My
maternal grandmother came from a small area in south eastern Norway
where her ancestors were recorded living for generation upon
generation. They lived and worked the farm Øvald in Eidanger,
Telemark for hundreds of years. However a German couple once long ago
became a part of our Norwegian family!
In
past blogs I told of how my grandmother claimed to be descended from
the German noblewoman Maria Lukretia von Boeselager. That blog post
can be found HERE.
Maria came to Norway as a widow. This is the story of her husband,
Sebastian Heußler, my ninth great grandfather.
Sebastian
Heußler was from a family of Bookprinters in Nürnberg, he was the
oldest son of Leonhard Heußler. Not much is known about his youth
other than that he apprenticed in the family trade and in 1599 was
working as a typesetter. Upon the death of his father Leonhard in
1597, and with perhaps as many as twelve family members to care for,
Sebastian took over the family business. He was married in August of
1601, to Sabina Prünsterer, marriage being a requirement to become a
Master in the Guild. He was twenty years old, his occupation a book
printer. In 1603 he paid 1000 Guldens for a House in the nailmakers
alley, where he set up shop for himself. In the official Guild book
records he was recorded as a Bookprinter from the years 1601-1603,
and 1606-1607. He printed additionally, news items, devotional
booklets and items for the church in Nürnberg. 1607 ended
Sebastian's occupation as a Bookprinter, His name disappeared from
Nürnberg Guild Books.
Since
a youth he had been interested in, "the Knightly Arts of
Fencing" (as Sebastian described it). Fencing was less
appreciated and practiced in Germany, so he traveled in 1604/05, and from 1608 on Sebastian was in Italy, France, England and the Netherlands and took
lessons from famous Fencing masters. He not only increased his skills
of fencing but used his knowledge of book binding to author and
publish books in Nuremberg on the theory and skill of fencing, along
with engraver Gabriel Weyer (1576-1632), who drew the different
fencing images. He became a fencing master of the rapier sword and
dagger. The books and fencing style of the fencing master Sebastian
Heußler are in use even today.
Sebastian
Heußler is described as both a Kriegsmann (man-at-arms) and
monatsreiter ("month-rider"), which seems to
indicate that like many fencing masters he supported himself as a
mercenary. Sebastian Heußler, was a major in the Royal army of
Christian IV, king of Denmark-Norway. He likely held the elite
position of color guard in his unit,as he would later also author a
book on the art of flag-waving.
After
1608 it seems that he did not stay in Nuremberg. He moved his wife to
a new home in 1615, but in 1617 when the old home was sold, his wife
Sabina negotiated the deal in his absence. Sabina, died in 1628.
**********
Maria had been born in 1609 in Honeburg close to Osnabrück in Niedersachsen, Germany. The youngest daughter of Wolfgang von Boeselager and Anna von Kerssenbrock she grew up in noble surroundings. Around 1630 the young Maria gave birth to Sebastian's daughter. Sebastian at the time was close to 50 years old. It was written that Maria was expelled by her family in Germany. It is easy to assume that a child born by a single mother, which she most likely was, was not particularly appreciated by the elite family von Boeselager. The fact that the father, Sebastian Heussler, was 28 years older probably made it worse for Maria. Her brother-in-law, Mathias von Buchwald, married to the sister Heilwig (born 1606), wrote to Maria's father, not even having heard about the wedding; "er ist schir ein alter mann" (he is already an old man).Sebastian and Maria did perhaps have a second daughter before he died. We do know that after his death Maria lived as the widow of Sebastian in Copenhagen. Being expelled from her family she took (or stole?) some family monies and moved to Grenland Norway about 1650 bringing her daughter/s with her. There in Eidanger she found a new home and a new husband.
Her
eldest daughter, whose name unfortunately is not known to us, married
the vicar of the church in Eidanger, Jon (Johannes) Lauritsson
Theiste. Their daughter Sophie was given a christening gift by her
grandmother Maria. That gift was the family farm Øvald. The same
farm on which my grandmother, seven generations later, was born in
1900.
my ninth great grandparents
Sebastian Heußler
1581-1647
Maria Lukretia von Boeselager
1609-1685
→unknown Pedersdatter→Sophia Jansdatter→Jørgen Bendtzsøn→Malene Jørgensdatter→Ole Gundersen→Johanne Elizabeth Olsdatter→Gunder Andreas Nilsen→Niels Gundersen→Dagmar Gundersen→Grace Gunhild Sevald→ME!
***abundant thanks to my second cousin once removed, Jørn Erik Øvald. He is an educator and amateur genealogist, who has researched and continues to study our German connection, freely sharing his many findings with the family.***
