GERSFELD (גרספלד)


a town on the Fulda river about 20 km southeast of the city of Fulda in Landkreis Fulda, Hesse, Germany



Time Period Region
Before 1806 Holy Roman Empire Fulda Abbey
(Before 1802)
Principality of Nassau-Orange-Fulda
(1803-1806)
1806-1813 French Empire (Grand Duchy of Frankfurt
(1810-1813))
1813-1815 Allied troops of Sixth Coalition
1815-1866 Kingdom of Bavaria
1866-1871 Kingdom of Prussia
After 1871 Germany
Year Total Population Jewish Population
1730
4 families
1762
6 families
1800
50
1871 1,542 119
1885 1,402 91
1895 1,476 104
1905 1,440 114
1925 1,525 110
1730 census
1810 heads of households
1817 surname adoptions
Weyhers burial register
Vital Records
 Births (1811-1870)
Marriages (1816-1869)
Deaths (1811-1875)

The following chart is an attempt (based on known sources) to trace the lineage of Gersfeld residents from the patronymic period up to the adoption of surnames. As new information becomes available, this chart will be updated and, hopefully, become increasingly more accurate.

Heads of Households 1810 3 Surname Adoptions - 20 August 1817 4 Death records Gravestones
(Weyhers Jewish cemetery)
Old Name New Name
Kusel Moses Kusel Moises Kusel BARTH Kusel Barth, widower, 6 November 1842, 84 yrs [born 1758] יקותיאל בן יוסף משה, [נפטר] ד׳ לחודש כסליו תר״ג
Jekutiel son of Joseph Moses, died 4 Kislev [5]603 (6 November 1842)
Juda Maier Juda Maier Juda BAUMANN Juda Baumann, married, 7 August 1846, 67 yrs [born 1779] יהודא ב״ר מאיר מג״פ, מת ט״ז אב תר״ו
Jehuda son of Maier of Gersfeld, died 16 Av [5]606 (7 August 1846)
Bär Maier Baer Maier Baer BLUMHOF Bär Blumhof, married, 31 August 1856, 81 yrs [born 1775] (not present)
Maier David Maier David Maier FEUERSTEIN (not listed) מאיר כהן מג״פ, נפטר א׳ דח׳המ׳ סכות תקפ״ז
Maier k"z of Gersfeld, died the 1st day of Sukkot [5]587 (18 October 1826)
Salomon Michel (widow of Michel Salomon) (unknown) GERBER (not listed) (not present)
Hirsch Nathan Hirsch Nathan Hirsch GRÜNBAUM Hirsch Grinbaum, house no. 131, widower, 29 December 1830, 59 yrs [born 1771] נפתלי ב״ר אברהאם נתן, נפטר ג׳ טבת תקצ״א
Naftali son of Abraham Natan, died 3 Tevet [5]591 (29 December 1830)
Seckel Kalman Seckel Kalmann

Moses		 Seckel HOMMEL

Moses HOMMEL*		 Sekel Homel, son of Calmann from Schondra?, wife Gitel born Edel, 16 September 1820, 62 yrs [born 1758] החבר ר׳ יצחק ב״ר קלונימוס, נקבר ו׳ תישרי תקפ״א
Isaak son of Kalonymos, buried 6 Tishrei [5]581 (14 September 1820)
החבר ר׳ משה צבי בחבר ר׳ יצחק מג״פ, [נפטר] ג׳ אדר שני תרי״ט
Moses son of Isaak of Gersfeld, died 23 Adar II [5]619 (29 March 1859)
Maier Joseph Maier Joseph Maier KARPF Maier Karpf, married, 29 June 1865, 96 yrs (ה׳ תמוז תרכ״ה) [born 1769] (not present)
Seckel Salomon Seckel Salomon Seckel KIEßMANN Seckel Küssmann, house no. 123, married, 17 November 1838, 81 yrs [born 1757] זעקל ב׳ שלמה מק״ק גערזפעלד, נפטר ר״ח כסלו תקצ״ט
Sekel son of Salomon, died Rosh Chodesh Kislev [5]599 (17 November 1838)
Maier Michel Maier Michel Maier KUPFER Meyer Kupfer, wife Michel? Moses from Wustensachsen?, 6 March 1829, 69 yrs [born 1760] מאיר ב״ר יחיאל, נפטר ב׳ א״ש תקפ״ח
Maier son of Jechiel, died 2 Adar II [5]588 (7 March 1829)
Salmon Juda Kalmann Juda Kalmann LAMP Kalmann Lamp, house no. 129, married, 10 April 1838, 76 yrs [born 1762] יחיאל ב״ר קלונימוס מג״פ, [נפטר] ביום ג׳ ה׳ כסליו תרי״ז
Jechiel son of Kalonymos of Gersfeld, died 5 Kislev [5]617 (2 December 1856)
Abraham Moses Abraham Moises Abraham NUßBAUM Abraham Nussbaum, widower, 10 May 1839, 84 yrs [born 1755] אברהם ב״ר משה מג״פ, מת כ״ז אייר תקצ״ט
Abraham son of Moses of Gersfeld, died 27 Iyar [5]599 (10 May 1839)
Moses Nathan Moses Nathan Moses RAAB Moses Rap, house no. 132, widower, 12 August 1829, 56 yrs [born 1773] משה ב״ר אברהם נתן מג״פ, נפטר ט״ו אב תקפ״ט
Moses son of Abraham Natan, died 15 Av [5]589 (12 August 1829)
Moses Juda

Juda Debele		 Moses Juda Moses ROßKOPF Moses Roskopf, son of Juda David from here, house no. 162, wife Schenla Joseph from Niederaula, 19 May 1822, 54 yrs [born 1768]

Juda David, wife Sara, 29 July 1818, 79 yrs [born 1739]		 משה ב״ר יהודה מג״פ, נפטר כ״ו אייר תקפ״ב
Moses son of Jehuda of Gersfeld, died 26 Iyar [5]582 (17 May 1822)

יהודה ב״ר דוד מג״פ, שנפטר בש״ט כ״ה תמוז תקע״ח
Jehuda, son of David of Gersfeld, died 25 Tamuz [5]578 (29 July 1818)
Abraham Katz Abraham Katz Abraham SICHEL Abraham Sichel, house no. 126, wife Jitel, 23 April 1851, 85 yrs [born 1766]

Löb Katz, wife Edel, 4 March 1815, 80 yrs [born 1735]		 אברהם ב״ר יהודא הכהן מגערספעלד, [נפטר] יום אחרון של פסח תרי״א
Abraham son of Jehuda k"z, died the last day of Pesach [5]611 (23 April 1851)

Jehuda son of Abraham haCohen, died 21 Adar I [5]575 (4 March 1815)
David Hirsch David Hirsch David STERN David Stern, married, 4 October 1841, 84 yrs [born 1757] דוד ב״ר נפטלי מגערספעלד, מת ג׳ דח״ה״ ס׳ תר״ב
David son of Naftali of Gersfeld, died the 3rd day of Sukkot [5]602 (4 October 1841)
Moses Maier Moses Maier Moses TANNBAUM Moses Tannebaum, house no. 133, married, 20 December 1839, 57 yrs [born 1782] אברהם משה בן הח״ר״ מאיר מגערשפעלד, מת י״ג טבת ת״ר
Abraham Moses son of Maier of Gersfeld, died 15 Tevet [5]600 (20 December 1839)
Juda Katz Juda Katz Juda WALDHAUS Juda Wahlhaus, married, 4 March 1846, 76 yrs [born 1770] יהודא בן יהודא כ״ץ, מת ו׳ אדר תר״ו
Jehuda son of Jehuda k"z, died 6 Adar [5]606 (4 March 1846)
Salomon Juda Salomon Juda Salomon WEINBERG Saloman Weinberg, widower, 18 December 1858, 83 yrs [born 1775] שלמה ב״ר יהודא מג״פ, [נפטר] י״ב טבת תרי״ט
Salomon son of Jehuda, died 12 Tevet [5]619 (19 December 1858)

* surname adoption occurred on 18 July 1822 in Feldbau

Other early Gersfeld Jewish families were:

KATZMAN
MORGENROTH (surname adoption in 1823 in Feldbau)
ROSENSTOCK
STRAUSS
WORMSER


A theorized chart showing the possible ancestry of and connections between some of the families:

Jakob David
(c.1715-1787)		 Jakob Joseph GERSFELD
(-1814)
Juda
(1739-1818)		 Kalman LAMP
(1762)
Moses ROßKOPF
(1768-1822)
Salomon WEINBERG
(1775-1858)
Maier FEUERSTEIN
(-1826)		 Jakob GERSFELD
(1770)
Bär BLUMHOF
(1774-1856)
Juda BAUMANN
(1779-1846)
Moses TANNBAUM
(1782-1839)
Abraham MORGENROTH
(1790-1856)


References

1. Allemania Judaica: Gersfeld community (translation), Weyhers cemetery (translation)
2. "Gersfeld." Pinkas ha-kehilot Germanyah: entsiklopedyah shel ha-yishuvim ha-Yehudim le-min hivasdam ve-'ad le-ahar Sho'at Milhemet ha-'olam ha-sheniyah: Hesse, Hesse-Nassau, Frankfort. Jerusalem: Yad Vashem, 1992. pp. 417-418.
3. Imhof, Michael. 400 Jahre Juden in der Rhön. 2017. (source: Staatsarchiv Würzburg Admin 12929 III u. Würzburg Gebrechenamt VII W 1606)
4. Rosenstock, Dirk. Die Unterfränkischen Judenmatrikeln Von 1817: Eine Namenkundliche Und Sozialgeschichtliche Quelle. Würzburg: Schöningh, 2008.