Fleiner - Lang Genealogy
Updated May 6, 2012
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The genealogy home page of William J. Fleiner contains the history of the Fleiner and Lang families, originally from the kingdom of Württemberg, Germany. My family tree begins in the 14th century for the Fleiner family and in the 17th century for the Lang family. My Fleiner and Lang ancestors emigrated from Germany to Austria-Hungary in the late 1700s, along with thousands of other Donauschwaben, in search of affordable land and a new life. The Fleiners and Langs, along with 60 other families (mostly from Württemberg and Baden) founded the village of Neu Pasua, Syrmien, Austria-Hungary in 1791. The area later became Yugoslavia, and the village is now called Nova Pazova in Serbia. From Neu-Pasua, my Fleiner and Lang great-grandparents emigrated with their young children to the village of Franzjosefsfeld in Bosnia in the late 1890s and early 1900s, again, in search of land. Their timing was poor, as political unrest plagued the Balkan states in the years leading up to the first World War. Many citizens, including my grandparents, fled the area in search of a stable environment and the opportunity for a good life elsewhere.
From my perspective, the culmination of the centuries-long odyssey was the arrival of my grandparents, Wilhelm Fleiner and Margarethe Lang, at Ellis island, New York, on January 11, 1911. They caught first sight of America from the ship Friedrich der Grosse, sailing from Bremen, Germany, and would soon be making their homestead in the town of Crestline in north central Ohio.
That fateful voyage saw Wilhelm and Margarethe's only child, 18 month old Margarethe, perish aboard ship. But the wheel of life goes on. My grandmother was 6 months pregnant with my father William Fleiner upon her arrival in America. She went on to give birth to six more children before my grandfather was killed in an industrial accident in 1940. My father's siblings and their children, seeking the American dream, made their way to all corners of the nation - California, Texas, Nevada, Hawaii, Georgia, and elsewhere. Some stayed home and made their lives in the state of Ohio - Crestline, Mansfield, Galion.
It is said that the name "Fleiner" originated from the wine-growing village of Flein, in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, near Heilbronn. Nearly everyone with the unusual surname Fleiner are related in some way.
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Please send any comments, corrections, or new information to me at the email address below. Your help is appreciated.
Please also be aware that selecting the "InterneTree" view will yield meaningful results only if the Primary Individual is properly selected. In this view, click "Search", "Find Person", then select an individual.
N.B. This site remains under continuous development and enhancement. Please return here from time to time to see if there are additions or changes.
Thank you - Vielen Dank!
William J. Fleiner
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William J Fleiner
16320 Crystal Hills Dr.
Lakeville, MN 55044
United States
william.fleiner@gmail.com
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- The Fleiners' journey from Neu-Pasua to FJF (69 KB)
Samuel Fleiner's family (including my grandfather Wilhelm) relocated from Neu-Pasua, Austria-Hungary to Franzjosefsfeld (FJF), Bosnia in 1891. The journey was about 80km overland. The map (source unknown) reflects current national boundaries, not as they existed in 1891. It is not known how or when my grandmother's family arrived in Franzjosefsfeld (later called Petrovo-Polje then Schoenborn and now Novo Selo). The German citizens fled the Bosnian town to escape the advancing Russian army in 1942, mostly settling in Poland and later East Germany.
- The Neckar valley, home to the Fleiners (9 KB)
The Fleiner and Lang families resided in the towns and cities surrounding the river Neckar, near Stuttgart, from the 1300's, according to earliest records available. The town of Flein is near Heilbronn. Other towns/cities in the area that were ancestral homes of Fleiners are: Esslingen am Neckar, Ellhofen, Suelzbach, Langenbeutingen, Heilbronn.
- Route of the Donauschwaeben - 1790's (101 KB)
The Donauschwaeben (Danube-Swabians) rode barges called Ulmer Schachtel (literally, crates) down the Danube from Ulm (SE of Stuttgart) to the German settlements around Belgrade, Austria-Hungary. My Lang ancestors came from Benningen and Fleiner ancestors came from Marbach in the 1790s. The two villages are across the Neckar river from one another.
- The four Fleiner sons 1948 (70 KB)
Left to right: David (1913), Martin (1917), William (my father, 1911), and George (1920). Missing from the picture are the two daughters Elizabeth (1915) and Evelynne (1926). As of January 2009, only George is still living.
- Wilhelm Fleiner (42 KB)
My grandfather, Wilhelm Fleiner came to the U.S. in 1911 and settled in Crestline, Ohio, with his wife Margarethe. He was born in Neu-Pasua, Austria-Hungary in 1882, died in 1940 as a result of an industrial accident, and is buried alongside my grandmother in Crestline.
- William J. Fleiner - 2002 (351 KB)
The author/editor of this family history site, at the town limit sign of Flein, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany. Our family name may have originated here. The caption on the sign "Flein ort Wein" literally means "Flein, place of wine," as the Neckar valley is home to fine German wines.
- Magarethe (Lang) Fleiner (56 KB)
Margaret (Margarethe) Lang, born in 1886 in Neu Pasua, Austria-Hungary, married my grandfather William (Wilhelm) Fleiner in Franz-josefs-feld, Bosnia in 1908. They came to Mansfield, Ohio, U.S.A. in 1911 and later settled in Crestline, Ohio (a nearby town). My grandparents raised 4 boys and two girls in Crestline. Margaret died in 1964.
- Location of Neu-Pasua, Austria-Hungary (70 KB)
The town in Austria-Hungary to which Leonhard Balthasar Fleiner (my 4th great-grandfather) and his family migrated from Marbach am Neckar in Baden-Wuerttemburg, Germany in 1791. The former German settlement is now called Nova Pazova in Serbia. Neu-Pasua is about 15KM NW of Belgrade. Neu-Pasua was abandoned by the German community on October 6, 1944, when the German army led the citizens on a march out of the town, fearing genocide by the Tito regime. The army directed that all the German citizens needed to leave the village within just a few hours.
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- Acknowledgements and Bibliography (16 KB)
Thanks to the individuals and organizations who provided valuable information, enabling the compilation of my family tree.
- Ongoing research in Fleiner genealogy (46 KB)
Fleiner Family History - Active Projects, including:
Wisconsin and Montana Fleiner families;
Kochertuern/Neckarsulm Fleiner families;
Hungarian/Jewish Fleiner families;
Flinner/Fleenor/Flenner families in Virginia, PA, MD, IN.
- Donauschwaben travel to Ulm to reach the Danube (5 KB)
A Google map of the journey of the Fleiners (from Marbach am Neckar) and Langs (from Benningen am Nackar) to Ulm, Germany. Many Donauschwaeben boarded barges at Ulm to travel down the Danube to the new German settlements in the area of Belgrade, Austria-Hungary.
- The steamship Friedrich der Grosse (17 KB)
Report and photo of the steamship Friedrich der Grosse (Frederick the Great). This is the ship upon which my grandparents came to the USA in 1911. It was later seized by the U.S. Navy for use as a troop transport in WWI, and renamed the Huron. After the war, it was purchased by the Los Angeles steamship company for passenger use, and renamed The City of Honolulu. This mighty ship was sunk in 1922 after a fire on board. Please click on the caption to see the photo.
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