Zimmermann

Here we are, on the final day of April, and the conclusion of the A-Z Challenge! It has been an interesting writing exercise, and I'm pleased to have been able to make it all the way to the end. I hope you've enjoyed my assorted posts, and will return for more in the coming months. While I may not post every single day, I will get out at least 4 per week (see the new "schedule" posted on the right of the blog's main page).

For the final post of the challenge, and the last Family "Saturday" column (the feature will henceforth return to Sundays), I'd like to mention an ancestor I discovered on my father's side of the family. Michael Zimmermann was born in 1546 in Wuerttemberg, Germany. He is my 13x great grandfather. His daughter Anna married Georg Mercklin on May 25, 1591, and the line goes down from there, eventually feeding into the Hires family during the latter part of the 18th century.

Not much is known about Michael, other than his name and place of origin. Considering how far back that is, there's no telling if additional information can be found. Really, how much does anyone know about an average man from over 400 years ago? Unless you're talking about a famous figure, such as one of the pilgrims or an aristocrat of some sort, odds are you won't find much more than a name, and you're lucky to have that.


Martin T. Ingham's cousin???



Of course, running into a Zimmermann allows me to wonder if I might be distantly related to Bob Dylan (whose real last name is Zimmerman). It isn't the most common name, and after all those centuries it is possible we are extremely extended cousins. It's yet another piece of the puzzle to explore someday.

It was certainly interesting to find a Zimmermann in the family, even one so far in the distant past.