The first Bayerl record I found in Edenried is that of Apollonia who was baptized 24 October 1720. I confess that I might not have found this record if I had not been guided to it by an Index prepared in the 1800s. Hers is the record in the third row beneath my label. The capital letter "B" in the name Bayerl looks neither like a Latin nor a German letter. Similar letter 'B's are present in the first name Barbara and last name Baiier(in) in the last item. The godparent is Apollonia Bremmer.
I found a son Joseph born to Apollonia in 1748, and her death record. We will follow Apollonia through these records where her last name is written more conventionally. In further confirmation of her identity, her parents Michael and Elizabeth are the only Bayerl couple having children in the first part of this century. I do not understand the significance of the umlaut over the 'a' in either Bayerl of Bauer but it is seen also in the first name Michael. Only the assistance of a classical linguistic scholar will help me here.
Looking ahead to my biggest disappointment from the records from Edenried is that although these seem to be the first Bayerls in the village, I do not know where they came from. I thought there might be a clue in the last column which seems to say where the parents came from. Most items say omnes de Edenried, (all from) but in two of the items below an additional exceptional notation is made. Unfortunately, the text is scrawled over two lines and the microfilm is not the best. This is a geographical problem I feared would remain unsolved. I got the shivers when one of the answers was suggested to me in the next entry.
I also found a death record for Apollonia who died 20 Feb 1765 at the age of 44. She was unmarried when she had her son. Soluta indicates unmarried status.
