Heinrich Hiestand

  Noted events in his life were:

• Surname Spelling. ^709,710 The name HIESTAND orginated in only one place, on Richterswilerberg, between the banks of Bibetsee (now Hüttnersee or Lake Hutten) and the Sihl River at or near the meadow called Blegi. The earliest known documented use was in 1401.

Our name comes from the Swiss dialect of the Lake Zurich region. The meaning of the name HIESTAND is derived from "hier stehen" and literally means "here stood." Ask any Swiss from Canton Zurich what Hiestand means and they will say it is obvious "hiersteht."

"In the following compounds hier- is nowdays normal in North Germany, hie- is archaic. In the South of Germany and Austria hie is still common, being in fact preferred where the sound component commences with a consonant, e.g. hie -gegen." (The New Cassel's German Dictionary). STAND is the past participle of STEHEN which means to stand. Therefore STAND in German means STOOD in English. That along with the above information gives the meaning of our name: hie stand = here stood. This definition was confirmed to me by many Hiestands and archivists in Switzerland and Germany. Their concept of the meaning was expressed to me as: HIESTAND = Here stood I as in I stood my ground (perhaps in battle during the 14th century). Standhaft = Steadfast; Ständig = permanent, fixed; Anständig = decent, proper, respectable; Beständig = steady, stable, constant. Though it probably really just means stubborn! Hie stand i u' hie bin i also Hiestand heiß i. Here I stood and here I am therefore I'm called Hiestand.

I believe STEADFAST is the best one word translation of our name. It would also make a good motto or STAND-FAST! The definition best describes what a native from the Alemannic dialect speaking areas (Switzerland, Alsace, Baden, Württemberg, Voralberg) perceives when he sees or hears the name HIESTAND. Germans outside these areas do not recognize our name and usually can not spell or pronounce it. Just like in America!

"Steadfast 1. Fixed or unchanging; steady. 2. Firmly loyal or constant; unswerving. Synonyms see faithful. [Old English stedefæst, fixed in one place: stede, place, STEAD+ fæst, fixed, FAST]" (The American Heritage Dictonary) The meaning of our name is exemplified in our coats of arms. In Zurich, a man standing on a piece of ground in a fighting stance with his arms raised and fists clenched (standing his ground). In Schwyz, an anchor, which keeps something "fixed in one place" or anchored, on a blue background. This represents the new location of this line on the shores of Lake Zurich in the Vorderhof of Freienbach-Pfäffikon having come down from the mountain at Richterswil after the Reformation and steadfastly remaining Catholic. Anchored in their faith. FAITHFUL. Also a good motto for our family. There are several other family coats-of-arms.

Our name is however very ironic considering how widely the family has spread throughout the world, especially the constent migration in America. We never seem to stay "fixed in one place." Here I stood and here I stood, and here I stood...

• Surname History: Richtersweil, zurich, Switzerland. By 1130 A noble family (Freien = Barons) owned Wädenswil. Known as the barony or lordship (Herrschaft) of Wädenswil including the present-day parishes of Richterswil, part of Wollerau, Hütten, Wädenswil, Schönenberg, part of Hirzel and Uetikon across Lake Zurich. The neighboring lands at this time were owned by Fraumünster (Zurich Abbey) present-day Horgen, and the Höfe (Fief estates) in Canton Schwyz by Einsiedeln Abbey.

The surrounding lands were then owned by the Counts von Habsburg (Lower Aargau, Zürichgau, part of Zug i.e. Menzingen bordering Herrschaft Wädenswil), Counts von Lenzburg (Upper Aargau, city of Zug and vicinity) Counts von Rapperswil, Counts von Toggenburg, and Counts von Kyburg (part of Zürichgau and Thurgau).

The Parish of Richterswil-(Hütten)-Wollerau, St. Martins Church, extended to the Krebsbach or Scheidbach which starts near Lölismühli (Neumühle) and Itlimoos at the bottom of Hüttnersee and runs down to Lake Zurich just East of the village of Wollerau. This was known as the Wollerau Zehnte (tithe) that included the Erlenallmende (Erlen Commons) which stradled the Zurich/Schwyz border and the Hafengüter (Harbor estates) on the lake.

In 1401, the former lands of the Barons von Wädenswil were divided into four basic groups:

1) It appears the Hiestands were "Gotteshausleute" (people of God's house; i.e. living on land donated to the church and under its jurisdiction) a.k.a. Regler or Wachszinsgen (thosed taxed on what they grew? or paid with what they grew?) and not serfs of the Knights of St. John. Also on this tax roll for Wacht Linden under Herrschaft Wädenswil were:

2) Herrschaftsleute die Eigenleute (serfs) formerly of the barons von Wädenswil now the Knights of St. John. 3) Vogteileute "die Alten Leute" (the Old People; the original people under the Barons of Wädenswil) now under the Lords of Hünenberg: Hartmann von Hünenbergsleute. This included the area near Au and the Dorf Wädenswil. Götz von Hünenberg. Included part of Hütten. 4) "der Dritteil" ("the Third Part" of the Vogtei/fiefdom owned by the Abbey Einsiedlen. This included most of present-day Schönenberg. Die Gotteshauseleute a.k.a. Regler or Wachszinsgen (the serfs (Hörigen or Leibeigen) of the Einsiedlen Abbey. A milder form of serfdom where for a small sum as symbol of their bondage the people were presented with their emancipation and recognized as freie Gotteshausleute (free people of God's house).

The earliest record containing the name Hiestand is the Steuerrodel (tax roll) dated 1401 for Watch Linden, a part of the City of Zurich. Heini Hiestand is listed under the heading the old (former) Burgermeister (mayor) Heinrich Meiss' people in Herrschaft Wädenswil. Heinrich Meiss had bought the Vogteirechte (feudal rights) from the Abbeys of Zurich (Fraumünster) and Einsiedeln in Schwyz

So the land that Heini Hiestand lived on originally belonged to the Abbeys. Since there are not any records that have been found of the name Hiestand anywhere else for another 200 years it is safe to assume that the name Hiestand originated in this location and that Heini is very probably the first to use it. Because of how the tax list was taken in order of farms and where Heini was located on the list, I believe he lived on or near the farm on the meadow called Blegi between the Sihl River and the shore of Bibetersee (Lake Huetten) on the border with Schwyz on Richterswilerberg.

The first tax roll dated 1401 does not show any amounts of tax, though the tax roll for 1402 lists Heini Hiestand for xxxij ß or 32 Schillings (or 1 pound 12 Schillings). Some of his neighbors were Jacob Pfaff, Hans Sigrist, Rudi Stoller, Heini Eberli, Rudi Ochsner as well as several Stossels and Knödlis.


126 Hiestand 81 Male 45 Female 55 Spouses 20 In-Laws 144 Daughters' Children 13 Their Spouses 358 Total

• Coat of Arms, 1560. The oldest coat-of-arms is from 1560, according to a metal and glass stained glass window from 1591.> Volume I. Monumenta Heraldica, Meinrad Liebich, Einsiedeln, Schwyz (That should be the one with the man standing on the ground.)

Emil Hiestand of Richterswil maintains that it is the one with the buffalo horn!

• Moved, Between 1600 and 1605. We moved to Hassien-hof, Richterswil sometime between 1600 and 1605 when our son Jung was born.

• Moved, Between 1605 and 1653. We moved to Feldmoos in Gem Richtersweil between Jung's birth in 1605 and Heinrich's death in 1653.

Heinrich married Anna Luthold about 1598 in Gem Richtersweil, Bez Horgen, Zurich, Switzerland. (Anna Luthold was born about 1575 and died about 1650 in Richterswil, Zurich, Switzerland.)