Whence the Roos?

It is not known when the first Roos family member(s) arrived in Rumbach. The earliest documented is Martin Roos Sr., born about 1702, but birth location unknown. He married Anna Katharina Schaub, who was born in Rumbach, December 7, 1704. 

So, it seems likely that Martin Roos was in Rumbach by the date of his wedding - which is itself unknown, but possibly in the early 1720s. Martin died sometime between 1769 and 1775. Katharina died in Rumbach, September 18, 1778. Ripe old ages for both at a time when life expectancy was about 35-40 years!

So, whence the Roos? It may be of importance that Katharina's maternal line - Caspar Löscher and Anna Ursula Hess - were Swiss. 

Or not. ...

The region in which Rumbach is located - only 30 miles west of the Rhine River - is one of Europe's most important overland routes. For centuries (since conquered by Julius Caesar in the 1st century) the area has been a connector between the lands of Belgium, Saxony, and Germanic states with the Rhone River in France.

The valleys of the Rhine River, which flows north to the North Sea, and the Rhone River, which flows south to the Mediterranean Sea, provide a natural corridor for a north-to-south trade and military route. At their origins, the two rivers approach each other by less than 100 miles. The use and control of this north-south passage exposed the region - and our ancestors - to a continual flow of foreign troops over the centuries.

Following the devastation of the Thirty Years War (1618-1648), the French (who held most of the region from the German Hapsburgs) sought to repopulate the area, essentially inviting immigrants from other countries. After 1648 and until the mid-18th century, numerous immigrants arrived from Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Lorraine, and other areas.

It could be that this is when the Roos family arrived.

Or not. ...

Here are three old photographs sent to me by Andrea Kindelberger, who lives in Rumbach today.

These are houses in which Roos family members lived before emigrating to America in 1836.