Sassmen Family History & Genealogy

History

Sassman is a local name from the German region of Westphalia. Local names and other types of hereditary surnames began to be used in Germany after the 12th century. They were derived from the name of the place where the original bearer of the name lived. Sometimes local names bear the prefix "von", meaning "of" or "from". This was originally an indication of land-ownership, and was sometimes a mark of aristocracy. The family originally lived in Saxony. The original bearer of the name Sassman was a person that was born or that had lived in the region of Lower (northern) Saxony, which is essentially the modern German state named Saxony. This name would have been given to the original bearer of the name after they had migrated from Lower Saxony to another region of Germany, namely Westphalia. The Saxons, who were a Germanic tribe, dwelled in northern Germany and along the Baltic coast during the Roman era. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Saxons migrated south and west. By the 5th century, the Saxon and Angle tribes held most of England. The Saxon language became one of the precursors of the English language.
Early Origins of the Sassman family

The surname Sassman was first found in Westphalia, where this family name became a prominent contributor to the development of the district from ancient times. Always prominent in social affairs, the name became an integral part of that turbulent region as it emerged to form alliances with other families within the Feudal System and the nation.

Sassman Spelling Variations

Many cultural groups lived in the German states in medieval times. Each had its own dialect and traditions, and unique variations of popular names. Low German, which is similar to contemporary Dutch, was spoken in Westphalia. German names are characterized by additions such as regional suffixes and phrases that tell something about the origin or background of its original bearer. Further contributing to the variation in German names was the fact that there were no spelling rules in medieval times: scribes recorded names according to their sound. The recorded spelling variations of Sassman include Sasse, Sass, Sasser, Sase, Saser, Sassen, Sasen, Zasse, Zasser and many more.



Migration of the Sassman family to the New World and Oceana

After 1650, thousands of German settlers came to North America to escape the religious persecution and poverty that wracked Europe and to make the most of the opportunity to own their own land in a new country. They settled across the United States in Pennsylvania, Texas, New York, Illinois, Indiana and California, and in Canada in Ontario and on the fertile plains of the prairie provinces. Among them: Heinrich Sasse and Erdmann Sasse, both of whom came to Canada with the Empire loyalists in 1783. Johann Sass arrived in Texas in 1855; as did August Sasse, Dorethea Sasse, and Heinrich Sasse..

Name Origin

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Spellings & Pronunciations

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Nationality & Ethnicity

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Famous People named Sassmen

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Early Sassmens

These are the earliest records we have of the Sassmen family.