Silvius Found in German Records

Silvii Found in German Records

These are not proven to be the parents or relatives of our immigrant Silvius brothers. I do believe it's possible they are cousins and could also be related to our Netherland Silvii cousins.

There might be a relation to the Casper Silvius that turned up in Philadelphia whom we have determined is NOT related to our immigrant brothers. This relationship to the Philadelphia Casper could be through Georg Caspar Sylvius, son of Johann Jacob Sylvius mentioned below. See, information on Casper Silvius of Philadelphia.
We also asked the researcher to be on the look-out for the names Yeeks and Ikes with no results. These name variations pertain to the baptism sponsor of
#12 Nicholas Silvius

All comments on this page, from this point on, are of the researcher, Terry Sitz, who contacted me in 2006 regarding a possible connection of the Sylvius mentioned in the passenger list of the Queen Elizabeth to the Sylvius she was finding in the records of Budingen.

In searching the church records of Budingen, Germany, I came across the name Johann Henrich Sylvius, which I recognized as a name appearing on the list of passengers of the Queen Elizabeth, September 16, 1738. Since this surname appears to be extremely rare in Germany today, curiosity led me to explore the name further, which eventually brought me to your website.

Although I am not related to this family, my Seitz family and several other families from Budingen emigrated to America aboard the same ship, several of them settling in Northampton County, PA. Therefore, I feel quite certain that this Johann Henrich Sylvius of Budingen could be your ancestor, and would like to know if this is actually the case.

We have not found absolute proof yet that all these Budingen families are the same ones that arrived on the Queen Elizabeth but there is a considerable amount of evidence. We know from the will of Andreas Felsinger in Pennsylvania that his daughter, Dorothea Elizabeth, married Johann Henrich Seitz and that Johann's son, Andreas, was Felsinger's godson. In the Budingen records, Johann Henrich Seitz is married to Dorothea, daughter of Andreas Felsinger, and Andreas Felsinger is recorded as godfather of Johann's son, Andreas. Johann Henrich's birth is recorded in 1711 in the Budingen records and his birth year computed from the ship's passenger list is 1712. I haven't located a birth/baptism record yet for Andreas Felsinger, so I can't compare his age in the passenger list to his actual birth date. The Budingen records classified him as an "inhabitant without citizenship" indicating that he was a newcomer to Budingen.

The Laubach family claims to have proof that their ancestor (Christian Laubach on the Queen Elizabeth passenger list) came from Budingen, and a descendant of Christian Morietz (who also came aboard the Queen Elizabeth) claims to have found him in the Budingen records. Our Seitz research group became aware of these records, thanks to Fred Moritz, a descendant of Christian Morietz.

Budingen (with an umlaut over the "u") is located about 25 miles northeast of Frankfurt, in Hesse. My uncle, and also another relative, claimed that our family came from the Frankfurt area, which provides further evidence that Budingen may be the right place. German immigrants often gave the name of the nearest large town when asked their place of origin.

I have not found any evidence that the Seitz or Felsinger families (nor the Sylvius families) were in Budingen after 1736, so this adds to the evidence of a possible emigration in 1738.

Andreas Felsinger settled in Lower Saucon Township in what is now Northampton County, PA. He attended church at Tohickon Union and his name is found in the records there, as well as a Henry Sylvius. I don't know where Johann Henrich Seitz originally settled, but he was living in North Carolina when Felsinger wrote his will in 1767.

Seitz Researcher, Terry Sitz
Passenger list for the Queen Elizabeth.

Budingen, Germany

17th century engraving

This is a photo of the old part of the city of Budingen. Note that
the image is reversed compared to the engraving, with the
castle (schloss) on the left side of the photo. Marienkirche (the church) is in the
center.

"Jerusalem Gate." It was constructed about the year 1500 when the city wall was extended to enclose the newer buildings. Budingen is one of the few medieval walled cities still intact in Germany.

Old German Script

Budingen was a favorite gathering place for emigrants to Russia in 1766, with the names of more than 300 emigrants to the Volga region recorded in the castle archive there [but as of yet the "castle" has not released the information].
The LDS has 14 rolls of microfilm for Budingen and the surrounding villages, most of which are now municipalities of Budingen. I've only ordered four rolls, but these seem to cover about everything for the time period of interest. Records before 1631 were, unfortunately, destroyed in the 30-Years War.
The original name for the church is Marienkirche (Mary's Church) and it's still known by that name today, but is called "Evangelische Kirche B�dingen" in the LDS records. The church was originally Roman Catholic but became Lutheran after 1543 and Calvinist in 1601.

The microfilmed records for this church are listed through the FHC web page.

Most of the information for the time period that we're interested in is on rolls 1197020, 1197023, 1618486, and 1618489, plus film for Nidda and another small town of _____.
Nidda's records are nearly 50 years older than those of Marienkirche. This film includes several of the smaller towns, I suppose those that did not have churches of their own at the time. Many of the people who appear in the records are from the town of Calbach, including the earliest Seitz that I found.

Terry did not find the particular Seitz ancestor nor did she run across the Sylvius name in these records.

Johann Jacob Sylvius

1722--Marriage of Jacob Sylvius, 12 November 1722, to Gertraut ____ (I'm not sure what this surname is). His wife is from Wolferborn, a small village near Budingen. Jacob is recorded in this record as the son of Caspar Sylvius. No. 159
See 1697 below for Jacob's baptism.

Children of Johann Jacob

1723--28 January 1723, Baptism Georg Caspar Sylvius, p. 314, son of Jacob and Gertraut.

pertinent portion of the page

More of the page

1725--11 November 1725, Baptism of Johann Georg, child of Johann Jacob Sylvius and Anna Gertraut.

1728--9 May 1728, Baptism of Johannes(?) Henrich, son of Johann Jacob and Gertraut.
I question the name "Johannes Henrich" because it was not common practice to name a child Johannes if he also had a middle name.

1730--22 October 1730, Baptism of Anna Catharina daughter of Johann Jacob and Gertraut.

1733--30 August 1733, Baptism of Johanna Elisabeth Sylvius, p. 420, daughter of Johann Jacob and Gertraut.

1736--June 1736, Baptism of Johanna Magdalena daughter of Jacob and Gertraut (page 433).
Jacob's wife was recorded as Gertraut, which was a fairly common name for women in Budingen, it seems. In the area where his occupation would usually be recorded, the word "hospital" appears, which can mean either what it does today or what we would call an "old folks' home." I don't know what the previous word means, so I don't know exactly what he did in the hospital. The godmother of Johanna Magdalena appears to be Magdalena, daughter of Johann Henrich Z_?_.
Recorded as citizen, indicating that he had been living in the area for a while.

Johann Henrich Sylvius
brother of Johann Jacob

1727--1 April Marriage of Johann Henrich, 15 May 1727. He was married to Anna Catharina Schr�eder__ (with an illegible suffix on the last name), daughter of Nicolai Schrieder__. p. 184
What is especially interesting is that he is recorded as the son of Caspar S___. This implies a surname change from father to son, although Caspar's name is spelled Sylvius in the baptism records of his children.
The baptism records of his children show his occupation as hospital "hoffman" -- possibly a variant of "hofmann," which can mean "administrator."

Children of Johann Henrich

1728--Baptism of Wilhelm Otto, son of Johann Henrich Sylvius.
Since this record and Anna Catharina's record, was a little easier to read, I could tell that Johann Henrich's wife was named Anna Catharina. Johann Henrich Sylvius' occupation was "schuhmacher" (shoemaker).
Notice also that both records [Wilhelm Otto's and Jacob's child, Anna Catharina (doesn't show on image)] have the unusual cross symbol. These marks also appear on the baptism records of Johann Henrich Seitz's children. Naturally, this led me to look for other records with the mark, and the only other records that I found (before the FHC closed that day) were the baptisms of two children of Johann Casper Schreiber, whose name also happens to appear on the Queen Elizabeth passenger list. Coincidence?
Is it a variation of the "line extinct" symbol--could it mean that the line is only extinct in Germany, but not necessarily elsewhere? Maybe it could mean that the entire family emigrated?
The godfather of Johann Henrich Sylvius' son, Wilhelm Otto, was also a shoemaker, as was the father of Johann Henrich Seitz [researcher Terry Sitz's family], so they may have all worked together.

1731--11 April 1731, Baptism of Catharina Elisabeth.
This record shows the same unusual cross.
Johann Henrich Sylvius' occupation was "schuhmacher" (shoemaker).

1734--January 1734, Johann Conrad, son of Johann Henrich Sylvius', baptized (page 413). Johann Henrich's wife is recorded as Catharina.
The baptism record for Johann Conrad is much more difficult to read but, as one might expect, the godfather was Johann Conrad __?__. (children were often named after their godparents). This record contains the same unusual cross.
Father, Johann Henrich, recorded as citizen, indicating that he had been living in the area for a while. I can't make out Johann's occupation here.
I believe this is the Conrad Sylvius that turned up in Philadelphia.

Children of Caspar Sylvius/Sylo� and Susanna Maria
parents of Johann Jacob and Johann Heinrich

1693--Anna Dorothea Sylvius, p. 44, child of Caspar and Susanna Maria

1697--Johann Jacob Silvius, p. 72, child of Caspar and Susanna Maria. Shows the unusual cross or line extinct symbol.

1700--Paulus Sylvius, p. 96, child of Caspar and Susanna Maria.

1703--Sylvius, p. 131. The pastor changed his format slightly, so I'm not sure of the name of the child, but I think it is Johann Balthasar.

1706--A. Sabina Sylvius, p. 167, daughter of Caspar and Susanna Maria.

What was very strange was the apparent absence of a baptism record for Johann Henrich Sylvius.

1721--Marriage of Dorothea Silvius, daughter of Caspar "Sylvii."

Terry Sitz found more Sylvius baptisms between 1631-1733.

	These are not proven to be the parents or relatives of our immigrant Silvius brothers. I do believe it's possible they are cousins and could also be related to our Netherland Silvii cousins.

	There might be a relation to the Casper Silvius that turned up in Philadelphia whom we have determined is NOT related to our immigrant brothers. This relationship to the Philadelphia Casper could be through Georg Caspar Sylvius, son of Johann Jacob Sylvius mentioned below. See, information on Casper Silvius of Philadelphia. We also asked the researcher to be on the look-out for the names Yeeks and Ikes with no results. These name variations pertain to the baptism sponsor of #12 Nicholas Silvius

Children of Johann Jacob
	1723--28 January 1723, Baptism Georg Caspar Sylvius, p. 314, son of Jacob and Gertraut.
pertinent portion of the page More of the page	1725--11 November 1725, Baptism of Johann Georg, child of Johann Jacob Sylvius and Anna Gertraut.
	1728--9 May 1728, Baptism of Johannes(?) Henrich, son of Johann Jacob and Gertraut. I question the name "Johannes Henrich" because it was not common practice to name a child Johannes if he also had a middle name.
	1730--22 October 1730, Baptism of Anna Catharina daughter of Johann Jacob and Gertraut.
	1733--30 August 1733, Baptism of Johanna Elisabeth Sylvius, p. 420, daughter of Johann Jacob and Gertraut.
	1736--June 1736, Baptism of Johanna Magdalena daughter of Jacob and Gertraut (page 433). Jacob's wife was recorded as Gertraut, which was a fairly common name for women in Budingen, it seems. In the area where his occupation would usually be recorded, the word "hospital" appears, which can mean either what it does today or what we would call an "old folks' home." I don't know what the previous word means, so I don't know exactly what he did in the hospital. The godmother of Johanna Magdalena appears to be Magdalena, daughter of Johann Henrich Z_?_. Recorded as citizen, indicating that he had been living in the area for a while.

Children of Johann Henrich
	1728--Baptism of Wilhelm Otto, son of Johann Henrich Sylvius. Since this record and Anna Catharina's record, was a little easier to read, I could tell that Johann Henrich's wife was named Anna Catharina. Johann Henrich Sylvius' occupation was "schuhmacher" (shoemaker). Notice also that both records [Wilhelm Otto's and Jacob's child, Anna Catharina (doesn't show on image)] have the unusual cross symbol. These marks also appear on the baptism records of Johann Henrich Seitz's children. Naturally, this led me to look for other records with the mark, and the only other records that I found (before the FHC closed that day) were the baptisms of two children of Johann Casper Schreiber, whose name also happens to appear on the Queen Elizabeth passenger list. Coincidence? Is it a variation of the "line extinct" symbol--could it mean that the line is only extinct in Germany, but not necessarily elsewhere? Maybe it could mean that the entire family emigrated? The godfather of Johann Henrich Sylvius' son, Wilhelm Otto, was also a shoemaker, as was the father of Johann Henrich Seitz [researcher Terry Sitz's family], so they may have all worked together.
	1731--11 April 1731, Baptism of Catharina Elisabeth. This record shows the same unusual cross. Johann Henrich Sylvius' occupation was "schuhmacher" (shoemaker).
	1734--January 1734, Johann Conrad, son of Johann Henrich Sylvius', baptized (page 413). Johann Henrich's wife is recorded as Catharina. The baptism record for Johann Conrad is much more difficult to read but, as one might expect, the godfather was Johann Conrad __?__. (children were often named after their godparents). This record contains the same unusual cross. Father, Johann Henrich, recorded as citizen, indicating that he had been living in the area for a while. I can't make out Johann's occupation here. I believe this is the Conrad Sylvius that turned up in Philadelphia.