|
I don´t know if you know Germany /
Deutschland and its living conditions.
So it might be that you won´t understand some details.
My English is not the best, but the husband of a "Sagel-born
lady" (Hanne Noll) is English-teacher and translated the text for
me. In Germany (I prefer the name Deutschland!) we only need German and
the most time we are busy in Germany (Deutschland). So we have our own
language and use English more or less only on holidays or international
business life.
I am very interested in your personal family history as well and would
be delighted if you could send me a copy of your personal family tree
by e-mail. I intend to enlarge our personal family tree extensively in
years to come and so I need your help. The latest tree you can download
at my homepage here.
  
  
  
 
  
In
East Westphalia, Germany / Deutschland about 1 kilometre east of the
town of Steinheim, next to the Stoppelberg hill, in Hoexter
county, (the big city Hannover is not far from here as well.
Where in 2000 the big EXPO2000 was and that´s the city where the
british and lots of the other european queens- and kingshouses came
from!)there is a place where the Sagel family history began in 1288
after Christ. The SAGELs, however, must have lived there some
hundred years before that date allready, very likely since 600 or
800 after Christ or even longer than that. This was proved by Prof.
Dr. Hans-Georg Stephan´s excavations of relicts of pottery dating back
to 750 - 1300 (Goettingen University, 1978). Because in this place,
which is called "Sachel" or "Auf dem Zachel" (At
the Zachel) still today, in 1288 there used to be an old
water-mill to make flour from wheat or rye as well as three wood made
log cabins built by woodmen (forester / forest-worker) whose job was to
clear the wood called"Auf dem Zachel". Assumedly, all
these four families were called Sachel/Sagel/Zachel later, not
necessarily genetically related. I believe, however, that
interrelationsships are very likely. This settlement, about 80 metres
in perimeter, was called "Hogenhusen" and was near a
very strong spring which is still there today as a little brook /
creek. This region is, in addition, very close to Teutoburger Forest
(Teutonic Forest) where, in 9 after Christ (20 to 30
kilometers away only!) the great battle between the Romans and the
Germanic tribe of the CHERUSCANS under their leader Hermann
(Arminius)der Cherusker took place. With the romanic major Varus died
23.000 Romanic soldiers. Since 11 before Christ the Romans tried very
hard to come into that land and over the Weser-river. But without any
success. I personally believe that our ancestors were members of this tribe
or that they at least joined the warriors for the battle. They won the
battle against 3 Roman legions. So that land was free for the first!
In the late decennia of 600 after Christ the SACHSEN (Saxon tribe)
invaded East Westphalia coming from the North and many warriors settled
there, especially the sub-tribe of the ENGERN settled in the so called
"Weserbergland". The name "Sagel" is in all
probility derived from "Saxon", because the Saxons
were called "Zachelen" and people called the owner of
the property "The Zachel = Saxon". (In German you
speak the CH like the spanish G) Today we call this people SACHSEN.
So it could be that the people round the field said to the man who
settled down at the field: This is the "ZACHEL"-man
for "SAXO". In other documents "Zachel" is
mentioned as the Middle High German word for "tale", because
from the bird´s view the form of the site looks like a fox´s tail.
After the Saxons, the "Franks" (Francos / Franken)
came from far away west and integrated the land of the Cheruscans
into the huge Frankenreich (Franconian Empire) in 773 a. Chr..
On December 25th 800, the german-franco Charles the Great (Karl der
Grosse) was crowned Emperor (Kaiser = Caeser) of the "Holy Roman
Empire of German Nation" by the pope in Rome for the big european
empire!
About 795 after Christ, we had the CHRISTIANISIERUNG
(Chrisianisation) which spread from West to East and North. And Sagels
converted to Christianity as well. Ever since the region round the
Sachel estate was marked by the Roman Catholic Church and Faith.
Since the 9th century, peace has reigned the region, more or less, and
no Mongolian, Hun or Napoleonic soldier has touched it ever since. It
was free !
News of the present: Exactly at the "SACHEL" they are
trying to build a big Formula-1 racing course. The whole area with
3,500,000 m2 will be a racing-course, hotels, visitor-tribunes for
80,000 people. Beginning with the creek up to the hill-back they will
build it. The green party is against it, because of the destroying of
the nature. But the other parties and the initiators will realise it,
because of the economic power for that area. The name will be
"Westfalen-Ring" and we all will see it minimum once a year
in television worldwide. In neighbour to the "Nurburg-Ring"
and the "Hockenheim-Ring" it will be the 3rd Formula-One
racing course in Germany! The Loedige-family (the actuall owner of the
SACHEL) has to sale 2/3 of theyr properties for that project.
In 1288 a. Chr. the baron of the Stoppelberg "Baron von
Schwallenberg" wanted to build a castle or a fortified town on
the near-by Stoppelberg-hill which is close to the Sachel estate
near the village of Steinheim (in the state: North Rhine
Westphalia, NRW). So the Sagels had to leave their place. This must
have happened at a swoop (like an escape under cover of the night !)
because the millstone which was found is of unique quality, only
recently shaped or reshaped. It looks if it were planned for a longer
time. In addition, it is exceptionally big!
So the Sagels moved to a place 10 kilometres away. In the village "Sommersell"
(which belongs to that time to the aristocratic family Von
Schwallenberg) they built a farmhouse. They very likely called
themselves "The family which comes from the Sachel".
A new family was born / created!
Ever since 1288, the Sagels have lived in this farmhouse or
estate. Today Wilhelm and Rita Sagel are the owners and run the farm.
They produce the good old "Sagel-Sausages", which cannot be
buy in any supermarket! (Unfortunately Rita died in November 1998...)
Close to Sommersell there is a castle and palace of the
high-aristocratic family Von Oeynhausen of the Grevenburg /
Oldenburg. Since 1372 the knight Johann von Oeynhausen was rent the
Oldenburg-castle, which he built by himself, but the owner were the
noblemen to the Lippe (Edelherren zur Lippe). They rent the
field to him. In 1380 he got the town / village Zomerzele for 40
silver-marks by the Simon III to the Lippe. From 1536 up the
descendants of the von Oeynhausen built the Grevnburg palace,
because the Oldenburg-castle was not longer up to date and they had a
lot of struggles with the catholic church, exspecially themontastery
Marientmunster (foundet in 1128) and also with the noblemen to the
Lippe. The von Oeynhausen has changed to the Protestants! (I do have a
lot of interesting documents about these stories in my office (only in
German / Deutsch!).
This noble family was once looking for an estate manager
("Hoffmann" in German) who was to organize and rund the whole
aristocratic estate and property, e.g. fields and forests. Furthermore,
it was his duty to collect the tithes from the serfs, to buy wine and
other goods for the noble family, to supervise the cultivation of the
fields and the tending of the cattle. He was, as it were, the castle
manager and did not have to do any manual work, only to organize and
manage.
Since about 1400 after Christ the Sagel family has been busy for
this aristocratic family Von Oeynhausen. They were judges, managers,
lawyers: each a job which required a great confidence in the person.
The Sagels were said to be very reliable and trustworthy. In all
probability, they worked as a kind of courtiers for the aristocratic
Von Thienhausen family, sometimes for the Von Schwalenberg family and
even for the rich ducal von der Lippe family who possessed spaces of
land and fortune.
Over the centuries it remained as described above. The children tended
the sheep, cows etc., the father managed the farm.
The Reformation caused the Counter-Reformation and with it the
Catholocism, originating from the archdiocese of Paderborn.
The Sagels did not take part in any conflicts, so I at least assume.
They only had to run and organize the aristocratic court, while the
aristocracy were knocking their teeth on crusades or alike. Horses,
sword and arming were only available for knights. The need a lot of
money and so they were only noblemen.
The name changed in the course of the centuries from Zachel, Zagel ,
Sachel (in German you pronunce the CH like the Spanish G), Saigel to
Sagell, Saggel and Sagel. In Schleswig-Holstein (German state) another
- L - was added to make the name sounds more French! Or Saguel. In
Latin- and Central America this creates the same pronunciation as in
German, like the Spanish - GUEL - in Miguel for example. Or Sagle, in some
North American States or Canada to keep the German pronunciation (watch
the - GLE - in eagle !) and also Sagelova in Praha, Czech Republic.
In 1664 after Christ, after 30 years of terrible war (!) between
Protestants and Catholics, a son of the baron family Rab Arndt von
Oeynhausen bought a castle or farm estate / aristocratic court inHESSEN,
(Hessia is a state in Germany). The place was about 150 kilometres
south of SOMMERSELL and far away from the home county in
Westphalia (today the German state NRW (Nord Rhein Westfalen (North
Rhine Westphalia)). He needed a manager (Hofmann) for the new estate /
court as well and chose someone of the Sagel family (his name was
Hermann Sagel) together with his wife and five children (2 sons).
They did the same work on the highly aristocratic estate of JOSBACH
in Hessia, as all their ancestors at home. Although separated and far
away from the rest of the family. We do not know if they remained in
contact with each other. Hessia was Protestant and consequent-lythey
converted to the new religion, and so did Rab Arndt von Oeynhausen as
well. He supposedly went to Hessia because of his religious faith.
Until today the black line of Westphalian Sagels has been Catholic and
the blue line of the Hessen-Sagels has been Protestant. The Von
Oeynhausen were, with just one other aristocratic family, the only
Protestant family in the archdiocese of Paderborn until the
Second World War and had a lot of trouble because of that.
Some decades later the Sagels had their own estate near Josbach.
It has been called the WAMBACH until today. For a couple of
years they worked for both estates, on the Josbach estate for the Von
Oeynhausens and on their own Wambach estate which was leased from the
near-by Haina monastery.
Since 1806 no Sagel has been listed as a leaseholder of the WAMBACH.
Had the leaseconract expired?
The various family lines spread more and more, because of the oncoming
industrialisation, wars, colonisation, etc..
Ever since that period, people has become more mobile and more from one
place to another, wherever they found work and land.
Nowadays we find Sagels in Namibia (Curt Sagell emigrated in 1938), in
the USA, the Netherlands (Geerd Henrich Zagel emigrated in ca. 1810),
in Great Britain, in Praha / Czech Republic, in Panama (Ignatius Sagel
emigrated in 1856 and had have 5 boys and 1 girl), in Canada, in
France, in Sweden, in Danmark, in Turkey, in Russia, in
Northern-Germany as well as in Southern-Germany.....EVERYWHERE. Look at
the Sagel links on the homepage!
I got to know even some Jewish Sagels. That is funny, but possible and
true. They live in Atlanta/Georgia, Maryland and France. It is possible
that they fled during the holocaust in Europe with their Jewish wives.
They married and changed their religion. You see: The Sagels has a lot
of beautiful colours!
I am always surprised when I see that most of the Sagels are
independent or follow at least free lance jobs! The biggest part of the
Sagels I meet, still today, are working by his own business or at least
in a liberal profession ! Ah: If you would like to know the orginial
way to speak the name: Just try it! SAGEL - The S like in the english Z
in Zoo; the A like the U in CUT; the G like these one in GEAR; the E
like the E in help; the L just like an L.
My line in the Sagel family tree!
Because
of the Industrialisation peoples moved from one place to the another.
We even had a politician in the German Parliament, then called the
Reichstag. Similarly, my family branch changed places from where they
lived. They changed to a family of carpenters. My ancestors built many
timber-framed houses which you find almost exclusively in Germany
(Deutschland) and beautiful half-timbered churches. (Look at the
photolist the church in Wolferode, Hessen!).
During the many great, but horrible wars of the 20th century my
ancestors came from all parts of the former German Reich. One of my
grandfathers comes from the Berlin area, 600 kilometres from my home.
The other one is from Hessen (Stadtallendorf-Wolferode), near
the Wambach, about 250 kilometres from my home. One grandma comes from
Hannover (all the big kings- and queens-houses of Europe are having
familymembers from there!), about 400 kilometres away from here. The
other one comes from East-Prussia, more than a thousand kilometres
away.
If you know how we live here in Europe, (this sentence does not concern
Germans and people from European neighbour countries!) you can
understand that a hundred kilometres is a lot, because there are,
partly at least, very different dialects and ways of life. In a quarter
of the total surface of the USA is ca. 250 million citizens, we in
Europe are living with 375 million people (only in the European Union
without Poland, Czech Republik, Russia, Switzerland etc...). Totaly
different dialects and cultures every 100 or 150 kilometres. That does
not mean the better or the worse! But it does mean that in our country
more people live in less space. That again means: For Americans,
Africans or Australians, 500 kilometres distances do not mean anything.
In Europe you will find 3 or 4 different languages while that distance.
After a 200 kilometres´ journey you may reach the next town. In Europe,
especially in Germany (has about 86 million citizens) you find every 3
kilometres an old place which is often older than thousands years (The
Manheim town I am coming from is first listened in 898 after Christ and
so it is more than 1100 years old!)
So during the centuries gone by, you never had to leave the places or
region where you lived. It was unimaginable to travel to e.g. Berlin.
There was hardly any mobility as it is nowadays. By the way: Part of
the aristocratic Von Oeynhausen family still live in the Grevenburg or
in the Hoexter area.
That was part of the Sagel family history in Germany. How do you
live? What is your occupation or profession? Where are your family
roots?
Please tell me something about your ancestors and your family tree!
I´ll try to find you in my big Sagel family tree (you can download it
here!) or integrate you. In months to dome I´d like to install further
pictures and stories about life in the Middle Ages and later in order
to show how the Sagels / Zachels / Sachels / Sagells / Saguels / Sagles
lived.
Many friendly regards and wishes from Kerpen / Germany (Deutschland).
Whenever you want any information
about the latest state of my research, please send me an e-mail! (For
newsletter please click here)!
Good bye and Auf Wiedersehen!!!!
Martin Sagel
Bachstrasse 11
D-50171 Kerpen
Germany / Deutschland
Tel.: +49 - 22 37 - 655 800
Designed © 1999 - 2014 by Martin Sagel
|