Sexton - a church janitor in charge of ringing the bell, overseeing burials and digging graves.

Hilse- a kind of thistle that grows in the woods

Sacristan - an officer in charge of the religious room where the sacred vessels and vestements are

Platt - short for Plattdeutsches (low German language)

Black Forest - German name Schwarzwald - southwestern German state of Baden-Wurttemberg where dark fir trees grow in a small mountain area. The area is noted for the manufacturing of wooden toys, cuckoo clocks and musical instruments.

Bavaria - is in the southeastern part of Germany - the citizens are predominantly Roman Catholic, major cities are Munich, Nurnberg, Augsburg, Wurzburg and Regensburg

Nordfriesland - northwest part of Germany next to the Nord Sea. Many last names in this area end with sen (Nissen, Ahrendsen, Lorenzen, Friedrichsen, etc.) in which Ahrendsen was son of Ahrend. Trivia: I was told that when Napoleon conquered this area that he put a stop to this naming the son after the first name of the father. He said it was too confusing!
He also was said to have changed the spelling of Family names. Kusel was changed to Cusel for a short time.
Before 1864 Nordfriesland was part of Denmark and after 1867 it was part of Prussia.

Heath a low, hardy evergreen shrub with narrow, usually whorled leaves and small tubular rose, white or yellow flowers.

Hufe- 1 Hufe = 7-10 ha = 14-20 acres

Main- river that empties into the Rhine river by the city Mainz

Moor- swampland abounding in peat with heath growing in it

Goblin- mischievous, elflike being in folklore

Riess- a former crater that is now filled with earth

Pike- long pole having a metal spearhead, used by foot soldiers in medieval warfare