Origin of the Rempel Family

Originally written in German by W. J. Rempel, Göttingen as "Herkunft der Geschlechter Rempel", in: Ostdeutsche Familienkunde 1960, p.243-250, Degener-Verlag, Neustadt/Aisch. Translated by Ann G. Rempel, and Dora Epp, and edited/coded by Judith Rempel

Generally Held Views

The name Rempel is unusual among Mennonites, in that it does not derive from the European lowlands where the majority of Mennonites claim their origins. Not even circumstantial evidence can be found for even an isolated appearance of Rempels in the low-German linguistic regions.⁽¹⁾

The generally-held view⁽²⁾ is that the name Rempel derives from the Gothic "Raganbold/Ragenbald", but this view could be challenged⁽³⁾. Regardless of the view one chooses, however, we are talking about an early Germanic name. This name (that is, Raganbold/Ragenbald) is one of those that identifies a lot of unrelated people, because it was a baptismal name, not meant for identification of separate persons, but for a whole group of people. The name Rempel, must also have been inherited, however, because after Raganbold/Ragenbald disappeared as a baptismal name, it suddenly reappeared in the 13^th or 14^th century as a first name. The only reasonable explanation for the survival of what earlier was a baptismal name, is that it not only became inherited, but became one of the characteristically assigned names for that generation⁽⁴⁾. It is worth noting that Rempel is one of those unusual first names which has been consistently spelled⁽⁵⁾.

Early West Prussian Rempels

Unfortunately, no documentation is available for the earliest West Prussian Rempels. The earliest appearance of Rempel as a first name is in the Danzig area in 1673, yet just eight years later in 1681 no Rempels were registered⁽⁶⁾. Obviously "Rempel" as a first name was short-lived. Since there were only isolated appearances of the name, it is probable that the name was more densely distributed at an earlier time in the Tiegenhagen lowlands⁽⁷⁾.

It seems that Petershagen was the oldest of the settlements where Rempels are found. If this is correct, it is unlikely that it was due to four separate families with the Rempel surname living there in 1700, i.e., that it was a coincidental in-migration. Rather, there must have been at least one previous generation that appeared in 1650/60. That is, one Rempel family must have settled in Petershagen. Consequently, the appearance of Rempels in Petershagen precedes the immigration to Danzig and Tiegenhagen appears to be the earliest appearance. Both these facts lead us to suspect that the Rempel families came with the first Mennonites in 1562 to the Tiegenhof economic region. They must have been living in other villages in 1620 to explain the otherwise inexplicable density of the Rempel name in 1700.

The other appearances of Rempels in neighbouring areas are obviously more recent.

1. Tiegenhof:
   • Jacob Rempel born before 1725
   • Claas Rempel born about 1735, baptized 11 November 1756
2. Neulanghorst:
   • Gerhard Rempel. born 22 Mar 1744⁽¹⁰⁾
3. Fürstenauerfeld:
   • Gerhard Rempel born before 1747
4. Walldorf:
   • Johann Rempel born about 1723, died 7 Nov 1785
   • Gerhard Rempel died about 1744
5. Pletzendorf:
   • Johannes Rempel born before 1747
   • Claas Rempel born before 1750

No data regarding the first appearance of the Rempel name east of the Nogat River (Elbing-Marienburg) has been preserved. It is only at the 18^th century when the Rempels can be identified, when the oldest known settlement in Rosengart was established by immigrants from Tiegenhagen. It is unfortunate that Penner discontinued his research exactly on the Nogat line, however, this is likely because this is the area from which mass emigrations of Mennonites (including many Rempels) to Russia took place. As a result, information from East of the Nogat is still not uncovered. In spite of this, it is clear that in the 18^th century the Rempels were concentrated by the Nogat⁽¹¹⁾, while Danzig was unimportant and only a few Rempels appeared in Königsberg.

Concentrations of the Rempel Name after the 30 Years' War

Does this say anything about the origin of the name Rempel? Before one considers this question, one should take a look at the other German occurrences of the name.

In the period after the 30-Year's War, the following concentrations appeared:

1. West Prussia:
   Mostly Mennonites (this branch continues)⁽¹²⁾
2. Thuringia:
   Sonneberg: Johann Nicholas Rempel born 1754 (this branch continues)
3. Frank:
   Nürenberg City archive has undisturbed treasures
   Altdorf/Lauf: Margaretha Rempel born 1688
   Hersbruck/Pegnitz: Peter Veit Rempel born 7 Dec 1784 (this branch continues)
   Coburg: since 1570
4. Silesia:
   Görlitz: 1680 Rempel is mentioned in a funeral ceremony. Scattered appearances of Rempels are found until 1910 when one branch immigrated from Giessmannsdorf; no appearances are found in the city
   Giessmannsdorf (Bunzlau district): Johann David Rempel born about 1790
   Greiffenberg on the Queis
   Woelkersdorf (Loewenberg district): Gottlieb Rempel born 20 August 1838
5. Pfalz:
   Hettenleidelheim: Jakob Rempel (this branch continues)⁽¹³⁾
6. Wuettemberg:
   Bärenhof (bei Schorndorf): Johann Jakob Rempel born 20 Dec 1814 (this branch continues)⁽¹⁴⁾
   Wangen bei Stuttgart

The differential concentration of Rempels makes one think that the majority of the branches settled there before the 30-Years' War, and leads one to look at the earliest appearances.

Earliest Rempels

1. Nikolaus Rempel, Breslau, died 1437⁽¹⁵⁾
2. Wolf Rempel, Sonneberg (Thuringia), (ca. 1320)

Both the judicial family from Bonn and Peter (zum Rempel) died out and so must be excluded.⁽¹⁶⁾ The Silesian and Thuringian incidence of Rempels must be very old. At first glance Sonneberg preceded by a little, but in reality it must have been much earlier because the appearance in of the Rempel name in Breslau could not precede the German establishment of that area (Herzog Heinrich I: 1201-1238). Sonneberg should be considered as the earliest nucleus unless research from Nürnberg can be demonstrated to be the earliest concentration. But, because they exist on either side of the Fichtel mountains they could have common roots.

Theories as to the Source of the First Rempels In Prussia

The question arises then, from which of these three early appearances: Silesia, Thuringia, and Frank, did the first Rempel come to West Prussia, between 1535 and 1673⁽¹⁷⁾

In view of the particular concentrations of Rempels on both sides of the Nogat, and the isolated Danzig appearance of 1673, no conclusive decision can be made.

It would appear that we have to assume that only one connection exists:

1. The earliest, of which Reichert⁽¹⁸⁾ noted the constancy of Rempel appearing as a given name.
2. The Mennonites of the West Prussian branches suggest that -- while the typical origin from the low-Germanic territory can be discounted -- the earliest Rempels were in contact with the German baptist movement. Otherwise, their Mennonitization would be very hard to understand.
3. Finally, we have to consider that it was just about the time of the 16^th and 17^th centuries that surnames were first established⁽¹⁹⁾.

Family names did not usually appear too far from their source, as is the case today. This observation leads one to emphasize the importance of the three earliest concentrations, but Silesia would be the presumed an original source for the Rempel name.

The following origin theories are conceivable and have been suggested:

1. The Rempel name could have originated in the Dutch and German lowlands, but there has been no serious evidence to support this view.
2. The Rempels could have come north in the Middle Ages immigration either from Silesia or from Nürnberg. Despite the obvious close relationship between Breslau-Nurenberg and the large city centres of West Prussia, the evidence is lacking. The Danzig citizenship records betray this theory by their silence. The fact is that no Rempel was recorded as a member of the Breslau business association, city council, or is found in the citizenship records. One should not assume⁽²⁰⁾ that the Rempels were part of the immigration flow from Silesia to Danzig in the 16^th century.⁽²¹⁾
3. A single Rempel could have been a mercenary, arriving from Silesia. This has only a slim possibility of being true. The majority of the Silesian mercenaries landed in the neighbouring duchies. It would also not explain the earlier Mennonites found there.
4. Rempels may have been among the Silesian anabaptist groups⁽²²⁾ who belonged to the so-called Moravian Brethren. Two wagon train of Moravians arrived in West Prussia in 1535 and 1604. Of all the possible theories, this one seems to have the greatest promise.

The anabaptist-minded people from the Silesian area were named Gabrielers⁽²³⁾, named after Gabriel Ascherham. It has been said that this movement brought large numbers of people from Silesia and led them to the promised land. After the first persecutions started in 1535, Ascherham went to Silesia with some of his followers. However, the princes and authorities were particularly set against the anabaptists. The result was that many went to Poland and Prussia, where they found an temporary refuge. Their descendants could be contributing members to the present-day Mennonite churches found in the Graudenzer, Kulmer and Swiss lowlands⁽²⁴⁾.

Fortunately, Schuhmacher⁽²⁵⁾ has reviewed the migration-related documents in the Königsberg State Archives. He came to the conclusion that a large wagon train of approximately 200 anabaptists came via Thorn and Graudenz to Pomerania and then to Marienwerder (duchies in which they could not be prevented from staying)⁽²⁶⁾. There are indications that among the families, 60 were Silesian⁽²⁷⁾. It is probable that they were from Moravia and were the ones who asked Duke Albrecht on 23 May 1535 for permission to enter, and who were refused on 23 June 1535⁽²⁸⁾. In spite of the rejection, there must have been some who came by wagon train and tried to get into Prussia and arrived in the middle of August in Garnsee (by Marienwerder).

In view of the rejction, it appears that the baptists split up. One group went to Polish Prussia (to the Kulmer lowlands)⁽²⁹⁾ while the other group must have tried to settle in the Dutch colonies of Prussian Holland (Bardeyn-Schoenberg). In any case, it was not too long before we hear from the H. D. Verf. (a Dutch reformer who had settled there) that anabaptists had just previously been able to settle there (Schumacher, p. 156). Apparently none of these baptists knew that the Duke's consul, Christian Entfelder, had until 1535 been one of their Councilmen in Moravia (Speratus: "...Entfelderum olim Anabaptistarium antistitem in Moravis..."). The Baron von Heydeck, who was both close to the Duke and generally supportive, was being won over to the baptist ideas at the time of his stay in the court of the Baron of Liegnitz (1529-30). Unfortunately, after 1534 von Heydeck had noticeably less influence⁽³⁰⁾. It was hopeless, in any case, since repeated edicts of deportation were issued by the Baron, no doubt directed towards the relatives of the people who had stayed behind from the trek.

Indirectly, one can determine where they turned for support. Besides the already recognizable return migration to the Kulmer area, it is possible to identify the distribution of Silesian names throughout Danzig as well as the Grosse Werder and Elbing areas. So, in 1612, one finds the name Fritz-Frätz in Camperau on the border of the Barony Alt-Dollstädt⁽³¹⁾. The same is true for Kulm. Their names clearly stand out from the lowland Mennonites in the Danzig periphery and in the Werders⁽³²⁾.

The undeniable conclusion is that the influence of the Moravian Brethren on the Mennonites was stronger than has been previously been assumed. This applies not only to the Kulmer lowlands, but also to the Werder and Danzig areas. From this conclusion we can see the possibility that the first Rempel came with the wagon train in 1535 to West Prussia. The assumption of Silesian origins, admittedly from the ranks of the Gabrieler, has developed into calculated possibility, whereas the notion of Thuringian or Nurenberg origins are not supported.

Although the Baron von Heydeck as well as Gabriel Ascherham came from the Nürnberg area⁽³³⁾, both probably had close contact with the baptists in Silesia. Extensive baptismal documents exist for the Nürnberg neighbouring barony of Ansbach, ⁽³⁴⁾ which provide useful insights into the conditions in Nurenberg. Their extensive register of persons identifies no Rempels in Nürnberg, and so this surely is less likely to be the originating than Silesia (which also had a larger taxed population). Thuringia does not seem to have played any part, because no Rempel was mentioned in the Baptist movement⁽³⁵⁾. A second opportunity for immigration appeared in the form of a second wagon train of Moravian Brethren to the Marienburg area in 1604/05⁽³⁶⁾. While the rest of the Gabrielers in Moravia later on associated with the Hutterites and Moravian Brethren, but in Silesia they associated most of the time with the Schwenckfelders.⁽³⁷⁾ It is also known that later on the baptists from southern Moravia wandered further to the Slovak Marchland (Göding-Prüssburg), where they stayed until driven away in 1700 when the called "Habaner" were settling⁽³⁸⁾. Since 1540 they were situated north of Prüssburg. This is meaningful because one Rempel was located in the Marchland area⁽³⁹⁾. This is convincing proof of the accuracy of our assumptions: (1) that there really were Rempels in the baptist movement and (2) that the West Prussian Rempels originated in Silesia. The latter supposition well supported not only by the fact that the Gabrieler contributed to the Moravian Brethren and later to the Habaner, but by the fact that the rest of the Habaner came from Landstrichen where the Rempels were unknown⁽⁴⁰⁾.

When one considers all the evidence, one can sequence the appearances of the Rempel name correctly. The records of the Elbing Council show that in the fall of 1604 there some Moravian Brethren seeking permission to settle there⁽⁴¹⁾. They were supported by the Mennonites (van Campen, Philipp) who were already settled there. When they were turned down, they went nearby under the protection of Polish trustees in Wengeln by the Drausen Sea⁽⁴²⁾. The head count remains unknown; we only know the two leaders by name: Hauser and Hein⁽⁴³⁾. This Hein later became the forefather of the Mennonite families of the same name who later appeared in the Werder.

The travels of the Moravian Brethren to Elbing is no longer surprising when one takes into account the probable whereabouts of the wagon train that arrived in 1535. Surely the first settlers were still in contact with Silesia, so their hope for acceptance in Elbing is now understandable. Their settlement followed in that area which was to become the greatest concentration of known Mennonite Rempels. One thing cannot be decided, whether the first Rempel came in 1535 or 1604 to this area. For that we need further study, as archival materials offer that opportunity.

Footnotes

¹ Occasionally, a Mennonite Rompel family from Cologne has been referred to as a possible origin. That is unlikely since the name did not surface in the Marienwerder of West Prussia except for the "Rompelius" form of the name. Apart from that, the name Rompel appears in both South Africa and Thuringia.

It would be ridiculous to refer to the Rump family who were Danzig citizens. According to the Danzig Citizens' Book, Johann (1671) and Adam Rump (1676) immigrated from Lublin to Poland (Hedwig Penners-Ellwart: Die Danziger Buergerschaft nach Herkunft und Beruf 1537 bis 1709, <The Citizens of Danzig by profession/occupation/trade from 1537 to 1709> Marburg 1954, p. 407. See also Gustav Reimer's <The family names of the West Prussian Mennonites>, Weierhof, 1910, p. 117, which discounts the connection between Mennonite families with the names Rump and Romp.

² See article "Rempel" written by Alexander Rempel in mennonitischen Lexikon, 40 Lfg., Karlsruhe 1956, S. 467 ff.

³Reichert (Die deutschen Familiennamen nach Breslauer Quellen des 13. und 14. Jahrhunderts <The German family names of Breslau from the 13^th and 14^th Century Sources>, Breslau 1908) leads one back to the old high German root word, "hraban", meaning ______ (p. 51) or "ragan" (p. 55) from which the name forms of Reynfried, Raynhard, Reynner, etc. were assigned.

⁴ Ibid. p. 41 and see also A. Socia: Mhd. Namenbuch. Nach oberreinischen Quellen des 12. Und 13. Jahrhunderts <Acta Sociologica: Middle High German Name Book from Sources over the Rhine in the 12^th and 13^th Centuries>, Basel 1903).

⁵ Ibid. p. 50.

⁶ Eduard Grigoleit: Danziger Mennoniten aus dem Jahre 1681 <Mennonites from Danzig in 1681>. In: Danziger familiengeschichtliche Beitraege <Contributions of Mennonite History>. Volume 2, p. 124-27). The first published list of Mennonites contains 114 names. There are no detailed notes, simply the name of the household head, and the number living in the household. Judging from the number of Rempels identified in 1673, the name either came from a small family source, or the Rempels moved away.

⁷ I am grateful to Mrs. Anna Andres (formerly from the Grosse Werder and now from Harsheim-Sell) for making this possible. It is based on salvaged paper extracts from the Tiegenhagen record books, the Thag Catholic Church obituaries, as well as the Mennonite baptismal lists (1739-48) and registrations.

⁸ Horst Penner: Ansiedlung mennonitischer Niederlaender im Weichselmuendungsgebiet von der Mitte des 16. Jahrhunderts bis zum Beginn der preussischen Zeit. <Settling of the Mennonite lowlanders Weichsel Delta from mid 16^th century to the beginning of the Prussian times, Weiherhof (Pfalz) 1940. Unfortunately, Penner's extensive collection of materials has proven to be inadequate for this research. In his entire collection of information from the Grosse Werder, only three occurences of the name Rempel are found. The church book, on the other hand, notes more than 20 families.

⁹ See also: Deutsches Geschlechterbuch <German Family Generations Book>. Vol. 105, p. 186.

¹⁰ The oldest known ancestor of the writer, according to correspondence from Franz Harder (deceased Mennonite family researcher) regarding my father and grandfather, however the source documents are lost. Since Neulanghorst was established in 1715, it could only be my father who was a resident there; my grandfather appears to have come from the Tiegenhagener lowlands as the neighbourhood lets us to suspect.

¹¹ See also B. H. Unruh: Die niederlaendisch-niederdeutschen Hintergruende der mennonitischen Ostwanderungen im 16., 18. u. 19. Jahrhundert <The Netherlandic and Low German Origins of the Eastward Mennonite Migration in the 16^th, 18^th, and 19^th Centuries>. Karlsruhe 1955. Unruh mentions 47 Rempels, some of which probably overlap due to change of residence. For 28 of them, place of origin is missing, nine came from the Elbing region, eight from the Grosse Werder, and three from Koenigsberg.

¹² In addition, a Versmold-Bielefelder branch should be added according to personal correspondence. And, at this time, a statement in Deutschen Geschlechterbuches <German Origins(Vol. 49, p. 10) must be corrected. It lists an Andreas Rempel as born 17 February 1684 in Dauerheim (Wetterau). After examination by the vicar's office, the individual is actually A. Tempel.

¹³ This was determined via correspondence, 1800. This branch is not yet satisfactorilly researched.

¹⁴ The connection with these branches is unclear. Only the Schorndorfor Rempels spell their name with "pp". The first known West Prussian incidences are identically spealled with one "p". This opposes the supposition that their ancestor came from Schorndorf, a village which had a Mennonite congregation.

¹⁵ These lines of businessmen, Councilmen, and administrators start with Konrad Rempel before 1327. It dies out with his great grandchild, Nikolaus Rempel (born or died?1437) for the entire Breslau (see also Markgraf: Aus Breslaus unruhigen Tagen <Of Breslau's Restless Days>, in: Zs. d. V. f. Gesch. U. Alterstumkunde Schlesiens <Journal of the V. f. Origins and Altertumskunde Silesians>, Volume 15, Issue 1. Breslau, 1880).

¹⁶ Josef Dietz: Die Bonner Schoeffen und ihre Familien bis zum Jahre 1600 in: Bonner Gesch. Bl. <The Judges from Bonn and their Families until 1600 in Bonn's Origins Papers>, Volume 10, Bonn 1956. This document states that "Peter Simonis, named 'zum Rempel' or "to Rempel", named himself after an impressive house in the marketplace that was called "zum Rempel". The family who named the house should also be excluded from examination in this context since it originated in Zülpich und traced themselves back to Wilhelm Rempelin (1329).

¹⁷. There are no clues to suggest that the Rempels were there before 1535. It is not possible to completely eliminate the possibility that a Rempel emmigrated from Silesia as a result of the military activity between 1410 and 1525, however, it could not explain the Mennonites. In B. v. W., Das Verhaeltnis der Schlesier zum Ordensland Preussen <The Relationship between the Silesians and the Military Class of Prussia> (In: Ruebezahl, Bresalu, 1785, p. 261ff) one finds an interesting reference, namely, that Silesians were preferred for the military duty.

According to the military documents, 150 captains and soldiers out of 292 persons stayed in the area. Among them were two Nibelschuetz brothers from the Silesian family into which Margarethe Rempel from Breslau married in the 15^th Century. By comparison, there is a possibility that another Mennonite (and probably the ancestor of the writer), Martin Hamm, came here in the course of the northern war with Sweden. He probably originated in Poel, an island that belonged to the Swedish Wismar, where the Hamm family lineage can be demonstrated from 1519 to the present.

¹⁸ Reichert, p. 147.

¹⁹ Penners-Ellwart, p. 177

²⁰ John Rumpoldus (d. 1544), a bishop ("Domherr") in the Ermland Parish in East Prussia asserted that a descendant from the Rumpuld family probably came from Breslau (Reichert, p. 55). Certainly no connection exists here.

²¹ Penners-Ellwart, p.90, Nuernberg, p. 141.

²² Wilhelm Wiswedel: Gabriel Ascherham und die nach ihm benannte Bewegung <Gabriel Ascherham and the movement named after him>, in: Arch. f. Reformationsgeschichte (archives of the for the History of the Reformation>, Volume 34, 1937.

²³ Ibid, p. 2. Before Ascherham together with Hans Hut in the Breslauer, Glogauer and Glatzer area .. a frightening sermon unfolded.

²⁴ E. Keyser: Die Mennoniten im Weichselland <Mennonites in the Weichsel region>, in: Menn. Gesch. Bl. <Mennonite History Papers> 5^th Edition, p. 1 ff.

²⁵ Bruno Schumacher: Niederlaendische Ansiedlungen im Herzogthum Preussen sur Zeit Herzog Albrechts (1525-1568) <Lowlandic settlements in the duchy of Prussia in the time of the Duke Albrechts (1525-1568)>. Leipzig 1903. According to the documents, it concerns 60 farmers with wives, children, and about 200 others.

²⁶ Ibid, p. 155ff.

²⁷ Ibid, p. 156.

²⁸ Paul Tschaekert: Urkundenbuch zur Reformationgeschichte des herzogthums Preussen <Deedbook for the Reformation History of the Prussian duchy> , Leipzig 1890. Wherein was found Certificates #968 (Supplication), #970 (Rejection), #980a (Deportation Order), and #994 (Repeated Deportation Order), 999, 1003.

²⁹ H. Wiebe: Das Siedlungswerk niederlaendischer Mennoniten im Weichseltal Zwischen Fordon und Weissenberg bis zum Ausgang des 18. Jahrhunderts <The settlement work of lowlandic Mennonites in the Weichsel Valley between Fordon and Weissenberg until the 18^th Century>. Marburg, 1952, p. 8.

The influence of the Moravian Brethren in the establishment of the West Prussian Mennonites was not previously investigated. But, this influence is bigger than had previously been assumed (see the preparation of the condition in the article by this writer: "Maehrische Brueder im Mennonitendom <Moravian Brethren among the Mennonites>) with Wiebe (p. 9), who correctly points out the unique structure of the names of the group in Kulm.

³⁰ Theophil Besch: Friedrich von Heydeck, in "Altpr Monatsschr. <Old Prussian Monthly>" Volume 34, 1897. Here one finds a reference pointing to how weak the ties were that bound the Silesians and anabaptists together. In August 1532, the Duke Albrecht even gave a direct order to both bishops and authorities in the offices in Pomerania, to deport all new anabaptists that he named, including one from Liegnitz (p. 522).

³¹ Schumacher, p. 40. The Dutch started to leave Bardeyn, since the deportation mandate from 1543. Many went to Danzig. We do not know anything about the Silesian families - perhaps they went to Campenau.

³² The following names, found in a wide geographic area, need to be considered.

Only Kulm: Henke, Janke, Jenke, John, Kerber, Kregehr, Kregihr, Pilgrim, Rintfles, Schwentke, Stenssel, Struch, Tessmann, Tyman, Unru, Weitgraf, Witken;
Kulm-Danzig: Bertel, Greger, Leberecht, Schwegler, Vagt, Vogt;
Kulm-Werder: Albrecht, Bartelmeus, Wedler, Wilhelm, Wohlgemut;
Kulm-Danzig-Werder: Bartsch, Kasper, Froese, Frese, Lemke, Nickel, Rose;
Only Danzig: Hempel, Herich, Knewel, Hawermann, Massau, Meister, de Nys, de Nyss (= von Neisse?), Schade, Sommer, Storch (Tyrollian?), Ulrich, Utesch, Vollmer, Winklemann;
Only Werder: Andres, Henni(n)g, Isaac, Klingenberg, Lip, Lippe, Mantler, Mantel, Peterkau, Pro(h)l, Scheffler, Unger, Vohlmann, Fraetz, Fritz, Niessen (?);
Danzig-Werder: Bergmann, Brand, Conrad, Daniel, Heyde, Klein, Luebig/Liebig/Lueberk/Lybeck, Reymer (?), Rempel, Schierling, Sudermann, Thielmann, Weiss, Werner, Zacharias.

This is about the names one finds among West Prussian Mennonites (G.E. Reimer-H. Wiebe) as well as in late Middle Ages in Breslau (H. Reichert). If the comparison in isolated cases represents no proof for the Silesian origin, there should have been some names found under Moravian Brethren, some parallel incidences, which arose among the Mennonites.

On the other hand, the Penner surname documents seem to confirm that. In addition, they brought the following names to the Werder following names: Bewerstein-Bieberstein, Degen, Doehring, Genssel, Holz, Horn (?), Kestner, Lose, Miel, Panzer, Pletner, Poschmann, Umlundt.

Horst Wiebe mentioned it as well as Johann Lauben (p. 87), probably actually Johann von Lauban.

³³ Heydeck originated from the Free City of Heideck, 30 kilometres south of Nürnberg. He came in 1512 as a Knight of the Order to Prussia, the birthplace of Ascherham (Wiswedel, p. 2).

³⁴ K. Schornbaum: Quellen zur Geschichte der Wiederstaeufer, II. Bd., Markgraftum Brandenburg <Origins of Anabaptist History>, Leipzig 1934).

³⁵ Wappler: Die Täuferbewegung in Thüringen <TheBaptists in Thuringia>. Jena 1919, deren Personenregister diesen Schulusz ex silentio erlaubt.

³⁶ L. Neubaur: Maehrische Brueder in Elbing, in: Zs. F. Kirchengesch <Moravian Brethren in Elbing. In Journal of F. Church History>. Volume 33. 1912, p. 447ff.

³⁷ Wiswedel, p. 8. From Silesia alone, 300 Gabrielers went to Moravia ... The role of the Bunzlauer Brethern is still not clear. They did not belong to the Gabrielers, but they also came from Silesia. If the very early incidence of Rempels in Bunzlau district were correct, and we were able to investigate this, it could result in a new point of view.

³⁸ Hans Kaser: Der Volks und Kulturboden des Slowakdeutschtums <The cultural and ethnic base of the Slovak-Germans>, Breslau 1934, p. 51ff.

³⁹ According to the information from Mr. Alexander Rempel.

⁴⁰ Kaser, p. 52-53: Tirol, Oberrhein, Hessen, Vorarlberg. Oessterreich, Bayern, Nordschweiz, Brandenburg. There is a possibility of a connection with Schwabia (Schorndorf-Stuttgart), but this has not been established.

⁴¹ Quotation from Neubaur.

⁴² Neubaur, p. 452, 455.

⁴³ Ibid. p. 448.

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