My father's family came to the USA from West Prussia, specifically what was Putzig, now Puck Poland. The name was originally spelled Czappa. I have seen it also spelled Czap. The name was Americanized to Chapp. The family settled in Detroit in 1872 just after the Franco-Prussian War.
Can any one provide direction to find any data on this location and records from there? Any recognition of the Czappa surname? My grandmother said her father-in-law spoke Kashubian and German.
Steve, The LDS Library has the Church records on Microfilm or you can search their site for your surname. My Grandmothers folks were Kashubian as well and one of the surnames was Czaplewski (which means 'crane', or from somewhere named 'Craneville' I believe), they were from just a bit south of there and immigrated to Minnesota around the same time as yours.
Here's the link to Putzig Church records:
Here is the link to the LDS website where you can search for your surname:
There is also a ver large indexing program in Pommerania, the link to marriage index is here: ptg.gda.pl/index.php/certificate/action/searchM
Hope this helps, J
Here is the distribution map for your surname as well: moikrewni.pl/mapa/kompletny/czap.html
Speaking German as well as Kashubian was quite common and was born out of necessity as this area was part of Germany (West Prussia) at the time. My folk also spoke German and Kashubian...
I should also mention that another very common surname in this area is Czapiewski. I wonder if your name is a shortened version of either of these or it simply means 'crane'.
I checked It, It's Kashubian last nam, which orginally was Czap, then Germanized to Czap(p)e and re-Polonized to Czap(p). Now there are 92 people with the last name Czap /mapa/kompletny/czap including 9 in Puck, 21 with last name Czapa /mapa/kompletny/czapa including 2 in Puck.
CZAPPA: root-word either czapa (cap) or obsolete verb czapać (to grab, get hold of, pinch [steal]); a vestige in modern Polish is the verb capnąć.
CZAPPA: there is also the toponymic option -- a tag identifying an inhabitant of the Pomeranian villages of Czapie or Czapiewice. And a descriptive source: czapa as a variant form of ciapa (simpleton, oaf, dullard).
I have no idea about the validity of it in Kashubian speech but CZAP (spelled differently with those Czech haceks) means a stork in Czech (in Polish stork is bocian) language - it must be closely related to the Polish name of heron (czapla)
Merged: Searching for August Klein born 1823 in Putzig
My great grandfather, August Klein born 1823 in Putzig, and great grandmother, Christina born in 1838 (maiden name Koig), moved to America in 1873. I am trying to find my roots in Poland.
They have the protestant church books (interesting for you are the 'Trauungen' = marriages). You can contact them in English to do some specific research for you.
