Can someone tell me if my Spitzbart relatives are related to the ones from all the others I see from Europe.?

Question

My grandfather came from Breklum,Germany.His parents were Adolf and Angelina,I always thought Spitzbart to be a unique name from Germany.Until I see themall over Europe is it possible they are all someway related or just a fluke. Just curious.

Answer 1

My fathers name is Adolf Spitzbart , he was born to Maria and Josef Spitzbart in Gaspoltzhofen. (just outside Salzburg - Austria)  Maria's parents are last name Jedinger

Josef and Maria had three children Joseph (in canada now), Adolf (in New Zealand) and Maria still in Austria.

And to point out Smith is a genealogically "common" name and was taken by many settlers in many countries, but Spitzbart, I guarantee you we are all related in some way.

I am Rickard, my brother is Reiner

Hope this helps,

Rickard

Answer 2

Just for discussion, take the name Smith.  

If you have grandparents named Smith, the wife is another name by birth, and a Smith only by marriage.

Are all the other Smiths in a country related to your grandfather, John Smith?  We don't know.. neither will you. The whole point of genealogy would be to verify the basic facts about YOUR known ancestor, and find records to verify who were his parents (and siblings).  Thus, you will know exactly who his family IS.

Now, insert the name Spitzbart.  The answer is still the same.. you do not know if they are related to Adolf, until and unless you find the documents concerning his immediate family.  Since the name is less common than Smith, it is always possible, but it is not guaranteed in any way. If they lived in the same village at the same time, the odds go up.

It still (always) comes back to the same thing.. you can't assume anything in genealogy, until you look for and find the records.

Answer 3

The hard part to answering your question well is that surnames weren't adopted all at once in Europe. The records we found on Gustav put him up near the Danish border. That area didn't adopt hereditary (the same from generation-to-generation) surnames until the 1700s. Before that they used patrynomic surnames (Anderson, Gustavson, etc). Compounding the issue is that Germany didn't unify until 1871. So each area of what we now think of as Germany had their own traditions and they did it however they wanted. People moved and took their traditions with them, but also had to adapt to local customs.

Are all Spitzbarts related? We don't know, but culture tells us that if they're from as many areas as we found...from Denmark to Austria, then they're very likely nice families who took the same surname but didn't all have a blood relationship. They had the same reasons for choosing that name, even if they were in remote parts of Europe from each other.