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Jacob Balliet of Schalbach (1641-1706)
The Allaman Heritage, Durward B. Allaman / Richard J. Henry
All Rights Reserved, © 1997 Richard J. Henry
The first post-war generation is represented by Jacob Balliet. When he died on 19 Feb, 1706 in Schalbach as a magistrate he was 64 years old, thus computed birth date in 1641.
The time from 1635 to 1648 saw the culmination of the Thirty Years War, troops marching to and from Sarrewerden county changing its political affliction and religion several times and all except a few families in the whole county died from hunger, pestilence and the evils of warfare. It has been said that the population in Southwestern Germany was estimated reduced by ninety percent by this War and that over 120 years were necessary for business, agriculture and population to reach once again the level of 1618.
After the end of the Thirty Year War in 1648 the complicated situation developed that Lorraine troops still occupied Sarrewerden county, but Lorraine itself was occupied by French troops (little fish eaten by big fish eaten by bigger fish). Thus troubles and warfare in the area continued until 1670, when Lorraine ultimately was defeated by France and ceased to be an independent state forever. As a result, the Lorraine occupation of Sarrewerden county ended and that county was given back to the counts of Nassau in 1670. In 1672 Reformed services in Burbach started again but Burbach church records for this time were not preserved.
There is however, an important record in the Reformed church records of the nearby city in Lixheim, preserved fully from 1678-1685: In 1680 Anna Fruibeau, the wife of the day laborer Jacob Pailette (Balliet) of Schalbach sponsors in Lixheim. Seemingly this one record is the cornerstone of the research on early Balliet's.
The reasoning goes as follows: The city of Lixheim, founded in 1608 was a Huguenot city, the family name of Balliet appears in Huguenot Burbach in 1625, the family name of Fruibeau is a local Huguenot family name of Schalbach, for already in 1592 a Hans Fruibeau, Qladt Fruibeau and German Fruibeau are listed in Schalbach. Thus it has been presumed that Jacob Pailette was a descendent of the Huguenots of that area, perhaps of Burbach who moved to Schalbach by marrying into a Schalbach Huguenot family. This construction is due to Albert Giradin, himself a descendent of Balliet and famous local historian for the area.
The times, however, became worse for the Reformed faith, for King Louis XIV of France, having occupied after 1676 in several steps large parts of Alsace-Lorraine present-day Belgium, Luxembourg, and large portions of present-day Southwestern Germany, decided to make France an entirely Catholic country, In 1685 the edict of Fontainbleau prohibited any further Reformed service in France and, at the same time threatened emigration with the death penalty. The edict was applied in France itself and in the areas occupied by France according to the local possibilities.
Sarrewerden county and the lordship of Vinstigen were by 1685 all occupied by the French troops with Louis XIV standing then at the culmination of his power. Though the written edict of the King stated only that the Reformed people in "our city of Metz and those locations that have been under the jurisdiction of the parliament in Metz in Jan. 1678 and in those locations that have hitherto recognized Duke Charles Of Lorraine" should convert to Catholicism, the edict was also applied by the local commanders to the lordships of Vinstigen and Lixheim and even to the Lutheran inhabitants of Sarrewerden county.
It is reported that in the city of Vinstigen (now Fenestrange) all inhabitants were locked in the church and nobody came out who had not signed the conversion to Catholicism.
Seemingly Jacob Balliet in Schalbach, in disobedience to the law stayed with his Reformed faith.
One of the closest Reformed congregations at that time was in the city of Hornbach in the Duchy of Phaltz-Zweibrucken, thirty miles north of Schalbach. There I find the next record on the Balliet family: On 4th Sept. 1690 (the French armies were already retreating at that time, though peace did not come until the end of 1697). Maria, daughter of Jacob Balliet of Schalbach, in the territory Vinstigen, married in Hornbach to "Johnsses Tuller aus der Gruben in der Landvogtei Saanen" the latter being a Reformed Swiss,. This married couple resided in Schalbach the name being written Tuller, Teller, Deller and Diller.
After another couple of years of war and religious oppression, the year of 1697 saw, finally, the military defeat of Louis XIV. A kind of happy end for those who were still alive to see it. Sarrewerden county was restored once again to the Count of Nassau and hastily four Lutheran parishes and one Reformed parish were erected. The Reformed parish in Diedendorf (between Sarre-Union and Fenetrange) served all of Sarrewerden county and also neighboring territories of Lixheim and Vinstigen, the latter included Schalbach. After 1698 the records on the Jacob Balliet family are more complete. He had at least three sons that had again many sons, and the name of Balliet is found very often in records of the area after 1700. (For example the book by A. Giradin on Kirrberg has in its name index the name of Balliet 42 times.) His family is:
Jacob Balliet, computed 1641, in 1680 is shown as a day laborer of Schalbach, in 1706 is a Gerichs-Schoffe, or associate judge of Schalbach. He died 19-Feb-1706 Schalbach, aged 64 years. He was married before 1680 to Anna Fruibeau.
Issue
1-Maria Balliet, married 4-Sept-1690 Hornbach to Johannes Tuller
2-Stefan Balliet, married-26-Apr-1707 in Burbach, Maria Catherina Schweitzer
3-Johan Nicholas Balliet, born-computed 1680 sponsors in 1702, married-3-Dec-1707 Margaretha Durand, died-24-Jan-1745 Rauweiler, aged 64 years, 3 months
4-Abraham Balliet, born-computed 1683, married-22-Oct-1708 Diedendorf Susanna Catharina Hahn, Died-16-Apr-Schalbach aged-83
5-Anna Balliet, sponsors in 1702 and 1707
Jacob Balliet, 1642-1706, of Schalbach, Lorraine had three sons, Stephen, the father of Paulus; Abraham, the father of Joseph; and Johan Nicholas Balliet. These three sons all lived and died in France.
Stephen Balliet was married at Burbach, Alsace Apr-26-1707 to Maria Catherina Schweitzer daughter of Nicholas Schweitzer of Schalbach. They had a son Paulus and several daughters one of whom was Maria. Paulus and Maria emigrated to America. Paulus became the founder of the Balliets of Whitehall, and Maria became the wife of Johannes Solt in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania. It is quite possible the parents, Stephen and Maria C. also came to Pennsylvania. However, no trace of their death records in France or Pennsylvania has been found.
Abraham Balliet born 1684 and died 1767 at or near Schalbach, Lorraine. Married Susanna Hahn, daughter of Jacob Hahn of Fleisham, Susanna born 1683 died Dec-18-1777. As far as is known they had only a son, Joseph Balliet, who landed at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1749, became the founder of the Balliets of Heidelberg in America.
Johan Nicholas Balliet was born 1680 died at Schalbach Jan-24-1745. Married Margareth Durand, born 1684, died at Schalbach Mar-27-1766, daughter of Mathieu Durand of Lixheim. Johan was an elder in the Reformed Church. They remained at Schalbach and had eight children, one of whom was also named Johan Nicholas Balliet. This Johan Nicholas Balliet, the first cousin of Paulus and Joseph Balliet, married Susanna Alleman, the daughter of Jacob Allemong and his wife Anna Maria Balliet, on Nov 17, 1743 at Schalbach, Lorraine. It is known that Johann, Jr. and Susanna settled in Switzerland and from there, they came to America. Johan and Susanna emigrated to Pennsylvania and their son was the progenitor of the Balliets of Sugar Loaf, Pennsylvania.
Johan Nicolas Jr. and Susanna (Allemong) Balliet had a son, Johannes, born 1746 at Schalbach. According to Johannes will, his mother was living with him in Lucerne County, so in all probability Johan Nicolas Jr. and wife Susanna, Johannes and his brothers and sisters made the voyage together. They arrived from Switzerland and were in America after the 1850 census, settling first in Northampton County, Pennsylvania near her parents, then on to their final destination.
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