Discussion lists have become pretty slow these days, as significant new information is now becoming harder to find. But there are always a few people who have the knack for discovery. Around 10 years ago, Mike Sizer, Sara Patton and Peter Stebbins Craig put some puzzle pieces together which seriously cast doubt on the idea that our particular Yoakum line in North America derived from immigrant Heinrich and his progeny Matthias, Francis, Matthias, etc. Regardless of that new evidence, the "Heinrich" line, derived from a single published source that offered no documentation, has remained and been perpetuated on the Internet. Now, Mike Sizer has uncovered what is probably the most important new contribution to this question in several years. I copy his email below:
"Greg,
I do not know if this is new or not, but I have found Matthias Yoakum with sons Valentian and Philip Paul Yoakum in Germany. They are from an area in the Paletenate in Germany. The actual village is named Edigheim (kreis Frankenthal) Bayern, Germany. Bayern or Bavaria was the area that the town belonged to, as it is no longer considered Bayern today. It is just accross the river from Ludwigshafen and north of Heidelberg.
The information I have found on film here in Salt Lake City:
Johann Matthias Joachim
married to
Maria Barbara Ungefehr
daughter of Friedrich
Married 18 Feb 1721 in Edigheim
children:
1. Valentine Jochim born/christened 08 Sep 1722 in Edigheim
2. Philipp Paul Jochim born/christened 01 Nov 1723
I am still finding more information. I do not know if this is new to you or not?
Hope this finds you well.
Sincerely,
Mike Sizer"
This is one more piece of evidence that supports the work of Patton, Craig and others that Matthias Joachim/Yoakum, b. ca. 1699, was the original immigrant of the line here in America. Thanks Mike! Well done!
For the archived discussions of this topic, see the archives of the Yocum-L list.
Greg