Update: January, 2008
This site has been assembled to share and collect genealogy information regarding the Danneffel family. The information and names found here have been collected, compiled, and organized by multiple family members as accurately as possible. Through providing this information online it is hoped that family members will learn more about their ancestors and relatives, and where possible, provide corrections and additions to the family tree. Assembly of the Family Tree The genealogy data available on this site is the result of the merger of several separate family trees and the research of birth, death, marriage, and christening records as maintained by local village churches. These church records originate mostly from small towns in southern Germany in the present-day province of Baden-Württemberg. Through the collaboration and research, the tree’s oldest name is that of a Voalrieg Danneffel (b. 1651). Data has been provided by Danneffels living in both the United States and Germany. Family History Summary
The name Danneffel was not always spelled as it is today. Records from the early 1800s consistently contain the name Dannöffel (pronounced Dannoeffel). Variants found include Danöffel (one "n"), and Dannöffle and Dannöffelin. The latter two spellings are generally associated with female names as the "e" and "in" suffixes are frequently used in German to mark female gendered nouns. For some reason the Dannöffel family seemingly made the decision to change the name to Danneffel during the early 1800s. While the exact reason is unknown, some family sources believe the name was changed to prevent teasing at school. "Löffel" means "spoon" in German which apparently was somehow used in a taunting manner. All Danneffels contacted so far can be linked to a Johann Georg Danneffel (b.1806, d. 1891) who was born in Worndorf, Germany and fathered 17 children with two different wives, Barbara Elgass and Theresia Elgass. Johann Georg married Theresia after his first wife - Barbara - passed away. Both wives share the same maiden surname and it is understood they were sisters. Johann Georg's sons, Adolph (b. 1831 d.1917) and Johann (b. 1834 d. 1899), immigrated to the United States in the early 1850s in search of opportunities and settled in Van Buren County, Michigan. The brothers founded homesteads and are the root ancestors for most Danneffels currently living in the United States. Philipp (b. 1849, d. 1919), Karl (b. 1840, d. 1916), Joseph (b. 1853, d. 1924), and Otto (b. 1847, d. 1908) remained in Germany and are the ancestors of most Danneffels living today in Germany. Pages of Interest
Downloading the Family Tree There are two family trees available online. The HTML tree shows only partial information for privacy reasons. The phpgedview tree contains all information but requires a username and password. If you are a family member and wish to access all tree data, please contact us and we'll provide you with a password. There is a gedcom file we'd also be happy to share with family members. Photo Album Our family photo album was added in January, 2008 and contains a large collection of family pictures, many dating back to the 1800s. We welcome further contributions. Load the Photo Album >> Future Development of Family Tree We welcome
the input of others; if you have information that can be added to the
Danneffel family tree, please contact
us. We would be happy to hear from you. |
Records
indicate that the surname Danneffel has its roots in central Europe
in what today is western Germany. The oldest records recovered are from
Worndorf, a small town located north of Lake Constance.
While Worndorf remains to be the oldest proven link to the Danneffel
family, a small town called Danningen slightly west
of Worndorf could very well contain older records. The similarity of
the town's name and the family surname and close proximity to Worndorf
strongly suggest this. Whatever the relation, Worndorf records indicate
generations of Danneffels lived and worked in this region, mostly as
agriculturalists.