Bauer (Bower, Bowers, Boer, and de Boer) family
Bauer, a Mennonite family name which originated in Switzerland, can be traced back to the 16th century. During the 18th-century persecution, families bearing this name migrated to the Palatinate, Holland and North America. Among the Swiss Mennonites who settled at Sappemeer, Groningen in 1711 was the Hans Bauer family. Here his descendants changed the name to Boer and de Boer.
Another Hans Bauer migrated from Switzerland to North America in 1717 and settled near Bally in what is now Berks County, Pennsylvania. This family later spread to other states including Virginia and Indiana. The name has occurred most frequently among Mennonites of the Franconia Conference in Pennsylvania. Prominent was Henry S. Bower (1836-1908) of Chester County, Pennsylvania, who was ordained as Mennonite minister on 30 November 1865 and was the author of a family history entitled A Genealogical Record of the Descendants of Hans Bauer (Harleysville, Pa., 1897). Among the outstanding Dutch bearers of the name was M. G. de Boer (Baur) born in Groningen (1867), who was professor of history at the University of Amsterdam and editor of Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis. He related his findings in genealogical research in the article, "Vom Thunersee zum Sappemeer; Ein Täufer- und Auswandererschicksal aus drei Jahrhunderten," in Berner Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Heimatkunde (No. 1, 1947).
See also Boer family
| Author(s) | Harold H. Hartzler |
|---|---|
| Cornelius Krahn | |
| Date Published | 1953 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Hartzler, Harold H. and Cornelius Krahn. "Bauer (Bower, Bowers, Boer, and de Boer) family." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1953. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Bauer_(Bower,_Bowers,_Boer,_and_de_Boer)_family&oldid=119500.
APA style
Hartzler, Harold H. and Cornelius Krahn. (1953). Bauer (Bower, Bowers, Boer, and de Boer) family. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Bauer_(Bower,_Bowers,_Boer,_and_de_Boer)_family&oldid=119500.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 1, p. 248. All rights reserved.
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