The year 1762 is the year in which Itzik Anschel from the Maroldsweisach village was born. His birth certificate was issued in 11.10.1790 in Wurzburg, district capital of Lower Franconia.
The document refers to the registration of the official family name Hecht (see footnote no.12). The handwritten document specifies, that on the day it was issued applicant was 55 years old, and that he had in his possession a “letter of protection” allowing him to live in the village. This privilege was exclusively awarded to the applicant’s family (his wife Rikel and his two sons and two daughters. No further details were specified. The original document (dated 1790) is archived in Wurzburg (see photo of the original document and its |English translation below).
| Authorization for the change of a family name for the Hecht1 family in Wurzburg, Lower Franconia 1790: | |
| Serial number: | 1 |
| Settlement: | Maroldsweisach |
| Original Family Name: | Anschel Itzik |
| Trade: | Clothes Merchant |
| Family Size: | Husband (1), Wife (1), Sons (2) Daughters (2), Total (6) |
| Date: | Day (11), Month (October), Year (1790) |
| Protection Fees: | paid |
| Occupation: | Commerce |
| Suggested Family Name: | Hecht |
| Sworn to the Constitution: | Yes |
Anschel’s wife Rachel (Rikel) passed away on Wednesday, Nov 2 1836 (Hebrew date… Cheshvan 22, 5597 [chaf ben marcheshvan taktzag]). Her place of birth is marked on the cemetery map as grave number 16, first row on the right.
Anschel Hecht passed away in the age of 81, on Tuesday August 1 1843, (Av 5, 5603) [chaf alef menachem av tarag]. In the cemetery is buried in grave number 49, third row on the right, with a partly sunken headstone on top (in the photo Mully, seventh generation descendant of the Hecht family points at the headstone. Inbar, eighth generation descendant of the Hecht family is standing nearby. The photo was taken during the family heritage journey in the summer of 2003. No further details are available on Anschel’s four children except for his son, Manasses, second generation descendant of the Hecht family (born 1796) (see footnote 13).
The name Hecht has two meanings: “pipe smoke” and the name of a fish (pike/Esox lucius). The pike/hecht (Esox lucius) is well known among fishermen. The long protruding snout with the duck’s bill profile enables the fish to tear open his prey (large and small) with its teeth. Another typical feature of the fish is that they dorsal fin and anus fin are located close to the strong tail fin. Often the olive-colored or brownish fish is mottled with bright or faded spots, or marked with vertical stripes. ↩