Baptism certificate - Oderen - 15.7.1723

Parish:	Oderen
Date:	July 15th 1723
Child:	Ann Mary , illegitimate child
Father:	Bartholomew MEYER, native of Zillisheim; he hasn't kept his promise of marriage and joined the army.
Mother:	Veronica SISS, native of Schweighouse
Godfather:	Bartholomew BÄCHELIN, single, son of Mark BÄCHELIN (+), burgess of Fellering.
Godmother:	Elizabeth MUNSCH, single, daughter of John Jack MUNSCH (+), native and burgess of Fellering.
Witness:	John George FUCHS, burgess and teacher of Oderen.
Priest:	MEYER

 

This baptismal certificate from the beginning of the 18th century has two particularities:

• It's written in German, whereas the Alsatian catholic parish records are normally written in Latin. Only the protestant records are written in German. What's the explanation ? This certificate has probably been composed by the teacher, witness of this baptism, and not by the priest. And we can suppose that his knowledge of Latin was too bad to write down such a certificate in this language.
  
  
• The child was baptized in Oderen, although neither his father nor his mother were native of this parish. Veronica SISS, single and pregnant, probably preferred have her baby in a village in which she would remain anonymous in order to avoid disgrace.

  For information, the village of Schweighouse, situated near Thann, was a fief of the noble family Waldner de Freundstein, who kept it until the French Revolution (see the mention in the baptism certificate).