Battefeld - the surname

Sometimes one sees the name spelled Battenfeld. The Battefeld families in Germany were concentrated in Westphalia, Prussia, around Bochum, Sprockhoevel, Weiderhausen, Hattingen, Elsey, Harpen, Iserlohn, Plettenberg, Meinerzhagen, Herbede, Oestrich Iserlohn. There were also a few families in the Rheinland, Prussia and in Baden and Hessen. The word Feld means field (land). Our family was in the Alsace-Lorraine province of Prussia and in the St. Louis Missouri area.

One origin of the surname comes from the small village "Battenfeld" in northern Hesse (a state within Germany) which was first known about 1200 years ago at the battle of "baddanfeldun und Laisa", where Saxonians fought against Franken. Today Battenfeld is a part of the greater village "Allendorf" (see: http://www.hessennet.de/allendorf-eder/).

Many people with the name "Battefeld" in Germany come from a small village near by Battenfeld, called "Viermuenden", today a part of the town of Frankenberg. As the people of Viermuenden were rather poor many of them walked to the Rhineland in Winter to work there in industries - and many stayed there. One of these Battefelds from Viermuenden moved to a small mill in the Kellerwald-Area called Lengelmuehle (www.lengelmuehle.de) and his grandson also was a "Johann Heinrich" Battefeld! This combination of names can be found very often.

I wish to thank Klaus Battefeld for most of the above information on the surname.

The (-2G) etc. ID after the names tell how many generations back from Erven Thoma and his siblings. Names in bold-face have their own web pages.

John Henry (Johann Heinrich) Battefeld (William's brother) had a son named Raymond John Battefeld (-2G) who had a son named Raymond Robert Battefeld (-1G). John Henry appears in the 1920 Census as a 44 year old, living on Morgan Ford Rd. in St.Louis County. In the 1899 St. Louis Directory we see John Henry and Adam Battefeld living at 4332 Tholozan. John Henry may be one person, not two. He is a laborer in 1899 and Adam is a marble worker.