EMRICH


Joshua Eliakim
 Josef
(1647-1723)
 Feiss
(1684-1747)
 Josel
( -1794)
 Feiss EMRICH
(1754-1823)

Gitele
Moses Mayer
 Wolf
 Zippora


Abraham?
 Hebele
( -1798)
Zadok
( -1723)
 Baruch
( -1763)
 Liebmann
( -1772)
 Moses
( -1766)
 Bräunle SCHRIESHEIM
(1766-1823)
Gitel
( -1732)

Miriam
Jonas
( -1732)
 Herz
( -1768)
 Ester
( -1782)

Veronika
Jospe
 Hayum
 Maier
(1682-1765)
 Zerle
( -1803)
Maier
 Reizche
Laze
( -1682)
 Wolf
( -1705)
 Hanna
( -1763)

Jitche
Moises (1786)
  Esther BREIDENBACH
(Mendel {Marx, Madel} & Hanne {Feitel})
 Bräunle (1825), Hannah (1828),
Feiss (1830), Amalia (1833),
Moses (1836)
Liebmann (1792-1861)
Beile OPPENHEIMER (1799-1855)
(Herz {Juda Löb, Rechle} & Rebekka {Isaak})
 Joseph (1823), Regina (1826),
Feiss (1830), Isaak (1833),
Moses Aron (1839)
Zipera (1795)
 Sara (1829)
Abraham (1801-1876)
Mina STERN
(Lazarus & Guttel)
 		Babette (1836), Feiss (1840),
Jette (1842), Lazarus (1845),
Moses (1846), Isack Aron (1848)
Sarah (1804)

Brothers Isaac (1637-1720) and Josef (1647-1723), sons of Joshua Eliakim, were among the earliest recorded Jewish residents of Hemsbach. They first appear in the Hemsbacher Gerichtsbuch (Court book) in the 1670s, in the period of Jewish settlement following the Thirty Years' War. Josef married Gitele and had a son, Feiss (1684-1747). Feiss, an Untereinnehmer (tax collector) in Hemsbach, married Zippora, daughter of Wolf of Rohrbach, and had a son, Josel ( -1794). Josel married Hebele, possible daughter of Abraham[1], and had children: Feiss (1754-1823) and Elkele. In 1809, when Jews in Baden were required to adopt permanent surnames, Feiss Josel became Feiss EMRICH. His sister Elkele's husband Moises Feiss became Moises PFÄLZER.

Feiss EMRICH of Hemsbach, son of Josel, married Bräunle SCHRIESHEIM[2] from Mannheim, daughter of Moses Liebmann and Zerle nee BENSHEIM, and had children: Moises (1786), Liebmann (1792), Zipera (1795), Abraham (1801), and Sara (1804). Feiss and Braünle both died in Hemsbach in 1823.

Research Notes

1. The names of the children of Feiss and Bräunle appear to have been chosen systematically:
  1. Moises (1786): the first preference for whom their first born son would've been named after is probably Feiss' father or, secondly, his father's father. However, his father Josel was still alive and Josel's father was also named Feiss. So, both were out of contention. Therefore, the next preference would've been Bräunle's father, Moises, which was the name chosen.
  2. Liebmann (1792): the next son still could not be named after Feiss' father or paternal grandfather for the same reasons as above. The first son was named for Bräunle's father's, so it seems that the next preference would have been Bräunle's father's father, Liebmann.
  3. Zipera (1795): the preference would've been Feiss' mother Hebele. However, she was still alive. Next preference would've probably been Bräunle's mother, Zerle, but she was also still alive. Seemingly, the next preference would've been Feiss' father's mother, named Zippora.
  4. Abraham (1801): now we arrive at the mystery name. Let's take stock of the available male ancestors whom he could've been named after. The most obvious choice would've been Feiss' father, Josel, who, by this time, was deceased (died in 1794). However, for some reason, this third son was not named after him. Perhaps there was another son, born between Zipera and Abraham that was named Josel and died as a young child. We don't know. The only other options (within three generations - further back than that is unlikely) are Bräunle's mother Zerle's father Maier (who died in 1775) and Feiss' mother Hebele's father (name unknown). Clearly, he was not named after Maier, so this leaves only Hebele's father. Thus, it seems likely that Hebele's father's name was Abraham.
  5. Sarah (1804): by this time, both Feiss' mother Hebele and Bräunle's mother Zerle (a variant of Sarah) were deceased. It's not clear why the daughter was named after Zerle rather than Hebele, but either would've been a logical choice.
    So, four of the five children's names seem to have been logically and directly named after ancestors. Therefore, it seems quite likely that the fifth (fourth in birth order), Abraham, would've also been named after an ancestor, in this case Feiss' maternal grandfather. Who could this Abraham be? His presumed daughter, Hebele, died in 1798, probably in her 60s/70s. If so, she would've been born in the 1720s/30s and her father probably would've been born around the turn of the century. In that case, we would expect to see Abraham in the 1722 census of Kurpfalz and likely in and around Hemsbach, where Hebele lived with her husband Josel. In that census, there are no Abraham's in Hemsbach itself and also none in the neighboring town of Laudenbach. Zooming out a bit further, we get to the Oberamt (district) of Ladenburg which, at that time, consisted only of Hemsbach, Laudenbach, and the town of Ladenburg itself. Only one Abraham is listed in the district: Abraham Lazarus of Ladenburg. He is our current leading candidate for Hebele's father!

2. Since Braünle was married and both of her parents died before official surnames were adopted in 1809, her maiden name is listed variously as "Schriesheimer" 1 (her father's family name), "Bensheimer" 2, 3 (her mother's family name), and "Lorsch" 4 (her mother's last husband's family name).

3. Photo source: Obituary of Ferdinand Emrich in Cleveland Jewish Review & Observer, 23 November 1900.

4. Photo source: Cleveland, Its Aim: Progress, Perseverance and Public Spirit. Cleveland, Ohio: 1897. (digital)

5. Origin Hypothesis:
     In considering the potential origin of this family, an idea is starting to take shape. Since the earliest spelling of the adopted family surname was Emmerich, perhaps the family originated in the German town of Emmerich. If so, an individual that stands out as a potential ancestor is Elieser Joshua Feibelman of Emmerich (born c. 1610, died 1675). The father of early Hemsbach brothers, Isaac (1637-1720) and Josef (1647-1723), was Joshua Eliakim (as listed on their gravestones). Could these be the same person? In considering this tantalizing possibility, there are several things to note:
  1. Elieser Joshua Feibelman appears to have the main Hebrew name of Joshua and the secular name of Feibelman. It is not clear where the name Elieser comes from. According to Kaufmann. "Die Familie Gomperz" (1907), p. 14, the Memorbuch of Emmerich contains the following entry for him:

    יזכור אלקים נשמת הגאון הגדול החכם השלם החריף והבקי המופלג מהור״ר יהושע װייבלמן במהור״ר מרדכי אב״ד ור״מ במדינות קליװא ומארק ואגפיהם...

  1. Feibelman as a given name is a derivation of the Yiddish name Feivel, equivalent to the Hebew Feivush (פייבוש), which is itself a diminutive form of Phoebus (a Greek name meaning "bright" or "shining"). It is sometimes associated with Shraga (Aramaic for "lamp" or "light") and as a diminutive of Uri (Hebrew for "my light").
  2. The name Feiss appears frequently in the descendants of this Hemsbach family, starting with Feiss (1684), son of the previously mentioned Josef (1647). From the gravestone of a later descendant, Abraham EMRICH (1801-1876) son of Feiss, we learn that the Hebrew name associated with Feiss is also Uri.
  3. Joshua does not appear to be a very common name in the old German records.
  4. The lifespan of Feibelman of Emmerich generally fits with what we would expect for the father of Isaac and Joseph of Hemsbach.
  5. It seems likely that Feiss Josel of Hemsbach (1754-1823), who adopted the surname EMMERICH, would have heard about the origin of his great-grandfather Josef (1647-1723). Feiss' father Josef died in 1794, when Feiss was about 40 years old, and it's even more likely that Josef would have known about his grandfather. Therefore, it's not unreasonable to think that Feiss Josel (1754) would have chosen the family surname based on a knowledge of his paternal place of origin.

Acknowledgments

Thank you to Jeff Sugarman for his help in uncovering the history of this family.

Rosenthal, Berthold. Die Familie Pfälzer = Emmerich