It is worth noting that the children are bearing the name of the mother, rather than the father. Reinhard Cloppenburg of the Osnabrüch Diocese Familienforschungstelle, who did the research for me in Meppen, explains, “If a landowner had only a single daughter as heiress, and she then wed, then the marrying young man would take the name of the house/manor. Thus Englebert Rüter (Rüyrt = Reuter = Reiter = horsed solder = equus) married into the Albers family and then was called Albers. This Rüter family later became Rüterjans = Johann, son of Rüter.

Rüter is a low German name. Dutch and low/high German are closely related languages.”258