Rotter coat of arms

Horststr. 7 21680 Stade

name                                                                         Street                 Place                 Telephone number  

Rotter Gernot Prof. Dr.Rotter Gernot Prof. Dr.     Horststr. 7 21680     Stade               04141 77 79 38         04141 77 79 38 

Rotter Gernot Prof. Dr.Rotter Gernot Prof. Dr.     Horststr. 7 21680     Stade               04141 77 79 39         04141 77 79 39 

Rotter Gernot Prof. Dr.Rotter Gernot Prof. Dr.     Horststr. 7 21680     Stade               04141 77 79 41         04141 77 79 41

 

yes, I'm back again. Unfortunately I fell sick at the end of 2003 and passed seven months in hospitals. It was exactly this time that I retired from university. Now, having recovered from sickness and official work, I'm doing my private hobbies again, one of which is, first, genealogy and, second, editing historical texts from the area my family is originating from, i.e. former austrian Upper-Silesia and northern Moravia (north-eastern part of modern Czeckia).

Please, let's reactive our contact.

 

Best greetings from winterly Hamburg (it's snowing since three deays and nights).

 

Gernot Rotter

 

Concerning genealogy I have finished about three quarters of a book under the working title "Contributions to the history of the Rotter/Rother families, vol. 1". To give you just an impression what this book is planned to contain, I translated the "Contents" into English. Here they are:

 

Contents

 

Preface – and a crucial experience

 

Chapter I

Speculations about the origin of the name Rotter/Rother.

(Note: the only difference in modern German pronounciation is that th "o" in Rotter is short like in Engl. "hot" and the "o" in Rother is long like in Engl. "more". And note: "t", "tt" and "th" are not pronounced differently.) 

 

Chapter II

The actual distribution and religious affiliation

of Rotter/Rother families.

 

Chapter III

The eldest Rotter/Rother clan known up tu now: A patrician

family in Nuernberg (Franconia) from the 12^th to the 14^th century.

 

Chapter IV

An old Rotter family in the region of Swabia

at the end of the 14 ^th century.

 

Chapter V

Rotter/Rother in Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia

from the 14 ^th to the 16 ^th century.

 

Chapter VI

Kinship group as historical microcosm. Example:

The spread of the Rotter families in the parish of Pitarn (Moravian

enclave of Hotzenplotz in Upper Silesia) from abt. 1600 up to 1800.

 

Chapter VII

Families become clans – settled Rotter families in the last

200 years. Example: Johann Rotter of Roewersdorf and his descendants.

 

Chapter VIII

Rotter families emigrate within Europe: Julia and Julius Rotter

leave Girsig (Moravia) to Sweden in 1805.

 

Chapter IX

The great exodus - Rotter in the USA. Example: Benedict Rotter from

Habelschwerth (Glatz country in Upper Silesia) and his descendants in Oregon.

 

Chapter X

“Trees have roots – Jews have legs.“  The problem to record jewish

Rotter genealogically.

 

Epilogue and outlook

 

Appendix: Family trees

 

Bibliography

 

So far the Contents of the book as I put them down six months ago. In the meantime there are some minor changes especially in the chapters VIII to X, since I'm waiting for contributions of certain families from abroad. And, also in the meantime, I found a farmers-family in Franconia which may originate from the eldest Rotter family so far known from Nuernberg (described in chapter III). But what about you? As far as I know, you are by far the most active researcher of the Rotter(and alle the different spellings)-tribes in the States. I would appreciate it very much if you could contribute a chapter on your emigrating family and of the change of their name in the course of time while living in the States. Up to now I've only written a short note (in Chapter I) on your first emigrant/immigrant taking his signing of the immigration document that you put into the internet. As you may see from the contents I'm seeing genealogy always in the frame of history. Therefore, I'm always looking for the historical background and circumstances why - as in your case - people left Europe for the States, how did they reach the harbor, where they wanted to embark, which was their ship, do we have pictures (paintings) of the ship, who were the other travelers, do we still have the embarkation lists here in Europe for instance in Hamburg, Bremen or Rotterdam? And so on.

 

Please, let's reactive our contact.

 

Best greetings from winterly Hamburg (it's snowing since three days and nights).

 

Gernot Rotter