Christian Kastner Page 2

Death records in the parish in Thaleischweiler indicate that Christian died 27 June 1751 at the home of his brother-in-law from his first marriage, Theobald Fuchs. The extraction below is from his death record:

"Christian Kastner, a poor carpenter from Lauf by Nurnberg there born, [spouse of] Elizabetha Catharina…died here in Adam a[nd] Theobald Fuchs' house the 27th of May a[nd] was the 28th of the same [month] buried. His age 64 years, 5 months, a[nd] about 12 days."

Witnesses were Johann Theobald Fuchs as brother-in-law; Elisabetha Catharina Kastner, widow; Heinrich Kastner, son.

This record is valuable for several reasons, it is rare to have the designation of "poor" as listed in the record. All witness records in the church do not have a signature, but rather marks, again another indication that the family was quite poor and uneducated. The towns of Thaleischweiler -Fröschen have always been quite poor which makes this designation of even more interest.

The altar, the pulpit and the chandelier inside the church and a view back into the chapel of St. Anna at lower right. St. Anna dates back to the 1500's.. Imagine the Kastner's being baptized here. Click here for additional church photos

Many questions remain about this family. What possessed the family to come to Thaleischweiler? Was it because Leonhard was a journeyman carpenter and traveled with his boss? (Master carpenter) Being an apprentice meant traveling while learning. Christian was identified as a carpenter also. Did he learn from his father? Did a job bring him here? Was it a promise of land after the residents of the Palatinats started leaving for the New World? We may probably never know, but it certainly makes you wonder. Why would someone come from an area like Lauf to Thaleischweiler? How many stops were there before they arrived in Thaleischweiler? Lauf is approximately 200 miles away, which in those days was quite a distance.

And last, but not least...What happened to Johann Leonhard? Were there other siblings? Where did his parents die? And with all the male children he had, why was not one named after his father or brother?

There is a published extract that shows Christian's age at death to be 44 years, 5 months.
This is clearly an error in transcription. The record above (this came from the original parish records, not a transcription) indicates that his age is 64 years, 5 months and 12 days. Using this age, it makes the birth date about December 15, 1686. This also matches the baptismal record found in Lauf and also orginal records in Thaleischweiler.. Although in most published records it lists Laufen versus Lauf, the original record confirms Lauf by Nürnberg.