Village of My Berthold & Ullrich Ancestors

Ceramic name plaque on the Berthold house.


     All the houses in Oberkalbach have a name.  I have yet to discover the true origin of this custom.  It seems to stem far back into history when surnames were not yet in use.  With some imagination one could decide that the house name had something to do with a characteristic of the original occupant or his occupation.

     My mother lived in the Fansterhanse house. It is said that the original owner may have been a window (Fenster but spoken as Fanster in dialect) maker whose given name was Hans.  To lend credence to this idea, it is known that when my grandmother prepared the soil in her household vegetable garden behind the house, she found many small pieces of glass.

     Other examples of house names in this village are:  Klaneschclose, possibly from the fact that the occupant was klein (small), which might be spoken as klanesch in the dialect of the area, and named Clos (short for Nicolaus). Thus, Little Nicolaus. Mellichbaeuersch may have signified Milch (milk), spoken as Mellich in dialect, and Bauer (farmer), spoken as Bauersch in dialect.  Thus, Milkfarmer.

     This is how it works:  My mother's name was Katharina Berthold and she lived in the Fansterhanse house.  She was referred to as Fansterhanse Katharina.  Everyone knew that a Berthold family lived in the Fansterhanse house.  Since there was not a great variety of  names used in this village, there were many people with the same names but the distinguishing feature was the house name. There might have been more than one Berthold girl with the name Katharina in the village, but there was only one Fansterhanse Katharina.  Her mother, Eva Ullrich, had been born and raised in the Lense house and thus was known as Lense Eva, even after she married Johannes Berthold and lived in the Fansterhanse house. In that way, people could identify from which family she stemmed.

      When I visited Oberkalbach in June 1999, oval ceramic house name plaques were

displayed  with pride on most of the houses. Even today, villagers are referred to with

the use of the house name, even though in the church and civil records their official

names are recorded.    

     The following is a list of house names and the family names of the occupants in the late 1900's. This list was created by my cousin Hans Juergen Berthold who still lives

in Oberkalbach.


Ackerts = Loeffert

Allerhanse =Jost

Angerbuergesch=- Loeffert/Schaefer

Backesch = Dorn

Backeschwilli = Ommert

Baehme = Muth

Baehmjes = Boehm

Baltesch = Rueffer/Dorn

Baltesche = Jost

Balzer = Foeller

Balteschedora = Jost

Bawels = Lamp

Beieresch = Sauer

Biene = Heil

Bortels = Ommert/Berthold

Buchstowe = Rueffer

Buernruefferesch = Rueffer/Dorn

Buettnersch = Boehm

Cloesjes = Schmidt/Lang

Close = Voegler

Danjels = Mueller

Dornahnse = Ommert

Dornhengesche = Dorn/Voegler

Dornschneiresch = Faust/Hornung

Drewesch = Schmidt

Fansterhanse = Berthold

Fanstermaechersch = Schaefer/Dorn

Fauste =Jost/Richter

Flaschmitz = Mueller

Flurschuetze = Jost/Mueller

Foellerhanse = Ommert

Fretzperesch = Ullrich/Jost

Fuersterlense = Heimel/Mueller

Gehammperesch = Schaefer

Geisbergerhunungs = Hornung/Jost

Geisbortels = Lins

Goetzehanse = Heimel

Grotze = Mueller

Growegehannjes = Ullrich

Groweschusteresch = Kraushaar

Haeusjes = Jost

Hamels = Heimel/Sauer

Heilschusteresch = Heil

Heinesch = Schaefer

Heineschclos = Schaefer

Heinzbahlse = Heimel

Heinze = Schmidt

Heinzjuerje = Hohmann/Schmidt

Herwets = Herbert/Muth

Hoehls = Foeller

Holl = Dorn

Hunungs = Hornung

Ickelesch = Jost/Ommert

Icklesch = Blum

Janne = Lang

Jordans = Schomann/Ommert


Joste = Jost

Juergs = Baus

Juerjels = Berthold/Frohwerk

Kare = Heil

Klanesch = Foeller

Klaneschclose = Glock, Berthold, Ullrich

Klaneschneiresch = Heil/Roerig

Klanheinzjes = Glock/Dorn

Kluehs = Klueh/Blum

Kockclose = Kraushaar

Konrodschneier = Jost/Schaefer

Krasse = Jaeger

Krause = Schomann/Dorn

Kraushaare = Kraushaar/Roerig

Kraushaarsch = Rueffer/Heimel

Krugs = Rueffer

Kuertjes = Heil/Hach

Laffelhanse = Lamp

Lamphanse = Mueller

Lense = Ullrich/Dorn

Lohmuehle = Mueller/Joerges

Lubis = Rueffer

Luebislies = Voegler

Mannse = Frischkorn/Manns

Martahannes = Kraushaar

Mechelschreineresch = Dorn

Mellichbauersch = Jost/Berthold

Melchjes = Blum

Moelljost = Jost

Neuhanse = Breitenbach

Nickels = Mueller

Nickelschneiresch = Mueller

Ochse = Ochs/Ommert/Jaeger

Oewerbuergesch = Jost/Malkmus

Oewerfretzperesch = Ullrich

Oewerhamels = Heimel

Richtesch = Voegler/Lamp

Ruppelhanse = Mueller

Saueresch = Sauer

Schuljuerje = Hommel/Jost

Schmitz = Breitenbach

Schmitzullesch = Berkel/Kolepp

Schneiresche = Jost/Schmidt

Schoeffesch = Ickler

Scholze = Jost/Kirchner/Hornung

Schustesch = Jost

Schwetesch = Mueller

Stampels = Ullrich

Troegesch = Heil

Ulljes = Hornung/Kolepp


Wanesch = Malkmus

Weichhans = Gaetner/Rueffer

Weisbeneresch = Mueller

Wethanse = Jost/Dorn

Zimmermanns = Jost/Schomann

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