What is Stand and Einliger Mean?

After doing some research this morning, I believe the term "Einlieger", which
is used often in the Petzen church registers, and used to describe Carl
Friedrich Gottlieb Krückeberg. likely refers to social or economic status, and
not just to the work one did, that is likely refers to whether one owned a home
or was tennant.

I was looking at the 1803 baptism entry for Christine Philippine Krückeberg
more closely because of the column labeled "Stand". In over 40 baptism entries
on the page only a few terms were used to give the father's or family's
"Stand"--which Ernest Thode's Genealogical Dictionary defines as: "personal
(marital) status; occupation; (legitimacy) status".

One of these terms was "Einlieger", which Thode's Genealogical dictionary
defines as "free agricultural laborer". Another was "Anerbe". Anerbe has to do
with inheritance. It has to do with one's status as the sole heir under the
Anerbenrecht law. The most frequently used term was illegible.

Carl Friedrich Gottlieb Krückeberg's "Stand", given in the baptism record for
Carl Friedrich Krückeberg, is "Schnieder und Einlieger". Was he both a tailor
and an agricultural laborer? Does that make sense?

I found earlier baptism records on an earlier page where the "Stand" terms used
were more legible. "Hausherr" was the most frequently used, which Thode's
defines as "master of the house; landlord".

When I asked Chatgpt what "Stand" might mean in the context just described, it
said: In the context of an 1803 Lutheran church Kirchenbuch (church book) from
Schaumburg-Lippe, the column labeled "Stand" refers to the social status,
occupation, or estate class of the father (or sometimes the parents) of the
baptized child.

The word "Stand" historically means "status", "rank", or "estate", and in this
context it indicates the person's socioeconomic position within the local
community. The terms you've found—like Hausherr, Anerbe, and Einlieger—are
descriptive of landholding and residency status, which were key aspects of
social and legal standing in early 19th-century German rural communities.

Here’s what those terms generally mean:

Hausherr: literally "house master" – typically a property-owning head of
household; someone who owns or leases a farmstead and is recognized as the
patriarch of the household.

Anerbe: The inheriting heir of a farm (often under partible or impartible
inheritance law, depending on region). An Anerbe is the designated successor to
a family property or farm. In many cases this status came with responsibilities
and privileges tied to the farm.

Einlieger: A lodger or tenant without land – someone who lives on another’s
property, often in a small cottage or room, and works for wages or rent. They
were of lower social rank than landowning farmers.

So in summary, the "Stand" column records the father's social and economic
position—especially in terms of land ownership and inheritance—which was
important information in these communities. It helps contextualize the family
within the social hierarchy of the time and place.

* Not just a job title—this column tells you the person's role or class in the
* community, especially in relation to land, labor, and family inheritance.

* For males, this was often linked to their relationship to a household or
* farm.

**Hausherr** Literal translation: "Master of the house"

Meaning: Head of a household, usually a landholding farmer (Bauer) who owns or
leases a full farmstead.

Often an independent farmer or someone with enough resources to be economically
autonomous.

In legal terms, the Hausherr had authority over the household, including
servants and laborers.

**Anerbe** Literal translation: "Heir" (specifically the designated inheritor
of a farm or estate)

Meaning: The eldest son or designated male heir to inherit the farm. The Anerbe
had a special legal status under Anerbenrecht (right of primogeniture or
single-heir inheritance).

While not yet the Hausherr, the Anerbe was often treated with respect and
prepared for this role.

**Einlieger**

Literal translation: "Lodger" or "subtenant"

Meaning: A day laborer or tenant without land who lived in someone else's
house—often a small room or annex—sometimes with a family.

Einlieger were often poor and had few rights; they might work as seasonal
laborers or craftspeople.

**Knecht**

Literal translation: "Farmhand" or "servant"

Meaning: A male servant or laborer, often young and unmarried, who worked for a
Hausherr on a farm.

The female equivalent was Magd (maidservant).

Knechte were lower in status than Einlieger and had no independent household.

**Reuter (also spelled Reiter in other regions)**

Literal translation: Historically, "horseman" or "rider"

Meaning: This term can have multiple meanings depending on region and period:

In military context: A cavalryman (especially in earlier centuries).

In agricultural context (especially in northwest Germany): A tenant farmer with
a small plot of land, sometimes roughly equivalent to a Halbspänner
(half-ploughholder).

In Schaumburg-Lippe, "Reuter" may refer to a smallholder or low-ranking
leaseholder—above a Knecht or Einlieger but below a Hausherr.