The Schlaikier family originated in Denmark, in or around the towns of Sønder Hostrup and Ensted, near Aabenraa. The name can certainly be traced back to 1700, and possibly as far back as 1540.
I added a lot to our family tree on Geni. My friend and relative Hans-Lorenz Schlaikier gave me some information from his many years of visiting villages and searching parish registers, which needs to be incorporated into the Geni tree. Some of the information is conjecture. Alas, Hans-Lorenz passed away and is no longer available to discuss these interesting issues.
When my ancestors came to the United States (so the story goes), the Ellis Island immigration officials mistook the Germanic "i" for a "j" and so our name came to be written that way.
There are some Danish Schlaikjers who also spell the name with a "j": it is not clear how they are related to my branch of the family. In fact, the three big unresolved genealogical connections are (1) those Danish Schlaikjers; (2) The Australian Schlaikiers; and (3) the St Louis Schlaikjers. It is possible to connect (2) and (3) to my tree, but the evidence is slim. In fact, Hans-Lorenz thought that Charles Schlaikjer (3) assumed the name and was not a relative. I tried to resolve these issues with Y DNA testing, but unlike on TV, this proved almost nothing. It all depends on statistics of mutation rates of junk Y DNA, and so all the tests showed with any certainty was that we are all from Northern Europe.
A published book contains possibly my favorite story about our family. The book is "Slesvigske Folkesagn" by Frederick Fischer, printed in Copenhagen in 1861. The story is about Hans Schlaikier, a peasant who is asked by his lord to do an impossible feat.
That "flaming lances" story is recounted early on in the manuscript Geschichte der Familie Schlaikier by Ernst Prahl (pre-1920), revised by Bruno Grimm (1999). I commissioned an English translation of these 261 pages, done by Anne Sherwin. This document also starts with a possible etymology:
Schlaikier is a name derived from a place of origin. Formerly spelled Schlaikjaer, it derives from Danish, from sli and kjaer, the Danish words for “tench” and “marsh.” Thus it indicates that an early ancestor of the family, at the time the name came into being, lived near a body of water rich in fish with a marshy bottom favoured by tench. This tench pond was probably understood to be a part of Lake Host[r]up that later turned into marshland and finally into a peat bog.
There are other etymological theories. The rest of the Geschichte der Familie Schlaikier is mostly about Hans von Schlaikier (1779-1843) who had a dozen children and served in the Danish army, hence the (quite temporary) ennoblement. Note how the family crest has a sheaf and sickle, making it clear that we were really peasants. The family history touches on the history of Schleswig-Holstein, and various members of the family came down on one side or the other.
Hans-Lorenz himself wrote a tome about our family, titled Die Schlaikiers: Eine Weltumspannende Familie (Schriften der Heimatkundlichen Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Nordschleswig, Jahrg. 2013, h. 88, S. 8-137). I also had an English translation made of this.
Below is a list of a few Schlaikjers, ordered somewhat by proximity to myself (Erich).
Most of the living persons can be contacted by email using an address like firstname@schlaikjer.net
| Name | Mug | Info |
|---|---|---|
| Erich |  |
Self reviews; fabric; travelogues; genealogy; Geocaching; videos; music; my old job; |
| Patricia |  | Patricia McIntyre, but you can still mail her at schlaikjer.net! |
| Ross |  | github Jana Blog |
| Griffin |  | |
| Claire |  | Artist |
| Laura |  | GGC |
| Elise |  | Morningstar Labyrinth |
| Paul |  | Land Trust |
| Susan |  | |
| Carl |  | battery chemist |
| Andrew |  | ACM |
| Katie |  | Cellist with the Penderecki String Quartet |
| Jay |  | (d. 2002) |
| Linda |  | |
| Tia |  | |
| Stephen |  | China expert; Salzburg seminar; Amazon |
| Diana | ||
| Carol |  | Buy her music! |
| Marjorie |  | editor |
| Matthew |  | Alrighters |
| Amena |  | Her website. Actress/Model/manager/freelancer/licensed make-up artist |
| Erica |  | Her website. |
| Malene |  | signal processing scientist (now at Oticon); swimmer; mother met her via the internet! |
| Hans |  | Surname Schlaikier. My fourth cousin once removed. Lives in ancestral city of Aabenraa(Åbenrå). Daughter Brigitte and son Hans Georg. He has a Schlaikier signet ring, sword and other cool stuff. Worked at Jebsen |
| Erich M |  | Great-uncle dinosaur hunter |
| Jes |  | Great-uncle artist |
| Tia |  | Did the Appalachian Trail. More recent blog here. |
| Captain Hans | Grandfather of the Hans above (so my second cousin thrice removed). Wrote Aabenraa Søfarts Historie (1929), which Hans describes: "about seafarers from Aabenraa who did not return but stayed at sea as the expression is here. They went down with their ships etc." | |
| Erich |  | First cousin thrice removed. ?1867-1928 Writer. |
| Wolfram |  | Great-grandson of Erich the Writer (so my fourth cousin). Journalist |
| Sharon | Second cousin once removed if her grandfather was my great-grandfather's brother. But he may not have been. Her genealogical website. | |
| Denny |  | Third cousin once removed. Blogger in Utah |
| Hans-Peter |  | Fourth cousin once removed. Surname Schlaikier. Actor in Hamburg |
| Lisa | Unknown. Estate agent in Utah | |
| Stephanie |  | Unknown. Surname Schlaikier. Australian kickboxer! She is related to Dan and Mark Schlaikier, with whom I have been in touch. Mark is doing a lot of genealogical research, but how Schlaikiers got from Denmark to Australia remains an intriguing mystery. |