Wilhelm's Boys- Our 7th Generation

      As noted earlier, Wilhelm Schuttenhelm- the progenitor of our Aach branch- relocated to the small village of Aach, which is a picturesque town which sets near the Swiss border and Lake Constance, in southwest Germany.

Aach, Germany

      Wilhelm farmed there and he had three sons: Michael, who was born around 1553 and died on March 10, 1636, probably in Untermusbach, where he earned a living as a Bauer (farmer) and a Muller (miller) and also served on the Town Council; HannB, who was born circa 1560 and died sometime before 1637. During his lifetime, HannB must have been well respected because he served as Mayor in Gruntal for years; and Wilhelm (born c. 1565-died aft. 1595) who was both a Judge and a member of the Council in Untermusbach, Lacking details about their lives- other than the fact that Michael married a woman with the surname of "Krieger" and HannB married a woman named Anna Maria- it is hard to know how Wilhelm's sons fared in Aach. On the one hand, it is clear that they were well respected in their communities and that they they carried on the family's tradition of being part of the growing Bourgeosie at that time in Europe- a social class that included merchants, master craftsmen, and mayors. On the other hand...my 9th great-grandfather, Michael, and at least one of his brothers lived through, and may have died from the devastating effects of the Thirty Years War, which raged throughout Germany from 1618-1648. The was began as a feud between the Protestant Union and the Catholic League, but it mushroomed quickly into an international conflict. Sweden got involved on behalf of the Protestants and France weighed in to support the Catholics. Other countries were involved too, and for decades, warring armies marched across Germany, plundering, burning property, dislocating citizens, devastating sources of livelihoods, and leaving a trail of death and disease in their wake. Indeed, the 30 Years War is one of the deadliest "religious" wars on record and when the smoke cleared... Wurttemberg had lost aa much as 3/4 of its population and 8,000,000 people had died. 

      Finally, for those interested in such things, it is interesting to note that Pope Gregory XIII introduced the Gregorian Calendar in 1582. This calendar replaced the Julian calendar which has been in effect for as long as anyone could remember and it also established January 1 as the beginning of a new year. Protestants rejected Gregory's calendar and would not implement it for more than a century, but Catholics implemented it immediately. Thus, to paraphrase Jean Wilson  (pg. 37), "after going to be on October 4, 1582, they woke on October 14, which (for them) was the following morning!"