In recent notes there have been allusions to mass movements into and out of Germany. Here are a few very notable ones.
The Hapsburg rulers, especially Friedrich III, tried to colonize the Slavic lands to the southeast with German people, especially Catholics, to provide a buffer zone between Vienna, in the east of Austria, and the Turks. The vast area which became known as Austro-Hungary absorbed large numbers of German colonists. Many German family names are still to be found there though modifications have been made. Since Friedrich III lived from 1440 to 1493, all Germans were then Catholic and the Protestant groups had not arisen yet.
Later, there were migrations from Austria westward into Germany proper. The Salzburgers were a notable group from 1588 to 1731. But other migrations took place in the 1620 time frame, and in the 1650 time frame as many Protestants left other areas of Austria.
Another large group to move into Germany was the migration of Huguenots. Again, there was a religious basis to this migration, since they could not remain in France as Protestants. This was generally in the 1685 to 1753 time frame. Altogether, perhaps 30,000 families moved. One Huguenot is very well known in the Germanna community and that is John Fontaine. Since the people had French names, many were slightly altered in Germany to conform to the new community. The name Button in the Germanna community originates from a French Huguenot name.
The Counter-Reformation of the late 16th Century showed a heavy movement of Jesuits into the university areas as far north as the large cities of Münster, Würzburg, and Prague. Genetically, the impact of this was mostly through the families which accompanied the Jesuits.
The Waldensers moved to the area of Heidelberg by a political agreement during the years 1686 to 1687. One of these families was the Astor family who lived there for four generations before going on to America in 1783.
In the latter part of the Sixteenth Century, numerous Flemish and Dutch people moved into the Rhineland, where they formed large colonies near Frankfurt and nearby Oberursel. Except during the Thirty Years’ War, more Flemish and Dutch people continued to come.
Also, in the years 1650 to 1670, Swiss Protestants (especially Anabaptists) moved to the German states of Baden, Württemberg, and Rheinland-Pfalz. The Kraichgau received a large number. Two families that went to the Pfalz, were the Huber and Hershi families whose names have come down to us as Hoover, as in President Hoover, and as Hershey in the chocolate bars.
(16 Jun 03)
We gratefully acknowledge the work of John Blankenbaker who published over 2,500 Germanna History Notes via the Germanna-L@rootsweb.com email list from 1997 to 2008. We are equally thankful to George Durman (Sgt. George) for hosting the list and republishing the notes via rootsweb.com.