Life was Fragile in 18th Century Tann

 Life in Hessen in the 18th century was hard for the common people. The healthcare that we take for granted was unknown and people did not understand the effect of unsanitary conditions on their health. As I was transcribing the death records from Tann, the circumstances of one individual seemed to epitomize the difficulties faced by every family in Tann. This is her story:

Anna Christina Vockerod was born in Tann and baptized in the Lutheran Church on 21 January 1703.

When Anna Christina was 23 years of age, she was married to Henrich Bold, who was 7 years her senior. 

Marriage record of Henrich Bold and Anna Christina Vockerod

In due course, they had two sons born to them: Johannes, born on 29 April 1727 and died 6 days later; and Johann Andreas, born on 5 April 1728 and died 27 days later. Her husband, Henrich Bold, died later that same year, on 15 October 1728, at age 32, leaving Anna Christina bereft — a widow at age 25 after just 2 years of marriage.

Two years later, on 10 January 1731, Anna Christina married Johann George Knebel, who was just 7 days her senior. Their births are recorded consecutively. on this page.

Birth records of Johann George Knebel and Anna Christina Vockerod

Marriage Record of Johann Georg Knebel and Anna Christina, widow of Henrich Bold

Together, she and George also had 2 children, Anna Martha, born 26 October 1731 and Johann Tobias, born 18 July 1734.

[Sidebar: Her daughter from this second marriage, Anna Martha Knebell, married Johann David Hoßfeld and had 3 children. One son, Johann Tobias Hoßfeld, married my 4th great-aunt, Anna Dorothea Rödiger (daughter of my 4th great-grandparents, Johann Adam Rödiger and Barbara Elisabetha Bettenhausen). So, this is how I became aware of Anna Christina Vockerod’s story.]

But, Anna Christina Knebell and her second family suffered another series of deaths that typifies the difficult living conditions of 18th century Hessen: On 30 December 1760, Anna Christina died at age 57.

Death Record of Anna Christina Bold-Knebel, neé Vockerod

Three weeks later, on 20 January 1761, her second husband, Johann George Knebell died.

Death record of Johann George Knebel (aka Knöbel)

Four days after that, on 24 January, their son, Johann Tobias died, age 26.

Death record of Johann Tobias Knebel (aka Knöbel)

Three weeks after her brother’s death, on 17 February, Anna Martha, age 29, was also struck down, leaving her husband with two children, ages 4 years old, and 11 months old.

Death record of Anna Martha Hoßfeld, neé Knebel

To put all of this into perspective, Anna Christina lost her first husband and both of their children within 2 years and 4 months of their marriage. Her second husband, and their two children all died less than a month and a half after her own death. And within that 45 day period, 27 other residents of the tiny villages of Tann and Rohrbach also died.

In the church records, there is no mention of the nature of their deaths, nor is there any expression of surprise at the closeness of the times of their deaths to one another. Death was a familiar face in Tann, often the result of disease which could run rampant through a family or even through a village.

As the life of Anna Christina Vockerod illustrates, our ancestors in Hessen often fought a losing battle when it came to raising families. Death by disease ate away at every family. Hopefully, this peek into one woman’s family has given you an idea of the circumstances faced by our 18th century ancestors.

--Stephen