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Hans <1590> came down to the Pfalz, perhaps with a son by his same name <Johannes/Hans> <1621>, and also with Ulrich <1629> who also lived in Sionerhof[1]. Even the grandchild Johannes, born about 1698 seems to have came down and lived in the area, finally dying about 1745. Johannes 'the grandson' had Johannes, Christian, and Ulrich between 1698 and 1708—all in Sioner Hof/Alzey. There may be some errors in estimates of the grandson's date of birth since the names of all three are recorded in Amsterdam Archives of the Mennonites who were supporting some of the family at Waartenberg (near Sembach?) in December of 1671. Hans is thought to have settled in Ibersheim, also known as Ibersheimer Hof, a Mennonite settlement north of Worms.

Text Box:
Donnersberg, state of Rheinland-Pfalz, Germany

According to Torsten Eymann, Hans, Hans II. and Ulrich Eymann left Oberdiessbach with most of their families and moved first to Niederroedern near Weissenburg/Wissembourg in northern Alsace on the left Rhine bank. Some months later they moved again for an unknown reason and finally settled in Ibersheim near Worms in the Palatinate. The restless times with small wars between France and its enemies in the 17th century <beginning in 1688> led to restless families, and so the immigrants moved twice again until one branch finally stayed around the Donnersberg mountain north of Kaiserslautern.Other family members emigrated to the Netherlands and to America in the west, and to the Banat and Galizia in eastern Europe."

Some beliefe that an Abraham Sr. Eyman made it to America and was the father of Abraham Eyman <1767>. This would most likely be the son of Johannes Eyman <1698> and Anna Magdalena Krehbiel. We don't know exactly when Abraham was born, but by 1725, Johannes and his wife were having children in Niederroedern Alsace, about 60 miles away. Christian Eymann <1701> also had children in Alsace 1725 –1729. By 1729, though, it seems that the Eymans had moved back north to the Pfalz. The Jacob <1725> who we believe migrated to America may have lived in Donnersburg from 1730 to his 1749 migration.

In 1730 or so, it seems that Johannes' family was being raised in Bennhausen, while that of Christian Eymann were being raised in Donnersberg. Ulrich Eymann, who ultimately came to America, had children in a number of closely associated towns in the Rheinpfalz between 1730 and his departure to America.

Genealogical Timeline

An accountd of Lyle von Riesen[2] suggests considerable migration of Eymanns in Germany, perhaps as a function of negotiating positions as managers of estates, avoiding wars, etc[3]. Below I'll try to extract the patterns of movement based on the genealogy he has provided, which apparently comes from a combination of European accounts:

Hans Eymann and his sons Hans and Ulrich, as well as grandson Johannes <1666> were born Oberdiessbach near Bern and are associated with two Pfalz locations: Sionerhof[4] and Mauchenheim, Alzey.

Johannes <1666> had 3 sons, Johannes <1698>, Christian <1701>, and Ulrich <1708>. All of these sons were born at Sionerhof.

Johannes <1698> seems to have migrated to Mauche;m <Alzey> about 1720 and returned to Bennhausen.

Map Notes:

These notes are full of references to places which often differ from one another slightly as matters of translation and perhaps text conversion issues in dealing with received files. Some, but not all of these places are locatable on maps.

ü Bennhausen is about on a line with Worms, and Ease – that is, North of Mannheim, SouthWest of Alzey (Postal Code for Alzey: 55232, state of Rheinland-Pfalz)

ü Niederrorern[13] on today's map in France – 100 km (60 miles) from Bennhausen

ü I have not been able to locate Sioher Hof, Niederroedern, or Wissembourg <Alsace> on maps.

ü I sometimes see"Sioner Hof", Sioner Hoff by Alzey, "Sionerhof", and at times, as in Hartmann genealogy, "Sionerhof-Mauchenheim".

ü Sembach (postal code: 67681, state of Rheinland-Pfalz) 13 miles S and West& very near Langmeil. Lohmuhle near Langmeil

ü Kirchheimbolanden (postal code 67292, Rheinland-Pfalz) to Bennhausen 7 miles SW

ü A Steinbach Am Donnersberg is visible on a map of Germany, quite close (5 km.) to Bennhausen. According to Rootsweb Palatine Project, there is a BennhausenDonnersbergkreis with postal code: 67808 (state of Rheinland-Pfalz)

EYNMANN <Eymann>; Die Familie Eymann stammt aus Oberdiessbach, Kanton Bern in der Schweiz. Ihre Wanderung in der Pfalz; Ibersheimer Hof - Sionerhof bei Alzey - Edenbornerhof bei Kirchheimbolanden - und die Lohmühle bei Langmeil Winnweiler. Alte Adelsfamilie aus der Schweiz im Jahre 80 n. Christus bereits genannt später im 800 Jahrhundert n.Chr. unter dem Namen EYNMANN und nach dem Jahre 1000 n.Chr. in EYMANN geändert.

EYNMANN <Eymann>; The family Eymann originates from upper these brook, canton Berne in Switzerland. Their migration in the Pfalz; Ibersheimer yard - Sionerhof with Alzey - Edenbornerhof with Kirchheimbolanden - and the Lohmuehle with Langmeil Winnweiler. Old aristocracy family from Switzerland in the year 80 n. Christ already called later in 800 the century A.D. under the name EYNMANN and after the year 1000 A.D.. in EYMANN changed.

[1] See notes under "map notes". I sometimes see Sionerhof, Sioner Hof, and/or Sionerhof-Mauchenheim.

[2] Lyle von Riesen's work relies on that of Adolf Hertzler of the Gundheimerhof bei Göllheim in diePfalz. Herr Hertzler researched many of the Mennonite families that lived in and emigrated from the Palatinate and Bavaria.

[3] During the early 1600s, the Pfalz, which had once been separate, was lost and became part of Bavaria. In 1648 some semblance of autonomy was restored when a monarch was given authority, though the realm remained part of Bavaria. In 1652 and again in 1660, the Bishop of Speyer issued a call for people to resettle the war-devastated Pfalz. By 1673 however, Louis XIV had declared war on the local kingdom and unofficially annexed the Pfalz to extend his realm to the Rhine. French predominance wasn't formally recognized until 1789.

[4] By Alzey

[5] One account says that he first resided on a leashold estate in Niederroedern in Alsace. His children until 1730 were born in Alsace, though later children were born at Donnersberg. At some time, he moved to Kindenheim on the Von Der Muehlenschen farm

[6] Ulrich, according to German church records was known as "a diligent farmer and trustworthy man." According to a guardian of the church, Ulrich wanted to buy a large farm in 1762, but this transaction did not come to pass because his wife, Maria Agatha, was not entirely satisfied with the purchase. She feared that her husband, through the acquisition of this new land might sink too far into debt.

[7] From pam: The correct town name is Alsenbruck-Langmeil (with an umlaut over the u in Alsenbruck). The Protestant Reformed book has been filmed and dates from 1705-1798. It is pretty close to Bennhausen. If there is a Lohmule it is probably Lohmuhle (muhle being mill in German) and could be a specific section of Alsenbruck-Langmeil.

[8] Munchweiler is several miles from Semback and near Kaiserslautern

[9] From Pam: There are 3 Munchweilers in the Pfalz but I think the one you want is Munchweiler a.d. Alsenz which is next to Alsenbruck-Langmeil. The Protestant records are filmed and range from 1698 to the 1800s although there are some overlaps and gaps throughout--not sure why some dates are overlapped. (This is the Munchweiler in the BA of Rockenhausen)

[10] I've seen alternate account that Ulrich was born at Lohmuhle near Langmeil in Palitinate

[11] Pam says: That is the correct spelling. The Protestant (Evangelische) records are filmed from 1698 to fairly recent times. It's actually part of the parish of Dannenfels.

[12] Note from http://www.pamsgenealogy.net : I can't find a town named Donnersberg but there is a kreis (sort of a county) in the Pfalz today named Donnersbergkreis. I suspect that was just an area in the Pfalz rather than a specific town. Your Bennhausen, Munchweiler and Alsenbruck-Langmeil all fall in Donnersbergkreis. You might want to get a detailed map of that area and check the surrounding towns for any of your family. Some of the larger towns in Donnersberg are Kirchheimbolanden and Rockenhausen. They're the older Landkreises in which your towns were located.

[13] Pam: Spelling is Niederroedern--records are microfilmed for some time frames, bap.

Marriages and deaths from 1621-1650, then baptisms for 1789, 1788, 1790-1791, marriages for 1788-1791, and Deaths for 1758-1791. These are the protestant (Evangelische) records. Catholic records are also filmed but since they were Mennonites, I doubt they'd appear in the Catholic records.

Iman family notes

Eymans on the Move

Family Migration Summary:

Genealogical Timeline

Map Notes: