Trent Ruble's Blog: The Other Way It Is - Posts Tagged "homeland"
The Devastation of the Palatinate
In the mid 1600s, my ancestors, the Rubeli family of Switzerland, lived in the Swiss towns of Aeschlen, Langnau im Emmental and Oberdiessbach, which are near Bern. But, because of their Mennonite religion, they were eventually banished from their beautiful and beloved homeland. A large number of them resettled in an area of Germany known as die Pfalz (the Palatinate). In particular, they settled in and around the town of Otterberg. They chose this area because the ruler of the land was Elector Karl Ludwig (King James I of England's grandson) who was generous to them; allowing them to practice their religion freely. Once there, they began what they thought would be centuries of peaceful farming life. But, this wasn't to be.
The Catholic French king; Louis XIV, also known as le Roi-Soleil (the Sun King), felt that everyone should share his devotion to the Catholic faith and made it his mission to eradicate protestants. Nearly all the residents of the Palatinate, which lies entirely outside France, were pacifist Swiss Mennonite protestants who were no threat to the king. Even so, they drew the king's attention which led to his dreadful, decades-long "Devastation of the Palatinate" campaign. Beginning in 1689, at the order of the king, French general Malec repeatedly administered the "Scorched Earth" policy and burned the villages of the Palatinate until nearly every person was killed or forced out. Many of the survivors found their way to ships sailing from Europe to America; a place then known for religious liberty. My own ancestors; Hans Peter Rubel, and his son; Ulrich, as their names were recorded, landed on American shores in 1727 aboard the Winter Galley.
When the travelers disembarked the ships hundreds of years ago, most of them didn't read or write. They would say their name to the person recording their immigration and he would spell it however seemed best to him. So, today my family is known as "Ruble." Other decendants of the Rubelis are known as Rabel, Raubel, Reble, Reibell, Ribbel, Rubbell, Rubel, Rubi, Rubin, Rubly, Rupley and Rupy. There are likely many more variations. Most of the Mennonites, including my family, settled in Pennsylvania before moving further inland and became known as the Pennsylvania Dutch, though they weren't Dutch at all. The misnomer came from the inability of the Americans to pronounce Deutsch, which is German for "German."
If not for King Louis' Devastation of the Palatinate, I might be living in Germany today. In fact, I think there's a piece of land in Otterberg that belongs to me. That works out well because, if the American Indians, whose ancestors once lived on my land, are ever successful in regaining it, at least we'll have a place to go. But, a word of warning to any Indian or king, French or otherwise: Our family is no longer pacifist and our property is protected by a GLOCK security system.
Much of the information contained in this article is derived from "Das Messerschwanderhof," by Herman Karch, and "The Wars of Louis XIV (1667-1714)," by John A. Lynn.
The Catholic French king; Louis XIV, also known as le Roi-Soleil (the Sun King), felt that everyone should share his devotion to the Catholic faith and made it his mission to eradicate protestants. Nearly all the residents of the Palatinate, which lies entirely outside France, were pacifist Swiss Mennonite protestants who were no threat to the king. Even so, they drew the king's attention which led to his dreadful, decades-long "Devastation of the Palatinate" campaign. Beginning in 1689, at the order of the king, French general Malec repeatedly administered the "Scorched Earth" policy and burned the villages of the Palatinate until nearly every person was killed or forced out. Many of the survivors found their way to ships sailing from Europe to America; a place then known for religious liberty. My own ancestors; Hans Peter Rubel, and his son; Ulrich, as their names were recorded, landed on American shores in 1727 aboard the Winter Galley.
When the travelers disembarked the ships hundreds of years ago, most of them didn't read or write. They would say their name to the person recording their immigration and he would spell it however seemed best to him. So, today my family is known as "Ruble." Other decendants of the Rubelis are known as Rabel, Raubel, Reble, Reibell, Ribbel, Rubbell, Rubel, Rubi, Rubin, Rubly, Rupley and Rupy. There are likely many more variations. Most of the Mennonites, including my family, settled in Pennsylvania before moving further inland and became known as the Pennsylvania Dutch, though they weren't Dutch at all. The misnomer came from the inability of the Americans to pronounce Deutsch, which is German for "German."
If not for King Louis' Devastation of the Palatinate, I might be living in Germany today. In fact, I think there's a piece of land in Otterberg that belongs to me. That works out well because, if the American Indians, whose ancestors once lived on my land, are ever successful in regaining it, at least we'll have a place to go. But, a word of warning to any Indian or king, French or otherwise: Our family is no longer pacifist and our property is protected by a GLOCK security system.
Much of the information contained in this article is derived from "Das Messerschwanderhof," by Herman Karch, and "The Wars of Louis XIV (1667-1714)," by John A. Lynn.
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