Hans the Master TailorAA  A 

Virtually everything  we know about Hans the Master Tailor comes from the three documents shown below.  According to his death certificate, he was born on October 21, 1666, but we don't know whether in Alsace or perhaps across the Rhine River in Germany or Switzerland.  Unfortunately, the extant records from Buhl don't begin until 1736.  The earliest mention of Hans the Master Tailor is the marriage of his youngest son, Jacob, in 1726 in Hatten.  The deaths of both Hans and his wife, Ursula, were recorded in the Protestant (Lutheran) church in Buhl, only two miles (3 km) from Hatten, indicating they were members of that congregation.  It seems likely that, as a tailor, Hans lived in town rather than in the countryside.  He was literate, judging from his occupation and neat signature, and he spelled his name Schmidt.   As a master craftsman, he was probably respected in his community.