German castle in the Rhineland

About two hundred and fifty years passed in the life of the Moschel family of Mimbach. History records if a person traveled from 16th century Germany to 1800 there would have been noticeable change in German politics but the social and economic order would have been recognizable. The people still traveled along bad roads, both on foot and on horses. The houses were heated with wood and lit by candle. The soil was fertilized by animal wastes and the housing was built by the same methods. Village life was much the same, meaning going with the rhythm dictated by the church bells and flowing with the seasons of nature. Imperial states had fallen, but people continued to earn their bread in much the same fashion as they did in the times of Luther.

Remembering our Mimbach family, Hans Moschel the younger did grow up to be a magistrate in Mimbach and fathered a son named Daniel born December 28, 1651, who died December 20, 1719, in Mimbach. This Daniel also fathered a son named Daniel born February 26, 1690, who died July 19, 1742, in Mimbach.

The next generation of Moschels made a move, not a big one, but perhaps for the times a major one. The Moschels moved from Mimbach to Webenheim, about a mile away. The first Moschel in Webenheim was Nickel who was born October 18, 1711, in Mimbach and died February 29, 1782, in Webenheim. Nickel was a master shoemaker and he moved from Mimbach to Webenheim in 1738 most likely so he could practice his trade of shoemaker as a master. It is easy to speculate he was trained in Mimbach as an apprentice and moved away from his own master to have a shop of his own. For whatever reason, this branch of the Moschels began to call Webenheim their home.

Nickel's son was Peter, born December 14, 1738, (coinciding with the year of his father's move to Webenheim). Peter died January 25, 1794, in Webenheim. Peter had a son named Georg born July 2, 1771, who died after 1816. Georg continued his residence in Webenheim.

And finally we come down to our current story. Georg had a son named Christian who was born on October 5, 1800, and it is with this man we continue our narrative of the Moschels. To summarize the Moschels as we know them:

Hans (born circa 1530 in Mimbach) who was our first storyteller
Daniel (born circa 1565 in Mimbach)
Hans (born circa 1605 in Mimbach)
Daniel (born December 28, 1651 in Mimbach)
Daniel (born February 26, 1690 in Mimbach)
Nickel (born October 18, 1711 in Mimbach and moved to Webenheim)
Peter (born December 14, 1738 in Webenheim)
Georg (born July 2, 1771 in Webenheim)
Christian (born October 5, 1800 in Webenheim)