Historical Background of the Royers (Rheyers)

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Royer family tradition in the U.S. often cites them as being Huguenots who originated in France. However, documentation discovered in 1999 contradicts this view of their history. These documents that were found in Germany regarding the background of Sebastian Rheyer (Royer)'s immigration, marriages, and children disagrees with traditional family lore.

In 1999 I was on a teaching assignment at the University of Saarland, at Saarbrücken, Germany. The Saarland is quite geographically close to the Rhineland-Pfalz, and I thought that I might be able to visit some of the towns and locations of my Royer ancestors and take photographs. About a month before I left, I was fortunate to find a local genealogist who is quite familiar with the areas of Böhl, Schifferstadt and Hassloch. He has published two books that deal comprehensively with two towns of in the area, and has published journal articles on genealogical topics as well. He was kind enough to keep on the lookout for records that might shed light upon my ancestors.

To make a long story short, he wound up finding new information from extant tax, court, inventarium (similar to wills), and parish records. Evidently, earlier researchers only focused on parish records and did not know about the locations of these other types of records. The records are not in just one location, they were spread throughout the area. The sources upon which the new information regarding Sebastian Rheyer (Royer) came from the Reformiertes Kirchenbuch Böhl, Reformiertes Kirchenbuch Hassloch, Rfeormiertes Kirchenbuch Neustadt/Weinstrasse, Einwohnerverzeichnis Hassloch 1652, Inventarien Böhler Bürger Gemeindearchiv Hassloch. My contact is intimately familiar with all the locations and with the nature of the records contained in them, and has served as director of one of these archives.

Upon my return from Germany, I ran across Royer genealogy webpages and began to read with interest about the history of Sebastian. As I read, based upon the research that my colleague gave to me, I felt sure that some of the information that was passed down over the generations within the Royer family has been inaccurate. My colleague read the webpages as well, and agreed with me.

There is direct evidence that the Rheyers were longtime residents of the area, and did not migrate from France. In the tax list of 1652 in Hassloch a Bernhard RHEYER was mentioned. We know from other records that he was still alive in 1660. It is uncertain what his relationship was to Sebastian Rheyer. In 1682 Wilhelm Rheyer was Mayor (Bürgermeister) of Böhl, and we know from other records that he was still alive as of 1686 due to a document that declares him an owner of a tract of land. He was likely the father of Hans Georg Rheyer (Sebastian's father) and Veltin Jost Rheyer (Sebastian's uncle). An Inventarium of Veltin Jost RHEYER indicates that he died in 1695 just as his wife was pregnant with their daughter Maria Margarethe. Her guardian was named in the document as being Hans Georg RHEYER. It is from this that we inferred that Veltin and Hans Georg were brothers, as it would be natural to name an uncle as being a guardian to a dependent niece.

Hans Georg Rheyer was a member of the town council of Böhl, and by his first wife (Anna Margarethe) had a son, Sebastian Rheyer. After the death of his first wife, he remarried Maria Magdalena, and they had three children: Samuel, Anna Margarethe, and Johann Philipp. The Inventarium of Hans Georg Rheyer is 74 pages long and is located in the Gemeindearchiv Hassloch, Abteilung Böhl. The great length of this inventarium indicates that Hans Georg had amassed great wealth. He was an extremely wealthy man for his time period. It is highly unlikely that a newcomer from France could have accumulated such wealth in such a short time. Much of it would have to have been inherited.

Another evidence that the Rheyers were not from France is that all the Rheyers had German names. For example, Wilhelm or Veltin is an old German form of Valentin. My colleague often gives public speeches regarding the conditions of life in the area during and shortly after the 30 Years War, and is quite familiar with the history of the Rhineland-Pfalz; based on the above data, he believes quite firmly that the Rheyers were not refugee Hugenots from France, but rather were long term residents of the area.

Now we come to Sebastian, son of Hans Georg Rheyer. Sebastian Rheyer married Agnes Flockert or Flockerth on 15.Feb.1707, in Böhl, and eight children were born to them in Böhl. This is what is recorded in the records that are in the archives in Germany:

Johann Emich = 15.12.1707  Johann Georg = 24.08.1710  Anna Margarethe = 02.06.1713  Maria Magdalena = 02.06.1713  Johann Martin = 10.03.1716, died 30 Dec. 1716.  Samuel = 04.10.1718  Johann Heinrich = 15.10.1721  Maria Katharina = 20.09.1725

The notion that his first wife died in Germany and that he remarried is false, as children that were argued as being born to his second wife are recorded as being born to Agnes in Böhl. The idea that his first wife died, and that he remarried a woman named Agnes is false. Agnes was his first and only wife.

Written by Mark Mendenhall