| Notes |
- Stephanus Thomæ, mein seeliger Vater, erblickte dieses Tages-Licht zu Hildburghausen auf Bartholomæi 1629. Die Eltern waren Herr Christoph Thomæ, anfangs Cantor, hernach Subdiaconus und endlich Archidiaconus daselbst, so 1634 im Herrn seelig entschlaffen, und Frau Catharina, eine gebohrne Hartmdnnin. Er frequentirte unter den damahligen Kriegs=Troublen anfangs die Schule daselbst, und gieng zugleich seinem Stieff=Vater Johann Möringen, sowohl in seinem Kirchner=Amt, als Becker Handwerck an die Hand, biß er sich 1646. auf das Hochfürstl. Gymnafium nach Coburg wenden, und daselbst mit dem Convictorio und famulatur kümmerlich hinbringen konnte. Endlich begab er sich nach Leipzig, difputirte 1652. unter Hn. M. Rothen de Sorite, und promovirte den 21. April 1655. in Baccalaureum. Als er nach seiner Anheimkunfft sich eine geraume Zeit in dem vornehmen Carpzovischen Hauß aufgehalten, und die altesten Söhne informiret hatte, bekam er 1663. eine Vocation zur Pfarr Wiesenfeld, 1668. zur Pfarr Neuhauß, und endlich 1678. Zur Adjunctur Sonnenfeld, allhier starb er den 22. Julii 1706 im 77. Jahr seines Alters, recht Lebensfatt, an einem Schlagfluß, und wurde in die Closter=Kirche versendet. Ein mehrers von demselben findet der geneigte Leser in dem von mir nach seinem Tod ihm verfertigten Ehren=Gedächtniß. Von ihm find zum Druck kommen:
The English translation:
Stephen Thomæ, my blessed father, [first] saw the daylight in Hildburghausen on St Bartholomew's Day [24 August] 1629. The parents were Mr. Christopher Thomæ, in the beginning Cantor of this place, and at the end Subdeacon and afterwards Archdeacon [also] of this place, who in 1634 fell into blessed sleep in the LORD, and wife Catharina, born Hartmannin. He frequented under the late military troubles the school of this place in the beginning, and went at the same time to his stepfather Johann Möringen in his office as a Kirchner [church's administrative assistant], as well as to the baker’s shop, working by the hand, until he in 1646 went to Coburg for the Great Princely Gymnasium, and passed the time at that place at the dorms [Convictorio] and in the classrooms [famulatur] in misery. Finally he went to Leipzig, apprenticed 1652 under Mr. M. Rothen de Sorite, and received his baccalaureate on 21 April 1655. As he informed the oldest sons, he was after his homecoming employed for a long time by the distinguished House of Carpzov and [then] received the call 1663 as the pastor of Wiesenfeld, 1668 as the pastor of Neuhauß, and finally 1678 as the adjutant of Sonnefeld, where he died on 22 July 1706 in the 77th Year of his age, still full of life, of a palsy, and was buried at the Klosterkirche. Also at the same place, the gentle reader will find that, after his death, I made the memorial in his honor. Of him it is here in print: [Actually, Christian listed three people who were buried with his father.]
Chronik der Stadt, der Diözese und des Herzogtums Hildburghausen [Chronicle of the City, the Diocese and the Duchy of Hildburghausen], by Rudolf Armin Human, Ph.D (a Thomä fan). (Hildburghausen, Saxe-Meninigen: Kesselringsche Hofbuchhandlung, 1886), pages 81, 82, 396, 397, 470
Antiquitates et Memorabilia Historiae Franconicae [in Latin: Antiquitaties and Memorabilia of the History of Franconia, but the book is in German] darumen insonderheit der Ursprung / Einrichtung und Merckwürdigkeiten der Fürstlichen Residenz-Stadt Hildburghausen von denen âltesten biß auf die jetzige Zeiten aus bewährten Uhrkunden abgehandelt werden [in German: Especially concerning the origin, foundation and curiosities of the Princely Residence-City of Hildburghausen from the authentic documents that were employed from the earliest to the current times], by Johann Werner Krauß [Hildburghausen, Saxe-Hildburghausen: Johann Gottfried Hanisch, "privileged court publisher", 1753], pages 309 and 311. The title is quite a mouthful. That's why this book is known as just, "Antiquitates et Memorabilia historiae Franconicae besonders Hildburghausen". Maybe the success of his first book went to Mr. Krauß’s head but he wrote excellent chapters about two major schools in Hildburghausen - the Hildburghausen School and the Princely Gymnasium.
Beyträge zur Erläuterung der Hochfürstl. Sachsen-Hildburghausen Kirchen- , Schul - and Landes-Historie: Zweiter Theil von der Stadt und Dioeces Hildburghausen [Contributions to the Explanation of the Church, School and Country History of the Duchy of Saxe-Hildburghausen: Second Part of the City and Diocese of Hildburghausen], by Johann Werner Krauß (Hildburghausen, Saxe-Hildburghausen: Johann Gottfried Hanisch, 1752), pages 274 and 383
Because Dr. Human used both books by Mr. Krauß as his sources about Christoph Thomä, I'll summarize my findings for you about Stephen's father. According to Mr. Krauß, Christoph lived his whole life in Hildburghausen but he was ordained in Coburg on 18 December 1625 as a deacon. In 1615, he became the 11th Cantor of the Hildburghausen School. The position of Cantor made Christoph the assistant to the Conrector, the second in command of the school. In 1622, he succeeded his boss as the 13th Conrector [Assistant Headmaster], "mit Berbehaltung des Cantorats [with the support of the Council of Cantors]” His promotion also made him the Vicar of the “U.L. Frauen.“ (Maybe that's why his son had to keep going to school in spite of the Thirty Years War.) In 1633, he was elevated to the rank of Archdeacon (Hofprediger = Court Preacher), the position he would hold to the end of his life. He died on 6 June 1634. His widow's second husband, Johann Möring (1596-1676), was, in 1642, the 10th Kirchner of the Hildburghausen School and he was succeeded in this office by his next four descendants. He was in various offices of the Church for 40 years.
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From National Library Coburg, Manuscript PM 1/65 : Christian Muhlfeld : Musician - book of the ducjy of Saxe - Meningen. Short biographies of musicians, cantors, organists, dilettantes who are born in the Duchy or have acted in the same Meningen 1908. Kantor, vice-pricipal; life datea is not identified. Thoma was 1614-1615 cantor in Hildburghausen, then vice principal.
That Christoph Thomä is in the Musiker-Lexikon des Herzogtum Sachsen-Meiningen ( 1680 – 1918 ) [ Dictionary of Musicians of the Duchy of Saxe-Meiningen ( 1680 – 1918 ) ] ???
Christoph Thoma (auch Thomä)
Kantor, Konrektor; Lebensdaten nicht ermittelt. Thoma war 1614–1615 Kantor in Hildburghausen, dann Konrektor.
QUELLE: Landesbibliothek Coburg, Manuskript PM I/65: Christian Mühlfeld: Musiker-Buch des Herzogtums Sachsen-Meiningen. Kurze Biographien von Musikern, Kantoren, Organisten, Dilettanten, die im Herzogtum geboren sind oder in demselben gewirkt haben. Meiningen 1908.
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For Hildburghausen and its neighboring towns, 1634 was the year of das große Sterben [ “The Great Death” ]. The German Wikipedia article about the Stadtfriedhof Hildburghausen [ City Cemetery of Hildburghausen ] states that so many people died at the time that it became necessary to open a separate cemetery for plague victims. Today, no one knows its exact location — the people were that traumatized — but it is believed to be south of Hildburghausen, on the banks of the Werra River.
You might have already read all about it in the online timeline of Hildburghausen but it’s still worth a repeat, translated from the German :
16 October 1634
Feast Day of St Gallus. The region is conquered by the Imperial General of Cavalry Johann Ludwig Hektor Graf von Isolani with his Croats. The [ evil ] general is of Cypriot origin and leads a [ most ] cruel regiment in [ an orgy of ] pillage, robbery, torture and mass murder, after the Saxe-Weimar Cavalry has already withdrawn, on 9 October, in a hurry towards Suhl. The incursion of Isolani, who came from [ Generalissimo ] Wallenstein, is to be regarded as a punitive act by the Emperor against the Thuringian princes, who were allied with Sweden.
One example is Themar, which suffers terribly. The Imperial Soldiers raze 209 houses with 269 apartments, the rectory, the German and Latin schools, the Amtshaus [ district administrative building ], a town hall with a Ratskeller, two gatehouses and others. The city church with its works of art was spared by a happy coincidence. An Italian officer is said to have extinguished the fire torch in front of the Marian altar.
After the murderous arsonists have withdrawn, out of 300 people or heads of families, only 133 are counted, 40 of whom are healthy Bürger [ citizens ]. Next to the church there are “69 of the smallest houses” left. In the memorial sermon given by Deacon Hölbe, 83 people, as well as the health of the 30 of them, are mentioned. — Looting and pillage cause the damage of 149,282 guilders, 2 groschen and 8 ½ pfennigs.
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From the death record of Christoph from Chip Kalb:
I think Christoph Thomae died in his sleep but I can’t figure out the spelling of that word. It looks like the writer was trying to show off by inventing a new word. As you know, the Germans love to make combo words and this writer was apparently one of them. He used “dormire”, the Latin verb for “to sleep”, “todt”, the German noun for “death”, and the Latin verb ending, “– irt” to create “doremtodtirt” [ died in the sleep ] but it didn’t come out right, not in that handwriting. That writer should have laid off Latin and German shorthand and make the job easier for us translators.
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1598 - 1634 (44 years)
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