Posted on Facebook on 31 October 2016.

This weekend I have merged my webpages with the Weis(s)enborns and the Wittenborns, as the names have the same meaning: white source.

The village Weißenborn at the spring of the stream Garte was also called Witteborn, according the travel guide of 1724 - see an earlier posting - and my ancestor Johann Martin Weisenborn, who lived in Kassel from 1748 until 1776, was born as Hans Martin Wittenborn in Veckerhagen in 1717. He was still known also as Wittenborn in 1807 when his sons claimed the money deposited by their father's brother Johannes Zacharias Wittenborn - see another earlier posting.

The Weis(s)enborns outnumber the Wittenborns by a factor 6: I have merged 1100 Wittenborns to 6500 Weis(s)enborns. Probably coincidentally the 2 villages Wittenborn are also outnumbered by a factor 6 by the 11 villages Weißenborn. The villages Wittenborn are both located in the north of Germany, see the attached map.

Half of the 1100 Wittenborns originate from the area around Bielefeld in Nordrhein-Westfalen, where one of their family members owned a farm in 1554 in the village Verl, which I have also indicated on the attached map. One of these Wittenborns is the American writer Dirk Wittenborn.

Of the other half of the Wittenborns, again about half originates from the area around Wittenborn near Galenbeck. It stands to reason to expect that they all belong to one family which took its name from this village.

Probably not coincidental is the coat of arms of the other village Wittenborn: a well made of blue and white stones. Yes, Wittenborn has to do with water.

Of the remaining Wittenborns I have not yet been able to trace back for the American Wittenborns among them where they originate from in Germany, while the German ones are all from after 1800, when migration from the countryside to the cities was in full swing. Some of these remaining Wittenborns may prove to belong to Weißenborn families when we go back in time before 1800.

The single webpage with Weißenborns and Wittenborns is available on the internet.