Theodor Tumbusch, one of my husband's gg-grandfathers on his mom's side, immigrated to America from Germany in 1861. His ship manifest is below. He was about 27 years old and his last residence is listed as Koesfeld (proper spelling is Coesfeld). Listed beneath him in the manifest is Anna Rasing, who was either already his wife, or who would soon become his wife upon arrival in America (I still need to figure that out.) They arrived in Baltimore and eventually made their way to western Ohio, where they settled on a farm in Mercer County. Unfortunately, Theodor died rather young in 1870; Anna lived until 1918.
Theodor Tumbusch and Anna Rasing Ship Manifest
I've done some research on the surname 'Tumbusch,' and it's difficult to determine what the name means or indicates. 'Busch' in German simply means 'bush' in English and 'tum' might refer to several meanings. The English word 'tumble' has roots in German - the German verb 'taumeln' means to fall, drop, or stagger, and the verb 'tummeln' means 'to romp.' The German noun 'tumben' means 'tomb.' The German noun 'tumult' has essentially the same meaning as the same English world and the noun 'tumultant' refers to a rioter. So, maybe my husband had an ancestor who fell in bushes or who was buried in bushes or who caused some sort of commotion or uproar in bushes. Your guess is as good as mine.
Theodor Tumbush had three sons, Henry, Bernard, and Herman, all of whom lived into adulthood and had sons of their own to carry on the family name. It appears that most of Henry's children chose to change the spelling of the name to 'Tumbush' - their birth records indicate the original spelling, while military, marriage, residential, and death records are most often without the 'c.' As far as I can tell from the records, the children and grandchildren of Bernard and Herman kept the original spelling.
If you're not one of my in-laws and have never heard the name 'Tumbusch' before, you're not alone. It's not a common name. The Worldnames Public Profiler maps surnames for 26 countries around the world using recent telephone directories and voter registries. It is not scientific or completely comprehensive, but it still gives you a good idea of relative popularity of a name in different places. In the U.S, the frequency per million (FPM) for the name Tumbusch is only 0.41 (The Tumbush spelling is 0.25). By comparison, my surname, Kowalski, which is basically the Polish equivalent of Smith, has a FPM of 81.56. And Tumbusch is actually MORE common in the U.S. than in Germany, where the FPM is only 0.09.
Theodor Tumbush had three sons, Henry, Bernard, and Herman, all of whom lived into adulthood and had sons of their own to carry on the family name. It appears that most of Henry's children chose to change the spelling of the name to 'Tumbush' - their birth records indicate the original spelling, while military, marriage, residential, and death records are most often without the 'c.' As far as I can tell from the records, the children and grandchildren of Bernard and Herman kept the original spelling.
If you're not one of my in-laws and have never heard the name 'Tumbusch' before, you're not alone. It's not a common name. The Worldnames Public Profiler maps surnames for 26 countries around the world using recent telephone directories and voter registries. It is not scientific or completely comprehensive, but it still gives you a good idea of relative popularity of a name in different places. In the U.S, the frequency per million (FPM) for the name Tumbusch is only 0.41 (The Tumbush spelling is 0.25). By comparison, my surname, Kowalski, which is basically the Polish equivalent of Smith, has a FPM of 81.56. And Tumbusch is actually MORE common in the U.S. than in Germany, where the FPM is only 0.09.
Relative frequency of surname Tumbusch - World
Zooming into Europe: It is a little difficult to see, but the only area in which 'Tumbusch' is found is the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which is where Theodor's hometown of Coesfeld is located.
Relative frequency of surname Tumbusch - Europe
Breaking down the United States: Tumbusch on the left and Tumbush on the right. Not surprisingly, both spellings are relatively common in Ohio compared with other states.
 Tumbusch |  Tumbush |
And, finally, Ohio by county, Tumbusch on the left and Tumbush on the right. That county in western Ohio in the darkest shade of blue is Mercer County, where Theodor and Anna orginally settled. Notice the small concentration of Tumbush near Cleveland. One of my husband's great uncles moved to the Cleveland area to work on the railroads in the early 20th century and I am willing to bet that some of his descendants still live in the area.
 Tumbusch |  Tumbush |
Based on the rarity of the name, it is probable that many people with the surname Tumbusch or Tumbush in the United States today are descendants of Theodor Tumbusch. And if there are any Tumbusch's out there who AREN'T of his lineage, it would be interesting to try to trace back their ancestors to Germany to try to find the common ancestor. That may have to be one of my longer-term goals for the future. In the meantime, I'm adding Coesfeld, Germany to my list of must-visit places whenever my husband and I get a chance to take our genealogy trip to Germany.
Tumbus(c)h family documents can be viewed and downloaded at this website: http://schroeder-tumbush.weebly.com/tumbush.html
Tumbus(c)h family documents can be viewed and downloaded at this website: http://schroeder-tumbush.weebly.com/tumbush.html
