1871 Census

Deutsches_Reich_(1871-1918)-de-1.svgWith the creation of the German Empire in 1871, a census of the entire population was deemed necessary. It took place on 1 December 1871; 41.1 million individuals were registered, and the citizens of Themar — in the small state of Sachsen-Meiningen (“SMG” in the maps) — were included in the count.

Sachsen-Meiningen 1871

“The member states of the Kaiserreich had to furnish information on certain variables to the Statistisches Reichsamt, but were free to collect more information. The sole condition was that the census had to be conducted from house to house, and using household or individual sheets.

The core variables in 1871 were:
– name (Name)
– position in the household (Stellung im Haushalt)
– sex (Geschlecht)
– place of birth (Geburtsort)
– year of birth (Geburtsjahr)
– marital status (Familienstand)
– religion (Religionsbekenntnis)
– profession
– national status (Staatsangehörigkeit)
– place of residence of temporary guests (Wohnort bei nicht zum Haushalt gehörenden Personen).

Absent persons were to be named and their positions in the household were to be indicated. In most of the states, the exact date of birth was noted. In many states, physical and mental deficits were noted, and in Prussia, the literacy of persons over age 10 was recorded.”

Unfortunately, the Themar City Archives do not include a copy of the Census results but the available scholarship states that the number of Jews in Themar numbered 93 men, women, and children.

On the basis of available data — including births, deaths, and marriages as well as other indicators — we have constructed the list below; we believe that it includes the names of the Jews counted in the 1871 Census. At present, our list totals 90; should anyone reading this page know of some name which has been missed, please contact us.

What does the 1871 Census tell us about the Jewish community of Themar? First and foremost, the community had grown rapidly in the decade, its growth owing to in-migration of family units. Some families, such as that of Löb and Jette Frankenberg, were complete while others, such as Samuel and Lotte Gassenheimer would have more children during the 1870s. The community showed promise of future growth: nineteen (19) births had occurred in Themar since 1862, the year we can place the first birth in Themar, that of Hermann Walther.

The families came primarily from Marisfeld, from families that had deep roots in the area, often stretching back into the early 1700s. Most adults had been born in Marisfeld; six had been born in Walldorf, Bibra and Breach, and five elsewhere (the birthplace of nine is unknown). With one exception, Salomon Müller who was born in Bauerbach, those adults born in other centres were women such as Jette Frankenberg, born in Henrichs.

The families intended to stay in Themar; this we know from hindsight. With the exception of the Wangenheims, Sophie (née Hofmann) and Heinemann, we recognize these families as the ‘core’ families of Themar’s Jewish community, that is, who were there from the beginning of the Jewish community in the early 1860s until its end in the late 1930s/early 1940s. Children and grandchildren might move elsewhere but at least one branch of each family remained in Themar.

Sources:
Rolf Gehrmann, “German Census-Taking before 1871,” MPIDR Working Paper WP 2009-023. August 2009

Notes on the table headings:
CORE = identifies the Themar family to which the individual named belonged. There were 15 Core Families in Themar; that is, 15 families who were there from the beginning of the Jewish community in the early 1860s until its end in the late 1930s/early 1940s.
FAMILY NAME = In this column, we include the future married name of the woman in brackets.

COREFAMILYBORNGIVENDATE OF BIRTHPLACE OF BIRTHDATE OF DEATHPLACE OF DEATH
BAERBAERSamuel1827Marisfeld1883Themar
BAERBAERWaltherJette1830Marisfeld1909Themar
BAERBAERBaerKarolina1854Marisfeld1934Themar
BAERBAERBaerRickchen1856Marisfeld1920Hibu
BAERBAER (STERN)Hedwig1858Marisfeld1948Berlin
BAERBAERSelig1861Marisfeld1934Meiningen
BAERBAERHulda1863Marisfeld1918Berlin
BAERBAERAlbert1867Marisfeld1918unk
BAERBAERMax1869Marisfeld1916Themar
FRANKENBERGFRANKENBERG (MÜHLFELDER)FrankenbergAmalie1862Marisfeld1934Meiningen
FRANKENBERGFRANKENBERG (WERTHEIMER)FrankenbergEmma1855Marisfeld1912Themar
FRANKENBERGFRANKENBERGHermannJette1826Henrichs1903Themar
FRANKENBERGFRANKENBERGJonas1776Marisfeld1876Themar
FRANKENBERGFRANKENBERGLöb1816Themar1894Themar
FRANKENBERGFRANKENBERGLouis1865Marisfeld1934Themar
FRANKENBERGFRANKENBERG (KRAKAUER)Meta1866Marisfeld1955Dinslaken
FRANKENBERGFRANKENBERGNathan1853Marisfeld1920Themar
FRANKENBERGFRANKENBERGNeubergerRegine1780Mühlfeld
FRANKENBERGFRANKENBERGSamuel1859Marisfeld1936Schleusingen
FRANKENBERGFRANKENBERGSara1857Marisfeld1941Themar
FRANKENBERGFRANKENBERGNathan1853Marisfeld1920Themar
GASSENHEIMERGASSENHEIMERJBibra
GASSENHEIMERGASSENHEIMERSamuel1837Bibra1892Themar
GASSENHEIMERGASSENHEIMERSteinLotte1840Marisfeld1889Themar
GASSENHEIMERGASSENHEIMER (MARCUS)Emma1863Themar1932Halle a.d. Saale
GASSENHEIMERGASSENHEIMERSimon1863ThemarukUSA
GASSENHEIMERGASSENHEIMERBernhard1865ThemarukUSA
GASSENHEIMERGASSENHEIMERJulius1869ThemarNY
GASSENHEIMERGASSENHEIMERErnst1870Themar1942Riga Ghetto
GRÜNBAUMGRÜNBAUMNoah1841Walldorf1901Themar
GRÜNBAUMGRÜNBAUMLöser1837Walldorf1904Themar
GRÜNBAUMGRÜNBAUMBergmannJohanna1841unk1917Altenburg
GRÜNBAUMGRÜNBAUMBertha1867Walldorf1942Theresienstadt
GRÜNBAUMGRÜNBAUMSophieukWalldorfukuk
GRÜNBAUMGRÜNBAUMNoah1841Walldorf1901Themar
GRÜNBAUMGRÜNBAUMHugo1868Walldorf1942Theresienstadt
GRÜNBAUMGRÜNBAUMFriedmannMinna1844uk1872Themar
HOFMANNHOFMANNLippmann1826Marisfeld1904Themar
HOFMANNHOFMANNSachsFredericka1831Berkach1917Jena
HOFMANNHOFMANNErich1864Marisfeld
HOFMANNHOFMANNSalomon1869Marisfeld1945Auschwitz
MÜLLERMÜLLERSalomon1802Bauerbach1902Themar
MÜLLERMÜLLERFriedmannKarolineukMarisfeldukThemar
MÜLLERMÜLLERMayer1849Marisfeld1907Themar
SCHLOSS/SACHSSACHSGabriel Levi1810Marisfeld1891Themar
SCHLOSS/SACHSSACHSSchlossBabette1841Marisfeld1887Themar
SCHLOSS/SACHSSACHSOtto1837Berkach1904Bamberg
SCHLOSS/SACHSSACHSSimon Gustav1864Themar1916Nürnberg
SCHLOSS/SACHSSACHSSachsHedwig1866Themar1943Theresienstadt
SCHLOSS/SACHSSACHSBetty1871Themar1876Themar
SCHWABSCHWABAbraham1860Marisfeld1937Themar
SCHWABSCHWABNUK
SCHWABSCHWABNUK
WALTHERWALTHERAbraham1827ukThemar
WALTHERWALTHERAbraham Selig18351857
WALTHERWALTHERAlfred1871Themar
WALTHERWALTHERLandeckerBabette1839Marisfeld1894Themar
WALTHERWALTHERHermann1862Marisfeld
WALTHERWALTHER (KAHN)Hulda1860Themar1929Themar
WALTHERWALTHERJosef1866Marisfeld
WALTHERWALTHERKahnJudith1828
WALTHERWALTHERJulius1863Themar
WALTHERWALTHERJulius1867Themar
WALTHERWALTHERJacobKaroline18101859Marisfeld
WALTHERWALTHERLeopold1861Marisfeld
WALTHERWALTHERLinna1867Themar
WALTHERWALTHERSamuelLotteukSülzdorf
WALTHERWALTHERLouis1859Themar1931Themar
WALTHERWALTHERLouisa1865Themar
WALTHERWALTHERMayer Moses1836Marisfeld
WALTHERWALTHERFrankMalchen1836Walldorf
WALTHERWALTHERMoses1866Themar
WALTHERWALTHERNUK1866Themar1874Themar
WALTHERWALTHEROlga1870Themar
WALTHERWALTHERRickchen1857Marisfeld
WALTHERWALTHERSamuel Löser1829uk1885Themar
WALTHERWALTHERSelig1860Marisfeld
WALTHERWALTHERSelig Abraham1800Marisfeld
WALTHERWALTHERSelig Sigmund1860Marisfeld
WALTHERWALTHERSelma1862Marisfeld
WANGENHEIMWANGENHEIMChaim Heinemann1815Marisfeld1891Themar
WANGENHEIMWANGENHEIMHoffmannSophie1832Marisfeld1897Themar
WERTHEIMERWERTHEIMERMendel1808Marisfeld1873Themar
WERTHEIMERWERTHEIMERGuttmannSarah1826Gleicherwiesen1885Themar
WERTHEIMERWERTHEIMERAbraham1859Marisfeld1926Coburg
WERTHEIMERWERTHEIMERLouis1855Marisfeld1902Themar
WERTHEIMERWERTHEIMERJulius1864Marisfeld
WERTHEIMERWERTHEIMERMinna1862Marisfeld1947Brooklyn, NY
WERTHEIMERWERTHEIMERAlbert1866Marisfeld1938Plauen
WERTHEIMERWERTHEIMERLeopold1866Marisfeld