Katzer Families

Katzers international

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Most of the Katzers don't live in their original homeland in northern Moravia any more. So far our studies have given evidence of Katzers in the following countries:

• Australia: Gerlinde Katzer sent us a photo, which was taken by a friend of her daughter's during a visit to Australia in fall 2006. In Echuca, Victoria, Australia she came across the company nameplate of Gerd and Michael Katzer. Much to her regret nobody was available at that time so that she couldn't contact them personally.

• AUSTRIA :If only geographically, Austria was the nearest thing to go to for the Katzers from their home in the Sudetenland.We have got some contacts to Katzers who live in the Republic of Austria or whose ancestors come from there.From Ebensee in Austria Frederik Xavier Katzer and his family emigrated to Milwaukee (USA), where he was appointed archbishop

• BRAZIL: Obviously one line has emigrated to Brazil fromAustria. Ricardo Americo Bovo , wo lives near Sao Paulo, told us about George und Carlotta Katzer, who had come to Brazil from Austria in 1888. After a technology exchange contract between the kings of the two countries, George had been invited to come to Brazil by the Brazilian emperor Dom Pedro the Second. There he worked for the Ipanema Royal Company, the first Brazilian iron works. His son Julio was employed by the first railroad (Sorocaban Railroad), which was built to transport the iron from the works.

• CANADA: Karl Alois Katzer left Germany in 1932 for Reichenberg (Czechoslovakia) from where he fled to Canada via England together with his wife and his two sons (Alois Robert and Sven Olaf ) in 1938. They settled in St.Walburg (Northwest Saskatchewan) in the middle of the Prairies. Karl-Alois died in 1962. We have got contact to his grandson Robert, who lives in Victoria, British Columbia today.
  Frank Soural, One of the descendants of Franz und Anna Katzer , emigrated to Canada, too. This is what he told us:
  Emigration to America was never a question of "whether" but of "when". I remember my father talking enthusiastically about the land of unlimited opportunities. Karl May and Jules Vernes did their part, too. I think that we have inherited the sense of romance from our ancestors - all of us were dreamers.
  With the help of distant realtives, who already lived in Canada, my brother Ernst and I set out for Canada in 1952. The first couple of years meant hard work and a lot of disappointment. Money lay around in the streets and you had to bend to pick it up. All that in a language you didn't really understand at that time.
  (Translated by Bernhard Katzer. Original text in the German version of Katzer's homepage.)

• FINLAND: Clemens Katzer has been living in Finland since 1999. He was born in Kelkheim/Ts (Germany). Having found a Finnish wife, he is now determined to stay there for good.

• GERMANY: Several Katzers have, of course, also come to Germany. many of them came as refugees after World War II. Among them were our own ancestors were, went to the Habelschwerdt area (county Glatz) from where they settled all over today's Federal Republic of Germany

• HUNGARY:One line went to Hungary. Johann Katzer emigrated to Budapest in 1842 where he founded a furrier's workshop and opened a fur shop. The first representative of the Katzer families in Hungary to contact us is Krisztina Katzer from Komló. She works there as a media planner.

• ISRAEL: Frank Katzer was born in Luebeck, in Northern Germany, now lives about 20 km north of Tel Aviv in a small town by the name of Hod HaSharon.
  Prior to coming to Israel he lived for 12 years in London (1983 to 1995), then for one year in mainland China, and finally came to Israel in 1997

• NEW GUINEA: Meanwhile even a member of the Katzer families from the Pacific area has contacted us. Juana Katzer lives in New Guinea. Her grandfather Hendrik Katzer emigrated there before World War II.

• THE NETHERLANDS:Petrus Wilhelmus Katzer, born in Waldniel (Germany) was obviously attracted by the Netherlands. His son Arnold Katzer was born in Einighausen (the Netherlands) in 1807. Together with his wife Helena Korsten from Saeffelen in Prussia and his two sons Peter and Mathijs he emigrated to the USA in 1863. In 1870 they were living in the Borough of Belle Plaine in Scott County, Minnesota. After that they vanished without trace. If you can provide information about that family and their whereabouts please contact us

• PHILIPPINES: Eager research of my own great-uncle Joachim Katzer has revealed, that one of our own relatives, Andreas Katzer, married in Manila. Philippines and now lives there with his family of four.

• POLAND: Jacek Katzer lives in Koszalin in northern Poland. His father is Andrzej Katzer and he was born in Wrzesnia (near Poznan - Posen) in 1939.

• RUSSIA: Dima Katzer from Jugo-Kamsk (Ural Mountains, Perm area) reports:
  "Family Katzer subjected to repression and have banished from Belarus to Russia. They have arrived to Belarus from Germany, as colonizers in 18 century. Reprisals carried out{spent} in 1930. On the north sent everyone who was not a beggar. On road many have died. Communists of all have simply thrown out in a wood. Local residents (in the north in the Perm area) helped. Gave tools (an axe, a saw) for construction of a house. Helped products. Due to this many have survived."

• THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: The wave of immigrants to America in the 19th and early 20th century also brought memebers of the Katzer families to the New World. The progenitor of the large number of Katzer descendants is Johannes (John) Katzer, who was born in Lodenitz? or Mittel-Lipka? in 1843. In 1882 he emigrated to the USA together with his wife Karolina Prause and their 9 children. There they settled in Greeley, Kansas , where John purchased a homestead and farmed. Thus Greeley became the Grulich of the USA.