“Coat of Arms of the Wannemacher Families”
“Entered into the Roll of Arms of Hessen”
Around 2001, Sherry Koshney Downard shared the following information on her website, A Passage in Time:
The Coat of Arms is in the Archives in Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany
(Wannemacher Family Tape 19, Booklet 6)
By Willimine Christine Wannemacher of Darmstadt
Many thanks to Brigitte Wannemacher. Without her help, it may not have been possible to secure very valuable information from the Archives in Darmstadt, any time soon.
Wappen Wannemacher 1656
Sherry’s summary of the surname origins and meanings:
WANNEMACHER
The name is an interesting one. There are many versions for the meaning of this surname. Some are included here. It has occupational origins meaning winnowing fan, fanning wheel or basket maker, also maker of vats or tubs. The name can also be traced to the word “wannen” from the stone for the pigs as troughs. The troughs were called “wannen” and the ending “macher” is equal to “maker.” Later modernized to the variations of spelling that is today. Wanamaker, Wannamaker, Wannemacher, and others. Derivative of the Latin Vannus. The name comes from High German, Low German, and Old High German dialect. The Latin word “Vannus” translated into German means “Futterschwinge” which is feeding trough in English.
She also provided information about the Coat of Arms and the Insignia Seal bestowed upon Henrich Wannemacher in 1647:
Hessische Wappenrolle 1989 – Henrich Wannemacher
Landschrieber / Furstl. Kammerrat Damstadt
It is a very important Arms, belonging to Henrich dated 1647. Henrich was a brother to my ancestor, Adam. He was a Land Surveyor, Tax Collector, similar to a Count, as well Adviser to the Emperor. He owned his own Ring Insignia Seal…
To the best of my knowledge, these images of the Arms are real, they are in written text books stored in the Archives in Darmstadt. All information was photo copied by Brigitte Wannemacher who lives near Darmstadt and sent to me as original work.
While corresponding with Sherry, we mentioned certain topics found in J. Scottowe Wannamaker’s book, The Wannamaker, Salley, Mackay, and Bellinger Families (1937), specifically:
- the presumed kinship between the different North American branches of the Wannamaker family (p.109),
- the surname itself (p.94), and
- the Coat of Arms (pgs 98-100, 109-110, 214).
Regarding the first point, we’re well on our way to proving that all Wannamakers are related, and as for the origins and derivatives of the surname, you can read J. Scottowe Wannamaker’s lengthy study of the surname on page 94. Sherry’s summary, along with other details, is noted above. This brings me to the third point.
As you see can see above, with the help of Brigitte Wannemacher, Sherry obtained copies of the Coat of Arms held in the Archives of Darmstadt. From the archives, we have the Wannemacher Coat of Arms, dated 1656, and the one dated 1647, belonging to Henrich Wannemacher. But, there is mention of two more…
In J. Scottowe Wannamaker’s book, he states that it is the “judgement of various members” (p.108) of the Wannamaker family that the North American branches descended from the “same ancestors, Wilhelm Wannemacher, granted a patent of nobility and coat of arms by the Emperor of Austria on October 19, 1555, and Peter Wannemacher, granted patent of nobility and coat of arms by Emperor of Austria on August 31, 1583.” (p.109) You can read the full description of this patent in Latin (p. 98) and in English (p. 99). Remarks are given as well (p.214), i.e., “sle[e]ves of wheat were significant of great riches and affluence.” There are other details, though, that do not seem to fit the description of the Wannemacher Coat of Arms with which we have all become familiar.
Taking this into consideration, along with the fact that nearly 60 years later, the Northeastern branches of the Wannemacher family were proven to descend from Hengin (1450) of Darmstadt, I questioned the authenticity of these two other Coats of Arms. So, in 2000, after finding the appropriate address, I sent a letter of inquiry to the “Archives of Nobility” in Austria (p.110). Here is a partial image of the response letter addressed to me and a translation of the content.
Austrian State Archives
General Administrative Archive
21 February 2000
[addresses]
Dear Mrs. Wannamaker,
Regarding your inquiry on 5 February 2000, the directorship of the General Administrative Archive permits itself to inform you that, among the relevant archival materials here, which include the granting of titles of nobility and coats-of-arms of the Habsburgs as emperors and kings of the Holy Roman Empire and as territorial princes of the Austrian hereditary lands, no persons with the names of Wilhelm and Peter Wannemacher appear.
Sincerely yours,
Dr. Gerald THEIMER
The Director of the General Administrative Archive
This response opens the door to other questions which will have be explored at another time. But, I thought now would be a more acceptable time to share this information.
Julia Wannamaker
juliawannamaker@gmail.com
Project Administrator
Family Tree DNA (FTDNA)
Wannamaker DNA Surname Project
Back to the list of questions and topics.
At the request of Julia Wannamaker translations on this page were provided by
Ginny Lewis, Ph.D., Professor of German, Northern State University,
Aberdeen, South Dakota. (July 2018)
Wannamaker Genealogy 