Rettig

Johann Dieter Rettig, son of Johannes Rettig & Margaretha Röder, was born 21 January 1704 in Gronau. He married in Gronau on 13 February 1725 to Catharina Elisabetha Metzger, daughter of Nicolaus Metzger & Catharina Metzger.She had been born 2 April 1703 in Gronau.

The baptisms of the following children born to Johann Dieter Rettig & Catharina Elisabeth Metzger are recorded in the parish register of Gronau: (1) Hanß Niclaß, born 22 December 1725, died 26 February 1762; (2) Anna Maria, born 30 October 1727, died 26 Otober 1825 [in Gronau]; (3) Margaretha, born 30 October 1729, died 9 May 1732; (4) Johann Jacob, born 19 September 1731, baptized 21 September 1731; (5) Susanna Margaretha, born 4 November 1733; (6) Johann Philipp, born 15 January 1736, died 18 May 1736; (7) Catharina Elisabetha, born 14 April 1737, died 18 April 1809 [in Gronau]; (8) Johann Philipp, born 28 October 1739, died 22 February 1748; (8) Johann Peter, born 1 July 1742, died 24 March 1822 [in Gronau]; (9) Georg Adam, born 2 November 1744; and (10) Johann Conrad, born 30 April 1746, died 19 May 1805 [in Gronau].

Catharina Elisabetha Rettig née Metzger died 18 April 1760 in Gronau. Johann Dieter Rettig remarried on 31 August 1762 in Gronau to Maria Catharina Deichard, daughter of Johannes Teichart [sic] & Anna Catharina Metzger and the widow of Johann Adam Wolf. Maria Catharina Deichard had been born 12 October 1707 in Gronau and died there on 3 October 1771. Johann Dieter Rettig died in Gronau on 31 August 1762.

Johann Jacob Rettig (born 1731) married on 27 March 1766 in Gronau to Eva [sic] Elisabetha Rettig, daughter of Johann Georg Rettig & Anna Elisabetha Schmidt. She had been born on 12 May 1745 in Rimbach, about 19 kilometers southeast of Gronau.

Johann Jacob Rettig & his wife emigrated to Russia. They departed from Lübeck by the English frigate Love & Unity with skipper Thomas Fairfax at the helm, and arrived at the Russian port of Oranienbaum on 12 September 1766.

The family arrived in Paulskaya on 17 August 1767 where they spent their first winter in Russia. They are recorded there on the 1767 Census in Household No. 8. The following year they settled in the colony of Kind.

In 1780, the Rettig family moved to Schaffhausen where they are recorded on the 1798 Census in Household No. Sh09.

The Reddig family is recorded on the 1834 census of Schaffhausen in Households No. 55, 92, & 111.

History of the Rettig Family in Gronau:

"Von den Familiennamen vor dem 30jährigen Krieg haben sich fünf [in Gronau]....Am schwierigsten ist die Herkunft der Rettigs zu ermitteln. Die in unserem Dorfe ansässigen Linien kommen einerseits aus dem Raum Knoden/Schannenbach/Hohenstein um 1500.... Es sind aber auch Rettichs von Knoden nach Zell gezogen, auch andere kleinere Linien sind zu verfolgen, so dass ein klares Bild nur schwer zu gewinnen ist. Der Name 'Rettig' scheint sich von der 'Roding' her zuleiten, ähnlich wie Roeder. Die alten Schreibweisen lauten: Retgen, Redgin, Rettgen, Rettge, Roedig, Roedtge mit weiteren Varianten.   Ein Gronauer Flurstueck heisst, 'Im Rödchen;' 1611 'Im hohen Rettgen' und 'Im hohen Rettich,' wobei es sich im eine kleine Rodung handelt." Das Dorf in der Grünen Aue by Eberhard Kühner (p. 36).

[Translation: "Five of the family names before the Thirty Years' War [in Gronau]....The most difficult thing is to determine the origin of the Rettigs. The lines resident in our village come from the Knoden, Schannenbach, Hohenstein area around 1500. However, Rettigs also moved from Knoden to Zell where other smaller lines can also be traced, so that it is difficult to get a clear picture. The name "Rettig" seems to derive from "Roding," similar to Roeder. Old spellings include: Retgen, Redgin, Rettgen, Rettge, Roedig, Roedtge with other variants. A parcel of ground in Gronau is called "Im Rödchen" and since 1611 Im hoch Rettgen and Im hoch Rettich, which is a small clearing."

Another entry in this book (p. 68) notes that the Rettig family is not mentioned in the earliest records, but appears at the end of the 17th Century coming from Schannenbach and Knoden. Kühner also mentions (p.93) that the Rettigs, along with the Hess, Filbert, and Braun families, are professional weavers. A small remnant of the village mill is visible at No. 120 Hofraite in Gronau - the home of the Rettig family.