The Casper Olevian Connection
Born 10th August 1536 in Trier, Germany
Married Philippina Metz, after 1561
Died 15th March 1586 in Heidelberg, Germany
Much has been written about Casper Olevian. He was a very famous religious figure and is still well regarded today. See Wikepedia, and a dedicated website with a full biography which makes very interesting reading. Another biography can be found here.
From humble beginnings ( he was the son of a baker) he left Trier aged 13 to study in France. While almost drowning in a river at Bourges, central France, where he was studying, he vowed that if God would spare his life, he would become a minister. True to his promise, he followed the teachings of John Calvin at Geneva. He then preached the gospel in his native city, Treves (Trier), for which he was imprisoned and driven out. He later became one of the founders of the Reformed Church of Germany and co-wrote the Heidelberg Catechism.
He made his last will on 11th March
1587
He died on 15th March 1587 at the age of 50, as a result of an accident,
slipping on ice. He left behind his wife, two sons and a daughter.
He is buried in the church of Herborn, Germany.
Casper Olevian
How then, did he come to be in my family tree?
My grateful thanks goes to both Jacqui Forster, Researcher at Swanage Museum & Heritage Centre, and David White who followed up a question about the Hibbs, White, Smith and Stevens Davis family trees. This led directly to the Sagittary family who came to Blandford from Germany. Copies of Wills of the Sagittary family were obtained which we think established a link between Casper Olevian and Daniel Sagittary.
The father of Casper was Gerhard Von Olewig, a baker in Trier, who was the son of Thiso Olewig. Casper's mother was Anna Sinzig, daughter of Anton Sinzig, Butcher and Master of the Guild of Trier. Gerhard and Anna had seven children.
Casper married Philippina Metz and they had three children, a daughter and two sons, called Elizabeth, Ludwig and Paul.
Elizabeth Olevian's second marriage was to Frederick Schutze who later changed his name to Sagittary. 14 Sep 1605 was the date of their marriage, which took place in Freiberg.
Ludwig Olevian and Paulus Olevian were his two sons who appear not to have married.
One of Casper's relations was Francis Anthony Olevian but it is still unclear how he fits into the family tree. We have read that Francis had arrived in England before his brother-in-law (Frederic Schutze) in 1616 which would make him the brother of Elizabeth Olevian, yet her two brothers were Ludwig and Paul.
Born in 1585 in Germany, he came to study at Oxford after studying at Heidelberg University and in Montpellier, Paris. In Oxford he gained an M.A and became a Doctor of Medicine. He was also an Astrologer. He was a man of means and following the loss of Frederick V of Germany of his kingdom was able to get to England in the 1620s with assets, probably mostly in the form of jewellery and gold coin, sufficient to keep him going.
Francis Olevian died in Blandford, Dorset in 1642.
Frederick Sagittary's original name was SCHUTZE (pronounced as "Shoot-zer" . Schutze in German means "archer". When he came to England, it is interesting to note that he changed the family name to Sagittary which is the astrological name Sagittarius, whose sign is represented by an archer. Could this have been the influence of his astrologer brother-in-law, Francis Anthony Olevian?
Frederick Sagittary held the post of Treasurer to Frederick V, who was the Paslgrave Elector and Palatine of the Rhine. Sagittary would seem to have been an important man and held a high position. With the exile of Frederick V to Holland, Frederick Sagittary and his family had to leave Germany and as Protestant Refugees they came and settled in England.
What exactly Frederick Sagittary did when he came to England was not recorded, but he had enough money by 1635 to build his family a house. This was the "Old House" built in the Close at Blandford. Perhaps this is where Francis Olevian died. Burial dates for Frederick Sagittary and his wife
Elizabeth could not be found.
The Old House, Blandford
The Old House in The Close behind East Street is fairly unique in being one of a few houses to escape the disastrous fire of 1731. It is also something of a curiosity. It was built about the mid-C17 by a German doctor who held English medical degrees and practiced in Blandford. It is supposed that its origin may explain its Germanic style. It has a strange hipped and steeply pitched roof and two octagonal chimneys each having 8 attached circular shafts. English Heritage have given it a grade I listing.
Married 28 Sep 1653 in Chalbury, Dorset, England
Died 1696 in Blandford, Dorset, England
He attended Queen's College, Oxford and was created BA on 13th August 1636. This ceremony was attended by King Charles 1 with his Queen, Henrietta Maria and his nephew Prince Rupert of the Rhine.
The family may have lived in Oxford before taking up residence in Blandford. In 1661 Joachim became Doctor of Physics. Hutchins wrote of him "an eminent
and learned physician" .
With his wife Elizabeth, he had three daughters and three sons. All three sons studied at Oxford gaining degrees. Sadly one son, Frederick died aged only 23, a year after completing his MA.
A tantalising drawing of Joachim's Coat of Arms 1627. Notice the archer (Shutze)
To his son Daniel Sagittary, who became the Rector of Winterbourne Steepleton in Dorset, he also gave extensive properties and valuables, including "his great grandfather Olevian's Seal Ring." (Wouldn't it be nice to know where that ring is now? In a museum perhaps?)
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Last updated 27 February 2011