Buchmann Ancestry, Buchmann Genealogy
Return to Buchmann family treeFamilies with the Buchmann name have lived in central Switzerland since the early 1300s. It is a time when the general population began adopting present-day surnames.
The Buchmann family name may have originated between Willisau and Wolhusen, about 25 kilometers west of Lucerne. Around 1346, Heinrich and Burkart Buochmann were Kellner of the 'Hof zu Malters', a manor community close to Wolhusen.
'Kellner' was the position of Tax Collector and record keeper of a manor. He worked for the Maier (Mayor) at the command and leisure of the lord of a manor community. Kellner's standing was close to the rank of Ministerial, and the position was sometimes hereditary. As such, the Kellner could stand tall and hold his head high. A Maier and the Kellner generally rose from the class of free farmers; it was about the only path up to a position of some prestige. In more ancient times, as the name implies, 'Kellner' referred to the man in charge of the food and wine provisions stored in the manor's cellar.
Heinrich Buochmann, as officiating Kellner and tax collector of Malters, got involved in Besthaupt disputes. In the Middle Ages, most land was held by the feudal Lord, up the chain, and ultimately the Monarch. When a farmer died, the best cow or horse, the 'Besthaupt', had to be offered to his feudal lord. It was like a death tax. In 1291, when the Habsburgs of Austria acquired Malters, the Besthaupt law was challenged. Around 1346, as shown in documents, Heinrich Buchmann and Burkart Buchmann gave sworn testimony to the bailiff of Rothenburg in a quarrel over the lawful right to the Besthaupt.
I've always wondered about the origin of the Buchmann family name. The assumption has been that my ancient forebears lived in a village or hamlet called 'Bueche', a place by the beech trees. The word 'Buche' means 'Beech Tree'. The folks of that hamlet and their descendants, so the assumption goes, were called 'von Buoch', in German meaning 'coming from Buoch. Later, the name morphed to Buochmann, 'Man from Buoch'.
Today, a hamlet called 'Buechen' still exists, in the Wolhusen parish, close to Malters, about twenty kilometers west of Lucerne. The forefathers of Heinrich and Burkart Buchmann, Kellners of Malters, may have come from that hamlet. Are they the first known Buchmanns?
The Beech tree, 'Buchen' in German, is the most common broadleaf tree in mid-western Europe. It stands to reason that 'Buchen' hamlets and villages sprung up in many places. So many, I can't count them on the fingers of both my hands. Given Heinrich was Kellner of Malters, near Wolhusen, the pick of the Buechen hamlet in Wolhusen is a good bet.
Or do I have it all wrong....? Am I barking up the wrong tree? Some other interesting facts might give more insight into the Buchmann surname's origin. Could the Buechen hamlet be named after a person called 'von Buch' who had his family seat there? As you will read further below, the historian Leu mentions a 'Cunradus de Buch' who bought land in Willisau, and who may have lived in the castle of 'Buochen', near Wolhusen.
Now digging deeper..., - and with some speculation.
History books mention that many 'von Buch' lived in Bern (Switzerland) in the Middle Ages. A Konrad de Buch is mentioned as residing in Bern in 1319. I traced the Bern 'von Buch' family line back to Rudolf von Buch, born in Bern around 1260. Rudolf's father, whose name is unknown, also lived in Bern, and so perhaps his ancestors. According to old archives, the 'von Buch' ladies and gentlemen of Bern were descendants of an aristocratic cadet branch. That much we know from historical accounts. Cadet branches begin with younger sons of noble dynasties. So as not to whittle away the glory and prestige of an established aristocratic lineage, the firstborn son of the noble dynasty would inherit all or most of the family's wealth and the aristocratic title. For the younger sons, to prevent conflict with the entitled firstborn, the family pursued other options: allocation of a small domain, appointment to a high-ranking army officer, and prominent ecclesiastical or secular positions, at home or abroad. The cradle of the 'von Buch' cadet nobility line is unknown; I would love to find out. In the later 14-hundreds, the Bern city-state regularly endowed many prominent local families with the noble 'von' preposition. But not so in centuries before that; new dynasties rarely evolved, so, one assumes that the 'von Buch' cadet branch may have come from a land North-East, such as Swabia, Thuringia, or Saxony.
The 'von Buch' families of Bern were well off. Several gentlemen held high positions in the Bern city-state as early as 1294, and von Buch gentlemen lived in Bern long before that. A 'von Buch' owned the church and the town of Muehleberg, Bern (1387). Near Muehleberg lies a hamlet called 'Buch bei Muehleberg'. The Muehleberg 'von Buch' first-born male lineage ended in the mid-1400s, and the Muehleberg rights were passed from Cäcilia von Buch to the noble Brüggler family. However, descendants of younger von Buch brothers of earlier generations kept the 'von Buch' family name alive.
Over time, the Bern von Buch families spread South and West in the wider Bern area, and towards Fribourg.
Some time ago, I met a Buchmann gentleman from Zurich, probably related twenty generations apart, and we talked about family ancestry. He told me that his father did some Buchmann family ancestry research, which revealed that the Lucerne Buchmanns, way back, in the 12th century or so, very likely come from a Bernese area close to Fribourg. The Lucerne Buchmann then over time spread eastward.
As early as the turn of the millennium, 'von Buch' noble dynasties are known to have existed in Thuringia and Saxony (today's central Germany). The most notable von Buch of that time is Christian von Buch (1130-1183), Archbishop of Mainz and Arch-chancellor to the Emperor Barbarossa (Frederick I) of the Holy Roman Empire. Christian von Buch, diplomat, warrior, and counselor, became one of the highest dignitaries of the Holy Roman Empire. He was a nomad archbishop; as an archbishop, he only visited Mainz once in his lifetime. He was a statesman and politician.
In 1821, the well-known historian Ferdinand Gregorovius summed up Christian's legacy and character, quote:
"Christian was one of the greatest princes of his age, ... a jovial knight until his death, kept a harem of beautiful girls, and, clad in glittering armor, rode a splendid horse, swinging the battle axe with which he shattered the helmet and head of many an enemy, ... he spoke several languages ..."
The powerful Duke of Zähringen (Berthold V, 1160-1218) ruled over the pre-alpine area of present-day Switzerland, and in 1191 he founded the town of Bern, Switzerland, as a military post on the frontier between the German-speaking Alemanni and the French-speaking Burgundy. The Duke would have had connections with the 'von Buch' noble houses of Thuringia and Saxony. Any von Buch family would have been eager to help the Duke and send one of their younger sons to Bern as a functionary. With a good position in Bern, the son would be given a good start in life, and settle there, - the cradle of a new 'von Buch' cadet branch.
Returning to Wolhusen, near Lucerne, Switzerland. An ancient document (Quellen zur Schweizer Geschichte) mentions Cunradus von Buch acquiring land on the slope of the Willisau castle. Willisau is near Wolhusen and Malters. In a footnote to the article, the historian Mr. Leu clarifies that Cunradus de Buch may have lived 'im Schloss bei der Buechen' (in the castle by the beeches) in the parish of Wolhusen. A thought: is today's 'Buechen' hamlet near Wolhusen named after the ancient 'von Buch' castle owners? The document also mentions Eberhardus and Berchtholdus von Buch living in the Willisau area in 1270, and Friedrich von Buch being Dekan of Hochdorf in the early 1300s. The document is in Latin and refers to the gentlemen as 'de Buch', so the name's 'de' word could be a nobiliary particle, or mean 'coming from'. Did they come from the 'Buechen' abode near Wolhusen. Did they come from Bern? Were they relatives of the abovementioned Bern 'von Buch' cadet branch? Are Rudolfus, Eberhardus, und Berchtholdus descendants of Rudolf's forefathers? And were the Kellners of Malters, Heinrich and Burkart Buchmann, descendants of the 'von Buch' of Bern?
I always return to Heinrich Buchmann, Kellner of Malters in 1346, the first documented Buchmann. He could well be a descendant of the early Bern 'von Buch' noble cadet branch. With his prominent Kellner position, he was a man of some standing; he probably had favorable family connections and a well-established ancestry.
So, what is the origin of the Buchmann family name? Is it the 'Buechen hamlet in Wolhusen? Or, is it a 'von Buch' descendant of Bern who dropped the noble 'von' label? The wall of possibilities beckons. We may never know the true origin of our Buchmann family name; it is lost in the mists of time.
Buchmann, Knonaueramt, Dachlissen, Mettmenstetten
At the turn of the 14th century, the well-known cleric Niklaus von Malters (Malters, Lucerne) was appointed Canon at Affoltern am Albis, Knonaueramt, 10 kilometers southwest of Zurich. He became the first priest of the newly built village church of Affoltern in 1303. Until 1291, both Affoltern and Malters were owned by the Abbey of Lucerne. The Lucerne Abbey and the Canon Niklaus of Malters were instrumental in attracting folks from Malters and Lucerne to settle in the Knonaueramt area, likely some Buchmanns among them. It is also possible that Buchmanns arrived in the Knonaueramt via the Erlosen and Lindenberg mountains. Noteworthy also, at the turn of the fifteenth century, the bailiwick of Knonau was under the Knights of Seon, later under the Knights of Heidegg, a noble dynasty of the Seetal, the valley between Erlosen and Lindenberg.
History chronicles mention many Buchmanns of Mettmenstetten and Dachelsen. Three Buchmanns owned much of Dachelsen. A 1541 document cites a 'Buochmans hof zuo Dachelssen'.
In 1640-1643, Michel Buchmann, his wife Anneli (Wyss), and their young son Rudli left Mettmenstetten for Herschmettlen, near Hinwil, Zurich. Michel built a successful silk-weaving business, bringing forth prominent families in Hinwil and Zurich.
In 1803, many families from Mettmenstetten/Dachlissen, including several Buchmanns, emigrated to Crimea, Russia, and built the village of Zurichtal. It is an amazing story, and you must read it. Zurichtal, Crimea
Today, many Buchmanns worldwide claim ancestry to the wider Mettmenstetten/Dachlissen area.
Buchmann in Eastern Switzerland, Bibliander
From 1450 to the late 1500s, prominent Buchmann families held high office positions in St Gallen and Bischofszell. From the early 1200s to mid-1500s, the Abbey of St Gallen owned the parochial rights to the parish of Geiss, the village next to Menznau and Wolhusen (Lucerne). A Buchmann may have moved from that area to St. Gallen. The most well-known member of the St Gallen Buchmanns is Theodorus Bibliander (1506-1564). Bibliander is the Hellenized name of Buchmann (Bibli... = book, and Ander... = man). Theodorus Bibliander was a Greek, Arab, and Hebrew linguist and professor of theology. In 1532, he succeeded Swiss reformist Ulrich Zwingli as the divinity chair at Zurich. He published the first printed edition of the Qur'an in Latin (Basel, 1543). The father of Bibliander, Hans Buchmann, was a well-documented and prominent citizen of Bischofszell and St Gallen.
I always wondered if Bibliander was related somehow to my forefathers, the early Lucerne Buchmanns. According to an article in Analecta Reformatoria, Volume 2, by Egli, Hans Buchmann, the father of Bibliander, and Bibliander himself sometimes used 'Schwyzer' as a by-name. A letter from Bibliander's uncle was addressed to Bibliander as 'Herr Joder Schwitzer'. 'Joder' means Theodor. From its beginning in 1291, the land of the Swiss Confederacy, including Lucerne when it joined in 1332, was commonly referred to as 'Schwyz', and the Alemanic term 'Schwiizer' or 'Schwyzer' was applied to the men in the confederate fighting troops. Initially, foreign enemies used the name as a curse word; later in the early 1500s, it became a proud collective noun. So, why would a man in far-away Bischofszell be called 'Schwyzer' if his roots were not from the land of 'Schwyz', such as Malters, Lucerne, where many Buchmanns dwelled? Buchmanns had been settled in the Bischoffszell, Thurgau, more specifically Mülibach, Amriswil, since the late 1300s or early 1400s. And there is much documentary evidence. In 1431, Heini Buchmann of Mülibach agreed to a time lease of the Mülibach farm to the Heiliggeist Hospital in St Gallen. Hans Buchmann, the father of Bibliander, was at one time the Spital-Meister (hospital administrator) of that historic Heiliggeist Hospital in St Gallen, a high public position. Could Heini Buchmann of Mülibach be one of the early 'Schwyzer' in Eastern Switzerland?
Sepp Buchmann
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