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View Tree for Marti FreyMarti Frey (b. 1521, d. Aft. 1556)

Marti Frey was born 1521 in Switzerland, and died Aft. 1556 in Switzerland. He married Ursula Wysy on Abt. 1540.

 Includes NotesNotes for Marti Frey:
The Frey name is generally believed to be of German, Austrian and Swiss. The Alsace-Lorraine region of Europe alternated between French and German control at various times during its history. Johann Jacob Frey was born in Switzerland and later moved to Alsace. The Moravian Records were usually written in German and many of the other Moravian families came from the Rhineland region of Germany. Thus it is believed that the Frey family name probably is of Germanic origin. The German variants of Frey/Frei also occur in Poland, France, Russia and various other non-German-speaking countries. The variants Fry/Frye is of British origin meaning freeborn or noble, generous.

Frei, Frey, Fry, Frig, Vrie, and Vrio - the origin of a family name by Max Frei, Brugg, Switzerland: Translation by H. D. Birk.

All Frei, Frey families come from peasant stock. Without exception did this family move from the country to the town, like the citizen Frey of Zurich from Watt-Regensdorf. The family was especially in the German part of Switzerland, or more exact in Eastern and Northeastern Switzerland always widely dispersed and still is today. They even appear in the bordering territories of Baden and Wurttemberg. Already the earliest church records disclose that one cannot speak of a common origin from one stem. Just as is the case with names of Meier, Muller, Huber, etc.

There is historical reason for today's different spelling of Frey, Frei. The original name Vrie and Vrio until the end of the 13th century changed into Fry and after the 17th century into Frey. At the start of the 19th century several church record keepers began to enter the name Frei, but my great-grandfather still wrote Frey.

If one wants to learn something about the origin of this name, one has to examine the situation of the free peasants in general at the earliest possible times. Unfortunately one finds, however, only few written documents, because the majority of the very few existing papers from the 13th and 12th century concern cloisters and nobility.

The Urbar file (1303-1307) and the connected Rodel, besides the books of documents, however, give some clues. It appears from them that in the territory which belonged as Seigniority to the Count of Habsburg, and also in the settlements which were under his Imperial stewardship,, the free peasants (yeomen) were numerous. Habsburg obviously had great interest in the upkeep of free farms and a strong free yeomanship. However, the right of inheritance of the Landgrave and the rules of the free union, for example, prohibiting intermarriage with lower class, caused a reduction of the number of free men. Where those free peasants had not settled on their own property, they were often sold by their Lords with the land and the dues and union privileges, to the cloisters. In this course they often lost their rights, for example, to elect a jodge and eventually became subjects of the Church (Catholic). Naturally, the economical stiuation of the peasants in question my have played a role too. The successive diappearance of Weibel property is a clear sign of the reduction in numbers of yeoman. The rights of the Habsburg Landgraves found their expression by their bailiff-taxes raised from the free people of the area in Switzerland and the neighboring Black Forest. Where free men in certain Habsburgian Urbar land-lists are not mentioned, one can suspect that many existed, because they had to pay no tributes except penalties.

For the formation of names, which became necessary to distinguish persons in a village, the persons mentioned in the Habsburg Urbar are interesting. QQuite often, however, only "vrie", free people; that is, the whole unity is entered for the stewardship's right. But we do also find many Free mentioned singly, only named by Christion names, besides a whole number marked with family names, for example, "Henricus Turlimann de Urswile, Liber". Especially the documents called Revokationsrodel (1300) and already the Rodel of Wezilo (1279) show a large number of family names. Obviously those Free who accepted the protection of the nobility and the cloisters all took proper names.

The name "Frei", or "Vrio", appears, however, only twice in the Habsburg Urbar document, namely: "Churat des vrien Schuppos" in Enslingen (408) and "der Vrie git von einem Gutely 2 vierteile Kornes" in Sigmaringen (422), meaning that he had to give 2 quarters of grain from his farm. The name "Vrie" is astonishing, because all his contemporaries are mentioned with proper names. These two singles probably appeared in the middle of unfree people (servs).

The Habsburg document Rodel of 1273, concerning their own office, records a "Wernerus de Frienhusen" (near Freienwil). There, and in the immediate neighborhood, a lot of Free had settled. In Ehrendingen a Weibel farm is mentioned and there existed also one in Wurenlingen., But the cloister of St. Blasien had considerable property in all these localities. The Habsburgs exercised steward's authority. As mentioned about, it was the tendency of the cloisters to make all those who owed them dues, to subjects of the Church. We do not find the proper name "Frei" in both settlements of the Rodel. However, this family is today still widely dispersed in Ehrendingen and Endingen. A former existance can only have been possible if a part of the free peasants sat on their own properties and were free of all dues. Then, there was no reason to record them in the Urbar documents.

In the areas of Cantons Uri and Schwyz, Switzerland, too were a great many free peasants still in the time of Rudolf I, and Albrecht I, as Landgraves, settled besides the subjects of the Church. They were united in geographically closed unions. Therefore, we do not find the autochton name "Fry" in those areas. The name "Fry" exists only in the Allemanic settlement areas. Those Fry whom I met in the Rhineland and Westphalia (Germany), for example, knew about their origin in Southern Germany. The extreme rarity of written records concerning this name was caused by the situation of this class of the population (social standing).

It can be seen in the Urbar and Roidel documents that in the Middle Ages still a large numbeer of free peasants were able to exist besides the subjects of the Church and the servs. I have found the name "Vrie", "Vrio" as a family name at the earliest in 1229 in Rapperswil with "Henricus Frio" (ZUB I, S.330), "Vrie" is mentioned in 1250 as class distinction (ZUB II, S.318), in 1264 a list of goods of the cloister Wettingen..."Ibidem in quiburdus rusticis, qui sunt et dicunter Frien" (Urbar and Rodel, Zurich, S.57). HYabsburg to the cloister Wettingen with all steward's rights. In 1227-1234, a list of goods purchased by the cloister Wettingen, wherein "Friginwilare". Freienwil near Baden is registered. In Dallikon, 1266, "Vrio" was mentioned as a class distinction (ZUB IV, S.52) 1289-1299. In the Rodel of the cloister Imhof, near Luzern, is entered: "jWernerus der Vrie in Mettmenstetten" (QW I). In a deed, 1271, appears "the goods of the Friginen" (QW I). In the Habsburg land list, 1303-1307, appears "Chunrat des Vrien" (I 408), also "der Vrie gives from his farm..." (I 4220). In 1309, Lord von Eschenbach sells the farm in Oggensingen, with the people, amongst them "Cunrat der Frie in Oggensingen", witnessed by the cloister Cappel, to the cloister St Katharinental. In 1309, when the Dukes Friedrich and Leopold of Austria granted stewardships (small fiefs), amongst them Hedingen, to Knight Mullner from Zurich, there was mentioned "Jakob den Frien" and his property (ZUB VIII). In 1315, "Jakob den Frien", housekeeper of Hedingen, was the thrall of the old "von Villmeringen", later of "Rudolf Mullner the young" from Zurich. With this marriage in discord with their rank, the line of the freeborn ended in Hedingen (ZUB IX). In 1320, the property of the "Frie von Verenbach" at Zwillikon mentioned (ZUB XII). In 1318-1385, in the older Rodel book in Haltikon, appears: "dictus Frie et dictus Rieser" (QW I). In 1375-1383, in the tax list of the lordship Knonau-Mettmenstetten, at the time of "Johannes der Alt und Johannes der Junger von Knonau" appear in Mettmenstetten and in Affoltern a. Albis the designations "Frye Guter" - free properties, with "Cuni and Uli Fry" who live on a part of those properties. However, other free properties there were already in the hands of the cloisters and townspeople.

In Rodel document F IIa 220 and 225 (St. AZ) also appears "Frye Guter", some in connection with Frys as owners. After beginning of the 15th century the family name "Fry" appears quite often in documents, land lists, etc. Simultaneously the designation "der Frie" disappears.

The conclusions of this presntation, which is based only on limited selection of documents, is as follows: When people were called "die Freien" then it is clear that they settled in single appearance in the middle of mostly unfree people.

The "Vrie", "Frie", "Fry" are the remnants of free allemanic farmers who sat on their own properties during the time of formation of family surnames, and had preserved to a far degree their freedom. They called themselves "Freie" as distict from the majority of the unfree servs and people belonging to the Church, and of their surroundings.

Explanation of terms:
Rodel -- cleared forest
Urbar -- cultivated land
Weibel -- chief, sergeant
ZUB -- Zurich Book of Documents

Taken from "Frey: Ancestery and Descendats of Johann Peter Frey. Complied by James A Jurney

Also stated by Jurney that the name could be found in various form in old parish records in Switzerland including Fry, Fryg, Frygh, Freyg, Frei, Freig, Frey, etc.

More About Marti Frey and Ursula Wysy:
Marriage: Abt. 1540

Children of Marti Frey and Ursula Wysy are:
  1. +Jorg Frey, b. January 06, 1553/54, Knounau, Zurich, Switzerland, d. November 05, 1635, Knounau, Zurich, Switzerland.
  2. Fridli Frey, b. 1551, Knounau, Zurich, Switzerland, d. date unknown.
  3. +Melchior Frey, b. 1554, Knounau, Zurich, Switzerland, d. date unknown.
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