<div style="text-align: center; font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">===========================================<br>L O W L A N D S - L - 31 July 2009 - Volume 02<br style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);"><a href="mailto:lowlands@lowlands-l.net">lowlands@lowlands-l.net</a> - <a href="http://lowlands-l.net/">http://lowlands-l.net/</a></span><br style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);">
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===========================================<br></div><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">From: Pablo Degetau Sada <<a href="mailto:pdegetaus@HOTMAIL.COM">pdegetaus@HOTMAIL.COM</a>></span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Subject: LL-L "Names" 2003.04.22 (04) [E]DEGETAU</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Dear Jorge, Gabriele and Ron,</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
I’m making an investigation on Otto Degetau, uncle of Puerto Rico’s first</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
commissioner resident in Washington (Federico Degetau), and founder of the</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
family, which nowadays resides in Mexico. As far as I know, the Degetaus are</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
original of Holstein, in northern Germany (Altona, Elmshorn, etc.). At this</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
time, no family member containing the referred last name lives in Germany;</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
it simply died out. However, if you search the telephone directories, you</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
may find last names such as “Degetow” which look quite alike, and which are</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
from the same area where the Degetaus once used to live. Is it a</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
coincidence? Before reading your post, I thought that the last name might</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
had originated from a compound word, such as Dege(n): sword / tau (bright).</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
Is that as well feasible?</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
Jorge, if you may need any information in regards to Federico’s family in</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
Germany, I’d be happy to help you out. If anyone knows anything else on the</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
subject, I might as well be thankful.</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
Pablo Degetau</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">----------</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">From: R. F. Hahn <<a href="mailto:sassisch@yahoo.com">sassisch@yahoo.com</a>></span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Subject: Names</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Hi, Pablo!</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">It' my pleasure to welcome you to Lowlands-L and it's vocal minority. It's always great to have someone from Mexico in the mix.</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">I see you dug up an old LL-L in which the name Degetau is mentioned:</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://tinyurl.com/may4b5">http://tinyurl.com/may4b5</a></span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://tinyurl.com/nfqdjl">http://tinyurl.com/nfqdjl</a></span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://tinyurl.com/mqqjvp">http://tinyurl.com/mqqjvp</a></span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Interesting you mention the version Degetow, which is indeed represented in Northern Germany, and only there:</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><a href="http://www.verwandt.de/karten/absolut/degetow.html">http://www.verwandt.de/karten/absolut/degetow.html</a></span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">When you get "German" names (personal or place names) from Eastern Holstein and east of there chances are that they are of Slavic origin. In that case, trying to etymologize them from a Germanic angle is a waste of time.</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Pablo, many people, especially those outside Europe, are not aware of the fact that just about the eastern half of what is now Germany (also areas in Austria) used to be populated predominantly by people with West Slavic language and culture. Most of those in Germany were Polabs and Sorbs, and only some speakers of Sorbian remain in Lusatia, an area where Germany meets Poland and the Czech Republic.</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Polabs lived as far west as around the borders of Hamburg. In the early days, some Polabian tribes (and also Viking tribes) periodically attacked and sacked Hamburg which was used as a Christian stronghold to conquer Slavs and Vikings and make them Christians. This started pretty much right after Charlemagne and his Franks beat down the Saxons and forced them to become Christians. <br>
<br>As you have your eyes wander across a map into Holstein, especially Eastern Holstein, you find many place names that were originally Slavic, such as Eutin (< Utin), Preetz (< Poretzie < Porecie), Mözen (< Mozinke < Mocinka), Grömitz (< *Gromice) and Lübeck (< Lubice). Most places east of there used to be Slavic, also some villages on the Danish island of Fyn. As Germanic colonization progressed, Germanic-speaking settlements came to be built next to Slavic ones, and eventually Slavic ones ended up "eaten up" by Germanic ones. Germanic and Slavic cultures came to mix. Where Slavic culture predominated (especially farther east), traces of it may still be found nowadays, even though Slavic dialects became extinct and first Low Saxon and finally German took over.</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Especially since the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century, people from surrounding areas and even quite far away moved to Hamburg in search of work. Also, many went there to try their luck in seafaring. Furthermore, lots and lots of Europeans, including East Europeans, emigrated to the Americas and other overseas destinations via Hamburg. Some did not make it onto ships and got stuck in Hamburg.</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Interestingly, there seems to have been a tradition among the (Degetows >) Degetaus to move to Latin America, particularly to Mexico and Puerto Rico, where some of them became quite prominent members of society.</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">I don't know if you find this helpful at all, but at least I tried.</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Regards,</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Reinhard/Ron</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
<span style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">Seattle, USA</span><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;"><br style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif;">
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