Stephen Böke

The first known generation of the Junkermeier family is that of Stephen Böke, born in 1684 at Stemmen, in the principality of Lippe, Germany. Becuase the birth and baptismal records of the Varenholz church do not exist before 1697, there is no record of Stephen's birth, which would have given the name of his father. It is known that the Böke (alternatively spelled Boeke) family was numerous in the area. The earliest birth records of the Varenholz church, which included parishoners from Varenholz, Erder and Stemmen, show at least twelve Böke households, besides that of our Stephen Böke, in the years 1697-1720. In addition, there were two households using a hyphenated form of the name.

Contents

Earliest records

Stephen Böke first entered the Varenholz church records in 1715, when he had an illegitimate son, Simon Heinrich, born to Maria Elisabeth Grimers of Stemmen. No further connection of Stephen to this child appears in the Varenholz records.

Marriage

Stephen married Oct. 23, 1718 Margaretha Ilsebein Wiethaupt, born in 1692 at Stemmen. Margaretha had the title "Junkerin" ("Junker" was a title similar to the English "country squire"; the wife or inheriting daughter was called "Junkerin").

The evolution of 'Junkermeier'

After this marriage between Stephen and Margaretha, the family name, originally Böke, was known as Böke-Wiethaupt, Junkermeier ("Junker" = country squire, Margaretha's title, and "Meier" = farmer). This continued through the next two generations. Then the name was shortened to Wiethaupt, Junkermeier for a generation, and finally the name became just Junkermeier (beginning with Christian Friedrich Konrad Junkermeier I). What began as an identifying title attached to the family name finally had become the family name itself.

Death

Stephen died in 1742, age 58, at Stemmen. Margaretha died Feb. 28, 1742 at Stemmen.

Children

  1. unnamed girl, baptized Apr. 21, 1720; the two witnesses were Anne Cathrine, Junker aus Stemmen, and Anne Maria Wiethaupt.
  2. Johann Konrad Böke-Wiethaupt, baptized Nov. 14, 1723.
  3. Trine Margrethe Böke-Wiethaupt, baptized Mar. 24, 1726.
  4. Hans Herm Böke-Wiethaupt, baptized May 4, 1729.
  5. Johann Heinrich Böke-Wiethaupt, baptized Nov. 8, 1735.
  6. Anne Ilsabe Böke-Wiethaupt, baptized Feb. 14, 1737.

Junkermeier Lineage