My name is Paul N. Woessner, and I live in Pittsburgh, PA.My great-grandfather, Johann Martin Woessner (b. November 13, 1852), came to this area in 1871 with his brothers Johann George and Johann Jacob.Their brother Johannes came some time later.They were all from Bickelsberg, Württemberg, Germany.Their parents were Johannes Wößner (b. Brittheim, April 18, 1818) and Anna Maria Ziegler (b. Bickelsberg, April 27, 1818).The rest of my "direct line" follows below:
Johannes Wößner (b. December 25, 1783, Aistaig) m.
Louisa Dorothea Broß (b. April 11, 1785, Brittheim)
Johann Georg Wößner (b. March 24, 1736, Aistaig) m.
Anna Barbara Widmer (b. September 1742, Boll)
Jacob Wößner (b. January 17, 1702, Römlinsdorf) m.
Anna Barbara Güring (b. January 31, 1714, Aistaig)
Johannes Wößner (b. August 28, 1670, Römlinsdorf) m.
Anna Schwartz (b. Marschalkenzimmern)
Jacob Wesner (b. January 17, 1649, Hönweiler) m.
Maria Wagner (b. May 21, 1646, Römlinsdorf)
Jerg Wesner (b. 1620, Hönweiler) m.
Veronica Schneider (b. 1622, Fluorn)
Ludwig Wesner (b. 1590s ?)
In the future I will display more information on my "direct line" in this space.
According to a book entitled: Etimologisches Wörterbuch der Deutschen Familiennamen by Brechenmacher, published by C. A. Starke Verlag, Limburg a. d. Lahn, 1957:a "Berchtold Wesner," who had emigrated from the village of Weesen located in St. Gallen Canton, Switzerland, can be found in the "tax records" of Rottweil in 1441. Berchtold may be our "original ancestor," which indicates that all Woessners are related, however distantly.
Therefore, I'm interested in any and all Woessners (no matter the spelling), and intend to use this site as a "Woessner Databank." To this end, I have begun photocopying microfilmed German church records.So far I have records from the following towns/villages:Aistaig, Alpirsbach, Bickelsberg (includes Brittheim), Hochmössingen, Hopfau and Peterzell (includes Römlinsdorf and Hönweiler).I will continue to gather information from other towns in the area until all are covered.Eventually I will put all the data on Woessners from these records at this site.This will be a very long-term project.
I'll hopefully be traveling to Germany someday to try to "track down our original ancestor," and learn more about the Woessners of Württemberg.When I do, I'll record what I find here.
Thus, I'm interested in all information on Woessners, both in the US and abroad.If you'd like to talk to me about our family history feel free to contact me: