Matthias Hofer (abt. 1600 - aft. 1654)

Born about 1600 in Kärnten, Österreich

Descendants

Biography

Birth and Parentage

Matthias was probably born about 1600 in Carinthia, Austria. His date and place of birth as well as his parents are unknown due to lack of records. The rough estimate of his approximate year of birth is based on the fact that three of his children for whom church records exist married in the period from about 1645 to 1660. If we assume that these children were born from about 1624 and Matthias married at the age of about 20 to 25, the approximate year of birth is 1600.

Occupation and Emigration

Matthias was Landrichter, i.e. an official with sovereign duties, in Carinthia, Austria. As such, he was appointed Pflegeverwalter, i.e. an official appointed by the Treasury to manage confiscated property, of Biberstein Castle near Himmelberg, Carinthia, together with another person.
The appointment was preceded by the following: In 1629, the owner of Biberstein Castle, Hans Khevenhüller, who had to leave Carinthia due to his Protestant faith, had sold Biberstein to Veit Freiherr von Künigl. However, the latter could not pay the purchase price. Since Khevenhüller fought with the Swedish army against Austria, he was accused of high treason, which led to the confiscation of his properties in 1640 in favor of the treasury^[1].
Matthias himself got into trouble in his new office after a peasant revolt broke out in the Himmelberg-Biberstein estate in 1646 and Matthias converted to the Protestant faith in 1648. With this in mind, Matthias bought land in the Duchy of Württemberg (Hofgut Benzinger Hof near Freudenstadt), because Württemberg and some other German states had agreed to accept so-called Exulanten, i.e. people expelled because of their Protestant faith in Carinthia. So he moved to the Benzinger Hof estate to bring himself, his wife and his children with spouses to safety.^[2]
After the death of his successor in the office of Pflegeverwalter, Matthias initially returned to Carinthia and agreed to take up his former office again and to re-convert to the Catholic faith. After his return, however, he came under suspicion of having encouraged the peasants in the Himmelberg-Biberstein region to turn away from the Catholic faith and was expelled.^[3]
However, there are indications that the corresponding expulsion order, dated 30 January 1651, was not executed for the time being. It is not known whether and at what time Matthias had to leave Carinthia, because so far only two sources have been found that prove the presence of Matthias at the Benzinger Hof estate:

• Günther Frey (Ortssippenbuch Klosterreichenbach - see source information below) evaluated a deed of sale, dated 11 July 1649, in which it is documented that against payment of an amount of 1,350 gulden the ownership of the property of the Benzinger Hof was transferred to Matthias Hofer.
• In the baptismal register of the parish Glatten-Dietersweiler there is an entry in which Matthias is mentioned as godfather of the child Johannes Warneck bapt. on 10 December 1654.^[4]
  

According to Günther Frey (see above) Matthias is mentioned in the document about the transfer of the Benzinger Hof estate to the son Andreas in 1655 only Andreas' mother, but not the father Matthias.

Marriage and Children

The document evaluated by Günther Frey (see above), which regulates the transfer of the Benzinger Hof estate to Andreas Hofer on Martini 1655 (i.e. 11 November 1655), mentions that Andreas' mother was Anna Hofer(in) née Paul(in) von Negenschütz (or Anna Paul von Nagerschigg?). A document about Matthias marriage with Anna in Austria has not been found yet. There are records of the following children of the couple who immigrated to Württemberg:

1. Andreas, married (i) Maria Starck from Carinthia, Austria (ii) Anna Elisabetha Fischer from Baiersbronn near Freudenstadt, Duchy of Württemberg, 16 September 1677 in Dietersweiler near Freudenstadt^[5], died 7 March 1685 at Benzinger Hof.^[6]
2. Margaretha, married Johann Leonhard, Regimentsquartiermeister des löblich Capaunischen Regiments, Christian Leonharden s. zu Hoierswerda in Oberlausnitz, nachgelaßner ehelicher Sohn (i.e. quarter master of the caponese regiment, son of the late Christian Leonhard of Hoyerswerda, Upper Lausitz), on 15 October 1650 in Dornstetten near Freudenstadt.^[7]
3. Anna, married Johannes Falck from Freudenstadt 6 March 1660 in Freudenstadt^[8], buried 12 January 1708 in Freudenstadt at the age of about 70.^[9]

Death

Matthias' place and date of death are unknown due to the lack of a burial record. As noted above, he was last mentioned as godfather in a record dated 10 December 1654. In the record of daughter Anna's marriage dated 6 March 1660 and cited above, it is mentioned that the bride's father was already deceased. There is therefore much to suggest that Matthias died in the period 1654 to 1660.

Sources

Footnotes

1. ↑ Website containing a short summary of the history of Biberstein Castle. - accessed 3 June 2023
2. ↑ Freudenstädter Heimatblätter, Herausgeber: Heimat- und Museumsverein für Stadt und Kreis Freudenstadt, Heimatgeschichtliche Beilage zum "Schwarzwäler Bote", editions 14 and 15 / 1974.
3. ↑ Dedic, Paul (mit Ergängzungen und Berichtigungen v. Gustav Adolf v. Metnitz): Kärntner Exulanten des 17. Jahrhunderts, (Nachdruck aus Carinthia I, Jg. 136/137–153/1947 bis 1963) . Verlag des Geschichtsvereins für Dresden 1979, page 791
4. ↑ Kirchenbuch der evangelischen Kirchengemeinde Glatten-Dietersweiler, Dekanat Freudenstadt, Band 1 (Mischbuch. Taufregister 1558-1658; Eheregister 1559-1658; Totenregister 1593-1658; Kommunikantenregister 1630-1634) Ancestry Sharing Link
5. ↑ Kirchenbuch der evangelischen Kirchengemeinde Glatten-Dietersweiler, Dekanat Freudenstadt, Band 2 (Mischbuch. Taufregister 1658-1742; Eheregister 1658-1741; Totenregister 1658-1742) Ancestry Sharing Link
6. ↑ Kirchenbuch der evangelischen Kirchengemeinde Glatten-Dietersweiler, Dekanat Freudenstadt, Band 2 (Mischbuch. Taufregister 1658-1742; Eheregister 1658-1741; Totenregister 1658-1742) Ancestry Sharing Link
7. ↑ Kirchenbuch der evangelischen Kirchengemeinde Dornstetten, Dekanat Freudenstadt, Band 1 (Mischbuch. Taufregister 1606-1714; Eheregister 1610-1716; Totenregister 1611-1714 Ancestry Sharing Link
8. ↑ Kirchenbuch der evangelischen Kirchengemeinde Freudenstadt, Dekanat Freudenstadt, Band 21 (Mischbuch. Taufregister 1602-1795; Eheregister 1603-1773; Totenregister 1613-1808 - excerpts created in 1916. The old church records of the Protestant parish of Freudenstadt were destroyed in a major fire shortly before the end of World War 2), page 88 Ancestry Sharing Link
9. ↑ Kirchenbuch der evangelischen Kirchengemeinde Freudenstadt, Dekanat Freudenstadt, Band 21 (Mischbuch. Taufregister 1602-1795; Eheregister 1603-1773; Totenregister 1613-1808 - excerpts created in 1916. The old church records of the Protestant parish of Freudenstadt were destroyed in a major fire shortly before the end of World War 2), page 182 Ancestry Sharing Link

Bibliography

• Family # KlR F 2139 in: Günther Frey, Ortssippenbuch der Pfarreien Klosterreichenbach und Schwarzenberg im Kreis Freudenstadt, Württemberg, mit den Filialen Höfe im Tonbach, Heselbach, Röt, Schönegründ, Huzenbach und Schönmünzach und den ehemaligen Filialen Igelsberg und Schwarzenberger Glashütte und bis ca. 1750 auch die Orte aus dem ehemaligen Klosteramt Reichenbach Hochdorf im Kirchspiel Göttelfingen, Schernbach im Kirchspiel Grömbach und Obermusbach im Kirchspiel Grüntal 1604 bis 1808. Deutsche Ortssippenbücher. Herausgegeben von der Zentralstelle für Personen- und Familiengeschichte, zugleich Band 9 der württembergischen Ortssippenbücher, Frankfurt am Main 1984