Meyer and Oeconomon

It would appear from previous correspondence that
a Meyer can be either a "steward" or assume the
broader meaning of a small farmer with
obligations to his feudal lord, or even just a
small farmer.

I have found the occupational term of "Oeconomon"
in shipping lists quoted by Rainer Müller in his
book:

Müller R. »Š und komt alle hier her, hier ist
beßerŠ" Vom Töpferdorf Fredelsloh am Solling nach
Amerika - Auswanderergeschichten. Books on
Demand, Norderstedt; 2006; 61- 72.

I understand that the translation of the German
word "oeconomon" can also mean a small farmer /
farm manager / stewardŠ much like the meaning of
"Meyer".

However, it is obviously a Latinised version of
the Greek: Oikonomon, meaning steward...trusted
manager of a person's estate, which might direct
the meaning more to the "stewardship" idea?

Still looking for my WEDEMEYERs and WEDEMEIERs in
Goslar / Moringen / Fredelsloh. This time I
found a Fredelsloh WEDEMEYER who was an
"oeconomon"! Regrettably, he drowned on the
emigrant ship 'Favorite' on 29 Apr 1854 in the
English Channel. All 191 'Favorite' emigrants
died, including 31 fellow Fredelsloh citizens.

Hello,
a Meier is not necessarily a *small* farmer, the word just means that he is not the real owner of the farm, he is a tenant (or a steward ??). In my area (Oldenburg) the former Meier (here later called 'Hausmann') were the 'big' farmers, contrary to the later Köter, who usually owned their (mostly) small places. The Meier had his place as a fief from either the count, some local mostly noble landlord, a monastery, some high priest, etc. In later times he became practically owner.

The term Oeconom was not often used around here. When I see it it usually means someone who 'runs' a place, what you called a steward; not owner, not tenant, but an employee. I have also seen the term used for someone running not a farm but some other enterprise.

Regards
Heiko

"PD & LE Strong" <plstrong@pnc.com.au> schrieb: