View source for Bauer (Bower, Bowers, Boer, and de Boer) family

Bauer, a Mennonite family name which originated in [[Switzerland|Switzerland]], can be traced back to the 16th century. During the 18th-century persecution, families bearing this name migrated to the [[p3594.html|Palatinate]], Holland and [[North America|North America]]. Among the Swiss Mennonites who settled at [[Hoogezand-Sappemeer (Groningen, Netherlands)|Sappemeer]], [[Groningen (Netherlands)|Groningen]] in 1711 was the [[Bauer, Hans (1670?-before 1751)|Hans Bauer family]]. Here his descendants changed the name to Boer and de Boer.

Another [[Bauer, Hans (d. 1749)|Hans Bauer]] migrated from Switzerland to North America in 1717 and settled near [[Bally (Pennsylvania, USA)|Bally]] in what is now [[Berks County (Pennsylvania, USA)|Berks County]], [[Pennsylvania (USA)|Pennsylvania]]. This family later spread to other states including [[Virginia (USA)|Virginia]] and [[Indiana (USA)|Indiana]]. The name has occurred most frequently among Mennonites of the [[Franconia Mennonite Conference (Mennonite Church USA)|Franconia Conference]] in [[Pennsylvania (USA)|Pennsylvania]]. Prominent was Henry S. Bower (1836-1908) of [[Chester County (Pennsylvania, USA)|Chester County]], Pennsylvania, who was ordained as Mennonite minister on 30 November 1865 and was the author of a family history entitled A <em>Genealogical Record of the Descendants of Hans Bauer </em>(Harleysville, Pa., 1897). Among the outstanding Dutch bearers of the name was M. G. de Boer (Baur) born in Groningen (1867), who was professor of history at the [[Amsterdam, University of (Amsterdam, Netherlands)|University of Amsterdam]] and editor of <em>Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis. </em>He related his findings in genealogical research in the article, "Vom Thunersee zum Sappemeer; Ein Täufer- und Auswandererschicksal aus drei Jahrhunderten," in <em>Berner Zeitschrift für Geschichte und Heimatkunde </em>(No. 1, 1947).

See also [[Boer family|Boer family]]
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[[Category:Family Names]]