| ![Show Contents]() Wellens History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms
- Origins Available:
Germany
Etymology of WellensWhat does the name Wellens mean? Nestled between the Rhine and Wesser rivers is the ancient German region of Westphalia. Westphalia, the home of the name Wellens. When hereditary surnames were adopted in this region, after the 12th century, names that were derived from localities were quite common. These "local" surnames originally denoted the proprietorship of the village or estate. When coupled with the German preposition von, which means from or of, local names can indicate that the initial bearer of the name was an aristocrat. However, in modern times, the use of the preposition has often long since been dropped from use. The Wellens family originally lived by or near a spring. The name Wellens is derived from the Low German word welle, which means spring or well. The er is a common suffix for German names. There are numerous places in the German states that were named Well, Welling,Waelling, and Wellingen or that contain these root words. For example, there are places named Wellingshofen and Wellinghusen in Holstein and there is a place called Wellingbuettel in Hamburg. Early Origins of the Wellens familyThe surname Wellens was first found in the Rhineland and Westphalia, where this family name became a prominent contributor to the development of the district from ancient times. Always prominent in social affairs, the name became an integral part of that turbulent region as it emerged to form alliances with other families within the Feudal System and the nation. Chronicles first mention Nicolaus Weller of Liegnitz in Silesia in 1387, Heinrich Weller of Basel, Switzerland in the 13th century, and Heyne von Wellen of Haldesleben in the 14th century. Welle is a municipality in the district of Harburg, in Lower Saxony. Early History of the Wellens familyThis web page shows only a small excerpt of our Wellens research. Another 124 words (9 lines of text) covering the years 1705, 1711, 1774 and 1811 are included under the topic Early Wellens History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible. Wellens Spelling VariationsOne can encounter great variation in the spelling of surnames: in early times, spelling in general, and thus the spelling of names was not yet standardized; and later, spellings would change with branching and movement of families. Variations of the name Wellens include Well, Weller (Westphalia), Welle (Westphalia), Wellers, Wellner and many more. Early Notables of the Wellens familyJohann Jacob Well, who was ennobled in 1774 in reward for his outstanding services as a pharmacist and physician in Vienna. Joseph Well was likewise a well-known...
Another 26 words (2 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Wellens Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.
| Wellens migration to the United States | + |
Many Germans emigrated across the Atlantic to seek better lives in North America. This great migration began in the middle of the 17th century and continued into the 20th century. Resettlement was particularly attractive to those from Westphalia as a means of escape from poverty and religious persecution. For many Westphalian farmers, the chance to own one's own land was also a major incentive. The process of the widespread colonization of the United States began in 1650, when many immigrants from Germany settled in pockets in Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Illinois, and California. In Canada, German settlements centered around Ontario and the Prairie provinces. Among them:
Wellens Settlers in United States in the 19th Century- Joseph Wellens, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1867 1
- 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)
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