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Hutterite Surnames
(Under Construction)

© copyright 1996, 1997 FEEFHS, all rights reserved

Latest Update: 27 March 1997(Links Updated)

Subj: Hutterite Surnames
Date: 96-12-30 13:40:54 EST
From: eichler1@popsicle.llnl.gov (Evan Eichler)
To: feefhs@feefhs.org

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 Siebenburgen in 1755 and later joined the Hutterites, where his son Joseph (M4) was apppointed "Diener des Worts"*** in 1779. This Miller family name presumably disappeared among the Hutterites in 1856 with the 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 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.

*** literal translation: "Servant of the Words" - presumed to be a Hutterite leader's title.

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Evan Eichler, Ph.D.
Human Genome Center
BBRP, L-452
Lawrence Livermore National Labs.
Livermore, California 94550
Telephone: 510-423-7831
FAX: 510-422-2282
email: eichler1@llnl.gov
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