Surnames / Chuck's Line
Soergel (Sörgel)
German immigrant line and the object of Chuck's genealogical obsession
Origin
- Country
- Germany
- Meaning
- German surname, nobody really knows what it means
- Arrival Era
- Pennsylvania, 1848
Known Family Members
- Georg Sörgel1693 - 1743
- Johann Georg Sörgel1720 - 1785
- Georg Sörgel1743 - 1787
- Johann Konrad Sörgel1786 - 1863
- Johann Konrad Sörgel1821 - 1888
- Philip Soergel1867 - 1923
- Roy Robert Soergel1895 - 1974
- Charles Soergel1922 - 2008
FORWARD Johann Konrad Sorgel and Walburga Sperber came to America in the summer of 1848. Soon after their arrival in the South Side of Pittsburgh, they were married. Thence began the Soergel lineage in the United States. Their sons were Heinrich, John, George, Conrad, Peter, Philip and Johann Heinrich. Their daughters were Mary, Barbara (Kletter), Helena (Hergenroeder), Susan (Cole) and Katherine (Snyder). There were 38 grandchildren, 60 great grandchildren, 146 great, great grandchildren(listed herein) and a new generation of great, great, great grandchildren well under way as of this writing. This then is their story, the tale of Johann and Walburga Sorgel, written one hundred and thirty years after their coming. Authored by Charles Soergel, 1978
A History of the Name Sorgel
Authored by Charles Soergel, 1978
The history of the Sorgel name in Germany dates back to the early sixteenth century. Unlike many other surnames, Sorgel does not translate into any current word in the German language. One genealogist traces the beginning of the surnames Sorg, Sorge, and Sorger to persons who came from the German villages of Sorge. It may be that Sorgel also originated in this manner.
The original spelling was SÖRGEL. Most German families have retained this spelling, while in America, all except one has changed to Soergel. The only known exception is William Sorgel, deceased, of Cincinnati.
For many, if not all, of the Soergel families in America and Germany, a direct lineage can be traced to the picturesque village of Kirchensittenbach (church in the valley of the brook "Sitten"). This small village lies three to four miles northwest of the town of Hersbruck, which is some 15 miles east of Nuremberg.
The protestant church there was built in 1520 and is still in use today. It serves a parish of sixteen villages. The church is constructed of thick masonry walls, with stained glass windows and three balconies. Outside it is surrounded by high stone walls with tiny openings, for in its early days, the church also served as a fortress for the parishioners.
Grave stones bearing the Sorgel name were observed in the nearby cemetery. Just across the only main street from the church stands the "Gasthaus of the White Horse", a hotel and tavern owned by Peter Sorgel, and built in 1743. In the front room of the tavern, the villagers gather to enjoy their beer, while from the rear comes a strong odor of stable.
The ancient records of this church have been preserved well. They have been photostatted, organized into family groups, and microfilmed by the Genealogical Society of the Mormon Church. The Society's files show a total of 57 Sorgel families in Bavaria from the 16th through the 19th centuries. This by no means represents all the Sorgel families living there during that span, but they do give enough families to trace a direct line to the earliest family to bear the Sorgel name. The research in this church was done by Mrs. Hildegard Schreiner Stringham of Ogden, Utah, who is a sister of the famed Alexander Schreiner, former organist of the Salt Lake City Mormon Tabernacle. Their great grandmother, Kunigunda Sorgel, was a descendant of the Sorgel's from Kirchensittenbach, making them ninth cousins of the writer.