This is the family register of Jakob Heinrich Eker and his two wives, Anna Maria Bohnenberger and Rosina Dörrer. The baker (Bek.) Jakob Heinrich is the son of the miller, "Old" Johannes Eker and one of two Eckers in 1820 who is a Bürger of Unterreichenbach. These family registers from the early to mid- 19th Century provide a wealth of information about the citizens of this village.
This is an actual photograph of the church books taken by me in 2008. These old books are in excellent condition and are still kept in the offices of the local church. The registers serve as an index to the family structure, to older records in other volumes, and to what happens later to individual family members. Because these registers are so useful and I will use them repeatedly, I will describe their structure and conventions in more detail elsewhere. I have copies of all of them, both Ecker and non-Ecker. Much to my own surprise, I have gotten much better at reading the German script.
Two of Jakob Heinrich's sons are among the earliest to have emigrated to America: in 1844 and 1853.
Child #2 is Friderich, born in 1804 and confirmed in 1818 at the usual age of 14. Following the confirmation entry is the notation shown in detail just below. The important word is ausgewandert indicating emigration. In this case, the destination in 1844 is clearly given: Amerika. Friderich at age 40 is the first Ecker I have identified so far who came to America. There is no indication that he married in Unterreichenbach as is the case, for example, for children #6-8.
Child #12 by the second wife is Georg Wilhelm, born in 1821, confirmed 26 April 1835, and who in 1853 at the age of 32 also goes nach Amerika. 1853 is about when I believe my Abraham Wilhelm and his siblings come to Newark. We will see others arrive in the same time frame.
Note the spelling of the name "Eker" without the letter 'c.' I puzzled over this for a while wondering if somehow the 'c' was in ligature with the letter 'k' as happens with some German typefaces and writing. In this case, I think there is a 'k' and only a 'k.' Look at the 'k' Jakob just after "Ecker," and in Jakobina on line #5. This is an example of the variation in spelling of names that we have seen so often, including the spelling of my name, Hasselbacher. Recall that in his passenger list from 1854, Abraham Wilhelm's last name is spelled Eker. It happens!
Note also that Jakob Heinrich is not a miller like his father. It may be that only a single son would inherit that income producing occupation.
There is a wealth of additional specific material that could be discussed, and if anyone is interested I will do so. I am in hope that some family member of the Ecker immigrants I list in these pages will stumble across them and get in touch with me.