The Duty´s & Rights on      `Staette Zur Oveste`

The Oveste Estate in 1693 on the Epitaph v. Pallandt

On the other page there was already spoken over certain rights from the farm, here we would like to explain some more to the right and duty´s of this farm and their inheriters; the Family `Kessens Zur Oeveste`.

Although the Knights of Malta were entitled to call themselfs Master of the Dominion where our ancestrial farm was located and by this they hold the territorial rights, the right to inherited the farm and the right of  ownership lay down by the family who was seated on it. Proof we can see in the taxregister of 1403 where it is stated that; `this is the own that the House of Lage has in the territorial rights in the fee what Kerstin tor Ovest owns. Also on a charter of 1835 by the Reign of Hanover it is stated that; the Owners of the so called `Kessen Zur Oeveste Colonats` and their descendants are from now free, the duty of ` Sterbefall`, `Auffahrt` and `Freibrief` are from now not longer in force. In the year 1823 the Reign of Hanover wanted to establish a new tax based on the value of the estate, the goverment did taxate the value of the farm on a total of 1900 thaler.

Regarding the rights of this fee we can say that on first basis you had the right on the name of the estate and the right of inherited ownership and by this the right to function every 6 years as an alderman in territorial grounds under supervision of the Commander of the Knights of Malta. Next to this from the right to function as an alderman you received the right to function as a corporal during the archer festivity that happend every year. Although the orginal size after the year 1403 when Christian and his brother Herman did split the Farm in two was only 46 acres, they had the right of usage of 23 acres of land in the common territorial grounds. At last we can mention the right of duckhunting on one acre of their land but also the freedom of fishing in the river that did lay in front of their farm. In a certain time also the freedom of taxes on one of their four subjugated cottages can be mentioned under the rights and the right to protect their inheritage..

Regarding the duty´s we first can mention the duty to pay rent or taxes; in 1588 we read that every year on 11th november they had to pay 1 malter Barley, 3 malters Oat and 6 Malters Rye (a malter is equal 540 pound in size), 2 chickens and a small pig. Next to this they had to deliver two sheep to the Castle when a new Commander of the Knights of Malta was installed in his Duty.  We already mentioned the duty´s of Auffahrt, Sterbefall and Freibrief. The Auffahrt ment the succession of a son on his father on the farm and did cost our ancestors a payment of 145 thaler, next was the sterbefall what ment as the old farmer died his decendents had to pay 100 thaler and the freibrief was given when a descendent wanted to leave the farm and the dominion by what a payment of 50 thaler for a boy or 25 thaler for a girl had to be payed.

As last there were the so called duty´s to the lord, in this the childern of the farmers had to deliver duty´s till the moment they were succeeded on the farms themselfs. Such a duty started with the age of 14 years and lasted for only half a year during the summer season, by what it would have to been repeated every seven years. With the age of 14 a boy started to work as a herd of the pigs, while a girl would herd the cows, at the age of 21 the boy would work as an middleservant while a girl would work as an maidservant at last the boy would start than with the age of 28 years as an porter, gatekeeper, guard on the bridge or as an bailiff. These duty´s of the childern could however be payedoff by paying 2,5 thaler for a boy and 1,5 thaler for a girl. After 1625 there was however a slight change in this duty as our farm received the inherited duty of guarding and protecting the bridge and bounderygrounds of the dominion nearby there farm.

Although all these duty´s on this fee and also the right of the Lord on all the fruitgiving tree´s on this estate by what the farmer and his descendants look serfs rather than middleclass farmers, their legal official possition was much better. Their landlord could namely not right independent over them and by arguements they had to lay their case to judge by the court of the Bishop from Osnabruck. In the Heerschild of old Saxonian Law, written by Eike von Repko and the basis of the economical and legal system in these lands, we find our ancestors under the 6th class in the Heerschild the so called `Ere mann` (Honorable man)' who were a lower class officials (dienstmannen) who received a fee by farmersright. In these they were considered to be free man who however by their fee were bounded to the ground. In these they were called Wehrfester, Erbgessessene, Denstlude, Kolonen and Hausgenossen. In England the class of Yeoman is the closest to this type of farming.

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