Trefzger
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Trefzger is a German surname that belongs to a category of surnames that firstly originated as nicknames and were later assumed as hereditary surnames. The origin of this nickname is thought to lie in the Middle High German term "trefs", referring to a bramble, or a similar type of plant. One possible origin takes into account that the particular plant "trefs" referred to was nearly impossible to kill, therefore, in context of a person, a "trefs" would be someone who is very hardy and lives a long life.
Amongst early bearers of a variant of the surname Trefzger, a reference to "der (the) Trefs" of Hundgersingen near Riedlingen is dated on the year 1318. In 1389, a man by the name of Kunrad Treffesese was a church usherer in the town of Fauterbach.[1]
Trefzgers in Wehr
Most Trefzgers that have not yet emigrated to the US reside in the town of Wehr, Germany. In Wehr, the Trefzger family had a leading role in public life. Five Trefzgers were appointed ‘Vogte’, which means the old kind of landlord-mayor under the umbrella government of a King or a Duke, and later, two Trefzgers were elected ‘Burgermeister’, or mayor:
Landlord-Mayor
- Fridlin Trefzger (1699-1707)
- Josef Trefzger (1754)
- Michael Trefzger (1787-1791)
- Johann Baptist Trefzger (1806/08)
- Anton Trefzger (till 1820)
Mayor
- Johann Baptist Trefzger (1882-1884)*
- Adam Trefzger (1885-1909)