Kauffman Ancestry

"The three principal regions from which Pennsylvania Germans came are Switzerland, Wurttemberg, and the Palatinate. This part of Europe was settled by two ethnical groups, more or less closely allied. Wurttemberg and Switzerland were largely Allemannic, while the Palatinate was Frankish with strong infusion of Allemannish. They were among the German tribes who broke the power of Rome. This section of Europe was inhabited prior to the coming of these Germanic tribes by the Helvetii, a Celtic speaking people who had been reduced to submission by the Romans. Out of the blending of the Allemanni and Helvetii, our ancestry sprang. The Allemanni being the more dominant people imposed the German speech on the country as English in United States crowds out other languages. The name Kauffman is German and means a trader or merchant. ... It is likely that the first bearers of the name belonged to the merchant or trader guild" (p. vii of A Genealogy and History of the Kauffman-Coffman Families of North America 1584 to 1937, compiled by Charles F. Kauffman).

"The Kauffmans may boast of ten or more coats of arms. This fact tells that there are as many different families. That family distinction was won before the surname Kauffman was given, and in the course of time it used the coat of arms less and less, forgetting the memory of owning a family emblem. Thus with at least ten coats of arms known to exist, and the data in hand, it is not possible at present to say definitely which one our ancestor possessed. To assist future inquiry of those interested, a few copies are illustrated, and brief descriptions follow. ... (3) Basel, Switzerland, is given with a silver shield having a red band. Above the red band are three golden six-pointed stars. Below the red band are figure 4's backed and joined in black (see Riestrap) . ... (5) Baden gives one with a red shield having a golden colored lion (see Riestrap)" (p. ix of A Genealogy and History of the Kauffman-Coffman Families of North America 1584 to 1937, compiled by Charles F. Kauffman). James "Jamie" Arthur Johnson's note: I focus on Bassel and Baden since the ancestor was from Baden, which awas in proximity to Bassel.