Becht
For more than 20 years I am trying to unravel the pedigree of all
the families Becht. (In Germany I get help from some other
investigators, for exemple mr Werner Becht, Elzach).
As you understand the search is concentrated on Germany. We are
not finished yet, with the extensive job. That will take some
more years ! But of course there are already some pedigrees to
recognize. The chance that ALL the Bechts decended from ONE
family/man is small. I think there are several families,
indipendent of each other.
It is estimated that
there are approximately 2200 Becht households in the world.
Nowaday most Bechts live unquestionable in Germany, about 4000. That is also the country where all the Bechts come
from, it is realy the country of origin. They still reside
mainly, yust like in former days, in mid- (south-) Germany.
In the USA there are about 1500 living Bechts now.
In the Netherlands there are about 350 Bechts.
In France about 250, in Astralia about 60, in Canada
about 40, in Switserland about 20, in New
Sealand about 15, in England and Ireland about 10
and in Austria 5, all descended from Germany.
De Becht
Bul
In the Netherlands we regularly publish the Dutch Becht Bul a newsletter with genealogical
information, history and interesting stories about BECHT
families. We made 38 numbers now.
Reutlingen
The beginning in
Reutlingen
The Reutlinger Becht-family is undoubted the most striking, the
most well-know en largest Becht-race.
There are Becht-investigators who think that all the other races
Becht somehow arised from the Reutlinger race. They are convinced
that all the Bechts are family. They can't simple imagine that a
not-defined Becht-race is not somewhere a side-line of that old,
large Reutlinger race. Especially the sensational old source of
the Reutlinger race is an object. I must admit, that I differ in
this opinion. It is likely and acceptable in the future we can
transmit some of the single races to the Reutlinger race. In
short, before we couple, it has to be proved ore demonstrated.
We know a lot about the Reutlinger Bechts. In
the past eight centuries they regular turn up in old dokuments
and town-chronicles. Continuously searching in old publications
is remunerated. Because the Reutlinger Bechts collaborated in
negotiations etc., we occure the name in official dokuments.
That's the reason it is possible to give a very large and long
genealogical tree.
Europe, Germany, the part wich we now consider
as Baden-Württemberg. In the sixth sentury it was all
wilderness, shrubs, wood and fields overthere. The tribe of the Alamen
began with the reclamation : 'Let us begin with the
clearing', in old German 'Lass uns reutten'. And on that
place behind the river Echaz a little settlement arised :
Reutlingen. In about 500 years the village developed into a
little town, just like a lot of other settements in 'Europe'.
Old Reutlingen
And so there is in 1100 'Rüttelingen', with 4 churches, a court,
a monastery, a lot of windmills, its own castle 'Achalm' on the
'mountain' (the Achalm, 700 m), counts, knights, 'der
Vogt' (guardian), 'ministerials' (servants), patricians, old rich
families with own estates and serfs, farmers, pedlars, artisans,
the first merchants, the common poor people.
At the end of the 12th century Reutlingen gets
its own municipal-justice and from then we can call it a 'town'.
It gets a townwall with towngates, a towncourt, a townmagistrate,
rates and rights. About 1240 there was the first bailiff ('scultetus')
with judicial supervise. And there are some judges.
So you have an image of the mediaeval-Reutlingen in 1240. The
first years as a town. The first years Reutlingen played a part.
And the first years in which it occurs in docunments.
The first Becht
It is in those mediaeval years, during the arise of the town
Reutlingen, that we can find the first Becht. He is mentioned in
a charter dated 1243 ; a vellum length , on the bottom
three brown wax seals. (Nowadays it is in the Haubtstaatsarchiv
in Stuttgart). It is concerning a struggle on money and land. The
Latin text shows the names of the bailiff, some other rishers and
witnesses. One of the witnesses is the barrister 'Bahto
Waltherus'. Or must we say Walther Bahto (-ne) ?
This Bahto is the oldest Becht we know.
As you see he doesn't named Becht yet. 'Bahto'
alters in the course of years in Behte, Beht/Bächt/Becht.
We don't know more about Bahto. He had a leading position in
Reutlingen.
Bahto has two (maybe three) sons : Friedrich
and Albert/Albrecht I Behte/Bähte/Baithe. About Albrecht I we
can tell a lot more. In 1273 he appears the first time: 'Albertus
dicto Bahto'. Albrecht I had a leading position in Reutlingen
too. He was appointed bailiff.. He was also judge and councillor.
In 1292 Albrecht became the first (!) official Lord Mayor of
Reutlingen (Burgomaster).
Reutlinger Becht
From the begin the Reutlinger Becht owned land, estates,
orchards, houses, rights and privileges. Between 1320-1452 the
hamlet Jettenburg (with chapel, gardens, citadel, guardianship,
etc) in the environs of Reutlingen, belongs to the Bechts. In
some dokuments they even were mentioned as 'Becht von
Jettenburg'. Nowadays Jettenburg still exists, it is ever a
hamlet. Nothing there recalled the Bechts.
The Reutlinger Bechts were patricians.
Especially in the first centuries we see them as judges,
scholars, bailiffs and mayors. They had there own arm and
foundation, about which I shall tell more in next Beïngs.
About 1500 the Bechts leave Reutlingen. The
family split up in three groups : One remains in Reutlingen, one
lives on in Heilbronn and one going off to Esslingen . From those
three main-lines a whole lot of other (little) races arised.
Since that time, however, many other groups have formed and
branched out so that today there are many Bechts all over the
world.
It overshoots the mark to give here all the
names of the whole posterity of Bahto, to overpower you with
names and dates and tell everything about all the Bechts... I
Occasionally I can give on Internet some nice information about
some Reutlinger Becht. You know now something about the oldest
Becht and the arise of the Reutlinger race. And you see ;
Altough you aren't a Reutlinger Becht, you do have a name wich is
older than 750 years !
Reutlingen race (in Dutch)
Genealogical
BECHT-history in the USA
My American letter and
questionnaire.
For about eight years ago I have sent in all 160 letters to
American Bechts.
32 wrote me back and sent information.
36 letters came undeliverable return, (wrong adress, moved,
forwarding order expired).
It was a great pleasure for me to establish the
kindness, the historical interest, the help and collaboration
with this USA-Becht-search.
The 32 letters with (all kind of) information delivered me a
rational picture of the dispersion, the origin, and amount of
BECHT in the USA.
Alas it was in the first instance mostly impossible to say from
wich (German) Becht the USA-Becht descended. But on the other
hand there were sometimes good indications and it is sertain not
out of the question that there will be come a solution. I keep on
searching !
Beïng
Becht
When it was time to let the American Bechts know a few results
and observations about the questionnaire, I choose for some kind
of a newsletter about Becht : 'Being Becht'. For that
moment it was a good way to let the Bechts know that it was my
pleasure to inform them about my Becht-research. Because it was
not possible for me to cash money (from the USA to Europe), the
'Being' was free, you can see it as a letter of thanks for help !
But I must agree, it was to expensive.
Research in the USA
I am not the only one who is busy with the American genealogical
history.
The 'Becht-questionnaire' has proved that there are a several
Becht-investigators in the USA.
Because I have a lot of information about the European Bechts, it
was (and shall be) able to link up USA- to
The American Bechts
As you understand, there does not realy exist THE AMERICAN BECHT.
ALL the Bechts in the USA original came from Germany, Europe. The
name 'BECHT' isn't arised in the USA. There is the possibility
that a Becht not direct came from Germany, but by way of an other
country (the Netherlands).
'and what kind of imported beer do you have?' (Nw Albany Inc)
It is not possible for me to give an axact
score of the persons with the name Becht. Roughly there are now
about 550 American Becht-families. If you wanted, you can say
that there are about 1500 Bechts in the USA. Bechts live in 39
American states. Most of them in New York (about 200).
Southern
Indiana Becht
Frank Becht helps me with the South Indiana Becht:
Southern Indiana
Bechts is a short story about several Becht families
emigrating to and settling in the beautiful rolling hills area of Floyd and
Clark counties of
Southern Indiana
, known as the Knobs, along the
Ohio River
in the 1800’s.
Southern Indiana Bechts
autobiography of Frank Becht
Several Becht families emigrated to the
Louisville
,
Kentucky
and
Southern
Indiana
area.
.
Others stopped further up the
Ohio River
at
Madison
,
Jefferson
County
,
Indiana
.
While it appears that most Bechts came from the same area of
Baden
and
Wurttenberg
,
Germany
, not all
Bechts are closely related but many feel like “family.”
Two such large Becht families, one headed by Henry Becht and Dorothea Hornung
and the other by George H. Becht and Elizabeth Minch, could very possibly be
brothers or close cousins;
there was a close family relationship between them
but we have been unable to establish direct family ties.
