The market square of Suhl, Thuringia, Germany
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Suhl_Markt.JPG
Attribute: Steffen Löwe
photo licensing
Surely the name was misspelled when the first Wackes hit immigration when entering the Unite States. Who ever heard of the family name “Wackes?!” There were a number of similar surnames found in telephone directories: Wake, Wacker, Wacks, Wakes, Wachter, and Waggis.
And so began my quest . . .
. . . to find out more about the Wackes surname’s origins in general and my family background in particular. I had a few oral traditions from my paternal grandparents but nothing substantial to rely on.
Now, years later, after three trips to Germany, where I met others with the surname Wackes, and having sorted through old church records at St. Marien’s Church in Suhl, Thuringia, I wanted to preserve the information that I have acquired for future generations.
And so began my quest . . .
. . . to find out more about the Wackes surname’s origins in general and my family background in particular. I had a few oral traditions from my paternal grandparents but nothing substantial to rely on.
Now, years later, after three trips to Germany, where I met others with the surname Wackes, and having sorted through old church records at St. Marien’s Church in Suhl, Thuringia, I wanted to preserve the information that I have acquired for future generations.
The origins of many surnames . . .
. . . are easy to decipher. Some refer to a vocation (Taylor, Mason, Farmer, Weber), others to a location (Berlin, Lombardy, Rivers, Hill), and others to one's father (Johnson, Hendrikson, Nelson).
But what about the surname "Wackes"? How and where did IT originate? Surprisingly there are several hints, and you will find them in the next few pages..
We begin our journey in the mid-18th century in Suhl, Thuringia, Germany and trace the Paul George Wackes line that descends from Johann Heinrich Wackes.
The data that I have acquired has been kindly supplied by Charles Freidrich Wackes (son of George Wackes I), Lois Polloni (granddaughter of Charles Louis Wackes II), Eckhard Wilhelm Wackes of Norderstedt (great-grandson of Heinrich Emil Wackes), and other members of my own extended family.
The rest is the result of just plain hard digging and hours of research both here and in Germany.
. . . are easy to decipher. Some refer to a vocation (Taylor, Mason, Farmer, Weber), others to a location (Berlin, Lombardy, Rivers, Hill), and others to one's father (Johnson, Hendrikson, Nelson).
But what about the surname "Wackes"? How and where did IT originate? Surprisingly there are several hints, and you will find them in the next few pages..
We begin our journey in the mid-18th century in Suhl, Thuringia, Germany and trace the Paul George Wackes line that descends from Johann Heinrich Wackes.
The data that I have acquired has been kindly supplied by Charles Freidrich Wackes (son of George Wackes I), Lois Polloni (granddaughter of Charles Louis Wackes II), Eckhard Wilhelm Wackes of Norderstedt (great-grandson of Heinrich Emil Wackes), and other members of my own extended family.
The rest is the result of just plain hard digging and hours of research both here and in Germany.
For more information:
More detailed information is available on The Johann Heinrich Family Tree posted at ancestry.com. Unless you request access from me, living members of the family are not visible in the family tree. A narrative of the Johann Heinrich to Paul George Wackes line can be downloaded via password from DropBox. I keep a separate genealogical record on my Mac computer using the software Reunion 10.0.6.
More detailed information is available on The Johann Heinrich Family Tree posted at ancestry.com. Unless you request access from me, living members of the family are not visible in the family tree. A narrative of the Johann Heinrich to Paul George Wackes line can be downloaded via password from DropBox. I keep a separate genealogical record on my Mac computer using the software Reunion 10.0.6.
About me
I began this quest in 1980 and started with very little information. As a grandson of Charles Louis Wackes II and the oldest son of Paul George Wackes, I had a continuing desire to discover my roots. When I began, there was no internet, no Ancestry.com, no email, no computer to assist me. After I retired in 2005 as a Presbyterian minister and school headmaster, I was able to begin pulling together the data that I had collected. Currently my wife, Ruth, and I live in Crystal River, Florida. We have three married children and ten grandchildren.
Ken Wackes
May 2016
kenwackes2@mac.com