Our German Background

The Low Germans

The old Bauernhaus of Germany will typically display carved Bible verses or mottoes in the Torbogen (the large beam across and above the barn door). The barn facilities for horses, cattle, hay and farmer's living quarters are under one roof. The smaller door on the side that opens to the living quarters may also have an inscription above it. One of the Muensterland farm houses has the following inscribed in the Torbogen:

DAT AOLLE EHREN + DAT NIGGE HOEREN + DAT GUTE MEHREN + DAT SLIMME WABHREN
Translated literally—"Respect the old, listen to the new, increase the estate, endure hardship
Probable idiom—Honor Elders, Open your Heart, Grow in Grace, Overcome the World (sin)

Little wonder that it is said, "Take a Dutchman as he means it and not as he says it." The German language is recognized as one of the most colorful, and it is small wonder that our Low German forefathers could not be comforted with the English quotations from the Bible; the subtle meanings and the idiom that they were taught in their mother tongue could not be translated with the same feeling. These words commemorate our Low German forefathers- dat Aolle ehren. We respect and we remember the old-timers with this bit of history,

When New Knoxville was founded in 1836, it was only several years before the village had a population that was nearly 100% Low German emigrants. Their conversations about their home towns included such names as Ladbergen, Lengerich, Ibbenbueren. Lienen, Tecklenburg, Brochterbeck, Bielefeld, Osnabrueck etc. These towns and villages are located in the low country of Germany or Nieder-deutschland; it is the lower Rhine River area, where the land is generally flat (Platt) or of rolling moors (Heide) and flecked with regions of sand, bog and peat (Torf). It was covered by ancient sea and is not unlike Holland even to the extent of customs, windmills and wooden shoes.

The main German States (Laender) from which the Low Germans emigrated are Westphalia (Westfalen) and Lower Saxony (Niedersachsen). The largest group of New Knoxville immigrants came from the County (Grafschaft) of Tecklenburg in which Ladbergen is located. Ladbergen is the village that contributed more immigrants to New Knoxville than any other place. At the time of the main emigration period (1830-45), these people had been under the Hohenzollern rulers of Brandenburg-Prussia; old citizenship papers may show that their former allegiance was to the King of Prussia. The Westphalian may be quick to add, “Aber wir waren Muss Preussen" (We had not become Prussian voluntarily).Tecklenburg was purchased by Prussia in 1707.

Germans love provincial jokes. A Saxon has a joke about a Bavarian, a Hessian about an Ostfrieslander. A joke that might not come off very funny is to introduce a Westphalian and add, "Er ist ein Preussen" (He is a Prussian). It should be noted that at the lime of Napoleon's ascension to power, his success was greeted with favor. After the war with Prussia (1807), Napoleon's direct administrations abolished feudalism and made way for the small peasant proprietors. He wrote to his brother Jerome who ruled Westphalia, “What people would wish to revert to Prussian despotism, when it has once tasted the benefits of a wise and liberal government?” The new freedoms eventually had their effect in one’s being able to leave the old Hof and to start a new life in a new land.

The Ancient People

Our roots preceding the late Germanics is a mixture of native hunters and Indo-Europeans (Indo-Germanen). The indo-Europeans probably originated in the large steppe region in southeast Europe and began their westward migration about the end of the Stone Age, ca 2000 BC just prior to the Bronze Age. (Their ancient language has no word for bronze). The Indo-European arrived in the Baltic and North Sea region that had been covered by glacier for 10,000 years. Large, dense forest grew in the wake of the receding glacier and offered prime hunting to a people that had already established themselves there. These people are called the Megalithbauern, (Megalith = large stone, Bauern = builders). Their ancient graves are built of such large boulders that it was long believed that the graves had been built by a race of giants. Hence, their graves are called Huenengraeber (giant-built graves) or Megalithgraeber.

The Megalithbauern buried their dead with provisions for an after-life: these included weapons, men's tools, ornaments and utensils for the women. They were probably a proud and self-confident people. They had powerful bodies, broad shoulders, thick necks and faces that were broad and of fairly square outline. These physical features survive unchanged in many Westphalians to the present day.

The square-face or square-head features of the later day Megalithbauer in Westphalia plus the alleged stubborness of the Westphalian should explain the amusing story of how the Westphalian was created in the beginning. When the various Germanic people were being created, God used wood. In one particular project, it was nearly impossible to chisel delicate lines for the head and face: the wood constantly broke into square edges when chiseling it cross-grain and so a rounded conformation was next to impossible. As the work continued, the block still maintained the basic shape of a cube. In desperation, God took the cantankerous cube and set it on a thick trunk and mumbled, Westphalian." He might also have said, "Der Westfälischer ist ein Klotz." (Klotz = block of wood).

From burial artifacts, there is ample evidence that the Indo-European settler soon intermixed with the Megalithbauern. Thus, in several hundred years, a new people and a new language emerged and this process would ultimately yield the early Germans.

For the next 1000 years, the transition of these people into that of the early Germans is not known in detail. These people expanded to the east, south and west from their ancient home of southern Sweden, Denmark, Schleswig-Holstein and eastern Lower Saxony. About 1000 BC, they pressed over the Weichsel, the Elbe to the Weser and Rhine, settling in Mecklenburg, Harz and Havelland.

The Bronze to Iron Age was ca 800 BC. The climate changed and became damp and colder. Food became scarce. The Germanics made another mass movement. About 400 BC, they spread over all of Lower Saxony and pressed the Celts from the east bank of the Rhine over to the west side but hybridizing the while in much the manner of the earlier Indo-Europeans with the Megalithbauern. They pressed on to the modern day region of Belgium and on below the Mosel; they settled in Silesia and advanced southeasterly over the Weichsel. About 300 BC, they inhabited all of north and middle Germany as well as extensive stretches along the North and Baltic Seas.

Archeologists begin the classification of early Germanics in about this period. They are basically, the north, east and west Germanics. From the north Germanics stem the Vikings, among others, and later Scandanavians (except Finland) as well as those inhabitants of Iceland and the Faroe Islands.

( Note: the following are the German names of the early Germanics.)

Classified as east Germanics are the Gepiden and Heruler, the Bastarnen and the Skiren, the Goths, the Burgundians and the Vandals.

The west Germanics have the most singular or most common origin. In this group are the Kimbern and Teutons who are the first Germans that history refers to as Germans. The west Germanics are the Angel and the Saxons, the ancestors of the later English. Going on, there are the Frisians, the Cheruskers, the Sugambrer, the Bataver, the Usipeter (accent on the 2nd syllable), the Tenkterer, the Ubier the Brukterer, the Chatten and the folk group called the Swabians to which belong the Semonen, the Hermunduren, the Markomannen, the Quaden and the Wangionen. There are many more.

All of the foregoing west Germanics had about the same culture and life style. The old ballads sing of a common home and origin, but individually, they were not particularly aware of a common origin. Besides, the word "German" was not a word with which anyone was fully familiar. "German” was a word strange to the rest of the world or that time. People generally used Greek for identifying cultures. Those people to the west were referred to as Celts and to the north and east as Skythen. The middle order people were called Celtosythian.

It is obvious that our German origins are not so obvious. However, to get a little closer to the "roots," let us study the Cheruskers mentioned above. They were west Germanics and very close to the area of Ladbergen. The Cheruskers are honored to this day because they were the people to make the first successful stance against the Romans in northern Germany.

As the Romans subjugated more of Germany, relief was sought by moving further north. By 5 AD Roman control extended northward to the land of the Cheruskers. At that time there was a young Germanic officer by the name of Arminius who served in the Roman army. He came from one of the prominent Cherusker families and had gone to Rome to learn the art of fighting with hand weapons. He demonstrated outstanding leadership in a number of campaigns in the Balkans. He was granted Roman citizenship and the knightly rank. In 7 AD, Arminius returned to his homeland. The Roman Governor, Publius Quinctilius Varus, was residing on the Rhine at his administrative offices. Varus was hated by the Germanics for the heavy taxes and tribute he demanded. Arminius decided to rebel. He was a frequent and welcome guest of Varus, but meanwhile proceeded to secretly train the Cheruskers in the battle tactics of the Roman Legionnaires; thus, he persuaded a number of the neighboring leaders to join in his plans.

The plans were set for 9 AD. Arminius went to Varus with the message that the Germanics were planning an uprising. Varus immediately responded as Arminius had hoped. Varus and his three legions headed in the given direction. When the Roman troops arrived at the point that Arminius had planned, the Cheruskers ambushed the Romans and completely annihilated them. In humiliation, Varus fell on his sword. Thus, "The Battle of the Teutoburger Wald” again secured the German right bank against Roman control.

The Teutoburger Forest is only a few miles north of Ladbergen; Tecklenburg is located on its ridge. The forest extends for miles in a nominal east-west direction. The exact location of Varus' defeat is not known. Arminius is remembered by the copper clad statue of him on top of a mountain near Detmold. The statue is called Hermannsdenkmal or Herman's Memorial. Some historians say it is incorrect to equate the name Hermann with Arminius. However, something established "Hermann" as one of the most popular of German names.

Christianizing the Saxon Low German

In the early times of the west Germanics, the Saxons were divided into three groups: the Westphalians, the Angrians (Engern), and the Eastphalians (Ostfalen). The Westphalians came out of the north and first settled in the region between the Ems and Hunte rivers; later they spread south as far as Cologne (Köln) around 700 AD. In 775 AD the Westphalians offered some of the strongest resistance to Charlemagne in his war to Christianize the Saxons. Charlemagne, or Karl der Grosse, was the first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire or what is also called the "Alte Reich” or "First Reich." Charlemagne brought Christianity to western Europe and is extolled, revered and blessed by many a historian for being so benign a king. He brought the conquered to Christianity. The Pope saw his actions as the avenue to a new Roman Empire in the west, but an Empire that would be Christian and controlled by the Church. The Pope crowned Charlemagne Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. With the baptism of the Westphalian leader, Widukind, in 785 AD, the Saxons were essentially conquered, and so, the Saxons were integrated into the Frankish empire. Hence, Westphalia became Christian about 800 AD.

Since Christ's message had been delivered by the sword through which thousands had been killed, the Westphalians had some misgivings about this new message of love and morality. In their minds, their earlier heathen morality in many instances provided more equitable judgment than was being exhibited by the Roman Church of that period. Such Christianizing left a lasting impression on these north German people and that might be identified as the incubation of Protestantism; it is so lasting that a recent German newspaper covered an article comparing the old Saxon morality with that from Rome. This reluctance in giving up their old heathen ways is evidenced by the many superstitions and spook stories that our forefathers have told us and that are often traceable to the pre-Christian era of Saxon history.The modern Saxon describes the Christianizing as, "Karl took his sword and made the Saxon nobles one head shorter. The rest of the conversion went much smoother."

Scandanavian Roots

There is some vague history that the Low Germans around Ladbergen originated in the province of Dalarna, Sweden. Dalarna has a city named Mora (familiar in Minnesota) located about 100 miles northwest of Stockholm. The region is farming and mining. Allegedly, the migration of these Swedes was due to poor harvests. This information has not been substantiated. There are many common words that low German has with the Scandanavian languages.

Chances are that a Norwegian from an isolated valley near the west coast of Norway will understand a good bit of Low German. Anyone fluent in Low German is able to make a minimum of sense out of written Norwegian and Danish. However, phonetics are frequently quite different especially with Danish. In listening to the three Scandanavian languages, it has been the writer's experience that the Norwegian associates more often with the Low German than do the other two. The three countries have their various subordinate dialects and one can conjecture how a dialect spoken in an isolated location might show an even closer relation to Low German. The following are various words in comparison with Low German.

Names

We of Ohio may have had our original home in New York or California. Similarly, many a Ladbergen name did not originate there. The Stienecker family has Flemish connection. In Belgium it was spelled Steenacker (stone acre) from the stoney ground. The Wierwilles did not always spell their name with w; the German w is a vay and sounded as English v. Change the W to V and the name becomes Viervilles, a French name. The Viervilles originated in Vierville sur Mer in Normandy where the Allies landed on D-Day in WWII. They were Huegenots and presumably a Vierville soldier assisted the Count of Tecklenburg in the Schmalkaldisch War, a Protestant-Catholic conflict ca 1540. Possibly the soldier, Vierville, acquired a piece of land in Ladbergen for his services to the Count.

Family names typically associate with a place, status or occupation. A choice farm location in early Ladbergen might be on an Esch-- an old Gothic word for elevated arable land. The ancient name for our modern day ranch foreman is Meier. The man who supervised the help of this Hof located on the Esch probably ended with a name like Eschmeier. All such names take on various but related meanings with time. The Meier is variously an administrator, farm help, dairy farmer, etc.

A similar example is the word Haar. The modern German defines this as hair; one must look to earlier usage and there it was once common to refer to a sandy ridge or dune as a Haar. The Frisians build their Hofs on high sandy ground and are surrounded by water at high tide. This might be similar to a Ladbergen version of a Haar, but there the name is similar to Hoge. A Hof located on a Haar would be Auf der Haar. Evidently, the name may have been formalized or created where High German was in more usage. This is because it uses the word Auf. In Low German this would be Op instead of Auf.

Rott is a clearing in the woods. One of the Ladbergen streets goes by this name. The word has also been variously spelled such as Roth. Could it be one of the stems of Meckstroth?

A Hof is typically surrounded by fields, clearings and perhaps several small groves (Old German Horst = grove). The hedge-enclosed field could be a Kamp. If it contained colts it might be called Fullenkamp. Hence various names ending in Kamp:

Weir = wheat or far ---- Weitkamp
Haber = oats --- Haberkamp
Saat = seed --- Saatkamp
Heide = moor --- Heidekamp
Holt = wood --- Holtkamp

Land may have been elevated into a dike or road and since its primary function was to be a water barrier, it would be named Damm. It could be a Diek (dike) and depending on its construction be a Stockdiek. If a man had the job of polling the inhabitants he might be Wahlmann. If he collected the tribute to the cloister he would be a Schulte. A Vogt or Fogt was a steward, warden or constable.

In a rural society, a name could readily generate according to the position of inheritance. These include names like Spanner, Zeller, Bauer, Koetter, and Brinkmann. German inheritance at times extends to the 128th heir. For example, doubling with spouse(s) will yield the series of 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128. The number of children can grossly affect such orderly progression. However, the orders of inheritance have been variously named according to time and locality.

An example of hierarchy is:

Bauer = Volle Erbe = Full heirM
Halb Erbe = Half heir
Kötter = Cotter
Halb Kötter - Half Cotter
1st Brinkmann = First Brinkmann
2nd Brinkmann = Second Brinkmann
etc. up to usually the Sixth Brinkmann

Koetter is the German spelling of Katter as in Katterheinrich. It is variously spelled throughout Europe as Cotter, Cotier, and Cotrell. It may have its origins in the Frankish language. Modern French uses Cotte de Mailles for coat of mail -- the garment worn in battle that was fabricated from metal ringlets or washers. The wearer of such simple armament was usually a foot soldier as compared to the knight who wore a costlier suit of fabricated metal plate. It is assumed that the name Cotter is a diminutive referring to a soldier dressed in such battle coat. Such foot soldiers awarded with a modest amount of armor were usually subservient to the knight in maintaining his farm as well as being on call to assist in battle. His house provided by the knight came to be called the cottage.

In the 15th century, a new class of farmer came on the scene known as Koetters. They were those that took the old desolate Hofs and rebuilt them. The Ladbergen name of Koetter is on record in the year of 1543 and it is probably safe to assume it had existed for a century then. The association of Koetter with the foregoing order of heirs began considerably later and was fairly official under Prussian rule.

When an estate or Hof slaughtered a hog, the choice meat would go to the first heir. The lesser choices would go to the lesser heirs. The Half Cotter received the hog's head and used it to make souse. To this day Halb Koeter is a name for souse.