What's in a Name: Pomeranian names ending with "ke"

Image: Tombstone of Julius Hohnke, born in Prussia, son of Frederick Hohnke and Augusta (maiden surname unknown), at Allport cemetery, Clearfield Co., Pennsylvania. Julius and his wife, Ottilie Sunburg, had 6 known children. The youngest, Lewis H. Hohnke had one child, Lewis Campbell Hohnke, who changed the spelling of the surname to Hohnka (with a final "a"). Since the latter also buried his father and erected his tombstone, he inscribed his father's name as Hohnka. Both father and son named Lewis are buried at Philipsburg cemetery, Centre County, Pennsylvania.

Why do so many names from the former Prussian province of Pomerania (Pommern in German) end in "ke", as for example, Hohnke? Other examples are Lemke, Radtke, Gustke, Marschke, and Pranke. The Hohnke family is one of my major family lines, beginning with Frederick Hohnke, who had at least four children: Julius (see tombstone), Henrietta, Wilhelmina and Paulina. All of the children emigrated from Prussia to America in the early 1880s. Henrietta Hohnke, in particular, was my great grandmother who married Karl Streich.

Recently, I contacted the web master of a site focusing on the MARSCHKE family who were formerly from Kries Stolp, Pommern. I also have an ancestor from Kries Stolp, Pommern, but the surname is MASCH, that is without the middle "r" and without the suffix "ke". She was Johanna Masch, wife of Johann Kramp. For seveal years, I spelled her surname Marsch (with an r) until I went back to the original parish record at St. John's German Lutheran Church in Houtzdale, PA, and took a second look at the hand-written entry. Also, in the meantime, I discovered in the Mormon's International Genealogical Index (IGI) that there was a match for a Johanna Masch (without the r) which fit quite nicely into my Kramp Line and into another German immigrant family in our neighborhood, the Tuschling family. According to the IGI, Johanna Masch had a half sister Henrietta Masch who married a Ferdinand Ludwig Tuschling. Later, thanks to Rudolf Kerbitz of Wesel, Germany, I obtained a photocopy of civil birth registration for one of Johanna's daughters (Bertha J. Kramp) which confirmed that Johanna's maiden surname was "Masch". The surnames, Masch and Marschke are a close match. They are from the same locality and same time period in history, but they would even be closer if I could separate or at least have a common explanation the suffix, "ke".

Incidentally, at the Marschke Family web site, there is a pdf file of a journal and trip with pictures by "Ben" and his wife, who visited the town of Rathsdamnitz, Kries Stolp, Pommern (now in Poland). Ben partially transcribed parish records from the former Rathsdamnitz Lutheran Church (now R. Catholic) which were available in a library in Stolp city. Ben was focusing on the Marschke name but found similar spellings such as Martzke, Marzke, and Martzen, which he concluded were all probably related, perhaps as cousins. Noteworthy, were the marriage entries of several persons named Kramp in these 18th and 19th century church registers.


Above is the tombstone for Mrs. Hanna (Johanna), born Masch, wife of John (Johann) Kramp, at I.O.O.F. Cemetery, Brisbin, Clearfield County, Pennsylvania. Though barely legible, the inscription indicated Hanna died 4 June 1891. She was born 9 Oct 1945 in Kries Stolp, Pommern. Could Johanna have been related to the Marschke, Martzke, Marzke, or Martzen families who resided in the same Kries (= county in America)?

LeRoy Boelke (note suffix) in, "Pomerania, its People and its History", 1983, which I purchased from Pommerscher Verein Freistadt in Milwaukee, WI, states on page 29:

"With the Germans from the North Germany came other names from Friesland and Saxony, such as the -ke and -el endings. The -el shows up as Barthel, Wetzel, and many others. The -ke ending shows up as Lemke, Radtke, Wilke, Boehlke, and others. These name endings were of course found in northern Germany as well as in Pomerania, but because there were so many Pomeranians in Wisconsin most of these types of names came from Pomerania."

Unfortunately, Boelke did not go into any more details of WHY these names end in "ke", but as he indicated there were many Pomeranian immigrants who settled in Wisconsin- and I might add Michigan and Minnesota as well.

Regarding the roots of the names already mentioned, the following is found in, "A Dictionary of German Names, 2002, 2nd Edition, 579 pages, by Hans Bahlow, translated and revised by Edda Gentry, published by Max Kade Institute of German American Studies, Madison, WI, USA. Note that the roots of MARSCH and MASCH mean the same thing.

"Hohn (Low German)= Huhn (chicken) surname of a poultry grower or dealer. Also Hohnke, compare to Westphalia Kluckhorn (brooding hen)."

"Masch, Maschmann: Low German. Contracted from Marsch (mann) like Kasch from Karsch; compare Maschmeyer alongside Marschmeyer, from the habitation, 'Auf der Masch' (Marsch= damp, rich grazing land in lowlands near rivers and by the sea)"

"Kramp(e): probably surname of a locksmith. Compare dornagel and others. Also compare to place name Krampe in Pommern, Crampe in Brandenburg."

Vornefett "fat in the front" (I knew I would be mentioned in here someplace).

REFERENCES:

• Marschke Family web site click on "Ragtag Info"> then "Pilgrimage"> click on desired pdf file for Ben's trip to Germany: without or with pictures.
• Max Kade Institute of German American Studies
• Pommersche Verein Freistadt
• For more on German naming patterns, see Chapters 12 and 13 in Larry O. Jensens's Genealogical Handbook of German Research.