Johannsmeyer (of the House of Ratmar)
The origin of our family and the name Johannsmeyer with its derivatives stems from the history of Saxon and Teutonic peoples, Germanic Tribes that lived between the Elbe,the North Sea, the Hartz Mountains, and the Lower Rhine River. After several bloody wars (772-804) the Saxons, led by Duke Widukind, were conquered by the Franks, led by Charles the Great (Charlemagne). This brought the arrival of Christianity. Pagan monuments and cult places were destroyed. The Franks initiated a "supervising scheme" to make sure nothing pagan survived. "Thingplatze" and other land holding opportunities were used to induce the people to remain where they were, often in a "Meyerhofen," with Meyerhof being a farming place. These house communities were led by an elder, a man of good repute and well respected by his group.
A senior leader of these Saxon tribes was named Ratmar, a Germanic name meaning good advisor and wise man. It is possible that he was a Saxon "Edeling," or nobleman. The House of Ratmar was called "Häuser der Ratmaringer." The area in which he settled became known as Rattinghausen, with the "ing" designating the whole clan and meaning, stemming from one ancestor or father. Thus, Ratmeringhusen [one of the many spellings in the oldest records] is equivalent to the House of Ratmar, of the People of Ratmar, the clan and the family of Herr (Mister) Ratmar, well and widely known for his good counsel.
The Johannsmeyer name evolved from this House and community. The village of Rattinghausen in the Wittlage District is made up of 7-8 farmhouses located in the Wiehen Mountains (Wiehengebirge) close to Bad Essen. The community had a house, a farm, and several other buildings, collectively called an "Odal," all belonging to the man of the house or "Househerr." Under the Saxons, the Odal was the inviolable inheritance of the farmer's line or family, unsalable, unencumberable and indivisible. Under the Franks, the farmer held the right to determine the division of the farm and naming of heirs. In the 11th centruy, the division of farms was likely at an end since the distinction between full inheritances and half inheritances was already familiar. The farms on Rattinghausen Mountain reflect these divisions. When it became uneconomical to further divide the farms, ownership of the farms passed to the last-born son.
Before family names, the personal names of farm owners were used with the addition of location names to differentiate the farms (or Meyer). Thus originated the names Ratmar of Rattinghusen, Johannes of Rattinghusen and Jacob Henrich of Rattinghusen, indicating the probable descendants in the lineage of Ratmar. Names then became Ratten Meyer, Johannes Meyer, and Henrich Meyer. Still later, surnames evolved as Rattemeyer, Johannsmeyer, and Henrichmeyer. Supporting this line of thought in the evolution of the House of Ratmar is the fact that the Johannsmeyer farm was recorded in the 1792 Orsteinwohner of Kirchspiele Essen as a Halberben, or half farm. In the context of settlement patterns, historical practices in the division of land, and analysis of farm plots in Rattinghausen, it is probable that the progenitor of these families settled on the property prior to the 11th century.
It is likely that the other remaining farms on the mountain, Klusmeyer, Fürmeyer, Driftmeyer and Thieschäper, also originated from the original House of Ratmar settlement. The Fürmeyer was the farmer who managed the teams of the clan and took care of transportation. The Driftmeyer was in charge of livestock, including the driving of livestock to the pasture. The Thieschäper was the shepherd at the "Thie," or place of judgment, giving rise to the supposition that a prehistoric Germanic place of worship also existed on the mountain.
The earliest known-recorded history of the Rattinghausen Odal is 1265. A Johannes villicus (Meier) is mentioned as a witness in a document by which the Bishop Cuno of Minden transfers the property of one tenth of an inheritance in Linne, in the vicinity of Rattinghausen, to the Moritz Monastery of Minden. Subsequently, in 1350 at Osnabrück, Albert von Drontheim (de Dranthem) received a "Lehen" (or gift of land to the Frilinge, or free-peasant landowners, for good service, perhaps for service as a knight), the "Domus Johannes of Ratmeringhusen."
Johannes-Meyer in time became Johanns-Meyer, and subsequently Johannsmeyer, according to the ordinances recorded in the parish registers of the St. Nicolai Evangelische Lutheran Kirche of Bad Essen, our family's church.
And so it would seem that our line of Johannsmeyer's followed this straightforward evolutionary path. Actually, it is not so simple. The "Ancient Regime" and the feudal system worked to bring the descendants of Johann Henrich Ohmann to become Johannsmeyer's. We will first offer a simple explanation of this transition, and then, offer a more detailed description of the feudal system and how it led to our current family name.
Simple Explanation on Becoming Johannsmeyer's.
When Johan zu Rattinghausen died sometime in the early 1700's, his daughter, Elsche Johannsmeyer, inherited the Rattinghausen land. She married Johan Embtmeyer from Essener Berg. Because they lived on the Johannsmeyer farm, Johan Embtmeyer he was required to become Johan Johannsmeyer. In turn, his youngest son, Albert, inherited the right to live on the farm. However, his daughter, Gertrud, was not allowed to inherit this right because of the heavy debt incurred by Albert and his wife Catharina in der Drifft (Drifftmeyer). Herman Reinert and Clara Varnkamp paid the necessary taxes (140 Taler) to the noble family von dem Bussche of Hünnfeld in Ippenburg on 27 Sep 1699, married the same day at the Lutheran Church in Bad Essen, and were granted the right to live on the farm and pass it down to their descendants (the German words for the payment that secured the right to pass down the farm are "Auffahrt" and "Weinkauf"). (The von dem Bussche line were Lords of the Place, probably descendants of a knight.) The Johannsmeyer offspring staying on the farm was Anna Adelheid Johannsmeyer. She married Claus Herman Drifftmeyer, born 23 March 1693 in Rattinghausen, who became Claus Herman Johannsmeyer when they paid the Auffahrt and took residency on the farm. (His father was Johann Henrich Ohlmann.) Thereafter, there were no surname changes for the male descendants of Claus Herman Johannsmeyer, except for minor variations. For example, with the arrival of Clamor Adolph Johannsmeyer (the great, great grandson of Claus Herman Johannsmeyer) to Riley County, Kansas on the Blue River in 1865, this branch of the family adopted an American version of the name, Johnsmeyer. With the departure of Clamor Adolph and his brother Henrich Wilhelm Johannsmeyer to America and the subsequent death of their youngest brother, Christian Henrich, in Germany, the ownership of the Rattinghausen farm by direct descendants of Johan Henrich Ohmann came to an end.
This changing occupancy of the Johannsmeyer Odal might cause you to think that we had no relationship to Johan zu Rattinghausen or other earlier families on Rattinghausen mountain. Actually, Anna Margarethe Drifftmeyer, the mother of Claus Herman Driftmeyer/Johannsmeyer, was a descendant of Johan zu Rattinghausen through Rattemeyers and Driftmeyers.
Detailed Description of the Feudal System and Its Implications for Our FamilyIn the feudal system, land was controlled by noble families and churches. Before the 14th century, farm names did not exist. In the records of the monasteries or bishops, you see phrases such as, "A farm in the village Rattinghausen." Or, the Christian name of the farmer would be used, "Johanns farm in Rattinghausen."
In the "ancient regime" (the time before Napoleon's occupation in 1806), the farmers were not the owners of "their" farms. The farms were owned by a so called "Grundherr" or "Gutsherr." The Grundherr of the Johannsmeyer farm was the family von dem Bussche on Hünnefeld (noble seat near Bad Essen in Ippenburg). The von dem Bussche family progenitor was probably a knight; they were not royalty, although they had a baron title and are addressed as Freiherr. The nobel seat at Hünnefeld (Ippenburg) was a living place (Rittersitze). From 1200 to 1400 the bishops of Osnabrück built seven castles (Landesburgen) to defend their territory. Around 1500, the prince-bishopric was divided into seven districts (Amt). Eventually, the castles became useless and were remaining as ruins. Buer was part of the Amt Grönenberg (former Castle Grönenberg). Bad Essen was part of the Amt Wittlage (former Castle Wittlage). Osnabrück was a territory in which power had constitutionally alternated between a Catholic bishop and a Protestant prince (from the House of Hanover). The residence of the bishop was the Castle Iburg (above the Iburg town, south of Osnabrück).
Each generation that lived on the farm had to pay the "Auffahrt" or "Weinkauf" to the Grundherr. They took the name of the farm, in our case, Johannsmeyer. Their descendants also took the Johannsmeyer name. This naming procedure continued until 1874.
Only one family took the Hof surname in a given generation. The surname stayed with the Hof, regardless of the mode of procurement. Those who were allowed to live on the Hof were called Erbmann, where Erbe means "inheritance." The surname stayed with all four Erben (heir) classes: Vollerbe (full heir), Halberbe (half heir), Erbköter, and Markkötter. The Vollerbe (in the case of Rattinghausen: Rattemeyer) had the oldest and the highest status in the Mark (see below for definition of a Mark). The advantages of the Vollerbe status were: protected tenancy; no military service; ability to keep and reinvest profits; more votes in the Mark council; the ability to engage laborers and choose lessees in the Mark; greater rights to the use of Mark properties, serve as a judge of the Mark, receive greater percentages of Mark property when the system was ended. The disadvantages were: the "Gutsherr" or "Grundherr" needed to be asked and give permission to marry, cut down trees, and build new buildings; a fee had to be paid for marriage and death; loss of the Hof by mismanagement (German terms meaning this are "Abmeierung" or "Neubesetqung"); payment of a Freibrief to leave the farm ( A Freibrief is a license issued by the Gutsherr for a fee allowing a son or daughter of a Hof occupant to leave the property); and, higher regular annual fees. When a son or daughter left the farm, they retained the surname of the Hof unless they became the inherited occupant of another farm.
Many different types of payments had to be made to the Grundherr and others in addition to those payments listed above. The first were regular taxes (gewisse Gefälle). The children had to work (Zwangdienst) for a half year for the Grundherr, normally when they were 16 years old. The farmer had to give "natural" gifts to the Grundherr. This was probably farm labor for the Lord of the Place at harvest and planting time. He had to give wood and bread to the church. He had to give chicken and eggs to the Gogericht (lower court). He had to pay one tenth (Zehnt) of his crops and the livestock to the Zentherr (could be the bishop, but not the same person as the Grundherr). He had to work for the local administration, e.g., carrying wood. He had to make a contribution to the sovereign (kind of defense tax). Non-regular taxes (ungewisse Gefälle) were also required. The Weinkauf (earlier called Winkauf, which was a derivative of the German work winnen - to win) was a tax if the farmer married. The Sterbfall was paid if the farmer or his wife died, and the Friekauf was paid if a child left the farm. The lot of the feudal farmer, though better than those without inheritance, was not wonderful. Since non-regular taxes were paid to the Grundherr and recorded in his records, it is possible to construct family genealogies.
The requirement to pay for a Freibrief ended in the Napoleon time (1806-1814) given his doctrine of "Liberte, Egalite, Fraternite." An annual fee was assigned to each property, and all other fees were canceled and the farm became the property of the farmer. However, the farmers had to pay a steep price (Freikauf) to the Grundherr for the lost Auffahrt or Weinkauf. You could say that in a way, the farmer had to buy the land from the Grundherr. As a result, some of the Colons (or Main Farmers) were financially strapped, especially if the harvest was bad. The economy of the area also collapsed after Napoleon was driven out, partly due to the onerous terms of the land reform and because the home weaving industry was no longer viable due to competition with English mechanization. As a result, emigrations to Holland and America were commonplace.
Definitions of terms used in the foregoing paragraph or other information for understanding the feudal system:
Village: consists of the farms (sometimes a church), the gardens around the farms, the farm land, and other land that could not be used for farming.
Mark: land around a village that could not be used for farming, like woodland, heath, marsh, etc. The Mark was owned by all farmers of a village. There were sometimes bigger Marks owned by the farmers of a parish (a few villages) and very big Marks owned by a few parishes. The Mark was used by all farmers together. The farmers drove their livestock in the Mark, e.g., pigs, cows, sheep. They cut wood in the Mark and they cut small pieces (Plaggen) out of the ground to fertilize the farmland. Beginning in the second half of the 15th century, small farms were build in the Mark. These farms were called Markkötter. Around 1700, there were so many Markkötters in the Mark that no Mark land remained. People whose land was too small for a farm were caller Kötters. They generally had no live stock, only a garden. People who actually owned the land were Eigentumers. The name begins to be seen more in the 1800's.
Vollerbe: Farm with full rights in the Mark. A Halberbe had half rights. Thus, a Vollerbe was allowed to cut twice the amount of timber in the Mark as the Halberbe. A Halberbe was only allowed to pasture half the number of livestock in the Mark compared to the Vollerbe. The terms "Vollerbe" and "Halberbe" were first found in documents about 1300. The explanation above of how the Johannsmeyer Hof became a Halberbe is one of several theories.
Meyer: a large farm. The youngest son normally inherited the farm or the right to live on the farm. If the farmer had only daughters, the youngest daughter got the farm. Thus, a family could live on the farm for generations. If there were no children born on the farm, the relatives came together and decided with the Grundherr who would get the farm. This was normally a relative. While infrequent, if a farmer were deeply in debt or was not properly maintaining the farm, the farm was given to another family. Decisions of how to handle these cases made in the Osnabrücker Eigentumsordnung from 1728 (a kind of law or decree). The Drifftmeyer farm was a Markkötter, but this was very unusual as the Drifftmeyer farm was a large farm. The Drifftmeyer farm could have been the largest Markkötter in Prince-Bishopric Osnabrück.
In 1772, the following farms existed in Rattinghausen: Rattemeyer - Vollerbe; Johann zu Rattinghausen (Johannsmeyer) - Halberbe; Jacob zu Rattinghausen - Halberbe; Jacob aufm Führen (Furhmann) - Markkötter; Jacob Rattemeyer - Markkötter; Eickschläger - Markkötter; Thies Schäper (Thiesschäper) - Markkötter; Balz in der Trift (Drifftmeyer) - Markkötter; and Claus Oldemeyer - Markkötter. The Johannsmeyer farm was designated in the Hünnefeld castle records as Rattinghausen #2.
Colon: Latin word for colonist or settler. It was used in the Osnabrück area to denote the new farmers of the low lying area that was drained and farmed in the mid-1700's, but came to be used as a general term for those who farmed a certain size farm and had inheritance rights. The Colon was the main farmer. In addition to the main house occupied by the Colon and his family, most of the farms also had a Leibzucht. There could be other houses as well, such as a Backhaus, and later, a Heuerhaus. These latter houses had no automatic inheritance rights. The Colon was responsible for providing food and shelter for all persons born to the household as long as they remained unmarried. He also managed them as a labor force.
[This history is compiled from: "Rattinghausen - einst germanische Sidlung" by Von F. Johannsmeyer, Kassel-Wilhelmshöhe, post World War II; "Rattinghausen im Wiehengebirge," Osnabrücker Tageblatt, Friday, January 7, 1938; farm records extracted from Hünnefeld castle records by Michael Ortmann of Münster, Germany (a Johannsmeyer descendant); and, feudal information provided by Michael Ortmann after extensive and thorough study of various records and the history of Rattinghausen and the surrounding area. Deepest gratitude for making the newspaper articles available is extended to Günther and Ilse Kockläuner of Bad Essen, Germany. (Ilse is a Johannsmeyer through the purchase of the Johannsmeyer farm by her grandfather Franz Heinrich Clamors on 21 January 1878 from the widow of Clamor Henrich Joannnsmeyer). Diane Deputy of Sandy, Utah (a descendent of the original Johannsmeyer family) is also responsible for the remarkable results in identifying family members in the parish registers from the 1600's to the late 1800's through her personal examination of these records in Bad Essen, Buer, and Barkhausen, Hannover, Germany. Her son, Michael Deputy, originally placed these records on the Internet allowing this accumulation of history on our family to continue.]
The record of Driftmeyer farm ownership as extracted from Hünnefeld Castel records by Michael Ortmann is shown below. * signs indicate birth dates. ¥ indicates marriage dates. V indicates death date. The @ signs indicate dates that freedom to leave the farm was purchased from the von dem Bussche family.
Stammfolge Driftmeyer Rattinghausen
Generation 0
Caspar Driftmeyer ¥ 1625 Alheit Noldsiek (Nordsiek ?)
* * in
V V in
Neubesetzung ? Generation I
Bals Bruning ¥ Catharina Johannsmeyer
* in Lockhausen 11 * in Rattinghausen 2
V 30.01.1655 in Rattinghausen V nach 1655 in Rattinghausen
Kinder
1. Henrich @ 1647 Colon Fricke, Hüsede
1. Catharina @ 1663 Albert Johannsmeyer, Rattinghausen 2Generation II
Hermann Driftmeyer ¥ 6.10.1663 Anneke Rattemeyer
* * in Rattinghausen 1
V nach 1689 in Rattinghausen V nach 1689 in RattinghausenGeneration III
Johann Henrich Ohmann ¥ 16.5.1689 Anna Margarethe Driftmeyer
* um 1664 in Essener Berg * in Rattinghausen
V 30.10.1734 in Rattinghausen V März 1698 in Rattinghausen
Kinder
1. Anna Catharine * 24.06.1691
2. Claus Hermann * 23.03.1693 ¥ 5.11.1721 Anna Adelheid Johansmeyer, Rattingh.
3. Margarethe Gertrud * 10.04.1695 ¥ 25.8.1714 Henr. Jürgen Liggebank, Hüsede
4. Anna Marg. Gertrud * 27.05.1697 ¥ 30.10.1720 Joh. Herm. Grönemeyer, LintorfJohann Henrich Ohmann ¥ 21.10.1698 Margarethe Gertrud Schmedt
* um 1664 in Essener Berg * um 1674 in Hüsede
V 30.10.1734 in Rattinghausen V 11.04.1743 in Rattinghausen
Kinder
1. Johann Hermann * 06.09.1699
2. Catharine Hedwig * vor 6.1.1700 ¥ 19.11.1722 Joh. Jürgen Menke, Westerhausen 7
3. Catharine Elisabeth * 06.11.1701
4. Albert Henrich * 25.03.1703 ¥ 11.8.1727 Marg. Gertrud Hinrichs, Rattinghausen
5. Marie Anna * 25.10.1705
6. Margarethe Gertrud * 29.09.1707 @ 1729
7. Catharine Margarethe * 21.04.1710 ¥ um 1735 Joh. Gerd Kuhlmeyer, Brockhausen
8. Johann Abel * 17.04.1713 Anerbe (inherited the farm)
9. Ludolf * 02.02.1716 @ 1729
10. Caspar Henrich * 24.05.1719 V 1738
11. Johann Henrich * 17.05.1722 ¥ 11.11.1743 Clara Hedwig Eversmann, EilstädtSources Driftmeyer Rattinghausen
1596 Oktober 5
Staatsarchiv Osnabrück, Dep. 40 a (Gut Ippenburg - Urkunden), Nr.162
5.10.1596: Friedrich v. Nagel zur Hede und seine Frau Anna verkaufen an Anna v. Ascheberg, Witwe Clamors v. dem Busche, den ½ Anteil am Kotten zu Rattinghausen, den Jorrien in der Drifft gen. Volking und seine Frau Elsche bewohnen.
1593-1722
Staatsarchiv Osnabrück, Dep. 40 b (Gut Ippenburg),Nr. 839 (Verz. Sterbefälle u. Auffahrten 1593-1722)1610, Juni 13 p. 32 1610 den 13 Juni
1610 den 13 Juni heft der [...] seine dochter Trinken upfort gedinget up Judike [?] in der Drift seine stete up 15 [?] daler1625, Sommer [?] p. 61 1625 up midden Somer
1625 up midden Somer [?] heft Alheit noltsieck upfort gedingen up Casper in der drifft städe up 12 daler [...]1655 Januar 30 p. 132 Anno 1655 am 30 January
Anno 1655 am 30 January hat Balß in der Drifft zu Rattinghausen ihres sehl. mans sterbfall gedinget uff 30 Thl.1663 Oktober 6 p. 151 Ao 1663 den 6. october
Ao 1663 den 6. october hat Herman in der Drift seiner frauen Aneken Rattemeyers Upvor gedinget auf seine stede auf 14 Thl. [...]1689, Mai 16 p. 260 16 May 1689
16 May 1689 Johan Henrich Ohman von Eßener Berge seine auffahrt auff Driffts K. Kotten zu Rattinghausen gedungen vor 20 Thl. [...] dorch vorbehaltlich der beyden Eltern Sterbfall den nachlaß auff [...] Fall anhero zuziehen, daß erste Kind bleibt frey. NB infra in fine: den 18 May 1689 obegemlter Henrich Ohman die Auffahrtsgelder von Driffts städte mit 20 Thl. bezahlet und ist Ihme auff vielfältige Bitten Iro noch lebenden Eltern Sterbfall zu 30 Thl. gelaßen worden [...]1698, April 25 p. 287 25/15 April 1698
25/15 April 1698 Johan Henrich Drifft seiner sehligen Frauen sterbfall gelaßen zu 30 Thl.1701, September 15 p. 295 15 Sept. 1701
15 Sept. 1701 Margreten Gerdrut Schmedtß ao 98 die Auffahrt auff Driffts Kotten zu Rattinghausen gelassen vor 20 Thl.1728
Staatsarchiv Osnabrück, Dep. 40 b, Nr. 845 (Lagerbuch Ippenburg 1728-1747), nicht paginiert
Rattinghausen 9. März 1728 Drifftmeyer, Markkötter
Wehrfester Johan Jürgen sagt [...] Comparens wehre zu seiner frauen Anna Margarethe Drifftmeyer auf der Stette kommen, welche aber todt. Mit seiner zweyten frauen Margarethen Gerdrut hatte er noch 6 Kinder, so nicht frey, alß
1.) Marie Gerdruht 22 J. 4.) Rudolph 12 J.
2.) Trine Margarethe 20 J. 5.) Caspar Henrich 5 J.
3.) Johan Abel 16 J. 6.) Johan Henrich 4 J:1734 April 5
Staatsarchiv Osnabrück, Dep. 40 b, Nr. 843 (Protokollbuch Ippenburg 1723-1773), p. 127
Drifftmeyer 5. April 1734
Cötter Drifftmeyer zu Rattinghausen zeigetan, daß er nebst seiner Frau alt und schwach würde [will deshab den Kotten an seinen 2. Sohn Johan Abel abtreten, der sich mit Clara Maria Mönks von Hüsede , die dem Gut Kuhoff, d.h. v. Schele eigenbehörig ist, verheiraten will. Der rechte Anerbe aus 1. Ehe ist abgefunden; da er schon 8 Freibriefe für seine Kinder gelöst hätte und noch 3 haben möchte, bittet er um eine geringen Freikauf] daß der beyden alten noch lebenden Johan Henrich und Margareth Gerdrut Drifftmeyers Sterbfall zu 15 Thl. determiniert wird.
p. 205 Sterbfall 1738 von Clara Maria Drifftmeyer geb. Mönk
11. Margarethe Gertrud Driftmeyer
Received Freibrief to leave the farm in 1729.
Inherited the Driftmeyer farm.
Received Freibrief to leave the farm in 1729.