Romersheuser, Roemershauser

I.             General ( historical development )

In the past, there were no surnames in Germany. The first name was quite sufficient to name someone without any doubt. The villages were small. Usually there was only one person for each first name who listened to it and if not, there were bynames to distinguish. The German surnames gradually became established in the German-speaking countries since the 12th century. Only in the 14th century these bynames were transferred into the baptismal register. In this way it was possible to record who belonged to which family by means of genealogies. Some surnames also indicate the place where someone came from. If someone came from Rommershausen or similar to another place, he was called Johannes Römmershäuser, Römmershäuser Johannes, Johannes from Römmershausen to distinguish him from the native/local Johannes. Thus, it was not until 1875 that the registry offices were introduced in the German Empire and the existing names were fixed. Since then every German carries a first name , possibly an intermediate name and the family name, and in this order. In some German dialects, the family name comes first before the given name. In 1875, the registry offices were introduced and the names were fixed, but this did not exclude negligent or arbitrary transcription errors.

The family name could still change, for example when moving away. Rural areas got along without a fixed family name until the 17th or 18th century.

(different spellings of the phonetic form of a name result or before fluctuating spelling in many cases).

II.           Origin of the German surnames

Most surnames are derived:

·      from occupational and official titles (professional names)

·      from the first name of the father (patronym) or the mother (metronym)

·      from characteristics of the person (adoption)

·      from the geographical origin (origin name)

·      from peculiarities of the place of residence (residence name)

origin of the surname „Römershäuser"

With very high probability the family name "Römershäuser" is a so-called origin name and refers to a geographical place in Upper and/or Northern Hesse. For this theory the following localities or deserts (Wüstung = former, abandoned or destroyed settlement or agricultural area) come. Migration often took place to areas of the same religious affiliation ( Römershäuser family of Protestant denomination ) or within the political and administrative jurisdiction.

The following villages and deserts come into question:

·      1. Rommershausen (Schwalmstadt, Treysa, Schloß), 330m above sea level, 45 km from Goßfelden

·      2. Römershausen (Gladenbach), 309m above sea level, 26 km from Goßfelden

·      3. Römmershäuser Hütte (Schönstein,12 Km n/w von Treysa), 318m above sea level, 36 km from Goßfelden

·      4. Reimershausen (Lohra, 15 km sw von Marburg), 200m above sea level, 32 km from Goßfelden

·      5. Ramershausen (Wüstung 4,5 Km n/w from Kassel), 189m above sea level, 113 km from Goßfelden

·      6. Römershausen (Burg Densberg, Kloster Haina), 328 NN above sea level, 37 Km n/e from Goßfelden

·      7. Rommershausen, 330m NN above sea level ( Wüstung municipality of Rosenthal, 10 km s/e from Frankenberg (Eder)) 23 km from Goßfelden

·     8. Römersberg (Neuental, Schwalm-Eder-Kreis ), 285m above sea level, 49 km n/e from Goßfelden

Based on various historical forms of the name, which have constantly changed over the centuries, the name is composed of the following components:

Meaning of Romers in the historical name forms below:

·      Renbrathes,

meaning:

as well Reimbert, Reinbert, Reinbrecht; old german: Council and brilliant

·      Reimer, Reymer, all villages between 200 – 300 m above sea level and therefore widely visible.

·   ragin = the council, the decision (Old High German) mari = famous, known (Old High German), the famous, the known, the councilor (Germanic Ragin-, Reginmar "famous in the council")

·      Ramis

meaning: Rami is of Semitic origin and is a variation of Ram, meaning high, lofty or mighty. Such cities are usually built on a mountain. Old German name known through St.Ramirus (6th c.) the famous counselor (Old High German).

Meaning of hausen in the historical name forms below hausen

·      Husen, Hausen

meaning:

Low German place-name root word for settlements with the original meaning "built with houses"

Origin:

From Old Norse husa "to build with houses", Old Saxon, Old High German hson, Middle Low German:husen 'hüs' - "house, hut, dwelling house, solid stone house, dwell"" with old dative plural ending- en (used as locative)

Spelling of mayor Althaus, Goßfelden on the marriage certificate from 12.12.1879 between Heinrich R. and Dorothea Willow Roth maidenname Wallon with double m and ß.

Explanations to the name reference to the Roman Empire and to Rome

·      relation to the Roman Empire - very improbable, because the Roman Empire bordered on one side relatively close to the region of our home village

Goßfelden ( Limes ran on the height of Butzbach - there were civilian trading places and Roman camps in Niederweimar, Dorlar and in the Forum Waldgirmes - Romans had tw. the Chatti in their auxiliary troops obliged ), but already in the year 300 A.D. was the Roman domination in Hesse ended. Surnames according to the German law of names were established only in the 12th century AD.

In prehistoric times, the area of today's state of Hesse was populated by Celtic and Germanic tribes. When the Romans built a camp for two legions in Mainz on the Rhine around 13 B.C., the Hessian region on the right bank of the Rhine also came into the focus of Rome's attention. Numerous finds as well as the rebuilt Saalburg fort near Bad Homburg bear witness to the Roman culture that shaped life in the Rhine-Main region for more than three centuries.

Around 80 AD, the Upper Germanic Limes ran right through what is now Hesse, separating the Celts in southern Hesse from the Chatti and Cherusci in the north. The fortification line, which can still be easily traced in the landscape today, marked the Roman border until 260 AD. Christianity came to Hesse with the rule of the Franks in the following centuries.

·       origin and meaning of names with components Rome/Roman etc..

This name component does not so much reflect an origin from Rome as a Rompilger or a merchant who traded with Rome.

In most cases, however, it is the nickname of the Rompilger. Hans Bahlow remarks: "Rome journeys, also as expiation for crimes, are often mentioned in the sources of the 14th and 15th century. For example, Nicclos Klette was to do a romvart for the murder of Hermann Regenarm, but makes himself free of it by paying virdehalb mark (1386 Liegnitz)."[1]

This theory of atonement trips to Rome is unlikely to apply to the ancestors of the "Römershäuser". That concerned predominantly noble and wealthy persons and can therefore also be excluded the ancestors of the "Römershäuser".