This is the website for all persons and families originally descended from the Germanic Fickeisen line. Variations on this family name include "Fickies", "Fickeysen", and "Fickeis".
Here, we can share information, ask questions, have discussions, and speculate about the historic origins of this unusual German family name.
The site has a forum board, where you can post your own Fickeisen family lineage, and any queries or discussions you might have.
It is likely that most users of this board will be North American Fickeisen families, who have an imigrant ancestor who emigrated from Germany in the 19th or 20th centuries. Present day Fickeisens living in Germany, or anywhere else in the world, are welcome here, as we all search for our common ancestors.
| If you are a member of the Fickeisen line, please take the time to leave some information, or make an inquiry in our Fickeisen Family History Forum. . . . . |
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In my research, I've discovered that there was a time when the German word "fickeisen" did exist, and had a very interesting meaning. In a German "Woerterbuch" (dictionary) by the Grimm brothers, dated 1862, the word "fickeisen" is defined as an old, colloquial word for "branding iron" (brenneisen). Literally translated, it meant a "quickly moving iron".
Most family names originated in one of three ways; as either occupation names (Baker), place of origin names (Rockford), or "descended from" names (Johnson).
Fickeisen is clearly an 'occupational' name. Our original ancestor was probably a maker of branding irons. It is likely that this name would have started in a number of places in the Germanic Empires at about the same time, in the early middle ages, when family names first became popular.
Branding irons were very important in the culture and economy of Europe from the middle-ages through the mid 19th century. They were not just used to brand cattle. They bore the trademark or seal of the civil authorities, merchants, and the church. The fickeisen would be used to burn these marks onto wooden barrels, boxes, livestock, leather goods, slaves, etc. It is likely that the maker of fickeisens had to be a trustworthy, skilled craftsman. He would have been a master blacksmith who had earned the respect and trust of both the nobility and the merchant class.
The Chart below lists known Fickeisen lineages in the United States. If you have information on other Fickeisen lines, please share them with us.
| Earliest Known Fickeisen | Immigrant Ancestor | Reported by | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Where | Born | Name | Born | Settled | Arrived | |
| Peter | 'Germany' | early 1800s | Jacob | 'Germany' | NY/Ohio | mid 1800s | Gary&Norm Fickeisen |
| ? | ? | ? | Alfred | Wolfstein | Boston | 1927 | H.Dreist |
| Claus | Lauterecken | c.1600 | Jacob | Otterberg | NY/Mich. | 1851 | |
| Peter | Altenglan | 1801 | Jacob | Altenglan | Syracuse, NY | c.1883 | Bill Fickeisen |
| George H. | 'Bavaria' | early 1800s | Karl W. | 'Bavaria' | Seattle, WA | 1888 | Bob & Eric Fickeisen |
| Jean Adam | Hundheim | abt. 1790 | Abraham | Gumbsweiler | NY/Ohio | 1843 | Jim Andris |
| Johan | Lauterecken | abt. 1790 | Jacob | Gumbsweiler | Wash. Co. OH | ? | Edna Zimmer Skelly |
| Jakob | Gumbsweiler | abt. 1800 | Jacob | Gumbsweiler | Galion, OH | mid 1800s | Curtis Fickeisen |
Links of InterestGerman Genealogy: Rhineland/Phalz |
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German / American Web Ring site is owned by
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