The Main Tree contains the results of my research, which began in the 1990s. This tree is identified as “*Main tree” in the database and its pages are depicted in blue as shown in the figure.
When I started my research, my focus was on the German immigrants from whom my wife and I descend.
My immigrant ancestors have the following surnames: Heuser, Bartz, von Schwerin, Textor, Barth, Bender, Iserhard, Dinger, Bencke (Behncke), Augustin, Ruppenthal, Hannauer, Klamt, Heidrich, Engel and Sanktjohanser . Most of them came from the Rhine region (Mosel and Hunsrück), but some families came from Pomerania, Mecklenburg, Bohemia and Bavaria.
As for my wife, the immigrant ancestors’ surnames are Diefenthaeler, Schmitt, Müller, Heller, Rübenich, Volkmann, Witt and Wendisch. In addition to the Rhinelanders, there are also Pomeranians and a Saxon family.
With the growth of the family and the interest in researching the ancestry of my grandchildren, families of other nations were added to the tree.
There are now two extensive branches of Swedes, ancestors of the Kreuger and Tysklind families. Among them there were some members of the Swedish nobility. As this nobility in Sweden is well documented, for some branches I could go back to the 15th century.
Further, there are several families of Portuguese origin, including many coming from the Azores. Among them, there are some descendants of Willem Kersemakere (Guilherme Silveira), * 1430 in Bruges, +1510 on São Jorge Island. Willem Kersemakere, a Flemish, is supposed to have been one of the first settlers of the Azores.
To top it off, there are some Italians and a family of Germans from the Siebenbürgen region in Romania.
In December 2020, this tree comprised 8,274 people, belonging to 2,841 families. Updated numbers can be seen on the corresponding statistics page.