The Great Plague of 1635

During the medieval pandemic, the Black Death, of the 14th century, it is estimated than the plague  wiped out more than a third of the entire European population. The pestilence returned during a second pandemic in the 17th century, which became known as the Great Plague. Scientists now believe that it was the same bacteria, y. pestis, which caused both plagues but for some reason lay dormant for 300 years. 1635 was the year of the plague in Groß-Bieberau Germany.  

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Groß-Bieberau had been settled as a small village in the Odenwald since the 1400's. In 1635 came the Great Plague,  the year of great dying. In normal times an average of eight funerals took place in the village yearly. In January of 1635 22 people died, in the first half of February 22, in the second half 45. In just two months a total of 89 according to the church records. Pastor Hubers, with a shaking hand, wrote on the 7th of March that his wife Barbara was selfless and gentle. She had died.  There followed an empty page and later a note that Pastor Hubers had himself been buried at the church on March 17th. Now there was no one to enter the names of the dying into the church records and no one to say last prayers for the many dead. The dying continued. There were mass graves into which the bodies were thrown, sometimes up to 15 in a hole. without a sound or ceremony. Because of the great fear of the disease soon no one dared to go to the cemetery so the mass graves moved into the fields surrounding the town. Whoever and how many had died couldn't be counted as there was no one to keep track. Only after it was all over did they see who was still alive and draw the conclusions from their experiences as to the great mass of the dead.

mass grave; men women & children, victims of the Great Plague

The following families of Bieberau were now extinct. (the date following is the year that family settled in the area)*

Arnold 1540

Beiel 1601

Boßmann 1481

Eck 1527

Eigelmann 1481

Eisenhauer 1631

Hellermann 1620

Kepler 1481

Köller 1618

Lenhart 1608

Mangerbach 1587

Maurer 1617

Mögel 1481

Nörchin 1523

Orth 1603

Schlosser 1580

Schuchmann 1481

Seuffert 1580

Speht 1608

Springauf 1604

Wagner 1556

Weisheit 1581

Weiß 1481

Wembacher 1481

 Zapf 1590

There were 48 left in the town; 6 couples, 6 widowers, 5 widows, 12 youths and boys and 13 girls, together 48 persons only survived the plague in Groß-Bieberau. Of these 48 survivors, 16 died soon after, so that 32 remained alive. Of them, 20 have been proven missing, perhaps moved away. Only the remaining 12 had descendants here. These twelve became the founders of the new Bieberau, eight of them descended from all the old Bieberau clans, through which their blood is inherited to us today. 

#9 was Peter Daab - born 1616 as son of Philipp and Margarete Nörchin, grandson of Elsa Mögel and Margarete Kombacher. According to this, the oldest Bieberaur inheritance, which he extended to his numerous descendants. He married in 1648

#11 was Maria Specht - born 1616 was the only survivor and heiress of the upper mill. Her father Merten came from Waldmichelbach and was the son of Wolf Specht and Anna Müller from Weiher. He had married into the upper mill in 1608 and died in Feb 1635 of plague. Only his daughter Maria remained alive from his family. In 1640, with Hartmann Storck, she became the ancestress of an immense progeny. Since it is not in Minck's list of survivors, it is particularly important to point out. 

#12 was Anna Funk - born 1619, daughter of Merten Funk and Eva Nörchin, Her great grandparents were Peter Funk, a grandson of the school of 1521, and Margreth, a daughter of the priest M. Tobias Wagner, who came here in 1556. So the best inheritance, Anna alone lived from her family. She married Hach in 1642.*

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had these three not been of the 48 who survived the Great Plague in Groß-Bieberau, my husband and children would not be here today.

PETER DAAB (22 Sep 1616 - 3 Sep 1666) was my husband's 10th great grandfather

MARIA SPECHT STORCK (1616 - 14 Mar 1657) was my husband's 10th great grandmother

ANNA FUNK HACH (21 Nov 1619 - 1 Aug 1693) was my husband's 9th great grandmother

*source: "Groß-Bieberau Heimat- und Sippenbuch"  by Dr. Adam Heldmann and Dr. Hans H. Weber 

1962. pg. 55-57 Written in German,  translated  with the help of Google Translate 
and paraphrased for easier English comprehension*