I first worked on the Martin Estermann and Maria Wapf family back in 2019 with the caveat that I hadn’t been able to locate primary records to support the information I had found online.

Time has passed and a new look at the family has provided quite a few primary records to enable me to create an updated family sketch.

Martin Estermann, born c1600, probably in Switzerland, and was buried on 25 November 1667 in Neudorf. He married Maria Wapf on 24 October 1621 in Neudorf, Lucerne, Switzerland.

I was a bit surprised to find the baptism of Maria Wapf, daughter of Peter Wapf and Elisabeth Lewerin, on 24 March 1608, also in Neudorf, as she was only 13 1/2 years old when she married.

However, their first known child wasn’t baptized until late in 1625, which would mean she was close to 18 years old when she gave birth.

I also thought that perhaps Maria wasn’t the mother of all of Martin’s children – that she might have died and he remarried, but baptismal records don’t support that theory.

This time period was one of great unrest and many Swiss were turning to the newly established Lutheran church. If a family lived somewhere where Lutherans and Walloons or Anabaptists who were against child baptism weren’t welcome or the family tried to hide its religious beliefs, they might have still married and been baptized in the local Catholic church.

All children were baptized in Neudorf, Lucerne, Switzerland and the family was Catholic, or at least the children were baptized in the Catholic church.

Children:

1. John, baptized 1 November 1625
2. Wendel, baptized 19 October 1627; died before 15 November 1682; married Veronica Deler, 7 April 1656, Bretten, Baden, Germany. Wendel and Veronica were the parents of the famous Abraham with the fractured skull.
3. Adam, baptized 8 February 1630
4. Nicholas, baptized 16 June 1632; buried 24 April 1633
5. Agatha, baptized 27 March 1634
6. Anna, baptized 17 April 1637
7. Elizabeth, baptized 23 May 1639
8. Michael, baptized 24 October 1642
9. Laurentz, baptized 27 October 1646
10. Catharine, baptized 25 March 1648
11. Maria, baptized 25 July 1650
12. Stephen, baptized 27 August 1651
13. Nicholas, baptized 23 May 1653

There are a couple of corrections to the children compared to my 2019 post, but the information was remarkably accurate considering it was on a family tree with no sources.

In order to keep the data, above, together, here are the baptismal records together, posted in birth order. All records are found on Family History Library film 8194319. Image numbers have been placed in the captions.

There is a burial record for little Nicholas born in 1632:

Although Estermann isn’t a terribly common surname, there were a number of Estermann family members living in the Neudorf area. Because many of the marriage and burial records don’t give parents’ names or an exact age, but might say child or widow, and the family repeated the same given names, it is difficult to distinguish one person from another.

However, I am pleased that I finally have proof of the children of Martin Estermann and Maria Wapf.

Reviewing my husband’s family tree has been a very rewarding experience, as I’ve been able to locate and save many documents that weren’t previously available to me.

The Estermann family is no exception, as I’ve not only located original records to prove the tentative data I collected several years ago, but I’ve been able to add a new generation of parents for Maria Wapf, who married Martin Estermann.

So, let’s begin with this new generation.

Peter Wapf was born c1571, possibly in Neudorf, Lucerne, Switzerland, where he married and his children were born. No birth or baptismal record has been found for him, but it’s possible that the church records for his birthplace aren’t extant.

Elisabeth Lewerin was born c1575, also possibly in Neudorf.

Their marriage record hasn’t been found, either, but they likely married around 1596.

However, baptisms for their children have been located, along with one burial record for Jacob, all in Neudorf, Lucerne, Switzerland. These church records are found on Family History Library Film #8194319. Image numbers are in the captions:

Children:

1. Beatus Jacob, baptized 23 February 1597; died young NOTE: Beatus means ‘blessed’ in Latin. Whether or not his parents named him Blessed is unknown.

2. John Baptist, baptized 2 October 1598

3. Beatus Jacob, baptized 13 April 1600; probably died young

4. Barbara, baptized 7 April 1605

5. Maria, baptized 24 March 1608; married Martin Estermann, 24 October 1621

6. Jacob, baptized 27 March 1610; buried 31 December 1694; married Agatha Bucher, 31 October 1632

This adds a new well-documented generation to my husband’s family tree and an early one at that!