Martin Luther 1483-1546

You are about to begin the story of a German family. The story of the Moschel family, at least as we know it, begins in the 16th century in Mimbach, a small town near the French border in the Rhineland area of Germany and one mile from the small village of Webenheim. The story consists of 10 scenes, each concerned with a particular era in the 470 year history of the Moschels. The time will span from Luther's Reformation in the 1520's to mid-19th century Germany to emigration to America in the 1860's to World Wars I and II to the reconnection of the Moschel family in Germany with their current descendants in America in 1995.

The first scene is about Hans Moschel (born circa 1530), his son Daniel, and his grandson, also named Hans.

Scene One

On this day in 1605 shortly after Hans the younger was born, his grandfather was preoccupied with deciding upon a suitable baptism gift for his grandson. This was an important concern for the old man, who wanted to create a gift which would convey his feelings about the importance of his grandson and provide a suitable memory of him throughout the boy's life.

Hans, the grandfather, was born about 1530 which places him directly in the time of Luther's Reformation and probably among the first baptized in the Mimbach Reform Church. Hans died after 1609. We can surmise that the status of the Moschel family in the 16th and 17th centuries was considerable in their small community. Hans the Elder in all probability was well educated, in the sense of the Middle Ages.

Hans the Elder had a son named Daniel who was born about 1565 and lived in Mimbach and died there before 1630. Daniel was a bellringer at the Mimbach Church, which was an important position in the community. Daniel was the father of Hans the younger.

The younger Hans died February 6, 1686, in Mimbach. He was magistrate of Mimbach from 1665-1682. In the late Middle Ages, a magistrate was a master or head who had great literary or scientific distinction and was a civil officer empowered to administer and enforce the law. Mimbach had one mayor and seven magistrates at the time Hans was magistrate.

On this day in 1605 Hans the Elder had no way of knowing just how important his infant grandson and namesake was destined to become. Nevertheless, even if he lacked a specific vision, he had a general expectations and strong hopes about his grandson's eventual accomplishments. Thus, the baptismal gift had to be consistent with the importance of his grandson and he had to admit to himself, something with high probability of remaining in the boy's possession.

The time was short, because the baptism was the following day, and little of it could be wasted considering unsuitable alternatives. Being reasonably direct in his style and guided by the value he placed on language, Hans the Elder quickly narrowed the baptismal gift to a written document. It was clear he must produce a document both personally and intellectually significant that would meet the requirements of the coming event, and remain a cherished possession. That was the easy part. The difficult task was to decide on what kind of document and write it so it would meet his high expectations (and those of other family members, he realized).

And so began the long day of The Baptismal Gift, an attempt to connect one generation to another in a few choice thoughts and words. As you would expect if you knew Hans the Elder, the mechanical aspects of the project were very well organized.