[updated 22 December 2000]

I am researching the family name ZAENGER, apparently originally from Erlenbach im 
Simmental (i.e., the "Erlenbach" in the (Nieder) Simme river valley; there is another 
Erlenbach in Switzerland, in Canton Zürich), Canton Bern, Switzerland.  Michael 
ZENGER, baptised in Erlenbach on 11 January 1667 was the youngest of eight children 
born to Peter ZENGER and Madlena BÄLER. He apparently emigrated to Wangen, 
Alsace sometime around 1690 - Alsace in general had been widely depopulated by the 
devastation of the Thirty Years War, and there was significant emigration from 
Switzerland to this area of Europe. The first appearence of the ZAENGER surname in 
(what eventually became part of) France is the marriage document from the Wangen 
churchbook of Michael ZENGER to Maria KAEMPF in September 1697.

ZAENGER line -

The earliest records from the Erlenbach churchbooks begin in 1590. The ZAENGER 
surname is spelled interchangeably as either ZENGER or ZÄNGER. 

I have confirmed family relationships for Peter ZENGER and Madlena BÄLER and their 
eight children, as well as for Peter's father Anthoni ZENGER and wife Verena GOTTI 
(GOTTGI?) and their four sons. Unfortunately, the early marriage records from the 
Erlenbach churchbooks only list the bride, groom and witnesses - no parents are 
mentioned. Therefore I have had to make educated guesses as to the various marital 
relationships that branch out from this family line. Hence the parental relationships for 
some of the Swiss descendent lines from Anthoni ZENGER and Verena GOTTI may have 
to be revised as additional information is obtained. The data given here is my current best 
"working model".

Researchers of the ZENGER surname will also note that there are several other 
concentrations (i.e. apparent sources) of this surname in Switzerland, especially in the 
Berner Oberland. There is a significant grouping just a little south and east in the area 
around Interlaken and Meiringen. I do not yet have any data to show that the any of these 
other surname groups are related the the Erlenbach ZENGER's. Interestingly, the 
ZENGER name becomes very rare in the Erlenbach church records between about 1700-
1750. However, there are references to ZENGER's from Erlenbach in northern Bern and 
Neuchâtel, around Courtelary, Cormoret, Lignières and La Chaux de Fonds. A bare thread 
of evidence seems to indicate that these are descendents of Niclaus ZENGER, who, for 
the sake of argument, I have deduced to be one of the older sons of Anthoni ZENGER. 

Peter ZENGER was baptised in Erlenbach on 24 Aug 1617, and married to Madlena 
BÄLER on 14 July 1651. This marriage record is a little unclear, since the groom's name 
is listed as "Peter ZENG", however it is only after this date that the children of Peter 
ZENGER and Madlena BÄLER are listed in the Erlenbach churchbook. The marriage of 
Anthoni ZENGER and Verena GOTTI is not recorded in Erlenbach, but probably occured 
about 1600. Therfore, they were probably born about 1570-1580.

Although I can't be certain, it is not hard to imagine that as the youngest of Peter 
ZENGER's children, Michael ZENGER felt some pressure to leave home to seek his 
future elsewhere. He settled in Wangen, Alsace, and was listed in records there as being a 
linenweaver. A number of his descendents there also seemed to have taken up this trade.

The first two generations of ZAENGER's in Wangen are listed in the Lutheran 
churchbook as being of the "Reformed" faith, though they subsequently seemed to absorb 
into the local Lutheran church. [It is interesting to note that Erlenbach im Simmental was 
also the birthplace of Jacob Amman (in 1644), the founder of the Amish (Mennonite) 
tradition.] At any rate, although the baptismal and death registers for Wangen for the 
period about 1695-1790 no longer exist, it is still possible to track many of these 
relationships by the marriage records alone, which in the Wangen churchbook often also 
list the father and the mother with her maiden name.

The primary American immigrant ancestor (although there were a number of others) was 
Christian ZAENGER, who arrived in New York at age 19 from Wangen, Bas-Rhin 
(Alsace), via Le Havre, on 23 September 1854 aboard the ship "Rotundo". He traveled to 
Wood Co., Ohio, where several other family members (and other former Wangen 
residents) had settled. He served in the 37th Ohio Volunteer Infantry during the Civil War, 
then married Sophia WALTERS in 1865 and settled in Perrysburg, OH; a housepainter by 
trade.

I have also discovered a number of other ZAENGER relations who had spread out from 
Alsace into southern Pfalz, mostly in Minderslachen, a small village near Kandel. Several 
of these descendents emigrated to America via other ports, especially New Orleans, 
around 1840-1850, settling in St Clair Co., IL, Dearborn Co., IN, and Hamilton Co., OH.

McKEE line -

The oldest son of Christian and Sophia, John Christian ZAENGER, b. 1865, married 
Emma A. McKEE in Findlay, Hancock Co., Ohio, on 13 October 1887. I am also 
researching this McKEE line back through its roots in Beaver and Butler Counties in 
western Pennsylvania, and earlier connections to the Tuscorora and Cumberland valleys. 
This line is apparently from County Down, Ireland, and part of the significant Scots-Irish 
immigration that occurred from there in the early 1700's.

BUSSE line - 

My maternal lines stem from the marriage of Alvin C. BUSSE to Ellen Marie POPE on 14 
September 1921. The BUSSE family came from Genthin, Prussia in 1868, settling first in 
La Salle Co., IL, then Pottwattomie Co., IA. Alvin's father Albert BUSSE married 
Amanda LEADERS (LUEDERS) in La Salle Co. on 1 February 1878. Albert took up 
farming in Murray Co., MN in the 1890's.

POPE line -

(Ellen) Marie POPE is descended from the "New Hampshire" branch of the Dorchester 
(Massachusetts) POPE family. However, there is some dispute as to the actual origin of 
the immigrant "John POPE" who founded this family. Was it the John POPE, Sr. 
mentioned in Charles Henry Pope's "History of the Dorchester Pope Family", who arrived 
(possibly) from Dorset in 1633, or was it the John Pope who came to Dorchester (from 
Kent) as the "servant" of Nicolas Butler in 1635? The data are unclear, and the records are 
few, so this is an active area of research. It is certain that one branch of this John POPE's 
descendents was in Hillsboro Co., NH in the mid-1700's. Later Thomas POPE settled in 
Orange Co., VT about 1800, in the town of Washington. After Thomas and his wife died, 
one son named Ralph POPE moved "out west" to Wabasha Co., MN about 1860.

Surnames:
ZAENGER line:	ZAENGER, CONOLD, MCKEE, WALTER(S), HIRTZEL, 	
			PETER, JUNG, FEUER, KAEMPF, TREUSCHEL, 		
			PROPHETER, FRASIER, DUNBAR
BUSSE line: 		BUSSE, BUCH, LEADERS (LUEDERS), POPE, HOWARD, 	
			BOATMAN, KRUSEMARK, RICHARDSON, JONES, CLARK, 	
			AUSTIN, DOWNING, MERRIFIELD, WINZER, BLEICH

Research areas of related lines:
ZAENGER : Switzerland > Alsace (France), Pfalz (Germany) > OH, IL, IN
BUSSE : Prussia > IL > IA > MN
WALTERS : Baden > OH
LEADERS (LUEDERS) : Hannover > IL > IA > NE
POPE : England > MA > NH > VT > MN > WI

In Swiss Cantons: Bern, Neuchâtel

In French Departments: Bas-Rhin, Meuse, Moselle

In U.S. Counties:
IA: Pottawattamie, Cass
IN: Dearborn, Delaware, Posey
IL: La Salle, St. Clair
MA: Suffolk, Norfolk, Essex
MN: Murray, Kanabec, Wabasha, Winona, Nobles, St. Louis
NE: Sarpy
NH: Rockingham, Hillsboro, Merrimack
OH: Wood, Lucas, Henry, Hancock, Seneca, Hamilton
PA: Beaver, Butler, Westmoreland, Mifflin
VT: Orange
WI: Jackson, Douglas
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