Bals, Balz & Baltz
The History of the Family of Henry & Elizabeth Bals of Nebraska
From information compiled and edited by Gene Bals ©2004
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The History of the Family of Henry & Elizabeth Bals of Nebraska From information compiled and edited by Gene Bals ©2004
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OVERVIEW SITE MAP BALS NAME ANCESTORS FAMILY RICKERT HENRY & ELIZABETH IN
NEBRASKA Ferdinand SCHMERLECKE LUSEBRINK LOWER-SAXON
BAUERNHAUSES SOURCES
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The Name In 1975, Franz Josef Bals of Lusebrink farm told me that the name “Bals” had a meaning in old German having to do with “the mating dance of birds”. Some time later, I found the word “Baltz” in a dictionary of Old English & Saxon language in the Texas Tech University library. It gave the meaning as “The mating dance of a Partridge” which certainly confirmed Franz Josef’s information. If one refers to Webster’s New World German Dictionary, Balz is defined as a “courtship display” or a “mating season”. If one substitutes a “W” for the “B” you have the word “waltz”, which may had the same source. The history of the farm Lusebrink notes that “The spelling is known to have been different at various times during the last centuries" This has been demonstrated for the name ‘Bals’ which could be written with “tz”, “z”, or “s”. The first record of the name associated with the farm Lusebrink was an appraisal record in about 1566 noting that a Baltz Thies paid a tax of 4 Guilders. This Baltz Thies was a descendent of a Heinrich Thies (or TheyB, or Thyas”) who received one half of the farm upon the death of the owner, a Thonyes de Wellige sometime after 1500, and is recognized as the original ancestor of the Bals-Lusebrink family. The origin of German family names was often the place of residence. Prior to the sixteenth century, it was not common for a German to bear the same name as his father. This is most likely why we see the name Baltz Thies in 1566. The text "Benninghausen Beitrage zur Ortsgeschichte" (Benninghausen's Contribution to Local History) provides the information that a Hynrik Thyas had possession of the the farm in 1339. This Thyas (also Thies or Theyβ) name likely was still associated with the farm in 1566. This same entry notes that after 1500 the farm was known as "Balshof". From this accumulated information, we can construct the scenario, with reasonable certainty, that the Baltz Thies of 1566 was somehow associated with the farm that still carried the Thies (Thyas) name, but shortly after receiving this one-half of the farm, that portion of the farm became the "Balshof" (more likely Baltzhof) and all descendents of the family after that time bore the name Baltz, Balz, or Bals. (See the Lusebrink Farm page on this website for related information.) In John C. Theibault's work, German Villages in Crisis, documenting the effects of the Thirty Years War (1580 - 1720) on German villages, the name Baltzer, Balzer, and Balsser appear as first names in the village records of the Hesse-Kassel region. This region is in Thuringa, but only about 60 Km from the Lusebrink Farm area, so it can be assumed that some version of the name was common in the region. This may also lend credence to the opinion that these names were a shortened version of "Balthasar", one of the biblical Three Wise Men. The name Balthazar was also common in the nearby Baltic regions. The first record of the family name we find in the St. Cyriakus of Hörn-Millinghausen churchbook is the baptism of Tonnies, son of Jürgen Baltz, on the 29 May, 1650.. (See a copy of this document on the page for Jűrgen on this website.) The Bloodlines of the Bals Farm – Lusebrink of Schmerlecke notes that Johannes Heinrichs Balz (1768-1816) “…also spelled his name with a “tz” – Baltz”. This record also notes that Joseph Balz (Franz Ferdinand Joseph Balz)(1855 – 1930) married his second wife, Theresia Koch-Schulte in 1897 and “After the wedding and in the later years of the 1890’s he spells his name with an “s” – Bals”. This Joseph was the brother of Henry and Ferdinand who immigrated to the United States. They apparently changed the spelling at the time of immigration. The name Bals also occurs in Norway and is fairly common among the Lapps, the migratory people that inhabit the artic circle region of Finland, Norway, and Sweden. This would seem to confirm the theory that the name has its origins in ancient Saxon times.
Cattle die, and kinsman die |
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This website was created by Gene Bals on September 13, 2004. |