Additional Terms in the Social and Administrative Landscape

An Anerbe was the designated heir to a farmstead or hereditary holding. In many German regions—including Schaumburg-Lippe—rural inheritance followed a form of single-heir succession (Anerbenrecht). The Anerbe was not simply a son who inherited property; he was legally and socially responsible for:

This system preserved the economic viability of farms by preventing fragmentation. A baptismal or marriage record that identifies someone as Anerbe signals that he was poised to become the next Hausherr of an established holding.

The Meier held a Meiergut, a substantial hereditary leasehold granted under Meierrecht. This predates many colonist settlements and originates in medieval agrarian law. A Meier typically held:

The Meier stood at a higher level of economic security and obligation than a Kolon. In some places the terms overlap, but in Schaumburg-Lippe the Meier often represents an older, well-established farm with deeper roots than the newer colonist holdings.

Meier households were stable and central to village structure; they appear prominently in tax rolls, secular registers, and long-term genealogies.

A Carabinier was a mounted soldier—part of the light cavalry or gendarmerie. When this term appears in baptism or marriage records, it usually indicates:

In Schaumburg-Lippe, where the principality maintained modest but professionalized military units, a Carabinier could be stationed locally or could serve abroad depending on treaties and military contracts. His military status affected marriage permission, settlement rights, and occasionally tax obligations.

A Liebzüchter (also spelled Liebzüchter, Liebzüchterin, or variant forms) refers to a person—often an elderly farmer—who has transferred the main holding to the Anerbe or successor while reserving:

This was part of the Altenteil or retirement contract common in German rural law. A Liebzüchter had stepped down from being Hausherr but retained recognized rights and dignity within the household. They are identifiable in both church registers and secular landbooks.

A Reuter (also written Reuther, Reuter, or Reutter) originally meant a horseman or cavalry soldier. The term’s meaning depended on period and context:

In Schaumburg-Lippe’s church books of the 18th century, the meaning is nearly always mounted soldier. This places the individual within the military estate of the principality and may explain mobility, marriage patterns, or atypical residence arrangements.

A Knecht was an unmarried male servant or farmhand working in another household. A Knecht had:

Knechte were essential to agricultural labor. They rotated between households based on yearly service contracts. Because they lacked household status, they are visible primarily in:

A Knecht could become a Hausherr later in life by marriage, inheritance, or entering a colonist or Kötter holding.

The social structure of a village such as Berenbusch or Evesen can be imagined as a layered landscape:

At the top were Meier and Kolone—hereditary holders of significant farmsteads, forming the economic backbone of the community. Next came the Kötter and Brinksitzer, who held smaller tenures or cottages. Below them were servants and laborers—Knechte and Mägde—who lived inside other households but provided essential labor. Alongside these roles, the Anerbe represented the future holder of a farm; the Liebzüchter represented its retired or semi-retired past; and military men such as Carabiniers or Reuter occupied parallel roles tied to the principality’s armed forces.

Across all these categories, the unifying element was the household. Secular records were structured around the person who represented that household—the Hausherr—regardless of whether he legally owned the land. Everyone else in the village related to this system either as a holder, a dependent, a servant, or a person in transition between those statuses.

Together, these terms illuminate the economic, social, and legal world in which the Krückeberg families lived and allow genealogical research to follow individuals through both church and secular sources with greater clarity.