Family History & News
This is a collection of photographs of several Catholic churches of our ancestors who lived in towns and villages in southern Germany. Many of the church structures are much the same as when our ancestors attended the churches, though renovations have been made. And with respect to St. John the Baptist's in Oggelsbeuren, the structure we see today replaced the vast majority of the structure existing during our ancestors' time.
St. Martin's Church, Oepfingen, Germany
The church of the Kornel and Maria Ursula (Widmann) Braunger family, as well as the Lukas and Katherine (Benz) Braunger family. Kornel Braunger, formerly of Aufhofen, married Maria Ursula Widmann in 1815 . Their son Lukas Braunger married his wife, Katherine Benz, in 1850.
St. Wendelin's Church, Volkersheim, Germany
The church of the Jakob and Maria Crescentia (Fischbach) Benz family. They married in 1822 and had 16 children. About a third their children lived beyond infancy. One who did, Katharina Benz, married Lukas Braunger in Oepfingen in 1815.
St. John the Batist's Church, Oggelsbeuren, Germany
The successive structure of the church of the Anton and Ursula (Heiter or Haeuter) Fischbach family. Anton and Ursula married in 1791. Anton, a farmer like his father Christian, was Mayor of Oggelsbeuren from 1800-1819.
St Urban's Church, Obermarchtal, Germany
The church of the Jakob and Anna Maria (Fischer) Widmann Family. Jakob, a farmer, was born in 1733 and married Anna Maria Fischer in 1775. Their youngest child Maria Ursula would marry Kornel Braunger in Oepfingen in 1815.
St. Wolfgang's Church, Emerkingen, Germany
The church of the Johannes and Katharina (Moll) Mayer family. Johannes, a farmer, was born in the first half of the 1700s. Their daughter Margaretha would move to Volkersheim. She married Johannes Benz.
Aufhofen Chapel, Aufhofen, Germany
The church of Josephus and Magdelena (Hecht) Braunger family. Being a pilgrimmage church, they may have also travel to to St. Mauritus' Church in nearby Langenschemmern for some religious activities.
St. Mauritius' Church, Langenschemmern, Germany (Today part of Schemmerhofen)
The church of the Jacob and Eleanora (Hecht) Braunger family. Jacob and Eleanora married in 1733. Josephus, their oldest child, would move to Aufhofen. Today, Langenschemmern and Aufhofen is Schemmerhofen.
To conclude, a note concerning one church - St. Vitus' Church in Moehringen, Germany.
Moehringen is located in the district of Biberach in Bad-Wuerttemberg. St. Vitus' in Moehringen is a beautiful church so I wanted to share it with you. Our ancestotrs Joseph and Elisabetha (Egger) Widmann lived in Moehringen. However, because they lived there prior to the construction of St. Vitus', I did not include a section on it above. St. Vitus' was built from 1863-65. At the time construction began, Moehringen already had an existing church called Liebfrauenkapelle (the Chapel of Our Dear Lady). It was located in a different part of Moehringen. It was in bad condition and was torn down in 1865.
Joseph and Elisabetha lived in Moehringen in the 1700s. They married around 1730 and passed away long before the construction of St. Vituis' and the razing of Liebfrauenkapelle. Their son Jakob, also a direct andestor, was born in 1733. Therefore, Liebfrauenkapelle and not St. Vitus' was one of the churchs of the Joseph and Elisabetha Widmann family. I was told that it did not have its own priest and on Saturdays there was one mass. The people usually went to the church in nearby Offingen (not to be confused with Oepfingen).
Oepfingen, Germany, the Former Village of the Emigrating Braunger Siblings
