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Martin and Katharina Hinterhauser
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Martin
and Katharina HinterhauserMartin Hinterhauser was born 9 February 17511 to Johann Martin and Anna Maria (Scheuer) Hinterhauser in the tiny village of Kartung-Sinzheim in the Northern Black Forest of Germany. Martin married Franziska Binder 13 August 1785 in Offenburg, Germany1. Franziska was a widow and brought one child into the marriage, Emmerentia Huber. Apparently Martin and Franziska had a son of their own sometime between the time they met and May of 1786. The records show that when they traveled through Vienna in May of 1786 they had 1 son and 1 daughter. They probably made their way to city of Ulm, about 200 miles away, where they would buy passage on a flat bottom barge, called an Ulmer Schachtel. Ulm was one of the major ports where emigrants began their long journey down the Danube to Vienna and beyond.
More than likely, Franziska died not long after they arrived to their new land, the village of Filipowa, because Martin remarried. Katharina Morlock became Martin's second wife on 24 April 1787 in this village of the Batschka region of Hungary in the Hapsburg's Austrian Empire1.
Probably in 1788, Martin and Katharina moved to the village of Brestowatz, still located in the Batschka1, 2. This is where all of their children were born and where Martin died at the young age of 42 on 27 September 1793. More than likely, Martin was using his skills as a carpenter to supplement his farming in order to keep his family fed and clothed during the moves1.
Katharina Morlock was born 22 June 17683 to Josef and Magdalena (Schwahl) Morlock in the village of Schellbronn, Germany. (Schellbronn isn't found as a village at this time, but it is a section of the town of Neuhausen which is located close to Sinzheim.) Katharina was the eldest of 10 children, all born in Schellbronn, except the youngest, Barbara, who was born in Filipowa. Katharina immigrated with her parents about 1787 to Filipowa.
Surname also called Family Name, or Last Name, name added to a “given” name, in many cases inherited and held in common by members of a family. Originally, many surnames identified a person by his connection with another person, usually his father (Johnson, MacDonald); others gave his residence (Orleans, York, Atwood [i.e., living at the woods]) or occupation (Weaver, Hooper, Taylor). A surname could also be descriptive of a person's appearance (Little, Red) or his exploits (Armstrong).4
Hinterhauser - When this name is broken down and translated it means "behind the house." Hinter means behind or after and Haus means house. It could also be translated as "back building (accessible through a courtyard).5
Morlock - I have found nothing concrete about the origin of this surname. The only thing that I have found is that it may have meant "Black Curly Hair."
German
Schwarzwald, mountain region, Baden-Württemberg Land (state),
southwestern Germany, source of the Danube and Neckar rivers. It occupies an
area of 2,320 sq mi (6,009 sq km) and extends toward the northeast for about 100
mi (160 km) from Säckingen on the Upper Rhine River (at the Swiss border) to
Durlach (east of Karlsruhe). Its width varies from 10 to 25 mi. Structurally and
topographically it forms the counterpart of the Vosges, which lies west of the
Rhine Valley. The Black Forest drops abruptly to the Rhine plain but
slopes more gently toward the Neckar and Nagold valleys to the east.
It is mainly a granite highland with rounded summits, although its northern part comprises forested sandstone; and it is bordered to the south by a narrow band of lower and more fertile limestone. Divided into two parts by the deep Kinzig Valley, its highest summits—Feldberg (4,897 ft [1,493 m]), Herzogenhorn, and Blössling—are to the south. Its northern half has an average height of 2,000 ft.
The raw climate of the higher districts supports only hardy grains, but the valleys are mild with good pastureland. Oak and beech woods clothe the lower slopes, while the extensive fir forests, which gave the range its name, climb to 4,000 ft. Lumbering, woodworking, and the manufacture of watches, cuckoo clocks, and mechanical toys are the principal industries. Tourism and winter sports are also prominent, and there are many mineral springs and watering places, such as Baden-Baden (q.v.) and Wildbad. Principal cities are Freiburg im Breisgau, Offenburg (qq.v.), Rastatt, and Lahr.4
We will never know the true reason why our ancestor's decided to pick up all their belongings and leave their homes and families to make a new life in a far off land. More than likely, their primary reason was to better their economic position for their family; to own a little piece of land. In some areas the custom and laws were that the elder son would inherit the family lands, while in other regions the youngest son would inherit. The other sons would have to find work as farm hands or maybe learn a new trade, seldom was there more land for new families to buy. Another factor could have been the disparity in the rigid social order of the day between the peasants and the nobles.
The offer from the Hapsburg Empire was very appealing to those without many choices. They were offered free land for agriculture, livsestock and places for homes with no taxes for several years. These are some of the basic offers, which differed slightly in each region. So, with this offered to them, our ancestors decided that life could be much better in a new land. They packed up their things, sold what they couldn't take, said their good byes, and were off down the Danube to Hungary.
Josef born 17 January 1789 in Brestowatz.1
Magdalena born 11 July 1791 and died 8 November 1791 in Brestowatz.1
Magdalena born 7 September 1792 in Brestowatz. Married Andreas Fickert.1
