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This was the WWI anti-German hysteria. That was the big Americanizing experience for the German-American urban subculture, though Im sure it affected rural areas, too.
Name changes did happen before them as pronounciation & spelling became more anglicized through time. For example Begtohl or Begto was originally Bechtold. Recall that the first major German immigration was before the Revolution, so plenty of time to assimilate, particulary on the frontier (like in the Great Valley, which saw a lot of German pioneering mixed with Scots-Irish).
Well, just jumping in here, this thread has been going on for awhile.
I just recently started doing my geneaology. I always wondered why my German grandfather slightly changed his last name. He married a mostly Scottish gal from PA. Their marriage license was in the "old" name, along with other important papers, including his high school diploma and machinist's card.
Strange, but between 1916--1918 he changed his name. My grandmother's family was rather prominent in Philadelphia, and I could find references to just about every family event in the archived newspapers, except their wedding. I understood it was a quiet affair held in her parents' home. Grandpa's WWI enlistment card was in his "new" name.
I read in their archived newspaper how anything German was treated with suspicion, hostility, and often violence. The paper talked of "suspected" german sympathizers who were dragged out of their beds in the middle of the night, marched to the town square, made to repeatedly kiss the flag, sing the Star Spangaled Banner, say the Pledge of Alliegence, and were often tarred and feathered.
My grandmother was a teacher, graduate of Slippery Rock, but quit teaching when she married. Other teachers with German surnames were fired, harassed, German books were banned, burned, teaching of German was banned.
My grandfather quietly took his new wife to Detroit, where he became lost in the gritty melting pot. He built his own business and served his country well, all under an "altered" name.
needless to say, it makes doing a geneaology somewhat difficult, having to search under two names.
BTW, I don't see the difference---Germans, Scotts, Irish, they all look white to me
Your grandfather wasn't the only one to change his name at that time. The British Royal House by Act of Parliament must descend from the line of Electress Sophia I of Hanover, she was the most direct Protestant successor to James I. Her son became the first British monarch from the House of Hanover, George I. The House of Haover ruled through Queen Victoria, when her children took the familial name of her husband, Prince Albert. The familial name was Saxe-Cobrug and Gotha, whose first ruler was Edward VII.
During WW1, the monarchy was in the hands of George V (grandfather of Elizabeth II). In 1917 the Germans launched a new plane called the "Gotha" that could bomb London directly. This combined with high anti-German sentiment and the collpase of the Russian monarchy pushed George V to chang the name of the royal house to Windsor.
Quote:
Now, therefore, We, out of Our Royal Will and Authority, do hereby declare and announce that as from the date of this Our Royal Proclamation Our House and Family shall be styled and known as the House and Family of Windsor, and that all the descendants in the male line of Our said Grandmother Queen Victoria who are subjects of these Realms, other than female descendants who may marry or may have married, shall bear the said Name of Windsor....
Many German family members of George V were stripped of their English titles during this time, many of whom were of the House of Hanover and bore the title prince or princess.
Prince Louis of Battenberg (father of Queen Elizabeth II's husband Prince Phillip) also changed his family name at this time to Mountbatten, which made it sound more English.
So, it wasn't just people with German sounding names in the US that were under great pressure to change and this was very common at that time.
Your grandfather wasn't the only one to change his name at that time. The British Royal House by Act of Parliament must descend from the line of Electress Sophia I of Hanover, she was the most direct Protestant successor to James I. Her son became the first British monarch from the House of Hanover, George I. The House of Haover ruled through Queen Victoria, when her children took the familial name of her husband, Prince Albert. The familial name was Saxe-Cobrug and Gotha, whose first ruler was Edward VII.
During WW1, the monarchy was in the hands of George V (grandfather of Elizabeth II). In 1917 the Germans launched a new plane called the "Gotha" that could bomb London directly. This combined with high anti-German sentiment and the collpase of the Russian monarchy pushed George V to chang the name of the royal house to Windsor.
Many German family members of George V were stripped of their English titles during this time, many of whom were of the House of Hanover and bore the title prince or princess.
Prince Louis of Battenberg (father of Queen Elizabeth II's husband Prince Phillip) also changed his family name at this time to Mountbatten, which made it sound more English.
So, it wasn't just people with German sounding names in the US that were under great pressure to change and this was very common at that time.
Geez---I didn't say my grandfather was the only one to change his name---just adding my little bit to the story, that is the topic of this thread, isn't it? German/Americans? so why are you throwing in British monarchy? I haven't heard from you in awhile, how's it going?
Geez---I didn't say my grandfather was the only one to change his name---just adding my little bit to the story, that is the topic of this thread, isn't it? German/Americans? so why are you throwing in British monarchy? I haven't heard from you in awhile, how's it going?
Not bad...you?
I didn't mean to imply that I thought you meant that your grandfather was the only one or unique, as you were adding to the story, so was I. Many people don't realize the British monarchy is essentially German and the great pressure that was placed on the monarchy to change its name to something more Anglicized is a great example of the pressure many people were under to do the same in all English speaking nations. When the king changes his name to distance himself from his German ancestory, it becomes a little more telling as to why "Fritz von Heidelburg" in America, Australia, Canada, etc. would feel so strongly compelled to change his name.
You did state that "Strange, but between 1916--1918 he changed his name", I guess part of the point that I and Dayton Sux were making was that it wasn't really all that "strange" given the circumstances.
On the topic of Germans in America...
FWIW, outside of colonial times when the German immigrant groups tended to be seen as "different" by their English descended contemporaries, there really wasn't much anti-German sentiment and they were firmly considered in the "white" aka WASP (White Anglo Saxon Protestant) camp. This is a stark contrast to the Irish immigrants that were not considered "white" by the establishment. The average German immigrant for most of US history had a relatively easy time assimilating and was not barred from opportunities.
The one moment this wasn't the case was during WW1, when there was a strong backlash. The interesting part is that there really wasn't a similar general anti-German backlash during WW2. Outside of forced registration of recent German immigrants and the limited internment of some Germans connected with pro-Nazi groups, America seemed to embrace the idea of "good" and "bad" Germans and most German communities had high pro-American sentiment. Much of this attitude can be traced to many of the high profile immigrants such as Einstein that flocked to the US in the immediate pre-war years. It is interesting that two of the most high profile US commanders in the war were of strong German ancestory and proud of that fact. Eisenhower's family was "PA Dutch" and Vriginia Lutheran and Nimitz's family was more recent immigrants from Germany that had settled in the German community in Texas.
Your grandfather wasn't the only one to change his name at that time. The British Royal House by Act of Parliament must descend from the line of Electress Sophia I of Hanover, she was the most direct Protestant successor to James I. Her son became the first British monarch from the House of Hanover, George I. The House of Haover ruled through Queen Victoria, when her children took the familial name of her husband, Prince Albert. The familial name was Saxe-Cobrug and Gotha, whose first ruler was Edward VII.
During WW1, the monarchy was in the hands of George V (grandfather of Elizabeth II). In 1917 the Germans launched a new plane called the "Gotha" that could bomb London directly. This combined with high anti-German sentiment and the collpase of the Russian monarchy pushed George V to chang the name of the royal house to Windsor.
Many German family members of George V were stripped of their English titles during this time, many of whom were of the House of Hanover and bore the title prince or princess.
Prince Louis of Battenberg (father of Queen Elizabeth II's husband Prince Phillip) also changed his family name at this time to Mountbatten, which made it sound more English.
So, it wasn't just people with German sounding names in the US that were under great pressure to change and this was very common at that time.
Not to quarrel, but that is incorrect. George VI is Elizabeth II's father, he died in 1952 and was king during WW2. He assumed the throne in 1936 after his father George V died and his brother Edward VIII abdicated. George V is Elizabeth II's grandfather and was the one who changed the family name from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor in 1917.
The line went like this...
George V, reigned from 1910-1936 and changed the family name to Windsor in 1917 at the height of WW1.
When he died in 1936 his eldest son...
Edward VIII assumed the throne, but then abdicated after a little less then a year on the throne to pursue his relationship with American socialite Wallace Simpson. He then took the title Duke of Windsor.
He was replaced on the throne by his brother and next eldest son of George V...
George VI who reigned from 1936 through WW2 until his death in 1952.
At that time he was replaced on the throne by the eldest of his two daughters (and only children)....
German Americans seem more assimilated in the culture than in other British-founded colonial nations around the world. In Australia they were treated better than Southern Europeans and non-Europeans, but, especially during the World Wars, were still viewed with suspicion. I'm wondering if this was the case in the early years of the Thirteen Colonies, or later on, and when were German Americans seen as equals to British Americans?
I can relate experiences from my own family history and say "yes" they were.
I don't know about Australia, but I do know about the United States.
My Grandmother (of German decent but born in the US) married into my Grandfather's WASP family who had been here quite a while. She was very pretty, smart, only eighteen with a HS education. He was 29, and a graduate of Columbia University. My grandfather's family were not at all pleased and were very cold towards her, referring to her as "the German" a "immigrant girl" and "Kraut"
My Granmother's Aunt was born in Germany and lived in what was a German Section of NYC ( Yorktown I think) During WWII many German Americans did not want to be thought of as Nazi sympathizers (although the fact is, some were) so my Great Great Aunt hung an American Flag in her window. This also warded off bricks that were hurdled into the windows of residents who did NOT display the flag.
There was considerable discrimination against German Americans in the last century, although nothing compared to what was endured by Japanese Americans in WWII.
Not to quarrel, but that is incorrect. George VI is Elizabeth II's father, he died in 1952 and was king during WW2. He assumed the throne in 1936 after his father George V died and his brother Edward VIII abdicated. George V is Elizabeth II's grandfather and was the one who changed the family name from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor in 1917.
The line went like this...
George V, reigned from 1910-1936 and changed the family name to Windsor in 1917 at the height of WW1.
When he died in 1936 his eldest son...
Edward VIII assumed the throne, but then abdicated after a little less then a year on the throne to pursue his relationship with American socialite Wallace Simpson. He then took the title Duke of Windsor.
He was replaced on the throne by his brother and next eldest son of George V...
George VI who reigned from 1936 through WW2 until his death in 1952.
At that time he was replaced on the throne by the eldest of his two daughters (and only children)....
Elizabeth II who is the current reigning monarch.
I was incorrect about George V being her great grandfather (actually a typo, one should never talk and type at the same time) but I was pointing out that you had stated that George V was on the throne during WWII, which is incorrect, it was George VI.
No biggie.
I was incorrect about George V being her great grandfather (actually a typo, one should never talk and type at the same time) but I was pointing out that you had stated that George V was on the throne during WWII, which is incorrect, it was George VI.
No biggie.
It's not a biggie, but I never said that George V was on the throne during WW2. This was post that you quoted...
Quote:
During WW1, the monarchy was in the hands of George V (grandfather of Elizabeth II). In 1917 the Germans launched a new plane called the "Gotha" that could bomb London directly. This combined with high anti-German sentiment and the collpase of the Russian monarchy pushed George V to chang the name of the royal house to Windsor.
No biggie, even reading it back now all the George's and their numerals run together, I can see where it was confusing.
It's not a biggie, but I never said that George V was on the throne during WW2. This was post that you quoted...
No biggie, even reading it back now all the George's and their numerals run together, I can see where it was confusing.
^This....as I said, one should never talk on the phone and try to type a response at the same time, I read it as WWII.
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) but I was pointing out that you had stated that George V was on the throne during WWII, which is incorrect, it was George VI.
