Barwald History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Germany

The distinguished family surname Barwald originated in the lands which eventually became the German state of Prussia. This state was known for its majestic landscape, its rapid industrial growth, its military power, and for its contributions to European culture. However, in the medieval era, Prussia was fragmented and inhabited by numerous barbarian tribes, who fought amongst themselves for control of the land. The borders of the barbarian kingdoms, which were established after the fall of the Roman Empire, changed repeatedly. The region that came to be known as Prussia was roughly divided between the territories of Brandenburg-Prussia, West Prussia and East Prussia. The Barwald family emerged in Brandenburg-Prussia, which is essentially the birthplace of modern Germany. By the 19th century, Brandenburg-Prussia had incorporated East Prussia, West Prussia and many other German territories. Moreover, in the late 19th century, it led the German states in the unification of Germany.

The name Barwald literally meant 'dweller at the sign of the bear' for someone thought to possess bearlike qualities. The bear was the king of beasts in the North of Europe. The personal name Barwald, an old Germanic name, is composed of the Old High German word "bero", meaning "bear", and the Middle Low German "wald", meaning "forest". Today, the place name Bärwalde (Baerwalde or Bearwalde) can be found in Brandenburg and Saxony (two places.)

Early Origins of the Barwald family

The surname Barwald was first found in Prussia, where the family was anciently seated at Friedland, Prussian Eylau and Labiau. They established several branch houses of the name and some were not confined to the region. The Baerwalde family owned several properties in the region of Labiau in Prussia, from the beginning of the 1500s to the end of the 1600s.

Early History of the Barwald family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Barwald research. Another 90 words (6 lines of text) covering the years 1384, 1796, 1799, 1817, 1819 and 1868 are included under the topic Early Barwald History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Barwald Spelling Variations

In the medieval era, many different cultural groups lived in the German states. There are thus many regional variations of German surnames from that era. Westphalians spoke Low German, which is similar to modern Dutch. Many German names carry suffixes that identify where they came from. Others have phrases attached that identify something about the original bearer. Other variations in German names resulted from the fact that medieval scribes worked without the aid of any spelling rules. The spelling variations of the name Barwald include Berwalde, Berwald, Berwal, Berwaldde, Berwallde, Berwalde, Berwale, Berwalle, Barwalde, Baerwalde, Barwald, Berwaldm, Barwal, Barwal, Barwaldde, Baerwaldde, Barwallde, Baerwallde, Barwalde, Baerwalde, Barwale, Baerwale, Barwalle and many more.

Early Notables of the Barwald family

Notable figures of the time with the name Barwald were Franz Berwald (1796-1868), a Swedish composer who spent most of his life in Stockholm. He came from a family which boasted a long line of musicians. In his lifetime he composed symphonies, chamber music and two operas.Johann Friedrich Berwald was a violinist, son of one of the chamber musicians of the King of Sweden, born at Stockholm...
Another 66 words (5 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Barwald Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Barwald migration to the United States +

Since medieval times, the state of Prussia has played an important part in the history of Germany. The state's military powers were historically very strong, and endured until after the Second World War, when the territory was broken up and divided between the Soviet Union, Poland, East Germany and West Germany. A spurt of migration followed, with some Prussians going elsewhere in Europe and many others crossing the ocean to North America. Most entered the United States through Philadelphia. Some remained there, while more moved on to the states of Ohio, Texas, Illinois, California, New York, and Maryland. Others traveled to Canada and settled Ontario and the prairie provinces. Research into the origins of individual families in North America revealed records of the immigration of a number of people bearing the name Barwald or a variant listed above:

Barwald Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

August Barwald, who landed in America in 1891 [1]
August Barwald, who arrived in America in 1895

Citations +

Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)