dna.reinyday.com - The WANDERER Surname Project

 

  The Wanderer Surname Project


Quick Statistics:

  • Project Founded: 19 February 2004

  • Status: seeking participants from the Crottendorf, Funkstatt, Neuburg, and Salzbach lines

  • Site Last Updated: 19 August 2007

  • Project Director: Rachel Rein

Surname Variations. This project is open to all variations, such as:

    Wander, Wunderer, Vanderer, Wunder, Wundar, Wunderler
    Wanderin, Wandler, Wanndner, Vanna, Vandr, Wunderlich
    Wondra, Winder, Winderlich, Windere, Winderes, Winders

For Winder, please also see the Winder Wonderland DNA Project.

This project currently includes the following surnames:

  • Wanderer
  • Wander

Goals. The goal of the Wanderer Surname Project is to find connections between Wander(er) families and to continue genealogical research. Specifically, we are also trying to discover if the four main branches of German Wanderer's are related (more on this below).


Additional Objectives. Other objectives include:

  • discovering living relatives worldwide
  • proving or disproving theories regarding ancestry
  • determining ancestoral homeland
  • finding locations for further genealogical research
  • validating existing research
  • solving "brick walls" in genealogical research


Participation. If you are interested in participating, you can:

If you are unable to participate (because you are not a direct line male descendant or because you cannot at this time) you can sponsor a test for someone else or help recruit new participants.


Wander Genealogy. Information about one of the participating Wander families can be found at www.wander.co.il .


Family Association. The Wander- und Wanderer- Familienverein e.V. can be found at www.wander-wanderer.de . Further information about the Crottendorf Line (see below) can be found at www.familie-wanderer.de .


The Book. No discussion of Wanderer genealogy can occur without mention of a wonderful book published in 1951:

    "The Wanderer - Wander Family of Bohemia, Germany and America 1450 - 1951" written by Alwin E. J. Wanderer and published in 1951 by Edward Brothers, Inc.

This book includes four separate Wanderer lineages in Germany, which we hope to connect with genealogical DNA testing. The book discusses Elias Wander of Crottendorf and the glassmaking family that descended from him. It begins with Jan and Pieter Vanderhus who changed their name to Johann and Peter Wander in the early 1400's.


The Four Wanderer Lines. The four principal Wanderer lines identified in the book are:

  • The Crottendorf Line.   This lineage is the glass-making line and is the line of the book's author. It begins in the 1400's and can be traced to myriad cities in Germany. Variations include Wander, Wanderer, Wondra, Wanndner, Vanna, and Vandr. This line was Protestant but many have since converted to Catholicism.

  • The Funkstatt Line.   This lineage is predominantly Protestant. The earliest recorded date is 1602. It may be connected to the Crottendorf line. Many of the descendants emigrated to the United States and to Argentina.

  • The Neuburg Line.   This Catholic lineage is associated with Neuburg an der Donau (Neuburg on the Danube river). It traces Wanderer's in Oberhausen, Burgheim, Neuburg, Unterhausen, Kreut, and Wagenhofen. Descendants reside in the United States in Wisconsin, Indiana, and California.

  • The Salzbach Line.   This Catholic lineage may be connected to the Neuburg line. It is associated with Salzbach, Schnaittenbach, Spitzermühle, Sulzbach, Pleystein, and Holzhammer, and has associated lines in Weihern and Eslarn.

  • Other Lines.   Other Wanderer lineages are traced to Yugoslavia, Austria, Hungry, Romania, and Poland. We hope to use genealogical DNA testing to identify if these branches are linked to the German branches or if they are unique. There are Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish Wanderer and Wander families.


Original Books. I am told that 500 copies of this book were originally published, and most were given to people who aided Alwin Wanderer in his research. Copies are available in various genealogical libraries, including the Sutro Library in San Francisco. Alwin's book is available as call number 929.273 W182w through the Family History Library system of the Mormon church. It is also on microfilm as film number 1320654 item 9.


Book Reprints. Reprints of Alwin Eugene John Wanderer's book have been made available for $67.00 from Astrologos Books, NY. The reprints are in softcover or you can get hardcover for an additional $10.00. Please note that these reprints are in black & white so you will not get the fantastic color coat of arms plate from the original. They also say that charts, photographs, and graphics (which make up a good portion of the book) "may reproduce less than perfectly and may be reduced to fit pages." Information about a reprint (item# M-34449A598721444) is available at astrologos.org.


Family Crest. In common usage, people use the terms "family crest" and "coat of arms" interchangably. "Since coats of arms were registered to individuals, not families, several family members could theoretically qualify to have their own arms design. To identify the different arms designs as part of the same family, they chose a crest image and all displayed the same crest." [source] "A 'coat of arms' (full achievement) generally refers to the shield, crest, helmet, mantling and supporters (if any), while the 'crest' technically only refers to the small image that lies on the helm (top of the helmet). A coat of arms that bears a name was originally bestowed to an individual." [source]


The Wanderer Coat of Arms. The Wanderer coat of arms was conferred upon Elias Wanderer and Georg Wanderer and their cousins Georg Wanderer and Ambrosius Wanderer in 1599. A reprint was granted to Elias Wanderer and his sons Johannes Wanderer and Heinrich Wanderer in 1623. According to the book, the original coat of arms is in "the Industrial Museum in Gablonz." A color plate of this coat of arms is in Alwin's book.


The Wander Coat of Arms. House of Names identifies two coat of arms for the Wander family -- one German and one English. Either Wander Armorial History with Coat of Arms can be purchased from the site for $20.


Surname Origins. House of Names also offers Surname Histories for $17 and provides the following excerpts:

    German: First found in Bavaria, where the name was closely identified in early medieval times with the feudal society which would become prominent throughout European history.

    Some of the first settlers of this name or some of its variants were: Caspar Wunder, who arrived in Pennsylvania in 1751 and Johann Wunderlich, who arrived in Philadelphia in 1787.

    English: First found in Cumberland where they had been anciently seated as Lords of the manor of Winder.

    Some of the first settlers of this name or some of its variants were: Francis Winder who settled in Virginia in 1622; George Winder settled in Jamaica in 1694; Andreas and Anna Margaret Winder settled in Philadelphia Pa. in 1734.


Financial Information. The Wanderer Surname Project is a private undertaking for personal interest. This is not a commercial venture. No remuneration is received by any of the participants nor the project director. Participants are responsible for the purchase of a DNA test kit from Family Tree DNA. If funds become available in the future, reimbursements for testing shall be made on the basis determined by the body donating such funds.

Links provided on this page are provided for information purposes only. The project director does not endorse or recommend the products in any way and receives no renumeration for providing these links.


Surname Values. This project is for the surname WANDERER, which has the following phonetic encoding values:

  • traditional Soundex*: W-536
  • Extended Soundex*: 5366
  • Daitch-Mokotoff Soundex*: 763990
  • Metaphone*: WNTRR (or WNTR)
  • Double Metaphone*: ANTR and FNTR
  • NYSIIS Code*: WANDARAR
  • Phonex*: W-560

Additional Information. To learn more, please select from one of the following links:

 

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