Within the long history of the Cistercian Cloister in Beuren, there is mention of an abbotesses named Martha Elisabeth Witzel. She held the post of abbotess between 1705 and 1730. [�]
Very likely, Martha was born in the Eichsfeld region in the late 1600s. If the current research holds true, the Witzels of Eichsfeld Kreis find their roots in the Vacha/Fulda area. Birth, marriage and death certificates should indicate a slow move to the north in the following centuries.
A better understanding relies on the availabiltiy of surviving documents from the region. As the identification of individual family histories continues, there is likely to be a historical foundation to the larger proportion of Witzel families currently living in the Fulda and Eichsfeld regions today.
|