Variations on the name I’ve seen are Johannes, Johann, Johan, and Joes. It makes finding and confirming documents challenging. I’ve found no marriage record within the church books and since death dates are unknown, I haven’t searched for the death records.

1150 Jahre Schmerlecke 883-1983 tells us that the State Archives in Münster contain a thick bundle of over 200 pages of files related to the Lusebrink [receipts for taxes, consents to marriages, etc] and some of these documents record the names of Jürgen, Tonnies, and Johannes.

Thus far, I have found one document naming Johannes and it appears to be a debt dispute between him and his older brother Dietrich. Due to the handwriting and my inability to accurately translate German, I have yet to decipher the information..

[660] Judgment in the debt claim of Johann Bals of Schmerlecke against Dietrich Bals and the Abbess of Benninghausen.

I’m looking for a method to accurately translate these documents as it might explain why/how Johannes inherits the Lusebrink as opposed to Dietrich.

We believe Johannes and Anna Margaretha spend their lives farming in Schmerlecke, Germany.