Over the last couple of years I have worked in bursts on compiling the family History, in summer of 2004 I began my longest and most
product burst yet adding several hundred relations to the Souser family line (now over 1300 individuals), attending a family re-union,
and I am actively trying to determine the origins of the Sousers in the United States today and linking all of them together
to the degree in which they can be linked. Eventually I hope to trace the European roots and link European decendants with the American
ones.
I am looking for any and every detail you can provide on any Souser past and present, as I have found that it is the smallest
detail that leads to the largest breakthroughs.
Christopher Souser
Anchorage, Alaska
Supposed Meaning of the Name: (None of Which
have been proven)
-Souser= 'to swish' supposedly in German, perhaps originating from the
position of street sweeper
-"Soucier"(Fr.)....ie, 'to make sauce'
-Saucier is pronounced "Sauc ye" or "Sows ye" and is still a commonly used cooking/chefs term for the person in charge of making Soups, Sauces, and Gravies.
-Susser (with the two dots above the "u") means "Sweet" in German, the Palatine Sausser's that came from Switzerland were amazingly enough confectionaires, or simply candy makers.
-"Sous" also means to dunk or pickle.
-Other variations on the name is a "Sous" used to be a French penny used during Medieval times.
-Souser=I have come across someone in the US and also in Russia using
'Souser' as their Nickname on the internet, they both claim it means 'a drinker of alcohol'.
What is Known:
Souser is the 67,666th of 88,799 most popular last names in the United
States. With a frequency of 0.000% according to the 1990 US Census.
There is a tavern called "Souser's Tavern" in a town in the Catskills of NY dating from the 1700's. Several Souser's also owned the "John Bonnet Tavern" in Bedford, PA.
That the Souser's that immigrated initially settled in New York, Pennsylvania, and Ohio.
Most Souser's today can be traced back to Bedford, PA and Joseph Souser (b.1815)
The earliest Souser in the United States I can find record of is Peter
Souser who married a one Anna (Marytjie) Oberbach in May 1732 in Catskill,
NY. Anna was from Wolferlingen Germany and born in 1709. Any other information
on Peter Souser has not yet been found.
I cannot currently link Peter to Joseph Souser of Bedford, PA though at this time.
Origins:
That the original Souser's immigrated to the Americas from Germany and Switzerland
The original Immigration of Souser's is beleived to be from Germany during the Palatine movement.
Whether they immigrated as "Souser"s or "Sausser"s and then changed their name is unclear.
Immigration Records State:
There is no Immigration Records currently available that list "Souser" prior to the mid-1800s
though Souser's are recorded to be in the US since at least 1732 and most Souser's today
can be traced back to a Joseph Souser april 1815.
An Augustus Souser immigrated from Hannover Germany in 1855.
There is also records of Souser's immigrating from Switzerland in the same period.
Rumors
From what part or if it is true is unclear.That the immigrating generation immigrated to America because they were Secret Service like individuals to a prince/king/royal/etc of some sort and that person was deposed or we pissed them off and so we immigrated.
Truly the Oddest Rumor:
That the most common first name for a male in the Souser family is
"Joseph" in multiple lines, this is supposedly because of some curse
placed on the males of the family.
Supposedly this is how it works: If the first child of the eldest male
Souser is male and they are not named Joseph they will be cursed with poor health.
Time and putting the family line together has proven this not to be true.
Back to Main
Last Updated Feb 13, 2005
By. Christopher
R Souser