A Bicentennial Farm, part 2

My August 19, 2022 blogpost was about the Havel farm in Ratiborova Lhota, Bohemia being in the family for over 200 hundred years. Most of the time under my direct ancestors. The Urbarium from 1550 and 1585 records, which primarily recorded land rents, seem to indicate, although this is conjecture, that this farm may have been created sometime after 1550. The August 19 post explored the early history of the farm and ended in 1668 the year Georg Havel, my seventh great grandfather, took over the farm from his step father Hans. This post will take that exploration of ownership further, from Georg to Simon, his son (my 6th great grandfather) in 1712, and from Simon to his son Matheus (Sr) in 1737. 

Ratiborova Lhota, with Havel House circled

From Seignorial records, Andre Havel, Georg's younger brother was slated to take over the family farm, but instead may have taken over his father-in-law's farm in Klenovice. When Georg married, likely in 1660 according to the Seignorial Register of that year, he was in-line to take over the smallholding of his father-in-law Hansel Schuster, with the consent of the authorities on 9 January 1660. This may have been the same smallholding that Havel bought in 1601 and sold to his brother Bartos in 1607. Smallholdings, and even 1/4 farms such as the Havel farm in Ratiborova Lhota, would not have produced much in the way of income for the bare necessities of life. To likely aid in his income, Georg was "learning the linen weaver trade" in 1656, and is noted as a weaver in 1657, and a weaver at home in 1658 to 1659. It was not uncommon, even 200 years later, for farmers to engage in a craft to bring is some other source of income for the family. However, as the second serfdom advanced in the 17th and 18th centuries, manorial authorities would place restrictions on who could ply a trade.

Seignorial Register indicating Georg, son of Jacob 
is "Learning the linen weaver trade"

With Georg Havel taking on the management of the farm any labor, good and service requirements for the domain would now fall to him. Also, in 1668 Georg's inheritance portion of over 23 shock meissen, from his father Jakub's estate is written off. In a sense he paid himself. Georg finds himself having to make a variety of payments to siblings, his stepfather, Hans, and the Princely Grace over many years with a payment of over 7 shock meissen to the Princely Grace being the final payment in 1697--so he made thirty years of payments. Due to the inheritance rights, when his stepfather Hans died in 1672 Hans' share of the payment reverted to the Princely Grace, the Eggenberg family now in control of the Krumlov domain. From Hans' share Andre and his wife received 10 shock meissen for having "labored for Hans for 4 years without receiving a wage." From this, Andre was properly paid for labor he had undertaken. I wonder if they had a formal process for identifying claims, or if Hans provided a stipulation in his will? The Seignorial Register has Andre marrying in 1666, and perhaps the take over of his father-in-law's farm did not occur at the time of marriage. Also, since Hans was making payments to Andre, the wedded orphan, and the Princely Grace for revisionary rights until 1671, either Georg had not fully taken on the farm in 1668, or Hans agreed to make those payments.

Land Register Record of Georg Havel taking over farm

What is interesting is that a note from 1701 has a payment made to the Wasienamt (orphan account) and the heirs of Thomas Kulisch of Neotlice, and a payment to the parish church in Lhenice. I am not sure if a family member had married Mr Kulisch, or what the deal is with him and his heirs. Dorothea, Georg's sister, had married Georg Tauschek of Vribce about 1651 (according to the Seignorial Register) and she was discharged to the Netolice dominion. In the same year Hans died, which was 1672, Georg paid off the inheritance debt  owed to Dorothea to her husband with a large payment of over 16 shock meissen. Andre's share was paid off in 1680.  His Princely Grace was not paid out until 1697. 

1660 Seignorial Register Record of Georg Hawel marrying 
Lena Schuster of Ratiborova Lhota

Georg would manage the Havel family farm for 54 years, retiring and turning the farm over to his son Simon (my 6th great grandfather) by a contract dated 19 September 1712. We have no birth record for Simon, but a possible birth year of about 1682 is in the Seignorial Register. According to the 1702-1756 Seignorial Register chart Simon was listed as age 20 in 1702. Simon would marry Elizabeth Pesek in 1703, so almost a decade before he took on the farm. We know from other records that Simon plied the trade of his father, as a weaver. From 1704 to 1712 Simon, and his wife (and the children as they arrive), are listed in the landless lodger class although he and his family are living at home with his father, Georg. Because he was now married he was a separate household, and though living with a relative was common, he was considered a landless lodger, as he controlled no land. I suspect he helped out on the farm, but also plied the weaver trade, as had his father before him. The 1712 entry notes that he "Has purchased the farm at Folio 9 in the land register." Also in 1712, as Georg is now retired, he shows up as "Retired in pension. No wife." Georg's wife, Magdalena, died in 1703. Simon's disabled brother Georg, Jr is listed after his father and is age 36 with the notation "Disabled and visually impaired. On the farm." Georg, Jr passes away in July 1718, and his father passes away six months later in January 1719 at a good age of about 81 years. I have used Georg (Sr) birthyear as 1638 since the Seignorial Register of 1641 identified him as being three years of age--which is likely the best information available.

Timeline of Havel Farm Ownership of House #15, folio 9

Simon would have been about 30 at the time he took over the family farm. The total purchase price was 202 shock meissen. It is interesting that the record makes note that "Included in the valuation is one old chest with lock." valued at one shock meissen. Simon promptly paid 40 and had an additional 40 written off as part of the dowry leaving a total debt of 122 to be settled by annual installments of the standard four shock meissen per year. Beyond this, however, Simon was required to provide his father with unnamed retirement benefits of the purchase, "while his brother Georg is to be provided with lifelong meals and clothing on account of him being crippled and visually impaired." 

Land Register Record of 22 March 1697 regarding Georg's payments:
"And with that, the purchase price of this farm has been settled in full"

Simon made payment to his father for six years, as his father passed away on 19 January 1719 for which he paid the required funeral expenses on the 27th of March. He then started making payments to some of his siblings. He made payments to Paul, Ludmilla, his nephew Joseph (the son of his late sister, Elisabeth), and the children his sister Catherina had with her husband Matheus Hubeney. Simon's nephew Joseph presents an interesting situation, and perhaps there may be a separate post about his situation.

In 1720 we find that Simon made the required payments to his brother Paul and sister Ludmilla, but also made another, larger payment, to his sister Ludmilla as can be seen from the following transcription/translation by Richard D'Amelio:

1720 on the 18th March, Simon Havel paid 2ſß to Paul, and 2ſß to Ludmilla, both wedded heirs of the late Georg Havel. . . . . . . 4ſß"

Same year and day, Simon Havel paid 19ſß 40g 3½₰ to Ludmilla wedded heir of the late Georg Havel, willingly in order to purchase harness tack, thus settling her portion in full. . . . . . . 19ſß 40g 3½₰ 

What we know is that Simon required new harness tack, an essential element at the time, and to buy it he paid out his sister. I don't quite get the logic of how making such a large payment to his sister allowed him to purchase harness tack, but something must have been going on. Perhaps, he was buying the harness tack on credit and needed to reduce debt load. 

In 1721 Simon started making payments to the Waisenamt account. The payment is to Dorothea Hubeney. On 14 May 1737 the record indicates that Dorothea Hubeney, daughter of the late Mathias Hubeney from Zdenice Prachatice dominion was paid for her necessary maintenance, with the payment received by the headman. I think the payment is actually the inheritance due to her deceased brother Mathias, who was age 14 in 1719.  With the Waisenamt payment starting in 1724, Mathias Hubeney likely died sometime after. If Simon's sister Catherina had not been released from the Krumlov domain to the Prachatice domain, the share due Mathis Hubeney would have gone to the Princely Grace. The release from the Krumlov domain allowed the application of different rules rather than the onerous rules of the Krumlov domain to be applied. In other words, because Catherina had moved out of the Krumlov domain to marry, was granted release from the Krumlov domain she, and her descendants were now free from the the onerous rules of Todenfall (rules for inheritance and reversionary rights) to which the Krumlov domain residents had to abide. Thus, Catherina's daughter was able to obtain her late brother's share of the inheritance. In the Krumlov domain the inheritance in this situation would have gone to the Princely Grace. 

Simon Havel, wife Elizabeth and 6 yr old daughter Sophia
in 1712 Seignorial Register. Note to right indicates he was purchasing
the farm at folio 9 in 1712. 

Simon's deceased sister Elisabeth had one son, Josef. Josef was married in 1722, per the land register record, and in 1723 Josef is receiving Elizabeth's share of the payment. In 1733 Simon makes final payments to his brother Paul and nephew Joseph. That leaves payments to the Hubeney family, the descendants of Catherina, his sister. The record indicates that Catherina's son Mathias died in 1726 and Simon, like his father, whose funeral expenses Simon paid were deducted off the estate value, paid the funeral expenses out of Mathias' share of the estate. 

The final estate payments by Simon are made to the Wasienamt account and other heirs of Catherina, those being her sons Simon Hubeney, Paul Hubeney, and their sister Dorothea with payment made to the estate manager Mr Navratil. With a final payment in that year to Simon Hubeney the account is settled in full in 1736. At the time of these final payments, Simon has operated the farm for 24 years and is about 54 years of age. 

23 March 1736 Land Register Entry regarding Simon Havel
"And with that, the purchase price has been settled in full."

However, Simon does not long farm after having settled his debt. The next year, on 9 February 1737 he enters into an agreement, enacted at Krumlov Castle, to sell his farm to his son Matheus Havel. Like Simon, Matheus sees no underlying debt that is required to be paid on the farm, hence it is the purchase price.  In this case we see the handover of the farm from my  7th great grandfather, Georg to his son, my 6th great grandfather Simon, and then to my 5th great grandfather, Matheus, Simon's son. Matheus was born on the first day of September in 1711, which made him 25 years of age at the time of the handover of the Havel farm. I hope to conclude the 200 years of Havel farm ownership in part 3. As I read and ponder the land registers, and seignorial registers I start to get a better glimpse into the life of the Havel family, peasants who farmed a 1/4 farm and weaved linen as they struggled to make ends meet. 

This week marks the 54th anniversary of the 1968 Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia (read mainly the Soviet Union). It was a dark time for Czechs, and Slovaks, but one among many others  within a thirty year period for then Czechoslovakia (think Munich Accords of 1938, and WWII). I believe the Havel family is for the better due to the 1868 decision of my second great grandparents to emigrate to the United States. 

Sources: 

Trebon Archives, transcription and translations by Richard D' Amelio

https://ags.cuzk.cz/archiv/