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The Origin and Interpretation of the Jessen Surname
An old established family of protestant landowners
descendant from Hans Thomsen born ca. 1665 in
Bondelum, the parish of Viöl, in the province
of Schleswig-Holstein. Here they owned a farmsted
346 acres in size, which was divided into two
equal parts in the year 1913. Since the men related
by marriage were unlucky farmers the original
homestead became so run down that it was forced
to be auctioned off in 1976, following in the
subsequent demolition of the buildings. The Jessen's
were recognized as one of the three largest farmers
in the village holding mayoral positions from
time to time. Among their descendants were teachers,
pharmacists, and tradesmen while others obtained
ecclesiastical positions or became civil servants.
It is likely that ancestors had settled in Bondelum
or in the surrounding areas long before 1660.
A large number of their descendants still reside
in Schleswig, while some others moved to other
Federal states or emigrated to the United States
of America and to Canada.
The family name is patronymic, composed of the given name "Jess" and of the final syllable "sen", = J E S S E N. It is a Danish name originating from southern Jutland. Due to the prevalent patronymic system, children were generally given different surnames than their parents.
In the year 1771, the patronymic system was abolished. Anyone who happened
to have the given name Jess, as well as a surname with the final syllable "sen"
was automatically named Jessen, although they bore no relation to one another.
Hans Jessen, born in 1767, was the first to use the name as a definitive surname.
His paternal ancestors were Jess Thomsen, born in 1726, Thomas Hansen, born
in 1693, and Hans Thomsen, born in ca. 1665. Jess Thomsen had two brothers:
Hans, born in 1717, from whom the name Hansen originated, who settled in the
village of Sollwitt, and Carsten, born in ca. 1722, who had a son named Claus
Carstensen, whose subsequent whereabouts were never established. Thus, the surnames
Jessen, Hansen, and Carstensen originated from these three brothers.
Schleswig was the homeland to the ancient Vikings, Cimbri, Angles, Jutes, and
Frisians. Until approximately 1252, Schleswig, north of the Eider river near
the city of Kiel to the Kongeå (the King's Stream) in present-day Denmark, was
Danish sovereign territory. After 1386, the Holstein nobility of the Schauenburger
acquired Schleswig as a Danish fief. Holstein has been a member of the German
confederation since 1815. When the Danes attempted to separate Schleswig from
Holstein in 1848 in an effort to annex with Denmark, the Schleswig wars resulted
during which Denmark conquered Schleswig-Holstein. In the renewed war of 1864,
Denmark was defeated by Prussia and Austria. Victorious Prussia annexed both
duchies in 1866, which became a Prussian province, which is part of the federal
Republic of Germany today.
Although the borders and nationalities changed over the centuries, the old
established families remained what they originally were, which was Danish. |
