Zimmermann family name
Zimmermann, a Mennonite family name found in West Prussia and South Germany, is also found regularly in North America as well. In 1940 there were 33 Zimmermann members of the Mennonite Church in Germany, 19 in West Prussia (Danzig 10, Tiegenhagen 6, Thiensdorf 3), 13 in South Germany (Ueberlingen 5, Ludwigshafen 4, Stuttgart 3, Regensburg 1), and 1 in Krefeld. Much information about the West Prussian Zimmermanns is contained in Kurt Kauenhowen, editor, Mitteilungen des Sippenverbandes der Danziger Mennoniten-Familien Epp-Kauenhowen-Zimmermann (Göttingen, 1935-1943). It is most probable that the West Prussian Zimmermann family was originally called Timmerman (Dutch for "carpenter") and that Timmermann was the form used until the 18th century in the Danzig area. Carl Heinrich Zimmermann (d. 1897) was on the Danzig city council. Louis Edward Zimmermann kept a diary (17 volumes) before the migration to Nebraska and during the pioneer years.
There was also a Swiss Mennonite Zimmerman family. Henry Zimmerman moved from Wädenswil, Switzerland, to Germantown, Pennsylvania, in 1698, but returned to Switzerland. By 1706 he was back in Germantown and in 1710 he settled at Lampeter, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. His son Emanuel Carpenter, a judge, not a Mennonite, gave the Mennonites important help. The descendants of this branch of the family carried both names, Carpenter and Zimmerman. Hans Zimmerman (d. 1771) settled in the Cocalico district, Lancaster County, about 1717. Henry and Hans were the ancestors of many Lancaster County Mennonite Zimmermans. Two church cemeteries were named for the family, one at Lichty's and another at Martindale. Among the many ministers of this family name in the Mennonite Church (MC) and Old Order Mennonite Church (OOM) churches were Jacob Zimmerman (1784-1856), bishop at Weaverland 1815-1856, "One-Arm John" M. Zimmerman (1829-1903), preacher at Weaverland, Benjamin F. Zimmerman (1851-1930), bishop in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania (Slate Hill), 1892-1930. Mahlon Zimmerman was a bishop at Ephrata in Lancaster County starting in 1952. In the late 1950s the OOM in Lancaster County had the ministers Isaac N. Zimmerman, Isaac W. Zimmerman, and Noah Zimmerman.
A Christopher Zimmerman was in Germantown in 1708, and a trustee by the same name was serving the Worcester congregation (MC) in the Franconia Conference in 1739. A Zimmerman family was among the pioneers in the Black Creek Mennonite settlement in Welland County, ON, near Buffalo at the beginning of the 19th century. John Henry Zimmerman came from Prussia to Beatrice, NE. Joseph E. Zimmerman (1880-1949) was bishop of the Milford Amish Mennonite (Nebraska, USA) congregation 1916-1949.
Bibliography
Mennonitisches Lexikon, "Zimmermann."
| Author(s) | Harold S. Bender |
|---|---|
| Ira D. Landis | |
| Date Published | 1959 |
Cite This Article
MLA style
Bender, Harold S. and Ira D. Landis. "Zimmermann family name." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1959. Web. 21 Nov 2024. https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Zimmermann_family_name&oldid=168782.
APA style
Bender, Harold S. and Ira D. Landis. (1959). Zimmermann family name. Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. Retrieved 21 November 2024, from https://gameo.org/index.php?title=Zimmermann_family_name&oldid=168782.
Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 1029. All rights reserved.
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