After 25 years of research on the Ziegler family genealogy I would like to present my
opinion on the origin of the Ziegler name. The following is from a document from the
Historical Research Bureau, Washington, D.C.
Allen
THE ORIGIN OF THE ZIEGLER NAME
The distinguished name of Ziegler and its variants, according to a well known authority on
Teutonic surnames, belongs to that group of names which owe their origin to a trade or
occupation from the German Ziegler,
Ziegel, (from Latin tegula) a brick, tile, and plus the suffix er brickmaker,
tiler, roofer.
Early bearers of the name: Jakob Ziegler (Latin Zieglerus), German theologian,
mathematician, and author born in Bavaria in 1480 visited Italy and witnessed the sack of
Rome in 1526; Bernard Ziegler, German Protestant theologian, born in Misnia, Germany in
1496; was professor of Hebrew at Leipsic; he was acquainted with Martin Luther who
esteemed him highly; (Luthers mothers maiden name was Margaret Ziegler) Hieronymous
Ziegler, German poet and biographer, born in Rotenburg in 1520; Casper Ziegler German
jurist and Protestant canonist, born in Leipsic in 1621; was professor of law at
Wittenberg, he published several books; Heinrich Anselm Von Ziegler a German writer was
born in Upper Lusatia in 1653; Franz Von Ziegler, Swiss medical writer born in
Schaffhausen before 1700, was professor of medicine at Rinteln; Friedrich Wilhelm Ziegler
German actor and dramatist, born in Brunswick in 1760, Was patronized by Emperor Joseph II
and performed at court for nearly forty years;
Werner Karl Ziegler, German writer on theology, born near Luneburg in 1763, was professor
of theology at Rostock; Claud Louis Ziegler, French painter of history and portraits, born
in Langres in 1804, was a pupil of Ingres, employed by Louis Philippe to decorate the
cupola of the Church of Madeleine, among his works, The Death of Foscari .
The difference in the spelling of the name should be ignored for two good reasons; In the
first place, in the olden days spelling was precarious. Often men spelled their own names
with different spellings on different occasions or a clerk spelled the name as he heard it
pronounced rather than bother to ask how to spell it. When the Palatines came to America
early in the 18th Century the English clerks who could not speak German and spelled the
names phonetically in many instances thus we have: Ziegler, Zeisler, Zegler, Zegeler,
Zigler, Ziegeler, and Zeigler. The other reason is that here in America the census records
were printed about 150 years after they were written. The paper and ink faded, fine
strokes of the pen had worn away as the pages rubbed against each other in use, and the
clerks, experts as they were in reading old documents, sometimes erred in interpreting the
handwriting.
Early in the 18th Century many inhabitants of the Lower Palatinate, lying on both sides of
the Rhine in Germany were driven from their homes by the persecution of Louis XIV of
France, whose armies desolated their country,
Many of these fugitives found refuge in England, and many came to America. At this point
it is well to bear in mind the fact, that through the centuries in Europe, due to
religious and political differences, people have been driven from their homes and
countries (a case in point, the French Huguenots) and forced to seek homes elsewhere, and
so today we find persons bearing the same surname, or one of its variants, who are now of
different nationalities.
During the years 17091712 shiploads of German people came to America and landed in New
York. As most of them came from Renish or the Palatinate, the name Palatine was
applied indiscriminately to all of them although some came from neighboring territories as
well.
Walter Knittle in his book Early Palatine Emigration lists the following bearing the
surname or variant; Michael Ziegler; Lorentz Zeisler, wife and 3 children; Henrig Zegler,
and wife; Andries and Kasper Zegeler; Andries Zigler, wife and 4 children; and Keonract
Zigler, wife and child.
Source: Historical Research Bureau, Washington D.C.
** Would this name be the same as Ziegler?
Virginia **
There are supposedly 4 variations on the spelling of this name, SIEGLER -
SEIGLER - ZIEGLER - ZEIGLER, not to mention all the misspellings that are found.
They may at one time have been the same name where the spelling was changed
over the years, different names, or spellings could have been area specific.
Have also seen a "t" as the second letter which I have been told was the old
German spelling.
I hope someone more knowledgeable can come up with something more specific.
Joyce
Jlknoch(a)aol.com
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