Speiser Family
Latest Updates to On-line Family History
Updates News Other Researchers Wish List
27/Mar/2008 - Added some updates on the descendants of Hilda Speiser Dunn.
13/Mar/2008 - Added a few new pictures for the Speisers, and one of Charles & Mary Merz to the Merz Pictures. Updated the family information.
13/Apr/2007 - Additions to descendants of Hugo thanks to cousin David Speiser. See the Immediate Family page for the full Speiser book - abt 1550 to today.
23/Sept/2006 - More on the descendants of Henry Speiser in NJ; Much added for Hugo Speiser including first wife and daughter from first marriage. Possible that sons Edward & Arthur were adopted. Death date for Adolf Boerschel.
6/Apr/2006 - Some more information on the descendants of Henry Speiser in NJ.
Mar/13/2006 - A new generation added to the Speisers in Germany. Our oldest ancestor is Blasius Speiser of Notzingen. The Speisers in Germany page has been updated.
Dec/7/2005 - Speiser & Merz in America book updated. New information on descendants of Charles Merz & Henry Speiser (son of Henry David Speiser). Also, assorted family information from letters Lydia Speiser Reuther wrote to son Cal Reuther.
Dec/6/2005 - A few Speiser and Merz pictures added. The Speisers and Merz's have been updated on the main Speiser page.
Jan/26/2005 - Updated Merz family in Germany for Johannes Börschl & Christine Zanker. Updated Speiser family in Germany for the grandchildren of Johannes Speiser & Elisabeths Esenwein. Main Speiser page updated - Cousin Kim Reinhard added lots of information to the Becker family, and cousin Ginny Broch added to the Brochs and Henry Speiser's children Hugo & Henry from his first wife Sophie Eisenhardt. Speiser & Merz in America book re-published.
Jan/6/2005 - Added genealogy reports (pdf format) to the Speiser and Merz families of Germany. Also adjusted the display so the web pages will print better (hopefully). Sorry for the wrapping of the text but that is what happens when you have so many generations.
Dec/22-24/2004 - Just some spelling, etc, corrections. The Speiser-Merz book has been re-published. This book is now a history of the two families in America. The German ancestors are not included in the book.
Dec/19/2004 - Updated the Speiser family in Germany. We now can trace the Speisers back to the early 1600's. Also updated the Merz/Boerschel pictures.
Dec/17/2004 - Making the Springerle Christmas cookies added. At least 4 generations have made these cookies. More information on the Merz family (Charles Merz's descendants) in America added to the main page. Coming soon - Speiser's in Germany back to the early 1600's.
Dec/4/2004 - Corrected my genealogy program for how it handles the Julian & Gregorian calendar dates & corrected the dates on the German Merz family page. Added a page for the Speiser family in Germany. The Speiser book has NOT been updated.
Dec/4/2004 - Added the German Merz family of Gruibingen on a separate page. We go back 10 generations from me.
Nov/18/2004 - Corrected the spelling for Elizabeth Esenwein Speiser. (I had it as Eisewein.)
Nov/16/2004 - We now have information on the Merz family back to Hans Mertz born about 1590. Email me if you are interested in this information. I have also updated the main Family page with additional information on the branch of the Merz family that immigrated to the US. And updated the "book" which is also limited to the US branch of the family. Also check the Merz/Boerschel picture page for a link to a picture of the town of Gruibingen.
Oct/26/2004 - Good News! Pictures added for both the Speiser & Merz/Boerschel families. Based on recent research received from Germany, I have updated the Speiser and Merz information on the main page and re-published the "book".
Oct/16/2004 - I have been working on determining where the Speisers were from in Germany since I knew the spellings as handed down were suspect. Thanks to my own research and Robert T on Rootsweb, I have updated the German towns to accurately reflect where these places are today. The "book" is republished. I continue to do census, etc., research, and it looks like Henry Speiser bought his saloon from his wife Babette's half-sister Anna Habann's husband Christopher Becker in 1890-91. Babette Merz Speiser's mother Babette and her husband John Straub lived with the Beckers.
Oct/1/2004 - Charles Merz finally found on the census. Immigration for Sophie Eisenhardt Speiser and children (they immigrated after Henry). Spelling for the elder and younger Babette changed from Mertz to Merz. The census for Charles Merz was consistently without the "t", and a re-examination of the Speiser bible shows the spelling as "Merz".
Aug/28/2004 - No new data - just a few changes to the main page.
Aug/17/2004 - New information found on the census for uncle Henry Speiser (1874-1939). He had an earlier marriage with daughters that we (I) did not know about. Information for aunt Margaret Speiser and her daughters has been included. Tree updated on main page and Speiser book re-published.
Jul/2/2004 - Information added on the family of Rein Speiser. More to come from Ginger and her family. Main family page re-designed.
15/Jun/2008- I have heard from cousin Hans Böhringer in Austria who is helping fill in more information on the Speiser family that remained in Germany.
13/Apr/2007- I have heard from cousin David Speiser and he is helping with the descendants of Uncle Hugo.
Jan/5/2005 - I have made contact with a descendent of Chris Becker and Anna Straub, so more information is coming on them.
Nov/1/2004 - Additional information on the Merz family, especially the ones that immigrated to the US.
Oct/26/2004 - A German researcher (who we hope turns out to be our cousin) has passed along some research on great-grandmother Babette Speiser and her mother - so we have her correct birth name, her father, her mother's correct birth name, and her brother's and sister's correct birth names (and dates). We know for sure that gg-grandmother Babette (the elder Babette) had four children out of wedlock and was pregnant with her fifth child when she married Johannes Straub, 9 years her junior. The elder Babette, Johannes Straub, and her three children who survived childhood all immigrated. More information will come on this family. Right now I am leaving them on the Speiser web page, but will probably move them later.
Speiser -
Contact with the Dunn & Goneau families, descendants of Henry Eugene Speiser and his first wife Margaret. Henry and Margaret's daughters were Hilda, wife of James Dunn, and Sophie, wife of George Goneau.