The majority of the Budde’s still live in Germany. Because of the feudal system that persisted in the area for over 1000 years very few people moved over long distances. In the context of my family that I have been able to trace back to the early 1600s in Wietmarschen and possibly Emsburen my ancestors would have to pay to become ‘free’ and were not allowed to travel and marry without the permission of the feudal ruler (church or monarch). In order to move to a city a permit was required; apart from money this also involved the approval of the feudal ruler. We see this happening with Gerhard Hermann Budde in my family who leaves Wietmarschen and becomes a citizen of Nordhorn in 1771.
Also, to exercise a profession inside the town required approval of the monopolistic guilds. Trading was restricted through a system of guillds. Only at the annual fairs were outside hawkers allowed to sell their wares. Finally the French Period (1795-1813) ended these monopolistic structures, which dated back to medieval times.
The number of Buddes living in Germany is estimated at 10,000-plus. It is generally only after the French occupation that we see people beginning to move out of their traditional living areas this also applies to the Buddes. There is now a reasonably large number of Buddes in the Netherlands (approximately 400) and, since the early 1800s, also in the USA (approximately 3,000). Around 1840 four members of the Budde family in Wietmarschen (Joan Hermann 1845, Joan Ludwig Budde 1848, Joan Hermann 1848, and Bernard Hermann 1858) immigrated to America. I am in contact with one of their descendants, Don Feldmann.
At least another 7 Budde persons or families from de region Linge immigrated to America between 1840 and 1870. Further on we will see that also one of the Budde families from Emsburen made such a move (see: The first recorded Buddes in the area – Emsburen). Over the years I have made contact with many more Budde families in the USA with ancestors in Germany, again mainly north Germany.
The following overview lists the first mentioned Budde in each of the towns (places). This is based on my own research (not complete and perhaps not always correct, more indicative).
A selection of places with date of first mentioning of a Budde
| Year | Name | Place | Near | Bundesland | Previous | Notes | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1130 | Alard | Stralsund | Mecklenburg | Rugen | |||
| 1292 | Johann | Herslage | Osnabruck | Niedersachsen | |||
| 1318 | Gottschalk | Werl | Soest | Westfalen | Ingrid Gottschalk | ||
| 1336 | Hermann | Dranthum | Osnabruck | Niedersachsen | |||
| 1349 | Johannes | Glewitzer | Rugen | Mecklenburg | |||
| 1349 | Christian | Lubeck | |||||
| 1387 | Eghart | Buddenhagen | Rugen | Mecklenburg | |||
| 1389 | Hans | Barth | Mecklenburg | Pommern | |||
| 1400 | Hennig | Greifswald | Mecklenburg | Pommern | |||
| 1422 | Lambert | Hange | Osnabruck | Niedersachsen | |||
| 1432 | Torsten | Dollefielde | Lolland | Denmark | |||
| 1437 | Johannes Andreas (Jons) | Botnia | Sweden 1450 Greifswald 1468 | ||||
| 1458 | Hermann | Goldingen | Kurland | Latvia | |||
| 1500 | Andreas | Neetzow | Mecklenburg | Pommern | |||
| 1525 | Giseke | Vechta | Diepholz | Niedersachsen | |||
| 1560 | Dietrich | Jade(berg) | Wesermarch | Niedersachsen | Oldenburg | ||
| 1570 | Matthias | Saaremaa | Oesel | Estonia | |||
| 1596 | Jurgen | Soest | Westphalia | ||||
| 1600 | Johann | Ahlde | Emsburen | Niedersachsen | |||
| 1616 | Hermann Heinrich | Hameln | Hannover | Niedersachsen | |||
| 1620 | Hessel | Emden | Niedersachsen | Ostfriesland | |||
| 1620 | Mathias | Paderborn | Ingrid: igo@pro4net.de | ||||
| 1623 | Eilard | Wietmarschen | Niedersachsen | ||||
| 1630 | Georg | Querlenburg | Lohne | Niedersachsen | |||
| 1631 | Johann | Alt Odern | Talsen | Kurland | Latvia | ||
| 1634 | Franz | Anklam | Pommern | ||||
| 1651 | Eylerdt | Wiefelsted | Niedersachsen | Oldenburg | Fritz.Buentemeyer@t-online.de | ||
| 1658 | Hendricus | Hamm | N-Westfalen | Deventer 1687 | |||
| 1660 | Gesche | Elsdorf | Niedersachen | ||||
| 1667 | Franz | Gotha | Thuringen | ||||
| 1675 | Theodorus | Oestereiden | N-Westfalen | http://www.stallmeister.com/html/ahnen/pers/pafg19.htm#480http://www.dieter-budde.de/ahnentafe/index.htm#TOC | |||
| 1680 | Olov Eriksson | Okan | One | Naskott | Sweden | ||
| 1681 | Johann Christian | Landau | Waldeck | ||||
| 1698 | Ernst Heinrich | Hiddenhausen | N-Westfalen | Prussia | |||
| 1700 | Johann | Arsten | Bremen | ||||
| 1700 | Rolof Harm | Leer | Niedersachen | Ostfrieland | |||
| 1700 | Hinrich | Hamina | Fredrikshamm | Finland | |||
| 1713 | Augustinus | Weickede | N-Westfalen | Or Weiekede | |||
| 1717 | Anna | Huchting | Bremen | ||||
| 1721 | Johan Conrad | Recklinghausen | N-Westfalen | ||||
| 1725 | Kristopher Frederik | Hevne | Prestigj | ||||
| 1728 | Greta Elisabeth | Sonneborn | |||||
| 1730 | Christoffer | St Hemme | Norway | ||||
| 1730 | Anton | Breuna | Wolfhagen | Hessen | |||
| 1740 | Johann Christoffer | Grossalgermissen | Kleinforste | ||||
| 1771 | Gerhard Hermann | Nordhorn | |||||
| 1774 | Kristoffer | Tjeldsund | Norway | ||||
| 1776 | Heinrich Johan | Brechten | Dortmund | N-Westfalen | |||
| 1780 | Adolf | Molbergen | |||||
| 1780 | Heinrich | Stuhr | Bremen | ||||
| 1785 | Engle | Osterboitzen | Bremervorde | Niedersachsen | |||
| 1800 | Emanual | Podoli (Podolsskij) | Ukraine | ||||
| 1812 | Antje Gerhardina | Steenfelde | Niedersachsen | Ostfriesland | |||
| 1812 | Johann Friedrich | Gottberg | Pyritz | Pommern | Poland | ||
| 1859 | Yevgenii Fiodorovich | Kirovohrad | Elisabethgrad | Russia |
Coat of Arms and family names
Heraldry is important when researching noble families. Before fixed family names came into use, patronymics were used to distinguish father from son and so on. Family names first became the tradition among noblemen, this happened in Germany before 1200.
There are some 10 coats of arms of the various Budde families. One has been registered in the Netherlands (Deventer), but there is no direct link with our branch. The Deventer branch starts with Henricus Budde, born in 1658 in Hamm, Wesfalen. He established himself in Deventer in 1687. Several members of this branch, who were allowed to add the name Cost to their name in 1831, are living in the east and west Netherlands. The Deventer branch are of the Protestant religion, whilst our branch has always remained Catholic.
The other coats of arms are coming from Ost Friesland, Pommeren, Courlande (Letland), USA and a general German one – the unicorn and the French Lily are prominent features.
Both a family name and a coat of arms is inherited from father to children. Before family names were fixed, the coat of arms is a better proof of family connection than the name.
In family naming other problems arrive. In the feudal system the family name belonged to the farm, so if a daughter stayed on the farm and married, her husband would took the family name from his wife.
In Denmark it was also possible that a child received the name of a friend or that children received their family name of their mother.