Wenk Family

   The United States census of 2000 revealed that more American citizens trace part of their ancestry back to Germany than any other country—even England. The Germans first came here in three great waves: A mass migration of Palatines beginning in 1709 (about 60,000 of them arriving over the next four decades), and then two immigrant floods following political purges in 1848 and 1890. Most of them were farmers (Bauer in German, boer in Dutch, resulting in the English slur "boor"), and they enriched the land with farming techniques that were much more sophisticated than those of their Puritan and Quaker neighbors. Their contoured fields, advanced methods of crop rotation, and industrious (if odorous) use of manure as fertilizer brought them enviable yields, which revolutionized the agricultural industry in the US. They introduced "Holtzsteiner" barns with more storage space and more doors for livestock than those of the British settlers, which kept their animals safer and warmer during the winter months.
   One of these German families, the Wenks, first arrived in "the best poor man's country" during the second wave, sailing from Baden.
   The family name traces back almost a thousand years in Europe. Until 1100 AD, most people in Europe had only one name (in fact this is still true in some scattered areas). But as the population began to grow in ever-expanding towns and villages, there needed to be a way to differentiate between all of the Johns, Williams and Roberts living in the same area, so surnames slowly evolved to tell everybody apart. For instance, if the tallest William in town was called "William the long fellow," then ultimately he became William Longfellow. It was also common to select a term indicating the person’s location or occupation. So "John who lives by the apple orchard," became John Appleby.
   The Wenk family first came from Bavaria, where the family was connected with the many tribal conflicts of the area throughout its long history.
   Variations on the name include Wenckh, Wenck, Wening, Weniger, Wenin, Wenig, Wenisch, Wenk, Wenger, Wenge, Weining, Wiening, Weuning, Wauning and many more, as well, which means that it derives from any number of sources. The name could derive from the Low German and Frisian personal name Weneke, a short form of any of the compound names beginning with the Old High German element wini (‘friend’). But sometimes it was used as a topographic name for someone who lived by a turning or bend, as the Middle High German wenke. Then there's the Middle Low German wenneke or ‘wide woolen dress’, hence it could have been an occupational name for a maker or seller of such garments. Hopefully our family doesn't derive from the Middle High German nickname wenken, meaning ‘to stagger or waver’, probably applied to someone with a peculiar gait, or to a drinker, or to someone who was indecisive (although all three could apply to this writer).
   On the family coat of arms, the blue in the family crest is the color of loyalty and truth; the yellow stands for generosity. The squared and quartered shield features two griffins, signifying the property of a valorous soldier who "dared all dangers, and even death itself, rather than become captive." The two six-pointed mullets point to a Divine quality bestowed from above. The panache of feathers symbolizes willing obedience and serenity, and the closed helmet, in profile beneath, denotes an esquire or private gentleman.
   To read all about our loyalty, truthfulness, generosity, valor, daring, Divinity, willing obedience and serenity, and follow our ancestors from the Black Forest of Germany, to the wilds of 19th Century Michigan, to the weirdness of 21st Century California, click on the chapters below: