Modern English	Alsatian	High Alemannic	Standard German	Swabian German
Hause/House	Hüüs [hy-s]	Huus	Haus	Hous

   Elements are often added to the surname's stem to tell something of the bearer's place of origin, character, or religious beliefs. And since languages at this time were rarely formalized, the spelling would change from country to country, village to village, and even from father to son. So before long there were Hausens, Hauslers, Hausendorfs, Hausers, Hausmans, Hausermanns, Hauseners, Haussenauers, and finally, and simply, our line's "Hauß," then "Hauss," then "Haus" (sometimes spelled "Havs," as "u" and "v" were interchangeable at that time). But eventually somebody in the New World added an "e" at the end of the name, probably because it looks so darned cool that way.

THE HAUß LINE IN EUROPE:
   There were many Dutch and English variations on the Hause name. But families using my line's Coat of Arms were first recorded during the early Middle Ages in the southwestern area of the Holy Roman Empire. My line ended up in what is today a state called Hessen, or Hesse (in the eastern part of the map at right).
   Our earliest ancestors in this area had formed alliances with other influential families in the region around the Rhine River, which was then the base of the Holy Roman Empire. After the division of the Empire in 870, the Rhineland became part of the Eastern Frank kingdom ... but then the Western Frankish tribes decided they wanted it, too, and invaded from France. This conflict would begin a thousand years of war over the control of the Palatinate.
   Between wars, our ancestors were given the Hauß surname, and the bearers of that name and its many offshoots prospered through politics, religious careers and military service. By the 16th Century they had expanded out into all parts of Europe, including Hesse (to the right of the Palatinate in the map, above) where our ancestors settled. The Hauß family eventually held titles and estates in France, Germany, Prussia and Italy—the French branch was even raised to nobility in 1722. The Prussian branch became Barons in 1814, as did the German branch in 1868.
   Our line of the family wasn't so fortunate. In 1666, JOHANN CHRISTIAN HAUSS was born in Klein Altenstädten, near 6300 Wetzlar (15 km. west of Giessen, in what is now the state of Hessen).
   During the colonial period, Germany looked much different than it does today. It was a patchwork of hundreds of duchies, counties, margraveshafts, and other jurisdictions, each ruled over by different sovereigns. Sometimes a few villages were under the control of a count and in other cases hundreds of towns might be under the control of a neighboring duke.
   Johann wasn't a Baron or a Noble—he was just a carpenter. He would struggle to survive through wars, plagues, environmental disasters, and purges for the next 45 years. (Which makes for a lot of steady rebuilding work if you're a carpenter. Unfortunately it also means that nobody can pay you for it.)
   So, in 1709, Johann took his wife and his six-to-eight kids to the New World. He was already older than most when he made the trip—45 years was a long time to live in the 17th Century (especially in Germany). But he wanted to provide a safer, happier future for his sons and daughters than the one that was available to him.
   The Hause family would move several times in this fashion over the next few hundred years, always towards the untamed wilderness, searching for a better future for the coming generations. And somehow, 300 years later, here we are.

"In the census of 1713-1714 is shown that Christian Hauss and wife Maria Catherina together with eight children are living at New-Heesburg on the Hudson River. It can be easily seen that most of these children were by the first wife and bears out a tradition in the House family that six brothers came from England to America together."
—Melvin Rhodes Shaver, 1932

Book Information Book Image Name: The House Family of the Mohawk Author: Melvin Rhodes Shaver Publisher: St. Johnsville: Enterprise Year: 1933 Pages: 36 View book (.PDF) A book tracing the descendants of Johann Christian Hauss.

   The only scholarly work on this family was a 32-page book called THE HOUSE FAMILY OF THE MOHAWK, chronicling the family history after Johann came to America, and tracing only a few lines of the family whose last name had become the Anglicized "House." It was written by a man named Melvin Rhodes Shaver, based on research by Shaver, Frank D. Duel in 1933 (the original documents are now held in the Grace Stubbs-Rice collection at Cornell University). But the work is flawed: Next to nothing had been written of the family history in Germany, or descendants from other lines. My line isn't even included, as the only record of the son I descend from was a Naturalization record from 1721. And not only is the work incomplete, it's sixty years old. But it's a starting point. So I decided to add what I could (with the help of relatives, researchers, genealogists, librarians, and a few city clerks). Hopefully, future generations will add more.
   We are the descendants of Johann—Sons and Daughters of the American Revolution (though family members fought on both sides as Patriots and Loyalists); We survived the French raids on the Palatinate, the War of 1812, the Civil War, two World Wars, and we may even survive George W. Bush; We are farmers, teachers, writers, artists, carpenters and store owners, with a black sheep or two thrown in; We are German, English, and Dutch—with a little Indian, as well; We traveled with the tide of American frontiersmen that streamed north from the Atlantic seaboard, up the forested basin of the Hudson to the Mohawk Valley, then poured west into the Genesee country, flowing into the Great Lakes and the wilds of 19th Century Michigan—and then we abruptly changed course—trickling down along the golden coast of California until finally spilling onto the shining Pacific Ocean.
   We are the Hause family, damnit...hear us roar...or at least boast a little bit...

GERALD "JERRY" HAUSE (Johann, Johannes, Johannes, William, John, Augustus, Laban, Frank, Basil), of Birmingham, MI, was born in 1926 and grew up in Michigan. He became a designer at Chevrolet, where he helped create the classic 1955 "Chevy." He married Shirley Mae Jacobson on July 25, 1950. They have three children: Roy (b. 1954), Linda Kaye (b. 1955) and Barbara Carol (b. 1959). He is the true hero of this work, having painstakingly collected and chronicled the Hause family in Michigan for many years. He has an extensive Hause memorabilia collection, including the Family Bible, Melissa Hause's spinning wheel, and thousands of photographs, letters, movies, slide shows, and other relics. He holds a wealth of information, anecdotes and wonderful stories on the Hause family.

LOIS HAUSE BAUMBAUGH (Johann, Johannes, Johannes, William, John, Augustus, Laban, Frank, Raymond) kept a large number of photographs, newspaper articles, etc., on the Hause family. She was born in Deerfield, Michigan on October 7, 1913 to Ethyl Yale and Ray Hause. They moved to San Diego in 1918. Lois married William (Bill) Martin Baumbaugh and they had four children (Adrienne, Lynn, Bill and Joel), eight grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren. She lived in Kensington for over 62 years. Lois was an accomplished wife, mother, cook, gardener and artist, and a friend to all she met. She died on April 2, 2005, and is buried at at Alpine Cemetery 2495 Victoria Dr., Alpine, San Diego Co., CA. Her collection is now in the possession of Carleton Marchant Hause, Jr.

BOB HAUSE and his wife SHIRLEY, of Kansas. Bob is descended from William Hause, Sr., through son William Jr., Harris, Elmer, and then Homer. Harris Hause (William Jr's son) moved to Hayden, Indiana. Elmer (his son) went to Kansas because his wife's family lived here. Then he moved to Oklahoma. He was a carpenter. Homer (Bob's father) was born in Indiana and he moved to Oklahoma, homesteaded in New Mexico, went broke, and moved slowly back to Oklahoma. It took two years to get back from New Mexico as they were in a covered wagon and had to work along the way. He died in 1941 and in 1943, Bob's mother moved to Hutchinson, Kansas, with Bob, daughter Eula and son Clyde. (Bob is the youngest of ten kids. They moved back to Kansas to be with family that were still here. The older kids were all grown and married by that time.) Their research on William's time in the Warwick, NY area was invaluable.

CHARLES HAUSE JACKSON (Johann, Johannes, Johannes, William, John, Augustus, Laban, Elma) was born in 1875 to Elma Hause and William Jackson, a prominent railroad man in Southern Indiana. Charles lived in Upper Mountclair, New Jersey, and worked for an engineering firm in Manhattan. He married Mildred Weiland and chronicled the 19th and early 20th Centuries of the Hause family in his scrapbooks. Many of the photographs, obituaries and ceremonial announcements on the following pages are from those scrapbooks, now in the possession of Jerry Hause. Charles died in 1962, and his scapbooks are now owned by Jerry Hause.

STEPHEN HAUSE (also a descendant of William Hause, but from two distinct lines!) has collected a wealth of family history from Michigan and New York, including the genealogical work of his ancestor's cousin, James Dwight Hause, and his correspondence to Albert Hause, Laban Hause and Caroline Hause Gage in the early 20th Century. James Dwight and Albert both traced the Hause family back to Germany, but Stephen disagrees with their conclusions, and thinks we're actually English. (But what's genealogy without a good controversy?)

Much of the information in this family history springs from the research of JOSEPHINE GREGORY (Johann, Johannes, Johannes, William, John, Electa Ann, Frances Josephine Williams, Anna Electa Spaid, Josephine Sarah Ritter, Josephine Bogart), who originally petitioned the Daughters of the American Revolution to have William Hause declared a war hero; Plus the work of DOUGLAS DEAL (Johann, Johannes, Johannes, William, John, Electa Ann, Roxanna Ann Williams, Foster Leroy Deal, Lynn Lee Deal, Douglas Duane Deal).

Much of the information and photos of the SANDERSON family are courtesy of James and Mary Sanderson-Pincombe's great-granddaughter JOYCE KEENEY (née: McKEEHAN).