On this day, 13 July 1719, Anna Barbara (Sturm) Lang passed away. She was my 8th great-grandmother.
Unfortunately, little is known about her life. What is known is that she was born in 1654 in Schifferstadt, a town located in the Bishopric of Speyer (modern-day Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany). Her parents’ names are unknown.
Since details about Anna Barbara’s childhood are unknown, I will provide some history about her hometown instead. The town of Schifferstadt was founded in the early Middle Ages. Schifferstadt, under the control of the Bishopric of Speyer, was first mentioned in religious documents in 614. The Bishopric of Speyer began in the late 7th Century and belonged to the Upper Rhenish Circle of the Holy Roman Empire. One of the smallest principalities of the Holy Roman Empire, the Bishopric of Speyer consisted of more than half a dozen separate enclaves totaling approximately 28 square miles on both banks of the Rhine River. In Anna Barbara (Sturm) Lang’s life, Speyer was led by two bishops: Lothar Friedrich von Metternich-Burscheid and Johann Hugo von Orsbeck.
Louis II, the first king of East Francia, recorded the town of Sciffestad in a document dated 25 May 868. Circa 977, the town was recorded as Skeferstat. In 1035, it was known as Sciferstat. The German word schiff means ship, while stadt means city. Schifferstadt’s name is attributed to the rafting on nearby Rehbach River, a tributary of the Rhine River.
During the Thirty Year’s War, fought between 23 May 1618 and 15 May 1648, the around area Schifferstadt was ravaged and torched by Swedish and Spanish invaders. Peace soon came when the Peace of Westphalia, a series of peace treaties signed between May and October 1648, ended the war between Catholics and Protestants.
That is enough background on her hometown; now back to the life of Anna Barbara Sturm. In 1690, Anna Barbara Sturm married Peter Lang. Together, the couple welcomed at least one child, a daughter named Anna Veronica Lang (my 7th great-grandmother). She was born circa 1690.
On 10 January 1713, daughter Anna Veronica Lang married Johannes (Hans) Michel Thomas, son of Anna Margaretha and Christian Thomas.
Sadly, Anna Barbara’s husband Peter Lang passed away six years later on 25 January 1719.
Then, on 13 July 1719, Anna Barbara (Sturm) Lang herself died. She was 65 years old.
