Maria Barbara Bach

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Maria Barbara Bach

Birthdate:
Birthplace: Gehren, Thuringia, Germany
Death: July 07, 1720 (35)
Köthen, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
Immediate Family:

Daughter of Johann Michael Bach and Catharina Wedemann
Wife of Johann Sebastian Bach
Mother of Catharina Dorthea Bach; Wilhelm Friedemann Bach; Maria Sophia Bach; Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach; Johann Gottfried Bernhard Bach and 1 other
Sister of Anna Dorothea Schneider; Friedalena Margaretha Bach; Barbara Catharina Bach and Johann Gottfried Bach

Managed by: Tobias Rachor (C)
Last Updated:

About Maria Barbara Bach

Maria Barbara Bach (October 20, 1684 – July 7, 1720) was the first wife of composer Johann Sebastian Bach. She was also his second cousin, and the daughter of Johann Michael Bach.

She and Bach married during his tenure as organist of St. Blasius Church in Mühlhausen, a position he assumed in midsummer 1707. That August, Bach received an inheritance of 50 gulden (more than half his annual salary) from his maternal uncle, Tobias Lämmerhirt. This facilitated his marriage to Maria Barbara, and the wedding occurred on October 17 at Dornheim, a village near Arnstadt, her home town and his previous post.

Even though not much is known about her life or their marriage, it is known that she and Johann Sebastian had a contented marriage.

According to her second surviving son, Carl Philipp Emanuel, her death in 1720 came quickly and unexpectedly: J. S. Bach was accompanying his employer, the Duke of Köthen, as the duke went to take the waters at the Carlsbad spa (the Duke brought his musicians along to provide him with entertainment).When J. S. Bach left Maria Barbara was in normal health; when he returned he learned that she had died and been buried on July 7. The cause of her death is unknown, but speculations include infectious disease or complications from pregnancy.

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Maria Barbara Bach's Timeline

1684
October 20, 1684
Gehren, Thuringia, Germany
1708
December 28, 1708
Weimar, Thuringia, Germany
1710
November 22, 1710
Weimar, Thuringia, Germany
1713
February 23, 1713
Weimar, Thuringia, Germany
1714
March 8, 1714
Weimar, Germany
1715
May 11, 1715
Leipzig, Germany
1718
November 15, 1718
Köthen, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany
1720
July 7, 1720
Age 35
Köthen, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany