The Town Hall of Hefersweiler

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was conducted in French only. Mayor Johannes/Jean Bacher was at the same time also Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths and therefore signed with “faisant les fonctions more d'officier public de l'état civil”. Since the Jewish families in Europe obviously had no fixed surnames and children were named alternately after the father and then after the mother, the national administrations was often times confused. The French ministry of the Interior issued therefore on July 20 th , 1806 an Imperial Decree with reference to the Jews who did not have certain family and first names. The citizens of our realm who profess themselves to be of the Hebrew culture must accept a surname within three months, - the Biblical first name was not to be reused as a surname but another city name may be used. The Loebs (Loew) took the name >Rosenzweig< (branch of a rose) and the former Isaak family took the name >Felsenthal< (valley of the rocks). The municipal office (mayoralty and school) of Hefersweiler was accommodated in the old building of 1696 4 , in which the maître d'école (schoolmaster) Mohr 5 also taught and lived and starting from 1803/4 the schoolmaster Heinrich Steinebrey 6 . For the population a French first name could require some getting used to. But in any case it was easier stamping SAM, than our Germans Johannes changed to Jean, Ludwig became Louis, Elisabetha was now called Lisette. This custom may have continued in existence up to the Secessionist Period of 1922/23. This introduction of the modern, National Register Office resulted in correct and comprehensive entries, a condition of every efficiently-working administration. Now there were no more coincidental entries, dependent on the wishes and moods of the respective religious gentlemen! Thank God religion no longer played a role. Now everyone’s details were captured, no matter whether they were Catholic, Jewish or Reform. Also the language became like light verse. No more bad words about illegitimate children and their mothers. If a wife (e.g. Madame Barbe Theiss) bore her second illegitimate child, then the writer noted this without 4 Nevertheless you should visit sometime the old Hefersweiler bell of 1696, which is located now in the school hall of Berzweiler, first OG! 5 See Family Chronicle, volume 2 6 Heinrich Steinebrey, Born 1 st . May1763 in Relsberg, was - starting in 1804 and up to his death in 13 March 1835 - a teacher in Hefersweiler. He was thus still instructing as 72-year old. His successor was a teacher from Essweiler – „Barthelmae“
comment. Also the introduction of civil marriage began progressively from September 1798. Weddings were on Sundays, probably starting from 11 o'clock. At noon, the Mayor Bacher announced, with a loud voice, the completed marriage ceremony to the citizenry assembled at the outer door of the community center. Initially the pair who were present before the Registrar of Births, Marriages and Deaths had to have two - then starting from 1802 - four witnesses to their consent to marriage. In the German Reich, this progressive law was not used until1876! Johann Friedrich Daberkow 7 probably came to Hefersweiler in 1809. He was single and fell in love with pretty Maria Elisabetha Bayer. Christmas 1809 was probably the engagement and the bride and groom visited Jean Bacher, the mayor. He explained the difficulties to him, particularly since Daberkow originated from the far-off Kingdom of Prussia. Jean Bacher immediately wrote to the local administration of his place of residence (Massow in Pommern). The required excerpt from the Birth Register, which had been issued on 20 May 1810 by the Municipality of Massow 8 , arrived nearly 10 months later. Mayor Bacher’s report was celebrated, and he then let the Mayor of Niederkirchen examine the birth entry for Maria Elisabetha Bayer – the birth had taken place on 3 October 1810 9 . Finally, on 20 th and 27 th of January the notice of an intended marriage were hung up on the outer door 10 and the marriage ceremony took place on February 5 th , 1811. By the way at that time the beautiful custom arose of decorating the official announcement box with seasonal flowers. The mother Charlotta Bayer gave her agreement to the wedding to the notary of Wolfstein Charles Jaques Schuler, because she would certainly have been 7) Johann Friedrich Daberkow was born 2 October 1782 in Massow / Pommern, his parents were Christoph Daberkow and Dorothea Schmid. By occupation he was butcher, in other documents he was also designated as “Bader”. According to wedding document N° 3 from 1811 he lived legally in Hefersweiler, married Maria Elisabetha Bayer (born 17 March 1789, died 20 June 1861 in Niki) daughter of Charlotta Bayer and Johann Peter Steinhauer on 5 February 1811 in the community centre in Hefersweiler. 8) As at March 1813 The Kingdom of Prussia still belonged to friendly, but dependent states of France. Only in 1813 did Prussia separate itself from Napoleonic clutches and followed Russia! 9) The Lutheran-Evangelist Church book lay in the Mayor’s Office of Niederkirchen. As for Hefersweiler above, representation of Berzweiler and Relsberg belonged to the Niki Kirchenspiel. 10 ) Witnesses at the marriage were Jakob Römer, 41 J. farmer of Hefersweiler, Michael Kopp, 45, butcher in Hefersweiler, Heinrich Steinebrei, schoolmaster, 49 J. and Friedrich Philipp Simon Schwartz, (born 13 December 1782 in Rudolfskirchen - see family album). tailor from Hefersweiler! On 10 March 1807 Schwartz had married Catharina Bayer, a cousin Maria Elisabetha Bayer!
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