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Document of
Johann Ernst Varnbüler, continued
1.) Johann Konrad Varnbueler. Of him, only his name is
known and that of his wife Adelheid von Hulle. In the year 1375 they were named
as parents of:
2.) Hans Varnbueler. Citizen of St. Gallen, where he was
living in the year 1402 in the Bohl. He was named councilor in 1410 and in 1419
master of a professional guild and in 1423 functioned as city planner and head
of the Department of Forestry which was a department within the city
government. In 1424 he was appointed Referee for the courts in the conflict for
jurisdiction between the Abbey St. Gallen and Junker Ulrich Estrich, owner and
ruler over Niederbueren, Urenthal and Thurstuden.
He is mentioned in
1375 as owner of the house and estate Weinstein in the Rhine valley. This
estate was not a fee estate, but a leasehold from the Abbey St. Gallen. (XV 2
.... (1.7.9.). [Note: I'm not sure what the previous numbers make reference
to. Such numbers are found elsewhere in the document]. When this lease was established is not known,
probably after they were settled in the St. Gallen vicinity for some time and
established a relationship with the Abbey.*)
While the master
family tree (XV 1 mentioned above) mentions Weinstein in the possession of the
Varnbuelers, there is no written documentation of this. The still available
oldest family documents do not actually mention this, only a later ... writing
... made this addition in the naive assumption that whatever a great-grandson
owned must have been owned by the oldest ancestor.
His children were:
Ulrich, of whom no descendants are known, Adelheid, married with Hans Keller
von Berg, and Hans Varnbueler Nr. 3
3.) Hans Varnbueler. He lived from 1421 until 1429 on
the Bruehl (not to be confused with Boehl), 1431 in the Speissergasse in St.
Gallen. He too held the coveted position of master of the guild. He died in
1444. He enlarged the estate of Weinstein in 1435 with the purchase of a large
Vineyard at Marbach in the Rhine
valley which also came from leases from the Abbey St. Gallen. (XV 2 (1)). His
children were: Hans Varnbueler Nr. 4 and Wiborada, married with Eglolf Aebli.
4.) Hans Varnbueler. He lived in St. Gallen, also in the
Speissergasse, probably in his father's house. After his father's death he
became the owner of the leasehold Weinstein. We also know the name of his wife,
Margaretha Burgauer. Her brothers, Hans and Othmar, the Burgauers of St. Gallen
had a crest and freedom diploma presented by King Friedrich IV in 1443.
Margaretha survived her husband and died in 1482 and is buried in the women's
Abbey of St. Gallen. Her marriage produced one son, Ulrich Nr. 5 and four
daughters. Two took the veil, the other two married into St. Gallen families,
Heinrich Suter and Ulrich Thumbacher.
5.) Ulrich Varnbueler! If the old family tree can be
believed on this point - he was born in 1422. He was married with Agnes Bely
von Belfort, a daughter of Ulrich Bely von Belfort and Elisabeth von Castelmur,
and were also the patriarch of the [?] currently still in Chur, as well as
Davos, residing noble family Beely von Belfort. (.V 2 ... (26 page 4)). The
same family tree claims of him that he .... was the St. Gallen tax collector of
the castle Forsteck, field commander in the campaign against Waldshut, then
"Confalonerius Imperii," and lastly, mayor of St. Gallen. It is not
quite clear what is meant by Confalonerius Imperii; translated verbatim** it
means: Flag bearer. This honor also was equal to and connected to a
States-lease of Markgroeningen, which was never bestowed to the Varnbuelers.
Therefore, the most likely intent of this mention is to indicate that the
Varnbuelers were honored with being the keeper of the Banner of St. Gallen.
* maybe after the expulsion from the Gutenberg (1308)
** Gonfaloniere Hess leader of all citizens reporting for battle in Italy assembled under the Gonfalore (the flag).
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