The Sabels of Oberbrechen, Germany

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The Sabel family of Oberbrechen, Germany is said to have come originally from Elz, north-west of Limburg, in the Westerwald of Germany. The Westerwald (literally 'Western Forest') is a low mountain range on the right bank of the Rhine River.   

Oberbrechen lies about 10 miles away, to the south-east of Limburg, between  the Taunus and the Westerwald low mountain ranges. This rich agricultural are is known as the "Goldener Grund," the Golden Ground, in reference to the favorable climate and the fruitful earth. Nearby communities include Niederbrechen, Werschau, Villmar, Selters, Hünfelden and Limburg. Today, Brechen is made up of three districts, Niederbrechen, Oberbrechen and Werschau, which were previously indepenant communities.

The Sabel family has long been associated with milling. It is not know when the first Sabel came to Oberbrechen, but as early as 1590, a mill was located here. In 1726, Mathias Sabel built a new mill building in Oberbrechen. This mill remained in the Sabel family, passing from Mathias, to his son Phillip Konrad Sabel, to his son, Anton Sabel, and then through four generations of men named Anton Sabel. The youngest Anton, passed the mill to his younger brother, Johann Hermann Sabel, then to his son Anton "Toni" Sabel. When Toni died in WW II, the mill passed to his sisters, who leased the mill, and eventually it was closed in 1965. 

Click here for more infomation about the mill. 

               

The Sabels from Oberbrechen were members of the Roman Catholic church. A church was documented in this town in the year 1053, and it has been an independent parish since 1369. A fire destroyed the old church in 1611, with only the tower remaining.  In 1662, the old tower was destroyed in a fire. In 1716, the baroque nave of the church with a mansard roof and arched high windows was built. In 1762, St. Felicity and her seven sons were named as the Patron Saints and the church named “Heilige Sieben Brüder” which means “Holy Seven Brothers.” The building was renovated in 1890 and a new organ was installed. By 1898, the church was in need of more space so money was collected but nothing was built. In 1900 the tower was struck by lightning. It was suggested that a new church be built but this was rejected. An addition to the existing church was dedicated in 1913. The 1716 church is seen on the left with the mansard roof. 

Heilige Sieben Brüder in 2013

The Sabel family lived in Oberbrechen on the mill property for at least 250 years. Traditionally, the oldest son inherited the mill from his father. Some generations had many sons and the mill could not provide for everyone. Some of the sons learned other trades, such as Ferdinand Sabel, second son of miller, Anton Sabel, who was a master carpenter. Most of the information found concerns the family at the mill. 

In the 1800s, sons of the family began to leave Oberbrechen for other parts of Germany to find work or to America for a new life. The following list links to some of these known wanderers. 

The Sabels Leave Oberbrechen for Steele, Germany and America

1853                     Jakob (Jacob) Sabel (1833-abt. 1903) to Syracuse, New York (Son of Anton Sabel & Katharina Mangold)

1855-1860             Mathias Sabel (1835-1901) to Steele, (now Essen) Germany to work in coal mines. (Son of Anton Sabel and Katharina Mangold.)

1868                     Peter Josef (Joseph) Sabel (1842-1928) to Evansville, Indiana (Son of Ferdinand Sabel and Margaretha Regina Wilhelmina Haust)

1887                     Wilhelm (William) Sabel (1867-1932) to Syracuse, New York and later, Los Angeles, California (Son of Mathias Sabel & Gertrud Schäfer of Steele, Germany.)

1889                     Heinrich (Henry) Sabel (1865-1945) to Pennsylvania, then Syracuse, New York, Los Angeles, California (Son of Mathias Sabel & Gertrud Schäfer of Steele, Germany.)

1905                     Marie (Mary) Sabel (1877-1949) to East coast of US but returned to Germany where she died. (Daughter of Mathias Sabel & Gertrud Schäfer of Steele, Germany)

1909                     Johann (John) Sabel (1875-1931), wife Gertrud and 5 children to Ottenheim, Kentucky. (Son of Mathias Sabel & Gertrud Schäfer of Steele, Germany)

1923-1956            Anna Maria Sabel Schulten to New York in 1923; brother Hermann Sabel to Chicago, Illinois in 1927; sister, Helene “Leni” Sabel Schulten to Chicago, Illinois in 1956 along with her daughter Karoline; (Children of Johann Herman Sabel & Anna Rehr)

Other Sabel families in the US have their roots in Russia and they are Jewish. See this site for information.

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