Common problems when researching the Eymann / Iman surname

When researching my family records, I often stumble over some errors or misinterpretations. Two common problems are in the family name, and in the national geographics over the centuries.

On the name

The original Swiss/German family name is "Eymann" (with a double n). This translates to "the man" (Mann) from the meadow (Bernese Swiss German "Ey"). Family names came up in the middle ages, and the government tried to somehow label families with a unique name. The combination of Ey & mann seems to be unique enough that we can pinpoint the original heritage to being a farmer for a meadow between Oberdiessbach and Linden in the canton Berne, Switzerland.

For religious and economic reasons, members of that Anabaptist family migrated to France and Germany, starting around 1650. They settled mostly in German-speaking countries, so the name stayed as it was; it is pronounced differently when spoken, though. 

This changed with the emigration to America. On arriving in the US, the name underwent two changes over time. First of all, the second "n" vanished. An English man is still a German mann, and so it was easier to write Eyman without losing meaning. In the next generation, however, Eyman sometimes changed to Iman. Both Ey (in German) and I (in English) are pronounced identically, so it might have been easier for the clerks to write the name in the records as they heard it. 

On the geographics

The oldest records we have are from the Swiss canton of Berne; the newest ones from today's Europe and the US. In between, the names and affiliations of locations changed. That means that sometimes the same location is known by different names, depending on the date of the record. Some common examples:

The Eymann family settled after the original emigration from Switzerland in the 17th/18th century in the Alsace (today: France) and in the Palatinate (today: Germany). However, Germany was only united in 1871. Before that date, the Palatinate belonged to the Holy Roman Empire (until 1797), then to France (until 1815), and then to the Kingdom of Bavaria (until 1945). So this is, why you sometimes see the same Palatinate location data as being "in Germany" or "in Bavaria" -- the village did not change location! Similar problems arise with the Alsace, which changed ownership between France and Germany a few times during these centuries -- here we have the additional challenge that villages have both French and German names. In the US, we have sometimes reorganisations of counties in the same state, splitting of states (e.g. Virginia and West Virginia), and overall a multitude of villages and counties with the same name. So please double-check the entries before including them in your tree!

Eymann / Iman Family Research - where to start?

Dear family genealogists,

we all are now doing our family research using the internet, and there is a multitude of different options how to begin. In this post, I try to clarify where my material comes from, where I store it, how you can access it, and how I distinguish correct from guessed information.

First of all, more and more material becomes available. Not all of it is behind a paywall, regardless of whether Ancestry or MyHeritage want you to pay for that. However, if you are already a member, I curate one actual database at MyHeritage (at https://www.myheritage.de/site-family-tree-384883/eymann) and I do a snapshot of it from time to time, to store it at Ancestry (at https://www.ancestry.de/family-tree/tree/196799439). Both websites, however, are only accessible to you AFTER you have paid for a membership. If you want to get a quick and free look without being a member, I have a database snapshot also at a French website Geneanet, (https://gw.geneanet.org/teymann_w?lp=0).

You might consider it convenient, to have so many entry points. However, it is not easy to keep all the records in sync. So please be aware, that I actualize frequently on MyHeritage, and not so frequent at Ancestry or Geneanet. To add complexity, my records have first been digitized in the 1990s, and since then, other fellow family members integrated them in their trees. By digging deeper in the archives, I found inconsistencies and errors, and corrected them in my tree - this is still an ongoing task. Sometimes, those corrections did not make it to the many other family trees out there. So I advise you: please do not take my entries (or others) for granted just because they are stored in any family database. Try to check for official sources and archives: birth, marriage and death registers; immigrant records.

A good source for records is https://www.familysearch.org/en/. If you are looking for German records (or the correct name and geographics for a location), check with https://gedbas.genealogy.net/?lang=en. For French records, Geneanet (see above), and for US records, also Ancestry.

Non-family Eymann / Iman / Eimann

When searching the usual databases, I stumbled over other families that bear the same surname but do not come out of Germany. I would be happy to know more about these from researchers who specialize on regions:

1. Iceland: Grimur Gislason Eyman, b. 1860, d. 1937, is the father of an Eyman family from Selkirk, Manitoba, Canada. I have not so much information about where this family comes from. His middle name Gisla-son is in nordic name-giving tradition "the son of Gisli". Grimur's father is a Gisli Sigurdsson (b.1828); no "Eyman" in his family name and I have no idea where this originally comes from.

2. Estonia/Finland: there are several people with a family name of "Eiman", e.g. descendants from Ludvi Eiman b. 1823. I am still collecting and structuring the data given here.

3. Austria: some Eymann records can be found in Lower Austria/Niederösterreich, e.g. Michael Eymann (1759-1842), Magdalena Eyman (b. 1799), or Wenzel Filiz Eimann (b.1848, m. 1879 with Franziska Fischer).

4. Bretagne region of France: starting with Yves Eyman (b. ca. 1794) m. Anne Kouredand, there are some entries with Eyman names that are not well connected. There is some possibility that the correct name is "Tymen" and that all the Eyman entries from Finistere are transcription errors.

5. I found some entries with the "Iman" surname in families coming from Asia, and even some Jewish entries.

6. According to the Dictionary of American Family Names 2nd edition, 2022, Iman is also a surname derived from a personal name based on Arabic īmān ‘belief faith’ (see the Koran 25).

This is the phonetic name all over the world, and there is probably no connection between any of these. I still even have some isolated families within the German-speaking countries, which I will take up in another post.

A romantic novel trilogy using our family name

Today on the lighter side of genealogy: I found a romance author, Naomi Troyer, who publishes her tales against an Amish background. That makes it probably interesting for a particular audience, who is interested in that particular lifestyle and their approach to life and love. The funny thing now is, that one trilogy series of her novels uses the Eymann family name to weave its web. You can find the Eymann family trilogy on the Amazon website at https://www.amazon.com/-/de/dp/B0B3SNBZWJ?binding=kindle_edition&ref=dbs_dp_sirpi. But please keep in mind: that is all romance and fantasy, and nothing of the data in these novels resembles anything from the real genealogy! The author just uses the family name; there is no Lucas Eymann in our tree!

Jacob Eyman in the Revolutionary War

Found this on https://www.ancestry.com/sharing/11391888?h=f27e81 and had to replicate for posterity. Thank you, Gregory Eyman, for putting it all together and online.

Notes for Jacob Eymann (Eiman):

Jacob (1725) Eiman lived in Donnersburg, Germany prior to his immigration (this is a possible residence) between 1730-1749. He lived in Philadelphia Twp, Pa in 1749. He immigrated to the U.S. on the "St. Andrews" from Rotterdam, Netherlands, stopping in Plymouth, England; arrived in Philadelphia. Name listed as Jacob Eiman on 9 Sept 1749. He lived in Bethel Twp, Lancaster (now Daupin) Co., PA: a Jacob Eighman is listed in 1771. He served in the military in Bet 1775-1784, Nov or Dec 1775 (Enlisted as a Private in the Lancaster Co. militia under Capt. James Murray's Company, Col. James Burd's Fourth Battalion of Lancaster County.

9 Sept 1949 upon arrival in America, Jacob moved several times. It is unclear whether he brought his wife or met and married her in PA, although a 1864 genealogy of Peter Eyman indicates that they were married in 1746 before immigration. Jacob took a land partnership with Jacob Raeif (farmeer and distiller)in Upper Paxtang Twp.. Lancaster (now Dauphin) Co., PA. The warrent that interest had been paid on that hundred acres along Clark's Creek since 1770. The land was not surveyed nor was the land grant formalized until August of 1787, after which, it seems that the land was sold between then and 1801 to a Jacob Hutts. The 1787 warrent suggest that the land adjoined grants for James Manama, Ludwig Melsher (various spellings noted, although Ludwig used Minsker.Historians often refer to him as Maksker. Many stories are written of him.) Thomas Carn (sometimes called Kern) and James McNamara, who like the Eymans, served as a private in James Burd's Battalion, although McNamara served under Captain James Cowden. By 1787 McNamara had sold his property to Ludwig Mansker. Between 1787 and 1800, a William Clark had taken possession of the lands earlier owned by Thomas Kern (Carn/Cairn) adjacent to the lands previously of the Eyman/Raief warrent. Most likely this was the Clark after whom the valley and creek were named. This is one of the famous William Clarks of which there are three of that family who served America in many capacities.

While Jacob and his family lived in the area, Upper Paztang settlers were often attacked in Indian raids. Adjacent to the Eyman property was a John Elder (listed in 1779 Upper Paztang tax rolls). John was a preacher of the gospel and developed a Donegal Presbytery, which subsequently divided off to a Paxtang congregation. He took his "leadership of the flock" seriously and provided direction of political and military affairs as well as spiritual ones. In the face of the Indian difficulties he trained some of his congregation as scouts. He superintended the disipline of his men and mounted rangers, who became widely known as the "Paxtang Boys". During two summers at least, in the early 1760s, his parishioners went to church armed. The settlers were perplexed and angry by the lack of action on the part of the Quaker politicians and took steps of their own, which alarmed many and provoked widespread discussion. During the later part of the summer of 1763, amny murders were committed, culminating in the distruction of the Indians on Conestoga Manor at Lancaster. Although the men who exterminated the Indians were thought to have been part of the Paxtang Boys, it was never proven that Rev. Elder had previous knowledge of the plot, though Quaker pamphleteers of the day charged him with aiding and abetting those who took part in these acts. The Quaker authorities denounced the frontiersmen as "riotous and murderous Irish Presbyterians". John Elder took sides with the border inhabitants and sought to condone the deeds as noted in his many writings afterwards.

The "Paxtang Boys Affair" is seen by some quarters as having influenced the onset of the revolutio. In 1774 meetings were held in different townships, the resolvesof only two of which are preserved. The earliest was that of an assembly of the inhabitants of Hanover(now Dauphin). These "Hanover Resolves" struck a note of safeguarding liberty and a committe was nominated to act on the general populations behalf, asemergencies may require. Elected to that committee was the William Clark mentioned earlier.

30 June 1775bduring a Parliamentary Assembly of PA, deputies, it was resolved "That this House approves the association entered into by the good people of this colony for the defense of their lives, liberties, and property". A Committee of Safety, consisting of 25 citizens, was appointed and authorized to call into active service such number of the "associators" as they may deem proper. Organizations of "associators" were formed in most, if not all, the counties. The committee organized July 3rd by the choice of Benjamin Franklin, president. Congress, July 18, recommended that all able bodied effective men between sixteen and fifty years of age should immediately form themselves into companies of militia to consist of one captain, two lieutenants, one ensign, four sergeants, four corporals, one clerk, one drummer, one fifer, and about sixty-eight privates. The companies to be formed into regiments or battalions, officered with a colonel... Congress, June 14, 1775, authorized the raising of six companies of expert fiflemen in PA, two in Maryland, and two in Virginia to join the army near Boston. On the 22nd the "Colony of Pennsylvania" was directed to raise two more companies making eight in all, which were to be formed into a battalion. Lancaster County furnished two companies instead of one... This battalion was the first unit raised in the area. This description is offerd  to provide a basis for how and why Troops were enlisted in the area and it serves as a prelude to the later formation of the 4th Battalion, which also included men of Lancaster Co., among which were the Eyemans .

Nov or Dec 1775 Jacob and his sons Jacob, Jr. and Christian volunteered in the militia, quite early and before strong pressures of muster began in 1776. Important items to note are that the Eymans were not serving with German speakers, but with neighbors who were of predominately Scottish and Irish backgrounds. This company of vounteers was among the veery first in the area and in the nation to get into the field battle. They also seem not to have been concerned about fighting to protect the community based on religious restrictions. There is some evidence that they avoided some subsequent calls to duty, with both Jacob (Jr. ?) and Christian paying fines. Son Peter Eyman enlisted around 1781 also serving under Captain James Murray.

13 Mar 1776 a return of Captain James Murray's (b. 1729 d. 15 Feb 1804 Dauphin Co., PA) company of Associators of the Fourth Battalion (Revolutionary Roll Records - PA. Jacket No. 71) of Lancaster County, commanded by Colonel James Burd (b. 10 Mar 1726 - Ornistan, Scotland d. 1795-98 Lancaster, PA.) (partial list as follows:) First Lieutenant; Peter Sturgeon; Second Lieutenant: John Simpson; Ensign: John Ryen; Privates:...Eyeman, Christopher , Eyeman, Jacob , Eyeman, Jacob ...

Captain Murray was captured by the British at the battle of Long Island, NY in 1776 (possobly held on a British prison-ship and later released (5 months) in aprisoner exchange along with others captured in that engagement, including Maj. William Henderson). Willian Bell, Sr. promoted to Captain, serving in the retreat from Brooklyn, Harlem Heights, Fort Lee. His company was then surprised at Fort Washington, a horrific loss for the Patriots with many killed and captured, including crucial weapons and supplies. A detailed accounting was later provided listing the loss of guns, powder horns and blankets. Jacob and or his son Jacob, Jr. is said to have suffered the loss of pouch and horn during this engagement on 16 Nov 1776 ("the reduction of Fort Washington"). Affirmation of the losses certified by Capt. James Cowden 8 Aug 1777.

Jacob, Jacob, Jr. and Christian are noted to have participated in the battles of Trenton and Princeton, NJ. They accompanied General George Washington during the famous crossing of the partiaaly frozen Delaware river on Christmas night, 25 Dec. 1776 daring a surprise raid on the Hessian mercenary encampment in Trenton. With only a portion part of his planned forces, the remainder either unable to make the crossing or not in time, Washington determined to press on with the attack on the morning of the 26th, catching the unsuspecting German's fully off guard as hoped, duled into a false sense of security resulting from their previous days Christmas celebration, completely routing the enemy and winning a much needed critical victory for Washington and his troops. The Patriots recrossed the river back into PA., but Washington, upon discovering that the British were sending a reactionary force against him from their position in Princeton, immediately reformed his forces,  crossing over once more into Trenton then marched a parallel path towards Princeton in an attempt to perform a flanking attack against the rear guard of the very forces that were indeed being sent towards him. Washington and his highly outnumbered troops out-manoeuvered their foes, scoring another successive victory, this time against the shocked British, 3 Jan 177.

6 Nov 1778 Jacob Eyeman (Eylman) signed an Oath of Allegiance in Town of Lancaster, Lancaster Co. He is also shown that year as Jacob Eyman in the Military card file. Signing this type of oath was often required of foreign born soldiers. In 1793 there is an apparent Dauphin Co., PA record of Letters of Administration for a settlement of jacob's estate granted for his wife Catherine Emen to Jacob Emen (Jr.). Once completed it appears that Jacob Jr. left to join his brothers in Hardy Co., VA (now WV).

Catherine Shaver emigrated from the U>S> with husband, Jacob Eymann on 9 Sept 1749.

Loose Strands

Some days ago, after having received a fresh backup of the genealogical data from Wolfgang, I took up research again. Trying to avoid Anc* and MyHe* for uploading the fresh data, so that everybody in the family can benefit from the data without having to pay for it, I discovered Wikitree.  However, Wikitree does not allow me to upload GEDCOM, and it requires to give proper sources for each data entered.

Familysearch does also have a new and better look, and thus I turned there to get some credible source material. My main interest currently is to better sort out who emigrated from Steffisburg, and who was left back. We know from Ernst Müllers "Geschichte der bernischen Täufer" that 1671 a large group of 700 anabaptists emigrated, and that Hans, Hans and Ulrich Eymann were part of that group. What we don't know, is how they were related to each other (current guess is that Hans and Hans were father and son, and Ulrich is a brother of the father).

So I turned to Familysearch to check for Eymann entries in official documents in the 1600s in Switzerland. There are only 4 entries. Disappointing. Let us check again, and relax the writing of the name; at that time, only a few people could write and they would note the name as they heard it. Let's try for Eiman, in the 1600s. Success! There are several entries in Steffisburg! We have one name we already know, that is Hans Eiman b.1623 m. Anna Opliger. And we have Hans Eiman b. 1630 m. Katharina Roth. Which one is the Hans who emigrated? The entries here are for child baptism's; were they anabaptists, or not?


Out of curiosity, I tried to search for the first sources for Germany. I expected to find the first Swiss emigrant's children in Ibersheimer Hof or Sioner Hof for about 1670s/1680s, and some Alfhausen Eymann's some time earlier. Imagine my surprise, when I found an entry for the baptism of Anna Eymann, b. 1585, in a small town near Stuttgart. Does that mean that there is another family with the same surname in Germany, or is that an earlier emigration?

Links to available books on Swiss and Palatine genealogy and emigration

Julius Billeter (ca. 1900): A collection of Swiss surnames, http://kunden.eye.ch/swissgen/sursou-e.htm#Billeter

Albert B. Faust (1920): Lists of Swiss emigrants in the eighteenth century to the American colonies (1920), https://archive.org/details/listswissemigrant01fausrich

Daniel I. Rupp (1927), A collection of upwards of thirty thousand names of German, Swiss, Dutch, French and other immigrants in Pennsylvania from 1727-1776 ... = Chronologisch geordnete Sammlung von mehr als 30,000 Namen von Einwanderern in Pennsylvanien aus Deutschland, der Schweiz, Holland, Frankreich u. a. St. von 1727 bis 1776 ... (1927): https://archive.org/details/collectionofupwa00rupp


William J. Krehbiel (1953): History of one branch of the Krehbiel family. https://dcms.lds.org/delivery/DeliveryManagerServlet?dps_pid=IE84567&from=fhd

Olga A. Hirschler (1966): The Altleiningen Krebills 1730-1966. A genealogical and historical report. http://www.mdhervey.com/xtra_pages/archive/KREBILL/KREBILL.PDF

Many more books can be found at the Family History Books library of the FHL.Searching for Eymann yields the following list: https://books.familysearch.org/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?fn=search&ct=search&mode=Basic&tab=default_tab&indx=1&dum=true&srt=rank&vid=FHD_PUBLIC&frbg=&vl%28freeText0%29=Eymann

A noteworthy author is Henry C. Smith (https://archive.org/search.php?query=creator%3A%22Smith%2C+C.+Henry%2C+1875-1948%22), who was a professor at Goshen College and wrote books on the history of the Mennonites in the US and in general. The link above will lead you to "The Mennonites of America" (1909) and "The Mennonites - A brief history" (1920).

 Of particular interest for me (working in academia), was how many other fellow genealogists have written books about their own Palatine families, and taken text parts to describe historical situations from each other. I am myself guilty (in an earlier post) to have used text from Kraig Ruckel, who very poetically described the situation shortly after 1700, when William Penn came to the Palatinate to hire immigrants for the newly founded Pennsylvania. If you look for the beginning sentence "The winter of 1708-1709 was very long and cold in the Rhineland", you find many websites and books from fellow genealogists: https://www.google.de/search?q=The+winter+of+1708-1709+was+very+long+and+cold+in+the+Rhineland&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:de:official&client=firefox-a&channel=nts&gfe_rd=cr&ei=3qgaVIqpGs6POuSEgcgM#rls=org.mozilla:de:official&channel=nts&q=%22The+winter+of+1708-1709+was+very+long+and+cold+in+the+Rhineland%22

Links to online obituaries

Always a good source of biographical information, obituaries get increasingly published. Some of these will be linked in this post.

An obituary for Commander Raymond P. Eyman, who served at NOAA 1915-1947.

An obituary for Jacob S. Eyman, Halstead, Kansas, d. June 29, 1916, and a record entry for Joseph L. Eyman, El Dorado, Kansas, from “A Standard History of Kansas and Kansans”, written and compiled by William E. Connelley, Secretary of the Kansas State Historical Society, Topeka. Chicago: Lewis Publishing Company, copyright 1918; transcribed 1997.

Biographical Information on Walter C. Eymann, 1907

Provided by Linda Carter, great-granddaughter of Walter C. Eymann.

History of the State of California and an Extended History of its Southern Coast Counties. By James Miller Guinn, Chapman Publishing Co., Chicago, 1907 . Calif. State Library History Room (RR). Call Number: [Alcove] 979.4G9 – 2 – Book NC. Eymann, Walter C Page 1782

WALTER C. EYMANN. Prominent among the highly esteemed and influential citizens of Ocean Park is Walter C. Eymann, a practical business man and a leading real-estate dealer, who has been an important factor in promoting the rapid growth of this beautiful coast city, and a liberal contributor towards the establishment of its varied enterprises. Distinguished not only as a native-born son of California, but for the honored ancestry from which he traces his lineage, he occupies a conspicuous position in the annals of Los Angeles county, and no person is more worthy than he of representation in a work of this kind. A son of Charles F. Eymann, M.D., he was born November 3, 1867, in Anaheim, Orange county. The Eymann family has long been prominent in Germany, among its members being doctors, lawyers and merchants of distinction, one of its members having served as court physician to the Czar of Russia.

A native of Germany, Charles F. Eymann was born, reared and educated in Oldenburg, the home of many of his ancestors. Immigrating to the United States when a young man, he continued his studies in the medical college at Cincinnati, Ohio. Subsequently going overland to California, he engaged in mining and prospecting with unusual success, amassing a fortune. As banks were unsafe in those days it was customary to bury money; one day he returned and was bitterly disappointed to find that some one had visited the spot where he had secreted his wealth, and robbed him. Afterwards settling in San Francisco, he built up a substantial business as a merchant, and became a large property owner. He married Amalia Hammes, whose father, Philip Hammes, immigrated to San Francisco from Germany in 1856, and there followed his trade of watchmaker, clockmaker and jeweler until his removal to Anaheim with the original German colony.

Leaving school when about sixteen year of age, Walter C. Eymann assumed charge of the vineyard of thirty-three acres, managing it successfully until the destruction of the vines by a disease that killed all of the vineyards of that locality and ruined the wine industry. He subsequently took a course of study at Heald’s Business College, after which he was a resident of San Francisco for two and one-half years, being employed as collector, salesman and bookkeeper, first for Hueter Brothers, and later for the Bass-Hueter Paint Company. Going then to Europe, he visited a favorite aunt at the home of his ancestors, after which he traveled extensively on the continent, visiting the principal art galleries, and other places of interest.

On returning to California, Mr. Eymann settled near Anaheim, on land left him by his father, and at once began its improvement, in the course of a few years developing a valuable walnut grove. He built a fine house and substantial farm buildings, making noteworthy improvements. This place he sold in November,1904, realizing a handsome profit from his expenditure of time and money. Coming to Ocean Park, he bought the Summerheim flats, which he has since managed, and continued in the real-estate business, with which he had previously been associated for three years. In the spring of 1905 he opened a real-estate office in the city of Los Angeles, but this he abandoned when the beach cities began to show signs of life and activity and has since maintained and office on ocean front. He not only deals in Southern California property, but also handles northern lands, owning property in the San Joaquin valley and Tulare county.

Mr. Eymann is a man of great inventive talent as well as a business man of ability. In 1895 he received from the United States government a patent that he then possessed, it being a valuable invention utilizing a combination of goal and gas ranges. In introducing it to the public he traveled over one-half of the states of the Union, and from the royalty now given him by its manufacturers, the J. L. Mott Iron Works Company, of New York City, he receives a good annual income. He also has other incomplete inventions, one contemplated one being the taking of electric currents from the earth using them in stationary engines. He is an expert in oil and water, and acted in this capacity in Southern California for a number of years, always with satisfactory results. He is a fine business man, and has acquired extensive property interests in Ocean Park, San Joaquin valley and Tulare county.

In Europe in 1894, Mr. Eymann married Dorothea H. Schellens, daughter of Richard Schellens, noted railway man, who is a government director of all the railroads in the Rhine provinces, and an inventor of the Schellens railway train blocking devices. Mr. And Mrs. Eymann has one child, Gilbert H. W. Eymann. Fraternally Mr. Eymann is a member of the Independent Order of Foresters.

 

Links to historical and lexical information

Swiss Mennonite History, covering emigration from Berne to the Palatinate, Alsace, Montbeliard and Volhynia, by the Swiss Mennonite Historical and Cultural Association. You can find related information on the emigration history and the settlement places also here (Judy Voran) and here (MSHC). If you are interested in the differences between Mennonite and Amish, this text from Goshen College gives some detailed information.

The Ellis Island Foundation holds records for immigrants starting from ca. 1890. If you click on this link, you can see a result list for searching the Eymann surname (and related spellings).

The Cemetery Transcription Library has a list of transcribed epitaphs from tombstones. Here are the links for searching “Eyman” or “Eymann” against this list.

A short history of the Eymann family, by Torsten Eymann 1997

by Torsten Eymann (torsten@eymann.net), 1997

The history of the Eymann family is closely intertwined with the history of the european anabaptists themselves. A profound summary about this history can be found in "The Story of the Mennonites" by C. Henry Smith, Newton, Kansas, 1957 (This book is also available in german: "Die Geschichte der Mennoniten Europas", ebda., 1964). The part about the historical background of the palatinate emigration is excerpted from the Website of Kraig Ruckel (http://www.cc.utah.edu/~pdp7277/palatine.html).

The roots of the anabaptist movement lie in the swiss city of Zurich, in the year 1523. Ulrich Zwingli developed his idea of a reformed faith; several of his radical followers split the group in 1525 and established an own branch with the main claim of a full segregation of church and government. This made them the radical left wing of all confessions of that era and is the reason for most of the persecution in the centuries to follow.

The first appearance of the Eymann name is in the village of Steffisburg near Thun/Berne in Switzerland. Here are two brothers mentioned; the elder one, Steffen, was born in 1533. From this point we are able to trace the family history unbroken until today, apart from lost branches. In that area of the southern Emmental (valley of the river Emme) there are today still anabaptist communities, the most famous in the village of Linden. Today a part of Linden, Oberdiessbach is considered to be the true hometown of the Eymann family; there can be found a small estate named "Ey" (medieval german: by the meadow). These villages are very remote and hidden in the mountains and gave shelter for the century of persecution to come.

The anabaptist movement spread in that time over the neighbouring countries, especially along the river Rhine as one of the biggest european trade routes. Several communities grew between 1525 and 1535, the most prominent ones in Strassburg (Elsass) and the Lower Rhine area (The Netherlands and Muenster in northwest Germany). After the fall of the infamous Taeuferreich in Muenster 1535, persecution got worse, although the Muenster incidents are considered not typical for the non-violent characteristic of the Anabaptists; but that was not the era of making fine differences... Menno Simons, a Dutch, who gave the movement its today known name of "Mennonites", appears as a missionary in 1536 and worked his whole life in northern germany, while the swiss anabaptists are known as "Taeufer" or "Taufgesinnte" until today (not as "Mennonites").

In the canton of Berne, the government issued a final ban edict in 1659, after a century of persecution and martyrdom. The dutch Mennonites, at that time the most established group in Europe, tried politically and financially to intervene. But nonetheless the swiss Anabaptists were expropriated and banished from their homes. The worst year was 1671, when 700 people were exiled. About 100 from them went towards the Elsass, the rest into the Palatinate; the latter followed an invitation by the government, which intended to repopulate the devastated (by the 30-year-war) country.

1671 also Hans, Hans II. and Ulrich Eymann left Oberdiessbach with most of their families and moved first to Niederroedern near Weissenburg/Wissembourg in northern Elsass on the left Rhine bank. Some months later they moved again for an unknown reason and finally settled in Ibersheim near Worms in the Palatinate. The restless times with small wars between France and his european enemies in the 17th century (beginning in 1688) lead to restless families, and so the immigrants moved twice again until they finally stayed around the Donnersberg mountain north of Kaiserslautern.Other family members emigrated to the Netherlands and to America in the west, and to the Banat and Galizia in eastern Europe.

The winter of 1708-1709 was very long and cold in the Rhineland. It was a very bleak period. People huddled around their fires as they considered quitting their homes and farms forever. By early April, the land was still frozen and most of the Palatines' vines had been killed by the bitter weather. Since 1702 their country had been enduring war and there was little hope for the future. The Thirty Years War lay heavy on their minds, a period in which one out of every three Germans had perished.

The Palatines were heavily taxed and endured religious persecution. As the people considered their future, the older ones remembered that, in 1677, William Penn had visited the area, encouraging the people to go to Pennsylvania in America, a place where a man and his family could be free of the problems they were now encountering.

To go to America meant a long, dreadful ocean voyage and a future in an unknown land, away from their past and family. Everyone knew that the German Elector would stop any migration as soon as it was noticed. Only a mass exodus from the Palatinate could be successful. Many wondered how they could ever finance such a journey even if they wanted to attempt it. Small boats, known as scows, would have to be acquired for the long ride down the Rhine River and then there was the price for the ocean voyage. While some of the people had relatives that could assist them financially, many were very poor. Soon enough, their minds were made up for them as France's King Louis XIV invaded their land, ravaging especially the towns in the Lower Palatinate.

In masses, the Palatines boarded their small boats and headed down the Rhine for Rotterdam. It was April 1709 and the first parties were afloat on the Rhine, many with only their most basic goods and their faith in God as their only possessions. The river voyage took an average of 4-6 weeks through extremely cold, bitter weather. By June, 1709, the people streamed into Rotterdam at a rate of one thousand per week. The Elector, as expected, issued an edict forbidding the migration, but almost everyone ignored it. By October, 1709, more than 10,000 Palatines had completed the Rhine River journey.

Streams of Palatines went to America, with most going to Pennsylvania. The ocean voyage was harsh, with over-crowded, under-supplied, and unsanitary ships. What provisons were supplied were generally the least expensive available to the ship's master. Water frequently ran out, as did food. Dreadful mortality occurred on many voyages. In addition to those woes, the Palatines faced robbery, deception, and worse from those transporting them.

Estimates on the number of Germans in Pennsylvania during this period varies from author to author, but a common estimate is 10,000-15,000 by 1727 and 70,000-80,000 by 1750. A good source for reviewing German arrivals to Pennsylvania is Rupp's "Thirty Thousand Immigrants in Pennsylvania" which contains numerous ship passenger lists and has an excellent surname index. Another good resource is Walter Knittle's "Early Eighteenth-Century Palatine Emigration". Immigrants not only came from Germany, but also Bohemia and Switzerland. Most were either Lutheran, Reformed, or Mennonite in religious belief.

The transatlantic emigration continued with parts of the family for two centuries to come. Most of the emigrants to America left Europe in Le Havre and Rotterdam. In America they appeared first in Pennsylvania, then moved further west to Indiana and Ohio. Some of them fought in the Indepence Wars. Today they are spread over the whole United States.

The author descends directly from those Palatinate families. The american immigrants often disappear from our genealogy and can not be further traced; we would welcome anybody who can trace his Eymann family back to immigration. Please write - the sheer quantity of our genealogic material makes it impossible for us to send self-speaking documents at the moment, but we would love to share our material when specified. As you can see by the very rough history above, we are currently in the hunter-and-collector-phase; if anybody with profound historical knowledge can contribute to that "moving" family history of ours, we would be very thankful.

Some open questions still remain:

The oldest records about an Eymann family are found in the church-records and stock-books of the village of Alfhausen near Osnabrueck in northwest Germany. There lies, at the road to Bramsche, a large farm, the Eymann farm; although it is not possible to prove the direct relation to our family yet, it can be assumed that the Eymann family originally descends from this farm. One can also guess that by the derivation of the name itself. The Eymann farm is quoted in the stock-books way back in 1350; it was called "tor Eye" (medieval german: by the meadow). The farm was an estate in fee. In 1490, Hanneke "tor Eye" owned 5 horses, 2 oxen, 5 cows, 6 cattle, 14 pigs and 5 sheep and paid a feudal 'cattle tax' of one Taler and four Schillinge. Alfhausen was at that time part of the bishopric Osnabrueck. There still exists a catholic Eymann family in that area, but there is no connection yet between the two genealogies. The swiss Eymanns are said to have immigrated themselves before 1535, but from here? Or is it pure coincidence with the same name; the heraldic shield shows an egg, leading to the supposition of rooting the name in "Ei" rather than in "Ey", a craft rather than a geographic description? Why should anyone emigrate to a country of Berne where persecution was worse than at home, the alternative of the Netherlands only a 100km away?

The similar problem occurs with a lutheran family Eymann in Saxony, whose history is yet completely unknown.

Memories of St. Peters - a narration by Anna Eyman Hofacre

I found the following in a booklet that's been laying around for years, and thought you might enjoy.  The booklet was written at the time of the dedication of the educational wing of the church. Annie Hofacre was a sister to Grandpa Charles Eyman. (Greta Wells, SNGWells@prodigy.net)

MEMORIES OF ST. PETERS

by Anna Hofacre I, Anna Eyman Hofacre, was born May 3, 1875 in a tavern in Apple Creek, once called Edenburg. People traveling by horse and buggy from southern part of Wayne County stopped to eat and feed and water their horses on their way to Wooster. My parents, S. B. and Isabelle Eyman, cared for the tavern for one year, then we moved to West Salem for one year, then back to my grandfather's home, David Eyman, making our home there. This is now the farm owned by my grandson, Delno Orr.

I remember of my great uncle's funeral, Henry Bott. He lived near the old Baptist Church where we once held church services. Rev. Kemmerer, an elderly former minister of our congregation, was called to conduct the funeral service. When the family was being seated for the noon meal, Rev. Kemmerer couldn't be seen. Someone said, "He always rests five minutes before eating," so he was found upstairs resting. Rev. Mayer was called to minister to our flock as soon as he graduated from Heidelburg University, Tiffin. He did many improvements. He organized the Sunday School, The Women's Missionary Society, Ladies Aid; and then the first catechetical class. My brothers Charlie and Alva were in the second class. My brother Ed and I were in the third class with others. This was in 1888. My sister Minnie was confirmed later; all by Rev. Mayer.

We were taught to prepare for the Sabboth as a day of worship and rest. No unnecessary work was ever allowed. When quite small we children with our parents went to S. S. and church in a double-seated spring wagon. Our grandparents went in a low surrey. My Grandmother Eyman passed away in 1884 and Grandfather in 1888. The service for Grandmother Eyman was the first funeral service conducted by Rev. Mayer. I well remember the interior of our church ?? the lovely dark wood of the beams overhead, the Amen corner, two box stoves which heated the church one near center front and one near back. The stoves were about 3 1/2 feet long and 2 feet wide. Men of the congregation gave trees, prepared wood for the stoves and hauled it to the church. Later a second set of stoves were installed to north and south positions in the church. There were two kerosene lamps on each side. There was a black mohair sofa back of the pulpit and a door to exit in front of the church. The ceiling was later lowered because it was too difficult to heat the church.

Peter Fox was our Janitor many years. His son Ward Fox many years. Then Martin Hursh and his son Barkley Hursh many years. Rev. Mayer lived with the Fred Nussbaum Family when he first came to Apple Creek. The parsonage was built when he married. Twenty young men pledged $25 a piece and the rest was soon forthcoming. Adam Deneke built the parsonage. Rev. Mayer preached one Sunday in German; three in English. The congregation at Black Creek, now Glenmont, was part of his charge. Then all services were in English and his salary was raised a little over $450 a year.

I remember attending S. S. as a child. We sat near one of those stoves near the back of the church. Josephine Knoble was my first S. S. teacher. Later Mrs. Fred Nussbaum Sr. was my teacher in a group of girls eighteen years old. When she stopped teaching, I was asked to teach this class. Many years later I taught a class of teenage girls and still later, a junior boys' class. Music has always meant a lot to me. Tamer Clark, who was my first music teacher, was the first organist of our church. She was followed by Hermena Deneke, Ida Brown and by that time I was teaching music and playing the organ at our church. My father directed the choir and later my brother Alva did.

Some of the families belonging to our church in early 1890 were Lautenschlager, Bott, Numbers, Eyman, Nussbaum, Buss and Hartel. Many lasting friendships were made with the wonderful guidance from Rev. Mayer who was loved by all. Other ministers followed to help us ? Rev. Hartzel, Renter, Wolbach, Flohr, Shuey, R. E. Zechiel, Limbacher, Meckstroth, and Charles Zechiel. Over the years many improvements and additions have been accomplished such as basement, the electricity and new organ. Now with the help of Rev. and Mrs. Hartmann we are dedicating this new educational building. May God help us to grow in peace and good will for his Kingdom.

The Migration from Europe to the US - Passenger Lists

A particular problem in our genealogy, especially when researching the origins of the Eymann/Iman family members in the US, is who, when and from where the ancestors immigrated. It is now well known that most immigrants arrived at Philadelphia, and only much later in New York, and we also know that the emigrants left Europe mostly in Le Havre (originating from Switzerland or the Alsace), or Rotterdam (originating from the Palatinate). For the Alfhausen Eymann's, some of those left through Bremen or Hamburg.

Back in 1997, I could browse through the Emigrants Card File Library of the Institut für pfälzische Geschichte und Volkskunde in Kaiserslautern, Germany. The following table is compiled from taking up these handwritten notes (at that time) [Numbers in square brackets are included for consistency with older versions of my database], later extended by using the Palatine Ships list and the Immigrant Ships Transcribers Guild.

Date	Passenger(s)	Ship	Starting Point	Destination
Septemb er 9th 1749	Jakob Eymann, b. 7/17/1725,  m. ca. 1746	"St. Andrew" arriving Philadelphia 9/9/1749. (Passenger List)	Niederrödern near Weißenburg/Elsaß (Wissembourg/Alsa ce)	Pennsylvania
October 27th 1764	Ulrich Eymann [6], b. 1708 Lohmühle, d. 1765 Lancaster, PA. m1. Maria Fuchs, d. 1757 Germany. m2. 1757 Maria Agathe Essig, b. 1710/1715 Alsenbrück.	Emigrated together with ship "Hero" arriving Philadelphia 10/27/1764. (Passenger List)	Lohmühle, Palatinate	Pennsylvania
unknown	Christian Eymann [62], son of Ulrich Eymann (above)	unknown, emigrated separately ("followed his father soon").	Lohmühle, Palatinate	Lancaster Co., PA, later Conestago Tp., PA.
March 25th 1786	Eymann with unknown surname	unknown (no ship found listed for that date)	Lohnsfeld near Rockenhausen, Palatinate	Pennsylvania "brought Henrich Rhein in Northumberland Co., PA, a book of religious content".
After 1787	Johannes Eymann, m. 1787 Lohmühle to Elisabeth Würtz, b. 1769.	Emigrated after 1787.	Lohmühle, Palatinate	unknown
After 1840	Peter Eymann, b. 4/8/1827 in Langmeil, baptized 1840, parents: Christian Eymann and Katharina Franck	unknown	Langmeil, Palatinate	unknown
June 7, 1845	Jakob Eymann, m1. 11/28/1826 Maria Risser in Biedesheim. Emigrated 1845. m2. 1830/1840) Maria Krehbiel (Father: Christian Krehbiel), b. 07/22/1807 Weierhof. One Child Jakob from second marriage d. 9/4/1839 Biedesheim.	The ship Rockall from Le Havre to New York, June 7, 1845	Biedesheim, Palatinate	unknown
May 31st 1845	Elisabeth Eymann [55123], b. 8/19/1826 Biedesheim, daughter of Jakob Eymann and Anna, b. Eymann, m. 3/3/1845 Jakob Risser in Biedesheim (parents: Johann Risser and Katharina Weber).	Emigrated 05/31/1845 from Le Havre, France to USA.	Biedesheim, Palatinate	unknown
March 20th 1847	Abraham Eymann [63127], b. 2/11/1829 Langmeil-Alsenbrück, son of Johannes Eymann and Anna Leisy, Wäschbacherhof. Siblings: Anna, Christian, Jakob, Johannes, Peter. .	Emigrated 3/20/1847 to USA. (Source: Bonkhoff: "Die Langmeiler Sekte", Blätter für pfälzische Kirchengeschic hte und religiöse Volkskunde, 45. Jg., 1978, S.56f.)	Langmeil-Alsenbrüc k, Palatinate	unknown
April 19th 1847	Peter Eymann, son of Christian Eymann,	emigrated 4/19/1847	Langmeil-Alsenbrüc k, Palatinate	unknown
February 27th 1848	Christian Adam Eymann, Baker	emigrated 2/27/1848 (secret, "heimlich") to USA [63128?]	unknown	unknown
March 1848	Christian Eymann, b. emigrated together with 2 others in March 1848. [63128?].		Wäschbacherhof or Winnweiler, could have lived also Weierhof,	unknown
Before 1849	Johannes Eymann [55124], b. 8/3/1829 in Biedesheim, son of Jacob and Anna Eymann.	"Emigrated before 1852"	Biedesheim	1849 in Cleveland, Ohio ("worked as a saddler in Cleveland, Ohio"), 1852 in Franklin, Iowa. m. 10/6/1854 in Donnellson, Iowa to Johanna Krehbiel of Albisheim, b. 1/1/1835.
February 22nd 1851	Anna Eymann [63129], b. 12/16/1831 Wäschbacherhof, Jakob Eymann [6312C], Johannes Ey., b. 7/14/1833 Wäschbacherhof, Peter Eymann, b. 4/1/1842 Wäschbacherhof.		Wäschbacherhof
August 4, 1852	A large group of Palatine emigrants, traveling together. The list mentions some Eymann names as acquaintances, but it is not clear to me if they were actually on the ship or if they met and married later.	The ship Samuel M. Fox, from Le Havre to New York
September 27, 1852	Peter Eymann and his family	The ship Havre from Le Havre to New York
August 17, 1872	Gerhard Eymann (travelling alone at age 15(!)) of the Alfhausen family.	The ship Main from Bremen to New York,
After 1874	Peter Eymann, b. 3/6/1861 in Langmeil, baptized 1874	emigrated after 1874	Langmeil
1881	Elisabeth Eymann [631744], baptized 1881	emigrated 1881	Sembach	"died in USA soon after her arrival". (Source: menn. Kirchenbuch Sembach (A. Ruby, Diedesfeld)
March 12th 1881	Eimann, Christian, b. 23 Mar 1839, age 42, mason, with his sons Paul, b. 15 Mar 1870, age 11 and Christian, b. 15 Mar 1869, age 12. (Source: Ships Passengers List, Mennonite Library and Archives, Bethel College, North Newton, Kansas)	With Ship "Amsterdam" from Rotterdam to New York, arrived 12 Mar 1881 (Passenger List)
After 1883	Friedrich Eymann, b. 9/20/1869 Lohmühle, baptized Sep 2nd 1883, Vater: Jean Eymann and Barbara Becke.	Emigrated after 1883.	Lohmühle
28 Aug 1885	Eymann, Rudolf,b .07 Sep 1844, age 41, farmer, his wife, Johanna, b. 02 Sep 1864,age 21 and their children Anna, b. 29 Aug 1880, age 5, Heinrich, b. 29 Aug 1881, age 4 and Lisa, b. 28 Sep 1884, age 11 months. (Source: Ships Passengers List, Mennonite Library and Archives, Bethel College, North Newton, Kansas)	With Ship "Salier" from Bremen to New York, arrived: 28 Aug 1885 (Passenger List)
After 1889	Jakob Daniel Eymann b.1/6/1876 Langmeil, baptized 1889,   Parents: Johann Daniel Eymann and Barbara Eymann.	emigrated after 1889.	Langmeil
After 1900	Walter Eymann, b. 1899 Göllheim		Göllheim	occupation: bank clerk, last postal adress was apartado postal 7192, Mexico City, Mexico (invalid since 1978)
January 1911	Eugen Christian Eymann, b. 3/18/1899 Weidenthal, parents: Jakob Christian Eymann and Frieda Kunz, m. 1/1/1925 Los Angeles, CA to Lydia Dirks.	Emigrated in January 1911	Weidenthal	last postal adress: 2624 North 22nd Ave., Phoenix AZ 85009 (invalid since 1974). Children: Eugen Christian Eymann, b. 7/3/1926, Paul Eymann, b. 11/26/1928.
February 1911	Jakob Christian Eymann [631659]., b. 3/7/1872 Langmeil,   parents: Jakob S. Eymann, peasant and Elisabeth K. Graf. m1. 6/3/1897 Heiligenmoschel to Frieda Kunz, m2. 1/10/1910 Weidenthal to Friederike Schmitt.	Emigrated in February 1911 to USA with wife and 4 Children: Karl Jakob, Eugen Christian, Philipp Hermann, Katharina Elisabeth.	merchant in Weidenthal	Last postal adress: 1018 East 81th Street, Los Angeles CA 90000 (invalid since 1974). Returned in 1951 alone to Neustadt/Weinstr .

More to find at http://search.freefind.com/find.html?pageid=r&id=45264389&query=Eymann&ics=1&fr=0. On a personal note: "#*§% Ancestry paywall"!