JOSEPHUS MAUS

Maus Castle on the Rhine River

This 3g grandfather's marriage record was found in the International Genealogical Records last week at  FamilySearch.org, much to my surprise. It pleases me greatly to see that so many world wide records are being digitized and collected for us family historians to find. This marriage event took place at the Roman Catholic Church in Bingen Stadt, Germany. See below:

Josephus Maus mentioned in the record of Josephus Maus and Anna Maria Kraemer 
Name Josephus Maus  
Spouse's Name Anna Maria Kraemer  
Event Date 28 Jun 1827  
Event Place Roemisch-Katholische, Bingen Stadt, Rheinhessen, Hesse-Darmstadt 
 
So, with this record, I also learn the name of my 3g grandmother which includes her maiden name as well. The location of their church is also instructive, pinpointing the probable place where they lived and worked and had their family.

Next, I immediately went to Wikipedia to find out more about Bingen, which I understand is a city and also the name of the county in the state of Rheinhessen, in the region of Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany. I was able to find photographs of some of Bingen's landmarks and a map of the area around Bingen. Interestingly, my Barnhisel ancestors lived near Bingen at Bad Kreuznach, just southwest of Bingen. The Rhine River runs through the town of Bingen.

In 1955, I boarded a tourist boat on the Rhine River in Weisbaden, Germany, which I notice is just northwest of Bingen. It's thrilling for me to reflect on that wonderful trip down the Rhine, at age 23, listening to the tour guide tell the stories of some of the castles along the river, to include, mind you, the Castle Maus' story. See below:

"Local folklore attributes the name of Castle Maus to the Counts of Katzenelnbogen's mocking of the Electors of Trier during the 30 years of construction, who reportedly said that the castle was the "mouse" that would be eaten by the "cat" of Burg Katz. The originally intended name was Burg Peterseck (or St. Peterseck). A matched castle on the left bank (to control the bank north of Burg Rheinfels) that was to be named Burg Peterberg was never constructed. Other names by which Burg Maus is known are Thurnberg (or Thurmberg) and Deuernburg."

Here is a list of the Castles, Fortresses and Palaces in The Middle Rhine Valley (North to South) from Wikipedia:

Lower Middle Rhine Valley
Poppelsdorf Palace, Godesburg, Schloss Drachenburg, Drachenfels

Upper Middle Rhine Valley
Stolzenfels Castle, Lahneck Castle, Marksburg, Sterrenberg Castle, Liebenstein Castle. Maus Castle, Rheinfels Castle, Katz Castle, Schönburg, Gutenfels Castle, Pfalzgrafenstein Castle, Stahleck Castle, Fürstenberg Castle, Nollig Castle, Heimburg in Niederheimbach, Sooneck Castle, Reichenstein Castle, Rheinstein Castle, Mouse Tower, Ehrenfels Castle, Klopp Castle, Boosenburg Brömserburg

Will I learn someday that there was a connection of my Maus ancestors to this old castle?

Construction of the castle was begun in 1356 by Archbishop-Elector of Trier Bohemond II and was continued for the next 30 years by successive Electors of Trier. The construction of Burg Maus was to enforce Trier's recently acquired Rhine River toll rights and to secure Trier's borders against the Counts of Katzenelnbogen (who had built Burg Katz and Burg Rheinfels). In the latter half of the 14th century Burg Maus was one of the residences of the Elector of Trier.

Maus Castle (German: Burg Maus, meaning Mouse Castle) is a castle above the village of Wellmich (part of Sankt Goarshausen) in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It lies on the east side of the Rhine, north of Katz Castle (Cat Castle) in Sankt Goarshausen and opposite Rheinfels Castle at Sankt Goar across the river.

Josephus Maus
Born: abt. 1806
Married: 28 Jun 1827 Bingen Stadt, Rheinhessen, Hesse-Darmstadt, Germany
Died:
Sources:IGI at FamilySearch.org: Marriage Record. Wikipedia articles about Bingen and Maus Castle