Ancestral Journeys - Rasnick Familyrasnickfamily.org/ancestraljourneys.pdf · 2012-12-13 · Jacob Rasnick’s ancestral church. The pastor gave us a tour, led us in song, and was

Ancestral Journeys

Read More about my Hessian Soldier: http://www.rasnickfamily.org See More Pictures: https://picasaweb.google.com/112262769679863027174

DIE ANSBACH-BAYREUTHER TRUPPEN 1777-1783 Philadelphia Newport Springfield Yorktown

In Search of My Hessian Soldier

I don’t know what forces or phenomena combined to make me who I am, but somehow I’ve wound up being extremely interested in finding out more about my ancestors; an obsession bordering on the abnormal, really. Possibly some gene mutation occurred centuries ago and lay dormant until it decided to manifest itself at my birth, or maybe I just have some sort of emotional imbalance. But whatever the cause, I have a more than casual need to find out who came before me. Not just to collect names and dates to add into some lifeless data base, but to unravel the mystery of my family’s origins, to discover who we really are. It is this unseen, inexplicable, visceral desire to really know my ancestors that has driven me to discover their story and give them a voice.

The object of my obsession is my “Hessian” soldier, Jacob Rasnick. In 2001 THE JACOB RASNICK PROJECT was formed. Its one and only purpose was to find him in Germany, and bring him back home to us here in America. Our journey was not easy or quick or cheap. For years we chased down leads into almost every part of the globe. But our research was wonderfully successful, culminating in a small group of cousins actually traveling across the ocean, reconciling the American and German branches of our tiny and rare family in a way we had never imagined. In the end, we did not bring our Jacob home to us, but rather, through the guiding Hand of Providence, returned him back to the land of his birth, the land he was forced to leave so very long ago. We saw the land where he was born; we honored his existence and survival in America by telling his story; we spoke his name there out loud for the first time in 260 years…. we set his spirit free. As a family we have yearned for this moment for generations, and through this pilgrimage, we are now at peace.

So join us now on our “Trip of a Lifetime” as we follow the path of our Jacob, a “Hessian” Soldier of the American Revolutionary War.

Marie Rasnick Fetzer

http://www.rasnickfamily.org/

https://picasaweb.google.com/112262769679863027174


Private Johann Jacob Rierschneck Musketeer

Revolutionary War Soldier and Prisoner of War Ansbach-Bayreuth Regiment

1st Company Ansbach (1777-1783) Philadelphia * Newport * Springfield * Yorktown

As a young man, extreme circumstances turned my ancestor Jacob’s world upside down and changed the course of history. Ripped from his family, and forced from his home, he left all he knew behind and crossed many waters to start on his own “Trip of a Lifetime”. His journey would take him to the “new world”, where he found himself a participant in a brand new nation’s struggle for independence; an early American pioneer; and the father of the RASNAKE-RASNICK-RASNIC family of SW Virginia. In tracing Jacob’s trail in Germany, the path actually led us out across the border into Austria. Four generations earlier, Jacob’s great-great grandfather, Andreaẞ Rierschneckh, had made a similar life altering journey. In the early 17th century he found himself ravaged by the Thirty Years War, then numbered among the so-called EXULANTEN, Protestant exiles forced to leave their homeland because of religious persecution. As far as we know, Andreas and his wife Magdalena were the only members of the family to survive. They found refuge in Franconia and went on to become the parents of the Rührschneck family in Germany, ensuring the survival of our family on both sides of the Atlantic.

Twelve Pilgrims on a “Trip of a Lifetime” Mirabell Gardens - Salzburg, Austria




RAPPOTTENSTEIN, Austria – Imagine our delight in spending two nights in the fairy tale castle that protected our earliest ancestor, Andreaẞ, from the Swedish attack during the Thirty Years War! It was easy to imagine him working the fields in the beautiful valley below or worshiping in the village church. Between 1652 and 1654, this region, called the Waldviertel, saw over 20,000 families flee during the official eradication of Protestantism in Austria.




MARKT BEROLZHEIM, Germany – Our ancestors escaped along the Arbesbach Ox Trail into Franconia, and found refuge in the welcoming arms of beautiful Markt Berolzheim. The pastor of St. Michael’s Lutheran Church presented the actual church books to us and our researcher Sabine Schleichert read christening and death entries written in the old German script. We were all touched as we sang “Amazing Grace” and presented the pastor with a crystal paperweight commemorating Andreaẞ Rierschneckh, and a “John Counts” book giving an early account of our Hessian Soldier, Jacob Rasnick.




SAUSENHOFEN, Germany – In Sausenhofen, we were excited to meet our very first distant cousin in Germany named Anna. The local pastor gave us a tour of the church and a copy of our ancestor Margaretha’s death record. A special lunch was enjoyed next door at the Gasthof Goldener Adler, along with a tour of the historic timber frame structure given by one of the owners. Pastor Schuler was presented with a paperweight and CD of our family history.




AUHAUSEN, Germany –In Auhausen we were joined by new cousins Willi and Frieda Rührschneck and their daughter Petra from Westheim. The pastor shared the church’s rich history and showed us its many precious works of art. The books were presented and Sabine read the marriage entry for Jacob’s grandparents Matthias and Eva, and christening entry for father Georg.




HEIDENHEIM, Germany – In the former Benedictine monastery in Heidenheim we stood at the altar where Jacob’s parents Georg and Anna were married before moving westward looking for work. After our tour, the pastor took us behind the church to see St. Wunibald’s Spring which supplied the baptismal water.




AUFKIRCHEN, Germany – A highlight of our trip was a visit to St. Johannis, Jacob Rasnick’s ancestral church. The pastor gave us a tour, led us in song, and was kind enough to invite our two young travelers to play the church’s magnificent organ dating back to 1663. Sabine read Jacob’s birth and christening entries in both German and English, and helped us to understand the context into which he was born. We also visited the spring, called Wunibald Quelle, where special water was obtained for Jacob’s christening.




AUFKIRCHEN, Germany – We were honored to meet with Pastor Gerhäuser and Mr. Schmitz in the Rathaus where Frieda Davison told Jacob’s story and explained why our group was there. We cried as she honored his memory by speaking his name out loud 260 years after his birth. We exchanged gifts, which included a bronze Hessian Soldier plaque, a “John Counts” book, and a plaque written in German about native son, Jacob. A crystal paperweight was presented to Frieda in recognition of her research contributions.




ANSBACH, Germany - In order to pay for the excesses of the Margrave of Ansbach’s lifestyle, he pressed into military service my ancestor, Jacob Rierschneck, and sold him to the King of England to fight in America. Inside his palace, I was sickened as I understood the true cost of the objects on display. Upon entering a room made up of thousands of decorative tiles, it was particularly eerie when my eyes rested on tiles depicting the very “Hessian” soldiers on whose lives these objects were purchased. At the museum nearby, we were shown a model and photos of the location of the barracks where Jacob received his first formal military training before sailing off to America.




MARKTBREIT, Germany – As we left Ansbach, we followed along the same route as the Ansbach-Bayreuth Troops had on their march to Marktbreit, a lovely harbor town on the Mainz River. The landscape remains the same as it was in 1777 when Jacob was here, and we were full of emotion as we stood on the very spot Jacob stood as he boarded a ship for Holland. How scared and alone he must have been to leave all he knew behind for the uncertainty ahead.




STEIN, Germany – In Stein, new cousin Robert Rührschneck and his family warmly welcomed us as honored guests with a traditional Franconian meal in their home. Doyle Rasnick presented Robert with a State of Virginia flag; Robert was especially pleased with its motto, “Sic semper tyrannis”.




SELBITZ, Germany – Church service ended when the organist surprised us by playing the National Anthem in our honor! Jumping to our feet we placed our hands over our hearts and choked back tears to sing along. Several German cousins joined us in meeting with Mayor Klaus Adelt where we admired his most impressive official necklace and exchanged gifts in the town hall.




SELBITZ, Germany – Our dear cousin Christian Rührschneck hosted a fabulous family reunion party in his “forest house”. We held a tree dedication ceremony and were entertained by Willi Mildner, accordion player and storyteller extraordinaire. It was a truly magical evening. The bonds we formed will never be broken and we look forward to returning soon.



Documents

Ancestral Journeys - Rasnick Familyrasnickfamily.org/ancestraljourneys.pdf · 2012-12-13 · Jacob Rasnick’s ancestral church. The pastor gave us a tour, led us in song, and was