Schechla Family History & Genealogy

Summary

The original is an old Polish
family trade name: Cieśla (pronounced chi-esh-la), meaning cabinetmaker, or joiner (German equivalent: Zimmerman). According to oral history, corroborated by documents since destroyed in a 1980s house fire, the family in North America begsn with the immigration of Józef Bartołomiej Cieśla (and spouse Tekla Knetz) from Tuchel, Prussia (now northwest Poland), after having escaped his conscription in the Prussian army. The Prussian administration had transliterated the name into German (however incorrectly) as "Chechla." Upon arrival in the US at Ellis Island, the family added an initial "S" to the Prussian transliteration, allegedly to appear more German and, thereby, fit in better with the German immigrants with whom they arrived and were placed. Having eventually settled in Tigard, Oregon, a branch of the family changed the spelling further to "Scheckla," in order to facilitate the then-habitual pronunciation (şek-la). While variations of the name Cieśla are found across Poland, the Schechla and Scheckla distortions of the original remain unique to North America, primarily in the western US states of Washington, Oregon and (northern) California.

A branch of the family living Egypt spells the name "شكلا" (in Arabic), consistent with the habitual pronunciation in USA, but is not to be confused with the Syrian family of the same name.

The Schechlas/Schecklas are also related by marriage to the families of Kosmalski Dobzyn, Wielkapolska, Poland), Błośik (Binkowo, Wielkapolska, Poland), Kotąwa (Zakopane, Poland) Sobieski, Wieszniewski, Nowak and. of course the ubiquitous Buttinskis.

History

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Name Origin

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Spellings & Pronunciations

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Nationality & Ethnicity

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Famous People named Schechla

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Early Schechlas

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