Master Research Strategy: Krückeberg Families of Berenbusch & Evesen (1700–1850)

This document provides the overall research framework for investigating all Krückeberg families in Berenbusch and Evesen between 1700 and 1850. It explains the two-phase approach (early secular sources before ca. 1760, and the later house-number–based administrative records after ca. 1780–1800). The specific archival volumes required for the early period (1700–1760) are listed separately in the companion document:

Bückeburg Archive Research.

Purpose

This document unifies the research strategy for investigating all Krückeberg families who lived in the villages of Berenbusch and Evesen between 1700 and 1850. Because the available secular record types differ sharply between the mid-18th and early-19th centuries, research is divided into two distinct phases:

  • Part I (1700–1760): Generallandesvisitation and early secular lists

  • Part II (ca. 1780–1850): House-number-based Brandkasse, Lagerbücher, and tax registers

Both phases are essential, because early church records contain gaps and ambiguities, and later secular records rely heavily on stable house numbers.

Why Two Phases Are Necessary

  • Before ca. 1760, house numbers did not exist, and secular records consist of visitation lists, surveys, and colonist registers.

  • From ca. 1780–1800, the administration in Schaumburg-Lippe gradually shifted toward modern, standardized house-numbered taxation, insurance, and landholding systems.

  • By ca. 1802–1805, house numbers were used consistently in administrative records, enabling detailed reconstruction of household succession.

  • Einlieger and dependent household members appear only indirectly, but can often be identified once the Hausherr and house number are known.

PART I: Research Strategy for 1700–1760

(Goal: Identify all Krückeberg households before house numbers existed.)

The following secular sources should be examined for any Krückeberg (or variant spelling) residing in Berenbusch or Evesen. These records represent the only nominal secular evidence for early settlement and landholding.

Core Documents (1700–1760)

Identifier Description Life span

NLA BU, L 101a, A No. 140

Kolonenverzeichnis: list of all colonists with numbering (1740). Earliest near-census of householders.

1740–1830

NLA BU L 2 L Nr. 27/28

Generallandesvisitation: survey of all house and farm owners in the Amt Bückeburg.

1737

NLA BU L 2 L Nr. 27/41

Interview protocols with each householder in Berenbusch, Evesen, Nordholz, and Rusbend. May contain relational or predecessor information.

1743–1744

NLA BU L 2 L Nr. 27/13

General survey of Berenbusch, Evesen, and Nordholz. Provides land context with limited personal detail.

1745

NLA BU L 2 L Nr. 27/54

Special survey (“Spezialvermessung”) of the same villages. Useful for matching early house sites.

1734–1742

NLA BU Dep. 61 Acc. 2018/7 Nr. 245

Lagerbuch (1816). Mainly for later continuity rather than early origins.

1816

Priority Ranking

Priority Document Why It Matters

1

Kolonenverzeichnis (L 101a A 140)

Earliest broad household listing. Likely to include all Krückebergs in Berenbusch ca. 1740.

2

Visitation Survey 1737

Identifies all house and farm owners.

3

Interview Protocols 1743–1744

May include obligations, predecessors, and relational clues.

4

Village Survey 1745

Provides supporting land context.

5

Special Survey

Useful for mapping early household locations.

6

1816 Lagerbuch

Important for confirming continuity but not for 1700–1760 reconstruction.

Research Goal for 1700–1760

To determine whether all Krückeberg children born 1728–1750 descend from:

Johann Heinrich Krückeberg & Anna Marie Vahlsing (m. 1727)

and to reconstruct every Krückeberg household present in Berenbusch during the early settlement period.

PART II: Research Strategy for ca. 1780–1850

(Goal: Identify each Krückeberg household under the emerging house-number system.)

From approximately 1780 to 1800, Schaumburg-Lippe transitioned from the old visitation-based system of recordkeeping into a more standardized administrative framework in which house numbers became central to taxation, insurance, and landholding. By ca. 1802–1805, the house-number system was well established and can be used effectively to trace the Krückeberg families of Berenbusch and Evesen.

Why This Phase Is Necessary

These administrative records reveal information not found in the Kirchenbücher:

  • Householder status (Kolon, Kötter, Brinksitzer, Einlieger’s host)

  • Household succession (who followed whom in each dwelling)

  • Land parcels, meadows, rights, and obligations

  • Insurance valuations

  • Approximate death or departure years

  • Identification of younger sons or sons-in-law who became successors

Core Sources (1780–1850)

  • Brandversicherungen / Brandkassenkataster Registers of insured buildings by house number; trace succession and economic status.

  • Kontributions- und Schatzungsregister Tax lists; establish relative wealth and continuity of household occupancy.

  • Lagerbücher / Meier- und Grundregister Record hereditary rights, parcels, obligations, and transfers.

  • Kolonen- & Hausnummernverzeichnisse (1740–1830) Link early colonial households to their 19th-century numbered equivalents.

Einlieger Considerations

Einlieger do not appear directly in land/tax sources but often can be identified through:

  • The Hausherr under whom they lived

  • Court files (Vormundschaften, disputes, marriage contracts)

  • Militia rolls

  • Nachträge in Kirchenbücher

The researcher should note any reference that clarifies the household where an Einlieger resided.

Expected Outcomes (1700–1850)

  • Identification of all Krückeberg households in Berenbusch and Evesen from 1700–1850

  • Verification of early ancestry hypotheses (e.g., the 1727 marriage couple) using secular evidence

  • Reconstruction of household succession lines into the 19th century

  • Determination of each ancestor’s social position, tenure type, and economic status

  • Discovery of supplementary non-church evidence otherwise absent from the Petzen Kirchenbücher

  • Integration of all findings into genealogical event tables and Nachträge