for grazing. At noon the animals were herded to the local creek for watering, and in the evening driven back to the village and their respective owners.
Marcus was head the only Hanck family living in Ottersheim in the early 18th century. Marcus and Anna Eva had four daughters. Some of the baptism records for these daughters:
Christina was baptized in Ottersheim on June 8th 1738 as witnessed by Andreas Bremm and Christina Dorzapp.
Christina received the Sacrament of Confirmation in Offenbach in the year 1755. She was accompanied by her father, Marcus, her godmother, Magdalena Jopp, and her younger sister Anna Maria. Offenbach an der Queich is a municipality in the Südliche Weinstrasse district, in Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany. It is situated on the river Queich, approx. 6 km west of Ottersheim. Christina married Laurenti Schweinle on September 27th 1761.
Maria Christina was baptized in Ottersheim on January 8th 1740, but it is believed she may have died as an infant although no record of Last Rites has been found.
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