Thread: Your Roots

Alrighty, time to drop a bomb on you guys :

My family lineage:

Spoiler for SUPRISE SUPRISE!:

The Neuenschwandger line

Introduction

This is a very old family of the region of Signau of the Nilder-stocken (The German-speaking area of Switzerland) Hofen, Lietzelkirk, Canton Bern, Switzerland.

Willis L. Neuenschwandger, 1115 Cadillac Blvd., Alerm 20, Ohio, #44320 had described it all very well. A few years ago (before 1971) he and his wife spent a summer studying the family records and meeting the families of this name – he said there were several John Neuenschwandger families living in Switzerland at the time.

Many families of this name were listed in the parish record in the Gemendehaus at Lagnau, a town located on the watershed of the Emme (in French) river (Emmenthal is the German) in the region of the Canton Bern, Switzerland. There were records of this family going back to the 12th century.

In the early 1700s some of these families, John Neuenschwandger for one, moved to Sonbog in the parish of Sorenton on the Jura Plato of the French-speaking region of the Canton Bern, Switzerland. According to the old law, however, they retained their citizenship in the parish where their forefathers lived at the time of the enactment of the law.

The Neuenschwandgers had become of the Anabaptists, a persecuted religious sect, which denied the validity of infant baptism although they did practice baptism of the adults.

According to record found in the archives of the Canton of Bern, Switzerland a band of settlers, as early as the 12th century made a clearing (schwand) in the valley forests for raising food. The new clearing was a new schwand (neuenschwand) and these people took the name of NEUENSCHWANDER, in the Swiss dialect, or NEUENSCHWANDGER in the German. Schwand is the imperfect form of the verb Schwanden, which means to cease, to disappear to clear. The er denotes a person.

There follows some quotations:

“People will not look forward to there posterity who never look backward to their ancestors.” -Edmund Burke

“A people which takes no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote descendents.” -T.B. Macaulay

“A contempt for antiquity is rightly considered as a mark of a mean and narrow intellect of an uneducated and illiberal mind.” -Allibones Dictionary of Authors

From another source we received the following: In Swiss history in 1357 Henneus of the Neuschwand officiated at the establishing of the rights of the church at that time (before the Reformation of the Catholic Church.)

At this early time the village people, mostly had one name, but Henneus being a man of some note, assumed the name of his birthplace, Neuenschwandger.

In 1654 there was an exodus of these people to the Jura Mountains on the border of France owing to the persecution of the state church, which was Calvinist. The French language was spoken during this nearly twenty years, which in turn caused the “d” in the name to become the softer “g” and “neuen” to become “new”.

As the families migrated through Germany or France to the American colonies and then spread throughout the United States, the name became spelled in many ways, mostly resulting from poor handwriting or attempts to spell it as it was heard pronounced. Some of the most frequent spellings are:

Nighswander Niswonger Nyswaner Nyswonger
Neyswander Niswanger Nicewandger
Neiswander Niswanter Knighswander

At one time Abraham, one of the brothers of Christian Neuenschwandger had a chest of family records going back prior to the 1200s, but it was lost some time during the move to America.

The largest castle of the family was built in 1357 on the Neuenschwand. During the 15 and 16 and 1700s, Switzerland was beset by religious wars in which great hatred arose between the established churches, the followers of Hugue (later Huguenots), the German Lutherans, the Swiss Reformed churches, and the Roman Catholics. It became the thing for the younger members of the prominent families of those times to strike out for themselves and the religious freedom in America made it the place to want to go. Many families had already moved out of Switzerland into south west Germany, Alsace Lorrain, and even into France. Early German missionaries had found undisturbed religious freedom in Pennsylvania, western Maryland, and Virginia. They could have their won hymn books and Bibles in this new land.

In 1671 and during the years following, there was an exodus of Mennonites to Germany and to the American colonies. This religious sect was names after Menno Simon, and among other things there was opposition to taking oaths, infant baptism (from which came the name Anabaptists) and military service and the rules for plain dress and livng were adopted. That part of the Reformation that lead to the Mennonite movement began in Switzerland in 1525. Menno Simon, a Roman Catholic priest, joined the group in 1636.

As these families dispersed over the American colonies and later the United States, many of them gave up the rigid rules of the Mennonites and took on the social life, education, and joined the churches of the area in which they lived. This was particularly true of the Neuenschwandger families. As a matter of fact, there are eight members of these families who served or fought in the Revolutionary War and the Indian Wars of that ear, as well as Europe. Several decades ago there were more teachers in Darke County, Ohio of the name Niswanger (or other spellings) than all of the teachers of other names put together. And of course, there have been ministers of the Gospel in these families.

It should be noted that while in Europe, the Amish became an offshoot of this sect, taking the name for the founder, Jacob, firm in holding fast to their church rules of plain dress and living habits – and most still do.

^ also, my family castle is:
The Neushwanstein Castle





and the Bomb:

http://traveldk.com/berlin/member/neuschwanstein-castle
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb....schwander.html

"The most famous of Germany’s castles, and one of the three commissioned by King Ludwig II, overlooks the gorgeous Hohenschwangau valley. If the architecture looks familiar, you’re right; Walt Disney used the castle as inspiration when designing the Sleeping Beauty Castle for Disney Land. Hundreds of artisans from around the globe took sixteen years to build but a third of the planned castle. It was never finished. However, its sweeping turrets and alabaster walls show that there’s little reason why Neuschwanstein is a prime tourist attraction in Germany."

My family castle is the Disney castle/Sleeping beauty castle. No i can't reclaim it, would be awesome though. Funny thing that Walt Disney chose my family castle and my life long dream is to be a cartoonist for Disney.

I love letting people in on this because i'm very very proud of my lineage and take pride in our family castle.

So i've got a lost family treasure chest with important historical records pertaining to the origins of my family lineage that later in life i plan to hunt down or at least try, and i have a family castle beloved and known by the entire world. I know guys, i rock.

You want to know our family roots?

Well, I'm not telling!

(because I don't know! )

My gran tried to look into our family history but came up against road blocks the whole time, I think she's given up. Our family history musn't be very interesting if there are no records whatsoever. It's like our very recent ancestors just popped up out of nowhere. She could get as far back as my great, great, great granddad and all she could get was a single record I think of the fact he was even alive. No idea what he did, who great great great grandma was, nothing.

Originally Posted by MementoMori

Alrighty, time to drop a bomb on you guys :

My family lineage:

Spoiler for SUPRISE SUPRISE!:

The Neuenschwandger line

Introduction

This is a very old family of the region of Signau of the Nilder-stocken (The German-speaking area of Switzerland) Hofen, Lietzelkirk, Canton Bern, Switzerland.

Willis L. Neuenschwandger, 1115 Cadillac Blvd., Alerm 20, Ohio, #44320 had described it all very well. A few years ago (before 1971) he and his wife spent a summer studying the family records and meeting the families of this name – he said there were several John Neuenschwandger families living in Switzerland at the time.

Many families of this name were listed in the parish record in the Gemendehaus at Lagnau, a town located on the watershed of the Emme (in French) river (Emmenthal is the German) in the region of the Canton Bern, Switzerland. There were records of this family going back to the 12th century.

In the early 1700s some of these families, John Neuenschwandger for one, moved to Sonbog in the parish of Sorenton on the Jura Plato of the French-speaking region of the Canton Bern, Switzerland. According to the old law, however, they retained their citizenship in the parish where their forefathers lived at the time of the enactment of the law.

The Neuenschwandgers had become of the Anabaptists, a persecuted religious sect, which denied the validity of infant baptism although they did practice baptism of the adults.

According to record found in the archives of the Canton of Bern, Switzerland a band of settlers, as early as the 12th century made a clearing (schwand) in the valley forests for raising food. The new clearing was a new schwand (neuenschwand) and these people took the name of NEUENSCHWANDER, in the Swiss dialect, or NEUENSCHWANDGER in the German. Schwand is the imperfect form of the verb Schwanden, which means to cease, to disappear to clear. The er denotes a person.

There follows some quotations:

“People will not look forward to there posterity who never look backward to their ancestors.” -Edmund Burke

“A people which takes no pride in the noble achievements of remote ancestors will never achieve anything worthy to be remembered with pride by remote descendents.” -T.B. Macaulay

“A contempt for antiquity is rightly considered as a mark of a mean and narrow intellect of an uneducated and illiberal mind.” -Allibones Dictionary of Authors

From another source we received the following: In Swiss history in 1357 Henneus of the Neuschwand officiated at the establishing of the rights of the church at that time (before the Reformation of the Catholic Church.)

At this early time the village people, mostly had one name, but Henneus being a man of some note, assumed the name of his birthplace, Neuenschwandger.

In 1654 there was an exodus of these people to the Jura Mountains on the border of France owing to the persecution of the state church, which was Calvinist. The French language was spoken during this nearly twenty years, which in turn caused the “d” in the name to become the softer “g” and “neuen” to become “new”.

As the families migrated through Germany or France to the American colonies and then spread throughout the United States, the name became spelled in many ways, mostly resulting from poor handwriting or attempts to spell it as it was heard pronounced. Some of the most frequent spellings are:

Nighswander Niswonger Nyswaner Nyswonger
Neyswander Niswanger Nicewandger
Neiswander Niswanter Knighswander

At one time Abraham, one of the brothers of Christian Neuenschwandger had a chest of family records going back prior to the 1200s, but it was lost some time during the move to America.

The largest castle of the family was built in 1357 on the Neuenschwand. During the 15 and 16 and 1700s, Switzerland was beset by religious wars in which great hatred arose between the established churches, the followers of Hugue (later Huguenots), the German Lutherans, the Swiss Reformed churches, and the Roman Catholics. It became the thing for the younger members of the prominent families of those times to strike out for themselves and the religious freedom in America made it the place to want to go. Many families had already moved out of Switzerland into south west Germany, Alsace Lorrain, and even into France. Early German missionaries had found undisturbed religious freedom in Pennsylvania, western Maryland, and Virginia. They could have their won hymn books and Bibles in this new land.

In 1671 and during the years following, there was an exodus of Mennonites to Germany and to the American colonies. This religious sect was names after Menno Simon, and among other things there was opposition to taking oaths, infant baptism (from which came the name Anabaptists) and military service and the rules for plain dress and livng were adopted. That part of the Reformation that lead to the Mennonite movement began in Switzerland in 1525. Menno Simon, a Roman Catholic priest, joined the group in 1636.

As these families dispersed over the American colonies and later the United States, many of them gave up the rigid rules of the Mennonites and took on the social life, education, and joined the churches of the area in which they lived. This was particularly true of the Neuenschwandger families. As a matter of fact, there are eight members of these families who served or fought in the Revolutionary War and the Indian Wars of that ear, as well as Europe. Several decades ago there were more teachers in Darke County, Ohio of the name Niswanger (or other spellings) than all of the teachers of other names put together. And of course, there have been ministers of the Gospel in these families.

It should be noted that while in Europe, the Amish became an offshoot of this sect, taking the name for the founder, Jacob, firm in holding fast to their church rules of plain dress and living habits – and most still do.

^ also, my family castle is:
The Neushwanstein Castle





and the Bomb:

http://traveldk.com/berlin/member/neuschwanstein-castle
http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb....schwander.html

"The most famous of Germany’s castles, and one of the three commissioned by King Ludwig II, overlooks the gorgeous Hohenschwangau valley. If the architecture looks familiar, you’re right; Walt Disney used the castle as inspiration when designing the Sleeping Beauty Castle for Disney Land. Hundreds of artisans from around the globe took sixteen years to build but a third of the planned castle. It was never finished. However, its sweeping turrets and alabaster walls show that there’s little reason why Neuschwanstein is a prime tourist attraction in Germany."

My family castle is the Disney castle/Sleeping beauty castle. No i can't reclaim it, would be awesome though. Funny thing that Walt Disney chose my family castle and my life long dream is to be a cartoonist for Disney.

I love letting people in on this because i'm very very proud of my lineage and take pride in our family castle.

So i've got a lost family treasure chest with important historical records pertaining to the origins of my family lineage that later in life i plan to hunt down or at least try, and i have a family castle beloved and known by the entire world. I know guys, i rock.

Thats unbelieveable
Atleast if your not lieing

My Roots are pretty simple, but interesting to some I guess. My Grandparents and I'm sure at least 4+ generations before them lived in Sicily, specifically a province of Palermo. My Grandfathers both served in the italian army during its fascist period and after the surrender to the US, they actually were both POW's for a long time..sadly...but im the 1st generation/lineage to be born in the US of the whole family.



That's the beach of the city most of my ancestors or long gone relatives lived.
(and currently still have a bunch of relatives out there)




Thats the Big city nearby

Italy, early 20's, grandfather and great grandfather came over from Italy. Apparently I still have family over there; my dad wants to visit sometime. That's about all I know. I know jack shit about my Irish and Dutch Irish herritage.

I'm a mut- a Heinz 57

My people come from all over. It's said my father was of Scandinavian blood mostly. My mother side has Irish and Italian, if I remember correctly.
I take after my father.

Awesome story, DarkComrade and Mori.
Beautiful pictures! Not everyone can say they have a castle

Mine go all the way back to pre-renaissance. The Burkes (A.K.A. Bourke, O'burke, O'bourke) are Irish and claimed to be direct descendants of Charlemagne My great great grandparents moved here from Ireland back in the 1800's and settled in Boston MA. My grandparents then moved to Utica NY in 1968 and then my dad moved to where we live now once he met my mom. As for her side of the family, IDK anything about them

Originally Posted by DarkComrade

Thats unbelieveable
Atleast if your not lieing

Nope, would never lie about my heritage, would be too disrespectful to my family name.

(my secret ambition in life is to get super rich and buy the family castle back.... would be so so wonderful)

Originally Posted by Zhaylin

Beautiful pictures! Not everyone can say they have a castle

Heinz-57 is my favorite sauce lol

but yeah, i was dumbfounded for a month (and still remain so a little every day) when i found out that my family had a castle, and such a beautiful and famous one at that.

Originally Posted by MementoMori

(my secret ambition in life is to get super rich and buy the family castle back.... would be so so wonderful)

You would have to be pretty rich for that... That, or pool your money with some other family members.

My mom's side came from Ireland. My dad's side came over on the Mayflower. Fun fact: Two distant uncles of mine almost blew up a ship (not sure whether or not it was the Mayflower itself). They were the first people to be executed in the new world.

yeah, i would have to become another Bill Gates or close to it. but hey who knows

I don't know exactly, but most of my family lineage can be traced clear back to the boat.

Mom's dad's side (Jelley) is nearly entirely Irish. Mom's mom is entirely German (Elsner). Mom's side traces their entire genealogies back a generation into Ireland and Germany
Dad's side is where it gets confusing. Dad's mom (Muth) is mostly Germanic, as far as I can tell. Dad's Dad's side (Romine) is very funky. Allegedly, the name "Romine" is a bastardization of the Irish "Romaine." A story goes that a James Romaine lived in Virginia during the Civil war and had to dodge recruitment, so he fled to West Virginia and changed his name.

Whether that's true, I don't know. Somewhere, some Scandinavian, Scottish, and English blood come in.

There are a few interesting stories. On my father's side, following the origin of my last name, it should be Whitstine. My grandfather's grandfather changed his name, fled Germany post WWI, and married an Irish/Cherokee woman. I believe the Irish woman was also Cherokee and know that a person entered the geneology as the product of a triple murder fugitive who had ran to the territories to escape the law and ended up married to a native.

On my mother's side, there is alot more Cherokee. And also a decent amount of Celt. She was from West Virginia, however, and her family moved less. So her side is less eclectic.

In the end, I am more Celtic than anything else. (That is approximentally half. Perhaps a little less.) Next probably comes Western Band Cherokee, (maybe 10 percent is all.) Then Hebrew and French probably tie. Anything else in my genes isn't large enough to worth mentioning.

mems, your castle... i laughed. that's pretty cool =)

i don't really have roots, i guess - or i just haven't gotten past how i never really knew my grandfathers (only one survived until i was little), my living grandmother didn't keep many records, and my parents can't fill in the details. the only ethnicity i can identify with to any degree worth mentioning is Lithuanian.

I'm just a proud frisian
last year my mother researched our family tree(my frandfather, here father, had already done a big pat)

my fathers family comes from the border between friesland and groningen, two dutch provinces, but both once were part of great-friesland(almost the whole netherlands were btw, and a part of belgium, germany and denmark, the english also partly desecend from frisian ancestors and I just recently read the franks also desecnded from frisians, altiugh they later became the biggest enemies because the franks became christians and the frisians stayed fully heathen/pagan untill the 800's

my mother mothers family comes from the south of the netherlands and partly belgian, but has a frisian branch in it too

but I just consider myself 100% frisian, and a treat of the frisians is wanting (personal) freedom and independance, wich is totally what I have too:p (I read recently in that document where I read about the franks also that the actual reason the frisians were conquered were that they preferred personal freedom over the freedom of the tribe, contrary to our modern meaning of freedom, so I feel even more frisian now:p the frosians even defeated the roman army, and the romans were afraid of them at one point, only the franks eventually conquered the frisian empire, but the frisians fought back for a long time, also a big voctory in our history, wich is still celebrated, is when holland tried to conquer friesland and send an elite ar,y with the best holland, belgium end some german states could ofer, and they were defeated by frisian farmers, and Willem III of holland was killed, from this same time comes the story of our folk hero, grutte pier, a big guy from 2-3 metres with a sword of 2 metres)

the frisians originally come from denmark and the south of the scandinavian countries above it