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Schnake/Schnacke Research Center

Webmaster: Roy W. Johnson, Kirkwood (St. Louis), MO. Email: royjNOSPAM@webster.edu (remove the NOSPAM before sending)

 

NOTE: The latest version of the printed Story of Schnake is now ready for ordering (hard copy or CD).  For description click here.

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Contents (Click to go to that area)

Purpose and Background of the Schnake Network:

I am a semi-retired history teacher, operating a home business as a computer consultant/trainer. In the 1950's, while stationed in Germany in the army, my wife, Doris (nee Schnake), and I researched her family history. Her ancestors were from Kreis (County) Minden, from the village of Unterlübbe, church parish of Bergkirchen, state of Westphalia, formerly Prussia, now Germany. We found complete records on her ancestors, including the house built by her gg Grandfather.

Over the years, we continued to collect Schnake information. Gradually, we branched out to other Schnake families. Recently, with the advent of the Internet, much more information is available. What we have found is fascinating.

Researching the immigration records and tracking every Schnake we can find, MOST OF THE NORTH AMERICAN SCHNAKES THAT WE HAVE BEEN ABLE TO TRACE COME FROM AN AREA IN GERMANY NO MORE THAN SIX OR SEVEN MILES IN DIAMETER. A small group, apparently related to the Chilean Schnakes settled in LaSalle County, Illinois, thence to Hallem, Nebraska. Most, but not all, of the larger group of  Schnakes settled in either the Hoyleton/New Minden area of Illinois or in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, near Evansville. The South American Schnakes in Chile originate in the Cassel (Kassel) area about 60 miles from the the North American Schnakes.  They were of a different lifestyle and origin and appear to not be related to the Minden area Schnakes.

What's more, we have a pamphlet containing a scholarly study of the area around Unterlübbe, Doris's family village. The study seems to indicate House Number 19 in Unterlübbe was the original Schnake dwelling in that village, with records back to the 1600's. Then, Schnakes begin appearing in other locations.  The nearby town of Schnathorst also has many Schnakes, all going back to one original Schnathorst family and also dating to the 1600s.  No link between the Schnakes of Unterluebbe and those of Schnathorst has been found, but with the villages only 2 or 3 miles apart, a link would be logical.

In the process of research, we have assembled materials on quite a few Schnakes-- perhaps on your family if you have Schnake ancestors. We would like to hear from you to get any information you might have on your ancestors and share anything we might have with you.

How do you spell Schnake/Schnacke/Schnacky/Schnack/etc.?

We have found three spellings for the family name in the US--Schnake Schnacke, and Schnacky. In the old German records of Kreis Minden it was spelled Schnake, Schnacke, Snak--spellings in those days were not very consistent.  "Schnaky" seems to be a corruption of "Schnakig", spelled here because that's what it would sound like to American ears. Those of the Schnaky spelling do not seem to be related to the others.

One goal is to contact families with other spellings and compare their family histories to ours. There is a hint that some of those of the Schnacke spelling might have come from Strelitz in former East Germany. However, the Schnakes (of Unterlübbe background) who settled around Evansville, Indiana, used both spellings.

What does "Schnake" mean?

Dictionaries give various meanings for the name Schnake, including gnat, midge, cranefly, mosquito. One definition gave "Daddy Long Legger" but in Europe and Australia, that's what they call a cranefly.  Most modern Germans will immediately respond "mosquito" if you ask the meaning.  Ask the old time Germans who grew up speaking the north German Plattdeutsch dialect of their ancestors, and they will respond as Doris's father did:  "Why, it's one of those little black gnats that fly around the barnyard.  Either that, or a mosquito."  However, he thought of a gnat first.  Several dictionaries confirm that "gnat" is the most common meaning in the Plattdeutsch dialect.

Until 1816 in Germany, the surname went with the land. The farmsteads (combined house-barn and outbuildings) were in the village, and the farmers went out to farm their land. Each farmstead had a name and the residents used that name as their own. The farmstead passed first to the oldest son; but if there were no living sons, to the oldest daughter. A man who married an heiress and moved to her farm took her name.

Schnake is also a slang term for a little joke or wise crack, and in the Plattdeutsch dialect, it can mean a person who likes to talk a lot.  Recent evidence indicates that this is the probable derivation of the name.

So apparently in early times someone lived at the residence who was quite a talker, and the farmstead was given that name.  The farmstead name then passed on down to the residents who lived there, then to America.

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Schnake family lines:

Most of the North American Schnakes we have been able to trace go back to just four original Schnake lines in Germany. This section has expanded until I had to create a separate page for it. Click here.


Webmaster and Wife: Roy W. Johnson and Doris (Schnake) Johnson

 LINKS TO SITES OF SPECIAL INTEREST TO SCHNAKES

Sites of families related to Schnakes

Sites related to the Minden area

Sites with stories or information similar to the Schnakes  -- these stories describe the ship voyage and the experiences of the immigrants.

LINKS TO OTHER GOOD GENEALOGY SITES: Only a few of the best are included here. Some of these contain superb links to other sites, making it unnecessary to include a large listing on this Home Page.

Pace Network : Researching the Pace family surname, my mother's maiden name.

Family Tree Maker (Broderbund Software) home page: http://www.familytreemaker.com

The is designed to be a clearinghouse for links to WebPages with extensive information on a particular surname, linked on the Surnames Page, or on the descendant of a particular ancestor, linked on the Descendents of Page. It will include links to WebPages throughout the world, this does not replace the USGenWeb lineage resources that are specific to the USA.

Great searching on the Latter Day Saints site:  http://www.familysearch.org

http://khuish.tripod.com/germany.htm FirstMom's Genealogy Resource Site--Germany. This one will keep you busy all day. Lots of info and links.

The Genealogy Home Page: http://www.genhomepage.com/.

-COMPUSERVE's genealogy page has some excellent material and numerous family home page listings.  You might find a family you are researching there.  Click on http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/roots

Roots Surname List:  Search for the surname you are researching: www.rand.org/cgi-bin/Genea/rsl

GenWeb:http://www.usgenweb.com   A great site that has links everywhere. You can spend hours browsing.  Many counties have volunteers all over the U.S. maintaining genweb (genealogy web) pages for that county.  You can search any state and narrow down to a location.  Try it!

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