JOHANNES JACOB BOSSINGER AND HIS DESCENDANTS: History of the Basinger Family of Rowan County, NC

During the Middle Ages in the early 1400's, Ulrich B?ssinger was practising as a goldsmith in Prittriching, a small town in Bavaria, and in 1430, his son, Franz B?ssinger, also a goldsmith, was appointed Master of the Mint (Munzmeister) in Augsburg, Bavaria, later moving to Schwaz in the Tyrol, where he died in 1441. At first the coat of arms was a practical matter which served a function on the battlefield and in tournaments. With his helmet covering his face, and armour encasing the knight from head to foot, the only means of identification for his followers, was the insignia painted on his shield and embroidered on his surcoat, the draped and flowing garment worn over the armour. Many of the modern family names throughout Europe reflect the profession or occupation of their forbears in the Middle Ages and derive from the position held by their ancestors in the village, noble household or religious community in which they lived and worked. The addition of their profession to their birth name made it easier to identify individual tradesmen and craftsmen. As generations passed and families moved around, so the original identifying names developed into the corrupted but simpler versions that we recognise today. Over the centuries, most people in Europe have accepted their surname as a fact of life, as irrevocable as an act of God. However much the individual may have liked or disliked the surname, they were stuck with it, and people rarely changed them by personal choice. A more common form of variation was in fact involuntary, when an official change was made, in other words, a clerical error. The eagle depicted in the arms is emblematical of fortitude and magnanimity of mind. The Romans used the figure of an eagle for their ensign, and their example has been often followed. It is the device of Russia, Austria, Germany and the United States of America. However, the Rowan County Basingers are traced back to Switzerland and this book is about their lineage and stories.