OHHAMILT-L Archives

From: "dr. wilhelm vollmann" <>
Subject: [OHHAMILT] Your grandfather George
Date: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 10:41:39 -0600

Posted on: Hamilton County Queries
Reply Here: http://cgi.rootsweb.com/~genbbs/genbbs.cgi/USA/Oh/Hamilton/13865

Surname: Johann, Johann Peter, Dederich, Peter Dederich, Franz, Wilhelm,
Gustav, Carl, Karl
-------------------------

Found Your query in the Hamilton County Queries. May be this information
can support Your ivestigations:

The family name "Vollmann" belongs to a family originally coming from the
valley of the little river "Vollme" in the border borough of "Mark" in
the south western part of Westphalia - ca. 40 miles eastward River Rhine
and Cologne City.

In this region people still in our days are speaking a dialect of Saxon
Origin and used to be "Evangelisch". On the other side of the dialect border
a little westward to the "Rheinland" in the borough of "Bergisches Land"
near Cologne City people are speaking "Ripuarian" that is a lower franconian
dialect and used to be Catholics.

The River "Vollme" gave its name "Vollmann" to my and probably Your family
too. That means: the man or "Mann", coming from the "River-Vollme-Valley".
Probably we both are of same family origin.

In the outgoing Middle Ages the "Vollmann Family" along with other families
in the "River-Vollme-Valley" stopped to be poor farmers and started to
make iron and steel keys, locks, tools and other well asked things of hardware.
Because there was a plenty of iron in the ground of the "Mark" borough
and a plenty of wood too in their big rainy forests - You know it: iron
and coal from wood is needed for making good steels.

They were producing theese hardware with their water mills called "Hammer"
at "River Vollme" during dark rainy and snowy winter days. During spring
and summer the adult male members of the family travelled all over the
Central European continent - selling their self-made hardware.

People of this very honorable profession in these times were called to
be "Reidemeister". In the "River-Vollme-Valley" a plenty of other families
had the same profession too and were living in the same way and having
"hammers" by their own - so for example the also well known "Vollmer" family.

The male members of the "Vollmann" family as "Reidemeister" came around
on the Central Europe continent. No wonder that a plenty of babies and
children and not in all cases the name of our "Vollmann"family spread all
over the "Holy Roman Empire of German Nation" - that means today all German
speaking regions in Germany, Belgium, Luxemburg, France, Austria, Switzerland
and so on and soon was to be found in all regions.

In the 17th and 18th centuries "Reidemeister" and their families used to
be relativly wealthy. When the times grew worse during the middle of the
19th century because of the coming up iron and steel industries around
Solingen, Remscheid and the "Ruhr-Gebiet" many people of "Vollmann" origin
had to starve or to face Prussian jails. So they had to emigrate to Northern
America or Brazil - sometimes because they were liberal democrats or social
democrats and could no longer live in Prussia and the other autoritarian
German states after the lost German Revolution in 1848.

Carl Vollmann, a brother of my grandfather Franz Vollmann emigrated to
Pittsburgh before World WarI. Another brother went to Oberhausen to work
in the steel industry. You see that my part of our probably common family
always loved iron, steel and coal. I wonder were my people in the US are
living nowadays since there is no longer coal and steel industry in Pittsburg
like in Oberhausen.

If it is true that Your grandfather and his brother emigrated to the US
avoiding conscription into the German army they may come originally from
the borough of "Mark" - like my own ancestors that went to Cologne City
in these times. At the beginning of the "Franco-Prussian War" in 1870 there
was not a all any "German" army - but the by the Prussian kings own subjects
so much feared Prussian army made conscriptions in the "Mark" Borough that
was a part of Prussia at this time. May be that the brothers Vollmann "deserted"
to America via Antwerpen, Rotterdam, Hamburg or Bremen like many other
brave German men in that worse times.

So I hope that this information will bring You forward in Your investigations.

Best wishes from Germany,
especially from the Rhineland-Westphalian border borough "Mark"
Sincercly Yours
Wilhelm Vollmann

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• [OHHAMILT] Your grandfather George by "dr. wilhelm vollmann" <>