[Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Guenther Boehm-Schemionek-

[Schemioneck, Nell]

Thank you all for your assistance.  I have been told previously that the name is Slavic, probably Masurian and certainly means little or son of Simeon.  Until I started this research I had never heard of Masuria but it does appear that a lot of the Schemioneck families have lived in this area (previously in East Prussia, now Poland). Although I haven't been able to confirm it, I think our ancestor came from Summowen, East Prussia (now Summowo, Poland).  I have even found mention of a village of Schemionken in the area.  

Because of the two different saints I have concentrated on derivations of Simeon rather than Simon.  So Szemionek and Siemionek.  A quick check of the internet (ok, hours and hours spent on the internet...) shows Simoneks and Shimoneks and Schimoneks and Shimaneks.  Interestingly the Simonek and Shimonek families in the US show their ancestors as coming from Bohemia.  

I had pondered the Hebrew origin of the name.  Someone once told me the name sounded Lithuanian Yiddish.  Familysearch shows a Schemionek family from East Prussia with Hewbrew-sounding first names - Samel, Daniel.  Certainly our line was Lutheran when they arrived in Australia and had solid Prussian names - Carl, Wilhelmina, Elisabeth Louisa.

I have a similar mystery with the other side of the family with the name of Nicklass.  Another name originally from the Greeks,then given to a saint, it seems to have so many variations - Nickels, Nicles, Nicolas, Nicolaus, Niclas, Nicholls...  There seem to be very few Nicklass families around now.  I know the vagaries of automatic page translations on the web but does anyone have any idea why Haus Nicklass (a hotel/restaurant mear Nurnberg) would translate as Hotel Pitchlet?

Cheers

Nell Schemioneck

-----Original Message-----
From: ger-poland-volhynia-bounces at eclipse.sggee.org [mailto:ger-poland-volhynia-bounces at eclipse.sggee.org] On Behalf Of Otto
Sent: Sunday, 23 April 2006 2:07 AM
To: Wolhynien-Liste
Subject: [Ger-Poland-Volhynia] Guenther Boehm-Schemionek-

Sei gegruesst, Guenther!

I find your 'addition' very interesting.
A good example of an old word being a powerful one. Words are metaphor, vehicles carrying meaning through time to future generations-All we need do is reinvigorate them. "Schemionek" is a fascinating surname laden with imagery.

We find we are dealing with a name Hebrew in origin (Simeon, son of Jacob and Leah, also the name of one the tribes of Israel) presently 'pasted together' using the Roman alphabet plus German and Polish parts of speech.  If the 'ek' is truly the Polish diminutive suffix indicating "little", the surname would indicate 'little Simeon'.  It leaves one wondering what the person bestowed with the surname did in the distant past to earn the surname 'little Simeon'?  Sire many  
children, enough to form a tribe? Perhaps some good Christian works?   
Nell will need to research "Simeon" to discover all of his attributes.

As many will note this etymological exercise did not establish ethnic identity. That must be left to DNA analysis with its package of surprises.  The similarities are what stand out.

Simeon
masc. proper name, from L., from Gk. Symeon, from Heb. Shim'on, lit.  
"hearkening, hearing," from shama "he heard." In Eng. O.T., usually printed as Simeon, but in N.T. almost always as Simon. Confused with Gk. masc. proper name Simon, which is from simos "snub-nosed."
---------------
Günther Böhm schrieb:
an addition:
in Polish, Simon (the original name of Petrus) is spelled Szymon or Szymek.
The Russian Semyon instead is a different saint - the orthodox Simeon.
The name SCHEMIONEK seems to derive from this Russian name which is pronounced Sjemion, and may be the result of a mixture of the Polish and Russian writing.

Guenther

Bis bald,
Richard O. Schienke
. . .  Otto

                      " The Zen moment..." wk. of March 5, 2006
                      ________________________________
                         "Remove what isn't... What is remains."






_______________________________________________
Ger-Poland-Volhynia Mailing List hosted by Society for German Genealogy in Eastern Europe http://www.sggee.org Mailing list info at http://www.sggee.org/listserv