BIEBER ORIGINS

French Beauvoir? Swiss Biber? Polish Bieber? Or Hirschland from the Beginning?

Rev Beaver's Beauvoir Theory

The very first paragraph in Chapter 1 of Rev Beaver's book says: "In La Grande Encyclopedia, Vols 5 and 10, we learn that the original family name for Bieber (Beaver) was de Beauvoir. This was the original family of Huguenots in France" (IMB-9). Rev Beaver goes on to say that the Beauvoir family lived in Burgundy, in the village of Beauvoir on the Yonne River, Canton of Tucy. He then quotes letters from Anna W Beaver of San Francisco and Charles W Beaver of Connecticut, both of whom claim that the Beauvoirs fled France around the time of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes (1685). The Beauvoir family settled in Alsace, and the name became Germanized to Bieber.

When I first read this story of Bieber origins, it seemed rather outlandish, and I was struck by the lack of primary documentary evidence supporting it. In "La Grande Encyclopedia" I read of the exploits of the French Beauvoir family, but I found no passage supporting a connection between the Beauvoir and Bieber families.

I queried Dr Gerhard Hein about the Beauvoir theory. He has written numerous books about the history and genealogy of Lower (northern) Alsace (see references), and he himself has Bieber ancestors. His evaluation of the Beauvoir theory: "absoluter Nonsens" --- utter nonsense (G Hein, private communication, 1997).

There is another factor that may have impelled Rev Beaver towards the Beauvoir theory: In the first half of the 20th Century, there was a tendency for some experts on Pennsylvania Dutch history to emphasize -- some say to exagerrate -- the non-German origins of the Pennsylvania Dutch, owing to strong anti-German sentiment associated with events in Europe at the time. Perhaps Rev Beaver, whose book was published in 1939, the very year World War II began, succumbed to this tendency.

The Pronunciaton of the Name

On the other hand, there is one puzzle that the "Beauvoir" theory would solve very nicely. It concerns the pronunciation of the name Bieber.

My family uses the spelling "Bieber," but there is a strong family tradition, passed on to me by my father, that the correct pronunciation is "beaver," exactly like the name of the animal beaver. And, of course, there is a large branch of the Bieber family that has actually changed the spelling to Beaver.

Why should there be this peculiar pronunciation ? The German "b" sound is much like the English "b" --- it does not sound like a "v." Can it be that the "beaver" pronunciation is a remnant of the original Beauvoir name that has survived through 10 generations ?

Hirschland from the Beginning?

The 1542 Hirschland Türkenschatzung

The earliest mention of the name Bieber that I know of is a 1542 document called the Türkenschatzung. (I'm not sure of the correct translation, but I think it is essentially a tax list.) It lists citizens of Hirschland, including "Bieber hanns, the richest man in this place" (GHH-xx).

This shows that, if the Huguenot Beauvoir family really did move from Burgundy to Alsace and change their name to Bieber around 1685, they were preceded by other Biebers who lived in Hirschland more than a century earlier. The year 1542 is very early in Huguenot history. It is before Henri IV promulgated the Edict of Nantes (1598), before the St Bartholmew's Day massacre (1572). Hans Bieber lived in Hirschland while John Calvin (1509-1564) and Martin Luther (1483-1546) were still alive !

This does not disprove the Beauvoir theory. Perhaps members of the Beauvoir family did flee to Alsace to escape religious persecution after the Edict of Nantes was revoked, but if so, they joined Biebers who had already lived there for generations.

Biebers in Switzerland

The name Bieber is common in Switzerland today, usually with the spelling "Biber." It would be interesting to know how the Swiss and Alsatian Biebers are related (if they are). Did the Swiss Biebers come from Alsace, or vice versa ? Or did both originate in some other place ? I can document one case of Bieber migration from Switzerland to Alsace: The Hirschland Kirchenbuch records a Joseph Bieber from Switzerland and wife Elisabetha, also from Switzerland, who had a child baptized in Hirschland in 1701 (GHH-88).

The earliest mention of the Biber name in Switzerland that I have located is a Heini Biber, one of 14 citizens of Horgen, Zürich canton, who died in the Battle of Kappel, 1531 October 11 (ref). In terms of antiquity, this is a virtual tie with the earliest mention of the Bieber name in Alsace in the 1542 Türkenschatzung (see above).

The Biber family is already prominent in the first pages of the Horgen Kirchenbuch: Elsbeth, child of Ludwig Biber was born 1546 December, Wollffmonat. Joannes, child of Andres Biber was born 1547 Hornug 22. Joannes, child of Joannis Biber was born 1547 April 17. Margrat, child of Laurentz Biber was born 1547 December. In the Horgen records, the spelling is almost always "Biber," in contrast to Alsace where "Biber" and "Bieber" both occur frequently.

Is the Biber family of Horgen, Switzerland connected with the Biber/Bieber family of Alsace ? At present I can't say, but further research may answer the question, as the old Swiss church and civil records are quite extensive. I would enjoy hearing from anyone who is researching the Biber/Bieber family in Switzerland.

Biebers in Poland and Ukraine

There was also a prominent Jewish Bieber / Biber family in and around Lviv, a city in western Ukraine, about 40 miles from the Polish border. Prior to 1772 and again between the World Wars, Lviv was part of Poland and was known as Lwow. From 1772 till World War I, it was part of the Austrian Kingdom of Galicia and was known by its German name of Lemberg. The Polin Travel site about Lwow is an excellent summary of Jewish history there.

A surname search at Jewish Record Indexing -- Poland returns numerous Bieber records, 54 from Lwow, 17 from Stanislawow, 3 from Tarnopol, and 4 from Prussia. For instance, one entry records the birth of Schauel Bieber in November 1865 to Eisig and Basche Marjem Bieber. These results are obtained using the exact spelling "Bieber." A search of "Biber" yields over 700 additional records.

I do not have solid information about the Bieber family in Poland and Ukraine today, but it is likely that their numbers are much diminished (if any remain at all) as a result of the Holocaust. The site Yad Vashem lists 292 Polish people with the surname Biber or Bieber who perished in the Holocaust. Again without solid information, I would venture a guess that some members of such a numerous family must have escaped the Nazi horror. If any (or their descendants) find these words, I would love to hear your story.

A Caution to Bieber Genealogists.One more thing about the Biber / Bieber family, in Poland or Ukraine or Austrian Galicia: There may be members of the Alsatian branch mixed in the same region as the Jewish Biber / Bieber family. First, according to the Wikipedia entry Ugartsthal, this village was settled by immigrants from Alsace, including one whose maiden name was Bieber. Second, there is a branch of the Alsatian Biebers who migrated east to Hungary, then via the Danube and Black Sea to Russia, current Moldova. Some of these folks subsequently migrated to America, in the North Dakota region. Could it be that others migrated to Galicia? -- I do not know, but it is something to think about.

Conclusion

I cannot prove or disprove Rev Beaver's Beauvoir theory. I see the lack of primary documentary evidence as a major problem, however. On balance, I doubt the validity of the Beauvoir story, but I'm keeping an open mind.

DNA Evidence may solve the puzzles ! Is the French Beauvoir family related to the Alsace Bieber family, as Rev Beaver claims? Is the Jewish branch in Poland - Austrian Galicia - Ukraine related to the Alsace Bieber family? Are the Swiss Bibers in Horgen related to the Alsace Biebers?

I think there is an excellent chance that these questions eventually will be answered decisively through DNA testing. See Charles Kerchner's genetic genealogy site for excellent tutorials and resources relating to the use of DNA testing for genealogical research

The Beavers-Biwer DNA project includes a section on the Alsatian Bieber family. Only four self-identified members of the Alsatian branch have been tested to date, but the results support the family connection suggested by documentary evidence. I am not aware that any members of the Polish Bieber branch, Swiss Biber branch, or French Beauvoir family have been tested. I hope results from these families will become available in the future, since they could greatly illuminate whether ancient connections exist between these groups.

PHILADELPHIA SHIP LISTS

In 1727 Patrick Gordon, colonial governor of Pennsylvania, observed to the Provincial Council that 400 Palatines had recently arrived from Holland intending to settle "in the back parts of this province." As many more immigrants were expected to follow, the governer felt it "highly necessary to concert proper measures for the peace and security of the province, which may be endangered by such numbers of Strangers daily poured in, who being ignorant of our Language and Laws, and settling in a body together, make, as it were, a distinct people from his Majesties Subjects" (Pennsylvania Colonial Records quoted in SH-1-3). I find it interesting how similar this sounds to anti-immigrant rhetoric one hears today applied to entirely different groups of people.

The "proper measures" called for by Governor Gordon resulted in three types of passenger lists being kept for each arriving ship. The first two types are easy to understand. One is a list of passengers provided by the ship's captain. In many cases only male passengers aged 16 and older were included, but sometimes women and children were also included. In a few instances, the ages of arriving passengers were also recorded. The second list was simply an Oath of Allegiance to King George II and his successors, which adult males were required to sign or make their mark upon. For these first two types of list, approximately 40 % of each type survive to the present day.

Beginning in 1729, the arriving immigrants were required to take yet another oath, the Oath of Abjuration. This list was an indirect result of England's Glorious Revolution (1688), in which the Catholic King James II was deposed and replaced with James's daughter Mary (who had been raised a Protestant) and her husband William of Orange. The Oath of Abjuration was, in essence, a renunciation of any claims that James's Catholic descendants might make upon the English throne.

From our perspective it seems strange that the Colonial legislators of the time feared that these German-speaking Lutherans, Calvinists, and Anabaptists flooding into Philadelphia, seeking a better life, had as their true objective the restoration of a Catholic monarch to the English throne. But we are lucky these fears existed, because nearly all of the lists of immigrants signing (or making their mark upon) the Oath of Abjuration have survived, and for many 18th Century Philadelphia immigrants, it is the only record of their arrival in the New World.

In the table below I record all of the Biebers that I could find in the index of Strassburger and Hinke (SH), including probable variant spellings. What constitutes a "probable" variant spelling is to a large extent guesswork. The ship lists include immigrants of the name "Biebel," "Bebel," "Biebl," "Bibeler," "Biebeler," and "Bower," but I have assumed they are not members of the Bieber family.

Following the table are additional comments about some of the Bieber arrivals.

Comments

John and William 1732. Christina, Jacob, and Dorothy appear only on the Captain's list, listed under the heading "Women and Children."

Robert and Alice 1739. Lowrens Piever is probably Lorenz Bieber, son of Theobald and Sara.

Lydia 1741. All three lists survive for this arrival, and there are some major discrepancies. Here is my current interpretation:

• Hans Geo. appears only on the Captain's list. He is the right age to be Johann Georg, son of Theobald and Sara.
• "Dieble Beaver, 43" and "Dieble Beaver, 16" are recorded as such on the Captain's list, but I think it is a mistake. The same individuals appear on the other two lists as "Brua" or "Prouva" (signed with their marks). The Hirschland Kirchenbuch records that the family of Theobald and Catharina Brua emigrated to America. Theobald was born about 1697 (based upon a confirmation record of 1711), and his son Theobald was born in June 1727. The age of the younger Theobald is not an exact match, but I think that the two Dieble Beavers were actually Theobald Brua and his son Theobald.
• Hans Jacob Beaver's surname is given as Beaver only on the Captain's list. The same individual seems to have signed his own name on the other two lists. Strassburger and Hinke deciphered this name as Brua on one list (SH-1-301) and Becker on the other (SH-1-303). In any case, I don't believe this Hans Jacob is a member of the Bieber family.
• Peter Beaver appears only on the Oath of Abjuraton list (signed with his mark).

Friendship 1744. This is Georg Bieber with sons Johannes and Theobald.

Betsy 1768. Possibly Valentine Bieber with son Nicholas. Unclear who Jacob is.

To Contents.

LINKS

• Bieber Genealogy Forum
• Hotels in Alsace
• Strasbourg weather forecast
• Robert Weinland's Alsace-Lorraine site
• Alsace genealogy.
• Upper Alsatian genealogy Wonderful site, but unfortunately restricted to Upper (southern) Alsace ... Hirschland is in Lower Alsace.

REFERENCES

References in the text can be decoded with the aid of the following table. Illustrations:

• IMB-340 refers to page 340 of Rev Irvin Beaver's book. See table below for full reference.
• RVU-3-52 refers to Volume 3, page 52 of the compilation of Mertz Church records by R.V. Umberger.