Horstmann History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Netherlands
Germany

Horstmann is a local name from the German region of Westphalia. Local names came to Germany with other types of hereditary surnames after the 12th century. They were derived from the name of the place where the original bearer of the name lived. Sometimes local names bear the prefix "von", meaning "of" or "from". It was an indication of land-ownership, and was sometimes taken as a mark of aristocracy. The family originally lived near or in a hurst, which is a wood or thicket. Thus, Horstmann is a topographic surname, which was given to a person who resided near a physical feature such as a hill, stream, church, or type of tree.

Early Origins of the Horstmann family

The surname Horstmann was first found in Westphalia, where the name Horst contributed greatly to the development of an emerging nation. The name appears in chronicles of 1292, which place Berthold von der Horst, a knight, at the family seat in the county of Recklingshausen. They eventually formed three main lines of descent: the von der Horst zu Horst, von der Horst zum Hauss und zu Milsen, and von der Horst zu Mudlinghoven und Hellenbruch. The names of these lines come from the intermarriage with the Hauss family, or from the name of the estates in their possession.

Early History of the Horstmann family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Horstmann research. Another 100 words (7 lines of text) covering the years 1664 and 1741 are included under the topic Early Horstmann History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Horstmann Spelling Variations

Many cultural groups lived in the German states in medieval times. Each had its own dialect and traditions, and unique variations of popular names. Low German, which is similar to contemporary Dutch, was spoken in Westphalia. German names are characterized by additions such as regional suffixes and phrases that tell something about the origin or background of its original bearer. Further contributing to the variation in German names was the fact that there were no spelling rules in medieval times: scribes recorded names according to their sound. The recorded spelling variations of Horstmann include Horst, Horste, Horsst, Horsste, Horest, Horeste, Horstt and many more.

Early Notables of the Horstmann family

More information is included under the topic Early Horstmann Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Horstmann migration to the United States +

After 1650, thousands of German settlers came to North America to escape the religious persecution and poverty that wracked Europe and to make the most of the opportunity to own their own land in a new country. They settled across the United States in Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Illinois, and California, and in Canada in Ontario and on the fertile plains of the prairie provinces. Among them:

Horstmann Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Henry Horstmann, who arrived in Charles Town, South Carolina in 1782 1

Horstmann Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Dietr Horstmann, who landed in North America in 1832-1849 1
Anna Horstmann, who arrived in North America in 1832-1849 1
Albert Horstmann, who landed in America in 1833 1
Johan Horstmann, who arrived in Missouri in 1840 1
Bern Herm Horstmann, who arrived in America in 1842 1
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Contemporary Notables of the name Horstmann (post 1700) +

Ken Horstmann (b. 1971), American film and television director
Oscar Theodore Horstmann (1891-1977), American Major League Baseball pitcher who played with the St. Louis Cardinals from 1917 to 1919
Roy Joseph Horstmann (1910-1998), American NFL football running back who played from 1933 to 1934
Ignatius Frederick Horstmann (1840-1908), American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church, Bishop of Cleveland (1892-1908)
Dorothy Millicent Horstmann (1911-2001), American epidemiologist, virologist and pediatrician, the first woman appointed as a professor at the Yale School of Medicine
Gustav Horstmann, German clockmaker who designed the world's first micrometer with an accuracy greater than 1/10000 of an inch, father of Sidney Horstmann
Ulrich Horstmann (b. 1949), German literary scholar and writer who used the pseudonym Klaus Steintal, awarded the Kleist Prize in 1988
Sidney Adolph Horstmann OBE (1881-1962), British automotive engineer and businessman, founder of the Horstman company (now Horstman Defence Systems Ltd) in 1913
Kai Horstmann (b. 1981), English rugby union player

Historic Events for the Horstmann family +

Bismarck

Herbert Horstmann (1917-1941), German Bootsmaat who served aboard the German Battleship Bismarck during World War II when it was sunk heading to France; he died in the sinking 2

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)
Bismarck & Tirpitz Class - Crew List Bismarck. (Retrieved 2018, February 06). Retrieved from https://www.bismarck-class.dk/bismarck/crew/bismarck_crew.html#crew_details