Ziegenfuß (family name)

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The family name Ziegenfuß , (in American also written Zickefoose , Sigafoes , Sickafaus , Ortefuse etc.) can be traced back to the 15th century . It is a relatively rare name that occurs around 150 times in Germany, especially in the Ruhr area ( Castrop-Rauxel ), in Eichsfeld and in the Odenwald .

meaning

Etymologists interpret the prefix goat in family names such as goat foot, goat leg , goat neck etc. in the form of skinny, thin etc. Probably the first bearer of the name had thin, possibly whitish legs, so that he was given this nickname and called it Inherited the family name to his descendants. Another assumption is that an ancestor had a clubfoot , which, depending on the shape of the malformation , could resemble a goat's pair hoof .

origin

Genealogical research gave the following results: The origin of all lines is probably in or near the Thuringian Obereichsfeld . There are a number of namesake in documents from the Reformation period , z. B. 1525 Claus Zcegenfoeß as injured party at the cremation of the Beuren monastery by rebellious peasants in the peasant war . In the Turkish tax lists of 1542 and 1548, other namesake appear in the region, again in Beuren, Bodenrode , Heiligenstadt and Uder . In 1597 a goat's foot is mentioned as a citizen of the city of Duderstadt and from 1585–1604 "goat's feet" are mentioned in a document in neighboring Goslar . The oldest known mention of the name in the original spelling took place in 1470 in the cadastre of the nearby city of Mühlhausen . Even older is the mention of a Tyl von Cigenfus in a document from Dittersdorf from 1321, when he bought the place from his friend Boreš III. (Owner of the Mährisch Trübau estate ).

Lines

So far, the following goat foot lines are known:

  • Eichsfeld line

It can be traced back to a Hans Hildebrand Ziegenfuß who lived in Obereichsfeld around 1650. His descendants lived (d) mainly in the places Silberhausen , Helmsdorf , Dingelstädt and Kallmerode . Quite a few people emigrated to the USA around 1850, mainly to the Midwest and California . Today around 25,000 descendants are known, most of whom can be found in Germany and the Midwest of the USA.

  • Odenwald line

This line settled in the Odenwald after the Thirty Years War (especially Raidelbach , Gadernheim and Beedenkirchen , today districts of Lautertal ). The ancestor of this line came from the Eichsfeld town of Wingerode . However, the connection to the Eichsfeld line can no longer be reconstructed. As early as 1750, some families emigrated to North America and mainly settled in eastern Pennsylvania . The above different spellings are almost without exception carried by members of the Odenwald line. In the 18th century the name was also written Zehfuß in the Odenwald . The American portion of the lineage is partly well explored and includes more than 4,000 people, mostly living in the northeastern United States. Extensive genealogical research on this line was carried out by Robert Ziegenfuss in the 1930s and published in the German Gender Book.

  • Ruhr area line

Around 1850 a goat's foot migrated from Ecklingerode in Eichsfeld to Castrop-Rauxel . Two of his sons emigrated to the USA and Australia . Many 'goat feet' in the Ruhr area can be assigned to this line. The works council chairman Hans Ziegenfuß , who became known throughout Germany in the 1980s as part of the bankruptcy of AG Weser, also belongs to this line.

  • North German line

In the area of ​​the Lüneburg Heath , people with the name Ziegenfuß can be identified since approx. 1750. This line has only been partially explored so far. The genealogical research by Robert Ziegenfuss from the Odenwald line in the 1930s showed that there should be connections to the Eichsfeld. So far these could not be verified. A large family, mainly based in Texas , and whose ancestors come from Weferlingen near Helmstedt , could also belong to this line.

  • Saxon line

In the vicinity of Bautzen and Dresden , a few people can be identified with the name as early as 1700. More detailed information on the origin is currently not available.

  • Common top penchant

With the help of several yDNA37 tests carried out by the Familytreedna.com company, it was found that the Eichsfelder, Odenwald and North German lines can be traced back to a common ancestor. At least 2 people from all lines were tested, with the greatest possible relationship being chosen between the test persons. Such tests are also aimed at at least for the Ruhr area line, as people who are still living in this line are known. It is currently unknown whether descendants of the Saxon line still exist today.

Well-known namesake

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Page no longer available , search in web archives: SWR1 Namenforscher@1@ 2Template: Toter Link / www.ardmediathek.de