More of the Holzklau's

Holsclaw Family: Besides the German spelling of Holtzclaw, the spelling of Holsclaw and other variants are used.

Sources:

Personal records of Frances Jackson Wheatley Cook.
Documents at the Germanna Foundation.
http://www.infinet.com/~wkfisher/Holtzclaw.html, March 9, 1998
My own visits to the Siegen area in Germany. (Anne Moeller)

The Holtzklau family originated from the very ancient parish of Holzklau, first mentioned in 1089, with a parish church dating to the 13th century in the village of Oberholzklau, and a number of other villages in the parish, including Niederholzklau. There is a brook call the Klav (an ancient name for a gully or ravine) which runs through the parish, so that the name could mean "the woods of Klav." It could also mean "wood thief."

Oberholzklau, Niederholzklau and Oberfischbach, the home of Hans Jakob Holzklau, are situated in Kreis Siegen, an ancient mining area in central Germany. The houses of Siegen are elaborately decorated in slate, a testament to the skills of the craftsmen there. Even in the 1990's, when I visited the area, a newly built house in Niederholzklau was beautifully decorated in various shades and shapes of slate. In Siegen, at the top of the hill upon which the city sits, stands a castle. The castle serves as a museum and entry to a labyrinth of mining tunnels used to illustrate various methods of mining in Europe throughout history.

-5 Johann Holzklau (1520/25) and Treina, widow of the master baker, Hans Latsch
Tis earliest known ancestor of the Holzklau family, came to Siegen in 1558. After his marriage he ran the bakery which had been operated by his wife's former husband since 1543. An inn was operated in connection with the bakery. The Siegen city accounts from 1571 on the receipts of ground rent shows a record of "The Latsch house, now Johan Holtzclaw, 6 Heller." The house, situated in the Loehrstrasse, now gave a by-name to those wholived in it from time to time; thus Johann Holtzclau was called by the nickname "Latsch," in the 1567 list of bakers, and his children were also called "Latsch."

-4 Franz Holzklau (1545/50)
His mother was probably not Treina Holzklau, but a former wife of Johann Holzklau.
Franz Holzklauis listed as one of three "elders" or assistant administrative officers of the township of Weidenauin 1595. He appears in connection with the rebuilding of the chapel at Weidenau, which also served as a school, and he may have been the teacher, as his grandson, great-grandson and great-great-grandson, were. (And as was I, Anne Moeller)!) Universal common school education was first established in Nassau-Siegen in 1582, and Franz Holzklau may have been the first official schoolmaster at Weidenau under this act.

-3 Wilhelm Holzklau (1573/4-1630) and daughter of Henchen Flender of the Hardt (ironworks)
At the time of Wilhelm's death, the plague was raging in Nassau-Siegen.

-2 Johannes Holzclau (1609/10-1664)(of Weidenau) and Hebel Flender Muess (probably a daughter of Henrich Flender Muess of Schneppenkauten. The couple had 16 children, born from 1631 to 1657. When his first son was christened in 1631, Johannes Holzklau was teacher at Weidenau, and he probably continued to hold this position at least through the year 1635, while the Protestants dominated the country. In 1632 he seems to have owned small part of the Schneppenkauten Hammer in the Weidenau township, but sold whatever interest he had in it by 1653, the year of the next extant list of owners. However, his family was closely connected with the iron industryin Weidenau, and four of his sons were admitted to the Guild of Smelterers and Hammersmiths.

-1 Hans Henrich Holzclau (1646) (born in Weidenau and died at Oberfischbach) and Gertrut (Patt) Solbach (1644-1683+), daughter of Johann Solbach of Siegen
In 1664, Hans Henrich Holzklau was admitted to the Guild of Smelterers and Hammersmiths, but later followed his father's calling of schoolmaster


http://moellerfamilyonline.org/FamHistory/Wheatley/Holsclaw/holsclaw.htm