Hutterite Genealogy
Surnames of Founding Families
Churchbook Extractions
by
Evan Eichler, Ph.D.
© copyright 1997 by Evan Eichler and FEEFHS, all rights
reserved
First Posted: 14 January 1997
Hutterite Genealogy: Founding Families
Chruchbook extractions by Evan Eichler,
Ph.D.
eMail address: eichler1@llnl.gov
Hutterite Surname List.
Hutterite surnames can generally be divided into three categories based on the history of
three
different groups which contributed members to the founding population:
1) Carinthian -- The surnames Kleinsasser, Miller, Wurz, Waldner, Hofer, and
Glanzer originated from transmigrants who were exiled from the Spittal District of Carinthia,
Austria to Siebenbuergen during the Counter-reformation period. Here they came into
contact
with the remnants of the Hutterite Church and converted to the faith. These families
revitalized the nearly extinct Hutterite movement in 1760.
2) Old Hutterite surnames -- The surnames Mandel, Pullman, Stahl, Tschetter,
Wipf,
Walter and Wollman represent a small fraction of original Hutterite surnames which have
survived until present day. The ancestors of these families presumably joined the Hutterite
faith in the 16th and 17th century as exiled German Protestants.
Due to extensive persecution of the Hutterian Brethren in Slovakia and Transylvania, most of
the descendants of these families were converted to Catholicism by the beginning of the 18th
century. The Habaner of Slovakia, Romania and Hungary represent a unique ethnic group,
Catholic in faith, which trace descent from these original Hutterite families. In 1760 and
1783, a few "original" Hutterite families managed to flee Slovakia and Transylvania and join
the Hutterites in Wallachia and later in the Ukraine.
3) Mennonite -- These include the Hutterite families of Decker, Entz, Fast,
Gross,
Jansen and Knels. Decker, Gross and Knels were introduced into the Hutterites by
conversion of Mennonite families which originated from West Prussia. The surnames
Jansen,
Fast and Ens were introduced later through intermarriage with Mennonite members of the
Molotschna Colony in Southern Ukraine.
I. CARINTHIAN
GLANZER: Four brothers, Martin, Christian, Veit, and Paul (G1), were
exiled to
Siebenbuergen, Transylvania in 1755 where they later joined the Hutterite Church. They
originated from the Moertlguet, Sankt Peter District, Carinthia where the brothers farmed
along with their father Martin Glanzer. Their mother and one sister accompanied them to
Transylvania. The oldest brother, Martin, left behind a wife and a one year old daughter on
the Wipflerguet near the village of Aich in Carinthia. Martin never remarried. All Glanzers
among the Hutterites and the Prairieleut are descended from Christian Glanzer (G2) through
his grandson, Samuel Glanzer (1779-1831).
Samuel's two sons, Paul (b.1810) and Samuel Glanzer (b.1814), immigrated to America
along
with their families aboard the S.S. Mosel (New York arrival: July 21, 1879) and
S.S.Pommerania (New York Arrival: July 3, 1877).
HOFER: Two Hofer families were among the religious dissidents exiled to
Siebenbuergen, Transylvania in 1755. The first were brothers Mathias and Michael Hofer
(H2) who left mother, father and brother in Unteramlach, Carinthia, Austria. These were
presumably the sons of Michael Hofer and Maria Gasser (H1), whose daughters Elisabeth
and
Maria had already married at the time of the deportation into fellow religious exile families
of
Joseph Miller (M3) and Hans Kleinsasser (K2).
In March 1757, Mathias and Michael Hofer (H2) were imprisoned in Hermannstadt,
Siebenbuergen for refusing to accept the doctrine of the Lutheran Church. Michael later
perished in prison. Both Michael and Mathias died childless. All Hofers among the
Hutterites today are descended from Johann Hofer (H3) through one of his four sons (Jakob,
Paul, Christian or Michael). Johann Hofer farmed the Hofergut in Sankt Peter, Spittal
District, Carinthia.
Johann's parents, Michael Hofer and Maria Plattner, had both been religious dissidents in
this
area since at least 1719. A priest reported in 1731 that Maria Hoferin of Sankt Peter had
been refused confession for twelve years due to her "heretical" beliefs.
Hofer is arguably the most common surname among the brotherhood and the Prairieleut,
today.
INNERWINKLER: The Innerwinkler family originated from the
Innerwinklerguet
in the Staggenboi district of Carinthia, where members of this family had been operating the
family farm since the mid-15th century (oldest known ancestor Rueppl Innerwinkler, 1499).
In 1719, a branch of the family moved from Paternion to Amlach where Thomas
Innerwinkler
acquired the Freysasslhuebe in Oberamlach, Spittal district of Carinthia.
Three of his granddaughters (I1), Ursula Innerwinkler Nagler, Christina and Elisabeth
Innerwinkler, were exiled in 1755 to Siebenbuergen, Transylvania for religious beliefs,
counter to the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church. Christina and Elisabeth both joined
the Hutterite Church in Transylvania marrying Joseph Kuhr and Peter Mueller, respectively.
The eldest sister, Ursula, remained among the Transylvanian Saxons where she presumably
accepted the Lutheran faith. The surname no longer exists among the Hutterites.
KLEINSASSER: The family originated from the Kleinsasserhof (Kleinsasser
farm)
near Sankt Peter in the Spittal district of Carinthia, Austria. All Kleinsassers among the
Hutterite and Prairieleut trace their descent from the Catholic Hans Kleinsasser (born 1689
circa) (K1). Hans Kleinsasser was considered one of the wealthiest farmers of the Sankt
Peter region.
All four of Hans' sons (Johann, Stephan, Mathias and Joseph) and one daughter (Dorothea
Kleinsasser Nagler) were exiled in August 1755 to Deutschkreuz, Siebenbuergen and later
joined the Hutterite Church by 1765. Five of Hans Kleinsasser's daughters married Roman
Catholics in Carinthia and remained in the Sankt Peter district. The Kleinsasserhof in
Austria was eventually passed onto one of these son-in-laws, Thomas Gasser, and remains in
the hands of his descendants to present day.
Among the Hutterite Kleinsassers, only Johann and Mathias Kleinsasser had offspring which
survived beyond infancy, and it is from the descendants of these two that the family name
has
been carried to the prairies of North America. Johann Kleinsasser (born 1723, K2) was
ordained minister of the Hutterite Church in 1763. Johann's nephew, Joseph Kleinsasser
(born 1775, K3), was, likewise, ordained minister of the church in 1818 in Raditchewa,
Ukraine.
NAGLER: A Hutterite surname of Carinthian origin which persisted only one
generation among the Hutterites. Christian Nagler immigrated with his wife Dorothea
Kleinsasser to Grosschenk, Transylvania in 1755. Christian died shortly thereafter in 1757
and his wife and three daughters moved to the home of Johann Kleinsasser (presumably a
brother of Dorothea) where they later joined the Hutterite Church. Christian Nagler heralded
from the small village of Unter Alpen (Unter den Alben) in the district of Paternion. In this
area, Nagler is an extremely common name and has existed in various forms (Nageler,
Nagler, Nagel) since at least 1499.
MILLER (MUELLER): Two Carinthian emigrant families originally brought
this
name to the Hutterites.
1) Joseph Miller (M3) a resident from Lonsach was descended from a long line of
judges in the district of Weissenstein in Carinthia. He was exiled with his family to
Siebenbuergen in 1755 and later joined the Hutterites, where his son Joseph (M4) was
appointed "Diener des Worts" in 1779. This Miller family name presumably disappeared
among the Hutterites in 1856 with they death of Zacharias Miller, the grandson of Joseph
Miller and last descendant to carry this surname.
2) Peter Miller (M1) was a single day labourer from Unteramlach. His ancestors had
worked
as fishermen and farmers on the Uellehube since the 1670's (The Miller family prior to 1650
resided in the Staggenboi district). Peter Miller along with many of his uncles and cousins
were exiled from the Unteramlach between the years 1730-1755. Peter Miller alone joined
the Hutterite Church where he married a fellow Carinthian exile, Elisabeth Innerwinkler in
1763. In 1819, two of Peter's grandsons, Andreas and Mathias Miller, left the Hutterite
Church and joined the Mennonite colony of Chortitza. All Millers of Russian Mennonite
descent can trace their ancestry to one of these two brothers.
A third brother, Joseph Miller, remained among the Hutterites. His son immigrated to
America aboard the S.S. Lessing (1878, July 17) and settled with his family in Freeman,
South Dakota. Descendants of this family which carry the Miller surname are found among
the Prairieleut of South Dakota today.
WALDNER: Waldner (Waltner) is a common family name among the
Hutterian
Brethren of South Dakota and the Swiss Mennonites of Kansas. Both branches share
common descent from Georg Waldner (Wa1), a farmer of the Ertlguet homestead in the
Amlach district of Carinthia, Austria, who was exiled in 1755 along with his wife and three
children to Siebenbuergen, Transylvania.
The Waldner family originated from am Egg, Staggenboi where Peter Wallder/Walder
resided
in the 1490's. In 1655 Michael Waldner, (a great-grandfather of Georg) assumed the
"Baumannsgerechtigkeit" (a peasant's permission to farm the lord's land) for the Ertlguet and
moved from am Egg, Staggenboi to Unteramlach. After Georg's exile in 1755, the Ertlguet
was sold to Georg Amlacher for the substantial sum of 909 Gulden, of which it is doubtful
that Georg Waldner or his descendants ever received a portion.
Two of Georg's sons, Christian (Wa2) and Johann (Wa3), survived to adulthood and are the
forefathers of all Waldner/Waltner Hutterite and Swiss Mennonite families. Johann Waldner
in 1783 was elected "Diener des Wortes" and in 1793 was appointed Elder (Aeltester)
minister of the Church. Johann's son, Andreas, married a Swiss Mennonite, Kathrina
Schrag.
After the death of her husband, Kathrina returned with her family to Volhynia to live among
the Swiss Mennonites. Among the Swiss Mennonites, the name was changed from Waldner
and Waltner, which is carried by Andreas' and Kathrina Waldner's descendants in Kansas.
Minister Michael Waldner, a great-grandson of Johann Waldner, helped establish in 1874 the
Bon Homme Bruderhof, the first Hutterite colony of South Dakota.
WURZ: The Hutterite Wurz family traces its descent from Andreas Wurz
(Wu1), a
farmer from the Mayerguet, Sankt Peter, Spittal District, Carinthia Austria. The Wurz
family
was not native to the Sankt Peter region. In the year 1743, Andreas Wurz moved from the
Weissenstein parish, married the widow, Elisabeth Strauss and assumed the
Mayerguet.
In 1755, Andreas, his wife Margareta, his five children (Christian, Elizabeth, Magdalena,
Christina and Anna) and two step-daughters (Christina and Elisabeth Strauss) were exiled
from Carinthia for refusing to accept Catholicism. Andreas' stepdaughters were imprisoned
in
Hermannstadt in 1759 as part of the persecution against those transmigrants who refused to
accept the Lutheran faith. In 1761, Andreas Wurz and his household joined the Hutterite
Church, with the baptism of Andreas by Peter Miller.
Andreas's eldest son, Christian, was sent by the Hutterite Church to Gluchow in 1780 to
work
as a physician's apprentice for the Prince Romanzow in Ukraine. The church hoped that
Christian would return to the Hutterite Wirschinka colony to serve as a physician. Christian,
however, became "worldly" in dress and manner and never returned to the colony nor to his
wife and three young children (Wu2) who remained among the Hutterites. He eventually
died
in Moscow in 1792. In contrast, Christian's younger brother, Andreas (Wu3) became a
minister of the Hutterite Church in Wirschinka. All Wurz families in America and Canada
are descended from one of these two brothers.
II. "OLD" HUTTERITE SURNAMES FROM SLOVAKIA AND
TRANSYLVANIA
KUHR: This family name is recorded among the Hutterites for only three
generations. Joseph Kuhr, "Diener des Wortes" of the Alwinz Hutterite Church, immigrated
with his son and daughter to Wallachia in 1767. Joseph's oldest son remained in Alwinz
where he had married a native Hungarian. Later in 1783, Joseph's namesake and grandson,
Joseph Kuhr, left Alwinz and joined the Church in Wischenka. The family name
disappeared
among the Hutterites by 1820. All of Joseph Kuhr's great-grandsons among the Hutterites
apparently died as infants.
MAENDEL (MANDEL): According to the Kleine Geschictsbuch, the surname
was
originally Mandelig and was of Bohemian origin. The surname became Germanicized to
Mandel. Paul Mandel converted to the Hutterite faith in Sabatisch, Slovakia and was
baptised
by Rev. Kuhr on Dec. 10, 1783.
Paul was among those who fled Sabatisch and joined the Hutterites in 1784. He died in
Hutterthal, Ukraine in 1846. The chronicles mention that Paul Mandel never managed to
master the Hutterite Tirolean dialect and always spoke with a heavy Bohemian accent.
Mandel is a relatively common surname among the Lehrerleut, Schmiedeleut, and
Prairieleut.
PULLMAN (POLLMAN): The history of this old Hutterite surname from
Sabatisch, Slovakia is obscure. Three Pollman families joined the Wischenka Hutterite
Church from Sabatisch between the years 1783-1784, namely; that of Tobias (P1), Andreas
(P2) and Joseph (P3). According to the church records, Joseph had no sons, Tobias' sons
died
as young children and Andreas' two sons, Johann and Adam, supposedly died without
marrying. The records, however, indicate that two new Pullman families appear in the next
generation, Adam and Jeremias Pullman (P4).
These are possibly the sons of Andreas (P2). All of Adam Pullman's children died as
infants.
Only Jeremias had children which survived beyond infancy. All Pullman's are descended
from this founder. When the Pullman families immigrated to America in the 1870's, they
refused to adopt communal living and became members of the Prairieleut and later the
Mennonite Church. Descendants of Jeremias Pullman are still found among the Mennonites
today.
STAHL: The Stahl surname is first recorded among the Hutterites in 1663,
when a
Johannes Stahl of Zobelhof, Slovakia was captured and enslaved by an invading band of
Turks. He was never heard from again.
Descendants of this family settled in a variety of Bruderhofs in Romania and Slovakia. After
the extensive persecution of the Hutterite Church, three families remained associated with
the
Hutterites by 1750. This included two brothers (Johann Stahl of Alwinz and Andreas Stahl
of
Sabatisch) and a cousin (Joseph Stahl of Sabatisch). Both Johann and Andreas eventually
immigrated and joined the Hutterite Church in Ukraine. Joseph, however, rem ined in
Sabatisch, recanted and accepted the Catholic state religion.
1) All Hutterian brethren which carry the Stahl surname are descended from the elder brother
Johann Stahl (S1), a ceramic potter from Alwinz. In 1765, Johann was imprisoned in Aiud
for refusing to convert to Catholicism. In 1767, Johann Stahl and Joseph Kuhr were exiled
to
Poland, where they remained for over a year. Johann Stahl later returned to Deutschkreuz in
Sept, 1768 and a month later fled with his family and other members of the Hutterite Church
to Wallachia. The descendants of two of Johann Stahl's sons, Johann and Benjamin Stahl,
carried the name to America in the 1870's.
2) Andreas Stahl and his family joined the Hutterite Church in Wischenka in 1783. Andreas'
only son, Mathias, a tailor by trade, died from consumption without children.
TSCHETTER (Czeterle): Several different members of this family joined
(rejoined)
the Hutterite Church between the years 1750-1795, originating from the villages of Sabatisch
and Alwinz. This suggests that the family name likely existed among the original Hutterite
Church for several generations prior to the exiles/migrations of the mid-18th century. An
Abraham Tschetter was imprisoned in 1760 for opposing the Jesuits of Sabatisch. He was
incarcerated for several years in a convent outside of Erlau until he gave up his Hutterite
faith
and joined the Catholic Church.
In 1765, the bachelor Lorenz Tschetter (T1) fled from Alwinz to Deutschkreuz to preserve
his
Hutterite beliefs. Between 1783-1784, the family of Paul Tschetter (T2) and the bachelor,
Jakob Tschetter, fled from Sabatisch to rejoin the Hutterite Church in Alwinz. Despite the
large number of Tschetter founders, only Lorenz Tschetter (T1) had grandchildren which
survived beyond infancy. All Tschetters among the Hutterian Brethren and Prairieleut are
descended from one of Lorenz's three sons: Lorenz, Jacob or Paul.
WALTER (WALTHER): This is the oldest Hutterite name still in existence
today.
In 1580, the Anabaptist, Franz Walther, a barber-surgeon from Maulbronn near
Wuerttemberg, left his home and joined the Hutterite Church being established in Moravia.
In 1597, he was elected Elder of the Hutterian Brethren in Pribitz, Moravia. Nearly two
hundred years later, in 1746, a Zacharias Walter was chosen elder of the Hutterite church in
Sabatisch, Slovakia. A few years later he was imprisoned for his faith and eventually was
forced to accept Catholicism and renounce his Hutterite faith.
His son, Jakob Walter, however, fled with his family (W2) in 1784 and joined the only
practicing Hutterite Church in Wischenka, Ukraine. A son of Jakob Walther, Darius
Walther,
became the leader of a group which split the Hutterian Brethren in Raditchewa over the issue
of communal living. In 1817, he led a small group of anti-communiterian Hutterites to
Chortitza where they briefly resettled among the Mennonite villages of this colony.
Although most from this group later returned to Wischenka Hutterite colony in 1819, the
Hutterites continued to disagree about communal living until they arrived in America in the
1870's. Another Darius Walther, a grandson of Jakob Walter (W2), became the founder of
the Dariusleut Hutterian sect which founded the Wolf Creek Colony near Freeman, South
Dakota in 1874.
WIPF: Wipf is an old Hutterite name. It appeared first during the 1690's with
Michael Wipf who served as the head preacher (Elder) of the Hutterite Church in Alwinz,
Siebenbuergen from 1694 to 1717. During intense persecution at the hands of the Jesuits,
the
family name was almost eliminated among the Hutterian Brethren, with the exception of the
widow Anne Wipf and her children (Wi1) who joined the Hutterite Church in Stein in 1765.
Anna Wipf's three sons, Elias, Johannes and Samuel are the ancestors of all Hutterite /
Mennonite Wipf's who immigrated to America between 1874 and 1880.
WOLLMAN (WALEMAN): Between the years 1783-1784, three Wollman
founders
from Sabatisch, Slovakia joined the Hutterite Church in Wischenka, namely; the family of
Jacob Wollman (Wo1), the bachelor, Andreas Wollman, and the widow Katherina Wollman
and her two children Joseph and Gretel Wollman. Andreas Wollman, apparently, died
childless and the Joseph Wollman family line eventually died out by 1864.
All Wollman's among the Prairieleut and Hutterites are descended from Jakob Wollman's
son
Andreas (Wo1lman). One member of this family, Andreas Wollman (b.1787), a grandson of
Jacob Wollman (Wo1), founded an implement factory in the Ukraine and became a
millionaire. The Wollman surname is commonly found today among all three Hutterian
sects.
III. MENNONITE
DECKER (DEKKER): Decker is a Mennonite surname of Flemish origin.
The
name was introduced to the Hutterites in 1780 when Elsi Decker (D1) of Franztal, Prussia
immigrated with her family to Wischenka where she joined the Hutterian Brethren. Her son,
Benjamin (D2), is the ancestor of all Deckers found among the Hutterites today.
ENS, FAST and JANSEN: These three families were introduced to the
Hutterites
between 1850 - 1870 through intermarriage with or conversion of Mennonite families which
lived nearby in the colony of Molotschna. An A.W. Fast married a Hutterite woman
(possibly Susanna Wurz). After her death, her four sons were adopted by family members
among the Hutterites. Descendants of brothers John and Jacob Fast live among the
Hutterites
today.
Similarly, a Jacob Jansen left the Mennonites of Molotschna and married a Hutterite. He
lived in Hutterdorf and his descendants immigrated to America and settled among the
Hutterites. The Mennonite founder of the Ens (Entz) family is unknown. Four Entz families
immigrated to America. One of these John Entz was elected preacher of the Elm Spring
Colony in 1892.
GROSS: It has been postulated that this name is of Mennonite origin. An
Andreas
Gross came with his wife and son Jerg (G1) to the Hutterites in 1782. Before he could be
baptised, Andreas died. His son and widowed wife, however, joined the church. Jerg
married Julianna Lausner (a step-granddaughter of the founder Andreas Wurz) who was born
in prison in Hermannstadt, Transylvania.
KNELS: This surname is of Mennonite origin. The widow, Liset Knels, from
Pschehofka, West Prussia joined the Hutterites in 1783 with her two sons Abraham and
Johannes. In 1958, there were only two families with this surname among the Hutterites of
North America.
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Evan Eichler, Ph.D.
eMail:eichler1@llnl.gov
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