Genealogy page of the Meier-Geinitz family


That's just as start. Quite a lot of information is missing. If you have any additional information or comments or just want to ask questions, ask me by email: henning@meier-geinitz.de.

The Windhövel (or Windhoevel) name

The German phonebook lists 181 persons with the name Windhövel currently. So the name is not that common.

My grandgrandfather was Carl Windhövel, born 1879-12-25 in Dorp(Solingen)/Germany, died 1951-03-24 in Mainz/Germany. He was married to Anna Amalie von Open, born 1878-04-07 in Bochum/Germany, died 1966-06-06 in Mainz. Carl had 4 brothers, Ernst August Windhövel, born 1877-04-17, Max Windhövel, born about 1866, Emil Windhövel, born about 1889, and Otto Windhövel, born 1882-01-27 in Dorp(Solingen)/Germany, died 1960-08-20 in Mainz. Their parents were Abraham Windhövel, born 1851-07-08 in Solingen, died 1926-05-31 in Remscheid/Germany and Hulda Küllenberg, born 1855-02-19 in Pfaffenberg(Solingen)/Germany, died 1908-11-08 in Solingen.

The parents of Abraham Windhövel were Carl Reinhard Windhövel, born 1810-12-18 in Solingen, died 1872-10-17 in Solingen and Amalie Henriette Richarts, born in Solingen. Carl Reinhard Windhövels parents were Isaak Windhövel, born 1786, died 1862-02-13 and Anna Gertraud Vollbach. Isaak Windhövel's parents were probably Johann Peter Windhövel, baptised 1770-02-17 and Maria Catharina Müller

The Windhövels are deeply linked to Solingen. Even today, there is a "Windfelner Hof" (farmyard) and a "Windfelner Bach" (burn). Dorp, Pfaffenberg, and Jagenberg were small homesteads some 100 years ago and are now part of Solingen. Most members of the family took part in producing or selling (steel) hardware like knifes or scissors. Solingen is famous for its "Solinger Stahlwaren" (steel hardware from Solingen). They moved to Mainz in 1914 to establish a shop and workshop for these goods. The shop sold "Solinger Stahlwaren" until 1990.

The Geinitz name

The German phonebook lists 177 persons with the name Geinitz currently. So the name is not that common. I was told that there are about 15 in the US. I was told that the name comes from the town of Geunitz near Jena.

My grandmother was Helene Martha Geinitz, born 1904-07-02 in Gera/Germany, died 1984-09-28 in Dieburg/Germany. She had a sister (Marie Geinitz, born 1899-02-12 in Gera, died 1974-12-22 in Fürstenhagen) and a brother (Albin Geinitz, born 1901-08-21 in Gera, died 1945-4-30 somewhere in Russia). Their parents were Robert Paul Geinitz, born 1875-02-10 in Gera, died 1954-03-25 in Kassel/Germany and Hedwig Agnes Klimmer, born 1879-05-06 in Frankental(Gera)/Germany, died 1956-05-04 in Kassel. Robert Paul had about 7 siblings but I don't have any information about them. His Parents were Robert Gustav Geinitz and Christine Elise Jörk.

David Geinitz, who dosn't seem to have common ancestors with me, has a nice genealogy page about his family.

There is a Geinitzstraße (Geinitz Street) in Zwickau/Germany in the city district of Schedewitz. The name of the street was mentioned for the first time in 1936. It's inside a mining housing estate which is kown as Geinitzsiedlung (Geinitz housing estate). The name comes from Hans Bruno Geinitz, born 1814-10-16 in Altenburg, died 1900-01-28 in Dresden, a well-known geologist and mineralogist. Thanks for the information about the street to the Town of Zwickau.

There is also a Geinitzstraße in Dresden/Germany since 1901. It's named after the same Bruno Geinitz. Thanks to the City of Dresden. There is even a Bruno Geinitz award.

The Wolters name

This name is rather common in Germany, while not as common as Meier or Schmitt. Not much information on this part of the family.

My grandfather was Willi Franz Helmut Wolters, born 1908-04-04 in Bad Sachsa/Germany, died 1988-01-21 in Mainz/Germany. He had a sister: Irmgard Wolters, born about 1910, died about 1960. Their parents were August Hermann Wolters, who died in Erfurt/Germany and Wilhelmine Maria Beiermann, who also died in Erfurt.

The von Oepen name

This name is not that common in Germany, there are about 500 entries in the German phonebook, with and without the "von" and in different spellings.

My grandgrandmother was Anna Amalie von Oepen, born 1878-04-07 in Bochum/Germany, died 1966-06-06 in Mainz/Germany. She hat a brother, August von Oepen and probably a sister who died after 1951. Their parents are unknown, but the father is told to have died when he was 74 yeras old.

The children of August von Oepen were/are(?) Erna von Oepen, born about 1917, and Anni von Oepen, born 1909-06-29 (or 1910), married to Peter Stahl.

The Meier name

There are several spellings for Meier, e.g. Meyer, Maier, Mayr. It's one of most common surnames in Germany so don't expect to find your ancestors here, just because you have the same name. In medieval times, the meier was the disposer of a feud farmyard.

My grandfather was Georg Friedrich Heinrich Meier, born 1906-06-29 in Spangenberg/Germany, died 1991-03-04 in Dieburg/Germany. He had two siblings: Minna Meier, born 1912-02-04 in Kassel/Germany, died 1996-12-25 in Höchstadt a.A./Germany and Heinrich Meier, born 1909-11-09 in Spangenberg, died 1942-04-12 in B. Cholm/Russia. Their parents were Konrad Meier, born 1882-08-31 in Spangenberg, died 1962-09-28 in Kassel and Maria Elisabethe Nothnagel, born 1884-08-29 in Barchfeld, Germany, died 1964-02-19 in Merxhausen, Germany. It's unknown if they had siblings. Konrad's parents were Johann Georg Meier and Katharina Elisabeth Strube.


Last updated: 2002-12-10

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