First Generation

1. Michael ZIMMERMAN^1,2 was born in 1607 in Steffisburg, Canton of Bern, Switzerland.³ He was born in 1617 in Steffisburg, Canton of Bern, Switzerland.¹ The Zimmermann family was from Steffisburg, Canton of Bern, Switzerland
before they lived in Sulzfeld. In 1664–1666 he was a manager at Ravensburg Castle. in Ravensburg Castle Sulzfeld, Baden, Germany.^4,5 Ravensburg castle is on a hill about 1 km SE of Sulzfeld. It is
surrounded by sloping vineyards on the south and west. The castle is
partly ruined. One can still climb the tower for the view. The great
hall is now a historic, gemutlich restaurant---although a bit
prepentious since they serve only wine, no beer. When the weather is
nice, there is a great terrace outdoor restaurant where the castle wall
origionally was, with tables under trees and arbor and a view out over
the vineyards. It is one of those typically gemutlich German localities
one remembers years afterwards of a lazy, late summer afternoon.
The Goeler von Reavensburg family owened Sulzfeld and their kids were
baptised in the Sulzfeld parish church along with all the peaons. Their
records stand out in the church books because of all the fancy people
listed as witnesses. Behind the church in Sulzfeld is a monument to
Sulzfelders who served in the Franco Prussian war. I found 2-3
relatives listed thereon and took rubbings, If you family comes from
the area I would expect that you may find some of your guys listed
there. Inside the church are, as I recall, a number of interesting old
headstones and statues of von Ravensburgers that have been moved there
to get them out of the weather.
The Eoeler von Ravensburg family maintains a family archives. I don't
have the address handy but is somewhere around Mainheim. I am not sure
how accessable it is and unless one is fluent in old German records(not
just church books) it is probably not worth persuing. Of course, as
nobility, the von Ravensburg genealogy is all worked out.
I too, suspected that one of my guys worked for von Ravensburg, Johann
Bernard Kolb who came originally from Zaberfeld. His death record(10
Sep 1770) in the Sulzfeld KBs is far too elaborate and detailed to be
just that of an ordinary farmer. Other names in Sulzfeld of interest are
Sommer, Kolb, Fundis, Rueppmann, Haeffele and Krueger.
Dave Dreyer
South San Francisco

The estate is located in the commune of Sulzfeld (Kraichgau district) in the Beden wine growing region in Germany. Documents show this piece of land as having been cultivated since 1251. Ravensburg castle, from which it takes its name, is the erstwhile family seat of the barons Göler von Ravensburg, and is one of the most important medieval castles still extant in the Kraichgau area. The remaining sections of the castle were renovated in the 1950’s, and a restaurant was established. The wine estate is still owned by the barons Göler von Ravensburg. The general manager since 1995 has been Claus Burmeister, and the cellar master is Jürgen Kern. The vineyard area totals 33 hectares with holdings in the following vineyards (all of them exclusive monopole holdings): Burg Ravensburger Dicker Franz, Burg Ravensburger Husarenkappe and Burg Ravensburger Löchle,as well as additional vineyards in the communes of Sulzfeld and Kürnbach. The vineyards are planted with the following red varieties: Lemberger (20%), Pinot Noir, Pinot Meunier and Trollinger, as well as with the white varieties Riesling (30%), Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris. The best wines of the three vineyard sites are marketed as Grand Cru (Grosses Gewächs) wines. The estate wines are sold under the „Freiherr von Göler“ label. Annual production is around 260.000 bottles. The estate is a founder member of the VDP (Verband deutscher Prädikatsweingüter) association.

http://www.wein-plus.com/german_guide/Weingut%2BBurg%2BRavensburg%2BFreiherr%2Bvon%2BGoeler'sche%2BVerwaltung_282.html Michael died on 28 November 1677 in Sulzfeld, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. He patented land , He was evangelisch - lutherisch.. The six hundred and sixtieth note in a series on the Germanna Colonies

We have encountered a few names connected with the Zimmermann family in Germany that appear in the Germanna community. The name Wegman is not known well in the Germanna community and when it does occur it is often confused with Wayman. In Germany, the first born son (Johannes) of Michael Zimmermann, the immigrant from Switzerland to Germany, married Regina Wegmon or Wegmann.
Michael himself, as his second wife, married Elisabetha Albrecht. Albrecht is a common name. The only reason for perhaps taking note of the name is that Christoph von Graffenried hired Johann Justus Albrecht to recruit miners. Graffenried was a citizen of Bern, the general region of Switzerland from which Michael Zimmermann came.
The grandfather of the Virginia immigrant, Christopher, was Christian (Sr.) who married Maria Schuchter. Anna Barbara Schön, whose first husband was a Blankenbühler, married as her second husband, Johann Jacob Schluchter. Now the difference between Schucter and Schlucter is not much, just a one letter which might almost be considered redundant. It is interesting to note the physical distance between Sulzfeld (church of the Zimmermanns) and Neuenbürg (home of the Blankenbühlers). One could walk between the villages before breakfast (the actual distance is about eight miles). One thing that makes this thought worth considering is that the eldest son of the immigrant Christopher Zimmerman married Ursula Blankenbaker in Virginia. Was there a connection in Germany? Did the Zimmerman and Blankenbaker families know each in Germany?
There is another name in the Zimmermann history that appears in the Germanna community much later. That is the name Lehman (as it usually appeared in the Germanna community) and the name Lehemann in Sulzfeld. Michael Zimmermann's second wife was the widow of Hanns Lehemann. The Germanna Lehman is considered by his family to be a descendant of Swiss Anabaptists.
In Sulzfeld, there is at least one family name other than Zimmerman which appears in Virginia. That is the Kappler family, known by a variety of spellings in America but in the earliest days was most often Kabler. The Kabler and Zimmerman families were neighbors in the Mt. Pony area and both were called coopers at least once. Both came from Sulzfeld.
The eldest child in the second family of Christopher Zimmerman (immigrant to Virginia) was Johann Martin. At his baptism, one of the witnesses was Ludwig Fischer (or Lewis Fisher as we would spell it). Now the Ludwig Fischer in Germany would be too old to be the Lewis Fisher who married Anna Barbara Blankenbaker in Virginia, but were they related?

The eighteen hundred and sixty-seventh note in a series on the Germanna Colonies

I spent some time Thursday at the local LDS Family History Center looking at the film for Sulzfeld, the home of Christopher Zimmerman just prior to emigration. I was especially interested to see if any other Germanna names turned up. In the decades starting about 1670, the records are especially rich in Zimmerman records.

Not long after the end of The Thirty Years' War (1648), Michael Zimmerman moved from Steffisburg, Canton of Bern (Switzerland) to Sulzfeld where he worked on the Rabenperg estate. Today, we call it Ravensburg. This translocation was probably due to the need for workers in southwest Germany due to the great loss of life during the war.

We know that Michael was from Steffisburg because his wife Bendicta died in Sulzfeld. Michael remarried and this marriage record tells us that Michael Zimmerman, widower, from Stiffisburg married Elisabetha, the surviving widow of Hans Lehman from Stiffisburg. It is not entirely clear yet whether Elisabetha was already living in Sulzfeld or whether Michael went back to Steffisburg. The marriage was performed in Sulzfeld suggesting that the Lehmans had moved also from Steffisburg to Sulzfeld.

Three sons of Michael, Johannes, Christian, and Michael, married in Sulzfeld. They appear as parents from 1669 to 1689. Starting in 1688, One of the grandsons starts appearing in the baptismal register in 1688 and his third child, Hans Christoph, was the emigrant for America.

A few names occur in connection with the Zimmermans that should be studied. Johannes Z. married Regina Wegmann and Christian Z. married Maria Schuchter. Among the head rights used by Alexander Spotswood (see page 385 in Beyond Germanna), was Hans Jerich Wegman, Anna Maria Wegman, Maria Margaret Wegman, Maria Gotlieve Wegman. We believe these were people who came in 1717. The Schuchter name was the surname of Anna Barbara Schoen's second husband (she married first a Blankenbaker and third a Fleshman).

I am interested in Steffisburg because it was a center of Anabaptist conversions in the 1660s. Among the names there is a Her (Herr). The name Lehman is a very honorable Anabaptist name in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania (some members of this family lived briefly in the Robinson River Valley).

John Blankenbaker
http://www.germanna.com/
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~george/johnsgermnotes/germhis1.html
http://www.germanna.net/

Michael ZIMMERMAN and Benedicta were married in 1635. They were married in Switzerland. Benedicta died on 4 October 1665 in Sulzfeld, Baden-Württemberg, Germany.¹ Died shortly after moving to Sulzfeld.

Michael ZIMMERMAN and Benedicta had the following children:

+2	i.	Johannes ZIMMERMAN.
+3	ii.	Christian ZIMMERMAN.
+4	iii.	Michael ZIMMERMAN.

Elisabetha ALBRECHT (private).