Maria Barbara Bach (1684 – 1720)

Maria Barbara Bach was born on October 20, 1684 in Gehren, Germany. Relatively little is known about her. She came to historical note through her marriage to her second cousin, Johann Sebastian Bach. The couple married on October 17, 1707. The wedding took place in Dornheim near Arnstadt, where her husband had been employed. She gave birth to seven children of whom 4 survived beyond infancy, Catharina Dorothea (1708 – 1774), Wilhelm Fredemann (1710 – 1784), Carl Philipp Emanuel (1714 – 1788) and Johann Gottfried Bernhard (1715 – 1739).

The family had moved to Köthen when Maria died suddenly in 1720. The cause of her death is not known nor is the exact date. The four surviving children were cared for by Anna Magdalena Wilcke (Bach), after her marriage to Johann Sebastian in 1721.